Mekoa defended the attacking hand with honed ease as she answered Ristina's question as if she were standing perfectly still, instead of positioning herself into a kneeling on her task's back and spreading out her limbs to keep Ristina from reaching her. She knew that it had to be uncomfortable-she had been at the other side of the move multiple times-yet she had little choice if her task was possessed. Maintaining a calloused thumb against a pressure point on the shoulder as a warning, she began.<br/><br/>"You have sealed yourself into the Shadows," she told Ristina, "by that mark on your wrist. It will be difficult to be free of it, but not impossible." Launching her body deftly into the air, she did a half twist and slapped the ground to ease her fall. Mekoa did a summersault to carry the energy to propel her upwards, she stood and faced Ristina, gauging her response.