"Yeah well... There's a difference between that and how living people die. When a machine dies its battery dies, but you can replace it and its good as new. If a person's heart dies then you can't replace that. The heart is like our battery and you only get one, thats the difference, see?" Any more complicated than that and it would probably fly over Amuné's head entirely. Come to think of it why was he even trying to explain such a concept to a child in the first place? With an exasperated smile he moved as if to begin dismantling Cecil only to be stopped by Amuné's sharp demands of washing his hands. Letting out a laugh Norman conceded with a nod and found himself a sink, washing up before returning and showing off his now cleaned hands. "There we are nurse, ready to operate!" 


They would need a handful of materials to properly repair Cecil, most of which was likely in the shop though some would need to be fetched from Mutebo's stores. Norman had scarcely finished the list before Amuné was out the door and heading goodness knows where, leaving several perplexed faces staring after her. Shaking his head he turned to one of the nearest engineers and sent them after her, assuming Amuné wouldn't even know where to begin looking for any of what he'd asked for. Once the aide was gone Norman got to work, meticulously dismantling the pieces he'd have to work on to get a closer look. Frayed wires aplenty which would need to be cut and then new wire would need to be soldered on and bound to retain the energy flow. Wires aside the internal integrity of Cecil was intact and the majority of the work would be cosmetic, repairing damaged shell and body structures to make him look whole again. Easy if not tedious, especially if they wanted to repaint and restore Cecil to pre-damage conditions.

Amuné's return had been awfully quick given all they needed to retrieve and it appeared he had the local engineer to thank for that. The pride in which the girl took for such a simple task was adorable and Norman couldn't help but smile as she presented him with the small cast of iron. "Well done Amuné, we should be okay to begin now. There's going to be a lot of heat and some molten metal, so if you're going to watch stand back. This shouldn't take me very long at all." Having already fetched himself a pair of smith's gloves and a face guard Norman went ahead and brought the iron to a small furnace in the shop, igniting the coals and setting the iron in a melting pot to reduce it to molten ore. Once that was prepared and melting away he returned to Cecil and lost the protection as wiring would be much more delicate work. First he used a pair of wire cutters to snip away at the damaged lengths and then he found a soldering gun, making sure to measure out the wire down to the millimeter for the repairs. Since the parts of Cecil being repaired did not have a shell it meant he could operate and put everything back all at once, only moving it wasn't ideal until there was something to hold it all in place.

[hr]

"I was proving a point Kensen, don't you be giving me any lip now," Gage warned, spitting aside and turning briefly to watch Ethan and Nymira blast the serpent again to little effect, "They shouldn't need help killing this thing even if its a bit bigger than we thought. Done it before without you fancy spellcasters helping us, it should be a joke for them. Fact they ain't killed it yet doesn't exactly build confidence." How he hated Kensen sometimes, the little brat had been in their group perhaps less than any of Taliya's regular men and yet he got her ear, even over a long time member like Gage himself. Kid strutted around like a damned bird showing himself off and giving orders and he'd tear the Dimuran down a peg if he thought he wouldn't have Taliya on his ass in a heartbeat. Sighing to himself he reached into his coat pocket and took out a canteen, taking the cap off and chasing down his boredom with a healthy helping of the whiskey within. They were going to be here for a while weren't they?

"Stop just pushing it away! I can't hit it if you do that!" After watching the Rökorm be knocked off course by Ethan's wind yet again Nymira's patience was wearing thin. Wind did little more than to disrupt the beast and they needed her fire to actually harm it. Trying to make up for the mistake she took aim and unleashed another quick fireball only to curse when it missed and ignited a fallen tree instead. 

"I can't do anything else, I'm just trying to help!" Ethan shouted back defensively, watching as the Rökorm easily evaded Nymira's magic. How in the world were they supposed to hit something so quick? Even if they got close it just turned to smoke, so what gives? Again it turned on them and its fins began to vibrate violently, a telltale sign by now for them to take cover. Both dove to the side as another compressed blast of air ripped through the area, throwing limbs and stone around violently in its wake. "Have any ideas?! Unless we just hit it til it dies!"

There was a solution to their problem and it was her magic. Ethan could only use gusts and that was obviously ineffective, they needed her flame to even injure it. Yet any time she attempted to strike it down it either dodged her attack of snuffed it out, they somehow had to catch it off guard. An idea finally occurred to her then and there may just be a way for Ethan to be of some use here. This was all dependent on just how much energy he had left and for how long he could maintain a spell but if it worked she had a good chance of causing some serious damage to the beast.

"Ethan! Distract it for me, use your speed magic!" Nymira demanded as she began to gather her magic into her palm. Swirling flames formed an orb and began to compress, the heat of the flame rising and taking on a white glow as before. "Don't let it near me!" 

"R-Right! You got it!" So he was playing bait? Ethan didn't love the idea but he couldn't say it didn't sound like it might work. Smiling nervously he knocked his heels into the dirt and channeled his magic to his legs, making his body lighter and hovering just a few centimeters off the ground. To get the Rökorm's attention he picked up a rock and simply threw it at the beast's head, turning and wagging his rear at it tauntingly. With an infuriated howl the beast began to chase him down then, its body swelling to unleash another blast of air. With his speed magic Ethan was easily able to dodge the attack and dashed to the side, making sure the Rökorm was still giving chase before cutting back and teasing it again. If Nymira had something in mind he hoped it worked, otherwise this creature was going to kill him for this!

Ethan was quite effective as bait as it turned out but all of it would mean nothing if her attack didn't work. Eyes trained on the Rökorm she followed it as it darted about, her magic swelling until she finally cut off the flow. In her hand was a white ember whose heat alone could turn a many things into ash, potent enough to melt metal on the touch. Waiting for the perfect moment she watched as Ethan darted to the right and the Rökorm had to stop temporarily to pivot itself, and there was her chance. Cocking back her arm like she was to throw a ball Nymira launched her attack and guided it to the beast, letting it explode as it made contact and engulfing the creature in a white flame. There was a monstrous howl and before the flames had even faded there was visible purple blood seeping into the ground, the spell had clearly done some damage.

The Rökorm had been utterly blindsided by the spell and had sustained quite a bit of damage as a result. Not fatal much to the chagrin of those present but certainly crippled. In addition to having its side severely burned one of the fins on the back had been nearly torn off entirely, a bloody, quivering stub left in its wake.  The damage had been done and the Rökorm went as far as to settle on the ground even, its body writhing furiously as it let out repeated screeches. There was hope that the beast might be permanently crippled, though any hopes were dashed when it slowly rose back into the air. Whats more it began to emit another howl now only this one was deeper and more guttural, wholly unlike anything it had made before. Just what was it doing?

"Ey kids... You've got company!" Gage shouted as he gestured to the wood line. Seemingly out of nowhere a pack of Vazra had burst forth from the woodwork, racing towards where the Rökorm was hovering. Their target? The two young Magi currently opposing it as nearly two dozen blood red eyes were trained on them, a chorus of infuriated howls signaling their approach. Readying his weapon Gage looked to Kensen once and slapped the Dimuran's arm before taking aim and firing his weapon. The link cut off two of the Vazra and caused them to trip and stumble. "Let the brats handle the snake while we get the mutts. Get yer ass in gear kid!"