Asher frowned a little as he pinched the first small thread of twine, pulling it away from Lyriia's body so that he could slip the point of his dagger under it and slice through it without cutting the fairy herself.

[color=707070]"I said I'd let you out,"[/color] Asher repeated grimly,[color=707070] "I didn't say I'd let you free, Lyriia. You wandered too far from Ebonfort lands, don't you think?"[/color]

The handsome-but-scarred man let his stormy eyes fall on the fairy's pretty face at that, noting her tear-streaked cheeks, but ultimately letting his words have time to sink in as he continued to work at the net, piece by piece. It was slow and tedious work, not the kind that Asher appreciated, and Lyriia had gotten herself quite tangled. Now and then his fingers, callused from the weapons he weilded, brushed against her tiny body, but it was always an accident.

[color=707070]"It is the tradition of my people to capture yours and bring them back to the Tribe. I like to think it's a better policy than the Ebon Knights rule to slaughter every Kvaren they find, don't you?"[/color] There was a bitterness there, born out of a cultural and historical hatred for Ebonfort, but tempered and honed by some personal tragedy into the surliness that filled Asher's gray gaze like a cloud.

When the Swordmaster could actually reach it, he teased Lyriia's dagger out of the sheath on her hip and threaded it like a pin through the hem of his shirt like a straight pin, out of her reach.

The golden shafts of light falling like pillars all around the thicket were still full of the sights and sounds of tiny birds fluttering and chirping almost frantically in their busy way, though there was a loud squeaking that seemed more panicked than the rest of the noise.

When the last thread was cut, Asher returned his dagger to his hip and curled his fingers around underneath Lyriia like a cage, lifting her free from the leafy ground up to his face where he could look at her better. There was room in his hand for the fairy to wiggle around, but his fingers were stiff, one in between each of her limbs so that she wasn't quite free to fly off.

[color=707070]"Luckily for you, I don't carry a birdcage with me or I'd be tempted to bring you back to camp. And you're far too small for my handcuffs."[/color] His lips turned up in a grin that suggested he hadn't intended to take her captive at all but needed an excuse not to.

[color=707070]"My name is Asher. Asher Kincade of the Thunderfangs. And you don't need to call me 'Sir', I'm no cursed Knight. But I do want to know what you're doing out here. Are you alone?"[/color]

He twisted his hand a little to get a better look at her wings, still trying his best to not crush the tiny creature.