Arialla hadn't spotted Adam sitting behind his rock, even though she kept closer track of the people around her now than she once had, so his sudden appearance startled her, badly. She jumped back, moving several paces away; at once her hands were shifted into eagle's claws. Only the knowledge that takeoff would require a few awkward seconds that she couldn't afford in an attack kept her from flying away.
Then Adam's words trickled through to her brain -- and the nausea caused by Mildew's doll reached her stomach. Recognizing the man before her as Ascended only made Arialla's fight-or-flight reaction worse for a moment; then she glanced at the pool of shadow in which he stood, and a smirk crossed her face. In broad daylight, she had the upper hand. He was trapped in his patch of shade, harmless.
Still, she didn't unshift her talons as she spoke. "I don't want to talk to you, and I definitely don't want to be friends."
Her voice was tight, but she didn't walk -- or fly -- away, either.
please don't take my sunshine away
