"Perhaps if we are low on efforts that will result in harm to him, that we cease for now" Fox said simply. "We can always leave it to the minds at the Monastary to investigate further...…. without vivisection before it is mentioned again" Fox said

"...if we can keep hold of him until we get back, well... I would like to at least attempt to see what I can do as far as Red Dawn is concerned."

She was trying to change the subject.  Just even thinking about what might lie ahead wasn't sitting well with her.  She wasn't a monster.  She didn't want to be a monster.

"It might be something to consider, honestly.  Sabre is correct- I don't know how much control over the sword's power I would have, but the question is how much time to test do I have, and how far is too far?

I don't want to kill him outright.  I'm not her any more.  And as much as he's trying to hide it, he's looking for a solution, too."

She would sigh, and then look at the door.

"Go and get the sword.  I suppose I can at least see how it reacts to me before I decide how to proceed.   I just wish there was a different way, and that I had more time to think of something else.  But we don't know how long we have, and Peacock will be here in a few hours.

I don't have all the answers.  I mean, he's right on one thing.  I still think he's human- pretty well tainted, but I think with work, we could restore him."

Sun Fox turned to look as Sabre Fox, who was carrying the Sommerswerd right now, as if to see wether he was willing to run the experiment Rain Feather was thinking of by handing the sword over to her, or not.

Fox would simply hold the sword out for her to take, but he did not put it at full arms length, most likely in tandem with what he would say

"If you think that he may be lost during this attempt, please cease. That's all I will ask" He said before extending his arm out fully.

Back in the corner, Swift had been intently watching everything that had happened so far.
While she offered no noticeable reaction to anything yet, now she drew the pink-handled dagger from its place at her belt and examined it with a thoughtful look...

Frost Ferret scoffed at Sabre Fox's action and commented, in an annoyed tone:

"All this concern for this creature is ridicolous - he's just another enemy we should just dispose of. You're not gonna get anything good from continuing to interact with him, mark my words on this."
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:40, Tue 16 Oct 2018.

Swift's gaze remained on the dagger in her hands, a hint of something approaching a smile briefly appearing on her face.
It vanished at Frost Ferret's comment though.

"I used to think that way too" she remarked in a quiet tone, still looking over the dagger.

Frost Ferret crossed his arms at Swift Fox's comment, then said, sounding morose:

"You try listening to three days of his neverending rants, then tell me what you think again."

"...and if that was you, in those chains, Ferret?  Would you want us to try and do everything in our power to save you, or would you want us to simply make a mild effort and then finish you off because it's too hard and the solution is not obvious?

I've been in his position.  I held out hope right until the damned end.  I'm not giving up on anybody I think can be saved.  That's why we're Kai."

Accepting the sword from Sabre, she would give it a simple wave, her eyes coming bright and alive as she sent her power to meet with that of the sword's, her movements becoming somewhat smoother, and then turning back to Lobster.  With the blade in her hand, she appraised him again, bright shining eyes glowing as she swiftly dove right back into his mind.

After but a moment of silence, Lobster let out a scream once again, but this time it was nothing like it had been before - it was a shrill, inhuman sound, like nails scraping steel with impossible strenght, and Lobster's form suddenly shifted back to his previous monstrous look, before going back to the human one, and then repeating the back and forth again and again, even as the shriek became less and less human, more and more piercing, and starting to become literally painful to hear...

Speaking of which, everybody lose 1 END from the sound, except for Sabre who is losing 3 - the sheer shrillness of this scream is quite literally starting to rupture your eardrums.

As Lobster screamed, so too did Rain- hers more of an anguished screech as if she'd been mortally wounded.  Her hands occupied, she would keep her hand on the Sommerswerd's hilt and the other wrapped around Breakwater, forcing her to collapse onto her back with a thump.  She squirmed and turned and twisted, drops of spit leaking out of her mouth, and mucus and tears streaming down her face- which was locked in a rictus of strain, as if she was fighting some internal battle, even as the light that usually permeated her sight shone over her, and the sword.

Her lips moved, silently, as if she was repeating some mantra, over and over, her body straining...

...until the glow finally faded, her body releasing all of its pent-up tension, letting her fall back to the wooden floor with a thump, her hands slowly bringing the blade and the spear to cross on her chest- laying Breakwater over the sword.  She was breathing heavily, her eyes clenched shut, and it was obvious the girl was trying to collect herself, half-dazed from whatever she'd just had to endure.

But she echoed one phrase over and over, whispering it in her daze...

"I'm just as human as he is.  I'm human.  I don't care what anyone else says... I'm human..."

Fox would immediately come to Rain's aid, trying his best to ignore his ear drums splitting from the scream.

"You are human" He said simply, holding her by the shoulders

Is this enhanced hearing working against me? lol

Yes it is, Sabre Fox. :)

Speaking of which...

As soon as Rain Feather fell to the ground, with liquid light flowing out and throughout her body, Lobster's scream abruptly stopped as well, and the boy was left kneeling, supporting himself with his hands, his voice reduced to squuezing sounds as he tried to recover his breath.

He was also no longer bound - the trashing combined with the repentine back-and-forth changes in appearance had broken through the tree branches and vines that had been holding him up to this point. Ferret had took a step forward at that, his hand moving to his short sword, but the boy - for he still looked human right now - didn't seemed to be attempting any move, clearly too tried by his latest experience to do anything more than recover from it for now.

At the sudden noise, Swift dropped the pink-handled dagger and clapped both hands over her ears, wincing and looking up at Lobster.

As Rain fell, she grabbed up the dagger and returned it to its sheath at her belt again before getting to her feet and moving closer.
"What happened?  Is she ok?" she asked.  Looking over Rain then eyeing Lobster warily.

Sun Snake grunted in pain as Lobster and Rain screamed. As he shook it off, he noticed Rain's condition. He may have moved to her side, but saw Sabre Fox move quickly there.

He instead looked across to Fall Lobster. His expression was unfathomable for a moment, but it seemed as if whatever words Rain Feather had spoken had given Sun Snake a responsibility.

He walked across to the previously fallen Kai, and now perhaps just a Kai who had fallen. Looking with brief concern to the destroyed bindings, he held out his hand to help up the man.

"Fall Lobster?" he said, as if greeting someone he had not seen for a long time, rather than addressing the plague that had dogged their steps in the Maakengorge. "How do you feel?"
This message was last edited by the player at 17:17, Thu 18 Oct 2018.

It took a moment, but with a sudden slap, Lobster batter Snake's hand away and looked up at him, eyes filled with hatred, as he wheezed out in a hiss that was part tiredness and part threat:

"As long... as you... feel well... I will... not."

Sun Snake's face became an impassive mask again, and he simply turned and walked out of the room.

Fox would watch Snake walk out before speaking to Rain

“What happened?”

She gets back to a sitting position, and keeps the blade on her lap, crossed with her spear.

"You ought to be a little more grateful, you know.  The only thing between you and being turned inside-out by the power of the sun was me, and that's only because I gave my word.  It's rather cross with me, at the moment, but it was either save your life or go back on my word and let you become a burnt-out husk when I promised to keep you as whole as I could.   I feel mentally like I just fought a team of oxen to keep a wagon from going off a cliff, so the least you can do is realize just how close you came to getting boiled like a- well... a lobster.  I still think I can heal you if I get enough time and enough research."

She wipes her face with her sleeve, trying not to jab anyone with her spear.

"Why are you so cross, anyways?  You got Snake to leave in a huff.  I'm sorry that this hurts so much, but what you just felt?  That's the alternative.  So maybe try to give this a rest and let us help you, Lobster, all right?"

Light didn't always mean nice, after all, and while nursing a headache, she felt even less nice.  She wanted to help him, but... he was making it hard to actually want to help.

"Then it is my fault" Fox said putting his hand on the blade "Im sorry that I forced you both into this" He said to both Rain and the Sommerswerd. "But I could not break my own vow, I ask you both forgive me"

He would then look to Lobster

"If your prepared to behave yourself then this time we can only give minimal bindings. Its your choice, or go back to being completely bound"

Lobster went to shrug, but that cause him to lose his support and faceplant on the floor. It took him a moment to get his hands back under him, and a bit after that to say, his breath still far from fully recovered:

"This help... you offer... I didn't... ask for... It was... your own... decision... so don't... blame me... about... the difficulty."

He paused, then glared at Sabre Fox and asked:

"And what... would you... consider... to be... good behaviour... from me?.. Do I... need to... go kiss... Sun Snake's... boots... like the... rest of... you all?.. Beacuse... that... is not... gonna happen."

Swift seemed to relax a little seeing Rain didn't seem seriously injured by whatever had happened.

She glanced towards the door Sun Snake had left through, her expression remaining neutral, but then got to her feet and moved over to Lobster, wordlessly offering a hand to help him up...

Lobster  glared at Swift Fox as she got close, and said to her in greetings:

"I... remeber... you. You are... Snake's minion... who caught... me. What... do you.. want?"

He didn't seemed at all interested in accepting her help either.

"Snake's minion?" remarked Swift with an expression that suggested she was trying to suppress a sudden fit of laughter.

"Actually, my loyalty is to Master Moon Shadow of the Kai.  I caught you because I was under orders to find the missing Kai, which was one of two reasons why I didn't just take the easier option and kill you."

She raised her hand, glanced at it in an almost detached way then offered it again...


OOC: Snake's minion?  This guy REALLY doesn't know Swift well ;) hehe
This message was last edited by the player at 17:07, Mon 22 Oct 2018.

With a final, long breath, Lobster seemed to get himself under control, and slowly got up on his own, keeping his glare aimed squarely at Swift Fox the whole time, as if to make sure she didn't move to help him of her own initiative. Then he finally spoke, sounding dismissive:

"Yeah, of course, you followed his commands and did his biddings due to not being under his orders at all, but rather those of another master who of course isn't under his sway either."

He then turned to check himself over, as if looking for wounds - he didn't seem to have any that the group could see, despite having just broken through pretty thick wood branches - before adding, sounding dimsissive:

"Is there any more lies you want to throw my way, or are we done here?"