He turned to the woman and pressed a finger to his lips, urging silence. He kept eye contact with her with an unwavering gaze and quietly removed his gauntlets, setting them aside on the ground and removing a small set of tools. He held spread them like cards in his hand and showed a small screwdriver, a set of tiny shears and a strange, wand-like device. He nodded once, then turned wordlessly to the Sultansworn huddled on the ground beside him.
He knelt, giving a small smile with kind eyes. He held up the small tubular device first, pressing it to the collar with a small click of a switch. He nodded to her, insistingly, then sought out her hand and pressed the instrument into it. He didn't say anything and she looked away, eyes pained before closing. He set his jaw and collected himself, then raised the screwdriver.
His time with Askier had been short but he'd gone over the movements in his mind over and over. Screws first. That removed the panel and gave him access to the more delicate parts. The wires awaited him, a tangle of nerves that each threatened to leave a crater the size of the hole in his heart. He brought the shears in, sorting connections before severing them. Each clip of the tool stopped his heart but he couldn't allow that to reflect outwardly. Her eyes were still squeezed shut, her face away.
He took a deep breath and placed his fingers on the hourglass-shaped fragment. This was the moment of truth. He pulled, fingertips working, and snapped something out of place. Everyone's breath held but nothing happened.
The rest of the process was a blur. Screws. Panels. Latches and hitches. The dull throbbing in his leg and the side of his face were distant memories, his entire body was disconnected from the task at hand and when he finally popped the last shred of security and knelt back on his heels, device in hand, he uttered out loud. "Gods."
She seemed to notice what happened at once and dropped the wand, scuttling and crawling away as tears and emotion overtook her. He couldn't watch. Others gathered around her, helped to soothe and comfort. Warren looked at the black collar in his hand, the detonator in the other and listened to the woman weep.
He knelt, giving a small smile with kind eyes. He held up the small tubular device first, pressing it to the collar with a small click of a switch. He nodded to her, insistingly, then sought out her hand and pressed the instrument into it. He didn't say anything and she looked away, eyes pained before closing. He set his jaw and collected himself, then raised the screwdriver.
His time with Askier had been short but he'd gone over the movements in his mind over and over. Screws first. That removed the panel and gave him access to the more delicate parts. The wires awaited him, a tangle of nerves that each threatened to leave a crater the size of the hole in his heart. He brought the shears in, sorting connections before severing them. Each clip of the tool stopped his heart but he couldn't allow that to reflect outwardly. Her eyes were still squeezed shut, her face away.
He took a deep breath and placed his fingers on the hourglass-shaped fragment. This was the moment of truth. He pulled, fingertips working, and snapped something out of place. Everyone's breath held but nothing happened.
The rest of the process was a blur. Screws. Panels. Latches and hitches. The dull throbbing in his leg and the side of his face were distant memories, his entire body was disconnected from the task at hand and when he finally popped the last shred of security and knelt back on his heels, device in hand, he uttered out loud. "Gods."
She seemed to notice what happened at once and dropped the wand, scuttling and crawling away as tears and emotion overtook her. He couldn't watch. Others gathered around her, helped to soothe and comfort. Warren looked at the black collar in his hand, the detonator in the other and listened to the woman weep.
![[Image: yEROfKO.png]](http://i.imgur.com/yEROfKO.png)
