itâs not exactly the sharpest of responses, really, but a returning snipe is more than grown men have mustered when faced with even a reflection of her true nature.
she canât help but laugh â a giggle from between slightly-splayed fingers as she covers her smile with one hand.
her eyes travel, then, from his face to his âswordâ, and she extends her talons to display their full majesty â too-long for human hands, spindly, sharp as any blade. it is both a threat and prideful preening, on her part, but her expression remains playful, amused.
â but youâre not running, are you? ah, i do love the type that stands their ground. â
she examines him with a disdainful sort of curiosity, noting that, in all likelihood, he has been disarmed by their hosts just as she has â but she is malleable enough to be her own weapon, beholden to no âharmlessâ replacement.Â
they trade a fleeting, limited life for depths of emotion she can only want for herself. stalking, killing, wanting, always wanting.
â and maybe this boy will prove a fun distraction.Â
she could twine his courage around her fingers and rip it away to reveal an underlying helplessness that makes itself known when they realize escape is hopeless, or test the boundaries of his determination until he broke and fled â then, and only then, would she give chase.
decisions, decisions.
all to be made as she sweetly smiles, and says,
â donât worry. i have no plans to eat you, if thatâs what youâre worried about. even if i was the type, youâd hardly be a meal. â
when youâve been hunted by monsters, demons, and everything in-between for as long as nico has, you get pretty tired of their selfish pride real fast. and nothing about this thing-- whatever it is-- is helping, if not making it worse. he already has a terrible enough opinion about monsters as it is, so when one waltzes up and gets a kick out of him being wary like an intelligent person-- itâs a bit annoying.
because heâs not scared. at the end of the day, nicoâs never lost in a battle of wits in combat, no matter how outnumbered or disadvantaged he might be. his wooden sword might be useless, but thatâs not the only skill at his disposal. and the fact that this demon doesnât recognize that is already to his advantage.
âgood. you wouldâve been screwed if you tried, and didnât have a backup plan on how to spend your night.â
maybe itâs not the smartest to provoke the demon slightly, but showing anything that could even be mistaken as fear would be worse. nico unsheathes his wooden sword, holding it at his side-- even if itâs much use for cutting, it still has a good weight to it, and he can use it to stun it if he has to, either through blunt force or throwing it somewhere critical. and the shadows still answer nicoâs call, albeit far more muted than before. he isnât in danger.
âi recommend you find someone else to toy with, monster. iâm not here to play your games.â
wooden or not, nico is still one hell of a swordsman, and no amount of handicaps imposed by their kidnappers will stop him from doing what needs to be done.