Forget whatever claims were made about familiar assignment being tied to random chance. The bundle of nerves currently scurrying after Fahl came across as a mockery done with a discreet wink and nod. Small, spiky, and scared from the moment she'd been plucked from her home, what else could he perceive the Quill Mouse as but a warped mirror held up to his own life.

Well, regardless of whether her presence here resulted from true coincidence or dice weighted against his favor, she was the charge he'd been handed. His mission to conquer fear extended now to more than himself. Together they'd elevate themselves beyond any Master's laughable expectations of them. After all, what sort of future Gembound authority would he be if even a Lesser couldn't be assured victory under his guidance.

At risk of appearing impolite, the aspiring mage and commander kept his own greeting brief. He dared not venture into more long-winded well-wishes lest an inopportune stumble of his tongue broadcast a fool's image to the observing masses. "Likewise," he rasped and prodded at his mouse's feet, one of the few spots unprotected by a forest of spines, to direct her into the proper battle position.

She shivered in place once there, whiskers twitching as her head swiveled to absorb all the surrounding lights and sounds. The rapid darting of her attention would need to be honed into a focused beam should she have any hope of pulling through the fight.

Without a peek into Tourmaline's inner thoughts, there existed no commentary or action to indicate she'd ever attempted to direct her familiar. Therefore, from Fahl's perspective, whoever first took initiative was still up for grabs. He wasn't much more outwardly expressive in his commands, mostly staring down the Red Mouse across from his partner using an amount of intensity unwarranted for a friendly match. However, after seemingly trying to mentally set the small snacking rodent on fire, his chin jerked toward it.

"Go."

In the midst of the rumbling timbre of his voice, a short series of images transferred to his Quill Mouse: the energy from nervous twitches being redirected into limbs, the unleashing of coiled tension as she ran forward, and tiny paws shoving hard enough to dislodge the popcorn from her enemy's grip and push them onto their back. A sensation akin to a poke against her brain accompanied these, an attempt at ensuring compliance with orders. Though taking this tactic from his usual method of practicing conjuration, this was gentler than how he'd force magic's obedience of his will; that level of ferocity came across as too extreme when handling an entity entirely separate from himself.

But perhaps such respect for boundaries had softened his touch too much. While more responsive than her less spiny counterpart, the mouse jolting in place at the intrusion of his thoughts on hers, lack of a firm hand continuously guiding actions only created hesitance past the point of contact. Any satisfaction gained by her darting forward was instantly quashed once she spun around and hurried back to the safety of Fahl's shadow. A Hydra native, more effort would be required to break through ingrained skittishness before she could ever entertain the possibility of engaging in combat.