"N-no, I like you just fine, I just...college, y'know?  If I'd known it was way out here I might have thought twice before coming...though I'm glad I did all the same."  For more than one reason, too, Jareth added silently, glancing at the woman as she turned away.

Lya's glowing praise of her leader eased some concerns for Amuné, but raised others.  If it sounded too good to be true, it often was, and she wondered if Lya was trying to deceive her, or if her impression was skewed.  The awkward fondness made her believe the woman was being genuine, but if she once -- possibly still -- loved Tsitua, her view of him might not be completely accurate.

She was still pondering how to weight the response when they passed an impassive man in armor.  Her eyes locked onto him as he passed, and her pace slowed, head turning to watch him head away.  "Who was that?" the Seer asked, once she'd regained her composure.  He'd dragged at her, pulling her gaze as a planet pulls a passing meteor and leaving her off-balance.  Tsitua had done the same, when she'd first encountered him, but with far less intensity.  For a moment, it had seemed like she was looking up at the armored man, suddenly much taller.  Then flashes of other things, though none clear or familiar enough to distinguish.  There was a sense of...safety?  But also danger.  The apparent contradiction was hardly unusual, but in this case she was at a loss for what it meant.

[@TheMinorFall]