"You're not kidding-- half the time, I wasn't sure if you were still breathing." Saga grinned ruefully, a little wary about making too many jokes around Alabaster. It wasn't that she didn't think he had no sense of humor, but there was an air about him that made her want to tread carefully at times. Not for her sake, but for his.

"But I can certainly manage six," she went on briskly, and snagged a few more slices of bread. "In retrospect, I can say I'm glad I got used to male eating habits a long time ago."