A-Myst the Forest

[Clownpiece]

Clownpiece glared up at Dane from where she’d hit the ground, the glass-like form of the beast she now knew as Afrátos cowering behind her. Or at least, as much as something twice her size could. The words the swordsman spoke were the truth. She hadn’t objected to his threat when she boasted that she could train Afrátos, but nevertheless, it left a sour taste in her mouth.

“Come on Dane,” a small hint of anger seeped into the hell fairy’s voice, almost completely masked by her pleas. “It takes a lot more than an hour to train something! You should know this!” She conveniently ignored the fact that the ceramic beast had been displaying a surprisingly level of intelligence. He knew how to speak, he (mostly) understood what they were saying, and it seemed like he had some sort of grasp on stranger concepts, like deception and such. Still, she was the embodiment of lunacy in mortals, she knew what the hearts and minds of people were like, how stubborn and difficult to change they could be, especially those struggling under the grip of madness. Surely a debatably intelligent beast such as Afrátos couldn’t be too different from humans.

“Yes-yes! Listen to master!” Afrátos agreed quite suddenly, voice filled with terror. Dane stared down at her, eyes flicking about minutely as he seemed to study her.

“...Fine,” he conceded after a moment. “But if it’s not ready by the next time we’re in a city, village, or whatever, it’s becoming a set of fine china.”

“Don’t worry!” the blonde child found herself assuring for a second time, hopping right back to her feet. “I’ll beat it into him one way or another!”

Probably not literally, of course. Afrátos was far to fragile for such a thing. Still, she had a few tricks hidden in the light of her torch she could put to use. The hell child decided to let Dane deal with the diplomatic side of things, put his words to use against the two people they’d met. She had to discipline her pet, after all. The bright purple light of her torch flared up as she turned on her heel. She knelt down, bringing herself to eye-level with the ceramic beast, a faux-grin plastered on her face.

“Now, promise me you won’t attack people without my say so~” she sang, and the light of lunacy burst forth from her torch. Afrátos stared at her with his one good eye, and though he never looked directly towards the light, she could tell it was still affecting him. Anxiety. The beast shrank back on himself even more, its last remaining ear folding backwards. “Don’t worry~” she placed her free hand against his glass carapace, soothing him even as she induced that anxiety in him. The spell she was casting slowly began to alter, and she began to let up on the panic and fear, replacing it with a foolhardy confidence. “As long as you listen to me, and only attack who I say, you’ll be just fine.” Her voice was mellow and kind.

Association was the name of this game. Sure, the hearts and minds of mortals were stubborn and inflexible, but they were still malleable to a degree, and as questionable as it was, trauma changed people on a dime. Dane had no doubt already traumatized the poor beast, he wouldn’t want to get on the swordsman’s bad side again. Now, if he associated that with panic and terror, and if Clownpiece was able to alleviate that, then he’d associate her, and her words (and hopefully commands), with positive feelings. Basic training, bad things happen after unwanted behaviors, good things happen after wanted ones. Though she had a nice little advantage; she could induce those feelings. Foolhardy confidence, panicked dread, mania and depression. A little bit of madness could go a long way....

“Alright?” the young lampad grinned innocently at her pet, still petting his ceramic head with her free hand, still consoling him. “Listen to me and I can keep you safe from Dane, and anyone else who would hurt you.”