Oh, goodness. Barring any barriers, this could get a little messy. Nigredo straightened in his seat, frowning slightly at the swishing in his ears. After this, he should request some sort of swab.

There was an intake of breath. The U.R.T.V. needed to think of a suggestion which Klavier wouldn't take up easily. Something odd, maybe even embarrassing. The man appeared to be confident in all nuances of the word. A bout of humiliation would probably do him some good. It would certainly help tone down the level in that voice of his.

The answer came to him a moment later, thanks to an old article he once found on the U.M.N. He exhaled slowly and smiled carefully. "You know what a rooster is?" he asked, almost too casually. "It produces a certain crow at dawn to announce the morning."

And then: "That sound. I want you to make it for everyone to hear."

The voice was low, almost a whisper, but unusually firm. Unlike the usual expectations of a controlling element, there was no song. No obvious entry. It came as a thief in the night, stealing what hopes of control Klavier might have wanted in this situation. It urged him to do as Nigredo said, in a voice that belonged not to the child but another. Someone familiar, someone the boy shouldn't be able to mimic.

A flash of blond hair and spectacles should take the man's vision and leave Klavier with the implications and no room to argue the semantics. The source did not approve of disobedience, did he not? A straight out 'no' would lead to condemnation. Disapproval.

But how could Nigredo ever know? He was only using his power.