Ilea watched him, her crimson eyes calm but more observant than anyone would have expected. She knew the signs of hiding reactions all too well. She knew what it was to want desperately to keep anyone from seeing any sign of weakness. She respected it.
She finally reached over and closed the box, sliding it back to the side, "I don't want anything to do with his blood. I've already used what is on these to take down his blood locks in the castle so it won't be needed any more. When the time comes, I'll just make a new set. I've done it several times over the years," she said calmly about the fragments.
To anyone else, she would appear to be completely unemotional. But emotions had been her 'weakness' with Goh...
"As for the bodies, I only suggest having them work in the graveyards until they are down to bone. I never-" she paused to correct herself, "I tried to keep the fleshed ones out of the castle. Goh saw it as a weakness in me and forced it so I learned to deal with it. I will not do the same with you. If you do better with clean bones then you can stay with that and I will deal with the others," she paused again as she considered how her abilities had progressed since Goh's death.
She licked her lips, the only sign of nervousness she still had, "I have had some rise spontaneously recently... I haven't done it intentionally but it has still happened. And if I walk outside the castle I tend to attract ghouls. They aren't violent, just a bit annoying," she warned them both of the possibilities just so that they would be prepared for it.
"I will get it under control but you should be aware of it should it happen," she said with a shrug of one shoulder as she looked at Nate, hoping that he would understand and not react badly about it.
Nalyne gave his own shrug, "As much as that idiot kept suppressing your abilities, I'm not surprised about spontaneous raisings. I'm more surprised that there haven't more of them," he considered that then shrugged again, "Well... Aside from your recent loss of temper..."
When she looked at him, he raised his hands and shook his head, "Justified in my opinion, Ilea. I don't judge you for it. I just point it out to help explain your increased power. Right now, you're more powerful than any of the death deities I know. And you seem to have the potential to surpass all of them. As I said before, I can't think of any one better to teach Nate than you. I know your control was hard-won and no one deserved to go what either of you has had to endure. But I also think that you can help each other," he explained to them both even though he was looking at her.
Then he got to his feet with a heavy sigh, "I have to leave, though. I have several things to take care of and a few meetings at home. If I'm needed just call my name and I'll get here as soon as I can," he gave them both a nod and added a shoulder squeeze for Nate before he headed for the door.
He always came and went when no one was looking, a very old habit that he wasn't likely to break any time soon.
Ilea watched Nalyne leave then looked at Nate for a moment. She finally gave a soft sigh and moved on to something else she knew she had to talk to him about, "You know I learned other things... The dungeon was never empty until he died... If any of my... skills... make you uncomfortable, I want you to tell me. I don't want to teach you like I was taught. I want you to learn what you want to learn and at your own pace," she told him in her calm and serious tone.
"Dealing with the people of this realm takes a certain type of ruthlessness and the ability to cause outright terror with a simple look. You know how evil the residents are, no matter the varying degrees. A whip still gets their attention better than a kind word.
"That said, I am nowhere near Goh's level. I do have certain things that I will not do. He did not care about age or innocence. I do. I will never violate those limits. I just need to know what your limits are. I will also need to know if they are hard limits or soft limits, things you can push if needed or not," she explained, her voice carrying very little inflection but her emotions still clear if he looked for them.
She took in a deep breath and licked her lips again, "Things like the bodies... I just need to know your limits and reasons for the aversion. Again, I will not teach you the same way I was taught," she added them let out a soft sigh and looked at the box, "I will also want to teach you how to fight. I just need to what weapon you wish to learn. There is an armory room on the dungeon floor below. Look through there. Feel each of the weapons. Handle them a bit. You will know which one feels right. There is no rush. There is plenty of time to learn. Just let me know when you know which weapon you want to learn," she added, knowing that he would need the skill.
She knew how to use every weapon in the armory and several that weren't. Her blades, for example, were not in there. They were the weapon Goh had chosen for her. Over time, she had grown to love the hiltless blades. But she could use just about anything else.
While he might not like gore, there was still a time for it...
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