"I have seen this man," agrees Lethys, and there is a heavy implication in his tone that there ought to be an unfortunately in there somewhere. "He will not drown nor age, and as far as I have seen he persists through spite alone." A pause. "Endless reserves of it."

Laetes is fed up. He is stuck to Sweetheart like her Holy Swarm was stuck to him, and Lethys (and perhaps everyone else here) expects something from him.

He knows what Sweetheart wants - it's whether or not he's supposed to do it... So far, any clear explanation or command has failed to turn up, even from his master. But he has been watching closely.

Laetes finally acquiesces, with an irritable little snarl. He slowly, deliberately carves the gestures into the air, and a shimmering aura of healing power fountains around him.

(Around him. But the edge catches Sweetheart, forced into close proximity as they are.)

"Whether blessing or curse, he plagues my hearing. You hold his land. You may keep him," he tells Monzun, in what might be the first, tiniest trickle of (admittedly unfriendly-sounding) humour they've heard from him.

"Good," he declares a moment later, seeing Laetes' cast, and Laetes turns baleful eyes up at him.