The sad mewl of protest deepens Balthier's worry, both because he viscerally dislikes hearing David in any sort of pain and because he's not thrilled about the stilted speech or cat noises.

He lets David nuzzle back into him, wrapping his arms around him protectively as he tries to think. He hadn't gotten caught up in the love spell at Sunset Falls, but it had played its course rather quickly from his understanding. Still, it had had the potential for bad side effects, and he had no idea if a spell from Eros and a Confluence and/or meta spell worked remotely the same. He could try to find Filter, but how was he going to keep an eye on David and take on a meta at the same time? Maybe he could drop David somewhere. But like this?

"I'll keep you safe, David," he says, and he means it.