It was true that he had mastered the art of hollow stones and herbs and spirit-talking, but Onias had a master of his own. He could never quite tell if the darkness at his heels was real or some kind of psychosis or maybe even just a manifestation of some complex, but he felt its presence quite fully. It was always there, breathing on the backs of his legs. Urging him to move forward, to become stronger--a more capable proxy, as it were. It was a life that he hadn't quite chosen, but had moreso fallen upon him, and Onias felt slight relief that his lurking follower was quiet and distant this evening. He let out a short whistle of air in amusement at her statement. "I did not know I was being eavesdropped on." Onias winked as he said it, for he very well knew there were plenty around to listen.

One was not ever really alone, not this late in the game. Too many had died walking these same steps over the ages. But, ah, what could rival being alive right now? Onias raised his head as she approached him, curiously peering at her as she approached, her skin seeming alive separate from her-- she smelled like the magic of this land. He didn't move as she reached out to sniff him, instead he twisted his neck to the side so that she might get a better whiff. "Ah, perhaps I am just happy to see you again, for I have been among the shadows for moons now." He smiled, though he could not stop the hunger from licking at his eyes. The male was no pig, but he had never met another so metaphysically entrancing...

Onias had always worried that his power would displaced or lessened somehow with offspring or a mate, and so he had never pursued it. He had to wonder if that was the meaning of her call given the season. The wind was blowing cold, and it was a season better spent in the den of another, and a warm den led to many other things... But assumptions were the enemy of knowledge, and so for now, he respectfully kept his distance. He had lived a life reliant on self-control, and there was no reason to lose that.

He tilted his head, eyes glittering in the rising moonlight. "Tell me why you called for me, dear." The words were phrased as a command but spoken as a question, gentle and earnest. Onias was a strange man, but he would never have let himself be called cruel. She had captured him in some way... if he had picked up on her energy correctly, then perhaps they might explore that further.