Placing your bets on your pepper shaker, you pull it from your pocket and pour some of the pepper on to your palm.
"Is that pepper?" mutters Ell with a mixture of concern and curiosity.
"Here," you proclaim, before you can lose your nerve, "if I wasn't sincere, would I do this?" With that said, you draw your nose to your palm and take a deep breath so that the pepper coats the inside of your nostrils and sears the sensitive nasal passages that lead down to your throat. In less than a second, a coughing fit overtakes you and pain burns both inside and outside of your nose.
As a battle rages around you, Ell watches you sputter for breath. "I'm not even sure what to think of that."
"Wait, I can..." But you really can't. Every time you try to form a plea on your tongue, a new wave of fits surges through your lungs.
"Don't bother," he says with a roll of his eyes. "I've seen enough. I think it's time I heal up and head back into battle."
Your heart beats hard and fast against your chest and you try to gather your strength to either plead, fight, or run. However, it is hard to concentrate as Ell's once calm and amiable demeanor shifts into something dark and hard.
"Please," you gasp, "I'm loyal..."
Ell pounces in the blink of an eye and your words are torn from your throat. He digs his claws into your shoulders and latches his mouth against the side of your neck. His teeth stab into your skin and fire spreads from the puncture wounds, engulfing your entire body in a matter of seconds so that your pepper mishap becomes but a distant memory. Your temperature rises and your face coats in sweat even in the cool, crisp autumn air. Pain reaches down your spine and your limbs seize and twitch with frantic convulsions. He pulls the blood out in long, torturous gulps, savoring every sip in order to heal his wounds.
He's reaching the end, though, and your vision is starting to fade. The pain seeps into the back of your mind, until it is nothing but a slow, agonizing trickle. Death is awaiting you.
However, Death has also brought you one last gift before you say goodbye to your dream of life. You get to see Ell's face twist with fear as he realizes that Gianette is bounding straight at him, her jaws wide and her teeth sharp. Ell and you die in the same instant, but at least you do so with a smile on your face.
***
You've found one of the unsuccessful endings for this branch of the story... Why not go back and see if there's some other way to convince Ell?