Cleo's jaw just dropped when Amaranth jiggled her way into getting a nice, 'helpful' border guard into taking her horse back to Antei. It was positively sick what someone could do with a lower lip that was capable of jutting whole inches out from one's face, eyes that could turn watery with a few seconds' notice, and breasts that could jiggle at the drop of a hat.

As the two walked away from the border itself, Cleo asked, "How exactly do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"That... jiggling thing..."

Amaranth looked Cleo up and down, focusing mostly on her chestal area. As a slow smile spread across her features, she said, "Well, I could tell you, dear, but I'm afraid that information would be quite wasted..."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cleo demanded, feeling her cheeks get hot. This was silly, she hadn't blushed since she was about six years old.

The corner of Amaranth's mouth twitched slightly. "What I mean is that you're frightfully average in that regard, no offense intended, of course. You simply don't have enough there to get the proper bouncing effect."

Cleo blushed even brighter. "That's ridiculous! I'm positive I've got enough there to bounce, at least a bit..."

Amaranth shrugged. "You're certainly welcome to try... Just don't hold me responsible when you fail miserably."

Muttering something under her breath, Cleo futilely tried to jiggle. She tried to wiggle. She'd even have settled for a bounce.

Smirking widely, Amaranth cocked her head as she looked at Cleo. "Are you going to start trying sometime soon?"

Cleo growled something incomprehensible and made an obscene gesture at Amaranth. "Are you trying to be that way, or is it something that comes naturally?"

Amaranth merely smiled innocently, causing Cleo to gnash her teeth. "Why am I bringing you along, anyway?"

"I made you an offer I wouldn't let you refuse," Amaranth replied blandly. "And my personality is so magnetic tha-- dear me... What is it that we have here...?"

Cleo looked up at the clearing ahead of them and saw the giant caterpillar rolling around there. "Oh, dammit..." she sighed. "I've heard about these..."

"Have you?" Amaranth was eyeing it warily, her left hand resting calmly against the rapier on her right hip. "Is there any way we could... avoid it, perchance?"

Shaking her head, Cleo said, "I'm afraid not... Everything I've heard says these things attack anything and everything that wanders by..."

"I see... Well... That's a Rage rune you've got there, is't not?" There was an odd catch in Amaranth's voice as she mentioned the rune. What was it with her and runes, anyway? Oh, well. If she wanted to be like that, then there was no real reason to stop her. Cleo nodded.

Amaranth looked at Cleo, then back at the worm. She lifted her left hand from her swordhilt to scratch at her right hand. Drawing the rapier, she said, "Then you should perhaps get the worst of your burning it before I go in, no?"

Cleo nodded, then looked to the worm, judging distance and movement. It still hadn't seen them, so they had that going for them. "Best not to pull any punches, I guess..." Raising her right hand, she focused on the itch in her palm that the rune constantly gave her. Slowly, liquidly, she let the power flow through her, directing it at the worm.

Said worm burst into flames, as did the general vicinity of the worm. The fire was a great deal bigger than the worm was, and threatened to burn the sky. Finally, Cleo cut the spell and the worm starting thrashing around like... like it had just been on fire.

While Cleo had been doing this, Amaranth shoved the many bags and small, toy-like wagon that comprised her luggage into the bushes and began eyeing the clearing ahead of them. Drawing her sword, she nodded and began whispering to herself, "I can do this..." over and over again. When the flames had vanished, Amaranth drew her sword and began going at a dead run, not at the giant caterpillar, but towards a rock near the worm. With a spry leap, she was on the rock, then balancing on a tree branch near the rock, then on another branch. Now in position, momentum carrying her, she threw herself off the branch, flying out and down, point of the obsidian rapier aimed unerringly downwards.

She landed on the worm, sword going down further than she was, driving its way into the oversized caterpillar's back. With a fluid jerk, she pulled the blade out, causing a spurt of greenish blood to stain her pristine white dress.

"Do it again, Cleo!" Amaranth half-barked as she leaped off the worm and dove into a roll, dirt picking up on her bloodstained dress. Cleo, hanging back, yelled an affirmation back at Amaranth. Raising her right hand again, she engulfed the worm in flames. After she cut the spell and the worm was still thrashing around from the general beating it was taking, Cleo quickly drew the long throwing stiletto that was called the Air Moonstar sword and smoothly hurled it into one of the worm's eyes.

Cleo called the blade back in time to see the worm twist and thrash violently, coming dangerously close to crushing Amaranth with its convulsions. She managed to roll out of the way, but her skirt caught under the overlarge bug and tore, leaving her legs bare up to the knees when she stood up.

Balancing on the balls of her feet in the glorified ballet slippers she called shoes, Amaranth managed a look of supreme, venomous hatred. "All right..." she said softly, but projecting. "Get your filthy blood all over my dress, fine. I would be able to get the stains out with enough washing. But this... this... this is inexcusable. To have torn my dress so, sir worm... It is ruined now, and I paid seven hundred bits for this dress... My seamstress would be having a fit right now if she knew of this... This is it. It. Ends. Here."

The worm paid little attention to her, more concerned with its own pain than the babblings of some woman who wasn't interested in wearing a knee-length skirt.

Amaranth glared, and seemingly contradicting her statements, sheathed her rapier. Slowly, deliberately, one finger at a time, she pulled the right glove off of her hand.

"Amaranth, what are you--" Cleo started, but was soon cut off.

"You'll see," Amaranth answered tersely, for once. She wiggled the fingers of her right hand as it started to shed a pale white light. Or rather-- her palm did. She smiled softly, unpleasantly. Moving casually forward, she pressed her glowing hand into the worm's great side.

It affected Amaranth before the worm. Her arm began to twitch, then shake slightly. She kept her hand against it, though it became obvious that her body had other ideas, with her twisting and pulling. She remained there, body struggling against her will, the one nearing convulsions of seeming agony, the other remaining adamant.

It was not long before the worm was affected, as well, and if it had been pained before, it was doubly, triply so now. It started to curl up and Amaranth dropped her hand, though she seemingly had no intention of moving.

Cleo swore as the worm's ends began to come down and Amaranth remained immobile. She was about to run to push Amaranth out of the way, just in case it came down on her(though it didn't really look like it; Amaranth was by the thing's side), but Amaranth moved slowly away as the worm hit the ground, dead.

Slowly, dazedly, Amaranth walked back to Cleo. She smiled blearily at her. Then she collapsed.