[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/5r7OTIh.png[/img]
[b][color=Aquamarine]wordcount:[/color][/b] 1,187(+2) (-3)
[b][color=Aquamarine]Midna: level 5[/color][/b] EXP: [color=Aquamarine]/////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color]//// (46/50)
[b][color=Aquamarine]Location:[/color][/b]  Sandswept Sky -  Al Mamoon Northeast - Rocket Inc.
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Midna bit back her building anger/frustration  with the Thieves for now and, as the battle rolled on in front of them, tried to give them an equally calm rebuttal [color=Aquamarine]”Except it does change people. Not directly, yes, but given time, time that they’ve all had, the required legality will influence people’s personalities”[/color]

She’d been thinking this over since their previous battle, and now she tried to wrangle the ideas that had been rattling around in her head and deliver them as an argument [color=Aquamarine]”I don't know what kind of world you come from, but from what I know, most people aren't killers by nature. Even those that do kill they have limits on what warrants death and what kind of lives they are willing to take. But here, touched by Galeem’s influence? Any fight you take, it ends in the death of you or your foe, no matter who or what they are. If you don't fight, then sure, you're probably the same. But if you step up and fight for what you believe in, take a stand against tyranny and evil, then you end up with blood on your hands where before you might have just left bruises. That changes a person and, because they are blind to Galeem’s influence, they have to rationalize that killer nature as part of themselves. That changes them from who they were, and who they are when they are free again.”[/color] she said, before taking her hypothesis and adding some actual evidence to back it up.

[color=Aquamarine]”Case and point, there was a little girl as part of the previous group. When she was free, she was horrified by the very idea of using her magic to attack people instead of monsters, let alone killing them. Because that wasn't part of her nature before, it was something Galeem forced her to do for daring to fight for what she thought was right.”[/color] she concluded, hoping that she might be able to foster an understanding as to why these people deserved to be given a second chance.

As she wrapped up, so too was the battle between the two woman coming to a close [color=Aquamarine]”and don’t think I don't see you dancing around telling exactly me what you actually did with that lady”[/color] she added, but she didn't have time to go into that, instead tapping her chest to draw out a heart and moving herself closer to get into a better position to dart in at the last moment and free the loser, before, if she was contested, turning her massively amped up dragon power on the winner and then freeing them too. 

Unfortunately, like Amara, Midna herself also fell for Ciella’s deception, focusing on the sneaking woman and missing the spell forming at the siren’s feet. Behind her, Fox wasn't fooled. Had he informed her instead of/as well as Joker, or moved to act himself, Amara might have lived, but it was not to be. 

There was no life on the line as far as the Thieves were concerned after all.

So the trap was sprung, and in a torrent of arrow fire the mislead hero fell. Minda was blindsided by this conclusion, left holding the friend-heart as Amara’s spirit fell to the ground. After understanding struck Minda hurled the heart away in anger, and then felt like an arrow had pierced her own heart when she recognized that, had she intervened or been more observant, this could have been avoided. 

Amara was dead because of her.

She’d had people die because of her failings before of course, and she had no need of Galeem to make her a killer, so the moment wasn't soul shattering by any means. The siren was just one more stranger’s corpse laid atop the pile of lessons learned (which consisted mostly of mountain of dead Hylians resting on a mound of her own subjects). But it still killed her just a little every time it happened. To add insult, or rather horror, to injury, Ciella grasped the fallen hero’s spirit and pressed it to her chest, absorbing her power like the Seekers did.

[color=Aquamarine]”Who the fuck taught her to do that”[/color] She whispered under her breath. Because that was bad. Really bad. Long-term it had the possibility of some dreadful consequences, but short term it was also bad. She was already incredibly strong after all, and now she had even more power. How many might die if they had to fight her to stop her from killing someone they freed.

Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, as they returned to the conference chamber (Midna noting with quet disdain that the Thieves had shown no reaction other than quiet indifference to Amara’s death as they regrouped), it appeared that wouldn’t be an issue just yet.

Back in the room they immediately linked up with Mao, who gave them a report on how things had turned back in the room.

[color=Aquamarine]”So we absolutely failed to take anyone alive. Brilliant. Just brilliant”[/color] She replied with a sigh as her dragon energy, mostly unused, slowly dissipated. And they’d done so well the first time round, Minda cursed to herself. A brief mental rundown of who was with her gave her a rationale as to why. Indifferent thieves (who poisoned her current opinion of Jessy by association), evil overlords and the still Galeeming Bruam (who seemed like a good person to her and, she mentally noted, she should definitely actively try to find a way to free him as soon as possible). 

Maybe the still absent Sectonia was the only one she could rely on to follow through, which she had mixed feelings about. When it came down to it there were not a lot of people in this crew who’s moral character she could truly trust, here or in the larger extended group. She’d need to mend some bridges and do some internal faction building if she wanted to try and keep them on the right path.

For the moment however, informed by this assessment and by the encounter in the previous room, Minda resolved to take things into her own hands far more heavily when they assailed the basement.

Still, while they couldn't be trusted to take people alive, at least they could be relied upon not to get themselves killed. Though considering the state of Laharl he’d had quite the close call. [color=Aquamarine]”Can your priests help Laharl now that the coast is-”[/color] she began to ask Ciella before stopping, sighing and remembering that the runt was still Galeeming.

She clapped her hands twice to get some attention and then announced [color=Aquamarine]”Demonstration time then. Mao, Jessy, this is how you clear the light”[/color] before tapping her chest and drawing out another friend-heart. Then she drifted down to kneel beside the wounded Laharl and administered the restorative fragment.

[color=Aquamarine]”Welcome into the shade Laharl, if you have any questions, just ask”[/color] she said, getting up herself as he went through his flashback and then offering the overlord a hand to help get up once he put things together, uselessly hoping that being free would somehow do something about his attitude problem.