He was striding forward, but he didn't want to. His fists were clenched, but it wasn't of his own volition. The opening of the cave was nearing, light carving a home in the space behind their bandages, but as much as Eldrazi wasn't fighting the boy, each step closer to Tachir' only made the worry grow tighter.

"Gav? You sure about this?"

Instead of an answer, their jaw was grinding again, and the world constricted, pulling and dragging Eldrazi back as a numbness settled over their bones. It was like stepping away from a window, and the scene around him pulled back, far smaller than usual until he was surrounded by a red fog, back in the boy's mind, unable to feel a thing. But, as much as he reached for the bond, feeling its warmth to give it a tug, Gavin was holding onto it far too tight.

Eldrazi winced, and he reached a hand out, grasping at nothing but air. Gav?

A sharp sigh left their lungs, and their vision tipped downward as Gavin drew to a halt, staring at the floor.

"I'm not letting you stop me."

The red faded down to an apathetic grey, tainted with the light lavender of concern. Gavin's fingers curled and uncurled, and he seemed to choose his next words carefully. "I have to do this Eldrazi. This isn't about Talus... or maybe it is. I don't know." He swept a hand through their blond bangs. "But if I let Tachir' keep chasing us, she'll find us again. I don't—" His voice broke, and Eldrazi felt the floor beneath him shake as the boy trembled. "I can't have that happen again. That's why I need to do this, so no one else gets hurt because of me."

But we're not in any shape t' fight! Ya can't even see!

"I'm not planning on seeing."

The world fell dark as Gavin closed their eye, but seconds after, it was followed by a new scene, or rather a sensation. It hit Eldrazi as both a scent, and a flavour, one that lit up their surroundings in pillars of briney, purple minerals occasionally broken up by warm patches of dusty-flavoured reds, shaped like shrews or other creatures too small for Eldrazi to care to notice. Instead, his attention fell on the far larger stretch of warmth walking on what tasted like the outside of the cave, given how close it was to the salty, yet soapy taste of the Black Sea, and Gavin opened their eye to find Weiss, not too far ahead.

"Perfect."

Eldrazi had little time to ask Gavin what he meant before they were walking up to the Eunsi tucking his wings to once again fit beneath his matching black coat.

"Weiss," he began, making them tap the side of his shoulder, about as high as they could reach.

Perking up, the apothecary turned, silver eyes scanning them with concern. "Yes? Did you need something before I go?"

And then Gavin was making them shrink in on themselves, tail wrapping around their ankles, face wincing in a way that only half-matched his emotions. "I'm sorry. I hate to have to bother you, especially after you've given us so much already."

Weiss' face fell, his hands back to being clasped in front of him. "It's quite all right, really. You... suffered a lot more than I did. All I did was bandage you up."

"But we wouldn't have survived without you. You went out of your way to help us, and I want to thank you for that, first off," Gavin began, and Eldrazi could tell that it was genuine.

"Don't. It's the least I could do." He waved it off, though it seemed to pain him as his already stiff posture worsened. "So, what do you need?"

"I need some kind of tracking magik to find Tachir'. Will the Goddess let you see that much?"

Weiss' brows raised, although his eyes didn't follow, a deadened expression on his face as he slowly nodded up and down. "You mean the very thing Selatan just denied you."

Eldrazi felt them take a step back, Gavin thrown out of the body posture he'd set so perfectly in shock. "What?"

"Why do you think I haven't fully left yet?" Weiss asked, his arms crossing and winged ears twitching. "Of course, I needed to grab my bag, but I overheard your conversation. He told you no, for quite a good reason, I might add."

Gavin's eye narrowed. "It's for their own good. Can you do it or not?"

Weiss went to argue, then paused, holding up a taloned finger to ask for a moment. His eyes closed as if in prayer, and when he opened them again, they were tainted by a light blue glow. "Strangely enough, she'll lend me her Will for that."

A soft smile stretched across their face. "So you'll do it then?"

"Absolutely not. If anything, that's more of a reason to deny you."

"What?" Gavin blurted. "Why not?"

"Because if it hasn't been made quite clear already, the Goddess' intent is to kill you!"

Weiss was glaring at them now, but it fell apart as he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Doesn't it all seem so convenient, Gavin? How my magik worked perfectly in the tavern, finding the Relic, up until a situation where we could easily be killed? What about Selatan? Based on how he explained his magik to me, there was no reason the Goddess should've let him cut through the man's armour preemptively when that isn't possible in the first place, and you lost that protection. And now, when you can hardly see, she wants me to help you find the man so he can finish what he started?"

He shook his head, continuing. "No. I know the Goddess doesn't approve of heathens, but for some reason, she wants you dead far more than the others. I don't know what you've done specifically to anger her, but you should stay on guard." His hands reached for his mask, and he went to put it on, taking a deep breath of the herbs nestled inside. "I don't want you to be hurt. Any of you. So whether I can do it or not isn't the issue. I won't be sending a child to their deathbed."

Gavin bit their lip, gaze flicking to the satchel on his belt. "Fine." He dove a hand in there, digging about until their fingers met with the cold touch of a few buinn. They were torn out, Gavin splaying them out for Weiss to plainly see. "It's because you don't do anything for free, right? Well now I'm paying you." He nudged them forward. "Where is Tachir'?"

Weiss stared at the coins, then back up at Gavin. "Hm. Someone's a bit eager to switch tactics to get whatever they want." His head tipped. "I wonder how many other people you've manipulated so freely."

Eldrazi watched the boy's fingers tense over the gold, their jaw back to clenching as Weiss turned on his heel, heading up the cliffside and off to Uldyŋ knew where. "The answer still remains a no. You should listen to the others and rest before you end up like your friend." He wasn't that far away now, but Eldrazi could barely hear his voice as he neared the top, almost out of sight. "I wish you well, truly."

And then he was gone.

A low grumble started in the back of Gavin's throat, and with a sharp, wordless yell, he flung the coins off into the black waves lapping at their boots. They hit the water with a splash, only skipping once before the sea hungrily consumed them and they faded beneath dark waters. But that only left the boy's hands empty, nothing to do as they fell weakly to their side.

"What am I supposed to do, 'Drazi?"

His shoulders dropped, and Eldrazi felt warmth lap at his consciousness, loosening the bond enough to allow him to climb forward, to reach through that window until he was back in the real world once more. Then he was filling Gavin's shoes, his soul, everything, standing on a beach of ebony sand and staring out into an endless, angry sea. It was an empty feeling, only broken up by throbbing bouts of pain dashed along their cheek. Around them, cold wind whipped about, reminding them of the ever-approaching Elder's Season as it hit them in the face with black flecks of Dust. "What do we even do?"

"We could just..." Eldrazi stopped as a sense of wrongness seeped into their bones, bringing him into a standstill. They could what? Listen to the others? Go back into the cave and leave once they were ready? But that was the logical option, and something told him there was no fun in that. After all, this was his life too, and what? Was he meant to waste it sitting about? He was Eldrazi, the Undying Serpent. He didn't waste time.

Time wasted him.

An itch burst to life within him. It started as a small twitch, but it grew the longer Eldrazi stood there, gaining speed and ferocity with each passing second. The very thought of waiting made their fingers jump, needing to do something, and if that something was to take down Tachir', who was he to argue? It certainly would make the day exciting.

"What is wrong with you?"

He blinked. Why had he thought that, actually? A sense of dread shot through him, settling in their stomach, and Eldrazi shook their head, tossing hair in their face as he tried to rid himself of the idea. Because it was terrible, as much as something in him craved it. He couldn't do that. That would put Gavin in danger. He could easily die, and that would be that.

Or Tachir' could find them again, when she wasn't beaten down. When she had healed and strengthened and had time to prepare. Then Gavin would die anyway.

And he couldn't lose Gavin.

Fangs pricked into their lips as he mulled it over. Something about the way the first idea continued to allure him made his nerves spike, but Eldrazi shoved it away. Nothing was wrong with him; that was simply how he was, but it wasn't helpful right now. In fact, he hadn't felt helpful since he'd released his hold on Gavin's Will.

That, or maybe stepping back was the best thing he could do.

"I don't know Gav. What do you wanna do?"

Eldrazi felt their tongue grow numb before it lifted freely of Gavin's own accord. "You already know the answer to that."

"I s'pose I do." He shrugged. "And maybe it's for the better. Take 'er out now before she can come after the others. It's noble in a sense, but..." A realisation struck him, and he paused mid-step. "Cynwrig's still your brother."

A shudder hit him, fast and harrowing. "I know."

Eldrazi winced. "And you still want to do this?"

Gavin took a deep breath, using it to still their frantic heart. "I've been doing a lot of thinking and... I don't think anyone deserves to live locked up in their own mind. I— I don't think Cynwrig is really living in there. At least, not happily. Maybe..."

His words tapered off, and Eldrazi found himself reaching behind their back to grab for Gavin's bow, their thumb stroking the smoothly carved wood. "Maybe it would be better to do this for him. When I finally had the Relics, I wanted to wish for Tachir's death, but the more I think about it, they're connected. Wouldn't that kill him too?"

Eldrazi only looked at the ground. He didn't have an answer for that.

"And what about Weiss? If the Goddess truly hates me and she wants me dead, why would she ever lend me her power to grant me a wish?" Gavin dug their hand into the pouch once more, pulling out the glittering sword hilt. The magik in it flared, burning at their flesh, but he continued to stare at the flecks of purple gems embossed in its centre, almost in the shape of bird with how pointed the one chip was, with more at the sides and ends to form the outline of wings and a feathery tail. "All it would be is a sword."

"So what if I kill Tachir'? All she's ever done is tear through village after village to find me, and now the others are at risk. If... if I take down just one person, that all stops." The sensation of tears returned, and thankfully Gavin tipped forward so they ran mainly into the bandages and not down into their nasal passage once more. "Cynwrig will reincarnate, and... he'll be happier for it, and we live longer than most people, so maybe I'll find him again as a child. Or..."

A sob cut him off, only paining Eldrazi further.

"But you don't 'ave to."

"But I should." He wiped at their face with a sleeve, and that sense of determination, no matter how reluctant it was, returned. "So I want to find her. Whatever it takes."

Eldrazi closed their eye, pointed ears dropping as he took it all in.

"All right."