He hadn't expected the answer to be any different, but it still gave him no joy to hear it. If Ascended speed could have solved the mystery of the shifting trees he would have gladly begged the blond for help on the morrow, and asked Deimos to shift their attempt to a nighttime rescue.
But if the Ascended could not breach the forest, a nighttime incursion would only blind every non-Ascended who came along. Some members of their mission would be faster and stronger, yes, but at the expense of every Accepted and Abandoned who joined them - and most of the Attuned. And if the non-Ascended couldn't keep up, then it would only cause another disaster with the group splitting up and getting picked off one-by-one.
He caught Lucas's stare in the midst of these thoughts and he tilted his head in silent acknowledgment that the other man recognized he was being evasive. It didn't make his curiosity about Lucas's seemingly miraculous escape from the flames less sincere, however, and he peered with interest at the triple shadow the Ascended cast. "Ahhh, you were able to wrap them around you for protection against the fire, then. Is that a power you brought with you when you arrived? Hmmm... I wonder... could you use your own shadow to protect you from sunlight during the day?" he asked, mentally flipping through possibilities. It seemed an extremely useful sort of ability, depending on its limits. "How far can they stretch from you?"
But if the Ascended could not breach the forest, a nighttime incursion would only blind every non-Ascended who came along. Some members of their mission would be faster and stronger, yes, but at the expense of every Accepted and Abandoned who joined them - and most of the Attuned. And if the non-Ascended couldn't keep up, then it would only cause another disaster with the group splitting up and getting picked off one-by-one.
He caught Lucas's stare in the midst of these thoughts and he tilted his head in silent acknowledgment that the other man recognized he was being evasive. It didn't make his curiosity about Lucas's seemingly miraculous escape from the flames less sincere, however, and he peered with interest at the triple shadow the Ascended cast. "Ahhh, you were able to wrap them around you for protection against the fire, then. Is that a power you brought with you when you arrived? Hmmm... I wonder... could you use your own shadow to protect you from sunlight during the day?" he asked, mentally flipping through possibilities. It seemed an extremely useful sort of ability, depending on its limits. "How far can they stretch from you?"
