Of all the things the rabbit could have done, turning to face him wasn't a possibility in the blighted bard's mind. He looked his friend over incredulously as Sam stopped and put his metaphorical foot down. It would have been hilariously ineffective except that the shock of it widened blue eyes and for a moment Jigano stood speechless on the steps above the bookmaker, looking down on him (in every sense of the word).
Nor did Sam waste that moment, speaking his mind firmly and without much hesitation in one of the first displays of truly serious self-confidence under pressure that Jigano had seen from his friend. If it had been a different time, he would have been bursting with pride at the way the redhead was standing up for himself...
But if it had been a different time, Sam wouldn't have needed to stand up to Jigano.
It was an irony that was lost on the blight-addled bard, but not so far that he couldn't react as the bookish young man uttered his ultimatum. A harsh back of laughter passed his lips and he dropped the lantern he had been carrying. Instead he grabbed one of the needles he'd been trying to adapt into a lockpick, holding out his hand to Sam and jabbing it into the meat of his palm. With his shaking hands and the way the tip had been dulled during his earlier efforts, the puncture was far from clean. He snarled at the pain, pulling the bent tip free and letting the blood well up. The lantern's magical light continued to burn steadily, the only shadows caused by Jigano's own trembling as the red blood from the small cut ran over his hand, revealing the thick black tar streaking through it.
"My friend wouldn't have helped the Voice spread her Blight all over the Greatwood," he shot back, fury in his eyes as his blue gaze grew dark with more than just anger. A visible blackness seemed to crawl at the edges of his eyes, exacerbated by his rage. "You did this, Sam. And you can damn well live with the consequences!"
Nor did Sam waste that moment, speaking his mind firmly and without much hesitation in one of the first displays of truly serious self-confidence under pressure that Jigano had seen from his friend. If it had been a different time, he would have been bursting with pride at the way the redhead was standing up for himself...
But if it had been a different time, Sam wouldn't have needed to stand up to Jigano.
It was an irony that was lost on the blight-addled bard, but not so far that he couldn't react as the bookish young man uttered his ultimatum. A harsh back of laughter passed his lips and he dropped the lantern he had been carrying. Instead he grabbed one of the needles he'd been trying to adapt into a lockpick, holding out his hand to Sam and jabbing it into the meat of his palm. With his shaking hands and the way the tip had been dulled during his earlier efforts, the puncture was far from clean. He snarled at the pain, pulling the bent tip free and letting the blood well up. The lantern's magical light continued to burn steadily, the only shadows caused by Jigano's own trembling as the red blood from the small cut ran over his hand, revealing the thick black tar streaking through it.
"My friend wouldn't have helped the Voice spread her Blight all over the Greatwood," he shot back, fury in his eyes as his blue gaze grew dark with more than just anger. A visible blackness seemed to crawl at the edges of his eyes, exacerbated by his rage. "You did this, Sam. And you can damn well live with the consequences!"
