"...And explain the injuries you caused the slaver, and how."

The light in the room was warm and threw deep black shadows against the walls. Yoshi and Helly had retreated to sit on Liya's bed--Yoshi with his hands on his knees, watching anxiously, and Helly frowning. Liya sat at the little table, half-turned towards the Cynn, who was evidently writing some report in curly Aetherian script as Liya spoke. He did not look up at her.

"Wull, she...she'd broken her collar bone, her leg, an' one wing before," Liya explained. "I can tell. So I just found the old breaks, and..." she made a motion with her hands, "snap."

"Interesting," Cynn Numair said, without looking interested at all. "I seem to recall Ubis having similar powers. The founder of the University, you know. Isn't that right, Terrya d'Ubis?"

This last was directed, apparently, at one of the Escalan officers--the older one, with the spots on their forehead and nose. They had a mass of long, thick blonde hair wrapped in a length of linen, and spangled with tiny red-and-blue beads. At the Cynn's question, they stirred.

"Aye," they said after a long moment, seeming irritated--or, at least, disdainful--at the Cynn's observation.

"On the surface," the Cynn said lightly, "it seems these powers would be suited for naught but healing, but they're quite good for destroying as well." He glanced over at the officers, one eyebrow arching slightly, seeming terribly unimpressed. "Fitting that the d'Ubis are now so involved in police work."

Terrya finally turned their eyes on the Cynn--tawny, like their hair. Their lips curled ever so slightly. The Cynn did not seem to pay any mind to this.

"So, Liliya," he said briskly, "you consider this an act of self-defence?"

"What??" Liya was taken aback by the question. She glared. "Yeah!! A' course!!"