Delarn was urgent in the way that she returned to the tower, though it felt as if whoever had healed her wounds had sewn her together poorly, and her seams were straining. She tried not to think of that as the thought of literally splitting apart made her stomach churn and made her legs stiffen with dread. Once she arrived, she entered casually, as if nothing was wrong. She didn't look back or around, almost afraid that Furlish or someone else would be there. She had a nagging suspicion that she had forgotten something important. Even so, she didn't slow in her stride as she made her way to Glen's door. She knocked a few times, and he answered it. He immediately glared at her, but he also looked her over. She was a woman now, and she didn't miss how his eyes lingered. She resisted the urge to curse at him.
"What do you want?" he asked, clearly guarded.
"I wanted to apologize for how ungrateful I was after you saved my life and killed that monster. It really was rude of me not to thank you like you deserve," she told him.
"Like I deserve?" He replied slowly, his eyebrows knitting together.
"That's right," she replied, a shiver going down her spine. "Mind if I come in? I think it would be more comfortable for both of us that way rather than talking at your door."
He hesitated for a moment before finally opening the door wide for her to enter. She immediately felt as if she didn't want to, but knew she needed to. She stepped inside, and he motioned for her to sit on his bed as he sat in a chair across from it. She frowned, but sat down, thinking that it wasn't really a big deal. It still set her nerves on end.
"So what exactly did you want to say?" Glen asked. She took a deep breath. He didn't really look threatening. He looked confused and wary of her as if he expected her to act irrationally or dangerously. She considered that fair. It was something she had been known for. She thought that maybe she had imagined the way he looked at her when he answered the door.
"I just wanted to say that I really do think we started off on the wrong foot. I've been rather unreasonable and prickly, and you've been nothing but helpful and honest with me with your intentions," Delarn told him, "and I want you to know that I really am interested in your research and what you do here. There aren't many people that seem to have such a clear and direct objective with their research like—water magic."
"So what you're saying is that you're interested in me?" He replied slowly, his eyebrows raised as he folded his hands in his lap.
"In your research, yes," she replied, glancing at the door very briefly. He frowned and sat forward, and she continued so she wouldn't lose him, "I remember you mentioned your master was the one that sent in a letter recommending you study here. What did you say his name was again?"
"I don't remember telling you anything of the sort," he replied.
"You did," she answered, "when I first arrived here, and you were escorting me to see the head wizards of this tower. You asked me how I came to study here and then told me that your master sent a recommendation letter, for example, and you mentioned his name, and I may have forgotten it."
He was starting to frown at her, not merely because he considered what she was saying to be suspicious, but clearly, because he was beginning to connect that he had met her as a man and that she was rarely only one or the other for long, so he wasn't sure what she actually was. Delarn would laugh if she didn't feel sick to her stomach in his gaze.
She wasn't sure what he was going to say, but after a moment he said, "and how did you say you were accepted to study in the tower again?"
"I was," she began, starting to tell him that it was Telago now that she knew it was him who had sent the recommendation letter, but then she realized that might be dangerous to admit to him. "I wasn't sure who sent me. That's what made it so weird to me that I was taken in," she answered honestly, that being what she remembered telling him. She went on to say, "It's a shame because the master that sent you seemed so influential and I felt a bit underwhelming not having anyone to speak for me or any real reason for being here. I don't know much about the magical world at all, really, and I was hoping to know his name as he sounded like someone great."
Glen seemed to stand a bit taller, prouder, as he replied, "My master is rather great. His name is Oztraz."
"Oztraz. I wasn't sure if I remembered that correctly. It would have been a shame if I hadn't," she answered.
"So you did remember it?" He replied.
"It would have been careless of me not to," she admitted, really feeling it was careless of her, "though I'm glad to know that I was right."
She casually, carefully reached for her belt and his eyes immediately went to her hand. Of course it did. He was still studying her as if he thought that he might have guessed precisely what she was and what she could be to him. She felt like cursing him then and there, but she couldn't, not with how her wand was too far out of reach. It wasn't quite a magic wand, but it was a yew wand and it would have to do.
She batted her lashes at him and smiled as she said, "Tell me the truth, what is your name really? Is it Glen, or are you the powerful wizard, Oztraz himself?"
He stiffened, and it was clear to her that she had been correct, but she was afraid that she wasn't going to be correct with the way he was going to react to her knowing. As far as she knew, she was an annoyance to him and perhaps an idiot, but she was hoping that he would think she was the kind of idiot that he could trick in turn.
Finally, he responded, and though it was positive, she still wasn't sure it was preferable. He stood and moved closer to her, and she continued to mess with her belt under her cloak in an attempt to free the wand even though she dreaded encouraging him.
"So," he said, "What if I were to tell you I was? Would that be enough to impress you after all? Was it simply that you weren't interested in me as a simple water mage?" He asked, a smirk quirking the edge of his lips.
"I wouldn't say that," she said in an even tone that didn't suggest interest in him beyond his research, "but I have heard quite a bit about you if you are actually Oztraz and not his student, though I'm sure even a student of his would have quite a bit of interesting information to offer."
"I do have a lot to offer indeed," he answered, not seeming to listen to what she was saying as he stepped forward and placed his hand on her shoulder. She didn't know what clicked in her mind, but she felt suddenly, sharply afraid, the room seeming to sway and smell like sea salt. Maybe it already did. It was supposedly the research he had been studying, after all.
He leaned in, and she pulled the wand out too quickly, jabbing it forward as she tried to recall the keyword. She could say it mentally, so it didn't matter if she said it aloud or not. She wasn't sure she could say anything at all aloud as his other hand went to her hip. She wasn't sure if she recognized the exact moment the tone had changed to this, and she wasn't sure if she had missed those cues or not, but she knew she was here. She had intended to make it subtle, make it so he didn't know it was pointed at him at all, but the wand poked him in the stomach, and he recoiled. He immediately realized what she had, though she thought momentarily how amusing it would be if he didn't. He reached down and grabbed it and sharply turned it away.
It was now parallel to the both of them now, but he was quickly starting to turn it to face her stomach instead. She still didn't feel safe, but she at least perceived that his intentions had turned from lust to murder and she thought she could deal with that far better. He tried to wrench it from her hand, and she was surprised at how strong he was. She expected him to be physically weak as a wizard, though she wasn't letting it go and he wasn't gaining any traction on it. However, he did manage to aim it at her stomach. He didn't know the word, but even then, it was still registered as being held by her.
That didn't necessarily matter. There was a definite part of her mind that felt the wand pressing towards her own stomach and wanted to say the word. It was a disgusting and strange feeling that was like thick sludge that she didn't know how to clean away, and she tried as hard as she could to keep her mind clear as the wand and his body pressed against her and forced her to consider all the destructive ways this could go.
It felt like their struggling would last forever, but it was ended suddenly as he punched her in the stomach and shoved her backward. She curled up in pain as he was definitely stronger than she thought he would be and she couldn't quite aim the wand until he was well out of the door. She groaned, struggling to stand and gripping her stomach as she tried her best to recover and glad that she hadn't come after him as a man after such a blow. She powered through it, knowing that he was getting further and further away each moment and if she waited too long she would never find him and she wasn't sure what that would entail.
She raced out of the room and just barely caught sight of him ahead, turning the corner. She didn't want him to get out of sight as she was aware that he was just as likely to teleport if he got the chance, though something in her gut told her that he wouldn't. She gripped the wand tightly in one hand and dragged herself quickly through the hall with the other, turning another corner and seeing him still ahead of her. She would have been able to take the shot, but the wand and the spell attached to it wasn't that strong and was meant for close range. It was a safety precaution, Telego told her, so she wouldn't be tempted to shoot him in a place where everyone would see her and know it was her as she would most definitely be in danger if she were trapped in the wizard's tower as a known murderer. It didn't matter much to him either way, but he would prefer if she lived to let him know Oztraz was dead for certain.
She followed him, coming closer and closer to catching up to him until they reached the double doors where the three head wizards dwelled in their day to day tasks. He slipped through, dragging them closed behind him and she reached for them and froze. She felt her stomach freeze into solid ice as a wave of anxiety struck her worse than any punch. She reached for the door handle and stopped, trembling, her hand not seeming able to come any closer. She thought for a moment that this must be a trap or a spell, but she knew better. This was her own mind that did this to her, and she couldn't figure what to do about it.
A hand touched her shoulder, and her eyes widened, and she turned, shoving the wand forward, her mind twisting like thorns, but all thoughts and actions came to a halt when she saw that it was Talem. It was clear he wanted to pull her closer, but he was wary when he noticed the fear in her eyes that was just now starting to ease, but like coals cooling rather than as if they were losing their heat altogether. She let the wand drop to her side as she carefully stepped to stand closer.
"Where were you?" He asked softly, gently, "What happened to you? I heard the dogs, and I wasn't sure if you were even still alive and now I find you here." He wrapped his arms around her the moment that he knew it was safe to do so.
"I don't know who that was or what happened, but I do know that someone called on me to do a job for them and it's very important that I do it," she replied softly. "I found Oztraz, and he's on the other side of these doors, and I can't get the door open. It's not locked, but I can't do it myself."
Talem ran his hands through her hair gently to comfort her, and she felt like crying as it was so sweet and kind. He said, "Is it really your job to do? Is it really something that my Delarn needs to do? Can no one else do it?"
"Your Delarn?" She answered, breathlessly. "I think so."
"I didn't check myself. I didn't mean—"
"I think I am, I mean," she answered softly, "but I also think I need you to open this door for me. I think that even if I don't want to do it, I've come this far and I don't want him to get away now that I've done all this."
Talem held her tighter and she looked up at him. It was no longer in her hands. She didn't consider that a bad thing at all.