{ art by dark } ~ { table by aura . edited by banshee and dark }

He had attempted to gather himself, to stand on his own feet. But each attempt left his body trembling under his own weight, leaving him to scream. His entire condition, was simply pain. Laying there he eyed the boar lazily. Choking back his own sobs he simply watched the boar struggle through blurry eyes. They had attempted to rise only to scream out in pain themselves.

It wasn't until the boar began to yelp, screaming for their family. Crying out into the mist, hoping they would hear. They had seemingly used all they had in a last attempt to survive. Shaking and breaking down into whimpers like a small child. Vicktor could only watch, crying for both him and this boar. Throat raw and voice hoarse he managed to speak through the tears. "I-I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry...im..sorry..." He didn't want this, he should have ran...he could have saved both himself and this boar...

Seemingly within moments something small leapt from the trees above, they were calling for the boar...Bog...they immediately began to sob beside the large beast. Seemingly oblivious to the fact Vicktor himself was still there. He would need to leave and fast, if one had arrived so soon, there was bound to be others. And like clockwork they showed up, one by one. That 'small dragon' he had met before, when those strange birds arrived in Cetus...Though this reunion would not be a pleasant one, without questions and a guttural hiss they began to attack. Ice bursting forth from the ground below, stopping just before where Vicktor himself lay. Tal'at had arrive during the assault, only to come crashing down to the soil below.

Vicktor attempted to pull himself up to flee, only to recoil back from an all too familiar bird. Eve, she stood in front of him screaming wordlessly. He practically swallowed his heart, he had cared for Eve; but she offered no help. Only agitation and an onslaught of guilt. A yowl ripped from his throat, pain shooting through his left shoulder, an unknown bird attacked him. Digging into him as if he was a field mouse. Bone white eyes filled with panic he had settled his gaze on something...someone was watching, the dull blood-red glow of another assailant.

Struggling beneath his weight, the pain was beginning to feel like an nauseating buzz. Rattling against the walls of his skull. He began to move, taking only two steps before being bitten by an onslaught of flames. Searing his haunches, hot and vicious, he leapt forward, freeing himself from the assault. Ears laid flat, teeth bared and a torrent of tears he would run. Not daring to look back. He would leave Cetus, go as far as he could till his body dropped. He just needed to be safe.

[exit]

"Clover Speech"
"Vicktor Speech"

The call had taken the last of his energy, and he slumped, panting slow, breath rattling in his chest, wordless cries still spilling from his lips. Czernobog lay in a slowly growing puddle of blood, mixing with bile, swamp water and the carcasses of dead plants. His lungs struggled to expand, and the massive boar swallowed, wincing at the taste of his own burnt skin. His ears flicked, aimless - they trapped no sound but the constant buzz of invisible hornets. Black-brown eyes slipped to half mast, and he struggled to stay awake. His family would come. They were good. His glorious Purpose. They would come.

Hands, touching his snout, and he winced, almost called up the energy to rear back, certain the jaguar had gotten up to finish the job - but a hazy glance read lemur, and the boar relaxed, shuddering, inching his head forward to push into the healer's chest. "Caaaaaaayenne." He could feel the word out, but it slurred, unable to hear himself attempt the language of the Rots. "Huuuuurt," Czernobog whined, snuffling at her fur like a child hugging a teddy bear.

He hurt. But it didn't feel good or triumphant, not like the hurt after attacking Raheerah. There he was filled with the comfort of knowing his family would finish the job, or at least give their all. All that rushed into his gut was guilt, and fear - he'd overestimated himself, underestimated the intruder. He hadn't even protected his home - what good was a Guardian who couldn't Guard? Frustration made him whine again, raise his head, wobbling, to check if the Foe had indeed gotten away.

It was still there, collapsed and bloody - but more importantly, his family trickled in like a flood. Ghanyarah, forming ice to spear the ground; Willow, darting down from the sky like a shot, digging sharp talons into the jaguar's shoulder; Hat - screaming at him? It was hard to tell without his ears. Tiny dropped out of the mist, landed a few feet away, and Czernobog groaned, managed to inch towards the bat enough to reach out a hoof anxiously. "Tiiiiiiinyyyyy?"

He seemed... fine, if winded, and the boar's head fell back to the earth, one eye on Cayenne and the other on his gathering herd. Finally, the flicker of flame signalled the arrival of Dragon, glorious and battle-ready. It seemed he was the last straw for the intruder, and Czernobog threw an angry bellow at the disappearing cat's form. He would kill it. He would kill Raheerah, and then he would kill the rat who dared harm him on his own territory. "Roooooooot," the beast mumbled, finally relaxing fully, ears drooping and eyes slipping shut, breath stuttering in his throat, mud seeping into his chest.

They had come. That was all that mattered now.

It was a wondrous thing, to have a family.

@Czernobog

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RE: It all starts here - Ghanyarah - Dec 11 2015

Ghanyarah could feel the spears of ice shoot out from the mud, sharp spines a dangerous threat. But he'd wanted to do more than threaten the cat. This strange anger was still fresh for him, it had recently evolved in his fury of failing to catch the dog, and now it spurned him, distracted him in his attempt to persecute the jaguar. He wanted to make it hurt for what it had done to the boar. His groupmate. His comrade. It easily could have been any of them - the filthy mammals didn't care who they tried to eat, did they? (Ghanyarah was no better.) He hissed as the cat turned and fled, snapping his gaze to Dragon who had showed up only seconds after. "Dragon. Should we pursue?" He asked, frowning, wishing that his brother would allow him that pleasure. The fact of the matter was thay Ghanyarah wouldn't be fast enough to catch the cat. But damn if he didn't want to try.

@Dragon

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RE: It all starts here - Dragon - Dec 11 2015

Dragon stared, watching the strange black creature hover over Czernobog. It was the healer--the medic; this he knew, in a vague way. He hadn't gotten a chance to speak with her yet, but judging by the way she quickly moved to tend Bog, he would have to. It only took him a moment of watching to be satisfied that she was in the best possible hands, and then he flicked his gaze over the others. He'd wanted to pin the cat down and talk to it, but it had bolted off.

It had to be... retrieved.

He turned to Eve, then to Ghanyarah, just as his brother spoke--echoing his own mind.

"Tal'at. Find it. Do not let it escape. Come, brother. We shall... retrieve it. I wish to know what happened here. Why it dared to do what it did."

He left the rest unsaid: that if its answers were not to his satisfaction, the cat would be killed.

The alligator turned, offering a light nuzzle to Czernobog. He spoke to him, then to Cayenne, then to the rest.

"We will return. And you--I will speak with you. I will not be gone long; Willow, please watch over them, and come find us if they are attacked once more."

With that, Dragon turned, quickly making his way off after the fleeing cat. He wasn't fast--but Tal'at was, and Eve was, and he knew that Tal'at could find a thing simply by following its heartbeat.

{ art by dark } ~ { table by aura . edited by banshee and dark }

@Czernobog

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RE: It all starts here - Talat - Dec 11 2015