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"Hypothermia, my dear...well, it's something that happens to you when you get too cold. And since that water is close to freezing...well, you catch my drift. I'm used to it, so I'll be fine. I do live here, after all." He was almost worried for her, but she hadn't been in the lake long enough to be in any real danger. She would be warm enough in a moment. Although her high heart rate was a bit of a concern, though he had his suspicions about its cause. He could see her heart beating, pumping it's way through a vein in her neck. He sighed. As always, his Kalona blood asserted itself when it wasn't wanted.

Paradox pulled her closer, feeling her snuggle into his side. Another twinge of guilt pierced his heart. How could he do this to her? If it wasn't genuine affection, then how could he even begin to imagine that it could disprove his father? But that would require that he fall in love as well. Paradox's icy heart froze over once more. That wasn't possible. Although...he found he harbored almost fond feelings towards Mei. Perhaps they could be friends, after all.

He nearly scoffed. Friends? Would she want to be friends if she knew that he had been playing her? No...best stick to the plan. Emotions were flaws, he knew that.

He was pulled out of his reverie by the sound of her voice, uncertain for some reason, as she asked him why he saved her. "Why would I laugh at you?" he asked, a puzzled expression on his face. "You could have died, Mei," he said softly. "So, tell me, why would anyone find that funny?" His eyes softened a bit when he heard her mumblings. She thought he was like the other Kalona she'd met. But was he really all that different? He played her for a fool, manipulating her emotions, taking advantage of her in nearly every aspect of the phrase. Was that any less monstrous than the others?

He shook his head. Nonsense. He was conducting an experiment. There was nothing wrong with that. Best to put those silly notions out of his head at once.

"My dear, I would never laugh at you," Paradox murmured thoughtfully, nuzzling his nose in her mane. "How could I mock such an exquisite jewel?" He paused, thinking on her words. "I am...glad I got to know you too, Mei." It was true, he was glad he knew her. Glad that he was able to disprove his father, to realize that he wasn't bound by his father's views.

"At any rate...you aren't in any shape to go anywhere for a while, not after the ordeal you just went through. You know, I have a quite cozy hollow in the forest. If you wished, you could join me there tonight, and I could keep away the chill of the night." He realized she could take his statement in two different ways. He chose to allow her to interpret it. He really didn't mind whichever she chose. He had wanted to see how far he could go, after all.

He pulled her closer still, a familiar ache winding it's way through his heart. "You thought I was a monster once, not even hours ago. What changed your mind?" He wasn't quite vulnerable, but he was close enough to it to be anxious towards her response. What did she think of him?

If he was surprised at her use of a nickname, he didn't show it. "I don't know nearly as much as I should," he said. "There's still a lot I don't know." He didn't know what he was going to do about her. He didn't know how long his charade would hold, if she would still consider him a friend after she found out that his intentions were less than pure. He didn't know if his father was right or not. Yes...there was quite a lot that he didn't know.

"Some friends, huh?" he commented, his mind piecing together the gaps between her words. She had been in danger, and her friends had done nothing but laugh. Perhaps they hadn't realized the gravity of the situation, but...more likely than not, they were just being cruel. It was a dark world they lived in, after all.

His eyes met hers as she accepted his offer with innocence and naivety. He nearly smiled. She was so young, so...untainted by the world. He had never had the privilege of being so unblemished. "The pleasure is mine, my dear."

At her next words, his smile fell some. "It is natural, I suppose." He met her gaze, holding it as he spoke. "But creatures such as I, with hidden fangs and eyes of darkness...we were made to tear others to shreds. Perhaps we are of nature's design, but...what is natural can also be monstrous." He attempted a smile. "I am glad you don't find me a monster, though I don't necessarily agree." He kept his voice lighthearted, though he was a touch sullen about the subject. He wasn't a nice Soquili that ate only grass and frolicked with butterflies. He had killed, feasted in the blood of animals, and he did so on a regular basis. Even if she disagreed, he knew that he would always be a monster, if only in his own eyes.

As she started shivering, Paradox's expression softened. "Come on, let's head out. The sun's going down, and the temperature will only keep dropping. It'll be warm back at my place, where the wind can't touch us." He stood carefully, keeping her covered by his wing as he waited for her to stand. She felt so fragile...and he felt ashamed of how he was using her. But as always, he brushed aside his thoughts.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he was a conflicted soul. He spent half his time trying to embrace his Kalona blood, and the other half rejecting it. He was unstable, but not dangerous. A shame and an asset to his blood. Paradox looked up at the darkening sky. It was nearly twilight, the mix of light and dark. Like him, it was two things at once. He turned back to Mei, wistfulness in his eyes. "You're right you know. Life for those who try to live normally with Kalona blood is a struggle. It is so much easier to submit...but then it's only a struggle in the opposite direction, because Kalona's don't usually acknowledge mutts. Perhaps we aren't monsters in the eyes of others, but we won't ever really fit in either." It was his turn to give her a hard look. "Tell me, do you think you could love someone like us? Could you accept the necessary kills, the fangs that lurk behind a smile? Could you love a face that was forever stained by blood?"

He blinked. Such spunk she showed, this sun-colored mare. Her touch was light, the feel of feathers on fur, a gentle firmness that prompted him to listen even more carefully than he already was. She spoke of her good friend, the Kalona hybrid, and he realized that not only had she been able to befriend the likes of him before, but she'd been dealing with questions like his for a long time. It was almost amazing how she seemed so determined to encourage him. Most others thought of him as a monster, seeing the Kalona blood and not the struggle behind it. Even though she could never possibly understand what it was like, Paradox was glad that she was trying. If only the rest of the world would try as well. "Apparently it doesn't matter to you, my dear sparrow, but it's been my experience that it matters to many others." Though his words were sad, he smiled at her. "But I agree...it's best not to dwell on it."

He raised an eyebrow at her next words. "You wouldn't think less of me? You speak as if I am not responsible for my actions simply because of what I am." His voice took on a bit of an edge for the first time since he had met Mei. "If I am using you, my dear, I am to blame." It wasn't the "natural order of things" to use someone else. It was a choice, made by an individual...made by him. It was wrong, usually, he knew that. But surely it wasn't wrong for him. After all, this was just an experiment, a way to prove his father wrong. Wasn't it?

He turned away for a moment, his brows furrowed in the guilt he pretended not to notice. When he turned back, he caught her watching him, a strange play of emotions dancing across her face. Confused, he cleared his throat, shuffling his hooves awkwardly. He wondered if he had managed to succeed. If this strange emotion on her face was love, it was completely different than anything he had seen before. His mother loved his father, but Airlia never sported an expression as fragile and sweet as the smile Mei was giving him now.

Composing himself, he flashed her a debonair smile. "Then we'd best get moving. It's not that far from here. The path should be around here somewhere...Aha!" he said, walking a few steps down a shadowy, nearly invisible trail. "Follow me so you don't get lost. This forest is very hard to navigate." Of course it was. He had made it so when he arrived. "This is my forest, Mei...and those lost within it are my prey. Present company excepted, of course."

Paradox led Mei to his home as the sun set behind the clouds and darkness covered the land. His hunting instincts woke with the darkness, and though Mei was in no danger, Paradox was slightly distracted by the subtle increase in sensory perception--every sense became hypersensitive. He could hear her breathing, feel the heat from her body, and see the blush on her face as if the sun still graced the world.

With her coloring, she could be the eternal sunset, the last rays of the sun shining even in the darkest night. But what was this? The sun seemed afraid of the night, her sudden nervousness evidence of her fear. How interesting, this fear of hers. She could bravely stand her ground against a predator, fight her every instinct to run, but paled when blackness cloaked the ground.

"Yes," he said softly, "we shall go in. I know it's dark out now, but you don't have to be afraid, Mei." But maybe she did. He was the most frightening thing in these woods. The forest was tainted with the blood he had spilled. So maybe she should be afraid. But she wasn't. At least, she wasn't afraid of him. When she bumped up against him, he casually pulled her close with the wing still wrapped around her back, his wing a guide and support. "I'm guessing you can't see very well right now," he murmured in her ear, "so allow me to escort you."

He led her into the hollow, a smile she could not see playing across his face at her last question. "You really don't want to know the answer to that first question," he said in a forcibly light tone, "but I don't really have many mare-friends, Mei. I live here alone, and I don't go looking for company. You wandered into my home, remember?" he jested. Truthfully, Paradox generally avoided everyone. Mei was an exception, an experiment.

He had never really been with a mare before, either. Not this way, not in kindness and soft words. Violence and blood, yes. His fangs ached at the memories--the struggle, the fight, the ultimate defeat. And the blood...that delicious, life-giving liquid. He had fed the night before,but...Mei's body pulsed with such heat from her fast-beating heart, that alluring blush on her face...such temptation this mare was. Paradox sighed. He was not used to restraint. "I am not the most gentle of lovers, Mei. That charming blush of yours is enough to make me want to taste the sweet blood in your veins. If you stay...you may find more than you bargained for. But even still...I would like it if you stayed." He ran his nose through her mane, sighing at her scent, inviting and forbidden, his fangs trailing softly across her skin. "And maybe, just maybe, you would too, judging by how fast your heart beats at my touch."

He gently pulled away from her, a longing in his heart for her acceptance even now. It puzzled him, this feeling. She was supposed to be nothing to him, but...more and more she was creeping her way into his cold heart. "The choice is yours, my sparrow."

Could spells ensnare the caster?

Paradox was as deeply ensnared as Mei was, his Kalona instincts running rampant through his blood, tempered only by his ironclad decision not to kill this sunset-colored mare. As she blushed even more fiercely, his bloodlust, already awakened, caught in the back of his throat, making him gasp.

"Maybe you should be scared," he said, his voice strained. His eyes displaying the reddish ring of bloodlust, a family characteristic, he waited out the agonizing seconds for her escape or surrender.

As she made her decision, he reached out and pulled her close again. "Oh, Mei...I had hoped you would say that," he whispered darkly, burying his nose in the soft flesh of her neck. "Forgive me," he murmured, his voice muffled by her fur. Then, he gave into the burning ache within him and sank his tiny fangs into her soft skin, drowning himself in the taste of her blood, the forbidden wine of this spirited mare.

This was not what he had planned when he had met Mei, but he couldn't say he wasn't pleased with how the night was unfolding. He pulled back before he bled her dry, resting his velvet nose on her neck, licking at her puncture wounds to stop the bleeding--and maybe also to savor the last few drops of crimson ambrosia.

Bloodlust sated, he curled up against her side, a wing across her back. "I suppose it's only fair to allow you whatever liberties you'd have with me after that display," he said softly, tracing the contours of her muzzle with a wing tip.