knowledge is power

it is the ultimate weapon

[joy-mohanty]

They! (Joy) Want! (s) You! || Light Shadows

[joy-mohanty]

@shadowofwynter

"Not particularly. The best thing we can do is try our best to teach children better behavior while also teaching them the basics. But parents tend to have this 'you work for me' mentality. And school administration wants to keep parents happy." Joy explained.

"You just have to remember Jinkx Monsoon's motto-- water off a duck's back." It occurred to her that he didn't understand that last sentence. "Jinkx Monsoon is a famous drag queen. A drag queen is-- well, I'll show you later. And 'water off a duck's back' means like, you should let what they say to you metaphorically slide by you. Like water off a duck's back."

[shadowofwynter]

@joy-mohanty

Ah. Yes. Monetary value seemed to be a plague upon the human condition. It had come up constantly in the Jubilee's documentation of the human realm and, as Daehínen had experienced first hand now, they had not been exaggerating. In the slightest.

"Thank you for the clarification," he told her, sincere in his gratitude in that he had not had to ask her to do so. Which he would have done. "I am aware of of the term drag queen and the practice, though I have never seen it."

Again, Jubilee archives had informed him. They were the Court known for entertainment and storytelling, of course they had records on human performers of all kinds.

"How much farther are your quarters?"

[shadowofwynter]

Uninvited Dinner Guest || Red Shadow

[hauntingly-veronika]

Veronika couldn't help but bare her teeth at this stranger.

Did he think that she was unaware? Yes, she lacked control. She had struggled with control ever since she had become a vampire. It wasn't as easy of a fix as some people seemed to believe. Or maybe as this stranger seemed to think. That her base emotions were the only reason that it was like this.

"I am not the only vampire in this town," Veronika remarked coolly. Largely because others stayed at the inn and had the chance to be comfortable. She would never expose anyone, but that was a known fact in Swynlake.

"I know that I lack control. I have tried so many different ways to improve that control but nothing works. You can't possibly understand how hard it is to stop once I start. I try animal blood and that sates me for a while but it doesn't work long term."

@shadowofwynter

[shadowofwynter]

@hauntingly-veronika

Vampire. Ah. So that it what this creature was. Daehínen almost felt foolish for not recognizing this sooner. He had never encountered such a novelty before in the flesh, only ever having read about them in the Archives or hearing older elves speak about them. His head cocked to the side a touch, eyes observing them with this in mind.

It was remarkable how the creature did not appear to be dead despite being a corpse.

"No. I cannot understand your particular problems," he agreed. Nor would he want to suffer from such a fate. It seemed terrible. "But you are obtuse to think that you are the only one who suffers from similar ailments. I know that it is a hard and grueling task to have control of one's impulses and mind. It takes time. I am no master, I have much to learn and practice. I do it for myself, as well as those around me.

"If what I know of your kind to be true, you have much time to dedicate toward this problem. Are you honest in your desire to find control over yourself?" he inquired. Daehínen looked down at the human again. "Or do you think that their short lives should continue to be sacrificed for yours that has no set end?"

[whereforeart-thou-kovu]

The Harvard Variations & [Shadow Princes]

[whereforeart-thou-kovu]

Yeah, Kovu took the comment seriously. He'd been living with Dae for nearly a year now. And he knew that the elf pretty much always meant exactly what he said. These days, Kovu took it in stride. And, considering everything that had happened with Lottie, he appreciated it.

Even if, sometimes, he still forgot that Dae was gonna take everything he said literally in return.

Kovu could explain that saying "it was making his head hurt" was an idiom more than anything, but he didn't really feel like it. Besides, maybe he actually was getting a headache.

"We gotta look back through some Newcastle town plans. Looking for when the mines were first mentioned. I wanna establish that they've been there for a very long time, but--I don't actually know if they are. The Bluecap leaders said so but...that could be because it works for them."

@shadowofwynter

[shadowofwynter]

@whereforeart-thou-kovu

"They are beings capable of lying," he reported. It was not an agreement with Kovus' statement, just a fact that seemed relevant to the conversation. The company that was currently employing both himself and Kovus may have been hired by the Blucaps but, in Daehínen's opinion, that made it more important to understand. If they were unaware of information, or a lie, that the opposing side found and used against them, then they could not prepare properly.

"Would it be beneficial to search for other resources for evidence of the mines?" Daehínen asked. "Forgive my limited understanding of the economic systems, especially from this period in this realm's time, but would the mines not have been created by a dedicated company? And would that company not have records of when they conducted their business? Or maps of their tunnels? Or perhaps the source of news within the area might have made mention of the development?"

[joy-mohanty]

They! (Joy) Want! (s) You! || Light Shadows

[joy-mohanty]

@shadowofwynter

"You would think that, wouldn't you? But no. I dunno how it is in elf world, but in human world, people really like to think they're better than others. So that means exerting your power over people you think you can do so to. Parents can be nasty to teachers thinking they'll get their way." Joy explained. "Like if a student does poorly on an assignment and receives a bad mark, parents will come to the school and berate the teacher for doing their job, as if the teacher takes pleasure in giving a student a bad mark."

Joy sighed.

"Not me," she clarified. "Again, less about marks with the little ones and more about building foundations. Though I do have parents yelling at me for putting kids in time out for bad behavior. 'My son would never hit another child!' Well, ma'am, I physically saw it, what now?"

[shadowofwynter]

@joy-mohanty

Her incorrect descriptors of elf world and human world almost made a frown appear on his face. His expression did not shift but it was a near thing. Despite several the amount of times she had included humor into her speech, it did not register to him to recognize the pattern and that those may be apart of it. Instead, it merely added to the notion that humans perceived this with such narrow minded focus– and a narrow one at that.

And she continued to fuel this opinion with her explanation of the parents of the children under her care.

"It is regretful that you are treated in such a manner and that they are unwilling to find fault in their behavior," Daehínen said as they steadily climbed the stairs. "Is there nothing to be done for yourself and those in your position to amend these problems?"

[joy-mohanty]

They! (Joy) Want! (s) You! || Light Shadows

[joy-mohanty]

@shadowofwynter

"Yes, I'd say. We find teaching to be very important and rewarding. We have to, it isn't an easy job. Not so much because of the kids though." Joy explained. "The parents can be difficult especially as the kids get older, so I'm kind of lucky I get kids so young. Parents aren't as concerned about their kids being the best of the best for uni admissions."

[shadowofwynter]

@joy-mohanty

"Odd," Daehínen noted aloud. "Would it not be more effective to be supportive of those who are in charge of giving one's child their education? As well as looking after them for a significant amount of time during the day? To what end does mistreating them do for said concerns?"

Educators and caretakers were highly respected and looked after in the Onyx Court– they were the ones that laid the foundations within the younger elves, who ensured they would be prepared for their lives and who regarded them. Though it might not have looked like it from an outsider's perspective, family was important in Wynter. And it had never solely been defined by blood. (Unless, of course, that blood was tainted.)

[whereforeart-thou-kovu]

The Harvard Variations & [Shadow Princes]

[whereforeart-thou-kovu]

@shadowofwynter

"Helloo," Kovu said, appearing at Dae's cubical.

It was only a week or so since his roommate had started at InterPride, but Kovu was happy to have him there. Even if, sometimes, it felt like he was babysitting. Something that Kovu was not good at. It made him feel, just a little, sympathetic for Nuka.

"You wanna help me do some research? This bluecap situation is making my head hurt." He leaned his hip against the side of Dae's desk.

[outfit]

[shadowofwynter]

@whereforeart-thou-kovu

Daehínen did not startle at the sudden appearance of Kovus, not because he had been aware of his impending presence (even with the familiarity of it due to living together) since he had his mental shields so firmly in place it almost hurt. But it was a pain he was willing to sustain so that no human and their clumsiness would touch him. There had been far too many close calls– and it had only been a week.

"That is an unpleasant sensation," he said, and while he meant it in an empathetic manner since he was experiencing something similar (for different reasons), in his monotone tone and lack of expression it might have come across so apathetic that it was sarcastic. "My aid is yours to have. How might I be of best use to you?"

[shadowofwynter]

Uninvited Dinner Guest || Red Shadow

[hauntingly-veronika]

This man was unnerving.

More so than men were generally. There was something different about him that was alarming. The way he had no fear regarding her as well... that was simply not normal. And suggested he was powerful. Powerful enough to believe he could hold his own with a vampire.

"I... yes," she said after a hesitant moment. "It would be unfortunate." Veronika would have to flee town and not show her face again for a few decades. That would be inconvenient. Especially since her parents wanted her keeping an eye on the inn there as best as possible.

Her victim was on the ground and she stared at the other man wide eyed. "He shouldn't die now. I... may need to wipe his memory," Veronika admitted as she glanced down at him. "I..why does this keep happening?" She found herself mumbling to herself. Other vampires had much better control than she did at her age. Why was she like this?

She worried at her lip. "You won't say anything that you saw this...will you?"

@shadowofwynter

[shadowofwynter]

@hauntingly-veronika

Daehínen waited along side the silence and darkness of the forest as the creature came to their conclusion. It was the logical one. He commended them for having found their footing along the path, given the fierce weather they were storming within their own mind.

His head tilted a touch, curious at the almost casual nature in which they referred to interfering with the human's mind. That did not sit well with him, someone who had learned under the teachings that another's mind was a sacred space. Surely this creature did not possess the same magic as himself, the ability to reach into another's mind, otherwise they would have had a larger problem when he had touched their skin. It must have worked differently, whatever ability they had to manipulate memory.

Was he willing to sacrifice the sanctity of the human's mind for the sake of wanting to see how this magic worked?

Yes. The information would be valuable. And he had helped keep the human from being taken from this world. Perhaps an unpleasant memory of this encounter was better off forgotten.

"I will not. However, if in the future a human in this proximity goes missing and is found dead in the manner of which you were about to employ and the evidence does not blatantly suggest another, I will be forced to think of you," he informed them, point blank. "To answer your previous question– you lack control. You allow your base emotions and needs to command your actions. It would serve you, and the human population around you, to amend this."

[joy-mohanty]

They! (Joy) Want! (s) You! || Light Shadows

[joy-mohanty]

@shadowofwynter

You know that tiktok sound that's like 'I like your funny words, magic man?' yeah, that.

The elf sure had an odd way of speaking, and Joy's noticed this before, but wow that was an odd question. One she was of course going to answer.

"I do! Espeically kids as young as I teach. I get them at their most formative time, I'm responsible for their foundation. Doing poorly cans et them up for a lifetime of failure, so I take my job very seriously and fine it very worthwhile teaching kids the basics of phonics and problem-solving."

[shadowofwynter]

@joy-mohanty

He continued in the almost melodic rhythm up the stairs and around the bends of the landings, adjusting the height of his side of the sofa when it became relevant to do so in order to get it over the railing. Their footsteps echoed through the chamber, her voice the dominant noise as she answered.

Daehínen would have been satisfied with the first two words. He had not asked her why she found it fulfilling, just if she did or did not. She went into that detail anyway– and yet the more information she gave, the less he understood.

"Do you find that all humans in your job agree with those opinions?"

[shadowofwynter]

Two Roads Converged In A Green Wood || Sorrae

[silvertongued-mountain-lord]

Ren wouldn't have been happy about it, largely because their sibling felt the needling presence of any potential threat twice as sharp in that realm that afforded them so much ease and safety otherwise. The mortal realm was not made for the Unseelie but, aside from the bite of iron and the judgement of some, it was not nearly as dangerous to navigate as Elfhame.

And the excess was practically unbelievable; Sorrel knew it was a false sense of security but it was hard to imagine a world that had so much and an answer to nearly every desire as close as a tap on one of the mortal's devices could be all that frightening.

And he was more optimistic, perhaps than his sibling; a luxury afforded to someone who didn't have to lead an entire kingdom. And that wasn't something he planned to disclose; being High Fey might have carried the mark of royal blood but the stranger didn't need to know just what sort of title he held in Elfhame.

Sorrel was attempting to approach with an open view; he'd met other elves in town who had proven to be anything that the dangerous, vicious beings the Unseelie told tales that they were.

"This is where I stay, for the time being," Sorrel took the smaller risk, the truth, and in part because he wanted it known he had been there before the stranger. "The town, not the woods themselves."

Did the other elves know? Maybe he needed to ask Luca or Riley, although....were either of them familiar enough with the Wynter elves?

It was ironic that the one before him was only a few steps higher and a few opinions more favorable among most of the elven courts than his own kind.

"This forest is quite a long way from Arcadia; did you lose direction?" He didn't want it to sound like an accusation, but what if they were lost? It wasn't impossible and didn't that hold repercussions? He felt a twinge of sympathy there.

@shadowofwynter

[shadowofwynter]

@silvertongued-mountain-lord

What was this town that it was the host of elves and fae alike?

Like all questions, the answer to this one only made space for more in its absence. Did Nick Wilde know? Did this Unseelie know of Nick Wilde in turn? How many others of either of their kind were there in just this town alone? Daehínen knew that it was not unheard of that they would cross realms– but to stay there?

He decided he would not pass judgement upon this being, as he did for the Jubilee elf. While the elf seemed to have made a home here Daehínen did not know why the Unseelie had decided to remain in the Mortal realm rather than returning back to their own. Much like himself, they could have been sent here on some sort of mission for their Court, or a number of other reasons that he cared not to come up with, through either logical reasoning or his unfavorable trait of imagining such things.

It would make sense that the Unseelie would seek the same information as to why he was here as well. Daehínen could not tell them the whole of the truth. The situation needed to remain within the Onyx Court's narrative, and he had no intention of spreading it as far as the reaches of Elfhame.

"My presence in this realm was not by accident," he informed them. "I have purpose. I have been sent to retrieve something from this realm that has been wrongfully taken from Arcadia and does not belong here. The Mortals will only ruin themselves should it remain here for long."

Daehínen paused, assessing.

"Would you be willing to share if you have come across anything with origins from Arcadia?"

[joy-mohanty]

They! (Joy) Want! (s) You! || Light Shadows

[joy-mohanty]

@shadowofwynter

Joy almost said 'oh what, you'd have to kill me?' but knowing him he'd say 'yes' and she wasn't too sure how she felt about that. So she left that there and smiled at him.

"Of course! I'm an open book, ask anything." She said.

[shadowofwynter]

@joy-mohanty

Daehínen's eyes narrowed a touch because she was clearly a human, not a book. They had very strange description phrases. If that one was meant to convey that she was willing to divulge information, referring to one's self as an open book hardly seemed accurate. Reading took time and effort in order to gain information from it.

"Do you find educating children a fulfilling use of your labor?" he asked, seeking insight into human's educational system and those providing it.

[joy-mohanty]

They! (Joy) Want! (s) You! || Light Shadows

[joy-mohanty]

@shadowofwynter

Ah, Joy sensed she made a boo-boo, and assumed it was because of, like her fairy friends told her, elves has a superiority complex about fairies. So like, how dare Joy compare him to a mere fairy.

Okay, so don't do that again.

She gave a little shimmy of her shoulders and stretched her arms.

"Right, I think I'm good for the next round." Then, she asked, "So what's got you in Swynlake? You're obviously from the elf realm."

[shadowofwynter]

@joy-mohanty

Daehínen picked up his end once more, ready to resume the careful climb up the stairs.

Obviously. As if he had not had to inform her of this upon their first meeting when she had made the assumption of what he was based purely upon physical traits. A very human thing to do, was it not? He very much doubted if he had been fully truthful to his genetic make up that she would be able to comprehend it.

"I can not tell you that," he said. "Would you permit me to ask about yourself now?"

[shadowofwynter]

Uninvited Dinner Guest || Red Shadow

[hauntingly-veronika]

She didn't feel like she could.

The bloodlust overpowered her senses so often...the need was almost painful. Veronika didn't know how other vampires handled it so much better. She had always been weak to it. Devastatingly so.

"Take action... you would take action?" She glanced him up and down skeptically. He didn't look especially impressive... but Veronika was well aware the looks could be deceiving. Her grip on the man loosened, and his body dropped closer to the ground.

She chose to gently lower him to the ground instead. She would have to compel him to forget seeing her in a moment. But for now...there was a bigger danger to her. And it was this strangely relaxed figure. "Why... why must you interfere?" Veronika should be grateful. And a part of her really was, but the other part of her felt defensive. Felt that she would be judged.

She likely should be judged for her actions.

@shadowofwynter

[shadowofwynter]

@hauntingly-veronika

She would have been correct in her assessment– he was hardly a threat to anyone. Physically, anyway. What he had in terms of genes from his parents (elvish strength and reflexes, and an assortment from the other branch that even Daehínen was not aware of), he lacked in any sort of combat training save for the basics. He was an Archivist, hardly someone who was well prepared for any sort of fighting of skill.

And while he may have had the advantage on a psychic level, to enter another's mind without consent was considered a great crime that he did not think he would be able to commit– but to save a life. If necessary. Even if the thought of entering one so disordered would be near torture.

Overall it was what one would call a bluff. In order to not reveal this, he did not answer the initial question and let the silence bring its own conclusion.

It seemed the creature, their state, was willing to believe it.

His dark eyes did not waver as the human was released, still staring with the deep intensity he regarded all things with. The hand left her wrist, relief filling the space where her mind had touched.

"I suspect you know the answer to that already," Daehínen said, but went on to explain anyway. "It would be unfortunate if this human died." A beat, he tilted his head just so. "For both the human and yourself."

[joy-mohanty]

They! (Joy) Want! (s) You! || Light Shadows

[joy-mohanty]

@shadowofwynter

"Oh! Kind of like fairies and their different talents." That made sense then.

It only made her more curious but Joy didn't want him to feel like she was gawking at a zoo animal so she didn't indulge. Instead, they came to the next landing and Joy, having correctly guesstimated her strength, looked at him and smiled sheepishly.

"Okay, quick break, I was right, I think good for two flights at a time." Better than he was anticipating probably, so she'd take the win!

[shadowofwynter]

@joy-mohanty

"No, not at all," he informed her. Not in a way that was unkind– at least not to him, but the lack of emotion in his voice might have made it seem cold. That was what tended to get his sub-section of Wynter elves the branding that they were much frostier than the others.

Daehínen did not elaborate. While he was a fountain of information and thought it should be shared, he also knew the importance of when to keep things. Humans did not need inside information to the realm of Arcadia, nor those that resided there. He did not see this human being one that might use any information for hostile or brutish intentions, but she spoke a lot and seemingly without thought behind most of the things that came from her mouth. If she shared with a human who did have ill intentions, it would have started from him.

He nodded and waited until she had set down her end of the furniture before leaning to do the same. Not because he needed to, but because he wondered for the integrity of the materials if they were positioned in a way that had not been intended in their design for prolonged periods of time.

[shadowofwynter]

Two Roads Converged In A Green Wood || Sorrae

[silvertongued-mountain-lord]

"My Court doesn't have any standing here directly," Sorrel replied, stopping short of saying that neither did the stranger's because that was bound to be taken as something closer to a threat, or arrogance. It was strange to hear those words there in the mortal realm where no Court of Elfhame or Arcadia had any claim at all, but stranger to consider it with an elf and their obvious disdain towards mortals and their unpredictability.

And the words were only partially true perhaps, because Ren was there and a representative of that Court directly, as was he, but those titles had no proper place among mortals. Pointing that out though felt too risky.

Was the formality a comfort to grip? He wondered, but it could have just as easily been someone new enough they simply didn't understand how separated the realms were. Less likely with the Unseelie but the elves didn't get out of Arcadia often, he thought.

Maybe not as true as he assumed with all the elves actually in town.

"Here speaking means an exchange," Sorrel continued; it was a long shot attempt to save himself navigating having to clarify every detail, yes, but it might have worked. "Outside the Courts you represent yourself and your words only carry that weight, but as a visitor here the way they're offered only holds the constraints of this realm."

@shadowofwynter

[shadowofwynter]

@silvertongued-mountain-lord

Daehínen sat with this response for a long moment, the ambient sounds of the forest filling the gaps between. It was cooler here, hidden away from the direct sunlight underneath the canopy of the blooming trees, but he was still gravely uncomfortable at such a temperature. And his clothes, which had been made with the harsh climate in mind, did nothing to help– even when he had scaled back on the layers.

"Thank you for clarifying. I find that I agree with your assessment and will abide by it, so long as you do as well," he said. It was not a promise by any means, but so long as the Unseelie saw this conversation as nothing larger than words exchanged between the two of them, then so would he.

"May I inquire as to what you are doing in this realm?" Daehínen asked. "You need not give exact details but if you are willing to divulge farther than your previous statement regarding these woods being a place to calm your mind. Unless that is your reason for entering this realm entirely?"

[shadowofwynter]

Uninvited Dinner Guest || Red Shadow

[hauntingly-veronika]

Let the human go...

right. She was still gripping onto the man that she had chosen to feed on. Well... chosen was a bit relative. Veronika had gotten too hungry to really choose what she should have. She should have found an animal like she usually tried to do. But she had failed.

And now she was holding onto this dazed human and staring down this other person. "I...I can't," Veronika said shakily. And it wasn't simply because of her bloodlust. She couldn't let the man remember this moment. She needed to... even if she was to let him go... she needed to make him forget.

Veronika flinched as the stranger got a hold of her wrist. Her teeth bared even more at him doing so. "Unhand me. I won't...I..." she faltered. Was she really that close to killing another? She hadn't thought so. Yet when she leaned in and scented the air a bit... it did seem like she had already taken a great deal of blood.

"I don't want to," she agreed weakly. "But I can't...I'm so hungry," Veronika confessed in a whisper. "It never ends. I always... I need more."

@shadowofwynter

[shadowofwynter]

@hauntingly-veronika

Daehínen wanted to let go. He probably wanted that more than the other did, but given the thoughts and emotions hammering into his mental walls at present, it would lessen the chance of the human's survival. He did not know this human in particular and it would not matter to him whether they lived or died.

In truth, he found himself relating to the one who spoke, rather than the one who lay in a pile of vulnerable flesh and bone.

While he had been taught discipline, the magic that granted him that much control over his own mind was the very reason for its necessity. Without it, he would have been much the same as the creature before him– always seeking another's mind to touch, to communicate, to consume. It was in their nature to want more information and to have the ability to gain insight into another's mind was the ultimate grant. To connect on such a level with another living being was to be closer than any primary written or spoken resource.

But it was a violation to enter another's mind without their consent– on par with the assault of the physical body, though (in his and the Kroyzan elves' opinion) more so since most beings did not prepare themselves with the ability to protect themselves from a psychic attack and were left utterly vulnerable. They were taught the control of one's own mind before they were taught how to enter another's.

Teachings that this being could benefit from.

"You can," he argued. "You are capable of more than your hunger at present. If you wish to continue to be, let the human go. If not, then it is all you will become– and I will have to take action against you."

[joy-mohanty]

They! (Joy) Want! (s) You! || Light Shadows

[joy-mohanty]

@shadowofwynter

"I think I'm good until at least the next flight of stairs," Joy said. "Thanks to your crazy strength. Is that an elf thing? If that's offensive to ask you can tell me off."

She was just curious! Seriously, he was carrying this like the only reason he needed her held was because it was too big and bulky, not heavy.

[shadowofwynter]

@joy-mohanty

He acknowledged her assessment with a curt nod.

It seemed the likelihood that they would have continued their task in peaceful silence was very low.

"I do not find it offensive," Daehínen reported. Which was good, both for the obvious reason and because he did not understand what tell me off referred to. By context clues, he assumed the human meant that she was giving him permission to reject answering. "Your question is complicated. A simplistic answer would be to say that much like any species, not all elves are the same."

[shadowofwynter]

Uninvited Dinner Guest || Red Shadow

[hauntingly-veronika]

Alarm bells were ringing in her ears in that moment.

How was anyone around for this? Veronika was generally very good at keeping herself unnoticed and finding something to feast on with nothing else nearby. Granted she hadn't anticipated her ache for human blood to get so bad that she'd accost this late evening jogger but... here she was.

Veronika was still gripping onto the man's arms, her teeth no longer in his neck, but she was still leaning toward it, wanting to lick the pooling blood off. But she was being watched. She was watched and now someone knew she was out of control. Panic spiked, and she bared her fangs at the stranger.

"What do you... what is it you want?" Veronika tried to seem steady, but her voice shook a bit, still too disturbed by the fact she hadn't even heard this stranger until he was almost upon them.

@shadowofwynter

[shadowofwynter]

@hauntingly-veronika

The elf did not flinch when the creature showed their evolutionary equipped weapons. He did not anticipate that they would detach themself from the human in favor of attacking. Otherwise, they would have already done so, as soon as he had made his presence known and his location within the dark obvious.

Instead, he filed the sight of them away within his mind.

The question posed was a very good one. There were a great deal of answers to it. There were many things that he wanted.

Given the context, Daehínen doubted that she was referring to anything but the situation at hand. It would be irrational to think she was inquiring after his personal desires or requirements.

"For you to let the human go," he replied, plain and simple. And then he moved, quick and efficient despite the turbulent ground of the woods, until he was stood over the pair.

It was not smart for someone with his magic to touch anyone, especially without the consent of the other party and who was a threat. He acknowledged this. He did it anyway, having full faith in his mental shields to keep everything out.

Daehínen had not anticipated how visceral and powerful the creature's present emotions were– their mind was chaos at present. (Most beings' minds were in comparison to his.) It was as if his own had brushed against a live wire. But he took hold of the creature's wrist. He did not pull it or do anything but make his own strength known. (His mind continued to keep up the walls that protected it from the deluge of surface thoughts and emotions emanating from the other.)

"You will kill him...but you do not want to," he concluded. "His death is avoidable."