[A lesser man, perhaps, would've taken a step backwards at the sudden sight of a bloodstained man transforming into a massive beast. Perhaps he would've, too, five years ago, when such things were still new and astonishing to him. Now, he only remains still and scrutinizing, eyes narrowed and fingers tight around his lance as the great white wolf appears before him.

He's seen men take on the shape of beasts, before. One even stands out strongly in his mind — the creature that the cardinal Aelfric became out of fervent desire to see the dead risen again. The Umbral Beast had even remembered the woman's name, in its shrieks and howls. What will Adrian remember, he wonders, as he finally lifts his gaze enough to stare directly into those waiting golden eyes?]

If you still have your wits about you, paw the ground three times.

[He's never heard of a demonic beast that kept the full capacity of its reason, but if this Adrian is an exception, then the sheer potential at his disposal is...astonishing.]

You invite me to ride, is that it? A Blaiddyd upon a great wolf — fitting.