Ash headed into her home, moving to lean up against the wall by the door to get her panic under control. After a couple deep breaths spent fighting the urge to hide forever, she started trying to figure out what to do about it. The pain lancing through her chest told her that waking was not an option. She'd have to figure out who she and Luri could trust to deal with it instead. She didn't want to leave it to her, didn't want to endanger Luri.
She had just about settled enough to open her eyes when Bris' voice startled her, "My, but you have already built a beautiful home here," her eyes snapped open to find him already towering over her, all but pinning her to the wall. Seeing the fear in her expression he spoke, "I didn't expect to be able to follow you here either, but we need to talk."
He'd removed the hood of his cloak, revealing that his eyes were an interesting shade of crimson and his jet black hair was tied back into a tail. Her eyes strayed to his ears, a small shock running through her at the sight of the rounded ears of a human.
"No one is supposed to be able to come to my home without my permission," she stated the obvious as she wove a few spells.
He sensed what she was doing and stepped away, raising his hands, "I followed you through the teleporter, grasped your magic and went to the same place. I'm not here to fight. I want to help protect you."
"You hide your magic, you invade my home and you say you want to help," her spells woven, dozens of illusionary arrows appeared near her, creating quite an intimidating sight.
He kept his hands up in the air, though he did weave a small spell that restored both the feel of his magic as well as his scent. The second his magic started crackling into the air around her, Ash felt a weird feeling wash over her. His magic felt strange to her but also familiar in a way that drew her forward a step before she realized it.
His slight grin showed his sharp canines quite well and made him look so handsome Ash could only stare in silence. He stepped forward, cautiously reaching a hand out to catch hold of the wrist of the hand she'd used to weave her spells and coaxing her into dropping the arrows. His magic wove through hers the moment their hands brushed each other, fluttering along through to the core of her magic and curling around it in a warm way.
As close as he was, his scent was impossible to ignore. He smelled of oak and berries with a curious scent mixed in that reminded her of the smell of the lanterns in the temple, of smoke from flames that burned using magic as fuel. His other hand gently grasping her chin brought her back to her senses another step closer to him, practically standing against him as if she'd been contemplating kissing him.
His grin widened a bit at the blush spreading across her cheeks, though he wove the magic to mask his scent once more before speaking, "I must confess, it eases my conscience some to see that you have the same reaction to my scent as I did to yours the first several times I encountered it. That said, that state doesn't exactly make it easy to converse so I've masked it again."
Feeling much more herself, Ash stepped away slightly as he released her chin though his hand remained curled around her wrist. She could still feel his magic curled around hers, could feel its gentle brush of power ever so slightly even when the pain shifted her awareness to her body on Terra. The pain was fading swiftly, her panic no longer strong enough to strain her body.
She didn't really need to think too hard about what they would need to talk about. She'd always been told that the magic of the person that could heal her would feel right to her in a way that was hard to describe. Looking up to meet his eyes, she frowned as she wondered curiously if her magic felt the same to him.
"I need you to get me in contact with the priestess that helps you as soon as possible," he said, voice calm, "My magic is failing. All I have to do is touch you to know yours is wrecked. On top of that, you're in danger and my magic can help guard you even if I know you won't leave your grove." She frowned ever so slightly, still somewhat uncertain of trusting him. He saw her expression and continued, "I am one of Lord Venatio's Draequus, the one he names his son," when her eyes went searching for the band she knew he would have, he raised a pant leg ever so slightly to reveal it just barely visible above his boot.
"Why did you never approach me yourself? I've never encountered your scent before. Why don't the horn carvings you leave behind smell like you?"
He'd expected all of the questions and the answers were simple enough, "Approaching you is hardly possible. The second you smell anything at all odd, you bolt. As for the carvings, I put a finish on them that removes my scent. Just like you, I can't afford the wrong people to get hold of my scent and more than just my own life is on the line."
"Why would you step away from the protection agency? Couldn't you do something about the people that were betraying members of the bound races?"
He shook his head sadly, "There was nothing I could do because I had no concrete evidence of who the culprit was. I left so that there would be less chance anyone could follow me or find some other way to trace me. Despite my magic being very handy for stealth, there is only so much I can predict and protect against. At the time I left, my own magic wasn't particularly strained yet so I hadn't bothered with testing to see whose magic mine could pair with. Had I known you needed me, I'd have gone to you."