<span style="font-style: italic">Apologies for the wait - had more people around for the holidays longer than I had been planning on. </span><br/><br/>Forced to quickly scramble down the oni’s back as she collapses, Cryia finds herself back in a position much like the one that she had been only a few minutes earlier - within easy reach of a predator, and with a virtual assurance of what the outcome of a struggle would result in.  As much as she doesn’t want to, she can feel her body tensing, preparing for the possibility of escape, and she can see the feline doing the same.<br/><br/>The next few moments seem to stretch far longer then she was ready for them to, and by the time that they end, her nerves are frayed almost to her limit.  When she reaches towards her, Cyria has to consciously make an effort to not flinch away from her touch, and mostly succeeds, only giving a slight twitch as she pats her cheek.  “You’ll forgive me if I’m not quite as reassured by that as some others may be.  On the other hand, I’m very familiar with keeping myself useful in a variety of ways, so I don’t think you’ll have that problem with me.”<br/><br/>Listening to her speak about the reasons she has for fighting, it’s clear that she has some significantly deeper motivations than Disa had.  For all her obvious natural ability, Veria obviously has somethimg more than Disa’s simple enjoyment of fighting and eating at play, and Cyria is instinctively curious to hear more.  Johan’s interjection manages to cheer her up a bit though, as it’s always amusing to hear him reaffirm the fact that even in the most unusual or dangerous situations, his priorities in life will never change.  Similarly, there is seemingly nothing in existance that they had yet encountered thus far that could dampen Alura’s spirits, something that she has an incredible talent at displaying at the most significant moments.  Possibly trapped on a different world or plane of reality entirely, effectively captured by one of the place’s inhabitants who seemed universally far more capable than the inhabitants of their own world, and the two are flirting with and renaming her, respectively.<br/><br/>The question about the world’s history and that of it’s people, on the other hand, catches much more of her interest.  While she doesn’t immediately whip out her quill and parchment again, she does take a few careful steps toward Johan when he mentions it.   “When we asked Disa the same thing, she mistook me for a bard and all but demanded I give her a prominent role in the soon-to-be epic.  I assure you, though, my interests are far more academic then that.”