...That had to be the first time anyone had ever said that to him. Zouichi tried to remember the last time someone who had known of his abilities had expressed concern that they might hurt him... and could not. Especially strange was that in this case, the concern was valid. Ildraniath could hurt him, particularly in this venue.

Vulnerability was... a strange sensation for him. He should feel more ill at ease with it, but found he did not. Stranger still.

My thanks, he said. And then, ...What is that flower doing here? There was indeed a rather exuberant pink flower blooming straight out of a datapad that had been left on the table. It did not appear to be rooted to anything. Could it have some connection to what had happened to them?