She hums in affirmation around the pipe's stem, sweeping up the cards in broad strokes.

"For the present." She shoots him a sidelong glance. And just like there, the easy quality of her attention has drifted back toward something sharper and more pointed once again. A bright flicker. Her curving smile is put on and she knows that is looks that way.

With a huff of exhaled smoke, with the cards folded back into a deck, she frees the pipe from between her teeth. A cap is fetched from her pocket; the burning ember in the bowl is smothered under it.

"I really do apologize for Barrow. He means well."