IT'S EASY TO FAKE A SMILE // capture

[trojan g.]

[align=center][div style="width: 60%;text-align: justify;font-size: 10pt;"]As soon as Dante spoke once more, Sweeney had already began to step forward, ears pinned to her head as a small growl of annoyance left her throat. "He'll tell us later Dante, you scaring a child isn't going to make things better for yourself." Gods he had already ostracized himself enough from the rest of the Pitt based on his actions and who he chose to associate himself with, could he be any more dense? Sweeney felt the ground beneath her shake and then she saw him, saw the tail flick towards her and she paused. He was dead, she was there. He was dead and Moth was broken because she hadn't been able to save the lion and his lover in time for them to continue living in Tanglewood, for him to lead. Tanglewood in and of itself had been a broken shattered mess that made Sweeney feel like she had to walk on eggshells in case she said or did something wrong, because she was a Pittian and she couldn't take them all on at the same time for saying something wrong in their broken state. Of course they'd gotten better but she had felt even more like an outsider when he had died.

Eyes locked with the ghost of the former Tanglewood leader, squinting as she thought for just a moment before she spoke again. "Of course it's you." She would mutter, before rocks jut out of the ground in an attempt to move Dante away from the child, a barrier of rock and stone that would shield the other from the creepy guy that had harmed him. She'd then move forward to get to the other side of Fraggle, fur on end as she finally looked away from Aurum and then down to the cub. "Come on, if you wanna ride my back I can fly you there? See if you like the sky, we'll make sure you're all taken care of." She wasn't going to let him die again, wasn't going to let him be scared. The thing she had wished she could say to Moth when things had gone down.

[Kold]

YOU CAN'T DEFY ME
OR JUSTIFY GREED!

Kold listened while her blood boiled even more, eyes narrowing at Dante's idea of mental manipulation. It made her even angrier. A deep breath was drawn, though she hardly tried to calm down. Dante needed a lesson. Even after Sweeny spoke her part, he thought it was okay to try and make the child a pittian.

While he was hopefully ensnared, white volts danced and lurched to Dante, hoping to give him a sharp, strong zap in the side. And then she stopped, electricity halted and spiraled around her head like a deranged halo.

Body still stiff with anger, she rolled her shoulders and four wings. "I need to leave before I do something unnecessary." she spoke, glancing over at Fraggle, unable to see the aura of a lion but seeing him as a child.

And so she started to leave, electric halo fizzling out, ignoring whatever else was happening.

// out unless stopped

— Reggan

[westley h.]

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Mentally manipulate a child into blind loyalty?  Westley seethed.  The leopard growled deep within his throat, claws unsheathing.  Rarely, did he feel so disgusted with another's morality.  It was simply wrong and the paleblood would move to stand between Dante and Fragglerock, only falling back as Sweeny's rocks rose up in the same defensive manner.

Aine was right.  A slaver's death was all someone like that would deserve.  While he appreciated Sweeny attempting to calm things down, it was clear Dante did not get the picture.  Not truly.

Narrowing his eyes, Westley would reach out with his mental abilities in an attempt to inflict a growing headache upon the hybrid.  He would give him a taste of what he would ask to fall upon others, even as other moves were made against him.

As Aine and Sweeny focused on Fragglerock, the leopard would nod to them and keep his gaze on Dante.  "In case you haven't heard," he intones, "slavery is outlawed here.  I think that should include taking someone's mind."

**morosis (n.) —-- westley hawkins / paleblood / penned by petrichor

[DANTE NORTHWEST.]

[glow=white,1,400]I'M LOSING MY MIND TODAY ! — ｡+ﾟ.[/glow]

Slavery. Everyone was speaking as if he suggested they make the prisoner a slave - though Dante wasn't opposed to it (he came here knowing that Yes Man encouraged it, after all), that wasn't what the hybrid meant. Of course he didn't realize that wiping a child's memory and brainwashing them into thinking they were a Pittian was slavery. Dante moved back as Sweeney manipulated the earth, trying to put a wedge between him and Fragglerock. The hybrid grit his teeth in a snarl now, though he didn't have any time to retort anything as Aine grabbed him with her own elementals, followed by a shock from Kold.

"It isn't slavery if the kid doesn't remember jack shit." Dante replied with a snarl through gritted teeth, the shock-wound on his side festering a bit. Fuck, that hurt. Dante shook his head as Westley's attack started to take its hold, though in this particular case, the hybrid wasn't aware of it being from mental voodoo shit - instead thinking it was some sort of withdrawal symptom. "Fucking hell. I ain't gonna hurt the kid." Anymore. "What's a little harm in scaring him?" What, was everyone pussies these days? It certainly seemed like it. They should all be grateful they didn't have to deal with the shit he did so many years ago.[glow=COLOR,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]

[rhosmari]

CAN YOU FEEL MY HEART? FORGIVE ME, FATHER.
A soft whistle came from the newcomer, his eyes shifting over the group that was getting extra fiesty. What the hell had he stumbled on? The scene had gotten extremely chaotic when that guy got his face all up in that kid's grill. Not to say he didn't find that a bit creepy himself. But the fact that everyone suddenly went to harm one of their own for a kid they didn't even know was interesting. "Wow...." He breathed mostly to himself as he turned his gaze to stare at the little lion cub. He was adorable. Kind of reminded himself when he was that tiny. Not anymore but this sure was a big old fuss. The guy had even said he wasn't gonna hurt him or let anyone else hurt him. But maybe they didn't trust him enough. Sad fate when citizens turned against citizens. Nothing went right then.

"Dysfunctional..." The rather imposing domestic spoke with a soft quiet tone. A hum lingering as he tilted his head up a bit. They all wanted the kid. He guessed he better stay out of it. Wasn't his business anyway given his new status here and he didn't want to make it as such either. Really he just wanted to rest a little bit.

[FRAGGLEROCK.]

God, there was still so much going on. Far too much for the young cub, who wanted nothing more than to break down into tears. In fact, he very nearly did when Dante got in his face, snarling about where home was. Fear gripped at Fraggle's entire being, causing him to stumble backwards and let out a soft hiss of pain – moving hurt a great deal with the wound in his side. The bleeding had slowed somewhat, but it still wasn't great, and he felt a good of relief as Aine and Sweeney stepped in to defend him. Although, Sweeney's words towards the spirit filled the boy with confusion. He had always been aware of Aurum's presence, but up until this point, no one had addressed the former Tanglewood leader directly. Did she know him? Could she tell Fraggle who he was? Many questions swirled about in the cub's head, but they were drowned out by panic, and an urge to get away from the situation. He chose to focus on Aine first, voice shaking as he responded, "The white temple? Herbs? That sounds... that sounds good. Yes, please. It hurts..." For some reason, the thought of herbs and healing brought even more comfort than merely at a base level. Almost as if they carried with them some sense of familiarity.

Sweeney's presence also continued to serve as a comfort, the young lion staring up at her with wide blue eyes as he processed what she had said. Before long, he was nodding his head, his words coming out in a bit of a ramble, "That... that sounds good too. I don't know if I can walk there on my own..." He really didn't think he could, considering how much his side hurt at the moment. For now, he simply ignored Dante's words, not wanting the hybrid to terrify him any further, especially when the other was receiving enough punishment from his fellow Pittians. Instead, he merely hobbled a bit closer to Sweeney, lifting up his front legs to signal that he was ready to climb up. As he did so, he muttered softly, "Thank you..." Although it came out in his own soft and trembling tone, it also seemed to be backed by Aurum, the still lingering spirit offering the vulpine another smile before he began to fade. There was no need for him to loom over them for now, since he knew that he would be taken care of by what good souls existed within The Pitt.

☆ — what of the meek, the mourning, and the merciful?

[trojan g.]

[align=center][div style="width: 60%;text-align: justify;font-size: 10pt;"]Although Sweeney didn't know some of the other members of the Pitt too well given her absence, but it seemed as though there were already others here that she knew that she would have a semi-decent relationship with at the very least. Satisfied that her initial use of power had gotten both the child and Dante separated, Sweeney then turned her attention to the other, listening to him as he spoke. A small frown formed on her maw as she listened to the words that Fragglerock spoke, and she would let out a small sigh. She didn't know how she was supposed to explain this to his group when they took him back there, if they even had the chance to do so.

Picking up the smaller male, Sweeney would carefully place him on her back, wings outstretched to make sure he was safe and secure before she looked over towards Aine, a small dip in her head signaling that she'd be going to the temple before she flew off and head in that direction.

//out unless stopped && permission to powerplay given by mediisi!

[westley h.]

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Westley's brows raised incredulously.  "You'd be taking away someone's freedom to choose where their loyalty lies." Could it be any more obvious? The leopard's tail lashed again. "So call it what it is."

**morosis (n.) —-- westley hawkins / paleblood / penned by petrichor

[DANTE NORTHWEST.]

[glow=white,1,400]I'M LOSING MY MIND TODAY ! — ｡+ﾟ.[/glow]

"But he wouldn't know that he had loyalty elsewhere if we got rid of those memories." Dante retorted back at Westley, briefly looking at the clouded leopard before he watched Sweeney take off with his capture, with his long tail flicking irritably. [glow=COLOR,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]