[hr][hr][center][h1][b][i][color=F2541F]Atkin Bowman[/color][/i][/b][/h1]
[/center][hr][center][color=F2541F][b]Location:[/b][/color] Palace: Lawn[/center][hr]
	As expected, everyone else in the crowd more or less shit their britches when he walked over to the now named dragon and its- rather her rider. Husband. It took a lot of self control not to refer to him as a lizard-shagger when he referred to Thalia as his "wifey" before she transformed into a human shape.

	As far as the danger of his actions, of course he knew what he was doing was bloody dangerous. It was obvious in the situation. She was the size of several Ramblings buildings before shrinking down. But the thing about danger is that you shouldn't shirk away from it. Avoid it when you can, sure, but if it landed at your feet, you couldn't afford to pussy foot around with it. Like dealing with an feral dog. If you showed fear you were done for. Maybe that was just the street punk thinking, but he wasn't going to throw away a mindset that'd kept his ass intact just because he was in some green robes now.

	As far as the ever present insistence that he mind his Ps and Qs? Fuck em. Today was not the day for him to think about If anyone's feelings were so fragile that a simple greeting bereft of copious amounts of formality were enough to send them in a hissy fit, maybe they deserved far, far worse than an "afternoon."

	[color=F2541F]"Mm, fair enough. Atkin Bowman, ExtraOrdinary Wizard Apprentice at your service,"[/color] he responded in kind to Richard, taking his hand firmly and shaking it, maintaining eye contact throughout just like his Pa instructed. It was a handshake that established trust. At least he hoped. Everyone else freaking out likely undermined whatever impact his own introduction had. But whatever, it seemed like Valda's bodyguard had them covered as far as finding their -ew- baby. So they were probably just going to get their business done and then go on their merry way somewhere else, which was fine by him. 

	Looking again, it seemed like everyone had more or less decided to do that as well. All the witches left to get Luna back, or more likely pull each other's hair out because they finally had a proper excuse to do it out in the one. The Young Army was already overextending any authority they might have had. Yeah, this Queenship was already going quite beautifully. Atkin just hoped that Valda would be able to reign everything in before things spiraled too out of hand.
[hr]
	The woman's body tensed when the rope suddenly bound itself around her, but she didn't seem particularly surprised. Nor did she immediately attempt to escape her prison. Her expression retained its sense of melancholy, if washed over by the more pertinent emotions of urgent need, frustration and regret. If she had anything to say, she certainly was in no mood to share with the witches (and Darke Wizard) that surrounded her. Rhys, however was able to get a bit of a read on her surface thoughts. It came in a few short disjointed flashes, but ultimately came out to something akin to:

[center][i]Please, just go away! I don't want to have to kill you.[/i][/center]
	However, when Lilith began to CradleSnatch Luna, she could afford to stay still no longer. With a sudden surge of motion, she twisted and writhed enough to free herself from the confines of the rope. Distracted though two of the Magicians were, she was still outnumbered 3-to-1. So once she had freedom of movement once again, she pulled out a weapon from her person. Perhaps the only nonlethal instrument in the entire room: a club. Short, easily concealable, metallic and sturdy. It wouldn't do very well in a direct fight against someone armed with a proper weapon like a sword or a polearm, but in this small, cramped room it was more or less perfect for what it needed to do. Not to mention it  was still perfectly capable of knocking out someone cold and with enough determination and willpower, end a life.