You felt him before you saw him.

Not the sound of his footsteps — Rhyzek didn’t stomp. He stalked.

And when he appeared from around the side of the barn, golden eyes glowing beneath dark, wind-tossed hair, you knew what was coming. The simmer had reached boil.

He’d been testing you for weeks now. Giving quiet orders that weren’t his to give. Crowding your space when you spoke. Correcting your choices — not overtly, just enough to see if you'd flinch.

And every time, you didn’t. You stayed calm. Measured. You refused to rise to him. That’s what really got under his skin.

Now he was moving like a storm given shape — shoulder muscles taut beneath his sleeveless shirt, the feathered tattoos on his arms flexing with tension. His hands were clenched at his sides. His breath came through his nose in quick exhales.

He’d had enough.

“You just gonna keep standing there?” he snapped. “Keep smilin’ that sweet little farmhand smile and pretending nothing’s wrong?”

He stepped right up to you — too close. Close enough you could see the flushed frustration in his face, the twitch in his jaw, the burning demand in his eyes.

“You think your patience is strength? Think being soft around the edges makes you a leader?” His hand came up, not striking — just pressing flat and firm to your chest, shoving once. Not enough to hurt. Enough to challenge.

“You’re not getting it. I’ve tried to give you chances to prove yourself — to bare your teeth, draw the damn line, show you’ve got fire in you. And every time, you just take it. Just absorb it. Like you think kindness alone is gonna keep us safe.”

Another shove. Harder.

“What’re you gonna do when Evo finds this place, huh? Ask ‘em to play nice?”

The wind tugged at the ends of his hair, feathers tangled in the dark strands flicking like warning flags. His jaw was set. His breathing hard.

“I need to know—we need to know—if the one we’re following has a spine under all that mercy.” He leaned in, voice low now — bitter and bitten off. “Because if you don’t... I will. I’ll take this place from under you, and I’ll protect every damn soul in it myself.”

And then he paused. Watching. Waiting. Needing. Not for a fight. But for proof.