Auryn gives him an empathetic smile at that. "Do you?" he asks curiously. "Wish you could become an animal, fully?"

"Thank you," he replies, genuinely. "I don't think it's much different than anyone who does spellwork. Reaching for something you don't already have. I don't know." He rubs the back of his neck. "My father's whole family are witches, but I was --" He presses his lips together. Usually he shares his story openly if bitterly, but something holds him back. "I didn't grow up with him. And magic wasn't encouraged, where I did. So I don't know if I explain my powers very well. What of yours? Solely shifting, or something else?"

Auryn nods, with a small smile; he'd thought himself unusual in his preference for solitude, and it definitely does make magic easier. "Easier to concentrate, as well. Do you live around these parts, or...? I wonder if we're neighbors without knowing it." His smile widens a little at Fabrice's assertion. "I appreciate that," he says. "Not everyone shares your opinion. Anything different is frightening to," he waves generally. "The status quo. Whether that's race, sexuality, magic." He might be willing to die for the right to his magic, but that doesn't mean he's ignorant of other oppression: it all makes him angry. "People will do a lot to make someone feel - agree - that they're lesser."

"Now you've found out the real reason I live in the woods," he grins with only a little bit of apology.

"But yes, Siren Cove's a magnet for magic, and among the scattered witches in the rest of the country it's a bit of a legend. I've been looking for a place with a community, somewhere I could learn and practice safely." He smiles wryly. That's not quite what Siren Cove has been, but he's settled here for better or worse.