Cy had a pretty puzzled expression on his face. The newly charged mana core was leaking energy. It wasn't hard to tell, the effect was visual. It was similar to smoke, but it had a pinkish tint and no odor. It swirled above the core and the panel. "The hell did they charge this with? Did they crack the core?" He was inspecting the core as best as he could without touching it.

Sliding the door to the Tower open, Carley stepped inside. Her face and legs greasy and dirty, it was obvious she had been working for quite some time alongside Cy. Casually tossing a metallic thingamabobber between her hands that glowed faintly at the ends, she peered over Cy's shoulder to see what it was he was looking at. "That doesn't look like it's 'sposed to do that." Leaning back, she glanced down to the thingamabobber she was roughhousing with. "Oh, got that thingamabobber ya wanted." See? It was indeed, a thingamabobber.

"Oh, thanks." He reached over to take the thingamabobber from Carley. "They overcharged the damn thing. It's leaking mana. A lot, since we can see it."?He put the small wrench he was holding in between his teeth. He took the object in both hands and held it above the panel. It glowed briefly, reacting to Cy's touch. The smoke seemed to start heading toward the square object he was holding. Slowly, it was disappearing.

Wide eyed, she watched Cy carefully. Carley needed to learn to do these things someday by herself, after all. Or at least some of it, to alleviate some burden from Cy. "That doesn't seem too smart of 'em... I'll complain tomorrow and see if I can get a partial refund." She nodded a bit, grinning at the thought of making a little money back. Every little bit did help, after all. "But it's easy to fix? Ya just suck some of it out like yer doin' there and that's it?"

"Somefin like tha', ya." Trying to talk with the wrench between his teeth proved to be a little difficult. The square object began to glow the same color as the smoke. It grew a little brighter the more it absorbed. Cy nodded toward the panel where the core was. "Fire i' up. Schee wha' happens."

Carley chuckled a little at how Cy sounded. Naturally, she had to mock him. "Shur fing, ShyShy." She reached out towards the panel to activate the mana core. Promptly afterward, she shuffled to the side to hide behind Cy, in case anything exploded.

Cy rolled his eyes at Carley's mocking. He offered the mana battery to Carley over his shoulder with one hand and used the other to pull the wrench from his teeth. He was watching the core as it lit up. It hummed quietly. He let out a sigh of relief when he heard the humming. "Seems everything's all right. You should rail them when you go there tomorrow. They could have cracked the core doing that."

Squinting at the mana battery, she took it as it was offered to her. "Yeah? Well I'm good at doin' stuff like that!" Cheerful, she glanced back around him at the assurance that all was well. "I'll make 'em regret they were born. Mmm.. looks like ya did good there, CyCy!" She bounced a bit on the balls of her feet. "Hey, I bet with the work we did in the Towers and the work Gramps did in the engine room earlier, I could crank up the Luinista now!" It had been a while since they had been able to do even that. Excited at the thought, the little elf turned to skitter out of the Tower, mana battery still in tow.

Cy chuckled a little at Carley's apparent excitement. He didn't see any harm in that being done, so he took a moment to catch a breath. He was tired. They'd been working for a while. He didn't allow himself much more than a moment, however. He wiped at his forehead with his arm, effectively spreading some dirt there, and then moved to follow after Carley.

She was terribly excited. Paying little heed to her surroundings, she jaunted towards the bridge. A shuffling sound to her left, however, caught her attention. "Nn?" Pausing in her steps, she glanced aside. The sound came near the dock, so perhaps it was Orson, come to pay a little visit to check on their progress? "Gramps? Is that you? Yer just in time! We're cuttin' the engines on." Hearing the sound again, she grinned a little and changed her path to wander that way. "They overcharged the mana core, but CyCy fixed it right up. He used this thingama-" Words were cut off, however, not by Orson's words, but by a peculiar sound. Furious thumping against the side of the Luinista, near where she stood.

Cy wiped one of his hands off on his pants. He sighed quietly and murmured something about a shower to himself. He headed over toward Carley. He hadn't heard the noise she had, but he did smell something. It was awful, too. His lips curled up and he lifted a hand to cover his nose. "The hell is that stench?"

She had just been about to peer over the edge of the ship before she instead turned to Cy. Indeed, there was a smell. "Geez!" She coughed a bit and waved the air away from her face. Tried to, at least. "That's disgustin'. I know that can't be one of us either. Even after workin'... all..." Her words trailed off. The smell. It was disgusting. It was familiar. She glanced up towards Cy. Was he thinking the same thing she was?

Cy found that he could still breathe, but talking was something he could not do at all. His eyes stared directly forward, unblinking and unmoving. There was no reaction to Carley's calls to him.

Carley's breath caught in her throat as she crouched near Cy and looked him over. His face - he looked dead. Tears forming in her eyes fell freely then. "CyCy!?" Shaking her head in denial, she grasped him by the shoulders and gave a gentle shake. "CyCy! CyCy!" Without a response, her own shoulders started to shudder. "Nn..no.." She hiccuped a bit as she tried to refrain from outright bawling. Was he even wounded? Where had he been hurt? Bright blues looked him over again, searching for a wound. Rather than finding one, her attention fixated on his still moving chest. He breathed!

Cy was a little panicked himself. Not that one could tell by looking at him. He was quite aware of Carley's distress, he could breathe, but he couldn't move any other way?at all. Not even the slightest bit. Blood started to drip onto the deck from his leg wound.

She was at a loss. What was wrong with him? She saw nothing more than a cut on his leg. But that was a minor injury! "Cy..." Her voice was quiet. Pathetic sounding, really. In the midst of her sorrow, it hit her. The beasts had been multiple numbers the previous night. Eyes widened at the realization. "There could be more." Biting at her lip, she looked over Cy again. She didn't stand a chance against one if it attacked, let alone if a group was lurking nearby for whatever reason. And Cy was definitely in no fighting condition. Or in a position to retreat. Leaving him wasn't an option though. He was in this mess because of her. Because he protected her.

"It's okay CyCy." Sniffling, she reached up to wipe away her tears. "I won't leave you here by yerself. I just don't know that I can go out and find help for you just yet... you remember last night, right? There was a bunch of them." She reached over to try to turn Cy off of his side and onto his back.

Cy thought back to the night previous. There had been more than one that attacked. It was pretty apparent that he could do nothing about it if another one showed up. He was rolled onto his back. His eyes were directed straight up into the sky. His attention, however, was on Carley. He didn't like that she seemed so upset.

"They won't be able to get in the Tower." She didn't think they could, at least, assuming they were even out there. But she didn't voice her doubt. "So I'm gonna take us there." With Cy on his back, she leaned to hook her arms beneath his. With a squeaky grunt, she rose and started to back away towards the Tower's open door. It was a slow trip, considering how small she was and how large and heavy Cy was by comparison. Over a step they went, his feet thumped down somewhat hard. "Ugh... I didn't mean to do that CyCy. I'm sorry..." She kept moving, however, quick as she could, which wasn't quick at all. But eventually, the pair was inside the Tower. Setting him down as gentle as possible, Carley quickly wandered to the door to slide it shut. Securely.

Cy didn't doubt that Carley had done the right thing. Even so, it was growing increasingly frustrating that he could do absolutely nothing. He simply laid on the floor of the Tower. His eyes still looked upward.

Turning away from the door, Carley went to rejoin Cy and took a seat on the ground next to him. First and foremost, she placed a hand to his chest to make sure he was still breathing. He was. Seemed stable too. So why wasn't he moving? Frown deeply rooted in place, she started to adjust his positioning, moving limbs around so he could be more comfortable. "Hey.. CyCy?" She hovered over him, her dirty, tear stained face close to his as she looked him in the eye. "Can you even hear me? At all?" Bright blues narrowed as she scrutinized him, hoping for some kind of reaction.

Normally, Cy would have at least blinked, purely out of reaction. Unfortunately, he couldn't even do that. He was beginning to feel a sort of numbness in his limbs. Even so, willing them to move didn't do anything. He remained motionless.

Utterly lifeless. It was hard for her to look at. Her own eyes watered a bit as she glanced away momentarily. Looking back, she reached out to gently shut his eyelids. Doing what she could to make him comfortable, she glanced around. Spotting his tool bag, she reached out and loosened the draw string at the top. After dumping the tools on the ground with a clatter, she folded the bag up, best she could. Gently lifting Cy's head, she set the bag beneath it. "Not the best pillow or anything, but... I figure it's better than the floor."

Sitting back, she glanced towards the door before her eyes eventually fell to his chest, watching it rise and fall rhythmically. It was better than looking at his face, as it was at least a sign of life. "I know you need a doctor or a healer." Carley spoke quietly. "I'm... I'm just too scared to go out there alone again. I'm sorry CyCy... I'm a terrible friend." Shaking her head, she wiped at her eyes. "You got hurt cuz of me, tryin' to protect me. Even after the stuff I said last night. And it's not even just tonight.. it's... the fact I dragged you and Gramps here in the first place. I knew it wasn't the safest place and I went and did it anyways. Told ya it was because it's a good trade spot, which is true enough, but that was just false pretense. I just... I just wanted my home back, and all my friends back. I wanted to not... feel how I was feelin'." It was a lame excuse and she knew it. She frowned.

The numb feeling began to spread throughout Cy's body. He wasn't exactly sure if that was something good or something bad. He listened to what Carley had to say, which he would have done even if he wasn't completely paralyzed. He didn't blame her for being scared. Hell, he'd been scared. He just did what he thought was right. He managed to open his eyes again after a few long moments. He blinked repeatedly. He still couldn't speak yet, however.

Carley hadn't seen that he opened his eyes. Her own gaze remained rooted to his chest. She sniffled quietly before speaking again. "Yer goin' home soon. That's not advice from a friend either, that's an order from yer boss. After we get things on track again, I'm takin' you back to see your family. Even if they don't agree with the choices you've made with yer life, they still love you and miss you every day." She paused. "It's the same with me and Cythia. She hates what I've done with my life. Always complains about this and that, but in the end, she loves me and just wants to see me happy is all. Even after these past few months, she wouldn't turn me away. So I know your family won't either, CyCy..."

She sat there for a few minutes, quiet, simply holding back the urge to sob. She wasn't even sure if Cy could hear her or not. Perhaps not... but if he could? She didn't want him to hear her cry. Finally, she glanced over to the door. "Damn it... I can't leave you like this. It's not right. Not after what you did for me." Standing up, she halfheartedly wiped at her face again. "I'm... I'm gonna head out and find you a healer. I know a place. It's not that far. Not really. I'll bring someone here to take care of whatever is wrong with ya and we'll have you lookin' good as new. And you'll be safe here." Even if she was found and eaten, someone would find him and help him. "Yer breathin' is steady and has been for a while, so I don't think that'll change any time soon." Sighing quietly, she stepped over towards the door.

It was the next day, after Carley's big breakfast, that Cy attended to his wound. While the venom had run its course, the actual place on his leg where the tail had struck him stung.

He was sitting on the bed inside his cabin, aboard the Luinista. He really hadn't felt like venturing far. He rolled up his left pant leg and examined the wound. While it hurt, the damage didn't seem very extensive. His first assessment the night prior seemed to have been correct. His eyes began to glow a faint, white color. A similar shine appeared around his left hand. He held it over the wound. Slowly, it began to mend.

Cy thought about the attack. The creature was relentless. That kick he'd put into its snout would have knocked any normal humanoid out cold. Its attention was on him at first. That seemed to change when the beast ate his gun.

That was the part that confused him. At first, he thought that it had targeted Carley simply because she was smaller. It made sense to him. However, now that he could actually consider the situation, that reason seemed unlikely. It had gotten a hold on Carley, but it didn't really attack her. It was like the beast was searching for something. What? Cy didn't have a clue.

His skin had closed. The wound looked as though it had never been there. Cy touched his leg briefly.

He thought about things Carley had said while he was paralyzed. With a clear head, it wasn't hard to realize how upset she'd been. The elf sighed quietly. He reached up and moved a hand through his dark brown hair. He figured he ought to apologize. She'd probably thought he took the whole lightly, which he had not.

"Not feel how I was feelin', huh?" He emulated Carley's tone when he said it. He could understand. He didn't blame her. He knew what it was like to feel alone. It wasn't like Rhydin was that bad, aside from all the strange happenings of the past couple days. He actually was starting to enjoy the town, actually. It was different. There were all sorts of creatures. He even learned what a drow was. Even if she'd been kinda weird.

Carley wanted him to go see his family. He still wasn't sure about it. He hadn't exactly left on the best terms. Morwen wouldn't be a little girl anymore, not to mention that he figured Morwen thought that he'd abandoned her. It was simpler not to go back. He couldn't help but feel some guilt, however. "It's the same with me and Cythia. She hates what I've done with my life. Always complains about this and that, but in the end, she loves me and just wants to see me happy is all. Even after these past few months, she wouldn't turn me away. So I know your family won't either, CyCy..."

There was a lot to consider. Cyrail leaned back onto his bed and let out a sigh. "What a pain in the ass."