08-08-2018, 03:41 PM
Armande paused, her hand forgotten in his, not really seeing her. Looking through her. The ijiraq's words chilled him. He tried to make sense of it all. It had been so different the first time around. He remembered it vividly.
The Ijiraq's solid form seemed to explode and the silver black mist....quivered violently. Where the eyes had been glowed an angry dark red and he could almost feel its heat. The creature appeared to be trying to move, hanging there floating. It reared back and surged at him and stopped as if it had hit glass, mist billowing about in waves.
But he had held the tablet. He had said the words. He had pressed the key. And though the scream had tore through him, the creature blew into mist and had finally fled down the tunnels to its hunt. This time, though...
Something had changed between now and then. In him?
His deep voice was firm but quiet.. "It spoke. It taunted me. Goaded me. Like I was its prey. For what reason, I do not know..." His words trailed off, eyes focusing on hers. He gave his head a slight shake. But the chill remained. The difference... He seized control of his emotion.
Armande tilted his head slightly, studying her. Finally, quietly, "Valeriya. You only spoke the once, though I could not discern the words." He searched her eyes. "And it never spoke. From the time you struck it to when it fled only seconds had passed. And yet you conversed with it. Fought it..."
A slight smile touched his lips.
He realized his finger had been gently tracing her palm where she had struck the creature.
The Ijiraq's solid form seemed to explode and the silver black mist....quivered violently. Where the eyes had been glowed an angry dark red and he could almost feel its heat. The creature appeared to be trying to move, hanging there floating. It reared back and surged at him and stopped as if it had hit glass, mist billowing about in waves.
But he had held the tablet. He had said the words. He had pressed the key. And though the scream had tore through him, the creature blew into mist and had finally fled down the tunnels to its hunt. This time, though...
Something had changed between now and then. In him?
His deep voice was firm but quiet.. "It spoke. It taunted me. Goaded me. Like I was its prey. For what reason, I do not know..." His words trailed off, eyes focusing on hers. He gave his head a slight shake. But the chill remained. The difference... He seized control of his emotion.
Armande tilted his head slightly, studying her. Finally, quietly, "Valeriya. You only spoke the once, though I could not discern the words." He searched her eyes. "And it never spoke. From the time you struck it to when it fled only seconds had passed. And yet you conversed with it. Fought it..."
A slight smile touched his lips.
He realized his finger had been gently tracing her palm where she had struck the creature.