The forest feels wrong; too still, too watchful. You've never seen Quincy like this, shoulders tense with irritation, muscles pulled taught like he's ready to snap.

He knows you came to the forest with good intentions, with a bundle of supplies from Olivine to make sure he's comfortable. But your naivety makes the corner of his mouth twitch downward. The double eclipse is tonight, the two moons slowly sliding into place across the sky. All day, the creatures of the forest have been acting out- rabid, berserk, untameable. And Quincy hasn't escaped those urges, lucky enough his self-control is stronger, but it's waning fast now as the moons move closer together.

He looks down at you with that restless look that says he is trying very hard to keep himself together. “You shouldn't have come today,” he says at last, voice uncharacteristically clipped but not unkind. “Not safe.”

The moment you edge closer, his composure cracks just enough to show the strain underneath. He catches you by the wrist and in one fluid motion, he guides you back against the trunk of a tree, holding you there firmly enough to make the warning impossible to ignore. His breath comes a little unevenly, and when he lowers his head, his expression is caught somewhere between frustration and worry. “I'm in no state to protect you,” he mutters, though the words are quieter this time, holding onto his control by a thread. “You don't want to be this close if I lose it.”