And so it was that Lloyd vaporized the large, red mushroom with white spots, drawing all attention in the clearing to himself as he hovered and indeed lorded over everyone. Which was just as well - why, there were a whole lot of incredibly powerful people there at the present moment. In the center of the clearing stood Taubitha and Princess, looking both sinister and bitter as all get out. At the far right stood Silash, in his giant, transformed robot body that was ready to kill at a moment's notice. At the far left there was Omar, with his flaming left arm which was presently engorged to about four hundred and twenty percent of its normal size. He was presently smoking an extraordinarily odorous and indeed odious stogie. Of course, off kind of to the diagonal right there hovered Unit 5a23, who had just presently toasted some gourmet bread in order to keep his mechanical mind from overheating. And of course, hovering just to the left of center, ever so close - indeed almost too close for comfort - to Taubitha and Princess, was Kahli. And indeed, in the fluffy little handbag hanging off her shoulder, there laid within but the writhing, squelchy, tendril-clad mass known colloquially as Froufrou.
"Wow," said Sahdi as she watched down at the scene from her perch atop G'athoong's scaly back. "Everyone there is so strong, and they're all there antagonizing one another."
Indeed, thought spoke G'athoong. It's an awful lot of a hassle, isn't it?
"Yes," Sahdi agreed. "I wonder how they would feel if they knew that we were up here above them. Me, I'm here using [Healing Thoughts] to help sustain Kahli's [HP] in case she ends up taking damage. Really, I feel like it's a miracle that they aren't already in some sort of awful altercation. It's honestly wild that they're all just kind of standing around arguing amongst each other instead of fighting."
Well, think of it like this, Sahdi. What is fighting, except a physical equivalency to a verbal altercation?
Sahdi allowed this thought to marinate in her psyche for a moment. "Are you saying that, to paraphrase, fights are arguments with fists?"
Essentially, yes. At least from my perspective as a water dragon that rebirths themselves every once and a while, replied G'athoong. The way I see it, everything done with attacks, powers, [skills], etc., could all really be hashed out with a good argumentative dialogue. Of course, the corollary to that would be in that every argument that lived solely in the plane of spoken word could itself instead manifest as an exchange of blows. All that said, I feel that presently the most relevant position is that of the concept pertaining to words as objects of attack instead of just, well, mere thought-forms. See for example, Sahdi, what is happening down below.
Sahdi tussled her hair and squinted, watching as Silash fired a canon blast at Unit 5a23 that was quickly redirected to Taubitha, who directed it to Kahli, who had Froufrou direct it to Princess, who opened her gaping maw and absorbed the blow as if it were but a delicious piece of confectionary delight.
Now, that may have just looked like a failure for the large, transforming robot to land an appropriate attack, thought spoke G'athoong. However, while it may indeed have been as such, there is also yet another way to look at such events.
"Oh?" Sahdi suddenly wiped her mouth with her left hand - apparently a small amount of saliva had crested over the edge of her lip.
Picture it instead the way we water dragons like to see things. Imagine instead that Silash never released an attack at all, and instead that he told Unit 5a23 that he was a bad robot that was stupid and obnoxious. Of course, this is a heinous and indeed untrue thing to spout off at someone, but all the same it bears to be said that this is a fair equivalent. Proceedingly, we can also extrapolate that then, Unit 5a23 could've said something akin to the fact that while he may or may not be a robot of any certain quality, Taubitha is concretely terrible at using her comically oversized wings. This is, of course, entirely true - however, it could also easily be perceived as a slight. Taubitha then, naturally, would spout off obscenities - probably obscenities focused on hazily implying that Kahli is promiscuous, although there is nary any evidence to back this up - to Kahli. On hearing this, Froufrou could be said to have then squelched so loudly and indeed stinkily that it would've dealt actual damage were it not directed at that foul creature known as Princess, that fony that is no fony at all, but is instead a sinister being the nature of which even I am frustratingly uncertain of at this present moment in time.
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Sahdi blinked a few times. Then, she shook herself and resettled her otherwise flawless hair. There was but one strand that seemed to be but still a shred off-kilter, and she found it altogether infuriating - although she didn't want to show it.
They then watched together as Kahli kicked her rock away from everyone.
"I love it when she does that," said Sahdi with a sigh.
Why? asked G'athoong incredulously. It's a patently absurd action to take, and more akin to being a hack than it is to using her [skill] for what it was originally intended by Kahli's system. It's honestly admirable that it ends up working out for her more often than not.
"That's it," said Sahdi. "You just answered your why question better than I ever could have."
G'athoong watched as Kahli's rock zoomed back around in an arc and whipped Taubitha in the back of the head. She started screaming expletives at Kahli, only to be cut off by a large beam of light generated by Lloyd - which was quickly parried by Froufrou and then sent out to destroy a faraway mushroom building that housed a number of Flungunglian investment bankers.
I'll never understand you taumans, replied G'athoong with a deep, reverbrous sigh. Every time I try to, I just get more and more confused and befuddled.
Sahdi huffed and started braiding her hair. It all made perfect sense to her. "I don't know if you're being fair, G'athoong. Haven't you ever met someone that made you throw logic out the window, regardless of whether or not you thought it was a good idea, in place of how they made you feel?"
G'athoong was thought silent for a minute. That is to say that she didn't thought speak at all to Sahdi, although she was indeed lost in thought. Lost in thought about her lost love, B'raahsiet, of course. She hoped that B'raahsiet was still surviving, to some degree, despite being captured by Basstardio. Oh, how long ago it all seemed to her - and indeed that was because it was long ago. About five centuries, give or take, since G'athoong had retired to a deep, depressive slumber at the loss of her companion. At the same time, she also felt frustration that she was here, hovering over Flungunglia, when in but a day and a half she could fly all the way to Clathalia and attempt to save her love. Of course, if Basstardio was even half as powerful as he'd been before she slept - and indeed his status as an undead skeleton by choice nearly guaranteed this - then she would be flying to her doom without the backup of powerful taumans like Kahli.
"G'athoong? Are you okay?" asked Sahdi with genuine concern painting her tone.
Oh, yes, I'm fine, replied G'athoong unconvincingly. Just... thinking. I'm sure you understand. I just... I wish we could leave this place and get back on track. Back to Clathalia.
"And we will, G'athoong, we will," said Sahdi.
How can you have so much faith in her? asked G'athoong as she glanced down at Kahli, who was presently punching Taubitha in the face haphazardly, with Froufrou doing the same via her ever-writhing tendrils.
"I don't really know," said Sahdi. "Especially considering the fact that it seems like she's a bit of a walking catastrophe."
Thank the gods you said it. I was thinking the same thing.
"But, somehow, in the current state of the world, the kind of catastrophe Kahli is makes me feel strangely... safe. Like she's going to definitely make a huge mess of everything, but somehow, it seems like the huge mess she's going to make, is going to ensure that everything is okay. Does that make any sense?"
No, it doesn't, Sahdi. It doesn't make any sense at all.
"Well, it makes sense to me!" Sahdi said with a huff. She crossed her arms.
Sahdi, this doesn't have to be an argument.
"Yes it does! I won't be called nonsensical!"
Imagine, if you will, that this was a physical altercation for a second, Sahdi-
"You know what, G'athoong? I think your whole physical versus verbal altercation theory is a bunch of nonsense. Well, no, scratch that. I don't think it's nonsense, because I think what it is instead is a calculated excuse not to take action!"
What?!
"I'm calling you a coward, G'athoong."
A coward? Sahdi, are you much of a fighter yourself?
"Not at all," replied Sahdi with a self-aggrandizing smirk. "Why, I never fight, if I" can get away with it. I'll barely talk, if given an good enough excuse. I don't know the last, or indeed even the first time I got in a real fight. I'm a healer, G'athoong, and I own it. I always have, and I always will. But you? You're a water dragon. You've got immense power. And yet you'd rather float up in the air, hiding from people, than use your abilities to help the people that you so dearly want to have help you. That's pretty messed up, and indeed pretty sad, when you think about it. Or, at least when I think about it, anyways."
With that, G'athoong started to shake and shiver. Quickly, Sahdi found that she had to dig in the heels of her feet and indeed grasp at G'athoong's scales just to stay perched on her back. Then, the water dragon let loose a roar so thunderous and monstrous that it arrested the attention of everyone down in the clearing, and indeed it also sent a good flurry of birds flying nearby falling tom the ground to their deaths due to suddenly ruptured eardrums.
"Holy shit," said Sahdi in shock.
Holy shit is right, thought spoke G'athoong as she swooped down towards the clearing. It's time to kick things up a notch.
And indeed, in but an instant, the water dragon burst through the clouds and charged up a huge torrent of water in her throat, ready to unleash it on anyone and everyone who got in her way.