Unquestioned Answers

Loren not afraid to use every trick in the book Maybe Loren hadn’t hurt her—the fire in the Atheneum certainly counted as an affront, at least in his mind—but he’d hurt others close to her, which was still bad. However, the second part of his statement garners much more of a response from her. Apparently she’d had bad experiences with the Launceleyns. The summoner bit back his initial, instinctive response to deny that he was anything like the rest of his kin. The truth of the matter was that he wasn’t so sure about that, and he was afraid there were more similarities than he cared to admit. So he stared at her with haunted eyes as he carefully considered the question. ”I want to believe that I am not like them, that I am better somehow. But I have hurt people, even if it was unintentional, and even if I did not use magic or force. And I was raised by them, whether I want to accept it or not.” He took a deep shuddering breath, then met the woman’s eyes. ”I do not think I am like them. But if I ever begin to show signs of the darkness of my bloodline, I would want someone to do something about it. To take me out before it is too late” Perhaps his callous disregard for his own life might shock her, but he’d spent too long in his family’s twisted games not to worry that he might one day become like them. It would be naive to believe otherwise. It seemed that maybe the woman was thinking along similar lines, if the predatory look in her eyes and the hard edge to her words was anything to go by. If she chose to strike him down for the sins of his family, or to prevent another Launceleyn from carrying tragedy in their wake, he wouldn’t stop her. He’d even applaud her efforts, having missed Zariah’s reign of terror, and yet knowing instinctively that it must’ve awful. After all, she’d terrorized her family often enough. Then the moment passed, hopefully without further incident, and the woman voiced how she really felt about the manor. Loren sighed, spirits deflating even lower, although he was shocked that was even possible. ”Yeah, I’m starting to think everyone might feel that way.” His free hand came up to run through his still disheveled hair, as he pondered whether to focus on making another location more suitable and acceptable ready for the coming darkness. Then she starts asking him pointed questions and he blinks, startled back to the present. He still wasn’t used to the fact that—likely due to the fact that there didn’t seem to be any other summoners in the Hollowed Grounds—no one seemed to know how his magic worked. Still, even he wasn’t fully certain. ”I can summon any real animal, and if they’re small enough I can summon more than one. I can summon one mythical animal at a time. I haven’t tried to summon a Spark Bird yet, or any real animal that possesses magical qualities, but I’m planning to try soon. The only limitations are that I need a clear description of the animal, and that it will only last as long as I can maintain the spell. Then I need to rest.” The more he spoke, the more Loren realized just how large those drawbacks were. He had to believe they were better than nothing, however. Yet again, Loren hit a dead end: even this woman, who’d been more accepting and forthcoming and honest than most wouldn’t tell him about the blight. It seemed that she knew more than she was letting on, if her mention of getting more knowledge and the gods was anything to go off of. Still, he’d learned the folly of pressing people for information. It usually caused them to clam up, and even the tidbits she’d reveal would be better than nothing. ”I see. I don’t know much about the gods, and I know they don’t like me or my kind that much, but...please." There was more than a hint of desperation in his voice. "If there’s anything you think I might be able to do, any way I could prove useful, please come find me.”  If his friends, if anyone succumbed to the blight because he couldn’t reestablish the trust he’d broken, Loren didn’t know if he could live with himself. Sighing again, Loren wondered how much he should admit. Then he realized that the more open he was, the more likely he was to actual;y get the information I need. ”Pretty much nothing. I only know what people said at the meeting, which was...sparse on details. So whatever you might be able to tell me would be appreciated.” He felt like an idiot, admitting such ignorance, but better that than he get someone killed. ”I don’t know the Fae so I imagine that warning would be best coming from someone else.” Yet another development that he needed to somehow get himself caught up on. She gave her name, and he smiled at her briefly, though it didn't reach his eyes. "It's nice to meet you, Amalia." Then he extended his hand once more. Hopefully she'd take it this time, but if not he'd understand.