Following her wasn't as difficult as Matt was expecting. As she said, he was getting much better at replicating spells that he sees done. He didn't know where they were anymore, but she was definitely nearby. He was in a hallway with a variety of doors, so he was assuming this was a hotel or apartment complex of some sort, but no one else was there other than those two. He could sense the door she was behind and the moment he entered, he realized the mistake that he made.
Physical pain wasn't something that Matt had much experience with anymore and she quickly reintroduced him to the notion. Matt was magically blown from the doorway and slammed into the wall back in the hallway, forcing him to slump down to the floor. Quickly putting his hands up in surrender, he looked up at her. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry."
"You. Named. Me." She growled, her eyes wide in menace.
"I didn't know what it meant..."
"I know..." She said coldly.
"I just thought-"
"I know!" She roared, her power taking the form of an aura of swirling energy. "I know you were just reacting to me not having one! I know that you meant well! I have no
choice
but to know! It doesn't matter! YOU NAMED ME!"
"It was just a suggestion." Matt sighed and began to stand before her magic forced him back into his previous seated position on the floor. "You can't tell me that in the entire history of humanity that no one has ever suggested a name."
She closed her eyes in frustration and took a deep breath. "If you were a human then you would be correct in that assertion... Then this would not be a big deal. I would just ignore the suggestion as I have countless others. But you are not human. Think back to Laila's analogy of the man in the cell. Everything that you do comes with the power that you wield. And we are not only talking about the power that you wield on its own, but also the fact that currently I
belong
to you. Even a suggestion carries the weight of a command under those circumstances. And even if we were to ignore both of those things, it was not, as you so casually put it, a suggestion. You said the name. You then said the name was what I looked like. It was not a question. It was a statement of fact, be it intentional or otherwise. You. Named. Me."
Matt paused for a moment to take in all the information she was throwing at him and then gave her an understanding nod. "Okay. Okay, I get it. I acted without thinking and I hurt you as a result. You know that it wasn't my intent. You know that I meant no disrespect and in fact it was the opposite. You-... Can I stand, please? I feel really silly having this conversation on the floor of a hallway. Where even are we?"
"One of many places I choose to reside. It is of no importance." She replied bluntly. "Yes, you may stand."
"Thank you." Matt smirked as he cautiously stood up, unable to stop himself from finding the humor in the fact that he was clearly following
her
orders. "As I was saying, if me naming you is the big problem here, then I'll just-"
Matt was cut off as she seemed to appear out of nowhere directly in front of him and covered his mouth with her hand, cutting off the rest of his sentence. He was going to protest until he saw her eyes. They were wide in more panic than he would have thought possible. Her face was completely contorted by it until she slowly began to calm down upon the realization that she'd successfully cut him off. When she caught his gaze again, her eyes were stern but not overtly angry.
"I need to make this very clear, so I am going to ask you to be quiet as I speak. I understand where you are coming from. From the moment you made Mara your familiar, things have, for the most part, worked out in your favor. When you come across a problem, even one as overwhelming as Heaven wanting you dead, you are able to get out of that problem, not only unscathed, but more powerful than you started.
"And this has continued even more with Laila reiterating that you should follow your heart and that she and your other familiars will follow you and fix anything that you are wrong about. You are beginning to believe that any mistake that you make can be fixed with your power. Death itself seems to elude you even when you blatantly provoke it.
"Because of this, warnings of what you should and should not do are gradually meaning less to you. You are able to break the rules of the status quo so frequently that you are beginning to truly feel that none of them apply to you anymore. And maybe that is true for you, but it is not for the rest of us.
"I understand that you mean no harm. On the contrary, you care more about those around you than you do yourself. Once someone gains your trust, then they are under your full protection. You do not even trust Lilith and yet she is under your umbrella, as it were. You know me even less and I am under it as well. If something were to happen to any of us, you would spare no thought to making it right, even at the expense of yourself. That said, to bring things back to what I was saying earlier, every action does have consequences. Every action you take, have taken or will take is all done with the authority of the horseman of Death."
She sighed as even under her hand, Matt began to protest.
"You are supposed to be quiet and allow me to speak uninterrupted. Remember?" She asked calmly to which Matt scowled but went silent again. "Thank you. It does not matter if you acknowledge the title of the horseman of Death or not. That is the power you wield and that is the influence that you take advantage of. When you free the enslaved deities. When you connect them to you. When you accept Lilith and when you accept me. All of this is you acknowledging your power. You might be trying to rename it, but it does not change the facts. The reason I say this is because you
really
need to start thinking before you act. You need to start thinking before you speak. You. Need. To.
Think
.
"You will set things in motion that you will not understand. You already have, in fact. A being of your power cannot do anything without setting things in motion as a result. Even if you chose not to act, then your inaction is what will set things into motion. This is the inevitable result of being someone with great power. With great power must also come great responsibility. It is a saying that you enjoy but it does currently apply to you more than you seem to acknowledge.
"Now... I am going to remove my hand. And I want you to think about what you were about to say and why I stopped you from saying it. I will not stop you again if you choose to verbally continue with that train of thought. I simply wanted you to think before you spoke."
Matt exhaled as her hand was removed and did as she asked. He stopped. He thought about everything she said and only then did he speak. "...if I withdrew the offered name, it would be the equivalent of me rejecting you. Like Adam. I was taking away your choice."
"Yes..." She whispered with a look on her face that Matt assumed didn't appear there often. Uncertainty. "Can you please give me a moment to process this? May I be the one to decide if I accept the name or not?"
"Of course. Take all the time you need." Matt sighed in relief. "Um... one question though."
"You say that you will give me time to think and then immediately ask a question." She stated sternly. "We are
not
married. You do not know me and you have no desire to marry me. Marriage has to have two willing participants to be a successful institution."
Matt's eyes bulged. "That implies that you want to be married to me..."
"I know you in your entirety. I know things about you that you yourself are as of yet unaware. I would have no qualms with permanently connecting my life to yours physically, spiritually, and otherwise. You are... a good person. I would not have agreed to be yours otherwise. Now... would you
please
let me think?"
"Do you need me to go or-?" Matt stopped when she gave him a stern glare. "Or I could just shut up and let you think."
