RP:How To Train Your Carcharodontosaurus, Part 4

Fortunately for Kree, and the whole expedition, the unexpected consequences of the fight with the catoblepas can be mitigated somewhat, so long as they find a talented enough healer. As luck would have it...

The RP

Pilar carried the stone uyeer through the woods, back toward the city. It was a difficult walk, moreso because it was a cumbersome load rather than because he was heavy, and it wasn't helped by the return of the raptors, metaphorically nipping at her heels. She finally set foot in the city again, adjusting her grip on Kreekitaka, and looked around. People, who had come out to start cleaning up after the dinosaurs, were now staring at her. She blushed and looked down at the ground. "Um... my friend's been turned to stone... can someone help?" she murmured.

Kreekitaka definitely did not say anything during this process. He would if he were able, but the fact of the matter is that he was pretty much his own life-size statue right now--which meant Pilar was probably looking a little out of place, carrying around someone bigger than she is. The two uyeer underlings, who had been helping with the cleanup, hurried over and clattered in a concerned manner, gesturing aggressively. One of them knew a bit more common than the other and asked, "Wha' hhhiss?" and despite their sounds and waving his tone of voice was more of someone who is concerned and upset rather than angry.

Sabrina was walking, having an extensive talk with Gregory about the conditions and requirements of his clinic and the discussion of pooling resources is stalled momentarily as a familiar voice draws Sabrina’s attention from it. She breaks stride to approach Pilar and her monument. She was drawn to specific tone rather than content of query and her smile is that of greeting and confusion. She points to Kreekitaka with one brow raised, as if this gesture completed a question of her own. Gregory was close behind, though his look was one more familiar with the condition than Sabrina would have been since this was his region to care for and he had likely seen it at least one time before.

Pilar sighed lightly in relief when she saw Sabrina. Perfect, a healer! Maybe she could help! She looked between the two uyeer and the healers as she explained what happened. "He was fighting a, a creature, as big as a cow, with a pig face and armor on its back. Its eyes, too, they made you feel strange..." She was describing a catoblepas... poorly, but there you go. "He, he killed it, but... I think it turned him to stone. I, I can hear him inside, alive, but I don't know how to get him out..."

One uyeer attempted to translate for the other, but it was something of a case of the legally-blind leading the blind. Fighting a creature... big... big face, armor... he killed it, but... stone. Alive... don't know. Both of them turned accusatory glares on Pilar and got closer, feeling him with their manipulator tentacles and visibly relaxing when they confirmed he was alive in there.

Gregory was the first to step forward, leaving Sabrina in a stance of contemplation since she never had to deal with this particular sort of trouble before. She wasn’t even sure this constituted and injury so much as a mishap. She adopts a soft smile for Pilar, drawing her away from Kreekitaka unsure if he would want or need to hear the guilty admission. It was only a step or two but she confides the obvious to the woman “The only real good I’ve known from my touch is the ability to duplicate and repair cell damage, Pilar, I have never attempted alternative applications for –“ There is an odd thud of percussion hammer to stoned chest plate which attracts a moment of silence and an odd look from the elfess. “What -are- you doing? You might crack him!” She lets go Pilar and moves to examine the crustacean herself. Gregory tucks his hammer into hi belt. “You know.” He says turning to Pilar, all the while treating the two uyeers as purely ornamental, “We haven’t actually had a survivor.” Sabrina had read about this once or twice and she nods in confirmation. “Okay, yes, but wouldn’t that have something to do with the soft tissue damage? Listen.” She lifts her head from Kreekitaka’s midsection and Gods know where she got it from but a quill and parchment are readily at hand where she begins her scribbles. A science experiment was probably the most entertaining gift she could have happened across today. In any case, she directs Gregory to the ventral abdominal artery where the sounds were heightened rather than fading like one would suspect. “He is not only alive in there, but he isn’t actively dying. This is!…. This is!…” She looks up from her work to the faces of those around her and almost immediately forces herself not to look so overjoyed at the whole situation. " Um, obviously... very unfortunate.... however..."

Pilar wrung her hands nervously as first the uyeer, then the healers inspected Kreekitaka. When Gregory hit the businesscrab with the hammer, she shrieked, "Ay! Stop that!" The news of there never having been survivors was disturbing, but Sabrina cutting in with her confirmation that Kree was still alive kept her hopes afloat. Sabrina's excitement did draw a confused look, though. "So... There is a chance we can free him?"

Sabrina gives a half-shrug. “Theoretically it is possible, I suppose.” Gregory, however did not seem convinced. The Elfess approaches, kneeling beside the heap of statued crustacean. A normal approach would have been to study and only take calculated risks but venturing into uncharted waters with a life potentially on the line she figures her best bet is to attempt to realign his cells to regenerate. The problem was that there was nothing wrong with the cells underneath and she figured there would be something to answer for given that fact. Or there wouldn’t be, there was always that. Taking up a position beside the re-shelled male she puts into practice some of that bedside manner that everyone always talked about. “I am going to try something, I am not sure if it will hurt. If it hurts… well, we’ll come to that when we get there.” It was not reassuring, and there was no inclination if Kreekitaka heard her in the first place. She pushes up her sleeves and lays hands on him; his head and heart- or, at least her best guess given his unique species did nothing to help the situation. The Paladin steps away, giving a kind of clearance that proved he wasn’t as confident as he should have been about what was about to happen. Pilar is given a look of promise, genuinely heartfelt, and it was something he was far better at than the woman taking action over her friend’s form. She was working as best she could, with no tale-tell signs of progress beneath the light pressure of her fingertips against the grey material coating his body. Her eyes remained closed for concentration, posturing and reposturing at the level of difficulty where she couldn’t tell how well- or if -it was working at all. What she couldn’t see, what no audience could tell, was that just below two layers had begun to bond. Organic material would fuse like battle armor and until Kreekitaka began to move she would not realize she needed to stop.

Pilar watched Sabrina work with fascination. She, too, had stepped back, following Gregory's example. She glanced at the two uyeer, who had also stepped back and were clicking and clacking nervously. She hoped, for all their sakes, that this worked.

It didn't... hurt, exactly, not at first, but Kreekitaka certainly wasn't comfortable. It was, for a few minutes, as if the entire outer surface of his carapace was being sandblasted. The grit of the stone itched terribly and he could even feel his joints invaded by the stony substance. When it started to hurt was when the stone started bonding to more sensitive places like his eyes and facial crushers and gill slits. There was a faint twitch from a crusher claw--a slight shift--a rasping voice that ground quietly in a wordless plea for help that sounded like gravel churning in a slime pool. It was probably lucky for Sabrina that Kree still lacked a good deal of mobility, because otherwise she might find herself having the clamps put on her. If he could see, that is. Which he couldn't.

Sabrina gave pause. “Oh, that isn’t right.” She pulls her hands from him and looks at Gregory, who in turn glances at Pilar to see if she noticed what just happened. His palm comes to his face and he draws on his features downwards. The process didn’t halt though as it took on a lingering purpose and eventually began to shed from the softer tissues where it couldn’t strategically bond. She leans over Kreek’s face and uses her nails to pick at the gill slits, pulling away a sort of muddy material that must’ve made it difficult to breathe. “I need water.” The Paladin is quick to lend his canteen to which she began pouring over his bulbous sockets in an effort to rinse the soft-tissue sludge in hopes to reveal newer and revitalized peepers.

Pilar gasped when she saw the twitching and heard that terrible cry. She looked at Gregory with worry in her eyes. That had sounded like pain to her. She stepped forward, towards Sabrina. "Is there anything I can do?"

Kreekitaka continued squirming, as the process of having stuff picked out of his eyes was as painful as having it near-fused with them. As the process continued to refine, he began finding himself with more and more ability to move, and if he wasn't regaining his ability to see and breathe, he'd probably be flipping out and attempting to crush someone. As it was, he was grateful for the assistance-- although he recognized that this was probably going to trigger another moulting sooner than he liked, at least he was going to be able to move instead of being trapped inside the stone. One could see his movement becoming more fluid as his carapace continued to mineralize and absorb the stone. "Whhh. Whhhggkkg." Alright, voice still wasn't quite working, and what voice there was had taken on a distinct Batman tone to it. The two other uyeer, the underlings, took a moment to confer amongst themselves with theories as to why their boss suddenly sounded like a nightmare beast.

Sabrina looks over to Pilar, somewhat confused at the question. “If there was, I’d have hoped you would have done it by now.” There was stress in her voice. Something about the notion that she may have messed up, but confident this outcome could have gone worse. The deep notes let out by the patient brought on some worry. “Does he always sound like that?” Without waiting for a real answer, she automatically assumed pain and moves her hand to plant firmly under the arch of his back, ideally where his heart should be, and the other against his throat where her best guess meant his brain was located- Provided he held similar characteristics of a lobster which she had dissected many a time. Gregory places a finger to his lips in case Pilar had another query while the Elfess elected to center and find her calm. What happened next would have been difficult to explain as it simply looked like she was holding Kreekitaka oddly, with eyes closed, almost in a meditative state. In truth she attempted to convey that calm and in times of duress it was a complicated sensation to transfer without the stain of worry or fear. Energies were the easy part of her curse, it was the emotions that proved to be most challenging. Kreek was given a numbing sort of serenity, at least, so long as she could hold it while his transition to mobility took root. She expected the process to take several minutes while the fluids found their way to passages and washed away the muddy substance.

Pilar shrank back, feeling foolish for ever asking, and looked down at her feet while Sabrina continued.

For a moment, Kreekitaka would be okay with this. For a moment. Being able to see and breathe better was certainly a relief, and the sudden transition to serenity felt rather nice--however. The moment he sensed that something was not quite how it should be, that something was affecting his mental state, he went absolutely ballistic. The one place that is most sacred, the single solitary thing that can't and shouldn't be interfered with by anyone or anything, was his mind. And this woman, helpful though she had been, was meddling with it. If Sabrina could feel any sort of feedback from Kree in terms of emotions, it's possible there'd be a spike of blind rage for a moment that exploded through her waves of calming. The uyeer lurched forward, swinging a claw to try and knock her away, staggering and gasping. He was still moving rather slowly, so Sabrina should have enough time to jump backwards--though it wasn't glacial, either. If she were caught off-guard, it most likely had enough power to knock her on her butt. He shook his head and knocked on it once with a claw to try and clear it, then spun around and pointed to the healer, paddles and facial crushers flaring up in agitation. "No minDAH! tricks," he snapped.

Sabrina was caught off guard, rarely was the case that one could easily step out of a sensation so perfected over so many years, but then, highly intelligent beings had a particular advantage over their lesser so it wasn’t wholly a surprise given her distinct lack of understanding to his species. His forward lurch brought her instinctively back with mathematical precision against his movements. If she was good at anything it was avoiding potential accidental conveyance. It was a narrow miss, where the paladin stepped forward to assist in keeping her balance. A small hand rose, staying his progress. She looked at him in a way that said she was fine. “It is not a mindah trick.” She rises from her kneeling position in a fluid movement that proved, unrattled, that she was not able to receive in the manner of which she gave. Nor was she any good at reading the severity of his current mood. “I can not bring forth that which is not already present.” Scientifically speaking, she implied her process was no more than an awakening of his natural coping abilities. She steps towards the enraged patient without so much as a hint of fear, she was either very stupid, or had been hurt far worse than she believed his intent to harm her. She looks him dead in his dry beady eyes. “Sit down.” It was a harmless yet authorative tone, but one that hinted upon seeing his reaction that she had no intention of conveying to him again. Her eyes find Pilar in expectation that maybe she should do something about her friend's behavior. It wasn't as if Pilar was unaccustomed to informing the elfess during her own irrational outbursts.

Pilar jumped when Kreekitaka moved. While the other uyeer seemed delighted, she was worried about him hurting Sabrina. Thankfully, the healer was quick, and escaped any harm. She stepped forward and placed her hands on Kreekitaka's arm. "Mr. Kreekitaka, it's alright. Sabrina means no harm." Though she, too, disliked people messing around with her mind, so she understood where he was coming from.

Kreekitaka took a bit of issue with that tone, but to be fair he was seeing through a lens of hot anger. First she tried to get inside his head--despite her claim to the contrary, he found himself doubting her intensely--and now she was trying to order him around. He started to draw himself up a little taller and was just about to explain, very loudly, who gives the orders around here (hint: it's the one who is a king) when Pilar spoke reassuringly to him. It was enough to give him a bit of pause--he'd trusted Pilar this far, after all--which was enough to reanalyze the way Sabrina had spoken and find it to be the voice of somebody who knows what they're doing. Might as well allow her to finish what she started. Rather than sitting, he shifted his weight onto his back legs, dropping into a half-kneeling position supported by his front legs. "As yong as she keeps away from my brain." To Sabrina herself, he added, "If you can hurry HHHTHis up, pyease, Io appreciaTAH! iTAH!. HHHTHere is a creature I mus' catch..." Aw come on, Kree, seriously, you're still going after the dinosaur?!

“Uh huh.” This was not a usual phrase for the Elfess, something she picked up like a bad habit in the common areas of Kelay. Her tone is flat, her expression uncaring. In perfect honesty, his obstinacy was quite child-like from the perspective of one who had little understanding of physiological boundaries. “Fear is irrational, whether you replace that with anger or accept the serenity I give you we have accomplished the same task. Your heart will no cease function.” An unspoken request to Gregory has him rummaging through his bag before presenting her with a small tool. A reflex hammer; the thin wooden handle leads to a small rubber tip, pointed on one end and flat on the other. She taps several regions of his casing looking somewhat perplexed. “There seems to be an unforeseen side effect, assuming you molt it would be likely that your next shed will prove somewhat heavier than your last. But, I believe you may catch your creature with some added protection.” She thumps against his chest to prove that point. Reaching to her own wares she would provide him with a pair of matching vials. “If you experience dryness in your eyes or…” She waggles her fingers at his facial crushers”… whatever. Just remoisten as needed. It is just water, but there are healing properties as they can be refilled in Sage.” She repacks her bag and rises becoming her previous self by now, with eyes like mint and the same resting bitch-face that she was coming to be known by. It only softened for a brief moment when she rested her eyes on Pilar in gentle exhale meant to bid farewell. “If nothing changes in his next shed, you know how to find me.” To Kreekitaka she explains. “Apologies for any discomfort, I regret to inform you the stone casing will remain until your growth cycle duplicates.” But no apology for the gross invasion of his privacy? Pilar really needs to get on top of this. She gives them both a short yet formal curtsey and gathers Gregory to continue in their conversation at the precise point of discussion where they had left off.

Pilar sighed as things calmed down, though she wasn't too keen on trying to find that dino again. As Sabrina prepared to leave, the vampire managed a nervous smile. "I'll keep an eye on him," she promised. She patted Kreekitaka on the shoulder. "You feel alright?"

Kreekitaka rumbled internally and rolled his shoulders, testing himself all over as he climbed back to his feet, stashing the vials in his belt. Added protection, maybe, but he felt heavier and slower. Could be problem down the road when they went check on the dinosaur. "Yes," he answered, watching Sabrina leave. "I can move an' speak again. An' as far as I can sense, my minDAH! is my own." He looked to his underlings and, after a stuttering start (new carapace took moment to compensate for), he gave them the order mount up, which they set to doing immediately. "Once more, Piyar. I beyeev HHHTHe creature has aoreaDAH!ee seen HHHTHe benefiTAH! of working wiHHHTH me. If I go back TAH!oo iTAH!, I can show iTAH! my resovv, show my unwiyingness TAH!oo cease my hunTAH!. Io have iTAH! by TAH!onighTAH!"

Pilar frowned. "I..." She shook her head and sighed. "Okay. Alright. Let's go get your dinosaur." She, personally, thought it was high time they gave up the fight and went home. She had to admire his tenacity, if nothing else.