[ It's not exactly stubbornness she's clinging onto, here (though she can certainly be stubborn). It's... a fear, and that too is something she's averse to admit in herself, that she should feel fear. Maleficent has taken great measures in her life to make certain there is very little left that can cause her fear. This.... unknown.... it does frighten her. Not because she fears pain, or suffering. She has known those things too well.

She fears not returning home, to her daughter. And if the powers here choose to turn against them, or show some dark true goal? She could be destroyed. Or trapped here forever. That is what she fears.

It makes her... oddly torn. He's right; examining the thing more closely may be the only way to understand more about it, ironically. But she's reluctant, her nerves showing themselves a bit more openly now: nostrils flaring, wings restlessly shifting, eyes just a little wide. ]

I agree. ...On both counts. [ It's a frustrating paradox, isn't it? Not a bright idea to get closer, yet having to get closer to figure out more. ]

...But of the curses with which I am familiar, a thing requires touch to truly activate. So perhaps.... [ She finds herself faltering a little in favour of perhaps drawing closer. She doesn't want to, is fighting it within herself, and after a moment gives a rough sigh. ]

....Perhaps we could examine it with our eyes alone. From a distance still, but... closer.