Deirdre returns the gesture, grinning broadly. "I'll confess that I indulged once in an improbable bath. It was very much not worth the effort or expense. The only sane reason to bathe in wine or Brass or any other absurd thing is to flaunt one's success, and therein lies the trap: if I'm comfortable enough around someone to bathe in their presence, I've no need to flaunt anything."

"...Though the topic does bring to mind: how do you conceive of success in the matter of our plight? When do you hang up those fetching axes?"