Akoni rolled his eyes behind the pages of a book. It seemed that he had given Souta's maturity too much credit since the child decided to throw a mild tantrum at some much needed and well warranted advice. Kids. At least the demon child was keeping to herself and not causing trouble. The old mage wondered for a moment why the Council even bothered with her, but reminded himself that appearances were not always what they seemed. 

Meanwhile Akoni could feel the anger emanating from the sage. For once Akoni could actually see how he would have pissed off someone else. Well too bad. Maybe next time he would choose his words more precisely, as any good sorcerer should. The devil, as they say, is in the details. 

Akoni had just finished scanning the room and outlying walls with his spell of Detect Life, having found nothing, and was about to inform the rest of his finding, but the woman from the Order of the Sword had spoken up. Really? Talk down? Him? Clearly these little crickets didn't know a damn thing about helpful advice. That meant he had to educate them.

[color=dodgerblue]"If you think useful pointers from someone with decades more experience is 'talking down' then you need to rethink your priorities,"[/color] he said in a rather neutral tone. [color=dodgerblue]"The only one here older and more experienced than me is the sage, and [i]he[/i] has never had to experience mortality. I'd say that puts me in a unique position here."[/color] There he was again, placing just a little bit too much emphasis, a little too much antagonism on Silas. The rest of his words were fairly matter of fact, but when he referenced the master of wolves his resentment bled through just a little too much.

[color=dodgerblue]"Contrary to what you may think, I do care that you all live. We [i]are[/i] a team and I [i]have[/i] your backs. I'd rather you all live to things from my perspective, so don't whine about it, Souta."[/color] He then addressed Mary directly. [color=dodgerblue]"You're still a bit naive, but at least you're more cordial and respectful. You've got a good head on your shoulders, cricket. Stay the course."[/color]

He took a moment to set down all the books he had gone through, not on the floor, but in his pockets. He stored away what must have been a dozen books and scrolls into two pockets that wouldn't have appeared to have anywhere near enough space to store them all. Magic is strange, isn't it?

[color=dodgerblue]"And since you all asked, I scanned the area for signs of life and came up blank, but we'd still do well to be on our guard in case of traps or artificial life, like golems and gargoyles. I also couldn't make out any distinct signs of what's been here by examining the floor, so we're blind to the threats. I suggest that we maintain two groups. That way we can have each other's backs, but we don't risk everyone falling into the same traps if we move together."[/color]