The unsettling stroke of Fauve's tongue against his cheek made Dannisus jerk away from her with an angry hiss. His hair stood on end and he tensed up tremendously. Anxiety was a thought of the past. Now he was angry. Dannisus briefly glanced at Jack to acknowledge his comment, but when Gabriel referred to him as [i]Myti[/i] and nothing more, he began to growl from the bottom of his throat. Humans like this knew so little of him or his people. Few even cared to acknowledge them as [i]people.[/i] That wasn't their fault, though. He thought carefully for a moment, trying to pull himself back to a reasonable state of mind, but there was a powerful underlying urge festering inside of him to [i]tell these idiots off one by one.[/i] Not that he could. Every time he thought there was a moment for him to speak, somebody else spoke up first and [i]kept talking.[/i] It was likely for the best though. His stance loosened while everyone spoke.

	He finally had a chance to think. There... Wasn't much to think about at first. What reason could he possibly fathom to follow these people towards danger? Unless there was some mystical force at work, nothing would keep them alive if this monstrous mishap was as dangerous as it sounded. The work of necromancers was simply terrifying.

	Just then, his eyes went soft and he straightened his posture. He finally registered exactly who the approaching woman was when she snatched the map and began to speak. Of all the possible survivors, it had to be her. [i]'Fake Lani'[/i] Dannisus thought to himself. He glared at her, his inherent fear overcome for the moment by new pangs of anger.

	She began speaking to them with a tone of command that almost made him laugh despite everything that had happened. Instead of bringing any semblance of order to the group, or calming Dannisus' nerves in the slightest, she only served to offer him even [i]more[/i] questions and reasons for frustration. Why would she waste her time hunting monsters? [i]What[/i] did she classify as a 'monster' exactly? How did she know anything about the source of this attack that the rest of them didn't? Why exactly did she hide her face [i]at night?[/i] Who did she think she was? What the hell was a [i]Despiun?[/i] Dannisus mulled over the inane little speech she had offered their group with no prompt. The mystery of it all had actually managed to calm him down. He couldn't stay angry when he was suddenly... So [i]confused.[/i] What followed had only served to deepen his befuddlement. Before he, or anyone else could even address her, Devlin took off just as quickly as she had arrived. It all became clear in an instant.

	...Devlin was mentally ill! Completely mad!

	It was the only explanation. But then it didn't explain how she was lucid about several very clear facts. Dannisus was almost caught in another spiral of convoluted thought, when Lui addressed him directly. "[i]Mya?[/i]" He looked back to Gabriel for a moment, and then towards Lui. At least that crazy woman didn't take the map.

	"E-even after all of that, you're still eager to run head-long into danger?" He stuttered, "I..." Dannisus caught his tongue and looked the group over silently. Perhaps it was a good idea after all. No, it [i]really wasn't.[/i] It was completely idiotic to follow after these louts, regardless of how strong they might've been. But Lui was right about one thing. Barring another [i]legion of undead,[/i] he could likely escape at any time if he let the rest of them stand in [i]front of him[/i]. There were a few curious items well worth his time, assuming their owners were killed in the process. Most notable were Jack's gauntlets. He'd never seen - or smelled - such unique magical tools before. Not even his own weapons held a candle to [i]those.[/i] Lui's eye, and that weird little lantern she carried around were valuable as well. Even Aelih's spear seemed to be an item of interest. The idea of letting both of them die wasn't ideal, though. Despite that, he wasn't about to put his life in danger to prevent such an outcome.

	Something else caught his attention as he thought on his options. He turned his head towards Fauve slowly as she began to speak, [i]expecting the worst[/i]. But as she went on, he couldn't help sneering at her childish ignorance. Dannisus would have been safer on his own out here in the middle of the forest, safer than he was with a bunch of crazy people, anyways. As long as he didn't come too close to Sylsashia's center, the only thing he had to fear was [i]tripping.[/i] The last thing he needed was to fall from the treetops [i]again.[/i]  Fauve's voice was beginning to grate against his eardrums at this point. Every wretched syllable would bore deeper into his consciousness and strum at each nerve in his head relentlessly. He'd almost addressed her[i][/i]. [i]Almost.[/i] Thankfully there was no need to get caught up in Fauve's pace with Ren around. 

	Dannisus had just noticed him. The boy that arrived with Devlin hadn't said a word, nor did he speak while communicating with Fauve. Was he communicating? Dannisus assumed that was the case. Ren waggled his hands around in some odd fashion at the crude woman. It had to mean something. Dannisus didn't quite get it. It had to be some kind of [i]human thing[/i], much like the way that Myti spoke with the cats of the forest. Apparently he wouldn't have any time to ask. In identical fashion to Devlin, the man followed after his apparent savior and disappeared into the forest. It was a shame. Ren looked somewhat reasonable for somebody who didn't [i]speak.[/i] But Dannisus could have easily mistaken his naive kindness for wisdom. For all he knew, he was just as asinine as Devlin.

	Lui's offer still bounced around in his head as a feasible option. As long as they didn't leave the forest, Dannisus had ample retreat options in the high-standing trees. Their tightly packed canopy was not under any immediate threat, unless some unruly mage sought to set it ablaze. A forest fire would surely attract the attention of his people. If that were the case, he'd have no choice but to abandon his... New [i]'comrades'[/i] without a second thought. He looked back to Lui and nodded silently. 

	"I suppose there's some merit to the idea. B-but I don't think anyone should be following that-tha-that... Psychotic disaster-waiting-to-happen!" He pointed in the direction that Devlin and Ren had headed towards, and looked to everyone. "I don't suppose anyone shares my concern? If you're really bent on investigating and [i]keeping[/i] your lives, it may be wise to take our own path towards..." He paused and darted towards Gabriel's side. One hand gently clasped the corner of the map he held, while he gestured to everyone else with the other. "Towards this place of interest?" He nodded to Gabriel politely, despite his earlier comment, and stepped away. Then he pointed to himself.

	"I know this forest quite well! If you're bound on investi- I mean [i]really-[/i] if you really need to sate your curiosity, lend me the task of being your guide." He pointed up towards the canopy of the forest and turned his head towards the group again, while walking away slowly. "I can keep- I'll keep Us much safer by guiding you [i]around[/i] any dangers. We're still very far out from the thickets of Sylsashia, but these wilds are [i]tainted.[/i] If anything approaches, I'll know it before any of you." He lowered his arm and waited for the group's response, gently flapping his uninjured ear. If he was committing himself to following these simple folk, [i]even if only partially,[/i] he wouldn't be letting anybody put him in danger. Nobody would order him around, least of all [i]Devlin.[/i]