Dylan understood the tone... it was her own irritation taking its toll on her friend. She took a breath and pushed it down, being round Clem had taught her to keep her emotions under tight control. It was best not to let this stranger shake that resolve because she wanted to be a calm place, a quiet place for Clem. Someone that could give her some peace when everyone else was crowding her with their emotions. Another breath in and out and the anger ebbed away as did the worry. She tucked her hands into the pockets of her jogging suit and looked at the stranger coldly.

"She is my BEST friend, hurt her and I'll hurt you, just so we're clear."

Ried grinned, "Message received, vampire."

Dylan would have been tempted to bare her fangs just to prove a point but it would do nothing but upset Clem and at this point she'd already reigned in her temper so she let the name calling slide off her like water off glass. "Good... I'll see you later Clem." She walked over, squeezed her friend's hand, letting her affection filter to the surface to act as a balm for some of the negativity she'd passed to Clem earlier. "I'll be in the gym and I'll save you a sandwich from the kitchens."

She headed out and Ried shook his head as he watched her go before returning to Clementine. "Back to what I was saying..." He'd seen her confusion when he'd mentioned runes and sighed as he rolled up his sleeve and showed her the golden flower tattooed on his wrist. "Normally it's placed on the neck of a witch at his or her coming of age but I was a little late getting mine and already had a tattoo there." She'd see the tribal style rose on the side of his neck, mostly hidden by the hood he didn't currently have up. "This is kind of like a rune... It holds the ability to amplify the magic already in a witch but Moroi can't use it because it binds the four elements into one and Moroi can only use one at a time... except for Spirit. There is a little spirit in all four elements, that's why spirit never Declares... proficient in none but has them all. Runes are markings that amplify a certain spell, spells take all four elements to complete, another reason you don't see Moroi witches."

He was giving her lessons already, but at least she'd seemed curious, maybe teaching her wouldn't be the pain in the ass he'd figured it would be. "What I plan on finding out is if your abilities lie in some form of Spirit, if so... you should be able to manipulate certain elements but probably have never done it on purpose... Since your abilities seem emotionally controlled more than spirit usually is it's more than likely that you'll never be able to completely control it but you can learn what causes things. Does it rain when you're sad? Does fire burn higher when you're angry? When you're happy do plants bloom? You'll have to start paying close attention to find out."

He rubbed the back of his neck, here was the part that worried him. "Your parents say that you sometimes see the Ghosts around your mother but they leave you alone, they don't swarm you like they do her... I've also been told that when Spirit affects you the most... Shadows gather. That's a sign of dark magic, like the kind that turn Moroi into Strigoi... Dark magic is Spirit the same way Light is... Two sides of the same coin. Spirit users use up their own light and it creates darkness in them, you seem to be able to manipulate both sides instead of just the one."

He paused, "Does any of this make sense? I'm hoping that if I can help you... we can understand Spirit use better. Maybe help the ones who've used up all their light and lost their minds... I know you've taken you're mothers darkness before but it didn't stay with you. Somehow you dissolved it... unraveled it when she was at her worst."