"Wull what does that mean?!" Hawk demanded, as Numair turned away from him and started to walk away, towards the little bench that was sitting among the trees at the edge of the pond. "Come on!! Selfish?? Why, what'd you get out of not tellin' me you're the damn Cynn?"

That was the final straw--all the fury that Numair seemed to have been barely containing suddenly burst free. He whipped back around.

"I GOT OUT OF BEING THE DAMN CYNN FOR ONCE!" he snarled, his face contorted. Hawk actually recoiled in surprise, even though Numair only came up to his chest--and barely even that, bent almost double as he was with the effort of expelling what emotion he'd been holding in. "I got to be loved by someone who saw me as only myself! I've never had that before, Hawk! Never!"

He broke off then, and the rage seemed to leave him as fast as it had come on, leaving him looking up at Hawk with a terribly pained expression. After a moment, he turned away again, saying much more quietly, "...Can you see what that would mean to me?"