[color=96C8A2][h3]𝓠𝓾𝓪𝓻𝓮𝓵[/h3][/color]
[@DracoLunaris] [@Lunarlors34][@Lucius Cypher][@Spriggs27]

The battle of attrition couldn't be said to be going well.

Despite giving it his all, Quarel simply lacked the mass and the strength to perform such a heroic act as forced the jaws of the toad open.  Most animals, having sensed that they'd taken a critical wound, would have abandoned the fight and fled to avoid further damage, but this oversized amphibian appeared to stupid to realize how much blood it was losing through the holes in its mouth.  Of course, Quarel hadn't hedged his bets on being able to overpower the brute, but rather on the initiative of his allies to come and help him.  When adrenaline made every second feel like a minute, though, the lack of aid stung even more.

In the moments that followed, something strange happened.  The toad's tongue, still tugging away at him in an effort to drag the strigiforme down the monster's gullet, began to loosen.  An odd pressure surrounded Quarel, but given the pressure of toad jaws already bearing down upon him, he failed to notice.  The first change he really became aware of was a sudden flinch throughout the toad's entire body, followed by a shifting of its weight.  It could mean only one thing: [i]someone's attacking[/i].  Quarel gave a grim, angry smile.  [i]About time![/i]  More blows shook the creature's body, until the duress was too much for it to keep hold of its would-be prey.  As spitefully as it could the toad hawked up the owl, and spat him in a spray of blood and saliva into the outstretched arms of Yuji.  Quarel gasped in shock as he landed, taking in the oh-so-fresh, wonderful air through his real mouth.  After a moment he stumbled back out of her grasp, and seeing the toad in trouble, he was spurred by his rage to help finish it off.  After just one step, however, he collapsed, his whole body sore.  “Nuuugh.”

He lay there with his mind still rearing to go, and his body pretty much unable to move.  At about the same time, two things occurred to him: that he'd have to thank Yuji later, and that his knives were still embedded in the toad's mouth.  On one hand it wouldn't be a problem if the adventurers killed the monster, but if it just left, he'd be down his essential, one-of-a-kind weapons.  The thought filled him with fear.  They were the only nice thing he had, and given their alloy properties, the most promise he had for improvement in the future.  He had to get them.

“Gaaaaah!”  With a herculean effort, Quarel pushed himself to his feet.  A quick inspection confirmed that body the toad's arms had been severed, but they were hardly the sum total of such a creature's mobility.  Any second now it could turn and leap away into the water, never to be seen again.  He glanced at Yuji, and in an apologetic tone told her, “Gotta get my knives.”  Quarel steeled himself to run around the toad before jumping onto its side.  Another novice had begun his own attack at the same time, leading the strigiforme to believe that killing it before it escaped would be possible, but nevertheless he clung tight to the monster's warty hide and started to climb toward its head.  Perhaps he could claws its eyes out on the way.