Moonspear even would i know in my lifetime i will be

arcturus pulled back quickly from the boy's paw, half expecting a lashing in return, and half expecting outrage. dragomir seemed surprised -- no, shocked, even -- that arcturus had been so sharp. he offered a briefly apologetic smile and shrugged his shoulders in a silent sorry kid, but that's the game gesture. then, without much further correspondence, arcturus nimbly moved in on the stick while it was momentarily vulnerable.

he did not seize the stick, however -- he aimed for the very paw the boy had raised -- it was all a show of flashing teeth, and his movement made no connection with the boy, but the point was to incite dragomir to become reactionary, defensive -- keep him on his toes as the game constantly changed the moment he managed to understand all the pieces.