The rest of the fight was tense enough to silence Kaleeth and Janius' conversation. Janius was amazed that Julan was still fighting. Had Julan not been a werecrocodile, Janius would have beseeched to end the fight well before Julan's final attack.

Janius gasped and flinched at the sound of the spear snapping. He lowered his shoulders when he saw Argrei without any serious injury, though that was overtaken with a shot of anger. He specifically told Julan not to go for the neck. Still, what held it all back was Juran-Selth's judgement. The master-hunter's choice of words carried weight.

"Divines above...He did it," Janius said. A proud smile crept on to his face. He darted his eyes to Kaleeth. "Would it be inappropriate if I were to applaud our son right now?"

[hr]
Even without the full picture in his head, Fendros was astonished. "Even if it was a quick death, it does sound like a gruesome one. I doubt Rhazii had seen anything like that before. I can see why he was terrified."

Fendros did not let Ahnasha go, but he breathed in slowly. He had to dredge up an old memory. "I know you, Ahnasha. I know you have not lost your empathy for everyone." He swallowed. "I remember Najirra once spoke to me about the nature of nightmares when we used to seek his help, before he died. He told me something I thought odd at the time. He said our bodies and minds busy ourselves with the present. Too often, if there is trouble they do not have the knowledge to address, the trouble gets tucked away somewhere. Many find their troubles pushed into their dreams. Some even have it tucked into an intangible wandering pain on their body that does not abate with any magic. Some tuck it into odd habits, fears, or twitches. Some people shut it away with whatever else is attached to it."

Realising he was sounding unspecific, Fendros stopped and nodded his head to one side "The point I'm getting at is you might have found a way to dull the empathy without noticing it. I think you might be doing it because of something else you've been carrying, brushed away somewhere in there." He looked down. "I have noticed the change as well. Ever since..."

He trailed off. He knew Ahnasha did not like to talk about it.