Shattered Innocence (IC) [M]

[Noone]

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The demon let out an angry wail as he felt his knee break with a sickening 'crack'. "Screw you!" He let out at Garis, "When I get out of this, you're going to be so f___ing dead, I'm going to torture you slowly, make it last for days before I finally end your pathetic excuse of a life." He continued screaming, however, he finally did decide to co-operate with the threat of more violence being applied. "J... just let me live... alright...." He breathed a deep sigh.

Eilan listened in on Kedered's suggestion. He expressed interest, and after a bit of consideration, let out  some thoughts on the matter. If that's possible, go for it, though it was my understanding that only surface thoughts could be read. If we can do that, it might be a good idea to break both of his arms and legs, I don't want even a remote chance of him attacking us or trying to escape again. Regardless, if he's got a mind shield up, it would be good to break it so it would be more easy to tell if he's lying to us, and no doubt he will.

The demon, unhappy to be in this situation, started off. "Look, as fun as killing people is, sometimes torturing someone for days on end is entertaining, and it can get boring out here, I mean, I like hearing children scream for hours before they die. Still, we get bored out here." The demon then said several crude comments on how Chance looked and what he wanted to do to her. It was quite base, and highly undignified. "That's really all we kept her around for,..." He stopped himself, took a moment to catch his breath. "May I go now?"

Eilan didn't look impressed at all. He didn't however, make any moves on the demon, but still kept his weapons ready. He let out a deep sigh, and shook his head 'no'. Sometimes I wonder if demons like him possess some kind of proto-brain only capable of hate and lust. He thought. Maybe we won't need to remove his mind shield to determine if he's lying after all.

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The bloodhound demon has a very similar assortment of items that the equine one had, rations, some money, traveling tools, the like. Overall it looks like they were packing quite light.
However, you do find the key to your bracers in one of his pockets.

Kassin stared over Raffiele, still silent. A sharp pain went through one of his knees, he gasped for air as he could feel it, but it soon passed. He kept his attention on the demon, examined him some more, but again, found no obvious injuries. His face wore a perplexed look, he could tell he was ill, but couldn't determine why.

[Tipod]

'Did one of those demons do something to you?' Oh, that teared it. Raffiele's hand gripped the front of Kassin's shirt, pulling him down to stare directly into the hyena's face. "As a matter of fact," Raffiele spoke in a barely audible grumble, "it was your dear, dysfunctional family that did this to me. Your brother, most likely, who threatened not only my welfare but that of my little cousin's. If you don't get this shit out of my body, or if my little cuz is hurt, then I am going to rip your arms off and shove them both down your throat, get me?"

Telling him that probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, but with such pain coursing through his body it was hard to maintain a calm and sensible demeanor. He could only hope that Kassin's family didn't have eyes and ears everywhere in the woods.

[Noone]

As soon as your hand lunges for Kassin, it feels faint, losing all nervous control, and fops to the ground. Soon after, the angel's spell takes full effect, you feel a strong tugging on your heart, as if something is drilling a hole through it. It feels as though almost ready to burst, and only a moment's notice away from that. It's extremely painful, but after about half a minute, it stops. It does not however, halt your speech.

Kassin gasped, as he felt Raffiele's pain. He regained his composure a few deep breaths later, he looked at Raffiele squarely. His expression, once calm, was far more serious now. He took some glances around, trying to determine who was listening in on them. His eyes started to glow blue, he examined Raffiele more closely as well. "Oh my... why didn't you tell me about this sooner?" He took some more glances about. "Eilan's not here... hold still for a moment." He touched Raffiele's numb hand.

It's a good feeling, life returns to your hand, and you almost immediately feel better, as though you had never been cursed. On the other hand, you can still tell, it's still lying in your heart, dormant for now.

Kassin sat in the snow in front of Raffiele, keeping a distance out of arm's reach. "A negative energy curse... a powerful one too, I'm not sure if I can remove it. But, there's something I need to ask you before I try..." He shook his head, again to check for listeners. Kassin took a deep breath, he had a lot to say.

"I can sense more emotions than pain, and while these past few days have been hard on us all, I can't help but notice that you have, ever since I healed you at the Willow, have bared great animosity towards me. The others may not have been happy about our situation, but none of those with us have hated me as you have. I realize that it is unfair to us all to have been put in the situation we have, and I'm not happy to put any of you at risk, though it may be the safest for us all." He stopped himself, the mention of his family disturbed him. However, he closed his eyes and looked at Raffiele sadly.

"I don't believe you should lie about who has slighted you so. You didn't know who I was before the incident at the Willow, and now you claim to know my family, and claim that they have slighted you. Yet, before what had happened there, you held no special hate towards me, as you did immediately afterwards. You believed me to be responsible for that, I don't know why you think I'm to blame for what has happened to you, as I've shown you naught but kindness. But I don't think lying and casting false blame will help anything."

Kassin looked at Raffiele, he closed his eyes before looking at him. "So, why then do you hate me?"

[Lisky]

Garis looked down at the demon with a look of up-most disgust.  He didn't even flinch as he smashed the other leg with a brutal blow.  Then, with the precision of a surgeon, he stepped forward and drove a bone-shattering kick into the demon's armpit, the attempt was to either dislocate the shoulder, or cause a compound fracture around the shoulder, ribs and collar bones. 

His eye's held a great deal of venom as he planted a foot on the demon's chest.  He said in an icy calm voice, "i warned you about insults and defiance... you have given me both, and as such i have broken multiple bones... either answer me without arrogance, or answer me as a total cripple... You let slip you work for mistress firestorm... so tell me, why does she want the angel boy?"

[Sprocketsdance]

Feeling around in the demon's pockets while still looking at Zanfib, Chance felt a long piece of metal, she quickly grasped it and pulled it out to reveal the key. "Yes! Finally!" She then fumbled around to unlock her bracers, but eventually they came off. Quickly standing and hugging Zanfib she squealed, when then turned a bit into an evil laugh, she was grinning, but not kindly. "Hehe, I'm feeling so good right now.. I wonder how big of a fire ball I could make..."  She turned and looked at the deceased demon.

Not quite remembering her seconds-ago speech about not ruining the present, Chance started to prepare a fire ball. Her anger at the demon being of such great quantity she started laughing again, menacingly. She has always been very much against revenge in any form, but that was before she was captured. The little part inside of her was saying This is pointless, he's dead, move on. but the part that was mostly in control now was saying That son of a B****.. I only wish I could have brought about his demise.. of course not before causing him to go through horrible, horrible agony

Suddenly she stopped, a thought occuring to her. She canceled her spell and looked to Zanfib. "Where is the other demon.. is he still alive?" All the hatred she has been penting up was now overflowing and she was finding it hard to control it.. and even then she didn't quite want to at this moment.

[Ghostwish]

Zanfib gave a startld yelp, jerking his long tail away from Chance and glaring at her, only to see she had already darted off, laughing at him. He huffed slightly, his tail now twitching out of irritation, and rolled his eyes. "Oh not that name again.." He said, covering his eyes in exasperation at the mention of 'Zani'. "Always with the pet names, aren't we Chance?" He said, following her as she searched the other demons. However, he could not come up with an answer to her statement, becoming lightly puzzled for a moment.. He was unsure if she was speaking entiely of her situation, or hinting at his own past..

He did smile when she found the key, but then carefully watched her display after her powers were unleashed. He did not need to be an empath in order to figure out what Chance was feeling. He walked up to her, and put both of his paws on her shoulders, smiling. "Chance, leave it to me. Whatever you can do to him on the outside, I can do to them on the inside." He said, grinning. "Don't worry. He'll pay. Painfully so. Let's go see if they managed to track him down." He said, gesturing for her to follow as he headed off to where he could hear the jumble of sentient thoughts in the woods..

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Kedered had been probing at the mind shield, and was now fairly certain he could unravel the thing, given maybe ten minutes of work. He smiled sardonically, and then leaned into the demon's ear, his voice dripping insincere urbanity.

"We both know you do not fear and probably barely feel pain. It does not matter. I can crack your mind shield, any time I feel like it. I get a kick from watching you writhe. I do not like claws. Sooner or later we will pry everything we wish to know about you, right down to what you ate for breakfast last week. The question is this one, will you answer with enough alacrity for us not to totally wreck you? It would be amusing to drop you somewhere in Ithralia, a poor demon with no arms, legs, eyes or genitals, forcing to beg coppers for a crust of bread. But do go on, I do not like you or your kind."

He straightened, reached into a minor spell that he knew, drew forth five little dancing lights around his hands and started to juggle them, coolly eying the demon and picking away at the mind shield.

[Sprocketsdance]

Chance narrowed her eyes slightly when Zanfib said 'leave it to me' but after hearing the rest she decided not to bite his head off (figuratively of course). She didn't bear any ill will towards him, she just wanted as big of a part as possible in this demon's suffering and demise. This was very unlike her. "I want him to suffer by my hands, I want to be the one to finish him."

She followed Zanfib into the woods and even as the last of her words came out she calmed a little, feeling just the slightest twinge of a moral dilemma at that last statement. It was easier to think rationally when she wasn't looking into the face of one of her former sick captors.

[Azlan]

Tyrian caught his staff in his right hand, but the projected thought crashed against the vicissitudes of thought that made up the fox's conscious mind and it was scattered to the astral sea.

He examined the staff to insure it was whole and found it to be so, "what would I do with all five staffs I wonder..."

The fox watched Raffiele carefully as he rested.  The demon's words were strange, passionate and expressed in such a manner that the dense, unsophisticated, base and ignoble creature could not possibly be attempting to deceive.  It was simply beyond his capabilities to be this convincing.

He watched intently, waiting to hear any response from the demon.

[Noone]

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The demon's mind shield is incredibly strong, likely placed by someone much more powerful than it's current bearer. It would be extremely difficult to remove it, though with some concentration, you may be able to suppress it.

The demon roared in pain as more limbs were broken, he let out a soft stream of curses, but again, shut himself up when he heard the threat of more violence being applied.

"L...look, I don't know why she wants that angel, I just follow orders and reap rewards, I don't question em. I don't know why she would waste time trying to capture him, he's just a waste of life, probably couldn't kill even the wimpiest of beings. I don't know, okay?" The demon stopped.

Eilan decided to interrupt. "She doesn't work like that, Claws target beings almost exclusively, Nakata wouldn't want to kill, much less capture, an angel for absolutely no reason. She certainly wouldn't spend excessive effort doing so either, unless there was something about him that piqued her interest. I suppose you must really like having your limbs broken..." Eilan wore a wicked smile on his face.

"I don't know!" The demon responded. "It's like she's been trying to keep everyone's mouth shut on the matter, not giving anyone  any information on him other than that he's a sucker for pain, aside from that, I don't know anything about him."

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The demon and cubi were under speed enhancements, so they're a fairly long distance away. You can tell Eilan is there as well. It does however, seem like the four of them have stopped.
The demon and his chasers left an easily followable set of tracks in the snow, winds aren't harsh at the moment, so they may yet persist for a while.

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Kassin stared over Raffiele, still silent. A sharp pain went through his other knee. After a grimace in pain, and feeling his leg to check that his leg was still intact, he turned back to Raffiele. He breathed out a sigh.
"I'd prefer it if you could tell me before Eilan got back..." He relaxed his arms and wings. If Eilan knew about the animosity he held towards me... he'd probably want him to go... . Kassin wore a frown on his face, sad looking eyes looking at the demon.

[Tipod]

Recovering from the verge of keeling over, Raffiele wheezed and beat his chest, just to make sure his heart was still working. "...I didn't like you because being with you put me on a hit list." His voice was still low, bordering on inaudible. "I like you even less since your brother showed up after I ran away, stuck this negative crap in me, and said he'd shove my little cousin's soul in a jar if anything happens to you. My whole family's had a pretty rocky relationship with angels, and this is just another example why."

He stood and cracked his neck, giving both shoulders a good rolling. "Just so you know, I'm tearing your bastard brother a new asshole when this is done. Don't worry, he'll stay alive long enough to consider an attitude adjustment."

[Sprocketsdance]

Chance didn't feel like being captain bring-down at the moment so she tried to think of something for mild discussion. Tightening the cloak more around her, deep in thought she kept glancing over at Zanfib. "Heh, I still can't believe it's you. It's been too long." She looked ahead, realizing she hardly knew anything that was going on. "So what is the deal here with this angel guy? I heard the demons talk about having to capture one during my stay there.." She shuddered slightly. "..and I'm guessing they meant the one who healed me. So what's the problem? What is the rest of your group about and how did you get caught up in all this?" With the ending statement she half-looked at him with a smirk. Knowing his problem with getting into trouble all too easily.

[Lisky]

Garis looked over at Eilan and said, "can't tell if he's lying right now, seems miss firestorm, or one of her powerful allies has put up his mind shield... think he's being truthful?"

at the same time he sent a message to Ked 'need a hand with the mind shield?  perhaps the two of us could work together to speed up the process, it's not like he's going anywhere on one arm... though perhaps i should close the cuts so he won't even have the chance of passing out from bleeding... whatever the case may be i'd rather get some input before doing anything, unlike Nicha, my only interest from this bastard is information, and if he goes unconscious, who knows how well either of us could guide his dreams....

[Ghostwish]

Zanfib just smirked back at her as they walked along. His tail swished lazily about behind him as he said, "Since the academy, right? I bet those batty old mages breathed a sigh of relief after I left." He said, following the scattering of thoughts up ahead. "Well, Kassin, as is his name, is a superb healer and an empath, from what I can gather. Now, why exactly it seems half the world is after him is beyond me. The others are wrapped up with him for what I can only assume are individual reasons, and I am just following along to try and figure out the whole mess." He said and smiled, flicking one of his ears. "It's all quite strange, and now you're here." He said, before turning his gaze back to the front. "We're getting close. The others have the demon.." He said as his ears flattened a moment.. "I will strain that fool's brain for everything it is worth."

[Noone]

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The demon let out a few more grumbles, with both legs and an arm broken however, he wasn't in a position to start causing problems. He let out a soft gurgle "May I go now?"

Eilan let out a deep breath, and turned his attention towards Garis. "Probably not, if he knew about Kassin's hypersensitivity, he probably knows at least some clues as to why Nakata wants Kassin. I'd also say that he's lying about what he kept the girl around for, she was probably there so they could torture her in an attempt to attract Kassin." Eilan stopped himself, considering other possibilities. "Then again... Firestorm tends to work on a 'needs-to-know' basis, I suppose it's possible that he doesn't know anything, but I think we should pry him some more just to be safe."

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The footprints in the ground make them easy to find, eventually, you get to be close enough to them for them to be audible. You come in time to hear Eilan say "I suppose it's possible that he doesn't know anything, but I think we should pry him some more just to be safe."
The footprints in the ground make them easy to find, eventually, you get to be close enough to them for them to be audible. You come in time to hear Eilan say "I suppose it's possible that he doesn't know anything, but I think we should pry him some more just to be safe."

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Kassin shook his head, and breathed out a sigh. He didn't believe the demon when he said his brother did this to him before, he certainly didn't believe him now.

"You seem to be intent on blaming me for actions that I did not commit. I did not put a bounty on you, and there's no guarantee that you wouldn't have been put on without my presence. And how do you know that whomever put your curse on was my brother? Do you even know his name?" Kassin's young eyes kept up his sad expression. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes before he continued. And if he knew him, he'd realize that his actions don't speak for me. Kassin shook his head.

"And besides, if I removed your curse, what assurance to I have that you won't try to hurt me immediately afterwards?" He briefly glanced at Tyrian. Kassin noted that most of his companions chased after the third demon, leaving him with only Raffiele and Tyrian as company.

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Kedered glanced over at Garis. "I can crack the shield, or at least suppress it. It is not that complicated, just with a lot of energy behind it, no tricks, just a bit of force. It is strong, stronger than this one," he jerked his hands towards the demon "would be capable of creating on his own. I suspect a higher up did it on him, which would imply that he is sent, for a specific purpose, and not just roaring out for fun."

With that, he turned his attention back to the shield, pouring more energy into his attempts to bore a hole through it.

[Lisky]

Garis nodded first at Eilan, then Ked, he took a second to breath then started adding his own energy to breaking the shield.  A few moments later, his thoughts were interrupted by the sudden appearance Zanfib and the very cute, spotted white feline.  Garis reverted some energy to cleaning the fresh blood from his fur yet again.

Once satisfied, he walked up to the pair with a much more relaxed look than he felt, his wing twitched slightly as he tried to gauge how the new girl was doing.  He smiled and said, "ah, Zanfib, we could use your expertise, he's got a mind shield that needs cracking... perhaps you would be so kind as to help us crack it, and get every bit of information we can from the demon... he's not going anywhere too fast... broke both legs, and an arm..."  turning towards Chance, Garis' smile grew broader and more welcoming, he took a small bow and said, "hello, i'm Garis, Ahnasazi clan, and what name, might i ask, has been bestowed on such a lovely person as yourself."

[Tipod]

"I just told you," Raffiele snarled in frustration, "if anything happens to you, he's going to kill my little cousin. You don't think I saw your brother? Your brother with the one black and one white wing, the blue pelt with orange highlights, black parted haircut, expensive clothes? The son of a bitch that looks like you and expresses great interest in your wellbeing, he's not a relative of yours?"

His hands were clenched, as if he were going to strangle the little angel. "...you know, that whole 'blaming me for things I didn't cause' excuse? My family took over a town with a pariah like that. Everyone felt sorry for him and believed his shtick, even as he brought locusts, raids, disease, and everything under the sun on this little hamlet." He leaned in closer. "He was the first one we kicked out, the tragedies ended, and everyone was a lot happier for it. My point is, that little 'not my fault' mantra doesn't cut it because you do make bad things happen."

[Azlan]

Tyrian took note of Raffiele's considerable rancor regarding this brother and the amount of ill will directed at Kassin.  He also noted the demon's inability to direct those negative feelings into his typical physical means against Kassin's person, despite great desire.

The fox rose to his foot paws, as the staff dispersed most of the remaining negative energy, returning much of his strength to him.  With barely a sound of pads on cold earth, Ty stood at Kassin's side.  He remained calm, but prepared for a quick defense if necessary.  Whatever seemed to hold him back from laying hands on Kassin, almost certainly did not extend to his companions. 

"Kassin, I am no expert in emotions and do not have the ability to read thoughts, but what this beast says... he is very adamant about.  He would have almost certainly would have laid rough hands upon you if not struck you by now, almost all he understands is violence... for even some small measure of compassion exists for this cousin of his.  If it is indeed a curse, then I can show you a window into his soul... by means of a crystal focus, some measure of what occurred to make him think this way might be revealed if it dealt with his soul."

He narrowed his eyes at the demon, "that is, if you seek to trust him.  I will only do this if you wish it, as it involves the use of a soul gem."   

[Ghostwish]

Zanfib eyed the group gathered around the demon, but then looked up curiously as Garis approached in an unusual manner. He listened with only mild interest concerning the tale of the demon's mind shield. BUT.. that changed quite rapidly when the coy incubus attempted to work his charm on Chance. For a brief moment, Zanfib scowled as his ears flicked back, and his tail started to twitch about again, but he quickly caught himself, forcing his features back to a calm slate and his ears back up. None the less, his tail kept twitching, and he offered a side-remark as he walked towards the demon, "I see you managed to keep yourself immaculate through the fighting, Garis, so I am guessing Kedered and Eilan did all the work?"

Why did I react like that? The psion thought to himself, All of a sudden I was so frustrated, angry.. I should have a better check on my emotions. He slowly shook his head as he came up to the demon, and did a through scan of the mindshield. After a moment's pause, he said, "Pathetic. Typical of these magically constructed shields. Static, inert, and badly designed. Charging them up with so much power only makes it easier to trick them into collapsing in on themselves. Which, I might add.." He said as he reached down, and grabbed the leopard forcibly by the head, ignoring his protests as he pressed his fingers onto the demon's scalp, ".. is very painful for the bearer." He said in a low, flat tone that held a hint of malice, right before he concentrated briefly, focusing on a particular point on the shield..

And then, like a wrecking ball slamming through a wall, he pummeled the shield with a concentrated burst of mental energy once and then again, as many times as it took to bring the shield down..

[Lisky]

Garis smirked slightly at the jab as zanfib walked by, rather than say something he replied via telepathy 'The demon hound is near headless by my claws, and this leopard was downed from my own spell.  If you wish to complain about my appearance, feel free, but trying crude insults is not the way charm a girl... ' he smirked at the ringtail, then looked back at Chance, quite intent to learn about this new winged girl.

[Sprocketsdance]

Chance was surprised to see another Cubi... and one that was fully matured. She straightened her back some and held her head a bit higher, just to make herself seem taller and more confident. She wasn't used to seeing other Cubi at all and she wasn't about to show weakness in front of any if she could help it.

But, unfortunately no amount of preparation she has ever done has prepared her for the introduction the suave cubi just gave. Her resign faltered for a moment with a slight giggle but she cleared her throat. Before replying she heard Zanfib's remark as he walked away and noted not only the tone of his voice but the wild twitching of his tail. Huh.. I wonder what got him all worked up.. perhaps it's just the demon.. She eyed a bit of concern after Zanfib before bringing her gaze back to Garis, straightening even more.

"Nice to meet you, Garis, I am Chance" She couldn't help but smile a bit, loosing her resolve from the big smile on Garis' face. Soon she went into a bit of a giggling fit - half from the look on his face and half out of pure nervousness. Once she could calm herself she continued. "I knew Zanfib from when we were kids. I hope I can join this group.. I'm not a full cubi yet but I can still be useful." With that thought her eyes shifted to behind Garis at the demon and suddenly her anger began to swell.

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Kedered's interest was piqued enough by the new arrival to divert some of his attention to the newcomer. Letting a bit of his contrived thoughtlessness slip, he flooded his thought into words, sent them vaguely in this Chance's direction.

Greetings. I am Kedered of the Adoraethar. Why do you wish to join us? You know nothing of us except that we happen to travel in close proximity with someone you knew as a child. You are very free with your personal information and past. It would not be safe to be so on the road, especially with us as companions. We attract........ our share of trouble, and more than our share of trouble. Perhaps it is best if you were to retire somewhere......... safer.

[Sprocketsdance]

Hearing the thoughts in her head from a foreign person her ears went back and she closed her eyes. Chance did not like being treated as if she were a child, even though she hated to admit that she pretty much still was, especially for a cubi. This reminder only angered her further and was just more fuel for her ever-changing moods. She figured since this Kedered seemed to be pretty skilled she simply thought back..

I want to join not only because I trust Zanfib but because Kassin.. and everyone else in this group has saved my life - that is a big debt. I also give out my information because if I am to join this group trust needs to be made, don't think I give it out on a whim. I thank you for your concern, Kedered, but my decision is made. 

She knew anyone who wanted to 'hear' it could but she didn't quite care. The thought of that demon being so close made her fur friz out in anger, especially her tail.  That bastard needs to pay... she thought as she started to step around Garis and toward the Demon, Kedered, and Zanfib.

[Lisky]

Garis had heard her projection, and kept his place in front of her, though extended his arms to deter her from trying to step around again. He was still smiling though with a slightly sad edge to his eyes, as he could only guess what the demons had put her through.  He looked at her calmly and said, "your more than welcome to join us, i myself welcome you with open arms... but i cannot allow you to harm this demon... yet... he may have information that may prove quite helpful, which is what we're trying to get.  He can't run away, both his legs, and one of his arms are broken.  For now, please try and relax... i understand it must be hard for you to see your captor this close, and yet your being held from your revenge.  Please, just sit down for a few moments, and let us talk until they're done..."

Garis paused for a moment to collect his thoughts, "Once we're sure we have what we need i don't really care what happens to scum like that... but he may have something we need, so please, hold your revenge off, just for a few minutes."  as he finished, the cubi gave chance a pleading look, and tried his best to seem non-threating, and possibly even welcoming by folding his wings in, lowering his arms slightly and bringing his pleasant smile back...

[Sprocketsdance]

"Sit down?!" Chance glared at Garis, her arms were shaking with anger. This was like a complete PMS fit. She heard the words he said, they all made sense logically, but she was still quite angry. Though, being a bit of a sucker for begging puppy-dog eyes she stepped back, folded her arms, and took a seat. "Fine." Her tail wrapped around her to the front with the tip twitching back and forth in irritation.

She knew her anger, although understandable, was highly illogical at the moment and so forcing herself to sit was probably the best way to go about calming down... or at least not screwing everything up. Which brought the thought of the equine demon and she couldn't help but mutter "...at least I stabbed his balls... bastard.."

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

The wave of wrath almost knocked Kedered over against it. He quickly "sent" to Garis, Here are my conclusions about the mind shield, and how to topple it. including a torrent of magical symbols that approximated how the shield functioned.

Keeping his eyes upon the demon, he instead let his focus drift towards the newcomer, Chance, and sent in a flood of happy, and calming emotions her way, attempting to jam her into a less unstable state. He took a glance at Zanfib, who seemed to be the one most likely to interfere with this plan. His eyes wandered from Zanfib to Garis to Eilan.......


Striding quickly, he marched over to the fox-being. Simply stating "The only ones left with Kassin are the Demon in our party and Tyrian. Should one or more of us go to guard him? I mislike leaving him so scantily protected."

[Noone]

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Eilan was somewhat alarmed when Chance and Zanfib showed up. Two more... I just hope that Tyrian can keep an eye on Kassin. He did however, act with surprise when Zanfib grabbed the demon, but simply stared and observed, he took a look at the three cubi, he didn't particularly like what he was hearing from Chance, he turned towards her. "Control yourself."
When we're done gathering information from this demon, he thought out loud. we're not going to torture him any more, just kill him. I don't want to cause Kassin any excessive trouble, and we don't have the time to spare for that regardless. Make it quick and non-painful, Kassin would react badly to us drawing it out.

The mind shield is powerful indeed, well made too. It takes a lot of effort to bring it down, but eventually, it fades, and the demon's thoughts are clear.

Eilan turned to face Kedered. "That crossed my mind as well, I think Kassin would be safer if the demon were tied up and gagged...." He then decided that he didn't want the other demon overhearing him, probably didn't matter, since he planned on killing him anyways, but it was just to be safe. Look, about Raffiele, I suspected it before, but I think this setup is too stretched to be coincidental. He claimed to have been attacked by the Claws when we had found him, but, the Claws don't work like that, they don't leave people for dead, especially creatures. They tend to ignore them unless they're a target, in which case, they kill them. The demon knew about Kassin's sensitivity,... which would play on them leaving him in a wounded state, and then, we run into these three Claws. I also didn't observe him helping us to fight them off either. He stopped for a moment. "It might be a good idea for you to check up on Kassin." And to press that demon for information, I'll let you know if we find anything from this one.

The demon looked up at Zanfib, it became clear to him that they were planning on killing him anyways. He could tell that his shield was fading, fast. However, he was powerless to resist. Maybe I should make something up about why she wants Kassin so badly, I wasn't told, but I'd have to think fast,... He then noticed Chance, his eyes bulged with surprise. "What the..." His facial expression still expressed terror, and morbid surprise.

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Kassin looked surprised, his eyes bulged and stared at Raffiele. His face's expression grew more  concerned. He closed his eyes, and exhaled a deep sigh. He turned a shake of his head towards Tyrian, and simply said "No." Kassin looked up at the sky, an expression full of sorrow. He tried to convince himself that Raffiele wasn't telling him the truth, but he knew about his wings. He spent a moment thinking of various ways which he could have found out. He couldn't find any. If he didn't know him before what had happened at the Willow, he couldn't have...

He looked at the ground as he spoke. "Yavvir.... I can't recall the last time he's shown genuine concern for me. He's.... cold." Kassin took a deep breath before he continued, unable to look at the demon in the eyes. "I have not seen him for around nine months, the rest of my family... even longer, I doubt they would care to see me again, my last encounter with him... was not pleasant. But..." He made a soft sniffle, took a few deep breaths before he continued. If he did... then... he really does care about me...

"But I know him well enough to know he's not above using people for his own ends, I doubt that my safety is what he's truly after but I know he can, and would make such a threat and make good on it as well, and I know he can wield dark magic." Kassin rose to his feet.

"Please don't blame me for what he does, or what the Claws do. The Claws revel in the senseless murder of innocents, and Yavvir... we're not close in any sense. While I appreciate what the others have done for me, I do feel guilty keeping them around me at their expense. Through doings beyond any of our control or consent, we will have to stay together, for mutual safety. I'm sorry that you've been forced into this, I would not wish to chain you so. Regardless, I suppose I should remove your curse, if Yavvir did indeed, put it on you."

Kassin's hands started to glow with a bluish white light, his eyes started to glow as well, something to help him detect the curse. "Please hold still, I think it will take a great effort on my part to remove it."

[Ghostwish]

Zanfib did not seem to notice Kedered's actions upon Chance. Perhaps in his focused state his senses were slightly dull, or, like their first encounter, emotions did not register very strongly with him.

However, he did notice the demon's reaction to Chance. His cold expression changed suddenly to a smirk that sung of malice.. "Ah yes.." He said, his voice barely above a whisper, "You remember her, don't you? Note her well, demon, for I do not take kindly to those who harm my friends." He said, and then his features drew back in a horrifying, feral grin.. "Goodbye demon."

The sudden lash of psionic energy was as lethal as it was quick. Zanfib did not try to read the demon's thoughts, he tore them out of his mind with a ferocity that tore into the very fabric of the demon's mind. He crashed into the his victim's memory with abandon, fully well knowing that it could kill the demon or even worse, and that the mind of the demon would resist this intrusion.. But Zanfib was a trained, psionic combatant.. where as the demon's consciousness would likely act solely on instinct against an intrusion it did not recognize or understand. The ringtail kept boring deeper and deeper into the demon's mind, casting aside frivolous memories, pieces of his personality, and parts of his subconscious with abandon. All he cared about was extracting the vital information from the demon's mind, and whether or not the feline ended up so completely inert that his bodily functions shut down was no concern of his. Chance, Kassin, the Claws, his companions and himself, that was all Zanfib cared for. Everything else was just a barrier to be broken down and obliterated.

While the party lacked any other psions, those with the surface skimming telepathic abilities of the cubi race perhaps caught the onslaught of the attack.. which, oddly enough, gave about the same impression as someone being pounced and mauled by a vicious animal. And, in his cold fury, Zanfib had forgotten the empathic Kassin who, even at such range, would probably be affected by the sudden agony the demon was being put through.

[Lisky]

Garis flinched at the brutality with which the Psion ripped into the demons mind.  He tried hard to focus on other things and he tore into the demon's mind as a feral cat would it's unsuspecting prey.

After a few moments, he leaned nonchalantly against a tree and focused on Chance again.  He still had a bit of a grin, but his broad smile was no where to be found, he was going to try the approach of friendly, rather than suave as he had originally planned.  Looking down at her he said "You said something a little while ago that got me interested Chance.  Something about not being a full cubi yet?  I'm curious, how much do you know about your heritage, and the abilities you should be gaining shortly then?"

His tail waved back and forth lazily, and his interest in the girl was becoming quite apparent.  He added his own calming and pleasant emotions to Keds, hoping to make sure she wouldn't do anything rash, that might destroy their chances of removing the bounty.