<blockquote><div><cite>Rafe wrote:</cite>"I don't often make a habit of accepting agreements I do not know the full details of, but you drive a hard bargain miss Lilium. I wholeheartedly accept! Consider this devil - Lesik from what I overhear - to be dead. I shall not rest until he is dealt with and this land restored to order!"</div></blockquote><br/><span style="font-style: italic">ARLIGHT! Way to work 'im over, Lil!</span>Sherani can't help but grin as Rafe snaps up Lilium's offer, sealing the deal. While material wealth has never been her top priority in life, the thought of a soon-to-be-conjured pile of treasure - ALNURAN treasure! - is enough to have her wringing her hands in anticipation.<br/>All that's left now is for Lilium to cough up their new partner, and she can...<br/><br/><blockquote><div><cite>Lilium's stomach wrote:</cite>*GLORP*</div></blockquote><br/>... glorp?<br/><br/><blockquote><div><cite>Lilium wrote:</cite>"Nor do I allow prey to escape my stomach, I don't believe I'm going to start now. Sorry."</div></blockquote><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Sorry...</span>The word hits like a gut punch, leaving Sherani nearly doubled and slackjawed. Everything she'd built up in her head; her treasure, her Alnuran adventure, her free food; disappears in an instant, pulverized along with Rafe as Lilium's stomach bears down on its captive with some very unmerciful noises.<br/><br/>"Guh... buh..." Sherani works her jaw a moment, spilling nonsense as she tries to coordinate her sense of loss and panic into something resembling a coherent sentence. After a few seconds of concerted effort, she finally manages to drag herself up from gibberish to stammering long enough to manage something resembling protest.<br/><br/>"B-but Lil! He promised! An Alnuran wouldn't make that kinda stuff up! And he said be more food... and Lesik... TREASURE!" she concludes, staring wide-eyed at her kitsune friend.<br/><br/><blockquote><div><cite>Ureck wrote:</cite>"Please Miss Lilium. This poor soul has done nothing to deserve such a fate. It is likely where he is because of some unfortunate accident, and he is willing to allocate all his skills and resources to aid our cause. Please... Let him go. I promise meals will come later today, to fill your belly and thrill you. And if they don't...</div></blockquote><br/>And then... he steps in. Ureck, calm, cool and collected, urging Lilium back towards the path of mercy with the sort of quiet but passionate argument Sherani couldn't have put together in a million years. She stares at Ureck, seeing the collie in that moment as the greatest person in the world... well, besides her dad. And the guy with the ticket to Alnura. And maybe Baldassare that one night where...<span style="font-style: italic">anyway,</span>he's definitely shot up in the ranks. If there was ever any doubt, she's now certain that Ureck is-<br/><br/><blockquote><div><cite>Ureck wrote:</cite>"...I'll fill your belly for you."</div></blockquote><br/>Abso-freaking-lutely<span style="font-style: italic">insane.</span><br/><br/>Sherani's jaw hits the ground a second time as Ureck delivers his own ultimatum, every bit as terrible as Lilium's in its own way. The shifter looks at collie, then kitsune, back and forth as her lips move wordlessly.<span style="font-style: italic">He's going to put his life on the line for a total stranger? Okay, a filthy rich wizard stranger, but still... that's a hell of a bluff.</span><br/><br/>Of course, it has to be a bluff. Sherani knows there's no way Lilium would actually call him on it and turn Ureck into her next nutrion... then again, about half a minute ago, she knew she was getting a new teammate and a pile of Alnuran goodies. Now, she isn't quite sure what to believe...