It rapidly became difficult to breathe, and not only for the smoke. A Princess of the Earth pressed her will against Daga's, and it was more than a little overwhelming. The contact she made as she grasped his chin was the worst: even offering no more than a warning, Tepin Arisu's touch felt hot enough to burn. The fullness of her influence crashed against him, and it was no small thing. Yet all that heat and pressure was a different thing for a Child of Pasiap.<br/><br/>The limestone grey of his eyes seemed for a moment to shift under the intense weight of her charisma, recrystallizing into marble and glittering white and yellow as the Ivory Dragon's gaze held hers, echoing distantly with the same resonance as the essence (and the stubborn resolve) of the mighty sorceress that would, had she any say in the matter, claim the Scarlet Throne of her mother.<br/><strong>"I will serve my Empress."</strong><br/><br/>And then, without even a moment's time spent in transformation, his eyes were as normal again, though his focus did not slip in direction or in fullness. Tepin Arisu still held his chin in her hand, though now one of his own had risen to grasp her wrist as she did so, neither seeking nor allowing for the removal of her touch as he answered the demonstration she'd made by trapping his chin with one of his own: a reminder that it was the magistrates before the legions that concerned themselves with the application of locks.<br/>"If that Empress changes, so be it. If another wins my service, then that may be as well. But the loyalty of any Prince of the Earth -- no matter the thickness of his blood -- is a thing to be<em>earned</em>, not coerced."<br/><br/>His hand released hers, then, without any effort made to liberate himself from her grasp.<br/>"Still, you may trust in my good behavior. Make no mistake: under my empress or any other, it is not the business of a magistrate to make trouble. It is my business to end it."