He had more than half-expected violence. Had envisioned one of those massive hands reaching out and closing around this throat. He might have welcomed it, the pain a way to assuage his guilt, but it was a self-destructive, selfish thought. He couldn't abandon his friends any more than he already had, and he couldn't help them with a broken neck. It would create more problems if he allowed it to happen, anger between those who cared for him and the man who merely wanted his friends back, too. And so he shoved the intrusive thoughts away and focused on Deimos's questions, short and sharp and cutting through to the heart of the matter.
"She was the first one they took," he admitted, lips thin with self-recrimination. "I found a trail, and claw marks on the ground that weren't hers. Parts of a disguise - feathers made to look like leaves. Broken twigs. but didn't have time to follow it. Getting back to it will be difficult because of how the forest works. If what Ianto said can be trusted..." He trailed off, nose trying to wrinkle into a snarl that he forced down. "The forest has a mind of its own, like the Labyrinth. It moves itself to confuse and mislead. If you want to go somewhere it pushes you out again. We couldn't follow scent trails or marks on trees. And whatever took her... she should have been able to cry out a warning, but she didn't. There was no blood, though, no sign of a fight. She was just... gone." The word fell like lead from his lips and he didn't seem to realize that his fingers had curled into fists at the memory.
He shook his head at the most important question, looking up to meet Deimos's dark gaze bleakly. "I don't know. We never saw them. Amalia was gone, I sent Kiada to reach safety on her wings, and then Ianto called out that it was an ambush and took off. I told Caiside to stay with him but..." He bit back a growl of helplessness. "He wasn't acting right. Something had gotten into his head. He took off in a different direction and I was right with him and we crashed through a bush and I came out the other side... and he didn't." Tense shoulders slumped as the bard looked away, his eyes finding the notice board and his previous note asking for Attuned assistance. He swallowed hard.
"My strength was stolen from me when I came here," he said softly. "I know I'm not strong enough to save them alone. I wasn't strong enough yesterday. But Rory is with me. And now you. There are others... but most of all, I want answers from that damn fox," he growled, eyes narrowing as he looked back to Deimos fiercely. "He mentioned something about 'Fae' owning the woods. I think I remember something... from Safrin's book..." he trailed off, gaze turning thoughtful for the first time as a flicker of inspiration broke through his cold anger.
"She was the first one they took," he admitted, lips thin with self-recrimination. "I found a trail, and claw marks on the ground that weren't hers. Parts of a disguise - feathers made to look like leaves. Broken twigs. but didn't have time to follow it. Getting back to it will be difficult because of how the forest works. If what Ianto said can be trusted..." He trailed off, nose trying to wrinkle into a snarl that he forced down. "The forest has a mind of its own, like the Labyrinth. It moves itself to confuse and mislead. If you want to go somewhere it pushes you out again. We couldn't follow scent trails or marks on trees. And whatever took her... she should have been able to cry out a warning, but she didn't. There was no blood, though, no sign of a fight. She was just... gone." The word fell like lead from his lips and he didn't seem to realize that his fingers had curled into fists at the memory.
He shook his head at the most important question, looking up to meet Deimos's dark gaze bleakly. "I don't know. We never saw them. Amalia was gone, I sent Kiada to reach safety on her wings, and then Ianto called out that it was an ambush and took off. I told Caiside to stay with him but..." He bit back a growl of helplessness. "He wasn't acting right. Something had gotten into his head. He took off in a different direction and I was right with him and we crashed through a bush and I came out the other side... and he didn't." Tense shoulders slumped as the bard looked away, his eyes finding the notice board and his previous note asking for Attuned assistance. He swallowed hard.
"My strength was stolen from me when I came here," he said softly. "I know I'm not strong enough to save them alone. I wasn't strong enough yesterday. But Rory is with me. And now you. There are others... but most of all, I want answers from that damn fox," he growled, eyes narrowing as he looked back to Deimos fiercely. "He mentioned something about 'Fae' owning the woods. I think I remember something... from Safrin's book..." he trailed off, gaze turning thoughtful for the first time as a flicker of inspiration broke through his cold anger.
