=Uh… Hey, but isn’t that kinda bad? I mean, I know the Wind Spirit created you guys and all, but like-=

  “No!”

  The wolf-dragon shook its head drastically, and gave me an indignant gre back.

  “Our Spirit must not have wanted to be betrayed! They must have wanted us to grow stronger in our adversity!”

  =Okay okay, sheesh, I get it! But um… Hear me out, okay? If you guys aren’t allowed to live outside of your nds… Have you maybe considered trade instead? I’m sure there must be stuff that can only be found inside of the Wind Spirit’s territory, right? So idunno, maybe if you traded with the humans or the elves, or maybe even some friendly Fire Spirit people, then you might be able to work something out, right? Right?=

  The wolf-dragon’s face buried beneath its fur seemed to scrunch up, and I could see its previously angry looking eyes scanning me over while it was thinking.

  “Trade… Yes, we hadn’t considered trade…”

  Ooooh! You know, I only really just threw the suggestion out there; I never thought that he’d consider it so seriously! I mean, I kinda thought that they would have tried that avenue already, considering that their people were supposedly dying and everything. Maybe they just never thought that it would work? I mean, most of the Wind Territory is supposed to be desert and everything, so it would make sense if they didn’t think anyone would like any of their sandy stuff.

  =Yeah! I’m sure there must be stuff like exotic pnts or rocks or gems or something that could-=

  “...But this path… It isn’t what the Wind Spirit wants.”

  =...Huh?=

  The wolf-dragon’s fur began to bristle like he was getting riled up, and he tilted his head back to howl out his next words.

  “The Wind Spirit said we must conquer, so we must conquer! I must do as the Wind Spirit bids!”

  …Ah, fuck. And here I was really thinking that this whole ‘talking things out’ charade was working. Don’t think it’s gonna be possible to salvage this with words anymore, is it? Mhmm, yup, this guy’s charging up his mouth zer again, so I guess I’m gonna have to get a lil physical. Let’s just close this guy’s mouth up real quick before I find out how destructive that thing can be! Tentacles, do your stuff~!

  His mouth cmped shut with the force of my tentacles once again, but unlike the st time he didn’t stop charging his ser, as if he had some kind of a pn to take the both of us out together or something. I tried giving him a few smacks with my tentacles to force him to give it up, but I guess he was really serious about it, because no matter what I did, he wouldn’t stop charging it up.

  What, is he crazy? Or stupid?! What in the-

  =Hang on, are you serious?! Why are you even doing this?!=

  The wolf-dragon tried his best to shake his head like he had earlier, making me bounce around and sm against him again. Honestly, this is kinda happening a bit too often today for my liking. At least now I can dig my roots into the ground and keep my bance a little bit better. But that mouth-ser is stiiiill being charged in this stupid guy’s mouth, so it’s kind of a bit of an issue. If this wolf-dragon dies, then I’m sure that the Wind people will never ever forgive me for it. Any hopes of peace talks will be completely out of the question then!

  I really don’t wanna have to kill off all of the Wind people to end this war.

  It’d feel like letting mom win if I did.

  …And well, you know… Maybe it’d make me a little bit sad or whatever too, idunno.

  =Hey, c’mon and keep talking to me here! Don’t make me have to do something that I’m gonna regret!=

  But the wolf-dragon still refused to listen to me! The beams of light that were overflowing through the gaps in his teeth were growing brighter and brighter, and I was starting to feel a weird amount of heat, like a warning of what’s about to come. Honestly, with how much power it seemed like was behind that ser he was cooking up, I wasn’t 100% sure that I would be okay in the end if that thing actually went off. It’s kinda starting to scare me thinking about how bad of damage I could possibly take!

  Should I let go now and run away…?

  Ahhh but there’s no guarantee that I can untangle myself from him fast enough right now!

  Why is this so hard?! I can’t think! I’m panicking! I’ve never panicked like this before! What do I doooo?!

  [I suggest you don’t get hit by that, child. Perhaps try talking to him just one more time? It’s clear that the Wind’s Avatar deeply cares for his people, so perhaps there’s a way to use that against him?]

  Y-you’re right, you’re right! But uh… It’s kind of really hard to think about stuff like that while someone you’re holding onto is trying to suicide bomb you to death! W-what do I say to him? I use his love of his people against him? What, do you want me to grab some of them up and threaten to use them as human shields or something?! Ahhh, but what if he’s still willing to tearfully sacrifice them if it means the big bad me will be out of the picture? Ugh, I definitely don’t wanna drag even more innocent people into this shit-show than I already have… How can I solve this without putting any more people at risk…?

  If I have to talk, then… Maybe bluffing is my only answer?

  =L-listen up, you stupid Avatar! If you kill yourself like this then there’s gonna be nobody left to stop me! I’ll have free access to kill everyone in the Wind Territory! There won’t be anything left once I get to it!!!=

  I guess my desperate spewing of tough words must have done something, because surprisingly enough I could see the wolf-dragon wavering. His lips started squirming like he wasn’t sure of himself anymore, and the light of the ser he’d been charging up started dimming down very slowly. Did… Did I stumble upon the right answer?

  Well damn, if my threats and bluffing are working then I guess I better keep it up!

  =Look at me! Look at how big and scary I am! Look at how much damage I was able to do to this town in such a small amount of time! Your Pack members weren’t able to do a single thing to stop me, so if this stupid suicide attempt of yours doesn’t work out how you want it to, then who’s gonna be left to stop me and save these people if you aren’t around anymore?!=

  The light in the wolf-dragon’s mouth all but went out as he listened to me, and I could see his eyes flickering around between me, his two nearby Pack members that were still struggling against their vine-y restraints while keeping their eyes pinned on me, and his people who were milling around, peeking out from behind various rubble, windows, and doorways. During our little ‘fight’, some of the people had even cried out for their Avatar, cheering him on, or begging for him to escape and survive; There’s no way he would have been able to miss it.

  Yup, seems I’ve got this guy hook, line, and sinker!

  I tilted my head, nodding towards the townsfolk since I didn’t have a free tentacle to use at the moment.

  =See what they’re doing? Your Pack members and your people, all of them can’t take their eyes off of you. I’m sure you know how important you are to them, just like I can tell how important they are to you. I mean, for them to stick around in such a dangerous situation, all so they can scream their support to you… That’s just gotta show how much they look up to you, yeah? If they didn’t believe in you, they would have ran off a long long time ago, right? Right?=

  The wolf-dragon’s eyes lingered on his people for a while, but eventually he looked back at me and gave me a wary nod. It’s good to see that he’s following along to my words, even if it’s clear from the look on his face that he doesn’t understand why I’m saying them! Don’t worry Mr Avatar, I’m getting to the main point soon. Heck, I’ll even do it right now!

  =Those two Pack Members behind me are the st ones alive now, right? If you’re gone, there’s gonna be no one strong enough left to protect your people anymore. It’s gonna take quite a bit of time for the Wind Spirit to gather enough energy to make your repcement, right? And then won't that repcement still be new and inexperienced? Well, even if you were to somehow kill me here, that’s no time at all for the Forest Spirit to make another monster as strong as me; With only those two Pack members left, there’s no way they’d be strong enough to stop it. Or hey, what’s to stop the Fire Spirit from deciding to turn on you guys while you’re weakened?=

  There was no way the wolf-dragon didn’t understand what I was saying now. The grave look in his eyes told me everything that his still mostly cmped-shut mouth couldn’t. It seems the nail had been pced firmly into the coffin! Honestly, I’m really amazed that I did such a good job at being convincing; I should really try this whole ‘talking stuff out’ thing more often! I wonder if eating mom gave me some kind of boost to my charisma or something? Or like maybe I gained her 'powers'?

  Ah, but the job’s not finished yet. Now that I’ve got the puppy right where I want him, it’s time for me to fix things like my mom couldn’t!

  I leaned in just a bit closer. I’m sure I must have looked like some kind of menacing money lender coming to collect or something.

  Or well, more like a big decrepit pnt monster, but you get the gist!

  =So, if you want to keep your people safe and not lose everything, then why don’t we act civilized and make a deal here? Just between you and me~!=

  _____

  AN: My patreon, for anyone interested~

  patreon.com/user?u=63286737