Cold still was his gaze that roved over her tense sinew and bewildered eyes. He watched her pause with calculation with the seconds ticking by and his anger was slowly abating. He had no reason to display anger to this hornless vermin and it was anger best kept for another day, a day when he finally got his glass sword to the throat of the murderer.

He listened to her tale, her misfortunes, whilst an offended look slowly worked its way onto his face. Was she comparing him to this idiot from her past? Like the Nightshade would touch a hornless in such a manner. No, d’Artagnan would play, torture the mind and sometimes murder, but never abuse so close, so intimately. It would be rare for him to touch his prey at all if he could help it. "I wouldn’t touch you with a ten-foot stick" he grumbled in an offended tone "I am nothing like this ghost of your past" he was far more classier in calibre than the blockhead in her tale. He didn’t even celebrate his victims; it was more of a satisfactory nod of approval before he went back to his daily life as if nothing had happened. Time ticked. Even as his anger abated it was replaced by an interesting annoyance at this slip of a hornless, this pathetic chestnut girl who recited a painful past only to continue to cower and back away. In all that time had she not grown a backbone? Could she not fight him a little rather than wither away in front of him. It was no fun when it was so easy. Did she not know that all these powerful men were powerful because she had no fight? No defiance?

He glossed over her question, in anger he had almost revealed too much about himself, though he wondered if this one knew the murderer, he held his tongue as "Prove it. You back away from me like a trapped rabbit and claim you want to live? Show me how much." He taunted and dared her to take the step forward, she had run away from a beast once, was she going to run away again? Or would she slay it instead. d’Artagnan was not fond of those without the glorious horn, but he also wasn’t fond of pathetic horses that shrivelled in the face of danger. The Doctor wouldn’t try kill her, the moment had gone and he was more interested in seeing if he could coax her into attacking him. "Or will you keep running forever."

Aramis was by his side, watching the exchange with interest with the glow of his markings beginning to dull and fade away.

@[Bellisma] no worries! <3