--- Kat ---

Kat and Lily continued to fly around for a while... but Kat was starting to feel a little off. The axe wound she’d taken to the neck had obviously healed. Her regeneration made sure of that... but it was starting to hurt a bit. Nothing she’d have been worried about back when she was human, and the pain was far weaker than the attack itself. It was hardly worth worrying about for the pain alone. Roughly equivalent to a light slap...

But the fact her neck was hurting at all was odd. Worse, the pain seemed to be slowly spreading even if the pain wasn’t increasing at all. Kat checked her memories and found that it started EXACTLY where the axe wound had been and expanded outward from there. Her bones seemed to be free of it so that implied it was something to do with her skin or muscles... and Kat only had one good way to test it.

*Lily... I think I need to ask you to do something you’re really, really going to hate.*

[What is it? I can FEEL you hiding the answer from me.]

*That’s because I’m trying to work out if I can do it myself... but I don’t think I’ll be able to. Actually, wait, let me just...* Kat realised there was a simpler thing she could test first. Turning her neck into water, while keeping a hand on her head to stop it flying off, Kat sighed as the pain disappeared immediately. Now for the real test. Turning back. As soon as Kat returned her body to normal the pain returned. No deeper, no sharper. Still quite weak... but very obviously THERE in a way that was bound to cause problems.

*Fuck. Ok... so I think I need you to tear my throat out.*

[WHAT! WHY? Why would I do that?]

*I don’t know what’s wrong with that axe of Greaves, but it’s not normal. The wound is actually starting to burn a bit, and that burning sensation is spreading. It’s not so much that it’s distracting me. It’s not so much I couldn’t fight. In fact, I’m quite sure I could ignore it for a long while...

But it’s spreading. If it extend up past my neck we could have issues and hell forbid it gets to something like my heart. I’m currently hoping that ripping my throat out completely and having it heal will get rid of the pain, but I can’t do it myself because I need to get ALL of it.*

Lily’s mind was in turmoil. This... this was one of, if not the worst possible scenario for her. She... she really didn’t want to hurt Kat. She didn’t like when Kat hurt herself... but her girlfriend also had a point. If this was a real problem and... and ripping it away... was the right call then Lily really wanted to get that done sooner than later. On the other hand... [Will... will that work?]

*I don’t see why it wouldn’t. Even assuming this is some sort of weird spell or poison I struggle to believe that anything at this level can come back through regeneration.*

[I’m not disagreeing with you... but at the same time why can something of this level get through it in the first place?]

Kat stopped short at that, and let her mind speed up so she had more time to digest that. It wasn’t just that this was burning, this was a burning that came from a wound she’d healed. Her regeneration was in no way limited by the bracelet, it simply didn’t have the capabilities. Which meant... this was something powerful. Enchantment, poison, something else? Kat had no idea how to tell... but the fact that it was still getting to her implied it was at least Rank 3, possible higher. An argument could be made she needed to lose a good chunk of her neck to get to this point... but her regeneration had never had issues like this before.

Kat tried something else. She raised a finger to her neck and blasted demonic fire out of it. Sadly, her resistance to her own fire was coming to bite her here because it simply washed over her with no change in effects. *I think you’re going to need to do it Lily.*

[I... I don’t know if I can. Like... I KNOW that I need to, or that I really should at least but I just... I don’t know that I CAN Kat.]

*Well I’m probably not going to die, Thyme will heal me, and we have enough orbs. If you don’t want to do this, we can just forfeit now so I can go get healed.*

Lily cringed at the idea. She... she hated the idea that Kat was going to lose because of her. [We don’t have to do that. We can keep going!]

*While I agree that we can... we really don’t NEED to. We have plenty of charge, we have orbs back where we were, and we have knowledge of whatever this attack is. I’ll need to be really careful fighting Greaves in the future, and that’s worth learning... but it’s fine. There’s no reason to drag this out. If it was like, my arm or something I’m sure I could deal with this myself but my neck... not really.

If we forfeit now, Greaves might think that her attack was even better than it actually was. Ideally she thinks it’s powerful enough to take me out, but if she thinks it’s the pain I ran from instead that might be just as useful. So... let’s forfeit.*

[I... but what if this happens again?]

*I mean, we’ll be fighting Greaves so there’s a good chance that it will if I’m not careful, and maybe even if I am... what’s the issue?*

[No I mean... what if this happens again and Thyme isn’t around to heal you. What if something like this happens for real. Clearly your regeneration isn’t perfect. It’s close, and I bet that whatever Greaves has is pretty rare and specialised. Her team is known for throwing money around so some sort of exotic poison is easily on the table... I just...]

[If it’s poison? Something that they found? That means there are real monsters that can hurt you like this and... what if we’re on an important contract and I STILL can’t do it? Just... maybe I should try.]

*I would NEVER force you to do that Lily. I know how hard this is going to be, and trust me, it is MUCH more painful to even suggest that you might need to do this than the pain itself. If it makes you feel better, we can instead try to find Greaves and take her out before the poison gets to me.*

[But... does Thyme heal the winner?]

*I think so? But even if not, I just ’die’ for a bit and it’s all the same as before. It’s not like we’ve got anything good in the bracelet. Some spares meals and those golem hands. Which, I guess maybe she could so something with, but they take up so much space it’s hardly worth it.*

[GAH! I feel like I should TRY Kat. How are you so calm about this?]

Kat shrugged. *Because I don’t see this as mattering too much. I won’t think less of you regardless of what you choose, and while it would be nice to win this little battle it’s not necessary. The contract isn’t even close to failed, and while Hedera might worry for a bit we should be back before the city goes to hell. You probably won’t be on guard... and actually not sure where you’ll end up after we get healed.

Anyway, my point is, this isn’t a particularly high stakes environment. The only real pressure is the time pressure. You do need to make a decision in... hmm... I want to say the next five minutes? If you wat that long though you’ll need to take my entire neck and maybe some of the extra around that. Getting everything around the bones is going to be a pain, but it’s already going to be a pain so...*

[Dammit Kat! Stop talking like it’s not going to hurt!]

*I already told you Lily, asking you to do this is FAR more painful then the burning, and probably more painful then the actual tearing at my throat, I’m already past the hard part.*

[Yeah and I’m fucking really not!]

*I’m aware. I really don’t want you to feel pressured here.*

[Well I’m feeling pretty fucking pressured!]

*Is there anything I can do to reduce that?*

[... no...] Lily’s reply was so small, even mentally. It wasn’t a nice thing to acknowledge... but compared to the entirety situation it was honestly nothing. It hurt to say... but not as much as everything else. Lily knew there was nothing she could do, nothing Kat could do to make this decision any easier. Kat had already done all that she could... now Lily just had to decide. The problem was...

Lily really wasn’t sure she could. Regardless of it was the right choice, regardless of if it would change anything for Kat. Just the thought that Kat might flinch at her shadows, or feel even vague memories of the pain she’d have to inflict... it was like driving nails through her own heart. Why did both options have to hurt them both so much?