Please check to see you're still breathing [Ana]

[nephero]

(Ugh, sorry for the seriously late response, a new job has essentially eaten my life.)

Shea snorted a bit, appreciating that the redhead could at least make light of himself. It was a skill oft unused and unlearned, he'd found, and he had very little patience for those who took themselves far too seriously. After all, if you're so concerned with image, there's little room for anything else. Image was a hard thing to maintain.

It had taken him, what, eight tries to learn that very fact? Who even knew, at this point.
Shea tilted his head a bit, his eyes narrowed in thought as he considered the fey man's words. "Hm, I suppose there is a point to be made in that. But beasts are terribly predictable if you know what to look for. They operate on very simple terms, none of the typical underhanded schemes or ulterior motives... no money, no betrayal, just a straight fight or flight. It's almost admirable, I suppose."

"And no need for secrets," he continued, now on the topic of just what the creature was. "That is a human trait if there ever was one. What we may be dealing with could, in fact, simply be a human with a few tricks up his, or her, sleeves. But you raise a fair point in what the, shall we say, worst case scenario might be."

Shea Ru reached into his jacket, and pulled out a small, heavily worn leather booklet, and flipped it to the next blank page. Wedged between the pages was a wrapped stick of charcoal, and this he plucked up to make small, smudging notes.

"So we have something that is taking bodies, we're not sure if alive or dead but there's likely a use for either, something that has thus far gone completely unseen, and is able to snatch these same bodies up without alerting anyone." He hummed, and tapped his charcoal stick to his chin, leaving a dark smudge amongst his stubble. "Like you stated, it could be demonic, though let's keep that little thought hush-hush lest we startle the locals; it could be fae, or a spirit... and it could be a potently powerful mage."

He flicked his eyes up to gauge the redhead's reaction, and offered a swift sort of smile that did nothing to warm his eyes.

"The precautions against the first three are easy enough to procure... I don't suppose you have much experience in dealing with potentially unhinged magic-users, do you?"

[Anadwen]

"You're very wrong if you think that way, dear sir." Thranuilas gave Shea a dark look, something beyond slight annoyance that he displayed until now, or the mischievous undertone that he seemed to gain when speaking of the villagers. It was more akin to the darkest of clouds that swim over the moon in a winter night, foreboding and ominous. The most experience he could just have was against his uncle and his own self... If someone knew how magic gone awry and out of control was and felt, it was definitely Thranuilas.

"I do agree that it would make it far easier were it a Fae, a spirit, or a human... As a mage, I have no issues with seeing spirits. A few times before I've met an Adelan noble house that hunted spirits, I daresay I've learned a few tricks from back then." he concluded, crossing his legs underneath the table as he followed the trail of this thoughts.
"However, humans are a complicated sort - take no offense in that, please. They think and act oddly to me... Thus I place my trust in you was a human adversary the case." He flashed a charming smile at Shea, placing both of his hands on the table, his unnaturally pale skin stark white against the black sleeves and wraps, covering their backs.

In fact, he had a bad hunch about this. This man in front of himself, he wasn't the sort of man he'd trust, or the man into whose hands he'd put his life. Not at all; if he knew something, it was that humans could never be trusted.
Other people could never be trusted. Every single one of them would betray him and stab him in the back when he'd be kneeling on the floor.

Not like he'd let any of that on, naturally. He had a reputation and an appearance to uphold, and a paranoid freak didn't fall into that.

"May I know if you have any experience fighting fae, spirits and demons? The knowledge may be crucial. If you lack some knowledge... Be aware that I'm available for advice since eight in the morning till ten in the evening. Between that, I sleep." he spoke, somewhat in jest.

"I do have somewhat of an idea how we could go on about attempting to track our adversary down, though," he begun speaking, proceeding to stretch his arms above his head to get his blood circulating through his (small amount of) muscles. The wide sleeves of his robe sled down his forearms, all the way down to his elbows, revealing that all of his arms were wrapped in black threads, not showing even a patch of skin.
However, as he was about to speak, his back arched like that of a cat, he felt somewhat crack silently in his back. His eyes widened all of a sudden, all color and expression vanishing from his face, and he was stuck in that half-stretching position.

"Oh. My vertebrae." he muttered, eyes filling with tears as he forced his arms back down, still unnaturally tilted to the side, and slammed one of his palms into his back. For a moment, his pupils dilated, before he drew a very deep, very slow breath in, easing up in posture once more.