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Arkayid shrugged. "I guess... I mean... If you aren't out wounding people. Fine by me. Why do I care. Jasper, lemme pull that bolt out of you. I think I can pull in enough magic to kill the pain... I think. Either way, your call. As for Kernyel... I dunno."

"I will go look for her, if she's taking a bath." With that, Alhana left to go search for Kernyel.

"Alright, Jaster... I'm going to need you to sit down over there, and well, prepare for a lot of pain." Arkayid had pointed over to a building, which Jasper had followed, and then Arkayid toojk off his gauntlets. "Okay... ready?"

Arkayid put both his hands on the bolt, a boot next to Jasper's side, on the wall, and pulled.

Preictably, said botl came out, and there was little to clean up, since Arkayid had expended some magic to help control, and dull the pain... somewhat.

He then looked at it, and was pleased he got the whole bolt out. Inspecting it, he foudn it still flight worthy and handed it to Jaster. "A suivenior." Arkayid said with a grin. "I'll bandage that if you want, and sew it up."

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Jaster took the bolt and grinned a bit. He tossed it up into the air and caught it a few times, then pocketed it. If it wasn't going to make a souvenir, there was a slim chance he could use it as ammo, and a much better chance he could use it as both a spear and as evidence to "convince" his buddy Alexander to make him better equipment.

He looked up at Arkayid and grinned. "Thanks, mate. Doubt I couldv'e done that myself without making quite a bit more mess." He hid his pain well. It didn't hurt as much as it had with the bolt still stuck in him, but it sure didn't feel like a bed of daisies, either. Could be worse, he thought. Could be dead.

Shad stood there and watched. He pulled out a little apple, out of his puch ,and began eating it. He figured he might be here for awhile.

He then looked as Jaster. "You hide your pain well but..., there is no need to. Your not in the presence of an enemy, i don't understand why. Putting stress on yourself to hide pain can stess someone mentally and physically.

Arkayid chuckled. "My good friend... We're in Domachi, but a ways away from the capital. And you want to know stress? Try learning how to kill things starting when you are seven. I know how to kill someone or something with my hands, claws..." He turned his head to the side and opened his maw. In it were dozens of razor sharp teeth, much like you would find in a real dragon's maw. "Jaws, great-swords, knives, and bows. Oh, and let's not forget how to kill things with magic. All of that in... Eight years. Everyday, with a mother who's hell-bent on making sure you learn this. Just so that 'you would survive, unlike your brothers, sister, and father.' Now that's hard. Oh and let's not forget the rampant hatred of you whenever you walk into a town. Hell, I've had many people who tried to kill me when I was much younger. Dammit, I first killed someone when I was nine. Had no choice in the matter, and I will never forget that man's look when I gutted him with my bare hands."

"Now that's stress." Arkayid said coldly. He turned around and walked away from Jaster, to collect his own thoughts. He didn't go much further, but to the edge of the village, next to the gate, where he sat down in the ashes, and began to sob silently. This village was one of the few that had accepted him for what he was... and now this village was no more.

((Sorry guys! it's hard to get online here!))

It was a suprisingly short time before Kernyel was rejuvenated. It was hard for her to bring herself back into a human form; to regain a human consciousness. It brought constraints on her that she instinctually rebelled against. Her true nature was all too obvious, now. And the necessity of a humanistic form was a tedious burden for her. It was so much more appealing to remain in the water, disbursed in the slow rythm of the currents. But, pull herself together she did. And it was a painful thing, but soon she broke the surface of the water and took a deep breath as she made her way to the bank to gather her things and get dressed. It was during this process she saw Alhana.

Her faculties were together now, but there was a distance in her. Like she had forgotten what it was to be human. She nodded respectfully to Alhana and began to dress herself. Modesty, regret, happiness....all those human emotions seemed far from her now. And she was too apathetic to miss those aspects that had made her human.

She finished getting ready and walked to Alhana, prepared to be on her way. Something still called her, closer now and more forcefully. She looked at what was left of the town and at the scythe in her hand. Remembrance flooded back to her and all she thought was that it was a pity that she hadn't finished the job correctly. She shrugged and strode forward, not really waiting for Alhana.

Somewhere in her mind, that part of her that had been Kernyel all her life was crying desperately and sobbing in frustration at her inprisionment and the danger she had placed her new found friends in. The part of her that was now in control was so...inhuman. She heard the anguish of her other self and felt nothing. No anger, no triumph, no pity....

And softly, Kernyel-that-was began to lose hope of ever merging the two parts of herself into something whole, began to fade quietly into the shadows of her mind to live or die peacefully.

It was the image of her mother, sad and disappointed that came to her mind after a while, convicting her and emboldening her as well. And with it came a new sense of hope, of purpose. And even though it seemed hopeless, trapped Kernyel began to quietly pick away small bits of her prison and contemplate how she would regain the upper hand in this battle for her body and maybe her soul, if she had one.

Kernyel walked past her friend and headed to Domachi at a brisk pace, foregoing any pleasantries with any of her traveling companions in her single-minded pursuit of the source of whatever was exuding such a pull on her.

((Be we dead?))