Insert title w/ Aufero mentioned

Suto was sitting up against the wall of a cave, while waiting for Yuriko to show up. He took his leave a while ago, scouting ahead, and even training a bit, not sure what Yuriko was doing. He was recalling his past, at the moment. He began to remember how he studied pretty much everything medically related, such as creating medicine. He thought of his own abilities, being able to cast 'jutsu' as yuriko called them, and began to assume that there could be jutsu especially created for medical techniques. He pondered over it, and decided he would eventually do that. If not, then he could always do something else, but he decided to keep his mind open, but was more than likely going to be something involving the ability to heal others, something of which he's dreamed of for quite sometime. Of course, with Yuriko's plans, that kind of fucks him over. Which was kind of depressing, considering he wanted to be able to do Medical shit. It was something he would have to consider, wants over protecting himself for Yuriko's desires. In a way, he wanted both. He wanted to be extremely powerful and flashy, but at the same time wanting to be able to 'help others,' mainly someone like Yuriko who's goal was constantly putting herself in harms way, as well as others. Both were useful, now looking at it. He sighed, wondering what to do. He began to look at the facts of both, either way being able to help himself, but he wanted to be able to help others as well. He sighed, deciding to just wait for Yuriko.

The sun was just rising into the sky, covering the land with it's 'loathsome light' as Aufero referred to it as the sky become a golden hue with the sunrise, only a few clouds being scattered throughout the otherwise clear day as she inwardly thanked herself for having asked Suto to meet with her inside of the caves on the Borders of Lightning Country, where they would be sheltered from the Light and able to train without the worry of Aufero and Angerona being drained by it's rays. As she walked, Angerona grasped her hand against the Soul Amethyst that was worn upon her neck loosely and moved the small gem through her fingers absently before eventually ceasing the movement as she neared the cave, now placing her hand upon Aufero's hilt while she entered, cape flowing as it typically did behind her in such a fashion as to make her appear more showman-esque and 'flashy' if using a term that Suto often used to describe things of the shinobi nature. Her clothes were not as tattered as they once were, Angerona having repaired them over the past few nights to the point where they once more looked brand new, cape included. Her eyes however were now ringed by dark circles that indicated her lack of sleep that was a result of being a Wielder of a blade which constantly speaks to the holder and feeds them lies upon lies in order to bend them to the 'Goddess's' own will.

She would place a hand upon her own head as she entered, one hand still firmly upon the hilt of her blade as she called out to Suto: "I've arrived..." in a soft tone, walking further into the cave as she slowly shook her head to clear the thoughts that were troubling her and then took the hand from her head and attempted to force herself to appear at least somewhat normal, smiling softly while standing straight, waiting for her prophet to arrive from within the caves. 

If he chose to reveal himself, Angerona would quickly settle her gaze upon the man and initiate the training phase of one of her newly created Genjutsu that she required practice on before using it on an actual opponent, for now she settled on showing bits and pieces to her Prophet during their training so that while she taught him other things that she could also begin to learn how to fully manifest the technique which she had within her mind. The first thing which she had done was to create an image - purely an illusion but appearing quite real - of Aufero herself so that he may see her 'human' form for the first time: She was a tall woman with long raven black hair that fell down to her mid-back as her eyes seem to currently be a strange mix between blue and amber, with the blue being on the outer scalea and the amber being on the inner pupil. Her skin was a pale shade and a red bow was tied within her hair, her clothing consisting of a long white shirt with a purple caplet upon the shoulders and neck, with a matching shade colored skirt. Lastly, she wore long black leggings with boots upon the end of which that would produce no sound as she walked due to her illusionary nature. 

This image of Aufero was the first step in Angerona's training with her newly founded Genjutsu and would be furthermore the first step in amassing a following for the blade which she had longed to do for some time, that way she would not be the only one to bear it's words and power. The image would move forward and with it would follow a small fraction of the dark aura that surrounded the blade typically, the voice which spoke out from it seeming to actually come from the illusion itself - this again, was part of the Genjutsu that Angerona was using, allowing her to transfer the voice that typically spoke within her own mind onto an illusion that she produced: "So at least we meet face-to-face, Prophet . . ." Aufero said ominously, giving a small grin toward the man as she awaited him to respond to all that had happened within the short few moments that he had been in Angerona's presence, seeing as it was a lot to take in and even Aufero would not want to overwhelm the poor young Ninja so soon, seeing as she chose him as an acolyte of her own after-all. It would be a shame to lose someone she valued so highly with a simple illusion. 

Angerona waited as well for Suto's response, her stance a bit more casual now as her Goddess's form stood before the two, her expression that of joyful calm seeing as she would now not be bothered by the voice within her mind for at least a short time and that was enough to be thankful for, not to mention she enjoyed the fact that she was finally able to provide a way for Suto to speak with her Goddess, even if it were - for now - merely an illusion and not something truly living and breathing, though that would all come in time she figured and for now, she could not ask for anything more.

[888]

'I've arrived' he would hear Yuriko say, as she approached. This singled Suto to stand up, and prepare himself, for he assumed the two were going to be training. Last time ended somewhat abruptly, and this time he pondered over what the two would be doing. He considered asking Yuriko about medical shit involving Ninjutsu, but was somewhat persistent and determined to create techniques on his own. He used to read multiple books that his father possessed, from surgery, to medicine creation, his father knew a lot. But he preferred to stay away from larger villages, and eventually died due to disease, which was ironic Suto figured.


Coming into sight of Aufero, he would begin to adjust his cloak and headband. He covered up his upper torso for the most part, by sliding over the inner edges of the cloak towards each other. All he did to the headband was readjust it. "Oiyo." He would say, greeting Yuriko. He would notice someone else however; 'at last we meet', he had heard her saying, though not finished quite yet, 'prophet.' She called her, the stranger he'd never met thusfar had known him to be the prophet. He was rather confused and surprised, all this time he had figured that the only one who traveled or even conversed with Yuriko was Suto. "Who's this 'en?" He would ask, gazing over at Yuriko in confusion waiting for some sort of explanation. Yuriko's stance seemed to be calm, which made Suto think he'd nothing to worry about, but at the same time there was an eerie feeling.


He held his cloak by the inner sides, with his right hand. The left hand was snuggling into the left side of his cloak, in a pocket. Inside the pocket, however there was a Kunai. Should the woman draw any closer to Suto, out of caution he would draw it, aiming it at the woman. If closer than that, he would stab the non-physical illusion, and find out just was going on here. In a sense, at least, considering he had no idea about illusions performed with the fancy techniques that he was learning at the moment, Jutsu. If no explanation was given within another moment or so, or if the person stepped further anymore, then Suto would make an attempt at stabbing the woman.


{662}

Aufero would gaze upon Suto and begin to speak firmly, eyes shining softly even within the illusion as she did so: "I am the Goddess Aufero, or at the least an image of myself created thanks to my Wielder." She would then offer Suto a small grin before laughing as she walked forward to notice Suto drawing the kunai. "I would not be so quick to aim your weapons against your Goddess, Prophet, less you suffer a fate befitting those who would threaten that which rules over them." While her voice alone was threatening, she held a great portion of the aura that typically surrounded the sword, seeing as she was the incarnation of the blade itself. 
 
Angerona would walk forward as Aufero spoke, turning her head to the side in order to look toward the illusion which represented Aufero: "The Prophet holds no grudge against you, Goddess . . . He is merely cautious and with good reason - your power alone is enough to force one to be on alert, our Prophet is merely demonstrating that his training has taught him enough in order to know when to do so." She would then look toward Suto and offer a gentle smile, speaking further. "Prophet, do you have anything you wish to say to our Goddess before we begin our training?" She asked softly, allowing Suto time to respond as she fell silent and Aufero did the same, the latter's eyes focused firmly upon Suto's as she awaited for him to respond as well. They both stood silent, Aufero staring intently as Angerona seemed to be the more relaxed of the two, having been the one to actually stand up for her Prophet when her Goddess had seemed to be rather aggressive toward the young shinobi. 

[1,181]

Suto sat there, realizing that, after announcing that she was an illusion projected through Yuriko, 'Aufero' began to step forward. He would immediately unsheathed the Kunai knife, pointing it towards the 'Goddess,' Yuriko has mentioned quite the few times before. She mentioned it was unwise for him to point a Kunai at her. Suto's eyes began to glance back and forth, between Aufero and Yuriko, wondering how this was being done. It was almost guaranteed that this was done through the use of 'Jutsu' which he had been learning quite a bit of in the past while; however, he hadn't learned anything over creating an illusion with. He pondered over it for a moment before Yuriko began to speak, mentioning Suto was scared in good rights in a sense. He began to make a "Tch," noise, as he was asked if there was anything he would like to ask the Goddess before the two begin training. "None." He would say, "Not to the 'Goddess'" He said, trying to put no emphasis on it, as he figured that was growing annoying for Yuriko. "However I've to ask you on how you project illusions.." He would state, "I assume it has something to do with Jutsu. I don't really see how it couldn't." He would ask, wondering how this was done.


Suto was rather curious over the illusions, yet at the same time he pondered over going with the ability to heal. He was torn with the decisions presented to him, and there were probably many more to go through before he could finish making his decision, 'lest he want to decide to do one of the two without any review over other subjects. He almost sighed, but forgot about the serious situation present to him, and didn't want to appear rude. He resheathed his Kunai into his pocket, the sharp edge of course aimed away from him. He could choose to heal himself mid-battle and rely on his physical abilities to get him through, or he could rely on what seemed to be the ability to mentally fuck someone up, which, in battle was much more appealing, especially since he couldn't rely on his own strength to escape from a mere hug from this little girl - Yuriko. Almost sighing again, he was rather troubled over the situation. Follow his dream or mentally fuck people over. He decided to put it off again, come training time, he would ask Yuriko most likely. He would brush back his hair, "What are we doing for training?" He would ask, rather curious. Was it more physical exercise? He'd been doing a lot of that in order to keep up with basic movements - He wasn't the fastest, hence his hesitance towards specializing in a medical field of Jutsu, nor was he the strongest, which only added fuel to the flames. But he wasn't the best with jutsu either, and he was pretty damn sure there were counter measures for these illusions, he'd just have to learn them.. before being able to combat with them. He put his hand in his pocket, 'This will be trouble..'

{WC: 1182}

Yuriko would offer a smile toward Suto as he spoke in reply to her own query and said that there were no questions that he had for the Goddess, but in-fact that he was curious in how she was producing the illusion that he saw before him then, a question which she was all too happy to begin answering as she motioned with the blade as the vision of "Aufero" disappeared into the air as if it were never there in the first place: 
"I can show you how to perform these techniques . . . And perhaps you may aide me in better practicing them myself. Though you are correct, they are Jutsu in a sense, known as Genjutsu - Illusion arts." She would then pause for a moment before looking up thoughtfully at the top of the cave before eventually being called back to reality by Suto's voice once more as he asked what it was that the two would be doing for training, seeming to be the one topic which they were capable of both being on equal terms about and had no qualms with one another. 

"I suppose . . . " She began, putting a gloved hand to her own chin in a curious gesture while gazing toward Suto, blinking occasionally. "I suppose that we may start with more of what I have just shown you, illusions . . . " As she spoke, the young Wielder would then raise her blade, pointing the tip toward Suto as she said: "We shall learn within the image of the realm of my blade - That of Darkness and the Goddess." As she spoke, the girl would motion toward the exit of the cave as she would leave swiftly while her cape flowed behind her in a flurry of white fabric.

If he chose to follow Yuriko outside of the cave, Suto would be greeted by a vision of a forest not too much different from the Black Forest which they had visited in Kumogakure, however with a denser collection of trees and strange shapes that seemed to move between the shadows ominously while all the while watching the two Missing Ninja and seeming to be appraising them somehow, waiting for an opportunity. Turning back to look at Suto, Yuriko would then smile and say gently:
"Welcome, Suto . . . To the Forest of Souls." As she spoke, the blade which she wielded would pulse dark red as it communicated with the young girl inwardly, something that caused her smile to fade if for only a second only to quickly return as she awaited any type of response from Suto.

Whether or not he would respond, Yuriko would continue after a few long moments of a pause: "Now, my friend . . . " She began, calling him a friend rather than a Prophet or simply Ally in an attempt to show that she cared for him as more than just another person to use in order to grant the blade's demands. "Shall we begin learning the ways of illusions? Of mastering the mind?" She rose an eyebrow, awaiting for Suto to respond once more as she this time would fall silent, seeing as she would rather him choose their course of training seeing as he was in the most need and all that she required was to train keeping illusions like that of the forest she was displaying currently, which seemed to be going good so far.

She waited, silently for the other to respond, her sword lowered now as the tip was pointed toward the ground and she would keep a small smile upon her lips, seeming to be in a rather cheerful mood compared to the usual gloomy and borderline insane version of herself that was brought out by the sword, though this was because - as she herself would explain it: She was currently Yuriko, not Angerona - whom was the one that killed, and not she herself. That had to be the truth, otherwise, how would she be able to live with herself?

Nonetheless, she would be awaiting her friend's words without any outward sign of dilemma and would absently kick one of her boot-covered feet back and forth into the true earth as small bits of dirt came up with it and she blinked, gazing upon the man with silent patience.

[1,890]

Suto remained there waiting for a reply from Yuriko; expecting some sort explanation from her regarding the illusions and how they were performed - as they were something which had sparked interest for Suto, however he was still somewhat clinging onto the idea of helping with Medical shit rather than going for offensive. He would, however listen to Yuriko's explanation these techniques before jumping into the decision of which he would use for his combative techniques. Aufero began to disappear, only proving the fact that she was nothing more than an illusion, or more Jutsu bullshit; which honestly seemed to have a lot to it more than mere use chakra do badass shit.

Yuriko began to mention to Suto that she can show him how to use these techniques, which he was somewhat interested in. She had confirmed that Suto was right and that this did seem to involve jutsu, though a different sort of style according to how he had interpreted it. What she was currently using was 'Genjutsu,' or the Illusionary arts. Another question was answered afterwards, though there was a brief moment of silent, which Suto used to think through Genjutsu. He understood the basic statement, they can cause illusions, but how? With chakra? Chakra can make shit tangible and intangible? Rather powerful, he figured, and to think that this was an ability which most possessed, just lacked the training to be capable of doing anything with. When Yuriko replied, it was over the topic of what the two would be doing for training on this day; suggesting that she begin to teach him more about illusions. It appeared as if the decisions was made for him; he'd sigh, but honestly didn't want to appear rude when Yuriko has been teaching him so much. "Alright, then." He said, even managing to crack a grin on his face in response.

Momentarily, he was depressed. Thinking about how a style he wasn't sure he had wanted was being forced upon him, however, he kept his grin, and even began to follow Yuriko without any reply to speech as he continued to think. He still wanted to become a wanna-be doctor like his father, however Yuriko more than likely couldn't teach him this, so he would just have to deal with it.

Walking outside of the cave, he would notice the area having changed from before. It was darker, for one, and it appeared as if it had 'Aufero's' doing, through Yuriko more than likely. Least this would be a possible explanation that Yuriko would deliver, if not then this was through the work of Genjutsu. Hard to tell in reality. She had mentioned that Suto could help her master this art as well, but so far it appeared rather masterful. "Damn.." he said, in awe, his jaw had even dropped momentarily with how impressed he was with the abilities of genjutsu.. and then it hit him. Closing his mouth, he would look back towards Yuriko wondering how she did this; however notice her sword; Aufero. She was more than likely a specialists with weapons - but at the same time was doing this.. and thus he deemed himself rather ignorant, and stupid. He could just do both, Medical shit wanna-be doctor techniques and Genjutsu techniques.

He was drawn out from his imagination, the possibilities that had gone through his head, by the voice of Yuriko. 'now my friend,' she said, which struct Suto confused, normally she would replace that word with prophet, however didn't question it - aloud at least. She proceeded to ask, in a way, if Suto was ready and prepared to begin learning about illusions. "Aye," he replied. He decided now, he would learn and create things involving medical techniques on his own, however would rely on Yuriko to teach him Genjutsu style, before relying on himself and his own creativity for illusions. Of course, he would prefer Medical techniques over Genjutsu, as Yuriko could probably handle her own in a fight; he would merely stitch up the wounds and such.


"So what the fuck do we do now.. by the way.." He would ask, wondering. He didn't really know where to start; an illusion was made. Great; what does it do? How could he do it? Were the two just supposed to fight in this arena created by the Genjutsu casted upon the area? Were they merely supposed to gaze at it, and thus learn what they should do to create genjutsu of their own? Suto was a simple man, though, so if this was the case, he didn't understand it. "How does Genjutsu work?" He came right out and asked; being rather curious.

{1958}

Yuriko's smile would widen as Suto began to let his awe in the techniques that she was capable of be known, his draw even having dropped for a moment as he spoke in awe of her illusions. She allowed him to continue speaking afterwards, agreeing to begin learning about the illusionary techniques as he further then asked what they would do and then furthermore just how these illusions or "Genjutsu" worked, something which she would respond to by reciting the information she had been taught in the Academy all those months ago, when she was actually still a member of Kumogakure: "Well ... " she began, looking up to the sky thoughtfully while placing a hand beneath her chin. "It has to do with manipulating chakra in the brain, from what I remember . . . That way, you can disrupt their senses and making them see what you want them to see - Usually it has to do with sight, but sometimes . . . " She would grin and then instead of fully explaining, deciding to instead demonstrate upon the young man himself as she began to sing a strange lullaby that most would describe as 'creepy' at best and 'outright terrifying' in other ways. 

As she sang, or rather hummed, as Aufero began to speak within the young man's mind: "This may be a bit unsettling." she said in a nearly mocking tone as she began to manifest images of large beasts with massive tendrils made of pure shadows and blood oozing from their mouths in copious amounts as they lumbered toward Suto slowly as he could even hear the sound of their massive legs pounding against the earth and Yuriko stood simply nearby, her own image twisted into that of a silhouette of herself with a neck that appeared broken as her head lulled to the side and her non sword arm appeared to be broken in several places yet still moved eerily as the broken bones scraped against one another within his mind and he could almost see the image of the pain that such a thing would cause.

Of all of these sensations, the most powerful would be the feeling of blindness and helplessness that accompanied all of this that would only be avoided by those power equal or higher than the wielder's own, something which Suto could hardly claim - at least illusion wise. Almost as quick as they came, however, these dark images burst and dissolved into nothingness as he was then suddenly left in a vibrant field of grass and blooming flowers, the dark forest completely gone and Yuriko herself back to what at least passed for normal with the Wielder and in-fact was even in a form that was new to Suto, but to Yuriko would truthfully be how she looked before becoming a Missing Ninja: Her new form took on the appearance of a more fair complexioned girl with longer blonde hair that fell in twin-tails to either side of her head that were tied with black bows, her red eyes seeming much more delicate and less reptilian in nature as her clothing consisted of a long and flowing black and red dress that was gothic in nature, though much less 'showy' than her Wielder Attire that she typically wore.

Yuriko would move toward Suto and offer a gentle smile, bowing her head to him as she said simply: "Sorry, for having Aufero show to you all of those things - but that is just a portion of what these techniques are capable of." with that she would gaze over into the distance as a few wolves with soft white fur and red eyes would trot toward the two - produced by the illusions of Aufero, though due to Yuriko herself making things less Dark she had in effect made the creatures less dark themselves. The wolves sat and gaze toward Suto expectantly, as Yuriko spoke once more: "Though . . . If there is any other training you would like to perform, I am more than willing to help you, Suto." She said, opening the realm of questioning a bit further as if he wished it, he could ask the young Wielder to train him in another subject rather than simply illusions, or continue upon this path as long as he so desired it.

[2,600]

Suto would sit there, listening to her explanation of genjutsu. According to her at least, genjutsu involved manipulating your chakra in their head, and making it to where they can sense the genjutsu, making it seem real. He assumed that meant it would feel real too, adding onto mental trauma. He would look to Yuriko, pausing his thoughts over Genjutsu and listening to her singing. "Why are you singing?" He would ask - though his answer soon came. Aufero mocked that this would be unsettling. He figured the training was about to come, so he prepared himself. Assuming it came in form of Illusion, since Yuriko did mention Genjutsu, and this entire day had been over it, he prepared for something that would alter the area much like Yuriko did. Looking away from the humming Yuriko, he would witness a rather eerie figure. Dark tendrils swung around the figure,as it soon began to take form into a rather familiar looking figure - however it's neck was limp. He soon took notice, there were multiple beasts in the area, the ground was shaking as they walked forth with their giant sizes asserting their unbelievable weight as they inched towards him. His eyes were widened, as he looked in awe. Sure, it was creepy as fuck, he was scared shitless, but he knew it was nothing more than an illusion. But that's only because he saw it coming. He tried to speak, at first he couldn't, leaving him to mumble a bit - at who not even a person standing inches away would be able to notice. His mouth was open but this wasn't exactly a jaw dropping event; his mouth merely gapped as he began to breath somewhat quickly. Continuing to try and speak, his words unaudible at first, finally succeeded. "Oi, Yuriko, th-?" He said, cutting himself off, realizing he couldn't see anything but the giant beings inching towards him. Looking back to them, they were still moving. Once getting too close for Suto's own comfort, he would even step back, with both feet, moving a few inches away from them. However, after this, they seemed to burst into nothing. Like they never existed in the first place. His fast paced breathing would slowly begin to settle as he looked towards Yuriko, "Jesus woman."

Yuriko mentioned that it was Aufero showing Suto the visions - while he assumed this was merely her placing the blame on what appeared to be an imaginative being, he couldn't deny that she seemed somewhat more realistic. He gazed around, the entire area had changed. The dark forest he had woken to before had faded - he figured it was an illusion before too. He noticed that Yuriko had a change of attire, meanwhile Suto was seeing some rather fucked up shit to put bluntly. "Changed while I was dealing with Aufero's fucked up visions?" He said, jokingly, letting a soft laugh out at the end and grinning to let her know - so she wouldn't take offense. He looked over to where Yuriko was staring at - two wolves, white fur and such. Considering they were wandering the borders, it was more than likely for them to meet with animals, it was merely coincidental that they had never encountered many before now. Assuming nothing else happened, Yuriko would ask if there was any other sorts of training Suto would prefer. "No - I think I'll use Genjutsu like you. It seemed.. interesting enough." He stated. "I'm also doing something for myself, which I can train by myself." He stated, "Not going to tell you what it is, yet. Not going to be Ninjutsu, and I'm training Genjutsu with you." He would say, "I'm doing something which is probably already being done before, but either way, it's something I've thought about." He said, hoping that Yuriko would understand. "T'is something that my family did - I know little about it, but, hopefully I can make use of it."

{2613}

Yuriko would smile softly and a small giggle would come from her lips as he asked if she had changed during the time that he was facing the illusions Aufero had produced, she replied to this in kind with a casual tone: "Sort of . . . " She said vaguely, before allowing him to further answer the question she posed to him on whether or not he would wish to take up any other methods of training or simply remain with their current course of action that was the illusion arts, or Genjutsu as it was more formally known. This being the same style which she had only just recently begun to use and master, developing techniques that coincided with the wills of her Goddess and weapon, Aufero.

She nodded as he responded to her questions in kind and had said that he would use Genjutsu as well as training another method on his own without her aide, something which - while causing a bit of suspicion within Aufero - seemed perfectly reasonable to Yuriko as anything else that he said. She would begin to speak as he further explained that the method was something which his family had done and that he knew a little about it: "I'm sure it will be very useful, and that it will aide us in our quest . . . " She would then add in a softer tone. "And before I forget to mention it - I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate what you have done for me, Suto . . . Just by taking my side in all of this and traveling with me. It means a lot, and to be honest it is more than I deserve . . . So if you ever need anything at all, i'll get it for you." She offered him a warm and genuine smile as she finished her brief yet sincere thanks to the man whom had been traveling by her side for the past while since Yuriko had begun serving Aufero, meaning each word of such as she would then look up to the sky which - in this current illusion - appeared blue and clear, free of clouds and otherwise imperfect weather conditions with only the suns golden rays shining down upon them - to Aufero's dismay, even if it were illusionary.

Yuriko would pause for a long few moments after thanking Suto and gazing at the sky before then turning her gaze upon him once more and saying softly: "First lesson, by the way . . . " She began, her eyes staring upon his if he so allowed as she spoke further. "Never assume the illusion is over . . . There can always be more." And with those words, she would dispel her own rather happy illusion that had taken the place of the previous, darker one, as she now returned to her form with shorter hair and showsman-esque clothing that still had that show-off flare to it even if that was no longer her intent, with Aufero still strapped firmly to her hip and sheathed securely upon such so that her power did not leak out from the blade and instead only dark waves of energy would emanate from the sheathe itself as it leaked through.


She would still smile at him, though in this current form it appeared a bit less sane and more - some would say psycho, but rather this was only due to the blade and the nature which it chose to make it's Wielders appear. Yuriko would not speak and simply gazed upon Suto, allowing the first lesson to sink in for a long few moments before adding softly: 
"Any questions?" 

[3,195]