"... I don't wish to fight. My Lord only desires that filthy creature's life. Please don't impede my attempts to satisfy his will," a voice coming from Lone's lips requested. This voice was different from the two that had been controlling Lone during his rescue of Kyuubi at the Auction House, and it contained absolutely no hostility.

The Chieftain's eyes widened in surprise. "Your Lord? Who might this 'Lord' be? And why exactly does he wish for my kins' life? I should let you know that I won't let you take her, nor will allow your Lord to do so either." The Chieftain then mumbled something, and her scaly green skin turned a deep shade of silver.

Eolande was watching all of this as she hovered in the air a small distance away. 'The famed 'Steel Skin' skill, huh? That looks tough to crack. Also, what happened to Lone? That's clearly him, but he feels... different? No Beastman awakening I'm aware of triggers a change like that. How curious,' Eolande thought.

A thoughtful look had appeared on Lone's expression before he responded to the Chieftain's question. "My Lord is... everything. My Lord wishes for her life because she offended the Lady, both mentally and physically, hence triggering my appearance. Are you sure you won't hand her over? I detest conflict," the voice stated.

"In all honesty, I don't have the confidence to beat you without killing you, and that is the one thing I'm not allowed to do right now. Can't we come to a compromise of some sort? And if you don't mind me asking, if you're not that body's owner, then who are you?" the Chieftain asked while she slowly edged her way closer to Lone.

The purple aura surrounding Lone flickered for a moment. "A better question would be 'what am I?' I am Darkness, the embodiment of fear and gloom. Regardless, a compromise, you say? Possible. The Lord might be satisfied by such a thing. Speak your terms," Darkness ordered, much to the surprise of the Lemurians present and to Eolande.

"You truly wish to hear my suggestion?" the chieftain asked in surprise. 'He seemed so violent when I forced him here, but it is true that he was reactive in his attacks, not proactive.'

"The others will not be pleased, especially Void, but I feel like the Lord's order was wrong. While it must be completed, I can agree to a perversion of the rule. 'End her life'. That was all the Lord's will told me to do. Now, Lizard, what shall you do?" Darkness had said before he folded his arms behind his back. His tails gently swished about, ever on the alert for a sneak attack.

A thoughtful look had crossed the Lemurian's face before she took a second to look at the subject of this whole mess. "My name is Reytla, and I am no Lizard. We are Lemurians," Reytla stated before she refocused her gaze on a sturdy looking Lemurian standing next to the vendor Lemurian.

"Is miss klass vas tals vos," she said. Clearly, she had ordered something very horrific because most of the surrounding Lemurians quickly wore shocked and fearful faces.

After a short pause, the guard Reytla had ordered smashed his right hand against his scale covered chest in some form of salute before he shouted at two nearby Lemurians. Darkness watched all of this curiously. A few seconds later, the guards that had been yelled at, grabbed the vendor and held her down in a way that made it impossible for her to struggle.

The guard then readied his halberd and took a stance above the vendor. All of the Lemurians present turned their heads away as he swung down with gritted teeth and chopped the vendor's tail clean off which issued a cry from her. Red blood spurted from the new wound on her body, and her wailing grew louder and louder until she finally lost consciousness.

Darkness looked at this with interest as he waved Lone's tails around. "So, how exactly does this fulfil the Lord's will?" he asked.

The grief struck Reytla responded, "Losing one's tail is equal to losing one's life for us Lemurians." Upon seeing the inquisitive nature of Darkness' eyes, she continued, "No mate shall ever accept her, not even out of pity. Without a mate, we cannot create new kin and in kind, continue the cycle. Her life has now ended prematurely due to this. She can longer serve her purpose to the tribe. Now she is a 'Tailless'. Most of our kind will treat her as if she were dead. Her life within the tribe has now ended," Reytla ended with a cry.

Darkness looked at Reytla with certain amounts of interest being displayed on Lone's facial features before he responded, "Are you sure such a life is better than me simply killing her? It is your choice, of course, but I wouldn't wish to live such a life if the tribe is as important as you say it is."

Reytla was silent for a moment. "Maybe you're right," she said as her silver scales returned to the dark green that they naturally should be. "Too many of our kind have died due to petty things such as this, so if her life ending with the tribe can spare her life from you, or your life from me, then I am willing to shoulder the responsibility of that over having to bury another of my kind."

A pensive look quickly washed over Reytla's face before she continued with a sharp expression, "Now, 'Darkness', does that satisfy your Lord's demands? I do not wish to engage in combat with you any further since neither of us would come out unharmed in such a fight."

The purple glow surrounding Lone slowly receded. "Of course, I am a being of my word. Her life has been destroyed, one way or another, so I shall take my leave. Please," Darkness said before his gaze focused on the Tylwyth Teg flying above them, "look after my Lord's body until he regains consciousness. He is weak to the awakenings of his species."

Eolande merely nodded in response. 'That was very interesting. The least I can do is look after my potential apprentice until he wakes up and can tell me what on Altros that was about. Darkness, huh?' A smile crept onto Eolande's face as she gently floated down to the ground and caught Lone's now limp body with a simple gravity magic skill.

She turned to Reytla and spoke a few simple words, "Thank you for this. I may have to reevaluate my opinion of you, Lemurian Chieftain. Even if you didn't have to use my plan, it ended better than it might have done had you chosen to fight." And with that, she disappeared, presumably by altering nature.

Reytla stood there in silence for a few minutes before a sad look passed through her eyes. "Was this really the correct decision? Was not making an enemy of that Foxkin... the right thing to do?" she mumbled while she stared at the blood of her kin that soaked the nearby grass.

It had been a life changing day for the Chieftain, of that, she was certain.