Shattered Innocence (IC) [M]

[Sprocketsdance]

Chance's ears moved back as her brow furrowed, looking to the one inquiring about Raff. "He isn't with us...." Again, her eyes moved to Eilan for a moment before her gaze fell to the child.

Eilan seemed to be in a very wrathful mood... and even though that wrath was directed towards her she still did not want to sell him out completely. She was curious herself but there only seemed to be two options that could have happened.. and one she was doubtful was even given.

"...but.. why must you know? You don't seem very friendly.."

[Tipod]

At Chance's words, Bart immediately stopped to look over at Eilan, back to Chance, and finally settled his peevish gaze back on Eilan. The succubus had given him a straighter answer than the fox had, and he looked like the leader, the guy who knew every in and out of their posse. Already, Bart's annoyance was snowballing into quiet, suspicious anger.

"...you know, when you don't tell me these things from the start, I get pretty upset. So, we're gonna try this again, with me asking a question and you answering it." He shifted, body facing Eilan completely. "Where is Rafa now?"

[Noone]

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Eilan kept staring at Toalacuzlotlixao. This guy is either horribly deluded... or a bad actor. Still... He looked at the dart on the ground. That can't be his only weapon...
Kassin quickly interjected though. "Eilan... I do believe he is speaking from his heart... I'd prefer to try and reason with him." Eilan cast Kassin a glare.
"Fine..." He said, turning his gaze back to Toalacuzlotlixao. "But I'm watching you for any signs of treachery." For now though... I have other matters to deal with... He made a hostile glare at Chance... and made a facial expression expressing his displeasure at telling Bart anything, and perhaps other matters. He then turned to face Bart.

Kassin stepped forward, cleared his throat. "Oh... where do I begin..?" Weary eyes looked up to the sky, then towards Toalacuzlotlixao. "Firstly... about soul murdering,.. I would never do something so horrible. I'm very sensitive to other people's feelings... I do my best to keep those around me healthy." Kassin paused... taking a moment to articulate what he was about to say. "Next... maybe you're not familiar with how bounties work in this country... but... mostly, all that is required is that someone is willing to pay to see someone dead, regardless of whether that person had done anything wrong or not.  Sometimes false charges are made against the target... but most of the time they don't even bother." He made another pause. "For some time now, I've been a wandering healer, I've picked up friends scattered around the country. I don't know who I could have upset with that... however... the person who put up the bounty on me has refused to reveal him or herself." His wings stretched, then contracted around himself, as if trying to shield himself from the cold. "I'm afraid I don't know everything about what has been going on unfortunately... I know an organization from Narukh named the 'Claws of Fire' want to capture me... but alas, we do not know all the answers. It's what we were doing out here in the first place, trying to find answers."

He paused, to look at Toalacuzlotixao. He let out a soft sigh. "Will that suffice?"

Eilan was clearly weary, but did his best to make himself appear strong to Bart. "You're not in charge here. I have plenty of reason to withhold information on him and what happened to him. I need to know that I can trust you, and your current line of behavior makes me believe I cannot. So answer me and I may answer you. What is your business with Raffiele?"

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Kedered kept his stride rapid, but meechanical, as bouncing was inevitable, but Kedered tried to keep it to a minimum.  Orenio wasn't giving off any sense of conscious thought, but a wisp of pain still emanated from him, and Kedered thickened his own filters to keep the sensation out.  I wonder if Kassin can be taught to do the same, his sensitivity to the pain of others will get him killed one day.

Which troubled him further. Kassin's healing had left himself weak, as well as the few others he had seen the effect on, but never someone with this degree of injury still running. He hoped a second dose was effective. While he was normally against such things, he felt a sense of trustworthiness from this stranger. He probably wouldn't even need to manipulate him overmuch to keep Orenio pointed in the right direction, and the little meerkat had shown obvious magical ability.

He couldn't risk a speed spell, not without dropping his cargo, which he was pretty sure would be a bad idea, but the site of the battle was not very far. It only took a few minutes to reach the site, which he could feel with his emotional senses, as waves of fear, mistrust, and anger rolled off. Soon, we must do something about Eilan. He will move against Chance if we give him a chance, and I do not mean to lose her to his prejudices.

When he got into sight of them, he was less than surprised to see Eilan arguing with a figure that looked oddly familiar, although he could not quite place where. Reptilian, and reptiles were rare; he should have been either to immediately place in a known or unknown category. Still, it was not directly his concern yet.  He sidled over to Kassin, gently laid Orenio on the snow, and allowed his arms to revert to their normal form. He leaned in and whispered "I think he needs a second dose, Kassin."

[Lisky]

The pissing match between Bart and Eilan seemed to be building, the child Chance was caring for seemed to be completely catatonic, and the one person Garis felt he could 100% truly trust had bolted off after one of the other survivors.  This left him keeping an eye on both Kassin, and the party...  He continued to use the one tentacle as a crutch for the new female, while turning his attention out towards the others.  He observed Bart, tried to get a bearing on the demon's thoughts and emotions.  The lizard-man seemed to be fine... a little... odd... but fine.  He lacked any signs of a quickly building temper, and actually seemed to be trying to diffuse the situation, rather than explode it... The demonic figure, however... was another story.     

With a rather weary sigh, the incubus had little choice but to side with his party, vs the demon.  Bart had displayed nothing but reckless disregard... and he'd probably have to be dealt with in the near future if things continued to escalate.  "Look, we can do this civilly if you'd all get off your god damned high horses, and meet somewhere in the middle.  We have news of Rafa, you have information we want... you are on your own... or at least, in the weaker position... you go first,  and you have my word that you'll have a reply from us.. For, what is a creature without his word?  A creature might lie to someone they're about to kill, but as already proven, i have no intent to kill, ergo, you can trust my word."

[Tipod]

Bart looked between Garis and Eilan, face (or what little they could make of his face) contorted slightly in thought. He nodded, as if actually considering their words--

And completely blew them off afterward, calmly making his way over to Chance. He squatted down to a sitting position in front of the leopard, giving her a sincere look... and nothing else for a few quiet moments. Occasionally, he looked back over to Eilan and Garis, and to the surrounding snow.

"So--" The demon spoke plainly. "Rafa isn't here anymore, is he?"

[Shachza]

Toalacuzlotlixao kept one eye on the strangers around him while turning the other towards his surroundings.  The winged wolf and the other reptilian seemed the most overtly hostile out of everyone, but then the reptilian moved over to the leopardess his whole demeanor seemed to do a reversal.  Toalacuzlotlixao managed to locate a partially buried branch to steady himself against which allowed him the opportunity to complete his secondary objective of getting his tail out of the snow.

He looked back at the winged tiger and said, "I have heard of these 'Claws of Fire.'  I did not seek jobs from them.  Money is good to have, but it is temporary, and I must think of my soul first.  They pay for wrong doings with tainted money."  He had no proof of the latter, but in his experience the two went together hand-in-hand.

"It is what you say against what they say.  You show difference from those I know to be evil, so I am willing to hold my thoughts until I am wiser about your doings.  Let it be said that I can recognize a wrong war and not fight it."  He nodded his head as though that should be the end of it, and to him it was.

He looked to the other (formerly?) wounded strangers around him.

"Can we agree on this?  We are all peaceful here?  I think no one will die.  We can all find safety together for a short time, and perhaps warmth and food."  He very much wanted both of the latter now that he thought about it.  "With more time we can think of what to do with greater wisdom."

[Ketchup-Crumbles]

Still quite dizzy from pain and fear Phoebe tried to recollect everything that had happened so far. And although she still feared the creature next to her, she was thankful for his help.
She had left Astarea quite some time ago and had seen the wrongs of both beings and creatures. She had come to distrust both of them in these parts of the country. But seeing them traveling in a group seemed very unusual. Then again this could hardly be called a group. They clearly didn't trust each other nor did it seem like they valued each others opinion much. Despite that none of them looked like a souleater and none of them seemed to ooze with the power that comes with souleating.
This thought removed the biggest part of Phoebes fear. She started to look about her and tried to follow the rest of the conversations. Food and shelter sounded like a good idea.
Trying to address everyone she said: "Whoever chased and nearly killed us either believed us dead or got distracted. So there is a chance they could come back. Also any random group could attack us. We are quite many, but none of us seems very strong and you also have some money on your heads. So I'd also like to move and clear things up sometime later or on the way."
Phoebe looked around for her backpack, found it a few steps away halfway buried in the snow and carefully picked it up, trying to avoid as much of the pain as possible. She then returned to the spot next to Garis and softly thanked him for his help. And while she waited for the others to decide, she double checked, if everything was still in her backpack and if it was closed and fastened properly.

[Noone]

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Kassin looked to Kedered and Orenio. He nodded to Kedered. He immediately scooted down to Orenio's unconscious form. His hands glowed with a bluish white light, he put then on him, gently touching. He moved them about as he seemed to feel for injured areas.
A feeling of warmth comes to you. The exterior is cold... but it feels like a gentle, soothing flame has been ignited inside you. It continues growing warmer, warmer, as if warding the cold back. And, after some time, you feel fully revitalized.

Once finished tending to Orenio. Kassin stood up and looked at Toalacuzlotlixao. He had a raised eyebrow. "I did not believe the Claws gave jobs to non-creatures..." He paused for a moment. "Regardless, I'm sure you'll find many others in this place paying tainted money..." He brushed himself off and stretched out his wings. He looked rather worn himself.

"As much as I would like to leave this place... perhaps we should check for other survivors." Looking towards Bart, he sighed. Plus, that mess over there will likely take some time... He paused, then gave a look to Toal and Phoebe. "If you wish to come with us, at least for a time, I will not stop you. I would however, say that I'm being hunted by many foes... and they may target you as well if you come with me. If you want to part ways, I will abide by that as well."

Eilan raised an eyebrow and looked to Garis momentarily. "Shut up and get back in line Garis." He turned his attention back to Bart, but then turned a glance back towards Garis again. "And creatures are notorious liars. Especially the ones we've been dealing with." Fully attentive on Bart now, he gave no command for him to freeze as he approached Chance. Raffiele sold us out to the Claws... This person here could easily be a contact of some sort... However, he remained alert... he seemed ready to reach for his weapons at the first sign of danger.

[Chairtastic]

He was awake.  And the pain was gone.

The sheer relief he felt, it was as close to genuine happiness he'd felt in such a long time...The meerkat turned his head, ever so slightly, to the winged striped feline-which he still marveled at-and hesitantly spoke up.  "....Thank you."

The concept of gratitude was not taught to the Hatûk meerkats.  Going above and beyond the boundaries of  one's position, authority, and duty was considered a sign of mental defect.  Something to be...corrected.  And Orenio had only adapted the social act of saying 'thank you' as a means of keeping his benefactors happy, and he did not see this as anything other than that.  But...he had not totally believed the other feline's offer, and had accepted because he had no other option than to gamble with his life.  It had payed off, for the moment.

And that, brought Orenio to another issue.  His 'benefactor'.  Idly, he drew his hand into his sleeve, and felt around for the knife he'd hidden therein.  Ah, there you are.  The meerkat hopped up to his feet, delighting at feeling so full of energy.  He hadn't since he was ten years younger, and it was good to feel so again.

Orenio faced the spotted cat, and gave a bow.  Not one of those over the top flourishing affairs, and not a curt semi-nod; a full, from the waist, bearing the back of the neck bow.  "Thank you, Sir, for upholding your end of the bargain.  Will Sir be needing any oaths, or other shows of loyalty, to prove I will uphold mine?"

He ignored the others in the clearing for the moment.  They weren't important.  Yet.

[Shachza]

"I was not offered any job by the 'Claws of Fire.'  I learned from others the sort of actions that they pay for."  Toalacuzlotlixao felt emboldened by the surprisingly reasonable demeanor of this party.  The 'Soul Eater' label did not seem at all appropriate from them.  "I will never offer myself to them.  I think I would gain much honor for fighting against them."

"If we are to speak for any time then you should know my name is Toalacuzlotlixao.  If it is better for you, many I have met prefer to call me Zot."  Looking a little crestfallen he adds:  "Few here have the ability to pronounce my full name, and many don't want to train their tongues to.  'Zot' is the short name of the great spear of the warrior Moixac, and it can mean 'Strong,' so I don't mind much.  What are your names?"

He clamped his mouth shut to let someone else speak.

Toalacuzlotlixao watched the winged tiger intently, if unsteadily, as the tiger tended to the meerkat.  Toalacuzlotlixao opened his mouth right back up.  "I would like more help as well.  The ground won't stay still long enough for me to stand up straight."

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

He tried to wave off the little meerkat's  effusion of praise. Trying to keep his voice as melodious as possible, he said out "Please, Kedered. It is the name my father honored me with, and I wear it with pride. And any man who would betray wouldn't mind adding a lie or two to help seal that betrayal. I trust that gratitude would be enough incentive for you to accompany us. Please, rest if you need it. " And I do not think you would take well to M'lord. No, play nice, play the good guy, give something and expect a gift in return is the best way to deal with one like this.

More and more of his attention was being drawn by the waves of hostility, centered around Eilan, and also some knotting around the figure approaching Chance. How to deal, how to deal. Irritating, Eilan was usually levelheaded, and he should know better than to argue openly in front of strangers. A pity he could not respond in line to the being. He stepped closer to Chance, in case this new Thom'sen caused trouble. He had already spent enough social capital to keep her alive to let some stranger gut her.

As he walked, he projected to Garis, hoping that this Bart didn't have a way to tap a telepathic communication, and tried to send out calming emotional waves with it. Do not rise to the bait. Eilan is a jerk, and opposes a perceived 'cubi clique. He is mad at our support for  Chance. We can pay back his impertinence, but this is not the time or place. He is too useful to kill out of hand. Forget his censure, he is not really a social equal, and as long as we can work with him, his wrath is secondary. He is professional enough to work with someone he dislikes, as long as we protect Kassin. Just let it slide.

[Lisky]

Garis grew agitated, A mere being thinks he can talk down to...  His thoughts interrupted as Ked's message came through, loud and clear.  He'd deal with Eilan's attitude later.  For now, he had a good impression to maintain.  He gave Eilan a simple, non-committal shrug, then headed over to the female he had been supporting with a tentacle. 

Chance was preoccupied, Ked was preoccupied... everyone else seemed busy with something mundane, and they could at least have this conversation while moving.  His growing impatience was slightly dulled by the the thought of meeting new people.  He gave a polite nod as he approached Phoebe.  Hands clasped behind his back, as he reformed his long, feathery wings.  "Things seem a little tense over there, and they seem rather content with staying put for some reason.  Unless you'd like to wander off alone, perhaps a little idle chatter might make the wait a bit more bearable?"

[Tipod]

Bart stood tall, looking to Eilan rather peevishly. "Creatures are pretty notorious liars, unlike your pure and lily-white self, huh?" He normally tolerated beings just as well as anybody else, but this particular one was rapidly pissing him off. "I don't answer to a bunch of criminals. I have one Goddamned question, 'where is my associate,' and you're pussyfooting around with me."

If he weren't hideously outnumbered he'd be giving the fox a good ear-boxing. "You're lucky I don't just fucking kill you and turn your head in to the nearest sheriff. Just tell me where my friend is and I'm outta here." Sheesh, whose teeth did he have to rip out to get a straight answer?

[Ketchup-Crumbles]

Phoebe gave a faint smile.
"Idle chat sounds good. Better than agonizing on things I won't comprehend anyway. Let's just move to the sunnier spot over there." She pointed to a tree just a few feet further away from herself and the others.
"I want to try and see if I can get at least a tiny bit of the suns energy. I'm Phoebe by the way." Moving was still quite painful, but she tried her best not to show it. Once in the sun she ruffled her fur and tried to expose as much of herself to the sunlight. Maybe she could convert enough of it, to stop the pain?
"And you are Garis, if I got that right? Which clan do you belong to?" She smiled again and wondered if she should add a thought question, just to see, if he was listening on her thoughts as well.

[Lisky]

"Garis is correct, Ahnasazi clan."  Rolling up his sleeve to display the clan-mark across his forearm. 

He followed her out into the sun, "we're a confusion clan, probably not all that well known, especially with the way our clan mark can and has been turned into a popular tattoo in several more uh... liberal... cities."

He smiled as he sunned himself as well, spreading his large wings, while changing their color to a dark, matte black.  So, Phoebe, where do you come from?"

He kept his ears on her, yet kept scanning the thoughts of those in the background, ever-watchful of the chance of violence.

[Noone]

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Kassin nodded to Orenio, and pulled his hands off of him. "You're most welcome. I was happy to assist." He looked at Kedered quizzicly for a moment, an eyebrow raised. What happened over there? Accompany us? An oath of loyalty? Somehow... Orenio there feels deprived of choice... I don't think he feels too happy about the prospect of coming with me... He looked over to Orenio. "You don't need to accompany us if you don't want to. I wouldn't want to force anything upon you."

Odd, you don't recall Kassin ever learning Orenio's name.

Kassin then looked to Toalacuzlotlixao. He made a soft nod. Also, their homicidal tendencies towards non-creatures is also a good incentive not to work for them... "I'm Kassin, as you well know. The others... well... I'm sure they'd prefer to introduce themselves." He stopped, before looking over to Eilan and Bart. Uh oh...

Eilan looked at Bart squarely. He pulled out his sword and adopted a ready stance, prepared to strike at Bart on a moment's notice. He should know there's no bounty on me anyways, of course... I'm pretty sure of what this guy is now... "I'll tell you this. Raffiele was a lying, back-stabbing, treacherous worm who sold us out to the Claws. If you're his friend and associate,.." He made a step forward, holding his weapon as if intending to strike.

[Chairtastic]

Orenio's head whipped to Kassin.  Is this one the commander?  Certainly being a healer would afford much authority, but how could such a brightly colored fellow survive a battle? "I do not renege on a bargain once it is struck, Sir Multicolor.  I will accompany you, as my end of the bargain requires, as you have already filled one article of the end you were to provide.  Sir Kedered should be more than willing to brief Sir Multicolor on the exact terms."

The meerkat stood up straight, and looked around at the rest of the group.  A rather interesting bunch, mostly winged.  But there were two unwingeds close by, with another a bit off, but still predominately winged.  Heck, a winged canine talking with one of the others he had awoken next two had four wings-

Wait...what?

The thing was moving off, but Orenio could plainly see the second set of wings sprouting from its head.  Memories of murals depicting such creatures stealing the souls of many Weres, and Beings bubbled to the surface.  They were much more dangerous than the Creatures with but two wings, and the Hatûk mobs had all taken extra care to find a home far from them.

He suddenly noticed an escalating argument between two other members of the group, and so moved over to whisper up to Kedered:  "Would Sir like me to erect a barrier between the suicidal canine and the reptile?  I can make it invisible, but that will make it weaker."

[Ketchup-Crumbles]

Healing with sun-energy was tedious work, especially as Phoebe had not fully mastered the spell, yet. She had to gather the energy, direct it to the injured area and then distribute it properly so that it could do some good. But while mentally analyzing her injuries, Phoebe realized, that none of them were severe or obvious enough to be targeted. Well, seems these will have to heal off the normal way. At least I won't die from internal bleeding. She let the little gathered energy dissolve in her stomach instead, feeling almost instantly a little less hungry and tired and then stopped trying to collect energy.
"Oh confusion, should be quite a feast here, hm? Maybe it's a bit more on the pain and fear side, tough." She gave another smile. "I'm from Astarea. From "the shining city", more precisely." Watching Garis shapeshift Phoebe felt a strange mixture of envy, awe and curiosity and asked: "Just how can 'Cubi change their appearances so rapidly? And why does it look so easy? What kind of magic do you use?"

[Lisky]

Garis gave her a grin, and put on a bit of a show.  Altering his appearance to further demonstrate what he was saying.  "a lot of cubi rely on magic for shapeshifting.  Morph magic would allow one to alter their appearance in a bind... that or someone else's.  However, you'll note that most magic leaves a detectable aura... something you can't feel around cubi."

He'd switched his forms into the tiger adventurer he'd used earlier.  "It's a natural ability our race has.  With proper training and focus, we can manipulate our bodies into that of just about anyone we want.  In fact, we're capable of forging tools with our wings as well... Primitive tools, for the most part, but tools none the less."  

He broke off his speech as he quickly reformed his primary appearance, "As for the reason it seems so easy... Well the fact that i've been training such skills for over three hundred years might have something to do with it."

He gave Phoebe a broad, and rather smug grin as he continued to sun himself again with his darkened wings.

[Shachza]

Toalacuzlotlixao grumbled as Kassin had aparently forgotten about him.  He wanted to admonish him that it was rude to ignore a request even if one's answer was "no," but he was trying to make a good impression here, and not everyone in this land was up to his standards of decency.  Kassin seemed nice enough on the surface though.  So Toalacuzlotlixao went about brushing the snow off the branch before retrieving his dart and sitting down.

The one with the sword had moved to confront the other reptilian in the meantime, and it seemed that they were intent on provoking eachother.  Maybe even killing.  He had already agreed to be peaceful, so it was not his fight.

Toalacuzlotlixao then noticed that two of the others had wandered off together.  He could see them on the other side of some trees, but he couldn't hear what they were saying.  He began wondering what the winged wolf and the spotted cat were up to together.  When he realized that he had softly asked that question aloud, he looked around sheepishly to see if anyone had heard him.

[Ketchup-Crumbles]

Quite a humble 'Cubi. Though going by 'Cubi standards this might actually be true.
Phoebe considered teasing him, but then she didn't know how he might take it. After all the whole setting was rather grave.
"Yes, I had noticed the lack of magical "aura" around shapeshifting 'Cubi. But there's more than one race, that can shapeshift and I wondered, if they all use the same technique. Most races I know basically just swap between a few forms of their own, while 'Cubi can actually assume any form they like. Is this due to lack of training, or are the shapeshifting abilities just so different? And how exactly does it work? Do you just imagine your hand to be blue and then it changes on it's own?" She grinned. "You see, the topic interests me quite much, but if it bores you, please feel free to change the direction of the conversation any time you like."

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Kedered turned to Orenio, and repeated, trying to keep his voice warm, "Kedered, please. Sir is so formal, that one is Kassin," he said, pointing, "And he'd be more uncomfortable than I with your homage. So be sure to do it at least once in his presence." He hoped his smile conveyed friendliness. He usually wore a more predatory one. "As for the canine...... Let me handle this one. You should probably introduce hyourself to Kassin, the blue Tiger over there."

Kedered slid over to Eilan, Chance, and the newcomer, thankful that Garis had mastered his temper. Well, that's one crisis.... postponed, I guess. Kedered circled, tapped Eilan on the back of the shoulder, leaning in to whisper that "We must have words, later, in private." Chance seemed a bit stunned by all the commotion going on, and Kedered had yet to get the full measure of this new reptilian figure. Still, Eilan was good at attracting attention to himself, espcially Creature irritation, and so Kedered slowly circled, making sure that the creature was in between himself and Eilan, with spells dancing at his fingertips.

[Lisky]

"The subject of shapeshifting is faciniating to me as well.  However, from a cubi's point of view, that might be a natural curiosity in one's own ability... However, before i get too off track, back to your questions."  He paused, the lopsided smile growing more polite, and even across the canine's muzzle. "i think Cubi and other races just very have different kinds of shapeshifting.  The cubi has a malleable form, their will to change is all it takes, where as most other races, as far as i know, can't alter their appearance beyond a select few forms.  They're stuck with the forms they're naturally given.  At least, that's as far as i've heard.  I could be wrong, mind you..."

Garis scratched his chin and leaned in towards Phoebe,  "It does take focus, and will to change our forms, you have to focus on the most minute of details for the shape and color changes to hold.  It takes a lot of practice, weeks to learn, months to control, and years to master... Though now i'm curious.  What has -you- so interested in shapeshifting?"

He held a playful gaze, his expression full of mirth despite the rather dire situation.

[Chairtastic]

"It is inappropriate for a servant to address its betters by their given name, but if Sir wishes it, I will refer to you as Kedered."
Had he traveled so far that people didn't understand the proper relationship between employer and employee?  The meerkat wondered to himself how they wrangled any respect from their servants with such an attitude, but left it at that.  Openly criticizing one's superior in public was a very good way to earn a whipping.

There was the introduction to Kassin, or Sir Multicolor, to deal with now.  Orenio wandered over to the colorful nangai, the Hatûk word for Angels/Demons.  Since the feline was the healer of the group, it was of paramount importance to get into his good graces.  But how to do it?  He had no money, and was already in the service Kedered, and even if it were legal in this country, Orenio had been raised better than to give his loyalty when it was no longer his to give.

Still...

In a short order or seconds, Orenio was over at Kassin's side, noting the tiger was only slightly taller than he, and lightly tapped his shoulder.

"Um...I'm sorry for running off earlier, and for making you heal me again, sir.  I'm Orenio Fadzblar Hatûk, a journeyman Defender-type mage, and I look forward to working with you.  But from the way Kedered acts around you, I assume you're the leader here?  And if you are, I have to question the logic of standing around the site of a major battle when the smell of the corpses might start attracting people, once the wind changes, sir."

[Ketchup-Crumbles]

Deciding that she wouldn't try to keep her creature heritage secret, an impish twinkling crossed Phoebe's eyes: "I want to learn it, of course. After all, it's the curiosity that gets us further in our studies, isn't it? I have my two forms and I just know there should be ways to alter them. I just don't know how. I could do very minor changes, like growing longer hair, but that's just a sped up version of the normal growing. With my current skill it would probably even take longer than the natural process." She laughed.
"So, from what you said, I gather, that you need natural ability, willpower, focus and lots of training? Seems the training is the point I should mainly tackle. And if I can't learn it, at least I want to explore how it works and how the different forms of shapeshifting are connected."

[Tipod]

Bart reflexively reached for his hip, grasping at the air beside his belt. His hatchet must've gotten lost in the melee, now strewn somewhere among the bodies littering the field. If he wanted Eilan to back off, he'd have to use something else. Like a bad attitude, or big bluff.

...maybe he'd just give him some words.

"You know, your sword isn't like your dick, you actually need to use it--" Maybe he could make him give an awkward, ragey swing or stumble with the fine blade. Either way, killing time was over; he'd gotten enough blood and little pieces of skull on his clothes for one day.

"You, stay where I can see. No funny business." The demon turned and pointed at Ked, still keeping half his attention on Eilan.

[Noone]

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Kassin glanced towards Toalacuzlotlixao, picking up that he had offended him somehow. He briefly turned to Orenio. Kassin however, seemed rather visibly shaken, tired, possibly frightened. "I...I... well... I..." He sharply glanced back and forth, a lot of his attention seemed to focus on Eilan and Bart though. Mostly though, he seemed frozen with fear. He had trouble focusing on anything in particular.

Eilan gave a rough shove backwards when Kedered tapped him, obviously not appreciating it. However, he kept most of his attention on Bart. Though tired, he held his sword firmly. He wasn't made any happier with Bart's exclamation. Just as unpleasant as Raffiele too. Claw, Eliminate. He eyed Kedered briefly, watching him go behind Bart.

When he noticed Bart's attention turn towards Kedered however, he lunged forward, swiping at the demon with his blade in a horizontal arc, the strike aimed at one of the demon's kidneys.

Kassin took a step back when he watched the blade get swung. Oh no...

[Shachza]

Toalacuzlotlixao didn't need magical abilities to see that a battle could start at any moment between the other reptilian, the black-haired fox, and the one listed in the Wanted pamphlet as Kedered.  The unarmed reptile seemed foolishly adamant about provoking the much larger group of travelers that had rescued them.  As Kedered circled the reptile Toalacuzlotlixao slid off the log and walked unsteadily over to Kassin.  Surprisingly Kassin didn't seem to notice Toalacuzlotlixao's feet scrunching in the snow, a sound that should have given him away from at least 35 feet.  Did Kassin have no wilderness learning at all?

"Hello?"  Toalacuzlotlixao asked quietly from Kassin's elbow, marveling at the other's near catatonic state.  It's as though he had eaten too much Letoa fruit and was seeing nightmare hallucinations instead of proper visions of the future.  He had seen an elder do that once; the poor man had had actual nightmares for the next year.

"You should move.  You are too close.  I think you would get hurt if you don't."  Toalacuzlotlixao grasped Kassin's arm lightly and tried to guide him away from the brewing fight.  Toalacuzlotlixao chuckled to himself; Kassin was tall enough to make Toalacuzlotlixao seem like a child trying to drag an unwilling parent to a swimming hole if he resisted.

Right on queue, as though Toalacuzlotlixao had foretold it, the fox swung his sword at the reptile.  Maybe I should have been a seer.  Can I really see the future? thought Toalacuzlotlixao to himself.  He looked around for somewhere out of the way to take Kassin.

[Chairtastic]

Orenio quickly backed off.  It was clear that he was bothering Kassin, which was unacceptable.  Hopefully, the young master was soft hearted enough to allow Orenio to pass with at worst a strike.  A fight was breaking out, apparently between the fox and the reptile.  But Orenio saw that Kedered was near, and thus able to handle it; the spotted feline was obviously a Creature of some sort.

Orenio had not been given orders for the eventuality of infighting, so he improvised.  Again, the Were took on his feral form; scurrying into a position in front of the feline and smaller reptile, standing on its rear legs, looking intently at the two fighters, with its little forepaws clasped in front.

The sheer amount of energy flowing through him at that instant...it was like when he first learned to use magic; he felt like nothing was beyond his ability to do with this power.  However, now he had the benefit of a solid education on the subject, and could economize that energy in useful ways.  In the air between the meerkat, and the fight, a dozen or so brown blobs bloomed into existence, arranging themselves in a loose wall-like formation, close enough together to effectively block, while being loose enough to see clearly.

A memory stirred in his mind, of a feline woman with a child.  In short order, Orenio had whipped his feral head around enough to see where they were standing, and create five barrier blobs to protect them from the fighting similarly.

While the blobs were just array-less barriers, he had packed enough energy into them to survive at least two solid hits from a Creature each; already the high he felt from the new energy had gone, and he was feeling the strain of holding so many active barriers in the air.  To be blunt, he was silently praying for Kedered to solve the issue quickly.