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@jared-williams

Hmm, interesting! I’m going to change it slightly, but that was an interesting development!

I don’t have anything for Mejt yet XD I know what her great fear is, but I don’t know how to create a scenario around it XD

So… here we go again.

Halmar

They were still staring each other down. There was nothing I could do except wait for one of them to back down. They probably wouldn’t.

“Um, I think you should do what he says. I mean, I don’t know much about weapons, but I think that those can do some serious harm.” Enydd laughed, but it sounded ridiculously tense. “Please just put those away. I mean, unless you want to hear my ramble. And let me tell you, I can ramble for hours especially when I’m nervous or excited. And knives tend to make me nervous.”

I shot her a quick glance. She was as fixed on stopping this situation as I was, but I was worried about her. If either one lashed out I’d have to get her out of the way besides stopping the fight that seemed almost inevitable. I appreciated the support but it could cause more harm than good.

They seemed to be having a staring competition. I sighed. They weren’t giving up and anything I might do to stop them would be the spark that started it. And then it would be my fault. I had learned one thing in my life. Don’t be a convenient scapegoat.

Why were they this stupid? Why was it my responsibility now? I hadn’t signed up for this.

The blonde man shifted his weight, ever so slightly. He was going to attack. Overhanded stab, by the way he held his knife. He wouldn’t be able to get past me, so it would be aimed at me.

He twisted out of my grip, his dagger already shooting up. Aimed for my neck. He sure wasn’t wasting any time.

I jammed my right arm between the dagger and his wrist, forcing it upward. Now it was purely a battle of strength, and I would lose sooner or later.

If someone is trying to stab you, you’re going to get stabbed. Accept that, and make sure it’s on your terms, not his.

That was a lot easier in theory than in practice. I pushed the dagger away from me. It was just enough to change the course of the stab, ever so slightly. If it hit me now, it would be in the shoulder, not the neck. I could handle that. Now there was a slight interlude, just long enough for me to hit him with my left hand if I was quick enough. It would delay the fight at least. I could always try kicking him.

Before I could act, someone grabbed my arm and yanked me backward. It was so much more powerful than it should have been that I stumbled. That wasn’t fully human.

The quick motion unfortunately involved pulling my right arm into the dagger. I winced as it slashed open my forearm.

I was on my feet the next instant, ready to pull back Abirami. His intentions were good, but instead of stopping the fight he fully intended to win.

Before I had the chance, he’d shot the dart into the man’s neck. It was definitely poisoned. I had failed.

“No!” Enydd cried.

Now I really did lose my temper. I shoved Abirami’s shoulder, making him turn around.

“What’s wrong with you?” I asked, just a little too quietly. Nothing made me as angry as unnecessary violence. I could have stopped that fight without killing or seriously injuring anyone.

Abirami had decided he knew better. He hadn’t tried to help me, he’d simply gotten me out of the way so he could do whatever he wanted.

I glanced back at the man. Was he dead or unconscious?

Abirami was shorter than I was, and I used that to my advantage as I glared down at him.

He dropped the blowpipe and raised his hands, showing that he meant me no harm. He wasn’t malicious, he just hadn’t thought that through. Or he had extreme confidence in his capabilities, which could be a good thing or a bad one.

“It’s fine, I just put him to sleep.”

I wasn’t going to get angry at him. I was sorely tempted, but I wasn’t going to blow up at him. Mostly because it could get me in trouble, either with him or someone else.

My forearm stung. The gash was shallow, but still long. It would be fine but it hurt. The pain didn’t do much to abate my irritation.

“Next time, don’t take over. I was handling the situation, you might have made it worse. You’re lucky it didn’t go south,” I said, shortly. If it had I wouldn’t have let him off with this irritated warning.

“He’s too dangerous. We should tie him up and keep him sedated,” Abirami suggested. I sighed. He was rather overeager. It was too much work either way.

Before I could explain that it was not only overreacting but also not feasible, Enydd interrupted.

“Sedated? But what if he’s just confused? Like you were, Abirami. Remember, you attacked us when you first arrived too.”

She had a good point. If I hadn’t seen Mejt among them I might well have overreacted and drawn weapons myself.

“Did you not hear him? He found pleasure in the thought of tormenting us.”

“Hear him?” I asked, half tired, half amused. The man hadn’t spoken.

“Abirami,” said Enydd. “he… didn’t say anything.”

“He’s a telepath,” Abirami said, with such overwhelming confidence that I couldn’t hide a smile.

He was just a little too sure of himself. It was both irritating and amusing.

I laughed and shook my head and knelt beside the man. He was breathing, evenly. Abirami hadn’t been lying, he was just unconscious. He’d probably be fine. Just angry.

I wasn’t going to have a chance like this again. I took his knife, then quickly checked for other weapons. Thankfully, I knew where to look. I found two other hidden knives and took them too. I would give them back as soon as he’d calmed down, but until then it might be a good idea to minimize the risk.

Abirami picked up the blowpipe and stalked back toward the other girl.

“Do what you will, then. Just don’t take him lightly. In my world, telepaths once ruled the world, then nearly destroyed it.”

“Good to know,” I said, cheerfully. I was entirely undisturbed by his dark tone. If the man was going to try to read my mind, he wasn’t going to find much.

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@jared-williams

Okay, Hal isn’t taking Abirami all that seriously, but it’s more his perception than Abirami actually being stupid or irrational. XD Hal just doesn’t take anything seriously, now I think about it XD As usual, change anything, though I didn’t move the plot forward much XD