Celris spotted the Feral and held up one finger. "One moment please." Celebration could happen after the final blow.<br/>She held the sword like a bat, and swung with all her might, aiming at the kneeling HighBreed's neck.<br/>Inches from his neck, Celris jolted, realizing he wasn't going to block. She twisted the blade, managing to turn a fatal blow into an extremely painful hit in the head with the flat of the blade.<br/>Oz's head jerked to the side, but the rest of his body remained immobile, cradling the tatters left from the wings.<br/><br/>Celris growled, "What, so now you don't want to live after becoming a 'LowBreed'? Not even going to fight back against your enemy?"<br/><br/>He let out a mechanical sigh, "Correct. I cannot return home like this now."<br/><br/>Celris became very still, she dropped the blade into the sand and slowly walked around the face Oz. She knelled in front of him, expression stoic. When she next spoke, her voice was quiet, low, and so tightly controlled she seemed in danger of exploding right then and there.<br/>"You killed our comrade, whether you were having a bout of madness or meant it, I don't care. What matters is now. We have a job to do."<br/><br/>Oz shook his head, "I will not. I must suffer death for falling to the level of a LowerBreed."<br/><br/>Celris smiled, a look in her eyes that made Oz feel a few degrees cooler. This was not happy Celris. This was not even angry Celris. He didn't know what to call it.<br/>"Let me rephrase, Osbourne, you will work with me to complete Black's job. Else, I will make sure to find the deepest, darkest ocean, and I will toss you in."<br/><br/>Oz didn't doubt it, though he could easily overpower her - the sword was gone, he could snap her neck like a twig. Though, now that he was LowerBreed, he wondered whether he had the right to, or whether he should even bother.<br/>Celris patted him on the shoulder and muttered, "I'm giving you three minutes to pull yourself together, then you will complete this mission with me. As equals." She smiled again, that dangerous smile, the one she hid from everyone else. Except occasionally a sibling, they knew how to get her riled up. "That, my friend, is more than you deserve."<br/><br/>"Why do you show me mercy?"<br/><br/>Celris glanced back, slightly startled, "I don't know. But I just did. Better not question it."<br/><br/>She turned to the Feral, her cheer reviving with an enthusiastic tail wag. "A fellow Feral! Ah, the snake was nothing! I...er..." She examined her bloodied fur, "Found a very impromptu place to shelter while the air caught fire. I am Celris and this self-deprecating pile of rust is Osbourne."<br/><br/>Oz rose, turning towards them and bowing before returning his attention to his wings, "I am Oz. Osbourne was a HighBreed. And I am obviously a LowBreed."<br/><br/>Celris rolled her eyes, "What he said." She grinned, "Tell me, it's been so long since I've been home, what is the news in Tol'Sel? And the villages surrounding it?"