The girl gave a small shrug, still not glancing up from her menu. "I suppose people just prefer different things," she mused aloud. "Not everyone wants to live in a place as alive as this. Before my dad died, I had no reason, no desire, to leave Alerar." Finally, she let her gaze lift to Vincent's face, an expression of good humor on her own. "Now look at me, allowing you to drag me to all corners of Althanas."

"There was curiosity and concern when he asked, "are you complaining?"

When Rayleigh shook her head, her tangle of long brown hair fell across her shoulder, and nearly dislodged the red flower from its place behind her ear. "Hardly," she assured him, her hand reaching out to give his a gentle pat. "I wanted adventure, and that is what you've given me. What you're giving me now." She pulled herself away then, settling deeper into the chair with a heavy sigh of content. The sun warmed her, and the breeze smelled faintly of barbecue as it unsettled the flowers in the table's centerpiece. The beauty that surrounded her made it difficult to muster even a shred of annoyance at the reoccurring marriage quips. "In the spirt of adventure," she announced, "I will try your tacos. I will try them here, and when we get back to the House of Cards, you can make them for me again. I'll judge whose is better."

Vincent cocked an eyebrow, mostly in an attempt to hide his own pleasure at the thought. "You're assuming I'll cook for you whenever you want? What do you think I am now, your personal chef?"

"Fine," she shot back with an easy smile. "I'll cook for you then."

Vivid memories of shouts, screams, and smoke belching out of an oven returned to him, and he shuddered. Her previous attempt at pepperoni pizza had nearly smoked the entire Tarot Hierarchy from their underground home. "Y'know," he began, "that's alright. I'll do the cooking." Her grin of success was all the response he needed.

The pair passed a moment in companionable silence, both watching the band that played nearby. Rayleigh was delighted by the unique sounds, while Vincent remained more than a little put-off by how cliched it all was.

It was Ray who spoke first. "You know," she began, "your real home isn't Raiaera. It's Earth, isn't it?"

Vincent considered this for a moment, shrugged, then nodded. "I guess so. Or it used to be."

"And wasn't Earth pretty alive?" She closed her menu, but her fingers absent-mindedly traced the smooth edges. "At least, I imagine it was, based on everything you've told me."