Brendan looked back and forth between Fiametta and Alex's expectant faces and made a helpless gesture with one hand. "I'm not really all that sure myself... I mean, I was experimenting with that book - the one I told<em>you </em>about earlier." he said, gesturing to Alex. "The first time I tried to use it, nothing happened at all... No - wait- there<em>was</em>a reaction from the diagram itself. And I felt... oddly queasy. But that's as far as it went.<br/><br/>He chuckled nervously, fidgeting with his hands as he went on. "To tell the truth... I really didn't expect what was in the book to work. I mean, what it was talking about was<em>way </em>too fantastical to be true. Um... It was talking about conjuration." He shrugged and gave an incredulous look. "But that's the kind of stuff you hear about in old Fairy Tales. I mean, a charm to protect yourself from accidents and mishaps... maybe. Or, perhaps, a simple ritual to help guard against catching a cold. But summoning?!" He gave a small chuckle and made a dismissive gesture with his hand. "That's not only pushing the envelope, that's ripping it right in half." His face became somber and his eyes grew distant, as if he were looking at something far, far away. "At least... that's what I<em>thought... </em>But after this second time..." His eyes raised to gaze pointedly at Fiametta. "Then...<em>you </em>appeared."<br/><br/>A sudden wave of embarassment came over him and he looked down at his feet, shifted uneasily and then looked back at Fiametta. "Um... I really am sorry about my behaviour earlier. I mean, I think I was feeling a bit full of myself and I got carried away." Brendan held his hand up in front of himself and made a motion of pressing the tips of his index fingers together rhythmically.  "Plus I figured I wasn't going to be able to conjure anything and I decided since I can't seem to find a girlfriend. erm... eh-heh-heh-heh.... Well, I just took a long-shot chance on summoning one to me." He stood there in awkward silence, staring at the floor.