A sensible person might expect Noelle to flinch at Jessica's command. Despite the monster that is her body, Noelle has tried so far to make herself as small as possible, and to make it clear that she doesn't want any conflict.

This is different. Noelle knows what Jessica means. Don't look at me. Don't touch me. She thinks of Krouse, who just wanted to hold her, and how revulsion rippled through every scrap of meat making up her hideous form.

She thinks about it, and when Jessica begins to cough up blood, she ignores it.

It's difficult to make her lower half be gentle, and even harder to use it for anything resembling a fine motor skill. Most of the hands that resemble something a human would have are either too big, or twisted and deformed in their smallness. There is a limb extending from the palm of the hand that makes up Noelle's right hindquarters, flanked by long, prehensile tentacles. That seems to be Noelle's best bet. She takes a breath, and rolls the dice.

A palm slides under Jessica's head, supporting her skull and neck like she's a young baby. Tentacles wrap around her waist, all mixed in with the vines. The sensation makes Noelle want to shudder - to salivate - and while some of the mouths in her lower half probably do, she's able to keep a white-knuckle grip of composure with respect to her upper.

"I'm sorry," Noelle apologizes, still unwilling to raise her voice. "This is going to hurt."

Noelle bears down, summoning all her monstrous strength, and she pulls, until the vines encircling her friend's body snap.