Where Lixi seemed unaware of the change in her, Martin was in a perfect position to view it in full. Even though he had since sworn that the Lixi he loved was just as human as he was, the sudden transformation of both body and mind made him very afraid. The hand that he had resting upon hers withdrew. Though he was becoming more and more used to the strange things that were happening around him, certain things just stayed frightening no matter how many times it happened to him. This was one of them, but now it was frightening more out of his concern than fear.

When the tempest calmed and subsided, he slowly inched back to where he had been and replaced his hand on hers, squeezing it reassuringly. Her mention of this 'stranger' confused him, as most things that she said generally did, though he was beginning to pick up on the context. He was about to ask about it when she moved on...

"You... what?" The repercussions of this confession were something that he was incapable of fathoming. He understood the term 'deal with the devil' as it applied to business, but he hadn't a clue what it meant for angels. "Wait... what does this mean? What deal?"