[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/aFpVkw6.png[/img][/center]
It certainly took more effort than he would've liked to pretend that he was entirely unaffected by the display that the Witch put on. There was freaky, and then there was whatever 'dragging your own nail deep enough into your flesh to slice it open and then utilize mysterious means to fix that up right as rain' was. On one hand, there was a distinct sense that this kinda healing was gonna hurt like hell. On the other hand, it was kinda cute how someone so well-grown remained so oblivious to such advances. It conjured into mind a particular image.

[b]"Not the service I'm interested in,"[/b] was his response, before straightening back up with a shrug when the scale-armed girl had more questions than personal concerns. [b]"And hey, it doesn't hurt at all. Just think of it as a natural feature of my body."[/b] His teeth parted once more into the impression of a smile; was there even a tongue beneath? [b]"More natural than those scales of yours, for sure. If you jam it in, I could remove it, maybe."[/b]

But there was a reason that he had straightened back up, even when nothing he spoke of had indicated any real annoyance or irritation towards the lady's questions.

No, it was simply an inopportune time for such matters now.

He had only heard the conversations of the others in the background, picking up snippets that spoke of divinity and such matters, but who needed such exacting knowledge about the state of the world, when one's eyes could explain it all away? The golden-haired princess had triggered something in her spiritual ascent, and in return, the skies answered with flames. Droplets from candlewicks, already enough to cause the withered shaman to enact her aberrant mysticism and form some invisible shield. It was an incomprehensible act, one way or the other, but there were plenty here that defied the reason and sense that [i]his[/i] perception set upon, no?

And, certainly, others too, would see their common sense challenged by him as well.

[b]"Look 'round you, dumbshit,"[/b] he called out to the one who was entirely, utterly, totally responsible for what was soon to befall them. [b]"Plenty o' spears available, eh?"[/b]

He stepped out from the shield, guided by an instinct for larceny, and without a thought, snatched one of the falling flames out of the air and slipped them into his head. A pleasant surprise. Perhaps due to the coolness in his hand, it wasn't set aflame like the surrounding environment. Or perhaps it was just like that common 'trick', where you could pass your hand through flames without being burnt, so long as you were quick enough with it.

Whatever the reason, it was fine.

Flames had no mass.

No matter how much there was, it would [i]never[/i] sate him.