[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/fP0YVtw.png[/img]
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[color=f14a83]Location:[/color] Primary Artificer Laboratory
[color=f14a83]Grimoire:[/color] 
[color=f14a83]Skills:[/color] N/A
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Finley watched with fascination as Franklin flayed his own flesh. Interesting. What an unusual pair of people they had found themselves in a group with? If this had been earlier in their tenure among humans Finley, well, Finley would have followed something other than their nature. But here and now, there were more rules. The young woman, Annika, had yet to respond to the situation, and Finley watched her. 

Was she afraid? Was she sickened? Was this normal for her? They waited; they still technically needed blood from both her and Franklin. Flesh was all and well for certain parties, but this was not one such situation. Finley sat perfectly still, the stillness of a creature waiting for prey, except for the fingers that twined with the tendril of Dysphoria. 

To Dysphoria they sent warmth, assurances, and appreciation. There was a tinge of guilt because Finley had consumed the ‘blood’. It was a necessary thing to know if their magic would work with the strange material, but they had stepped into the risk. They would not again. Nervous Rohan was safe from Finley on that venture. No memories or power to borrow (so to speak) had come to Finley. The strange curse had tried to wrap around Finely’s heart, and that danger was not to be ignored. Oh no, Finley would not allow that to happen. They were as free as their kind could be. To yoke themselves to a curse as malignant as that would be suicidal. 


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[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/5dNnrjA.png[/img]
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[color=D8BFD8]Location:[/color] Room 12
[color=D8BFD8]Grimoire:[/color]
[color=D8BFD8]Skills:[/color] 
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Connie was somehow able to contain the recoil that started deep within her as Jake [i]licked[/i] her items. She trembled a little. Part of her knew she’d have to clean all of these items before touching them again. Connie did not have OCD. She did not like being touched overly much. She [i]hated[/i] body fluids. Thankfully, Jake had not licked her directly.

Clearing her throat a little, Connie said. [color=D8BFD8]”I’m glad you like them. If you’d like, you may keep that one.”[/color] She indicated the one Jake had licked. Connie wasn’t completely sure she could clean it and make herself forget that he had licked it. This was a better option. 

[color=D8BFD8]“That gives us some data to work with. Since I have never actively interacted with the Statue of Arydon is not included in what you sensed.”[/color] Connie lifted her notebook back up to her knee and started writing on a new page. She wrote down what Croan and Barty were discussing. Despite her apparent distraction with Jake, she had not ignored what the pair discussed.  

The part of her that had once turned a stone statue of a bird into a flesh thing wanted to reach out again and touch the statue. A bit of fear that was coiled in her gut steered her away from such actions. If she were to, and the statue only ate her magic instead of using it, this would be a waste. If she were unable to return the stone to flesh, if she failed... If she was wrong... No. Connie was not ready to try something that could be too costly; when she did that, she would be certain that it would work.