Tanek struggled to get through the crowd, which became surprisingly easy as soon as Van become a My Little Death Pony and Cheyenne turned into a Triple Chihuahua. While Sasha retreated, Tanek surged forward, screaming: "Leave them alone!"
Tanek was rake thin and did not seem to be much of a threat, but he was not hampered by fear. After all, what did he have to lose? He could fight with the tenaciousness of the mad, clawing, kicking and screaming. Because Van seemed to have a handle on things, Tanek wanted to prevent Cheyenne from tipping things in Liam's favor. With both hands, he tried to grab the dog by its tail.
Tanek would not try to deescalate things.
Brendan, on the other hand, had been at the fringes of the brawl, holding back two of the weres. But when Van turned into... into some kind of horselike abomination, he was actually taken aback for a moment. It was a terrifying sight and, for a moment, it seemed it would actually stop the fight.
And then Van bit. Brendan jumped forward, shouting: "Van! Van! Stop that! Let him go!" He would not pry open Van's mouth - that was asking for trouble - but he wrapped his arms around the kelpie's neck and started talking loudly in his ear, ordering him to calm down immediately and hoping to get through to him.
If he would not, Brendan might have to change into a horse as well.