Ah.

As Matthias turned to run, he found himself face to face with the vicious glow of the Guardians’ electric staves. Four men held the long - quietly humming with energy - sticks out at him. The men were ridiculously muscled and large, intimidating only in their appearing strength and weapons.

He took several steps back as the guards advanced. The wheels of their minds turned, trying to figure out what this fellow was doing here. Behind him, three more guards stood and they closed Matthias inside of a circle of deadly electricity. Those might short out my arm, he thought numbly.

Those who had been exiting the hall quickly reentered to see what all the commotion was about. Wide eyes stared and people kept their distance. Three left to go fetch Larkin, but backed away from the double door entrance as he entered. They ducked their heads low in a bow, and scurried out of his way.

The man brushed his fingers against his temple, expression lapsing into a momentary wince. Larkin was getting a headache. He was annoyed, the nuisance of those around him made him shudder with anger. He inhaled gently, a calm struggling to get away from him. As always in Larkin’s presence, there was a dead silence, all but the whirring electric staves. He spoke, loud voice echoing throughout the huge room, all the way to glass ceilings and back, “Whose acquaintance might this be?” He walked a slow circle around the ring of guards, eyes locked with Matthias’s. The intruder dared not to move, too many people, weapons he had no knowledge of, surrounded, trapped, and captured.

No one answered. And even if anyone knew of Matthias, they would not have admitted it now. Matthias had been running for a reason, and Larkin pursuing for this particular reason. He stepped in between two of the guards, into the circle. The two men lowered their staves and switched off the power. A torturous death to him who accidentally gave Larkin a shock.

“I believe you have not answered my question,” said the Shrike quietly to Matthias. The sides of his blood red mouth quivered into a polite smile. “What is your name?”

“Matthias,” came the overly cheerful reply, but before he could say something clever, his mouth snapped shut.

Larkin had lifted his hand, and Matthias, who would not normally shut up at such a meek little gesture, did. Making such a mistake, he had let himself be pulled into the flaming orange eyes of the Shrike and was unable to do anything but willfully obey the signal for silence. Addressing the guards, his smile faded into a twisted face of disgust, Larkin said, “Take him away from me; he is displeasing.” and turned, once again leaving. The doors were shoved open violently, and slammed shut behind Larkin.

The guards motioned for Matthias to move, and he did, shaking off the remains of Larkin’s hypnotic stare. He was going to be taken the dungeons. Unless, if he were to escape.

Larkin headed straight to where he had been going, before that freak of a man had made him go astray. He breathed deeply as he walked, desperately trying to calm his nerves. If he were to gain Tic’s trust, loyalty, he could not let himself lose his temper. And this had been one of his days, the smallest thing could set him off. He would have to be careful. Nervously, he tugged at the ends of his sleeves, and smoothed the front of his overshirt. Down the long, torch-lit corridors and up the spiraling staircases he went. Up and up to the floor where his own room was located, and along with the guest room. It was right across the hall actually, and good thing. Larkin liked to keep an eye on his guests.

He stood dumbly outside the doors, hand moving to grasp the silver knob. He paused, the voices inside reaching his ears. The quiet chattering of the maids was inaudible, unfortunately. But good, he thought, they're showing him around his room.

There was a guard standing beside the door, and he lowered himself at Larkin's presence. Then left as his master dismissed him.

Inside, the servants had set Tic down on his bed - transparent currents draped around it from the ceiling, much like Larkin's, but only second best. The boy watched and, maybe, listened to the maids as they explained where everything was. The room was horribly large, but strangely warm and certainly welcoming, compared to the dungeons. A door on the side wall was the wardrobe, but not all of the clothes would fit Tic. There were no windows in the room, another reason Larkin made guests stay there.

The doorknob twisted open and Larkin stepped through, a hush falling over the women. They dipped their knees and stood with their hands clasped as Larkin peered around the room. He hadn't had a guest in a long time, and even when he did have a guest, he didn't (normally) invade their room. The servants had fixed it up nicely, but... he ran his gloved finger over a small table near the door, and examined the tip of his finger. He made a hum sound, and folded his arms.

The servants glanced at one another, then let their eyes return to the floor. They weren't very nervous; Larkin was pleased and they knew it. Besides, he wouldn't have lost his temper in front of Tic. One of them was trying to keep a straight face, in fact.

From the bed, Tic felt compelled to stand up for Larkin. He did, and immediately he felt the gaze from the man.

Larkin smiled slightly and looked Tic over, very pleased. His hair color stood out better when it was clean, and the white was very complimenting on Tic. Such pretty eyes. What did they look like when they were happy? Larkin's lips tightened flat, and he pretended as if Tic had barely been made presentable. He gave a glance at the three women, and obviously, they did not believe such a thing.

He made he was all the way across the room to Tic, and stood a few feet in front of him. He stared down at the boy, but he was not given the pleasure of Tic's eyes on him. Instead, the boy stared hard at the floor.

"Wait outside," said Larkin, and the maids pushed each other out through the door, and closed it behind them.

Once they were gone, Larkin took one casual step closer to Tic and looked up at the ceiling, then around the room. He was quite aware at how uncomfortable he was making Tic, and a smile appeared on his face. He looked down and said softly, "Miraye has been returned to me."

Immediately Tic looked up, his mouth falling open slowly. She hadn't gotten away. No, not from Larkin. Of course not. His stomach churned. What was Larkin going to do to her for trying to escape? Why was he being treated so well? He was the one who tried to escape along with her. He had strangled that guard. His eyes suddenly widened, face contorted with worry, and he blurted out, "Please don't hurt her!"

Larkin's eyebrows raised and his hands quickly went out to comfort Tic, gently grasping his shoulders. Larkin shook his head, "Oh no, that would be unfair."

Relieved, but not as trusting as Larkin wanted him to be, Tic lowered his head. But Larkin wanted to see his eyes, his beautiful eyes, and he felt Larkin's fingers under his chin, lifting his head back up. He bit his lip, stomach tightening with nervousness.

"But, I could... punish you both, which is the reasonable thing I should do," Larkin watched as Tic's eyes widened only the slightest. He paused, waiting to see if Tic might protest prematurely, but the boy did not. He waited in painful silence for Larkin to say something else, "But I don't want to do that," he whispered, brushing a brown strand of hair from Tic's forehead.

Larkin removed his hands from Tic, slowly tugging away one glove. Out slid his right hand, beautifully pale and slender. His nails were long and unpainted. No need, he always wore those gloved. It reached out to touch Tic's brow, but he pulled away, gasping and taking a stumbling step back.

The hand of the Shrike remained reaching outward, but he was still, thoughtful. No one, ever before, had avoided the touch of Larkin's bare hand. He stared blankly at Tic for a moment, searching for the right emotion to display next. He smiled softly, and slid his hand back into the glove. Tic did not know him, he was never given a chance. Of course he would be frightened of Larkin, but he wasn't going to hit him. No, he only wanted...

Larkin stood up straight, and turned away from Tic. When he reached the door, he looked over his shoulder, smiled redly and said, "If you need anything, Miss Reverta is right outside your door. And I'm... right across the hall." He stepped out, and the door shut.

There was the sound of a turning key, an exchange of words, and then Tic was left in the silence.