( As much as his attention is fixated on the boy, the demon sees the flinch, feels it, subtle and brief, like a flutter of an insect's wings. The demon pauses, hand slowly pulling back, breaking contact by a few inches. At first, he thinks perhaps he's harmed him, but as Dito speaks again, he realises. It wasn't pain.

It was fear. Or, something adjacent — perhaps not an active fright, but something deep-rooted. An instinctual reaction. He has seen it, felt it, time and time again inside of Peter. His host flinches and shudders from so many things. Sometimes subtle, like this. Sometimes more outright, even violently.

He's staring at the boy very intensely, and then there's a soft shake of the head. )

I can not. Not unless you requested it of me.

( Technically, he can break into a mind, but that is.... an unnatural thing, something the cult had willed him to do. And so it goes beyond his usual rules, how he's meant to function for others. Not by force. )

I will only give to you. Not take. A... picture. Knowledge. It will not hurt. It will feel like a dream.

But only if you desire it. It is all right if you do not.

( Dito may have just said it was all right, but Paimon does want to make sure. His fingertips can still feel the sensation of the flinch. )