He looked briefly satisfied at the snakes backing off and mentally filed that away for later the next time they swarmed him. He resisted any impulse to follow it up by hrmphing triumphantly at them.<br/><br/>And then he just half closed his eyes and focused on the soft warmth moving against him, listening to her without reply for a while, the feel of the trembling to her body, hands sliding further, finding passage past her clothes to stroke along the sides of her body, somehow both warm and cool in his touch as his fingertips glided all the way down to her hips, lingering there as his hands pulled her closer.<br/><br/>He met her gaze as evenly as he always did, though he smiled in response to hers with a gentle affection.<br/><br/>"Truly a divine generosity Sthenae."<br/><br/>His tone as close to teasing in reply as it ever tended to come.<br/><br/>"But when it only draws you into further conflict with them, I think the benefits of such therapies are quickly countered."