The beast lumbered sideways on its good left arm to avoid any potential blood-spears thrown from Xandra. The effort proved unneeded, since Xandra, who was standing at the far bank again, was simply standing and breathing heavily; whether it was to take a reprieve to heal herself, regain stamina, or simply to figure out her next move.

The fox-frog-monster, seeing this, slowed and took the reprieve to yank out the blood-spear in its right armpit. It gave a squealing-screech of pain and then saw to healing up the wound. It was then the fox-frog-monster noticed that it had grown two more fingers on its right hand, as well as a mass of unsightly looking lumps.

It's losing control of this body too, I thought.

Had I assumed wrongly that the beast had an unlimited amount of stamina and willpower with which to heal its wounds and to continue on with its attacks?

Perhaps the beast had assumed the same until the very moment it stared down at its eldritch looking hand.

I remembered back to George, and how he had first looked when he lost control; no face, a body covered in many eyes, and fish-like gills for breathing and hellish screams.

The fox-frog-beast's rage calmed to the point it became silent, saved for its heavy breathing and the sound of its bulbed lower half causing the lake water to boil and sizzle. The beast's eyes focused, its vision zooming-in like the lens of a camera on Xandra, magnifying her so it appeared as if she were within the beast's reach.

Xandra's right eye was pinched shut and she continued to breathe heavily.

"No!" she said, turning her head to the side as if arguing with herself, "I can do this!"

The beast's gaze searched around Xandra for any sign of Azad. But there wasn't any. So who was it Xandra was conversing with?

The beast let out a grumbling sigh which had an exhausted wheeze to it. It was only slight, but it was enough, paired with my own peculiar insight into the beast's mindset from within, to tell me the fight had gone out of it.

The beast let out one last screech which rippled the lake water in front of it, and then it turned away from Xandra and charged ahead like a gorilla towards the upper forest.

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It's running away! I thought, astonished.

Maybe this was the best outcome for this fight. Xandra looked like she was at her limit. Maybe the beast knew it could finish her off, but at what cost to itself? It sensed a looming loss of control, and decided fleeing was its best option.

Good, I thought, At least this way Xandra and Azad can be safe. If this means cutting my friendship with them short and them living to see another day, then that's a price I'm happy to pay.

The fox-frog-beast charged up the lake bank and then leapt into the forestation ahead. Dying embers of the fire which had broken out before and hadn't been able to catch and spread thanks to the wet and the damp of the English forestation, rapidly approached and passed by as the beast continued with its retreat.

At least it's over, I thought, solemnly.

THWIP! STACK!

Something caught around the fox-frog-monster's throat and squeezed. The beast continued bounding forwards but whatever it was around its throat became taught and unyielding to the point the beast could no longer charge on ahead without strangling itself.

The beast reared its head round and saw there appeared to be a length of something crimson, like a whip, held in Xandra's hands.

She was standing sideways on a nearby tree with the rubberish-blood-whip in her grip. Some of the blood-whip was bent around the tree, as if Xandra were using the unyielding strength of the tree as a counter-weight to keep the fox-frog-monster at bay rather than her own, far smaller weight.

Xandra quickly tied the rubberish-blood-whip into a knot around the tree and then dropped down to the forest floor.

The fox-frog-monster's rage returned anew, but it couldn't let out another one of its hellish screeches because of the constriction at its throat.

For a moment the beast froze, and stared at Xandra, as if in disbelief.

Xandra staggered closer, her right eye still pinched shut, and her left hand held over the open wound at her right shoulder.

"We're not done!" she shouted.

Then, after breathing several ragged breaths, Xandra said, "Give him back!"

The fox-frog-monster genuinely considered the option. It wanted, more than anything, to continue in its rage. It let itself bulb up all over, and in doing so the rubbery-blood-whip which held it burned away and snapped loose.

In turn however, a layer of gruesome, egg-like boils sprang up along the fox-frog-monster's back. The beast let out a whine like some upset dog and thrashed its head.

Xandra watched the beast cautiously. Blood continued to leak from the corner of her mouth in a thick red line, falling in large drops to the ground.

The left-side of the beast's maw became even more monstrous; the teeth became even longer, and multiplied in number so that there seemed to be dozens of sharp needle-like teeth protruding from the left side at many different sizes.

You're at the brink, fox-frog, I thought, How do you like losing control for a change?

The beast let out a final grumbling whine and then let itself fall sideways onto the forest floor.

Steam rose from its frame, but not from bulbing or contact with anything else. The mass of its body was rapidly reducing.

It was giving up control.

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