A brief wave of panic washed over Eliphas when Ceri declared that she would be adopting Mirar instead. He looked over to Starlin, eyes wide, as his heartbeat thudded so loudly it drowned everything else out. "But... But, I need her" he managed to gasp out, despite the fact that he was barely breathing. The pup noticed immediately, and what had been playful yips turned to silent, incessant licks. When that didn't work, she jumped up against his chest and nudged him under the chin.
That got him breathing. Slow, steady, in and out, he swallowed down the lump which had formed and blinked away the stupid tears which had sprung up in his panic. His cheeks turned bright pink as reality set in, and with it fresh understanding, and as he was helped to his feet his stared down at them nervously. "I... But... Mirar would, she'd like someone else to play with, and uh, yeah."
He wanted to leave, so he did. He wanted to bury his head in his pillow and scream... So he did. Muffled enough that no one outside of the room could hear. He wanted to stay there, hidden away; he didn't. Instead he composed himself, shrugged out of the jacket he'd been wearing to try and cool down some, then returned to the lounge.
Eliphas tried to pretend none of it had happened. If no one brought it up, he might actually get away with it too.
As Starlin went on to talk about the spells, Eliphas listened intently as though he had never heard about it before. The spell which was used as demonstration was one he was more than familiar with by now, but the premise of the actual lesson was something else entirely.
"Like a boon?" he asked, eyes widening in excitement, "Battlemind, but... song?"
