Ariadne smiled grimly. Of her Alastrian gifts, her talons were the most difficult to reconcile. She was a pacifist. She didn't like hurting other people. But for climbing and breaking and...well...scaring people...they really couldn't be beat.

She glanced down at her fingernails, which looked so ordinary and Human for the moment. "It's said they can break any mineral known. I don't know if that's true or not, I've never tested it."