—Maybe in a book.— [Lightly. (Or once he was making progress on figuring the mystery out.)]
[Stocke's tendril paused as Garrett jerked away. Stocke hadn't intended to poke him with it - and even if he had, it would've gone straight through, though that was unnerving in its own way. But... jumpy, or leery against contact. After a moment, Stocke whipped the limb back.]
—You'll pardon me if I'm more concerned about you getting other people into trouble.— [Not that Stocke sounded at all apologetic; sardonic, rather. And with the way Garrett was dodging the question, it wasn't making him sound any less suspicious. Maybe Stocke had originally had an irrational reason to stop here, where he might not have bothered with other kinds of monsters, but it was starting to look more and more like a good decision.]
[Stocke tilted his head to the side, glowing eyes slanting.] —How about this: we stop dancing around each other and you tell me what you're up to. If it's nothing that will interfere with the other transformed near here, I've got no interest in meddling with it; if it is, I'd end up trying to chase you off eventually anyway.— [No notable improvement or decline in Garrett's state either way, besides getting rid of an obstacle right in this moment. That was, if Stocke believed him.]
[He was still curious, of course. But the peninsula wasn't all that large; most likely he'd run into the other shade again sometime.]
no subject
[Stocke's tendril paused as Garrett jerked away. Stocke hadn't intended to poke him with it - and even if he had, it would've gone straight through, though that was unnerving in its own way. But... jumpy, or leery against contact. After a moment, Stocke whipped the limb back.]
—You'll pardon me if I'm more concerned about you getting other people into trouble.— [Not that Stocke sounded at all apologetic; sardonic, rather. And with the way Garrett was dodging the question, it wasn't making him sound any less suspicious. Maybe Stocke had originally had an irrational reason to stop here, where he might not have bothered with other kinds of monsters, but it was starting to look more and more like a good decision.]
[Stocke tilted his head to the side, glowing eyes slanting.] —How about this: we stop dancing around each other and you tell me what you're up to. If it's nothing that will interfere with the other transformed near here, I've got no interest in meddling with it; if it is, I'd end up trying to chase you off eventually anyway.— [No notable improvement or decline in Garrett's state either way, besides getting rid of an obstacle right in this moment. That was, if Stocke believed him.]
[He was still curious, of course. But the peninsula wasn't all that large; most likely he'd run into the other shade again sometime.]