[color=#1A1A3B][b][u][h1][sub][sub][sub]Farren[/sub][/sub][/sub][/h1][/u][/b][/color]		    felt his brow twitched, followed a moment after by the corner of his eyelid as Ophelia--firmly, and as gently as she could--laid into him. Farren's fists clenched and in so doing, he realized that he'd never sheathed his blade. Farren took a breath, trying to calm himself, but his heart just kept racing, his body remembering what Ego had done to him even if his mind struggled to. Slowly, for he'd noticed the tension in her stance, Farren moved, sheathing the Effigial Blade before raising his hand to the bridge of his nose. He pinched lightly, massaging the spot for a moment as he shook his head, his teeth still tightly pressed together, the muscle in his jaw standing out.
[color=#1A1A3B][b]“Even you felt the effects of the bastard without the Mask Rune,”[/b][/color] he said, meeting her gaze again. She might see that while he was clearly struggling with himself, that he appeared to be doing his best not to react purely with emotion.

[color=#1A1A3B][b]“The false eyes of the lantern...the Vicar's affectation, I doubt they were the only things that eluded you, if only temporarily. Yet...”[/b][/color] he trailed off, jaw working, his nose wrinkling slightly before he suppressed the expression of agitation--or was that disgust...or something else entirely. He closed his eyes, taking in a slow audible breath through his nose before continuing, [color=#1A1A3B][b]“...arrogantly, you assume you might commune with this...[i]thing[/i] and come out unscathed?”[/b][/color]

Farren's azure eyes opened, met hers and he found that he had to suppress the urge to spit at her feet, had to suppress a look of profound disgust. It never appeared on his face, but only just. [color=#1A1A3B][b]“...but yes, surely I--who has had the most exposure to Ego's [i]attentions[/i]--would know nothing of it.”[/b][/color]

He smiled then, but it wasn't a pleasant thing to look upon and it never touched his eyes. In that moment, his regard was more a glare. [color=#1A1A3B][b]“No, you're right. [i]I'm[/i] the irrational one. Surely,”[/b][/color] each word was painfully sarcastic.