Zarius turns around, crouching, and presses his back against Kamille to brace himself. His tail curls around one of the straps of the saddle to anchor him during the sheer dive.^[1,2] He watches the Arcuila closely as Snow takes a few sloppy shots at it, the wind turbulence throwing off the arrow trajectory severely. 

The fellblood stares down the pursuing angry Arcuila. He takes a few breathes and focuses on what needs to happen next. He'd only have one shot at this, and even if he does it correctly, it wasn't likely going to be without injury. The burning in the back of his throat grows more intense and the tastes of ash coats his tongue. He feels his blood pulse through his veins and the tha-thump of his heart is deafening in his ears. The temperature of his body increases and his muscles tense in anticipation.

One...! Two...!

Kamille can't see it, but the fellblood's skin starts to illuminate with an unnatural blue light as if there were embers glowing under its surface. His eyes flash blue and a wisp of smoke trails from his lips as he waits on baited breath for her cue. The sound of the wind ripping past his ears is drowned out completely by his own heartbeat, but also something else. A chorus of overlapped whispers fills his mind and for a moment he nearly misses hearing Kamille's voice cutting through the chaotic chattering.  

Now!

It's like time slows for a moment. The Arcuila nearly catches up to them before the world turns upside down. Zarius pushes off of Kamille's back and launches himself straight at the Arcuila below them. Blink and you would miss it, as the fellblood, like a missile, strikes the back of the Arcuila with inhuman speed and power.^[3] The blow is heavy as it lands. A normal hit would not be as effective as the Arcuila's body is protected in a shell of crackling electricity, but the fellblood's fist erupts in blue flames tipped with black which manages to rip through the electricity and deal damage to the creature directly.^[4,5] 

The Arcuila screeches in surprise and is knocked out of the air as its body seizes up from the hit.^[6,7] It careens towards the ground and tumbles across the exposed stone and gravel before coming to a stop, its wings twitching as it struggles to regain feeling in its limbs. 

Zarius does not make it out unscathed. Electrical currents coming off the Arcuila's storm charged body ripple up his arms, leaving charred scars and the scent of burning flesh wafting off of him. The pain is excruciating and his vision goes white for a second before he feels the big bird impact the ground with him on its back. He falls off backwards and hits the ground pretty hard, landing on his shoulder before he manages to roll back up onto his feet.^[8]

He catches his breath only to grasp at his throat as he chokes on plumes of smoke filling his lungs from inside of his own body. His eyes water and he drops to one knee as blue flames continue to lick off his skin.

---

[1] Prehensile Tail
[2] Iron Grip
[3] Abyssal Infusion (1/topic - 3 post duration)
[4] Abyssal Darkness
[5] Art of the Burning Fist (3 post duration)
[6] Grounding Strike (1/topic)
[7] Stunning Blows
[8] Cats Grace

Kamille feels the fellblood positioning himself as she focus on their trajectory and keeping Kalaf in line. The drake was not happy, as he rarely ever felt like prey. But regardless of his complaints, he set on the path she envisioned. The whiplash of the wind didn't bother her, her knuckles white from holding onto the saddle.

And as the world turned around on itself, she felt Zarius' back pushing against her for a second before she noticed his absence. The fellblood struck down the arcuila and they both landed harshly on the ground, rolling to a stop. For a fraction of a second she could see it as they flew over them, then she motioned for Kalaf to turn around so they could see what had become of them. The great drake made a sharp turn, as if eager to pursue what was left of the other predator, and Kamille quickly realized she shouldn't stand in his way.

They didn't take long, and Kalaf soon landed hard on the ground. The earth shook under his weight, and the drake promptly charged towards the arcuila, without loosing the momentum of his flight.

"SNOW, JUMP NOW! NOW NOWNOWNOWNOW!"

The Witch nearly pushed Snow out of the saddle once on the ground. She imagined catfolk was going to fare better than her, as she jumped out of the drake as best as she could, which still yielded her the graceful landing of a sack of potatoes[1]. Even if the drake was already on the ground, she still got herself a bit beat up for the poor footing once on the ground.

The reason of her anticipation was evident then: Kalaf rushed to the arcuila, his giant, toothy mouth being the first welcome the bird would receive [2]. The drake bit down on the arcuila, imediately rewarded with an electric discharge that would have him roaring in pain... if his mandibules weren't tightly locked with his target between them. Sadly for the arcuila, his last resort of defense didn't work on his favor, as the electricity locked the drake paralyzed. Kalaf would survive the discharge most likely. The arcuila probably wouldn't have any way of recovering from that, though [3].

Kamille was gloriously breaded in ash and dust and earth when she managed to rise up. Nothing broken, it would seem, though her ankle hurt a bit. Kalaf still tried to recover the movement on his limbs, but didn't look like he was in imediate, dire danger. Snow also didn't look too hurt, but Zarius...

"ZARIUS! Are you okay?! What the f-"

As best as she could, the Witch rushed towards the fellblood. The blue flames that envelop Zarius are something she imediately notices, widening her eyes at him. She is unsure if the flames hurt him or not, but it is clear that they are of magical nature. As much as she does not imediately understands what is going on, she tries to snuff out the flames with her own mastery over fire [4].

[1]Not Cats grace
[2]Trained ferocity
[3]Tearing wounds
[4]Control flames

Snow unclings from Kalaf's back as Kamille shoves them off the saddle. They manage to twist their body in mid air to land on their feet safely, though their fur is fully poofed up from the spook of suddenly having to bail off the back of the drake.^[1]

They look wide-eyed at Kamille as she gets back onto her feet and they rush to her side. "Lady Kamille, are you-" They stop when she rushes past them towards Zarius. They chase after to help however they can.

Zarius doesn't hear Kamille calling after him. He doesn't see her approaching him. The dozens of voices– which usually are only layered incoherent whispers in the back of his mind– are now drowning out all his thoughts. He blinks in and out of consciousness as his muscles tense and spasm from the residual electrical shock.

As Kamille tries to douse the flames, it does have some effect. She is able to reduce the flames around his fists, but it still wasn’t as easy as expected.^[2] It was like the flames were composed of fire but also something else. Something more sinister that was not willing to stop.^[3]

Snow paces back and forth anxiously. They weren't an expert in magic and they didn't want to get too close. Something about this whole situation sent a chill down their spine and made their hair stand on end. 

The fellblood wheezes and coughs up more black smoke and the scent of brimstone is so strong that it was like they were standing at the tip of Mount Drakolt itself. There’s something else though. It’s faint, but upon closer inspection, Kamille would notice a strange bluish light that seems to be coming from beneath Zarius’ skin itself. The glow is even more pronounced towards the capped tips of his horns and around the engravings and his eyes.

“S-stop,” he utters between coughs.

The whispers in his ears get louder and he cringes. His body shakes terribly as he struggles to breathe and keep control. He can feel himself slipping and, out of frustration, he slams his fist hard into the ground, splitting his knuckles and sending a shooting pain up through his arm.

This does not help. Instead, the whispers turn into screams echoing inside his mind and something manages to unleash itself if only for a moment.^[4]

Unfortunately for Kamille, she’s the closest target and Zarius is quick to lash out at her, going for a sweep to her legs to knock her to the ground.

---

[1] Cats Grace (Snow)
[2] Art of the Burning Fist - ended early
[3] Abyssal Infusion (1/topic - 2 post duration)
[4] Whispering Madness - targetting self (2 post duration)

...There was something wrong.

The first indication was that the fire was not entirely subdued to her will. There was a hint of familiarity in that feeling, that dread at the end of her mind - not entirely an alien feeling. The memory struggled to resurface, but she didn't waste time trying to inspect it.

She became hesitant, a rare enough thing. Zarius coughed up black smoke, and a tinge of a blueish light made her squint and brace herself for the unexpected. The fellblood was behaving in an odd manner, and that was so out of character that even Snow, Zarius' associate, was pacing anxiously, their soft paws betraying them. Zarius was his usual self merely seconds before, she couldn't understand what could've happened-...

"S-stop."

The hairs of her scruff stood up, and without knowing what to expect, Kamille left a spell hanging. If she had asked herself before about the inscriptions on his horns, whether they held some usefulness, like runes, or not, now the old questions came back to her. It's been a long time since they first met, when she "read his palm", and a lot has happened since then. She might have had a head start, but she wouldn't assume she knew everything there was to know about the charcoal-skinned fellblood...

Kamille fought against her instincts: while the chill that ran down her spine told her to get away, she could also see Zarius was somewhat disturbed. His body shook, smoke and brimstone filled the air, probably enough to make her eyes tear up if it wasn't for her mask [1]. She doesn't know what is going on, if she could at least...

A fist hit the ground, and that alarmed her on a series of levels, as she could feel the force assault her senses all of a sudden [2]. It seemed to break her out of her stupor, causing her to slowly back a step away with wide eyes.

But then, Zarius lunged forward, and whatever his intentions were, she wouldn't want to see it through: she released the spell she'd been holding, and her silhouette suddenly became starry [3]. The Witch's shape became spectral, and Zarius' sweep found nothing physical to hit, and while she was at it she promptly took a few steps back, unclasping her cloak.

What the hell was going on with Zarius?!

Kamille didn't want to engage in combat with him - whatever was happening right now, he wasn't his usual self. Still, when the effect of her spell faded and she once again came back to the physical realm, Kamille imediatelly threw her feathery cloak at him. For a few seconds, it looked like the cloak had life of its own, the feathers rearranging to shape two giant black wings with a beak in the middle, not unlike a huge raven. The illusion was quick, but the cloak did move as if it was alive, trying to envelop the fellblood in a warm hug, closing its feathery wings around him [4].

It wouldn't hold Zarius for long, even if it landed. The second of distraction was all she needed, as her image once again shimmered...

...and reappeared a few yards away [5]. With a bit more distance between them, Kamille could start to think what to do next, still very alarmed by Zarius sudden move, enough to remain silent as she watched what he would do next, hoping he would come to his senses soon.

[1]Northern Snow Mask
[2]Geomagnetic Sense
[3]Phase Walk
[4]The Snuggle
[5]Blink

Zarius tumbles through Kamille’s body as she turns ethereal but he’s quick to recover. Though as he moves he lurches and staggers as if struggling against something unseen. It’s unnatural and reminiscent of a puppet with tangled strings all straining against one another.

He bares his fangs which have noticeably lengthened and his eyes flicker with an intense blue light they didn’t have before. And those intense blue eyes were locked on Kamille.^[1] Though Kamille doesn’t get a long look before the cloak envelopes the fellblood.

Kamille was smart and kept her distance. Snow on the other hand was conflicted, wanting to rush up to the fellblood to snap him out of things. They at least were well aware that being in close combat with Zarius was the most dangerous place to be. So the catfolk keeps back and draws their bow, reluctantly notching an arrow in case they need to take drastic measures. They look over at Kamille with obvious concern on their face.

“Lady Kamille, I do not know what is wrong with him! I have never seen him act like this before!”

There’s a moment of struggling against the binds of the cloak before the fellblood manages to slip out from its grasp.^[2] He hisses and shakes his head with a wince still moving strangely and switching between almost acting on instinct alone to being much more focused and driven.

With a sudden burst of agility, Zarius closes the gap between himself and Kamille.^[3] He gets right up in her face and sneers, the intense scent of brimstone carried on his breath. 

"I will wring your neck, witch."

The voice is his own, or is it? It sounds like several voices all speaking at once, with the dominant one being a deeper masculine voice with less of an accent than Zarius' usual speaking voice. There are also notes from softer voices, harsher voices, higher and lower in pitch, more feminine; the dissonance is eerie and has a way of worming its way into the mind.

Zarius then goes for a swift claw across her face. His nails have also grown in length and are wreathed in that dark fire-like energy.

Snow rushes to Kamille's aid. They do not want to fire an arrow at the fellblood, but they are also not sure what else they can do to help. 

---

[1] Sworn Enemy (persistent)
[2] Escaping Technique
[3] Adrenaline Rush (2/topic)
Ongoing - Abyssal Infusion (1/topic - 1 post duration)
Ongoing - Whispering Madness (1 post duration)

This is not Zarius. This is not Zarius. This is not-

But it was, in a sense. And she didn’t want to fight Zarius. He spoke with a voice that was part his own, part someone else's. Something else. Smoke and brimstone. Sulfur and shadows. The Witch didn’t know much about demons and possessions, but she could do the math. For a second it reminded her-

It reminded her of the shadows lurking and shifting around Bellighul's robes. The ominous, heart-sinking feeling of his presence when he held his mask on.

The thought shifted uncomfortably in the back of her mind.

Not even Snow had seen Zarius behave in such a manner, so she didn’t know what to expect. Zarius threatened her in a voice that was partly his, but she still managed to notice the struggle in his unusual gait. Maybe a hint of hesitation? His eyes - of a cold blue, so different from the usual warm gold - glinted with focus, dead set on her.

She would find a way around this! She would-

"ROOOOOOAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR!"

Not in the least riddled by Kamille's internal struggle, of finding a way out of this situation without hurting the fellblood, Kalaf's reasoning was much simpler. He saw Kamille in danger. He acted, finally shaking off the paralizing effect of the arcuila's final surge and turning towards them. The Witch saw Zarius claws and, behind them, Kalaf's flames licking at his teeth, ready to escape.

The Witch raised a hand with electricity cracking between her fingers, weirdly enough not pointed to the threat right before her. She shot out a quick and thin bolt of lightning [1]... and traveled with it [2], landing a good distance from the fellblood once again, aiming for somewhere behind him, leaving him to deal with Kalaf's breath of fire on his own now, as she knew he was well capable of.

The drake's mouth became an inferno, as he promptly jumped into the fight without asking questions and hurled his fiery breath towards the fellblood. While a part of her was thankful of Kalaf's intervention, her heart also sank in antecipation that... perhaps... Zarius would not escape it.

Still, at the first opportunity, at the first sight of his horned head or blue-tinted flames, Kamille released another spell aimed at controlling Zarius movements [3], hoping it would help her contain the fellblood.

Kamille clearly didn’t want to fight Zarius, chosing to try and control him with any methods she had at her disposal. Even if Kalaf wasn’t nearly as restrained, she sure hoped she could heal whatever the damage output of that was going to be.

She didn’t want to fight.

She didn’t.

"Don’t. Don’t force my hand, Zarius."

[1]Lightning bolt
[2]Bolt dancer
[3]Slow

Blink cooldown 1/2

Snow is quick to get well out of the way as Kamille casts spells and Kalaf bounds their way. The catfolk did not want to get roasted while the drake was in a fury.

From where she zips to, Kamille would witness the inferno engulf Zarius who raises his arms defensively.

It looks like a direct hit, until there is an eruption of those unnatural blue flames.^[1] As Kalaf's flames dwindle, there's what looks like a shield of that eerie energy protecting the fellblood. The shield then parts and takes on the form of a pair of wings formed out of those azure flames and giving off black plumes of smoke. Zarius did not get out unscathed, with clear evidence of being charred by the drake's attack.

The fellblood locks eyes with the angered drake and emits an aura of terror towards it.^[2] To Kalaf and Kalaf alone, the feeling was like facing down something ancient, terrible, and yet oddly familiar on a primal level. Even for a fearsome drake such as himself, the unease and unsettling energy radiating from the fellblood makes it unbearable to remain near him.

Just as Zarius moves to attack the drake in retaliation his movements come to a snail's crawl from Kamille's spell. His attention slowly turns back to her.

He speaks again, though the dominant voice that cuts through the echoes is shriller, feminine, and filled with despair. "It is not enough! You cannot stop it!"

A ripple of flames passes over his body, incinerating the slowing magic and restoring his mobility.^[3]

It is hard to tell how much of what is happening now is all things the fellblood is normally capable of. Kamille hasn't seen the fellblood fight a lot in the past, though she does have insights to his training as a youth. Recalling those memories in mid battle is difficult, but the flames, the smoke, these other voices, none of that aligns with what insights she gained when she first met Zarius and learned of his history. All of this must have transpired AFTER that point in time.

Zarius was trained by his father to primarily use his fists. It was brutal, physically challenging training, all with the purpose of turning the fellblood's body into a weapon that could compete against armored knights and powerful mages.  But while he has had specialized training to counter casters, the fellblood's skills are inherently non-magical. This dark energy mimicking the nature of flames is decidedly not just an illusion or something that could be physically trained for. 

Whatever this was, it wasn't natural and it clearly wasn't good.

Without missing a beat, Zarius launches into the air and flies up over Kalaf before before diving at Kamille with the intent of smashing her beneath him.^[4]

---

[1] Harbinger of Evil (1/topic - 3 post duration)
[2] Invoke Fear (2/topic)
[3] Remove Magic (2/topic)
[4] Guillotine Drop
Sworn Enemy (persistent)

Terror wasn’t something that hit an old drake like Kalaf as easily, and though Zarius' could see the drake's eyes lit up in reaction to his terrifying aura, it was anger that burned behind his scarlet eyes. Maybe it was his time with the Witch, but the giant scaly creature didn’t budge from his position, instead stomping the ground angrily [1].

Relenteless. Stone, unwavering resolution. Not unlike his rider.

While already waiting for Zarius to strike down again, the wings were new. All of this was new. Kamille's prior knowledge of Zarius already warned her to keep her distance from the fellblood in the event of a fight, so she wouldn’t take her chances - especially now that Zarius had shown to have more tricks up his sleeve than she knew.

The voice sounded again, and she found herself shaking the chill off of her body once more.

This was not Zarius!
 
But she needed to focus for her next move. Zarius took the skies as maelstrom of mana centered around the Witch spilled forward. Time warping, reality bending magic - complicated magic, the kind that had granted the Witch her reputation, most likely. Along with the focus, commitment and drive to pull it through in a situation like that, with a friend at the height of his madness.

The charcoal fellblood descended upon her, and time itself seemed to hiccup. The fabric of reality folded in on itself, a mind boggling effect. When it stretched out to its normal position again, it was reversed to a position a few seconds prior... when the Witch wasn’t there yet. Kamille yeeted herself back in time, back to the position she's been before traveling as a lightning bolt [2].

From her position from the distance, once again she felt the earth suffer beneath Zarius fists - if it was herself there, she certainly would be done. This time it felt as if earth itself reacted in uprising, literally rising to the occasion to enclose the fellblood in a stone coccoon as he touched the ground [3].

"Who are you!? What do you want??!"

Kalaf was far less interested in answers, or the result of Kamille's spells. The black drake's mouth filled with fire again, spewing it out on the fellblood. If he called Zarius charred then, now he seemed determined to make that a reality.

[1]Sure footed
[2]Rewind time
[3]Earth bind

Blink cooldown 2/2
Bolt dancer cooldown 1/1

Zarius slams his fist into the ground where Kamille had been only a moment before, leaving a small cracking impact in the stone but otherwise landing unharmed himself.^[1]

He exhales a stream of black smoke and glances around for where she ended up. As he stands back to his full height, his head twitches to the side and his face contorts in a grimace. Words in another unearthly language slip past his lips, but from this distance is was impossible to make out what was said. 

The ground rises up around him and it looks like the spell was successful in encasing him in stone as the pieces solidify into a single mass. Then Kalaf unleashes the flames on the stone cocoon, blasting the stone's surface with the intense heat and most likely roasting anything trapped within. 

Snow looks very worried and catches up to Kamille. After a few moments of silence pass and the glowing heat on the rock surface from Kalaf's breath fades, the catfolk speaks up. "You...didn't kill him, did you?"

No...she hadn't, and from behind the pair of them Kamille feels the oppressive, intimidating aura. Somehow, Zarius was behind them, back in the place he was before she had evaded him as lightning. He somehow copied her own spell.^[2]

"It hurts...make it stop!" A meek voice, pleading, and almost childlike cuts through the echoes this time, but is quickly followed by a deep, harsh snarl. "SHUT UP!"

Being back in close range, the fellblood strikes forward at the witch with two heavy hits in quick succession.^[3] His aim is precise and aims to connect with her core to stun her and cut her off from her casting.^[4]

His second strike, however, had a different aim. The wrappings on his arms unravel and lunge forward with the strike aimed at her knee.^[5] If it connected, the wrappings would bind her leg just before Zarius took back up into the air, pulling the witch along with him up to a dizzying and dangerous height to be dropped from. 

---

[1] Cats Grace
[2] Magic Mimic (copied Rewind Time)
[3] Two Piece
[4] Stunning Blows
[5] Constrictor Wraps
Ongoing - Harbringer of Evil (1/topic - 2 post duration)
Sworn Enemy (persistent)

Earth rose to contain Zarius, and it felt like earth also rose to protect the Witch. She squinted her eyes as she felt the same time bending magic being cast by the fellblood - at least that was something she knew about him and were keen on expecting it. As far as she knew, Zarius was specialized on taking down casters. That much she knew he could do.

The childish pleading seemed to go unheard. She would have time to understand everything once she handled the thread before her, and her focus on Zarius was only rivaled by the fellblood's own persistent focus on her.

Kamille didn’t even have time to answer Snow, who was clearly worried about his boss. Before being worried about doing some damage she could not reverse, she was clearly meaning to survive and keep her distance from the fellblood. That aura of dread was back to where they were, and she acted quickly. With a wave of her hand, a golden maelstrom of sand rose from the ground, shaping a wall of sorts to embrace Zarius' fist as he tried to hit Kamille [1]. The sand wall was malleable enough to resist the fellblood's fist, unlike an actual solid wall, at the same time it held it from connecting to the Witch.

But the wrappings took her by surprise. Once in the past he had used them to save Kamille from a fall, much similar to the one he hoped to be pulling her to. It was clear he managed to pull her in, if her weight wasn’t enough indication, her high pitched shriek certainly was. Thankfully Kalaf had been teaching her to get used to twists and turns while in mid-air, so when she was hoisted back into the air, no matter how much the world spun around her, she had her head clear.

True to her fame, the Witch summoned forth a storm of black feathers and beaks [2]; a whole bunch of croaking ravens to mess with Zarius and throw off his focus and line of sight, trying to claw at his face. Upon releasing her, Zarius would possibly also loose sight of Kamille as she turned into a raven herself [3], flying off safely to the ground, back to Kalaf's side.

"I suggest you stay away, Snow!"

Once back to the ground, Kamille turned back into her usual self, once again bracing herself for Zarius' next move. It was hard for them to notice with her mask on, but her deep sapphire eyes were consumed by darkness [4].

[1]Sand shield
[2]Raven storm
[3]Shapeshifters plate
[4]Ebon eyes

Snow wouldn't argue, despite their experience, they were out of their league in this fight. The catfolk keeps back and watches.

Zarius' first strike didn't land, the sand slows down his blow and prevents him from cutting off Kamille's connection to her casting. However, that doesn't stop him from dragging her off her feet and up into the air over the the barren rocky landscape.

The barrage of cawing and clawing birds is a minor nuisance, but enough to make him release the witch. He swats at the birds in vicious annoyance. For a moment, the flames around him flicker as if running out of fuel. He drops a few feet before the wings flare again and catch his weight, but at this point he hasn't realized that Kamille has escaped him yet again. 

He backpedals in the air, trying to escape the ravens before his form shimmers and suddenly disappears from visual sight.^[1] 

Snow's body goes tense with anticipation. They were very familiar with Zarius' own favored tactics and the disappearing act was something he was very proud of even if he never boasted about it. The catfolk knows what comes next. There's only one place the fellblood would appear next. He'd close in on Kamille from behind, and go for her blindspot, crippling her at best, outright killing at worst. 

The catfolk draws their arrow once more and aims towards Kamille. They would only have the blink of an eye to make their mark. Any hesitation would put the witch's life in jeopardy.

Zarius is a strategist. And he knows his own habits. Against someone as smart and capable of Kamille, he would never take the obvious tactic. But he's not in control. He's not thinking. And despite the dire situation, that may be one saving grace. 

He does reappear behind the witch, the invisibility burning away with the blue flame and his focus locked on her back while his fist is drawn back.

His eyes only glance to the side when the glint of an arrowhead in his periphery catches his attention.^[2] His other hand strikes out and catches the arrow mid air and he spins with the intent of now using that arrow to stab into Kamille's face as she reacts to his appearance behind her.^[3]



Then. 



He stops. 

His body freezes in place, his muscles tense and twitch, fighting against following through with plunging the arrow into Kamille. His teeth are clenched tight and his eyes are wide from the strain on his body.

"L-l...Ka...mille."

---

[1] Invisibility
[2] Fighter's Senses
[3] Deflecting Palm (2/topic)
Ongoing - Harbringer of Evil (1/topic - 1 post duration)
Sworn Enemy (persistent)

The fellblood's feet were light as a feather, but still she could feel them once he came back to the ground - and she was ready to travel away once again, hidden in a lightning bolt, blinking away with the flutter of an eyelash, without even looking back.

But-

Zarius hesitated.

The blue flame flickered before, his wings faltered, an arrow was shot and, at his most advantageous position... The fellblood stopped. It wasn't clear to her if she would've had the reaction quick enough to avoid his attack - truth be told, Kamille kept three sneaky people by her side for a reason. It was one of her main weaknesses.

As she faced the charcoal skinned fellblood, both of her hands were at the side of her body, with her palms facing him in a gesture that even resembled that of surrender.

But knowing the Witch was enough indication that not everything was as it seems. Mana spilled and emanated from her.

"Stop, Zarius."

It felt like an order [1]. Not one issued to one's mind, but directly to one's bones. The aura that surrounded her made it feel like more than just a suggestion, but an irresistible one.

She hoped it would be enough.

"I know this isn't you, Zarius. You don't want to fight me, so don't. Put that down. Step aside. No sudden movements. And let us talk. I won't hold it against you if you stop fighting me now."

He seemed to be fighting it, so Kamille would give him that... But not without protecting herself. Any sudden moves on his part and she would blink away once again, out of his range, with a pair of scarlet eyes and rows of jagged teeth and flames to let him handle. Kalaf seemed to understand something was going on there - and while he had seen his mortal rider walk out of the fire unscathed before, he wouldn't hold back against the fellblood.

[1]Serrafleur's Fae Aura

The tension of the moment is intense. Zarius had frozen in place, but the sound of the arrow shaft cracking from the pressure of his grip only meant his internal struggle was at a stalemate for the moment. 

Kamille's spell adds another contender in the battle of wills. Luckily for the witch, whatever had come over Zarius seemed to have run out of fuel. The eerie blue light fades from the fellblood's eyes as the fiery wings snuff out into black smoke. 

The voices in Zarius' head protest incoherently, but their influence over his mind is pushed back by the foreign magic and the force of Kamille's own will. 

Zarius drops the arrow as commanded and sways on his feet before staggering back out of her way. 

"YAH!" Snow shouts as the catfolk pounces on the fellblood from behind.

They throw their bow across his chest and grab onto the other end before throwing their weight back to throw Zarius off balance. Being subdued by Kamille's spell, the fellblood does not resist and the two land on the ground with a thud, now sitting on the ground. Snow then wraps their legs around Zarius' torso, pinning his arms to his sides. 

The catfolk keeps a tight grip and looks at Kamille for guidance or wisdom. "What now??"

The fellblood just sits there, grappled by the catfolk and body under Kamille's control for the time being. His eyes are glazed over from the spell's hold on him, but despite the spell he fades in and out of consciousness. The exhaustion sets in and the residual damage from being electrocuted by the Arcuila is still evident from the web-like burns across his skin. His eyelids and head start to droop while the tips of his fingers twitch.

Snow's intervention startle Kamille, but she holds the spell in place still. She recognized the will behind his eyes falter, and could understand the fellblood was battling his own inner influences back to avoid hurting her too - at least before her spell took over. She would give him that.

For a brief moment, she seems to evaluate her options. With his mind fading in and out of consciousness, Kamille decides it would be far easier to handle the fellblood if she makes sure he won't suddenly spring to his feet to possibly attack her again. She reached her space pocket, taking out a familiar potion bottle [1] and carefully stepping up towards Zarius.

"Drink."

Since Snow was holding him back, Kamille helped the fellblood take a gulp at the potion, waiting for the effects to settle in before doing anything else. Kamille had an intense and serious gaze as she inspected Zarius, watching how long the potion would take to get him to sleep. She was clearly worried and serious as she put away the empty flask, finally turning to Snow.

"I'm sure you will understand I had to do this to avoid... anything else from happening. Has he done this before? Will you be okay to be left alone with him after this?"

Surely Kamille didn't like the idea of leaving Snow alone with someone who could become a threat, but in the end of the day the catfolk was under Zarius' employment and it was not her place to extend a hand towards them. At least for now.

She would also make sure to send Zarius back without any wounds, so once he was under control, she put a hand to his chest and his back. Flames flickered around her fingers, but instead of burning his skin, they seemed to seep into his wounds, absorbed by his pores and spreading a gentle warmth all around [2]. She made the process deliberately look long, as once the flames settled in and healed him of any wounds he might sustain, she cast another one on him without warning Snow [3].

Kamille couldn't take the risks. If there was a moment in time to learn more, it was now, with this influence over the fellblood weakened and worn out. Supposedly.

[1]Sleep potion
[2]Massive healing
[3]Reveal Truth

The fellblood puts up no fight and drinks the contents of the potion which quickly take effect. He falls limp in the catfolk's grasp and there's an audible sigh of relief from Snow in response. They loosen their grip a bit. 

In response to her question, Snow shakes their head. "No, I've never seen him-..." The catfolk pauses.

They had. They had at least seen the blue flames and the wings before. It was during that nightmare situation with Ziev. Kamille had mentioned it earlier that same day. It was all too real to deny now.

Their ears flatten at the unpleasant memory as they nod. "Only once before, in the fight with the god...towards the end of it. But he seemed sane then..."

The catfolk moves out of Kamille's way to let her work. They were no healer and they knew the fellblood trusted the witch with his life once before. They're worried and it shows on their face, though the worry does lessen as her healing magic deals with the blisters and burns from Kalaf's flames. Though the fellblood still bore some scarring from the Arcuila's lightning. 

"I don't know...if I'm being honest, if he attacks me I don't stand a chance. I do not have the skills that you do, Lady Kamille."

The witch's casting of the second spell goes off without a hitch, the catfolk is far too distracted to suspect her of anything suspicious. 

Kamille is reminded of all that she learned the first time she managed to cast the spell on the fellblood, but in addition to that was all the events that fell inbetween their first meeting and now. Some of it she was already privvy to: the situation with the ooze; the events of the Marrowvine's Ball; the encounter at the hot springs...not to mention what she learned from casting this same spell on Caedes who they shared some interactions with.

There was plenty more that she was not around to witness though, some more concerning than others: a hellish gameshow he was trapped in with a familiar blond quarterling which ended with those azure flames and the fellblood nearly dying from a grievous stab wound; the fight against Ziev where he once again erupted into a blue inferno; a mission to search for the missing Fighter's Guild leader in which he lost control and attacked Astrid; the events that led up to the Night of the Red Rogue where Zarius and Caedes had nearly killed one another over a misunderstanding.

She'd see those events, but also his day to day. Secret meetings with all sorts of shady folk in between private training sessions that left him coughing up plumes of black smoke. She'd see him notice the concerned look on his sister's face, hear them argue and the fellblood deny anything was wrong with him and that he was fine. But she would see the truth, the slow burn of a candle soon to reach the end of the wick. Things were only getting worse, and he had no explanation of what was happening to himself, nor was he willing to burden anyone with concern for his condition.

The magic struggles to provide an answer, but Kamille's expertise allows it to pry ever deeper, beyond what even the fellblood was aware of himself. And there, in that cloud of black smoke that obscures his very soul, she finds those flames once more, ever burning and flaring impatiently with the echo of many whispers replacing the sound of any normal fire. Whatever this is, it's not natural. It is old. It is sentient. It is...many.