[He can see it in her eyes that this is all worrying her and that she doesn't like it. But he's glad that she's letting him make this choice, even if she wants to argue and would like nothing more than to talk him out of it. There's not much he can do to reassure her, as he barely knows anything himself about the nature of his powers, what kind of hold that monster might get on him if he pushes it too far, or what the mark's influence will do to him.

He hates that he can't give her any assurances. But maybe, with time, he can assure her that he's alright despite the dangers.]

I know. Thank you.

[Ajax lightly tugs at her hands before he lets go to pull her into a warm embrace, appreciative of her concern for him. He can't let her down, especially not now when he knows she's worried.]

C'mon, [he says, as he pulls away and places his hands on the sides of her arms,] I'll need you help to conquer this. Plus, we need to get your powers to work on command, too. That means we need to put our heads together to figure it out. Surely, the trigger to make them work can't simply be when we desperately need it. There's probably something else hidden here within ourselves, so we just need to find it.

[Ajax's smile brightens, hoping that maybe a bit of positivity would lift her spirits after such a scary topic. As long as they're careful, everything will work out, right?]