Autharyx falters when a stricken expression appears on VIltez' face. 

"Er," he says, earlier annoyance draining away, "unless you don't-"

Before he can bring out another word, the half-breed snarls viciously before darting off into the forest. Autharyx surprises himself by don't feeling aggravated by the potential challenge, but rather... guilty? His host might have snarled, but nothing about him actually radiated challenge or even aggression. If anything, he seemed... frightened? Now normally Autharyx could deal with frightened, but this time he hadn't actually done anything to evoke that response. Not that he usually had to try very hard to instill fear in mortals, but this time he'd... He'd actually tried to make the other [i]like[/i] him instead.

'[i]'tried and failed,[/i]' he reminds himself helpfully. Without thinking he is already following the trail Viltez had left as he trampled through the forest. Autharyx is no tracker, but this is hard to miss. And even if it hadn't been, he can still feel it in the air. He hadn't noticed it earlier in the city. but this place had been... neglected for a long time. Or if not neglected, at least left behind. There is power in the forest, in the air and everywhere around him. Only it isn't like the power that had infused his own territory, power that had bound him to the place so seamlessly that sometimes it was hard to sense where his territory ended and he began. The power here is.. disconnected. It isn't tied to the world as tightly as it would have been with a guardian to anchor it, but instead it had settled on the world almost like a thick layer of dust. Humans and animals were not nearly enough to stir it up, but as his own power reached out to sense the world around him, he could feel it surge and rise in response. The magic that had laid dormant in the woods was waking up, and to Autharyx it felt like a metaphorical face full of dust. 

But he has no time for that now. He pushes the tingling at the edge of his senses to the back of his mind and sets off to find Viltez. He's feeling... something. There is some anger there, but it seemi to be run through with worry. Even though he [i]knows[/i] he had no fault in this whatsoever, he can't get the look on Viltez' face when Autharyx had snapped at him out of his mind. What right does the mortal have making him feel... things about a perfectly reasonable response? It was his fault anyway, for... for... not wanting to touch him? Why does that bother him in the first place? He certainly never wanted to touch silly mortal humans before. Or ever. It's not about touching anyway. It's about respect. Surely Autharyx is owed some respect? 

He frowns at his train of thought, and deliberately cuts it off. It doesn't matter anyway. He just needs to find Viltez and things will turn out alright.

"Viltez?" he says out loud when the trail seems to come to an end. "Are you there? I... I apologise if I caused you distress," he eventually brings out, with only a hint of reluctance. Logically he shouldn't give a second thought to how a mortal might feel, but he still feels affected. It's probably the magic in the air setting him off-balance. Yes, that must be it.