"I am well aware how alcohol works, love. We had that in Ivalice." But he's chuckling. And of course he'll follow subtlety. This is a man who deals in secrets and small tells. And who grew up having to navigate a minefield of emotional risks.

"I may have told Loki I was going to steal something from him at his housewarming, after which he may have threatened me, and I'm not sure how likely it is he'll try to return the gesture in some way." His bemused smile says there's no malice or hard feelings, but, well, he likes his house. And his things. And Loki has much more powerful magic than Balthier does. That may have been the majority of the motivation for Stephen's spell on the house.

He'll poke a sleeping couerl but he isn't going to invite it into his ship.