Numair's teeth still ached just a bit with cold.

(What is it? Unease, or something related that didn;t have a simple name...something existential, something that did not have wholly to do with the Cynn, but fell upon him anyway...)

(What had Hawk said about Teige? He was a pooka, he was from Ireland, he was here to join R.I.T...)

(...he was a good friend, Hawk trusted him, you just had to get used to him...)

The broadcast went on in hte background unheeded. Numair let it. He'd heard Mudh-Teem hundreds of times; every native Aetherian had. Instead he reminded himself to sit still, even as the other light flashed into his eyes. Liya and Yoshi were both acutely aware of his presence (or rather, the Cynn's presence,) as absorbed as they both appeared to be by the broadcast.

But Yoshi's attention was only a gentle summer night's darkness, punctuated by the nervous embers given off by a fire at the edge of Numair's vision: decidedly benign, quiet, and contained.

Liya was a different matter: a hard glitter on the surface of a livid sea, and sunlight which flashed blindingly through leaves which moved in a stiff breeze.

She was suspicious of him. That part wasn't new, but Numair rather thought the tone had changed somewhat. At least it was easy to decipher, even if it was distracting to look at.

(Hawk had said she'd taken the news that he and Numair were romantically involved 'well. Maybe that was the case outwardly, but the flashing sunlight betrayed her. That, and the frown, and the wandering gaze...)

The sunlight was very distracting. Numair wished Liya would focus on the radio, and forget he was in the room altogether. Then again, Vlad was very focused on the radio, and it was only making the light more intense; now there was an undercurrent of molten metal to the sunlight, as well.

Numair had never been certain how to interpret this particular imagery, but it was quite strong: the metal flowing and pouring endlessly, unformed and so hot that it hurt to look at, searingly bright in the dark.

(Someone who had been many things and would be many more, he supposed. The metal fills a mold like water, but they are not the same...)

Vlad was the only one completely unperturbed by Numair's presence. The novelty of being around the elusive Cynn had long worn off, thankfully...though Numair knew that Vlad saw him with some judgement now. After the mistakes Numair had made with Hawk, Vlad seemed to have realized that the Cynn was really just a spirit his own age--relatively young, and still making some foolish decisions. It put Numair at ease, somehow, even knowing that Vlad found him to be a slight disappointment.