Of course the boy wasn't interested, and Cyrus doubted that Chili would be even with full knowledge of what was going on. People like that rarely had the sort of thought outside themselves. How commonplace.

Dawn's interest in the Lake Spirits had puzzled Cyrus. It was so utterly rare to concern onesself with others that she may as well have been some alien, and even a rare creature on her home planet. It was certainly nothing he had observed with any regularity in humans, or any other species. To put herself on the line for beings who were utter strangers had struck a nerve with him. To work for the safety of others was one of his ideals, something he was rebuilding the world for, but yet she was still utterly, utterly wrong in it. She didn't act out of duty or logic or anything that made sense. Instead, she had been overtaken by the poison that had twisted the world, the toxin of emotion, and allowed that to rule her actions. She had been so very close to what he was looking for and yet utterly defined everything that he had to get rid of.

It had been...disappointing.

But Chili...he contained no illusions. He was simple and transparent, and utterly discardable.

"And why is that?" he asked calmly. "What awaits you there?"