Unwitting exchange of gifts.

Steve still held his phone and the wine under one arm. The Duchess, hands clasped before her all this time, proferred them, opening up to reveal a brightly burning stone that appeared to be a piece of coal. Steve flinched from the flames, but as he did so the stone's shape shifted, twisting wonderfully into the form of a fiery bird. The creature leapt from its keepers hands and flew to Steve's shoulder, causing him to flail his arms trying to fend the flames away. As he panicked, the wine bottles fell and the phone flew from his grip. The bird was undeterred, and landed condifently on his shoulder, gripping painfully with its talons but, astonishingly, not burning hot at all. It radiated intense warmth, but the flames appeared to be harmless.

"My gift to you, in the diplomatic custom, is this phoenix hatchling. Her rebirth cycle has just ended with the fullness of the Moon and it seemed a fortunate omen that these events coincided with my mission to meet you. Her name is Ozana and her bloodline has brought much prosperity and protection to my people."

Steve, completely overwhelmed, flicked his eyes between the the Duchess and her phoenix. He had understandably been so distracted by the flight of the astonishing bird that he'd not noticed the elf deftly catching the items that had fallen from his posession when he panicked.

"I accept these gifts from you, Steve Richards, in the spirit of hospitality and mutual accord. I am much looking forward to sampling the wine of your people, but I must confess I am mystified at the purpose of this other object you have gifted to me." Steve tore his eyes from the phoenix on his shoulder, which had begun to trill a strange low note as it shook its wings about. As he glanced at the Duchess, he noticed she held the wine bottles easily couched in the crook of her arm, while gingerly examining the phone he had dropped in her other hand. She had found the lock button and woken the screen, and was curiously looking at his lock screen background upside-down. "It is a most captivating image of you and a most comely human woman - such delicacy and detail! But it is the wrong way round... why is that?"

"You've got my phone," Steve stammered.

"A 'phone,' you call it. Interesting. Does your people keep icons of themselves like this as a matter of custom? It is so lifelike!"

"No... it. Um. That's just the background. It's a phone - you know, for calling people? And, like... for the internet... and things." Steve's halting sentence petered out rapidly, as he noticed the elf's confusion growing with every word.

"I have heard some rumours of this 'internet.' One of my tribe's previous emissaries disappeared for a time and returned with some rather... outlandish stories. She had become rather 'involved' with an extremely lewd society encountered, as she put it, 'on the human internet.' It is a tool for communicating, is it not?"

"I guess... you would say that, yes." Steve was feeling hopelessly out of his depth.

Fortunately for Steve, he at last heard Jan's voice from upstairs. "Steve, honey, who was that at the door? I'm ready to go now."