Elayra's reaction was better than Ghent could have hoped for. He cracked up at her expense, silently congratulating himself for an act convincing enough to fool her.
	Alas, his amusement was short-lived. His laughter morphed into a shout as Elayra slammed into him, his back hitting the ground with more force than he would have expected from a girl her size. Before he could even think to react, he felt the pointed end of a sword pressing against his neck.
	Ghent saw Elayra angry before, but this was a new level of anger. When she asked if he thought his prank was funny, he was foolish enough to try responding with a truthful answer. “…Moderately?” he ventured, yelping as she pressed the sword closer. It was officially time to panic.
	“Okay—okay!” Ghent gasped. He was astounded by the rage in her eyes, a look strongly reminiscent of the madman who raised her. “It isn’t funny!” he raised his hands in a show of surrender, hissing a breath once she pressed the blade close enough to draw blood.
	Left with few options, Ghent stayed still. He stared up at Elayra as she began to insult him, her words sharp as her sword. He knew she didn’t exactly think the world of him, but he didn’t think her opinion of him was [i]that[/i] low. He gritted his teeth, keeping silent as she vented. If he antagonized her further, he’d have more than his aching feet to worry about. 
	Elayra cut her rant short, opting to shout in frustration instead. In that moment, Ghent thought he was done for. He moved his hands to shove her in a last-ditch effort to save himself, but he didn’t have to. She brought the blade away.
	Ghent wasted no time. He scrambled to his feet and took a step back, baffled by her reaction to what he perceived as a harmless prank. He placed his fingers to his neck, checking to see if the blade pierced his skin.
	“Are you [i]crazy!?[/i]” he shouted, his voice shriller than it had been. He glared at her fumingly, his face flushed. He flinched when she turned around, dumbfounded by the command that left her lips. 
	“Unsheathe my…” Ghent repeated part of her sentence, amazed by her unbridled anger. Elayra was supposed to be immune, but her behavior resembled someone under the Curse's influence. 
	Without taking his eyes off of the enraged blonde, Ghent knelt on one knee to grab his staff. He rose to his full height, wielding the weapon sideways in front of himself. "Would you chill for a minute?" He gripped the staff tighter, desperately wishing she would reconsider her apparent desire to duel. "It was a joke, okay?! You don’t have to go all Princess Mononoke on me!”