His smile broadened slightly. She still enjoyed the challenge- it flared up in her very being, crackled almost pleasantly in her field and shone in her eyes like an eternal flame. This was good. Still, he realized he hadn't exactly upped the stakes enough to drag this out for long, much as he would enjoy such a game. "Six? Make that seven and one half shills, and I may consider it." He cocked his head to the side, leaning back into his chair, arms crossed- his customary, confident air floating about him. It was silly, perhaps, this little game of theirs. A waste of their time. But it was enjoyable, nonetheless.

Tallulah had to beat the smile from her face as he challenged her once more. The man was incorrigible. Simply and utterly and perfectly incorrigible. "Seven and a half . . ." She sighed heavily, her eyes alight with a flame that seemed to impersonate the very meaning of the word 'exhilaration.' Shifting once in her chair, she brought her hand up to her mouth, ever so delicately tapping her fingertips against her full lips. Humming softly to herself, she very nearly broke out grinning. She moved her soft fingers to rest against her chin. "Fine. Seven and a half. But if I am disappointed, Mr. Diotrephes," a soft, good-humored smirk broke through her impersonal countenance, "I simply will not recommend you to anyone."

He smirked, "Thanks; you know I wouldn't have it any other way." He chuckled to himself, as if he knew something he wasn't telling her. Perhaps things wouldn't be so bad, after all. Maybe she wasn't quite so insufferable as he had initially thought. And maybe, on the odd occasion, he could allow himself to relax around her and- gods forbid- enjoy himself. Perhaps this was a sign things were looking up. If he was indeed losing his mind, perhaps it wasn't such a bad thing after all. In the end, it was an interesting, refreshing way of looking at things.

Tallulah cocked a brow. She was curious. She couldn't ask . . . couldn't. Could she? Well, either way she was going to. And if he thought her an idiot, she could just blame it on the damn hangover. She lent forward, folding her slender arms and placing them on the table, resting her chin on top. "You know, sometimes you get this look like you know something. Like you've got it all figured out, and . . ."

Her eyes were tracing patterns in the wood grain of the roughly-cut furniture when she suddenly glanced up, giving Artemis one of those looks that only the most clever of women are famous for. "I think you might be bluffing."

Artemis cocked his head slowly to the side, expression unchanging. He blinked slowly at her, and then, without betraying anything replied, "Now Tallulah, if I had it all figured out, do you honestly think I would live like this?" It was short, simple; to the point. He eased back into his chair, expression still unchanged, eyes alight with mischief, "I'm not bluffing about anything, as far as I am concerned. It must be some preconceived notion on your part, that may or may not hold any level of accuracy, much as you value your most 'humble' of opinions."

Rolling her eyes at him,Tallulah stood, stretching slightly, her hands reaching above her head for the slightest of seconds before dropping lazily to her sides. "Well, in my humble opinion, I've outstayed my welcome. As for our lessons, I'll see you in four days, around . . . Eleven, with the required payment. Is that fine with you?" She placed her hands on her slender hips, one hip jutted out, her chin raised slightly- the picture of defiance. It wasn't exactly that she wished to make herself seem superior, she just liked the way he tried to put her back in her place- whatever place that was.

The fact that he wasn't bad at doing it . . . well, Tallulah still wasn't sure she fancied that particular talent of her newly-found companion.

"That sounds agreeable." He stood, crossing to the door to open it for his guest- it felt right, for some reason. "I will see you then, farewell."

(( short. failpost. sorry. Will try to do better next time. ))

Twirling her neglected cape about her and slipping on her shoes, Lu prepared to make a rather cold exit. After all, it was what she was good at, was it not?

Her plan fell to pieces when Lu found Artemis holding his door open for her. 'Well . . . isn't that something . . .' Tallulah's smile was a tad warmer than necessary- maybe he didn't realize it, but he'd gone out of his way to do something kind for her, and she (oddly enough . . . well, maybe not. Maybe it was okay for her to have emotions) appreciated it. As she left him with his door, her smile became even broader. It was like that of a young girl's, and if a small laugh escaped her, well . . . That was quite fine, wasn't it?