The auror's light cast an eerie, hellish glow far beyond the ship, Clifford able to see as if through fire. He held his position until he heard his name or its growled equivalent. Approaching, made the fatal mistake of peering at the water.

"Fucking hell." As a general rule, Clifford didn't curse, at least not in company, but there was a solid chance he'd be forgiven when he met his Maker in the next two minutes or so. An odd sense of calm came over him, that strange acceptance of imminent doom that came when death was the only obvious outcome. If they hoped to see land again, there was no room left for restraint or error. This was all or nothing.

Looking between Sterling and his movements, Clifford's face twisted as he pieced things together. "Transfiguring oil into water? Oil will float on the surface," And it clicked, it all ridiculously clicked. "And so will the fire, but if that thing breaks the surface, then we have calamara Flambé." Checking in with the visibly struggling man, Clifford shrugged with a grin, might as well face this in good humor. "Better than dying without fanfare." Raising his wand, Clifford put his energy into the transfiguration. He would take his orders, maybe his last, from his companion.

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"Yes, yes it will float on the surface," Ben repeated, his eyes fixed on the floating orb of oil in front of them, inwardly begging Goyle to catch on faster. Finally — mercifully — the man got there and Ben nodded. He would have laughed at Goyle's joke if the oil weren't getting heavier and heavier to manage. Ben watched carefully as the sphere started to slosh; luckily any extra droplets found themselves floating away in the water at a safe distance

Ben risked a glance at Goyle and was relieved to see the man had his wits about him. This was the part that required both concentration and peace of mind. That the healer managed to keep himself together was a good sign. Still, "We are not going to die." he pushed through gritted teeth, eyes blazing. This was not the day that Ari would lose both him and Dionisia. It couldn't be.

Soon the sphere couldn't get any heavier or larger without risk of spilling and Ben placed a foot behind to brace himself as they cut hard to port, just as Darrow said he would. "Steady...steady..." he said, more to himself than Goyle. Then: "NOW."

With a great wooshing sound, both he and Goyle hurled the sphere of oil out into the water.

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Clifford was both relieved and slightly panicked he'd guessed correctly. This was insane, but so was the last week from hell. The small oil droplets gathered and danced in the flickering light of the ships, it might be beautiful if it wasn't a single chemical reaction between Clifford and multiple unpleasant ways to die.

"I'm holding you to that, Sterling." Clifford managed as his arms began to shake. This would take a large amount of energy even without injuries and exhaustion. This would take everything they had left.

Cliff held, held with all he had until the ship cut a hard left and Sterling signaled. Launching the oil mass, the kraken chose the moment to break the surface. Good. With what strength he still had in his arms, Clifford aimed at the flailing creature. "Together! Incendio!"

His aim was true, but before the flames fully escaped his wand, Clifford's legs buckled and he went down hard, gasping for air. Please God, let that be enough!

---

  

Ben's breath hitched in his throat as he saw the sphere of oil hit the water at the exact same time the sea monster decided to rear. Something akin to victory swelled in his chest and he rose his wand as Goyle gave the command.

"Incendio!"

Both spells burst forth and hurtled towards the mass with increasing speed, and the auror rushed forward. Learning from his last mistake of not tethering himself to the boat, he extended his wand arm behind him. Coils of rope twisted themselves around the base of a pole with Ben wrapping his hand around the other end, making sure their plan had worked. He threw Goyle one of the ropes to hold onto for good measure.

Ben hadn't prepared himself for the result of their efforts. All three objects collided at once: their spells, the monster, and the sphere of oil. There was a deafening BOOM as the collision sent shockwaves through the air coupled with a blinding flash of orange light. A final scream rattled through the air as the flames licked at both waves and thrashing sea monster within it.

He watched as it writhed in pain, tentacles twisting and coiling at the water which only proceeded to make it worse. Ben watched as they slowly increased the distance between them and the dreadful monster. "Keep your eyes on it," he commanded, searching the waters for any sign of life. Ben doubted their plan had killed the monster, but he prayed with all his might that they would finally be left alone and that the firey waves would soon become a mere bright spot on the horizon.

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