Had Darius been a more adept Mage her pulling away from his touch would not have been a problem; then again, had that been the case, he would likely have not needed contact to perform the ceremony with a willing recipient. As it was, he barely managed to mouth the word 'no' before she'd pulled away, shattering the complex magical spell he was maintaining. Maintaining, thanks to his weakness, with his very life force. Of course, he was reinforcing the process with the energy he'd been siphoning off of her, still there was a distinct transference, a giving. His life in order for her to survive the process of being so tormented.<br/><br/>Cursing, Darius stumbled back as the girl broke his touch, his mind swimming with pain and...oddly loss. He hadn't had time to delve into Paige during their contact, he'd been too focused on maintaining the spell, but now...he felt profound isolation, incredible loneliness. He remembered how it felt to be an Outcast among the Mages - skilled enough to be worthy of note, disciplined enough to earn his Mastery, but powerless enough to be considered the least of the least. He stood alone. Somewhere in between the world at large, of wandering adepts and alchemists, and real prestige. Thanks to his magic, Darius was effectively immortal - not quite, but close enough. Still, he was neither as long lived as the truly immortal elves (or the dragons). Indeed, he was in-between.<br/><br/>Outcast. Unclean. Half-Mage.<br/><br/>The swirl of thoughts were embarrassing to him. He did not want Paige to see him this way; she was his student, she was - until she graduated - his responsibility and, in a way, belonged to him. As much as he wanted to protect her, the very masculine part of him wanted more. He could not be seen as weak, as lonely, as suddenly comprehending what it must be like for her...<br/><br/>Realization dawned in Darius' grass emerald eyes as he set his gaze on Paige. The understanding, the emotions, the sympathy flowing through him. It could have been a result of the spell. Frowning, he turned his attention away, steeled his emotions and spoke a few Words of power. Ones that would help push them aside for a short time. He needed to concentrate, not worry about the after-effects of a spell ended too soon.<br/><br/>Turning his broad back to Paige, he looked to the East. A once borderland-Elven city, half on the ground for the Plains-dwellers and half in the forest for the Elves - seemed to be in ruins. Trees were desiccated, whole buildings crumbled to the ground, much of the visible life - including the birds, withering. Darius frowned more deeply - he saw a few people milling around the town, but they seemed lost. Confused almost. He looked, albeit with some reluctance, at Paige.<br/><br/>His surge of desire at the sight of her fragile - but not frail - form captivated his eyes. The curve of her small, but firm-looking breasts drew him as they never had before. It was a struggle, despite his spell, to meet her eyes.<br/><strong><br/>"It may not be safe for us to go closer. There must be a reason these people haven't left. A curse, maybe - perhaps something in the well, or in the air?</strong>" He didn't know. Nature - healing - diseases - he couldn't do anything with them.<br/><br/>Curses, maybe...but even then, she was the heavy artillery here. Not him.<br/>