Nausy winced as she realized she'd misstepped again. She used to be good at this, the whole dealing with people; it was one of the things that actually made her a capable queen, in contrast to Arzei's more militaristic demeanor.

But she meant well. Shiraz had become some sort of a sister to her. She wondered, perhaps, if it was because the feline, in a way, reminded her of Fia - the littlest in the family who needed caring, the young girl who fought for the attention of the men Nausy had won over (their father and brother included) and who struggled to get away from the shadow the redhead had unintentionally cast over her...

"Sorry. It's just... the best word I could come up with, to describe how I feel about you." She smiled sheepishly.