Pre-emptively, adrenaline pumps through his system and every muscle in his body tenses in preparation for some sort of battle, some sort of chase. There's something else in the back of his mind, however, whispering that he still carries something from the Highblood with him, something from all those sweeps of bowing to him, of carrying out his will no matter what it was, from being irreversibly his somehow. Darkleer swallows hard and does his best to smother it all.

"Do stop projecting your desires onto me, please," he hisses, shivering from far too many emotions than he needs right now. "Also, please get into the water before I am prompted to show you how it is done properly."