Ethan led me further into his house and to his room. We had spent a lotof time in here during our lifetimes, but never had I felt souncomfortable in t...e room as I did when I walked in. My face must haveregistered shock, because Ethan grimaced immediately. It was obviousthat he hadn't considered what bringing me into his room would mean.It was immediately apparent why he had been so distant from me.Prominently displayed on his wall were two of my posters, one of thembeing the poster he had. ”We talked about it for a bit, and decided we will just see if the right person comes along. A few weeks later we had decided to go and see some RomCom she was crazy about. And thankfully the theater was mostly empty, and had those chairs where you can lift up the arm between the seats.I had us sit in the back, and a bit after the movie started I decided it was time to fulfill her wish. I had my hand resting on her thigh, and I had moved it occasionally so she would get used to it. But now I. Away from the others, they spoke their own prayer in hopes the gods would see fit to spare the innocent.Verano reached for a piece of fruit, which fell from his trembling fingers halfway to his plate. He forced a quivering smile and snatched the fruit from the table, tossing it onto his plate."Is something wrong, Mage Verano?"Verano's eyes glazed for a moment as he stared across the table. He managed a tiny croaking chuckle. "Oh, um, not at all, Elder Wurlos. Not at all! Just ... just had a. When I thought I had all the specifics covered, Iimagined two control valves in my mind and slowly gave each a quarterturn.Andie gave a quiet, almost pleasant, moan while Jack flinchednoticeably and looked to me in wonder.The energy flowing into me was amazing!I pulled the trigger in my mind and everything around us suddenlystopped. As before, all noises and sounds vanished.I noticed Arnold's eyes slowly glance around the room as he detectedsomething amiss.'Jacquelyn? Say hello to the man.' I.