He hadn't participated in the training, knowing only that it divulges in secrets. He'd forcibly made himself unavailable, choosing instead to see to the medical side of things and see to anyone's injuries after their training.

The Shadow approached and he wasn't sure what to make of it. It looked precisely like her save for the eyes, and wore peculiar attire. To what end, he'd wondered? They looked like a frock rather, but were a little too long. Dress robes?

Fingers closed around the ornate bookmark and the book was still, confusion blooming over the link. The wavelengths quickened briefly, pulsing like a heartbeat as it slipped between her fingers. They quickened further with a finger along the spine, the patterns, and the man within the book was silent. His side of the link was far from it however, emitting sparks of a deeper, darker desire.

She liked him. That, deep down, he knew. She fought to hide it, and with that thought he understood what they'd meant by divulging one's secrets. To her, how she felt was a secret along the lines of her 'witchiness', and the Shadow it seemed personified them. Had the boy spoken of 'accepting' them in his entry?

But there was more, staring him right in the face. Er, pages. He'd borne witness to the entry she'd made in question and held himself back from making any sort of input. It was her secret to release, and her fight. She'd taken her lumps but somehow stood. She was admirable for the lot of it.

"The fact that she did not speaks volumes. As much comfort as I could lend her in my bed, she is stronger for having stood on her own two feet and enduring. There are times and places to turn to others... that was not one of them."

He paused, rubbing his chin. "Long, tiring work days? I'd say that would be a prime example."