Mihail did not usually enjoy Megaris. He was not fond of Dysius, and even less so of the days when he inexplicably found himself forced to spend time with his brother because Father had had a sudden and inexplicable burst of coherence and decided to educate - rather, lecture - both of his sons on the subjects he thought necessary. The youngest of the family had never enjoyed such sessions for several reasons: first, he considered himself far superior to both of them in his intellectual capacity, and with good reason, given how foolishly they often spoke; secondly, both Dysius and Father seemed to have an ability to find fault in every aspect of Mihail's personality; thirdly and most importantly, he did not care in the slightest. There were plenty of activities which were infinitely more fun than that.

Today, he had avoided the chance for the lesson. Once the meal at which he had absentmindedly and half-irritably picked had ended, he had taken his third, large goblet of wine from the table, and disappeared upstairs to his chambers before the discussion could take place. His silver smoking pipe had already been at his lips as he scanned slowly over a selection of pretty chitons to settle on one for the afternoon, having quickly decided it would be best promptly to leave the kalospíti and explore the province instead of having to handle his family's myriad oddities. The final decision was a charming piece in deep crimson with a hem design of black vipers tainted with tiny silver beads, the sort of clothing he knew he would only get away with wearing if he were to sneak quickly from the house so that none of his siblings would notice. It matched the careful red powder Mihail had dabbed into his eyelids and outlined in thick black serpentine shapes, and the pretty designs curling around his arms, throat and ears in delicate silver. It was rare he had the opportunity to look as dearly beautiful as this, and he relished it.

The rooms allocated to the youngest of the Thanasi were far nicer than one might expect, with a balcony on the far end which overlooked the cliff's edge, giving a suitable view of the province. It was here that he now exited a moment, gazing over Megaris as if to decide whether it was worth visiting. One could not quite tell whether the town was crowded or otherwise from such a distance, and given how lively the place came at night, any information gleaned during the day likely wasn't so accurate, but it gave some idea. On a day like this one, where the summer weather seemingly was trying its best to be as stunning as possible, the place would surely be filled with those unaware individuals looking to take advantage of the pretty features of the province, or those who had come to enjoy the way it came alive in the night. Either way, it would surely be infinitely more entertaining than spending an afternoon in the company of his family.

Mihail did not like to take a carriage or a guard with him on such visits because he did not consider them dangerous. He was a Thanasi, in a province owned by his own family, and though he usually acknowledged himself a coward in most military matters, there was nothing to fear here. Still, though unafraid of those things which came out in the night in Megaris, he was not foolish, and had taken unorthodox precautions of his own. As he left the clifftop estate, Draco had curled neatly around his shoulders, and he had folded his favourite spear point dagger into the belt of his chiton, both valuable defences were anything to occur (though he thought it reasonably unlikely). It was not an excessive walk down, and he enjoyed the chance to be alone with his thoughts even for a short while.

The afternoon had primarily been spent drifting between the few open tea houses, half-flirting with a few of the other guests when the mood struck him and presenting his viper to the masses with excessive pride whenever they commented on its uniqueness, though careful that none of them attempt to reach out to touch the snake (a precaution that was taken more for Draco's sake than their own, for he did not quite care whether they were injured in comparison to his baby). Once that had exhausted its interest, he had drifted to the market, ordered some fabrics to be sent up to the Thanasi house in case they wanted something made, then inquired as to when the place might open up to selling its rather more exciting wares. It was almost night, and the sun had started to fall slowly beyond the horizon, tinting the town with a golden glow which only added to its quaint appearance, and which would not last long once darkness had fallen in full.

He did not have long to wait, for nightfall was easily signalled in Megaris by the quick appearance of those women who lingered languidly outside storefronts and promised wandering men the finest nights of their lives. The youngest Thanasi instinctively moved towards a tavern with an open front, exchanging some coin for a goblet of wine of questionable quality, surveying the scene. If he was lucky, he might be able to buy some herbs of some kind from one of the many merchant stalls that switched their wares as nightfall approached, and then cling dramatically to the arm of a naive man until he could pay for the purchase of further goblets. He might have taken one home as well had he not spent most of his time in Megaris in the company of one of the servants of whom nobody needed to know the name.

There were many men in the street by now, staggering drunkenly as they enjoyed fifth and sixth drinks and attempted to approach any woman that moved too close. Had he not been so picky about his partners, Mihail might even have accepted one or two of them when they mistakenly approached him, thinking the high cheekbones and long hair were more feminine than they were. There were, also, a pair of noticeably noble girls who were clearly out of place, not entirely dressed for the province at night and not flanked by some burly guard, without any of the standard precautions required by the upper classes for a night in this town. Mihail did not tend to care for friendships, but he did prefer sophisticated conversation over the uneducated comments of many of the drunken individuals roaming the streets. One of those same individuals was now lurching towards the pair, likely with less-than-kind intentions.

Mihail moved towards him with little concern, pushing the man back with his right hand and using the other to reach for the dagger which still hung from his waist and pull it up to the man's throat in a man which threatened use if he did not behave himself. "Darling, I am confident you were not about to harass these ladies when they are here as my guests, hm? I would not wish them to speak ill of their visit to my family's province." Not that he cared very much if they shared terrible reviews of a place under his brother's supervision, but his words (or possibly the knife, or the snake, or his overall appearance) were enough to have the man stutter an apology and run away, as he should. Mihail returned the weapon to its place and turned back to the girls, an eyebrow raised. "I take it you are lost, or perhaps otherwise unaware of your current location? Such carelessness is not how one does things in Megaris."