When the "demon" - as Brendan thought of her - came back over and stood with her hands on her hips, he immediately thought the worst.<em>"Oh, man! This is it! I'm done-for!"</em>He thought to himself.<br/><br/>But then she offered her hand and some, more or less, encouraging words. It may have been the tone of her voice, or simply just his desire to believe she<em>wasn't</em>a demon, but Brendan swallowed hard and took her hand, accepting her help in getting back to his feet.<br/><br/>"Um.. I, uh... I'm really very sorry about the misunderstanding.. Um.. and ah... about my rude behavior." He shifted uneasily from one foot to the other and scratched the back of his neck. He glanced over at his summoning circle and then back to her and, giving a weak, sheepish smile, he bolstered all his courage for the next question. "So then... if you're not a demon. Do you mind if I ask who you are and.. uh.. why exact that you're here?" Managing to get the last of the words out, Brendan held his breath and waited hopefully.<br/><br/>She<em>said </em>she wasn't a demon but he just wanted to hear something - anything - some kind of reassurance that he wasn't about to get his sould devoured.