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+--- Thread: Hydra Should Have Killed Me (/showthread.php?tid=11573)
Hydra Should Have Killed Me - Heathen - Dec 22 2023
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![[Image: l87nhNk.gif]](https://i.imgur.com/l87nhNk.gif)
It wasn't clear how long the chrysalis had been there, hidden under one of many piles of bones. They'd sheltered it for some time now, the Gembound within breathing slowly, barely flickering with magic. Regardless of how long it had been still, the life within was now twitching awake once again.
The silence of the cave was broken suddenly with the shattering of said chrysalis, followed by a loud mix between a yowl and a roar from the leopard that burst forth from within. It limped and whimpered, snapping in random directions as it tried to decipher where the pain was coming from. Spending too long growing in a chrysalis would do that it supposed. It can't have been good for their back.
RE: Hydra Should Have Killed Me - Heathen - Dec 26 2023
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The leopard took their time stretching, trying to ignore the prickling pains in his growling stomach, like sharp thorns rooting themselves in his intestines. Their gem had kept them nourished enough, but there was only so much that could be done without a true, sink-your-fangs-in meal.
The leopard longed for the feeling of blood in their mouth, hunger taking the reigns of conscious thought as saliva dripped to the ground. The instinct of a predator was a dangerous thing, leaving Heathen's eyes glassy as their nose twitched, searching.
It was like lightning struck as they caught wind of something, muscles jumping into action. They tore across the cave after whatever they had scented, uncaring for stealth in their haste to shovel something, anything, into their needy stomach.
RE: Hydra Should Have Killed Me - Heathen - Dec 26 2023
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Heathen was not known to regret. Heathen, in fact, would not later be known to regret even this encounter. However, one might begin to wonder what, if anything, might cool the hot-headed leopard's brevity in their decisions as they rushed face-first into a group of feeding Pitch Rats. What they had scented was their meal.
The thought barely had time to register in the leopard's mind as they continued forward, fangs first, to join the frenzy and hopefully add a few dead rats to the meal. They cared not for the possible danger, and as such did not recognize their incredible luck in how few of the rats had congregated.
RE: Hydra Should Have Killed Me - Heathen - Dec 26 2023
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Fangs tore into flesh, both biting and being bitten as Heathen descended on the rats and the rats turned on them. They managed to get a good bite in on one, but it didn't kill, leaving just as many teeth in the hoard to hang from their lips and chew at their paws.
The leopard struck again, teeth gnashing with sickening clicks as their jaws slammed shut.
As suddenly as the frenzy had started, it ended in a pool of blood and fur, mutilated rats strewn about on top of whatever was left of the carcass they had been feeding from. It was a mess. A beautiful mess, as Heathen would see it. A well-earned meal showcased by the trophy of blood on his maw.
The leopard sat proudly, snout tucked into one of the many carcasses on the ground, smiling. Hydra hadn't killed them, and it would soon be everyone's problem now that they had a taste for blood.