"I see," Numair said, sitting back a bit. Hawk looked at him with a pang of regret, or guilt, or something like that.

"...How 'bout this?" he said after a moment, with some reluctance. "You an' me, we go for a walk, an' you can tell me more about all a' this. An' maybe I'll feel differnt at the end of that."

He offered a hand to help Numair down. Numair looked a bit sheepish at the offer of a sort of compromise, but he answered politely, "Ah, I would like that. Thank you," before taking Hawk's hand and springing lightly down off of the tarp.

"All right then," Hawk said, "Let's go."

The day remained clear and bright as they strolled along the oceanfront, on a concrete sidewalk that ran above the rocky beach. The sea shimmered in the near distance.

"Okay, so," Hawk said presently, "My sorta understandin' of things is, first, there's the Royal Order, which is real small."

"It is limited to five hundred members total, yes," Numair agreed.