Supervision, ~Glinda~

[Dorian Stone]

The man felt as though he were almost intruding, wondering what the women would do or say if he left them alone. It would be interesting to see what came with it, at the least. Perhaps he should be worried or frightened by the prospect, given who was involved in this theoretical tangent his brain had taken, but it didn't occur to him. Glinda and Anya were formidable even without teaming up against him, but they would still never be able to take him. Or, if they did, he would be proud rather than upset. It would mean that he taught them well.

Anya went to go and get her needlework and he suppressed a groan when he saw it. Whoever gave her this idea was going to feel the force of his temper... which meant he'd be chatting with his darling sister or her husband sometime very soon. His expression never changed as he looked at the silly thing save for an eyebrow twitching upwards just a little. His eyes went to look at Glinda's reaction, letting her compliment the little terror before he said anything.

"It's well done. You're getting better at your stitches, pumpkin pie." He relaxed as Glinda did, both because he was ready to slip out of the game and to keep Anya from having to be confused. If Glinda softened and he didn't, it would send mixed signals for her. While not a problem for his men, who understood power wasn't always about who acted the most dominant, it could be for the younger girl. He leaned in to look at the work obligatorily before straightening, taking his hands out of his pockets to pick up the girl and set her on his hip. "What're you hungry for tonight? I'll take you and the Good Lady anywhere the two of you want to go."

It was a generous offer where he was concerned. Eating out was something he rarely did unless he was with his sister and her family. Taking that much of a break, relaxing that much outside of his home, was something he had trouble with. He'd make himself uncomfortable, though, in order to treat the people who he cared for to something they didn't normally get. He and Glinda didn't go out much in public and certainly hadn't done so in a pseudo-dating situation (even with his niece being there, it was still that), so he was watching the older blond closely as he spoke. Judging her reaction.

[Anya Filatova]

Anya grinned shyly at the adults, pleased at their praise. She may have heard that sort of thing often enough since she worked on her needle pieces while helping watch her mother's store, but the praise of a stranger was different than that of friends. While not vain, the girl loved to hear that she was getting better. "I ran out of brown, so I thought the pink would be fun. It's not as good as momma's yet, though."

She was comfortable with these adults and looking forward to getting to go out with them. Her arms wrapped around Dorian's neck and her legs squeezed around his middle enough to comfortably hold on to him. It was getting a bit late at night, and while she was used to being awake this late to close shop it was still exhausting. It made it very nice to relax against someone at the end of the day, safe and loved by her family and their friends. Dorian's quiet strength always made her feel better and she loved snuggling up to him.

"Oh, can we go to Natalie's?" The restaurant was close to her their shop, not too far from the palace. It was one where she loved to visit on special occasions, like birthdays and such, and she knew that Dorian loved seafood, the specialty at this place. It was always nice to go there, and the people that owned the place knew their family well. Anya looked to Glinda, understanding that she needed to convince the older woman in order to go.

"It's really nice. They have salmon fish sticks and fries and there are shells all over the walls and it's so much fun. Natalie's Mommie's friend and she's really nice. She always says she doesn't see us often enough." Her head was turned so she could look at Glinda rather than resting her head on Dorian's shoulder anymore, her eyes bright with excitement.

[Glinda Upland]

She noticed Dorian's softening and stored away that particular little personality anomaly for future reference. She wondered idly for a moment why he would soften the way he would. Honestly, Pumpkin pie? What kind of endearment was that? She didn't know, and maybe it wouldn't have seemed as odd coming from anyone else, but coming from Dorian, Pumpkin Pie seemed odd. Then again, coming from Dorian, this entire little interaction with Anya was odd. He clearly cared more about people and was capable of more emotion and feeling than he would ever admit to. It didn't particularly surprise her, honestly. People were generally predictable and in some strange way, this was a bit more predictable. She nodded at Anya's explanation. She had no opinion on any possible improvement since she had no previous works to have an opinion on, so rather than discount her previous compliment by giving an unfounded one, she remained silent.

The only sign she gave of something remotely approaching surprise when Dorian suggested that they go out to dinner was a blink, and that wasn't indicative of surprise, only of the need to clear her eyes of something, presumably dust. Other than that, nothing showed on her face. It was surprising, that was certain. She was shocked that he would even allow it, after all, it was strange that he would. Letting them be seen in public together in what certainly seemed to be a date, niece or not, seemed surprising for Dorian. After all, it could make both of them targets. Him a target for anyone trying to get to her (as if his being captain of the Gale Force didn't already paint a target on his back) and her a target for anyone gunning for him. She was willing to take the risk, but this was the first time he has seemed to be willing to take the risk. It was the first time they'd be seen in public together in anything like this capacity. They didn't even do anything like this in the palace, let alone in public. It was shocking, but in a pleasant way. She finally smiled at the thought, like sunshine filtering through the clouds. On the rare occasion she had a reason to smile that wasn't clouded with some terrible other circumstance that ruined her happiness, it shone like nothing else. It was the same smile that had always won people over. It hadn't been making appearances lately, but there it was, for a moment, before being replaced with the placid look she always had.

"Let's go then. I've never been to Natalie's, but it sounds lovely." she said calmly, nose wrinkling at Dorian referring to her as 'the Good Lady'. It was odd to be referred to as something so close to her title by Dorian. They had done away with their titles a long time ago, hadn't been 'Captain' or 'Your Goodness' respectively, since the first time they'd met and up until his appointment as captain. It wasn't uncomfortable, it was just.. odd, coming from him. "So let's go, then. With such a lovely recommendation, how can I say no?" she said pleasantly. She could be perfectly polite. She could be. Or, if she was set off, she wouldn't be. But this was a five year old girl and her uncle who she was in a relationship with. Or whatever this was, if it wasn't a relationship. She actually had no idea what to call it, so relationship was what she would call it for now.