R U [ I ] N E D

...And Then, They Threw Him into the Volcano

Maybe not even that. Not brain-frying or death would honestly be just fine with him.

The telepath knelt at his friend's side, not looking at him, but rather up at their newest Runeholder. "I'm still not sure about this..."

To which Erzia simply plopped down across from him, on Callan's other side. "Then get ready. Because we're doing this."

Brady met Cal's gaze then, perhaps hoping he'd want to back out instead, but he looked so resolute... so calm. There wouldn't be any swaying him, so Brady tried his best to be rid of those nerves with an overlong sigh. He glanced back over this shoulder as a sudden and unexpected pressure— Phoena's hand,  a comforting squeeze. Sachi stood at her side, offering their much needed support to him. Brady smiled warily at the two but he couldn't muster more given the jitters he felt. He'd never done this before,  and now, a fellow Runeholder was about to become his test subject. "Do you truly think I can do this?" he asked Erzia quietly. No one would hear except for her— and maybe Callan.

Clearly, he needed more reassurance, so that was what Erzia sought to offer. "Look. Being the Runeholder of Skill isn't all about my own power," she explained. It was, but that also wasn't the entire span of its capabilities. "It also makes it easier to see the skill that lies within others. If I didn't think you had the power, I wouldn't be pushing this." After all, if anything awful were to happen to Callan, it would be disastrous for the rest of them as well. "I'm not self-sacrificial. Not in my nature." She paused then, watching Brady intently, which with Callan between them, had the shapeshifter coughing, as if to remind them that he was very much there and a part of this too.

Brady startled, sitting up rigidly as his eyes darted back down. An awkward chuckle slipped from his lips before he looked elsewhere, at anything but Cal. "Sorry..."

Erzia was quiet only a moment longer before asking, "So, do you want to do this or not?" Time was of the essence considering their quest was bringing them to foreign lands to find the final Runeholder. They didn't have a second to waste with hesitation; they needed decisive action.

"Where do I start?" Finally, it seemed Brady was ready, and the restless group would simply have to await the results of his meddling.

"It's a multi-step process, you could say..." which had Brady narrowing his eyes. "But first, you'll have to mind walk to find those locked memories. From there, you should be able to access and restore them."

Brady grumbled. "Should. Not the most promising word." Not to mention the fact that he didn't have a single clue how to do any of that...

"Listen, Shrinkwrap, you just—"

Erzia cut Callan off with a glare. "You're not helping here either. Just close your eyes and pretend to sleep, at least." She honed in on Phoena, waving the blonde over. "You. You sit with him and coax him to sleep or something."

Phoe jutted a finger at her own chest, "Me?"

"Yes, you."

"That might have the opposite effect of calming him down," Brady murmured to himself, but not quietly enough to avoid earning him a smack on the leg from the prince.

Their memory restoring endeavor was increasingly appearing like it would end in human sacrifice, Phoena sitting herself near Callan's head, forming a triangle between herself and the other two. She leaned forward, peering down at Callan, which had his skin flushing— from his cheeks all the way out to the tips of his ears— but it wasn't like he had anywhere else to look as she spoke in a low soothing tone. "You must be really tired," she started, slowly brushing his hair back from his face. "You didn't get the chance to sleep at all." Not before the ambush. And even before that, he hadn't gotten much sleep before Brady woke him for watch, and when Phoe herself took over, Sachi's nightmare and her argument with Brady were interruptions. Callan had to be exhausted and putting on a brave face because they needed him. "It's okay if you want to rest now. We'll be okay," she insisted, still stroking his head in rhythmic sweeping motions. "I promise. So don't worry about us. Think about yourself." An exceptionally ironic thing for her to be telling the Runeholders of Humility.