Radio audio, evening.

[firstsoldier]

[It's that guy again! He still sounds pleasant at least.]

I wish to make a suggestion that we find ways to make ourselves... visibly identifiable even when in monstrous forms, as members of the convoy and thus ideally not a marauding wild beast even if we are acting like one. Something beyond our often hidden sigils, that an unthinking creature is unlikely to imitate. What exactly, I am open to recommendations for. I suspect friend-or-foe ID chips might be beyond what this place is capable of.

[The rest sounds extremely reluctant.]

I don't have as much control of the ... thing ... I become as I would like, and though I am reasonably sure I can keep from doing serious intentional harm to allies, I can't guarantee my behavior might not match that of a feral creature and thus seem to be a viable target for hunting. Especially as it seems intent on establishing a ... pecking order, and aggressively.

... I suspect I'm not the only one who has such concerns. These changes are uncomfortably unpredictable.

Comments

[bufudine]

[Strange.

With Sephiroth's poise and cool, collected mannerisms, Serph did not expect that Sephiroth would reject the idea of eating monsters so strongly. If one must devour, it is only a function of the body's needs to survive. If one does not feed the body, then both mind and body deteriorates.

Perhaps his next words may sound familiar; when Serph had left the realm of dreams and returned to the land of the waking, he could still recall snatches of his conversation with Sephiroth in both Nirvanas.]

When a monstrous body requires a monstrous diet, what separates us from the monsters is how we choose to inflict the price of our ongoing survival.

[He keeps his gaze on Sephiroth, even as he begins to turn away.]

There is no shame in choosing to survive.

[firstsoldier]

[Hypocrisy is one of his strong suits. While he felt strongly that others should be judged by their actions and not by their species, willing to extend that mercy without hesitation once he was sure they weren't about to go berserk, for himself.. there was no such leniency. It preyed upon fears he'd thought he'd overcome years ago.

He couldn't pretend anymore, not when he had fangs and claws to go with the eyes that had always been strange. And he was so hungry, stubbornly sticking to a diet he could no longer make use of. The idea of eating things that were once people was revolting. And also terribly alluring. The rest of him knew what he had to eat; it needed to be meat, and it was best fresh.]

Isn't there?

[He knows his own words. That's a grace he can extend to Serph, so obviously still a man for all that he's changed. Rational, clearheaded, reasonable. He wasn't, anymore. Expressions are difficult on a creature with few facial muscles to speak of, but it seems to be an unwelcome topic.

Scaled, inhuman hands are studied with one eye, head tilted birdlike as long talons are flexed slowly.]

I am what I have been raised to destroy. I must look like one. I refuse to act like one.

[bufudine]

[Raised to destroy monsters? In a way, that would mean Sephiroth is becoming the enemy, in his mind.]

Denying sustenance will make you weak with hunger. You cannot control the monster when starving.

[People are free to do as they wish, but he is concerned about the damage Sephiroth could cause if he continues to refuse to devour. There have been other Drifters who didn't know their monster's diet and attacked others. He doesn't want an incident where there are lasting consequences.

Sephiroth had mentioned that his ability to maintain control may be hindered in the presence of blood. Serph raises his hand, the Water Crown glowing.]

Do I need to demonstrate?

[In a place like this, avoiding blood will be impossible. Best to make his point clear while he is available than someone else getting blindsided by a starving monster.]

[firstsoldier]

[Even if much else is a confusion of disparate instincts pulling in different directions, all of him knows a challenge when he hears it. It starts up an odd rattling noise, a muffled buzzing somewhere beneath dark fur and feathers as the chimera turns slowly on one taloned foot to face Serph again. Many people might recognize the warning of a rattlesnake, but people from the Junkyard?]

I'm as strong as I need to be.

[There are different kinds of strength than brute power, which he's always had more than his fill of. Sheer force of will has kept him from indulging in the desperate ravenous hunger of a monster that knows it's starving and doesn't want to die with a full stomach of food it simply can't process anymore.

Blood made it so much harder. His own, his target's, it didn't matter. He'd kept the shameful fraying of his own control carefully under wraps, and he didn't much want to test it now.

But backing down also wasn't an option, not when so blatantly confronted. It's a struggle alone not to adopt a more threatening and dominant stance, also the actions of a beast, but he can't quite suppress the agitated rattling sound.]

You may test the assumption of my weakness at your leisure.

[bufudine]

[While he doesn't recognise the sound of a rattlesnake's warning, what Serph does recognise is a reflex, an instinct, of the monster that Sephiroth doesn't have full control over.

It isn't usually Serph who goads others with barbed words, but with the possibility of his comrades' lives being put in danger by Sephiroth's denial of himself, Serph will open Sephiroth's eyes to what must be done whether he wants it or not.]

It is weakness to deny reality.

[The brand on Serph's face glows, lines spreading across his body as he speaks.]

Do you truly believe you can maintain control by avoiding blood in this land?

[Even without blood, it is evident to him that control is fraying.]

[firstsoldier]

[Once changed, changing back isn't easy, but he's working on it. Language is difficult through a throat and mouth not designed for it, and things like blood and violence were easier to handle when not wearing a full coat of feathers and fur. Those spreading icy blue lines, like so many activating circuits, were an implied threat, as were Serph's words.

There is a difference between knowing there's a potential problem and going out of his way to encounter it.]

.... Think what you wish.

[The war between monstrous impulse and human rationality is a losing battle, forced down to a constant low rattle and newly accompanied growl. And with every moment Serph doesn't back down, it gets worse.

When the dark creature moves a step forward, it isn't as yet predatory. There's more obnoxious instincts to deal with beyond hunger, and trying to force Serph back through size and presence towards the convoy seems like a rational decision and not the unsubtle display of bestial dominance it is. It's time this ended before someone did something he'd regret later.]

[bufudine]

[Varuna comes to the forefront, Serph's transformation completing with a bestial snarl. But the difference is that Serph allows Varuna's feral nature to come forth, a loose leash on his demon that he can tighten at any moment.

Though he is taller when cloaked in Varuna's flesh, Sephiroth is still larger. But Serph isn't afraid; he's dealt with plenty of larger demons. Instead he stands his ground in the face of intimidation, a rumbling growl and a seemingly impatient stomping of clawed feet goading the other Drifter into giving into monstrous impulse.

Come get him, Sephiroth.]

[firstsoldier]

[There is a moment where the vivid crest of purple and fuscia bristles, along with half the feathers down the chimera's back in a fluffy angry hedge, the rattle ending as the black creature lunges. Changed or not, Sephiroth is inhumanly fast and terrifyingly strong. But the claws aren't being brought around to slash, and long thick fangs don't snap to bite, this isn't about killing yet, this is about putting an upstart in their place. Catching Varuna is the goal, not mauling him, in an effort to use strength and leverage to force the slim pale figure back and down.

He didn't care about hierarchies and never had. The other species now part of him very much disagree with his lack of concern.]

[bufudine]

[Sephiroth is much faster than what his huge size suggests. Even with Serph's reflexes, there isn't enough time for him to fully escape the lunge. But in the split second he has, he can recognise that teeth aren't bared and and claws aren't curled for slashing, this is no fight to the death yet.

There is no doubt that Sephiroth is stronger than him; it's just physics. Even without any kind of training, the size and weight of his monstrous form is already an important factor in having to fight him. 30 more pounds is 30 more pounds needed to overcome that brute strength isn't always sufficient for. But a lunge can't be stopped.

Serph half turns so he isn't caught squarely by the lunge, but steps in towards the attack with a fist aimed at below the ribcage.]

[firstsoldier]

[In his time, on his planet, he is the strongest being to ever walk the earth. But that's with reason and intellect intact, here ... the very problem that he'd mentioned to start with was a severe inhibitor. It's hard to think through the haze of instinct pulling in multiple different directions, demanding their own ideas of how to deal with an unwanted rival.

Unity of purpose swiftly fractures, as the first attempt to get ahold of Serph fails and he's repaid with an armored fist driven into his belly. Though Sephiroth has kept his sheer power, he no longer has the durability he once had, and that hurts, enough to draw a gutteral sound half yelp and half snarl and brief flicker of fire out of the saurian conglomeration and an immediate retaliatory snap of teeth and a vicious backhand aimed at the smaller monster. But the followup is slower, the only immediate mark of conflicting impulses.

Slower yet as the effort to regain control of his own automatic reactions begins; he absolutely could turn faster, round on Serph with the same speed he'd lunged just moments before, but he doesn't.]