Shula would have been an idiot not to feel the very sudden change in Faelan’s tone. Not only did she hear it but she felt it as well, the bond connecting the intense emotions. The words pricked Shula far more then she would have liked to admit and for a minute she stayed silent, turned on her side and content with not acknowledging what the man had said.<br/><br/>The silence seemed to drag on forever while Shula mulled over what Faelan had said. The dragon turned over, staring at the man and for the first time in a while she felt a calm resonance inside of her. She didn’t know whether or not she just found the strength or if she was too exhausted to bring up any rage or resentment in the moment.<br/><br/>“Maybe you’re right… Maybe I will drive myself mad.” She said, her eyes moving past Faelan, as if looking into the distance. “I haven’t had much control in my life at all, but just don’t think because I’m a demon I haven’t had things taken away from me too.” She said pointedly, almost as if to address how Faelan’s mood went sour specifically when he mentioned Shula having a family. The demon had a certain guess that this man had lost something or someone important to him; undoubtedly caused by the bond.<br/><br/>“I don’t have a family to go home to.” She said, not quite sure why she was sharing this information all of the sudden. “I don’t have much of anything, really. The one thing I did have was taken by you people. Humans constantly look for perfection and power but all they leave in their wake is grief.” Her words were bitter now and her eyes had fallen back on Faelan’s, her brows knit into a taught frown. “You are self-destructive creatures with little regard for life beyond yours. So self-absorbed in your journey of enlightenment that you forget other sentient creatures exist that have treasures…no matter how small or few they may be.”<br/><br/>It was pouring out of her now, as if the man’s words had broken a dam and the water was all rushing out. Shula had no privacy to her emotions now- this man was going to see and feel it all. For a moment Shula let go of the struggle to reject the bond. The connection felt invasive and alien but as she spoke there was also an unexplainable comfort, as if her torrent were flowing to meet another river in its own turbulent chaos. She could feel other emotions coursing through her too and she couldn’t say she was surprised when they felt similar; anger, insecurity, uncertainty and so much grief.<br/><br/>“I had one thing…” She whispered, her voice so soft and unbelievably forlorn. Shula buried her head in the pillow again, not wanting to cry in front of the stranger who had invaded her.