"Lyle?" Nia's tentacles wiped across Lyle's cheek, her inner voice conveying her concern.
"I'm fine, Nia." Suppressing the urge to vomit that rose to his throat, Lyle shook his head and pressed it against Nia's tentacles.
Watching a life ebb away in such a twisted, morbid form was an insult to any healer. He was still Arnold, the despicable man who regarded life as trivial.
"If Lyle doesn't like it, we can run away! Nia can make Lyle super fast!"
Watching the deep, black blood and flesh below him slowly solidify, Lyle took a deep breath.
"We have to learn, Nia, to become stronger, to have the power to rule over others."
Nia's restless tentacles stilled for a moment as she pressed tightly against Lyle's head, eager to hear his thoughts.
"Does it make you happy to rule over others?"
"I don't know, Nia, I don't know what it feels like to be in control because I've never done it. But we can start by imagining it."
