Watching You Scream

[shosen]

"... You happy, Ko?"

Uzil, please don't ask that.

"... what do you mean?"

"You at least least vaguely satisfied with life?"

"That's an Olm-worthy answer."

You know what, Tabaqui? Really not in the mood.

"No. Is that better?"

"Cause... I dunno. I want you to be happy, is all."

I'm sorry, Uzil. I'm not, and I'm not sure I ever have been. I think sometimes, but... it doesn't matter, does it?

"Bounce back and forth, sure, but I'm happy now, aren't I?"

"He's allowed to change that quickly."

"I thought t-teenagers w-were s-supposed t-to b-be m-moody and s-sad all the t-time."

"Moody."

"W-what's y-your excuse then?"

"I can't do a damn thing right, and never have been able to."

I don't want to be this sad, not when you're trying so hard to cheer me up. You're doing a good job of it, really. Like you did in the Ruins earlier. You're becoming a good leader, Uzil; I'm proud of you. Have to find a time to say it.

"It just... hasn't been a very good set of days, okay?"

"W-welcome t-to the c-club!"

"I never said I was unique."

Won't be now though, will it?

"I k-killed Olm's w-wife, Uzil b-bonked an elf, y-you g-guy c-cornered Olm and r-repeated c-crap I t-told y-you, Zue thinks I'm a m-moron... y-you know,. it's g-going around."

"... Zue thin's you're a moron?"

Yes, ‘cause Light knows the worst part of all this is that we're angry. Of course.

"Y-you w-were s-supposed t-to b-be h-his f-friend, K-ko. And y-you j-jumped him. H-how am I s-supposed t-to f-feel about that?"

"Actually, I didn't, but whatever."

Can't make someone be my friend, Tabaqui. Not going to be easy anyway. When he doesn't seem inclined towards it, and you're my sister and we're all afraid for you, even him.

"H-he s-said a h-half d-dozen of y-you s-surrounded h-him and c-called h-him on the c-carpet."

"That wasn't exactly planned."

"..."

"W-well apparently it l-looked p-pretty c-coordinated."

"I just kinda showed up."

Thank you, Uzil. Friends and family kinda do that. I know I don't have a lot of experience with it, but that seems to be a part of the whole caring and enjoying your company bit.

"K-ko, y-you d-don'ts-seem t-to g-get this."

"No, obviously I don't."

Never have, never will, so what else is new?

"....f-fuck!"

"What?"

"They h-hurt h-him I d-don't know w-where!! D-dammit!!"

Damn it. Gaark, a thousand times thank you for this horse. I wouldn't be able to keep up otherwise.

"They b-burned h-him, they b-burned him Koani, oh g-gods, w-what if she's w-working f-for Valgasha?!"

"Any luck?"

"No."

"H-he w-was h-here. I c-can s-smell h-his b-blood."

Damn, damn, damn, damn. Never just one bloody thing, is there? No wonder we're all being pulled under.

"Where is He, Tabi. Come back to us, here. ... Uh?"

"....I c-can't... h-he's g-gone."

"... gone?"

... Tabi... Calm down."

"...g-gone. I c-can't f-feel a thing."

Oh no, no, no no no no!

"I h-have t-to f-find them. I'm g-going t-to k-kill them. I'm g-going t-to k-kill them s-slow. And I'm g-going t-to piss on their ashes."

Bright, bright, blinding, beautiful. Damn it, none of this is good!

"... I thin' you lack the aim to do that, for one. And two, you have to find them, and find out WHAT they exactly did to Olm. Focus on findin' them, first. Calm down, and focus this hate. I'm givin' you warrior 101 here. You got fury. Focus it.

... Okay... This is a little past natural an'er, here. Ko... uh. what's goin' on?"

"Damn it."

Damn it! Kodos shouldn't move that fast! Booty Bay, lost her. No good at finding people. They can run right by me and I won't see the-- oh, there she is.

"Tabaqui!"

"Stop... damnit. Tabi! Stop."

She's growling, actually growling.

"Ko, you do anythin' to her?"

"What!?"

"Can you, rather?"

I don't know what to do. I can't stop her from anything even when she's in her right mind, much less out of it. Damn, the goblins are gonna charge us if she keeps ripping the ru-- Wait!

"... damn it."

"... She jump?"

"Yes."

"She can't swim that far."

"She jumped before we hit the maelstrom."

Jumped off the damn boat. Great, just great. Where is she going to be by the time we get back?

"She a demon?"

"She always was."

" ... huh."

"You didn't know?"

"No."

Back in the city, did she make it here or go somewhere else? There, still growling, still running, what are we supposed to do?

"Ko. Banish her? Can you?"

"... I don't know."

Swimming ,great, just grea-- Undel, wrong way... And, oh dear, didn't think I'd ever say this but, poor pirates. Uzil? Oh dear, pulled by the tide maybe?

"You have to stop this, just until you can think again. You have to, or your going to get yourself hurt."

"Uh- did you do this? I mean, you're a nice warlock and all but--"

"No!"

Undel!

"Just askin' just askin."

... crayons?

"I cast thee out, demon! In the name of the mojo, the voodoo, and the holy mousefish, begone!"

Well, it's a better idea than I've got an... or dear, Undel, maybe you should back up now and, damn it Tabi, stop!

"Quick Koani! Do you have any markers! It's time to step it up a notch!"

"... you might be right..."

Okay, hide behind me, right and, ouch Undel, damn it, I'm sorry. And Tabi, I'm sorry, but...

"Whoa! She really IS a demon!"

Enslaved. That's worse than mid control. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I just, I don't know what to do!

"Damn it, where did Uzil go?"

"Uh- when Zug had a demon in him we drown him in the moonwell..."

"We have to, go, somewhere else I think..."

"You hit me. You HIT me."

"She's not exactly her... she isn't thinking."

Great, now I'm the one making excuses. So does this mean if Tabaqui ever loses herself when he's around that I should be worried for Olm instead? Olm, damn it, what happened to you?

"Uh- how long does an enslavement usually uh- last?"

"Oh dear... Okay, we have to do somewhere, maybe to Thunder Bluff, find Tundrarunner."

That's right, come on Tabi. When I wanted you to listen to me for a change, this really wasn't what I had in mind.

Wave at the Bluffwatchers, don't mind the snarling and that high-pitched keen, nothing wrong here, she's--

He was here.

Too bad no one else is. Okay, we have to do this on our own then... Moonwell it is. I hope those things don't have charges, we're gonna use this one up.

"Get into the moonwell."

Um, Undel, the shove probably wasn't required. Oh well, she's in now.

"Sit! Stay! Good girl! Lay down! Shake! Lay down!"

"Um, maybe you could say some prayers to help instead... And, do that running thing, like when we helped Uzil?"

I'm, going to need all the help I can get. I don't know what Tundrarunner did, I just... I'm a tailor, I can do Felcloth, but this? Needs a little more than that I'm thinking, and what do you turn to when you've already broken faith?

Please, just... please.

"Tabaqui, time to come back. The ones you love need you now."

Lean her back, and... oh, there go the chains...

She's NOT happy. She--

"Tabaqui!"

... did we kill her?

Undel! Okay, maybe expediency was better than gentleness. She's breathing, right? She's, crying.

"Oh Tabaqui!"

"Congratulations! You're not a demon anymore! Don't cry!"

"Tabaqui, it may be all right."

"Just let it all out! Snot and all!"

"It's m-my f-f-f-fault! I b-bu-burned h-h-his w-w-wife and V-v-v-valg-gasha and n-no-now s-someone b-b-burned up Olm!"

"Tabaqui, the guards said they saw him. He can't be burned up."

" ... Orgrimmar?"

Uzil? Oh good!

"We'll just resurrect him! It'll be fabulous! I resurrect Uzil here all the time."

"Burned bodies are a little more complicated."

Especially if some idiot warlock messes things up. Sakti-- focus!

"I f-felt it, K-koani, I f-f-felt h-him b-burning!"

"It could have just been an especially bad pyroblast, to knock him down."

Thank you, Uzil. Keeps saying things like that.

"...it's l-like they t-t-tore out m-my h-heart..."

Wanna say I know, but let's just not. Gotta get her to focus, gotta keep myself that way.

Why am I so tired?

"He could be shrouded. There's uh... magic that can do that, RIGHT."

Sure, right. Have no idea really, but I'll agree with you there.

"D-don't m-make l-light of t-this!"

"Butcryingisn'tdoinganythingandwedon'tknowforsureyetand- I'mnotmakinglightI'mmakinglogic!"

I understood that. Should that worry me? Pay attention. Talking, totem, lost, gone.

"If the guards saw him at thunder bluff... then couldn't you just track him traditionally... with uh... dogs?"

Huh, Undel. Good thought.

"D-dogs?"

"Or your wolf?"

"You know... uh... bloodhou- Or that!"

We have to do something. That doesn't involve displaced rampaging rage and more moonwell visits.

"...y-you d-don't understand... h-how c-c-could h-he b-be s-severed f-from m-me?"

"Tabaqui... souls can be, separated, even from themselves. I've done it."

Tired. Old enemy, warlock, bad, bad, bad. He's alive? Could be him, could not be. Doesn't matter, because we have to find Olm, right? Right, so, back to Thunder Blu--

Oh dear, she has to be more tired than I am. Come on, Tabaqui. Back to Thunder Bluff, and in the morning we'll find him. When either of us can stand, and the water stops making my skin feel like it's burning.

We'll find him. Olm, please be all right when we do.