Shaula looks at the man in front of her directly in his eyes. He starts sweating a little and his face flushes. He wasn’t worried about his safety at first, considering that there are guards everywhere within Maz square. But, someone like the woman in front of her, a chantless mage he assumes, could still do a lot of damage before they’re called over.
Shaula meanwhile observes his slowly perspiring face. She can see it slowly reddening as the blood vessels bring warm blood into his facial capillaries. She has tried magnifying small objects using her newly supercharged vision. Maybe with enough time and a lot more practice, she could use her eyes like microscopes.
Flushing face, huh… That’s something I could–
"...Hah? Hey, where the fuck do you think you’re going!?"
The bloody nosed man, not noticing the tension in his friends’ faces, realizes that the demihuman man who struck him is leaving. Shaula stops the bleeding man from moving forward as he tries to block the demihuman from being escorted away.
"I… would not do that."
"And who the fuck do you think you are to–"
"Watch your tone." Shaula speaks and smiles softly. The air expelled from her words feels just a bit too hot as it touches the man's face. It is somewhat like steam, but not hot enough to leave any burns. Meanwhile, the air in front of his face slowly becomes warmer and warmer until he feels like this fall evening is more like the hottest day of summer.
Getting the idea from seeing the flushed faces of the man’s friends, Shaula heats the air up to make his face flush, simulating a sense of fear. Most people who feel anxious, nervous or afraid feel a similar sensation of a flushed face, since adrenaline dilates the blood vessels which results in more warm blood moving into the face.
By forcing his face to flush, she is hoping to cause the man to feel fear. It was much like the phenomenon that people who smile when they’re not happy can become slightly happier just by imitating the action associated with happiness. Perhaps by forcing his face to flush, she can trick his brain into believing that he is scared, or should be scared.
Be careful, is also the warning that Shaula wishes to convey. Angelidis meanwhile continues to escort the demihuman man away, forcing him not to continue the confrontation. Shaula speaks again while walking a bit closer to the bleeding man.
"It's alright. It's ok. He's going to leave. You and your friends can continue walking around doing whatever it is you're doing. And, of course… if you push another person or try to start something, I think you'll know what might happen, don't you?"
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
The young man freezes. It looks like he is feeling true fear after all. She’ll have to try to remember to use this “non-violent” method in the future to deal with people like this.
"I… I didn't push h–"
"I saw you do it. I also know that your friends didn't see you push him. Do you really want them to get involved with me because of something you started?"
She is lying about seeing him push the demihuman man to the ground and is guessing that’s what happened from how he and his friends reacted to the situation. He doesn’t deny her words though. She notices his face flushing even more now.
Shaula decides to whisper her next words so only the bloody nosed man can hear. She knows that a good word here and there can stop people from making the same mistakes in the future where she can’t do anything to stop them. Even if he should fear for his life from her words, it's not like she actually plans to carry through with anything.
Though, he doesn't know that and she can play a part well. That’s what makes her feel confident.
"...How would you feel if I burned the skin off your friends’ faces because you couldn't leave things well enough alone? What if I had pulled out their bones because you decided to have a tantrum? You must think about the consequences of your actions.”
Shaula smiles brightly and moves closer. He dares not move.
“And, you might want to start praying to Lord Osva more. He alone might be the reason you got out of today with only a bloody nose."
The air around the bloody nosed man gets even warmer, almost suffocating to him, as she speaks her last words directly into his ear. He starts shaking from his own terror. Her breath… The threats were one thing, but her heated breath came from nowhere, like a dragon exhaling towards him. She made that happen without paying any attention, even while speaking.
It was like she was flexing a muscle; the bloody nosed man doubts all but the most powerful chantless mages have that level of control over their magic. It feels like he was close to facing off against a noble. There is nothing to fear more than that.
"I… I'm sorry." The bleeding man lowers his head.
"I forgive you. I give you permission to leave."
The bloody nosed man does not say another word and decides to leave with his friends. He doesn’t even need to pull them along, they simply walk away with him. The people in the crowd watching what's going on decide to leave as well, having not heard or felt the pressure of Shaula’s presence.
Meanwhile, she continues to listen for other groups of humans and demihumans who are getting into arguments, shoving matches and brawls in the area.
Both she and Angelidis have been trying to quell the violence in the area around the draconid priest and the people who wanted to listen to and speak with him. Angelidis had heard his speech and was moved by it. She had even told Shaula that she would do anything to prevent her brothers from enlisting. But, she was also worried about the old man.
He was not safe here and they both knew it.