At his side the stranger snaps to attention. A part of him deep inside wonders if he too could sense the human's presence in the distance however he dismisses this thought quickly. [i]'How could he know, he just another human. He doesn't have senses like mine. . . .'[/i] His breathing continues to quicken and he knows if he does not calm down, and soon, he may actually become ill. However he can not stop the images. All the horrors running through his head of what could happen to him. Travelers would often tell stories, and with his interest in places other than his little village Viltez would always listen. Unfortunately that had also given him the fuel he needed for all his nightmares.

They would speak at length of some beast man or another coming into town and stealing food or something and go on to say how the people reacted. He'd even heard a few tales of half-breeds like himself who had tried to hide among humans. [i]'Humans feel so betrayed to find that their neighbor is not what they thought they were. I've heard of whole families burned in their homes in some of the smaller towns. The people here, in my own village, snorting with disgust over beings like me doing such things'[/i] The strangers words about how accepting people can be were not completely lost on him, but even his confidence is not enough to shake Viltez's belief that revealing himself would be the worst thing he could possibly do.

He feels a small wave of shame as he hears Aryx trying to comfort him. [i]'Here I am suppose to be the host, but he's spent more time caring for me than I for him. . .He is such a sweet man. . .I wish the world were populated by men like him. . .'[/i] The sudden touch surprises him and he jerks slightly but he settles an instant later and looks to Aryx with wide, frightened eyes. His tongue feels like lead as he drags a reply out of his throat. “I-I know, they are far away, the forest is dense, they couldn't have seen me, not at this distance, I just. . .” His gaze drops to the ground. “I've never felt so foolish for being afraid. It's always been just my natural state. I'm always afraid, but now I. . .”

He lets out a soft sigh, his tail coming up to wrap around the wrist of the hand on his neck. It squeezes tight before letting the other go and sliding over Viltez' shoulder on the other side, the blade pressing gently to his cheek. It takes a moment for the young man to realize that his tail is back out and when he does notice he looks at it with a frown. “How come you're out already?” He says softly. Then flushes as he realizes he talking to his own body part. The blade presses more firmly to his cheek before simply resting against his chest, dangling playfully from his shoulder. [i]'Seems my mood is improving. . .'[/i] he muses before a very small smile finds it's way to his lips and he looks back to his guest. “Sorry, I overreact sometimes. . .” His hand comes up to touch the back of Aryx's hand with his fingertips. “Thank you. . .” he murmurs softly, his eyes earnest.