The highblood can see that Darkleer is preparing himself for something, but for what he's unsure. He just keeps a watchful eye as he does a great impression of a vulture, occasionally shaking water from out of his hair.

Then he's... well, he's not exactly sure what just happened. He saw it coming, as in, he saw Darkleer's form twist and press right up against him for a brief moment. But just because he can see what's happening doesn't mean his body can react as quickly as he'd wish, and finds his body suddenly being flung backwards by an impossibly strong force. Sure, he tenses for a moment and tries to hold his ground, but he finds that his strength against Darkleer's is pretty evenly matched a good deal of the time, and he managed to get the upperhand this time. Time after time, he's always surprised by the freakish strength of the blueblood and it pisses him off each time.

There's a huge splash, hitting the water back first, and feels himself sinking a little but not far enough into the lake to go under. He pulls himself up with a snarl, just in time to see Darkleer marching towards him with a clear purpose.