- THE LEVIATHAN -

Disappointment changed first to deep annoyance, and then to vague disgust. Chaos-Two had always been reasonable, yes; but this was some of the most unreasonable reaction Vargas had ever seen.

First of all, it seemed that Chaos-Two hadn't listened to a single damn word he'd said. It had some concept of "unfairness," as if Vargas had not always explained--even now--that they would always be up against difficult odds. It apparently had not heard him tell Draconua that it was enough. It was claiming it could have died, despite not having faced anything worse than a raised voice.

And then it threw insults, and... ran away sobbing.

A mouse? Why did a massive bearer of an Oilstone think itself so weak? Where had this concept of simpering uselessness COME from?

He might have launched himself at it, berated it, or worse, right then; but it was fleeing (and again, sobbing? What awful weakness had he imparted in it?! Where had this COME from?) and he was left turning to Draconua.

If he'd known Chaos-Two's belief that he'd "brainwashed" it, he would have laughed outright; he'd never been anything but up-front with the members of the Forge. Vargas was, perhaps, not really capable of such deeper machinations. He was too... blunt. Too straightforward.

"I SAID, enough," he bellowed, turning to Draconua. He had a weary demeanor about him, already trying to decide what to do with Chaos-Two.

It was clearly a failure; he should just kill it, and repossess its stone. He resolved, after a moment's thought, to speak to Khavur. The two shared some sort of link (how deep he wasn't sure) and perhaps the Reaver would hold some other insight. "Do you need someone to train you in this magic? Or is this an act?" he asked, looking the Sleepless Chaos up and down.

He wasn't sure if she had the self-control to fake it, as much as he'd ensured she wouldn't outright kill Chaos-Two in advance. (Assuming her self-control extended even that far.) "...Do you need help freeing yourself?" he added, dourly.

Apparently willpower was too much to ask of Chaos. None of them held Control.

@Draconua

Chaos-Two's figure vanished at the horizon. A strangled yowl escaped the caged monster, and she nearly dislocated a shoulder freeing one set of talons to reach fruitlessly after it. The hooked claws set themselves into the earth, fingers curling. Hind legs scrabbled for footholds and pushing; another chunk of Oilstone punctured sinuous flesh and sent a spattering of corrupted blood all over the place.

The valkhound performed a clean, if halved, deathroll to whirl on Vargas, teeth snapping in a tellingly manic way. Tattered lips peeled back in a snarl. "NO." She echoed herself without clarification as to what exact question of his she was answering. "THAT SIMPERING BEAST—I'LL KILL IT. I'LL DESTROY IT!"

Damned monster she was, Draconua had never once hidden her intentions. They were evident in the maddened way she thrashed, now, faceplate clacking against Oilstone on more than one occasion, and straining with enraged snarls. For the moment, she cared not for what Vargas thought or said—only to free herself from her self-made prison—and she at last did.

Erupting from the hole with a rumbling roar, the monster spared only a withering glance before breaking into a half-limping (from the shards of Oilstone still stuck in one of her hind legs, one of her sides) and galumphing sprint. One-track mind, dead set on a goal. Those limbs would figure themselves out.

exit draconua
@Vargas

- THE LEVIATHAN -

"Draconua, remember that this was your task," Vargas said, but his voice was raised, calling out against her tirade. She was ripping free, entropy uncontrolled, unbound, and he had but a fraction of a second to exert his own control over her.

That, or she would swiftly catch up to--and likely destroy--V-Chaos-Two. She had been told not to lose her composure but what had Chaos-Two expected, reacting as it had-? It had made things worse, rather than better... although perhaps with Draconua that was just how things tended to go, anyway.

With an internal sigh he readied his magic, acid eyes locking their focus on her enormous breadth. He focused on her blood, her body, and reached his power out to grip it-

...And it backfired.

As it so often did. Vargas pitched to one side, muscles seizing painfully, staggered in place--it was as though his own acidic blood was always grasped rather than his targets, torn and surging through his muscles.

There was no way he was stopping Draconua, now; the best he could hope for would be to recover, and catch up before the damage was done. Although, if she did kill Chaos-Two, he hoped she would not destroy the stone. But he couldn't call out to her one way or another--either to warn her off, or request the stone--because his jaw was so tightly shut that his teeth were grinding together.

exit Vargas
@Draconua (for vis)