Alkaios had only been waiting a brief moment before the very person he'd been awaiting appeared, moving through the crowd with a silence he could only have wished for, but he had been built for fighting, not stealth, and it was substantially harder for a soldier to go unnoticed in a crowd, especially so with a hair colour as uncommon as his own. Any sense of secrecy he possessed tended to come solely out of a sense of duty and, in this particular situation, the sheer fact that he was well aware of how disastrous the consequences could be if the two of them didn't manage to keep quiet. Or rather, how disastrous they might have been for him. The more influential tended to escape those sorts of accusations with a lot less struggle.

"My Lady," he responded, tilting his head in the form of a slight bow of greeting, following his companion's lead. There was a clear reason he had requested her aid in the first place all that time ago, although her discretion was only half the appeal. Alkaios had needed someone with access to the appropriate supplies and with influence for any nefarious deeds to remain sufficiently ignored should they come to light. The Thanasi family had been able to provide exactly that - it was hardly an activity they were unused to, and the concept of an allegiance formed in a neighbouring kingdom was rarely one to be ignored - his proposal had been accepted and now, a year later, the aftermath of their little scheme had cleared and all had gone far better than Alkaios would have imagined. The only matter that was left for the pair of them to discuss was what he was capable of offering in gratitude for their aid, a subject much more complicated than one might have imagined.

Glancing behind Thea to confirm they weren't currently being watched, Alkaios took a few steps to the side to ensure the pair were better hidden behind a set of columns before he spoke again, the smile still hovering on his lips. "As I see you are well aware, our little endeavour last year proved successful." In fact, the entire ordeal had been a lot easier than Alkaios had thought it would be, few questions had been asked, and he had played his part with no cause for concern. "What I believe remains to be decided now is, of course, what you desire in return. I can assure you, I have access to quite a bit more now than when we last spoke." Certainly, now with the newly gained title of Baron, he could make wider promises without having to worry himself with the reactions or permission of his father or his ever more irritating brother, even if the former did still attempt to have his say whenever it suited him. Alkaios had never been particularly compliant. "Unless, of course, you are satisfied with the simple reassurance of an overseas allegiance. Some people would do practically anything for a little slice of power like that, I hear."