"Oh--fair warning, you don't know me--I can read minds. I don't, not without permission, and doing it is really visible, but you should know."

"...I can't see, so. I'll just have to take your word for not doing it without permission."

"Right, blind, I forgot. Um, you said you had another sense? I summon these mirror-things, it's not just that I glow or whatever."

"If they're not the same texture as air I'll probably be able to detect them."

"They're not the same texture as air."

"Okay. Thank you for warning me."

"I'm pretty sure none of these people have a way to possess me or anything and I wouldn't do it but just in case you deserve to know."

"...possess you?"

"Copy my powers or control my body--I should be safe from anything that affects my mind but there's stuff that can do that too. This stuff is all really rare but you know what they say about the emergency you're prepared for."

Nod.

"I'm sorry you have to deal with this."

"Why are you - here in a situation where that's a risk to be worth listing?"

"It isn't, specifically, not now. But--the kind of people who can and would do that thing aren't going to cease to be able or inclined because we don't fight them. And we can fight them, and defeat them, and then innocent people who don't have the power to protect themselves don't have that happen to them."

(...she really needs a notebook. .....she really needs to check if the languages thing will do writing too.)

Nod nod.

Edie notices her distress but doesn't chalk it up to anything more than entirely-reasonable stress at the situation in general.

Eventually a woman with a cabochon gemstone at her throat enters Annie's radius.

"...Woman, that way," she points, "with a gem here," she points, and then she goes to wedge herself behind a rock.

"Black Opal Guardian," she diagnoses.

And then they do a thing--

And there is one person standing there instead of two. She plucks a brooch from her shoulder and it transforms into a halberd. She stands beside the door and waits.

Oh wow that's really confusing thanks artifacts.

The battle is short but brutal. Opal lady can fire black lightning from her hands, but her opponent's halberd helps to ground her and she can heal herself quickly. Opal lady does not have as much protection from what the white-haired woman can do.

And her heart really isn't in it.

When she's pinned to a wall with a blade against her throat she just sort of--collapses.

Annie can relax marginally now.

She reaches out and places a silver dot on the woman's forehead.

And goes still.

"What did he do to you."

The Black Opal Guardian--doesn't start crying, but turns her head away and makes a face as though she would really like to if only there weren't people there go the hell away.

"I can't let you go. You know what he's planning. But what did he do to you."

"Shut up," Opal snarls.

"I don't hate you."

"What does that matter."

Annie has nooooo idea what's going on.

"I can heal you."

"That won't change anything."

"No. No it won't. But it might hurt less, right now."

"It doesn't really matter."

"I can defeat him."

"And then what? I'm tired. I'm so tired. I don't want to stand in a box and tell people I didn't want to work for him, I didn't want to be one of his foremost lieutenants, he just tortured me into it because I had an affinity for one of his bloody rocks and then maybe not even have them believe me, or not care. I don't know which one would be worse. I don't want to find out."

"I can testify on your behalf."

"That's not a miracle cure."

"I don't know what you want from me."

"I don't want anything from you. I don't want anything I can have."

"I'm sorry."

"I believe you."

"Any preferences for the near future?"

"Don't let them know I didn't fight as hard as I could."

"Mhm."

And then the Black Opal Guardian is bound very thoroughly with several strips of metal that moved as though of their own accord.

The white-haired woman turns to Annie. "We should go. I don't want to have to worry about the others loosing her while I'm fighting them. And catching two like that is the best I could expect. Need a hand up?"