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Continued Severe Panic Attack, Self-Depreciating Thoughts
A horribly mangled, choking sound weaseled out its throat. When the scathing-cold terror of flight instinct had evaporated, the remains were a muddled mix. Only a keen filter could discern that it was a cocktail of self-destructing bitters, bourbon tinged in misery, a chaser painted in confusion… It went down with enough of a burn to make it cough and wheeze again; this time, it muffled it via clenched jaws and the fleshy inner part of its elbow.

Teeth came away, miraculously, with no blood—but gobs of lime-flavored saliva dribbled on its forearm, franky disgusting with its consistency. Alpha barely spared a glance to it, this time.

It was too preoccupied with the movement in front of it: Nemesis settling in further, no longer facing it at all; exposing her (armored, it remembered) back to it; horns away, completely vulnerable. If it was quick enough, it could jam its head into the space between frill and neck, tear through to a spinal disc like she were nothing but one of those meadow deer.

Alpha lacked that confidence; it didn't so much as twitch to attempt that.

Instead it lay in wait, swimming a forcibly lazy loop through the aforementioned psychological cocktail. Putrescent eyes bored holes through that bulletproof hide, fixated for a time on every little shift of muscle or ligament.

That focus was quick to drift straight back into despairing over pockmarked memory, elusive and dancing around and around its mind. The cornered animal that'd taken up comfortable residence was abruptly evicted, and left the creature that'd spent cycles in a self-destructive spiral until its Master—it'd done everything it'd could for him.

The orthoclase winced at that thought's reappearance, an audible, keening grimace on its face. It'd say sorry to him, too, if he even still cared about his failure of a creation— the one he'd admitted to regretting makin—

No, no, please. Go back. Think of something else— Fruit—no, no, it'd hurled up enough of those for a lifetime.

It quivered, shook, and it finally blinked.

Tears burned like acid down its cheeks.

After that scales-tipping moment, the monstrous hybrid let somatic response take back control.

It scrambled away from the wall, and barely spent long enough turning to be somewhat perpendicular to Nemesis (still blocking the way) before rocketing back into frantic motion. The forming, dark tracks down its cheeks were visible for just moments before the orthoclase darted forward with as much speed it could muster in such a short period of time. It hardly slowed on the approach, limbs coiling up for just a moment in preparation to jump—

Gravity claimed it too soon.

It fell with a jagged, gasping wheeze, body thumping heavily and painfully against Nemesis in some capacity; it'd barely even cleared her with its upper torso. A middle limb, arched just right mid-flight, was contorted backwards while the other extended far forward. Both hindlegs scrabbled to stand, but its refreshed frenzy to get away made that so incredibly difficult. It couldn't decide whether to just give up on getting past and go back to the relative safety of its dead-end road, or to forge ahead.

Either didn't feel much like escape, even as it started to practically claw the rhinoceros up in its teary-eyed panic.

@Nemesis

For a moment, it almost felt like peace. There was the silence of the forest, with only a horrid choking sound catching in the flick of her ears. She remained still but for her slow, mechanical breathing, counting agonizing seconds with patience that had never come naturally to her.

Then-- motion.

Claws on stone, quills shifting, so sudden that Nemesis's thoughts made her stall. What is it doing? Did she look, or did she call bluff again, but the quickness of the movement told her that it was either attacking or...

Weight crashed down on her, wheezing, limbs falling over her body. Mass pinned her down, but instantly she recognized this was not an attempt on her life... too desperate, frantic, and useless even as hooks caught on her thick skin.

Deep blue eyes looked up with a start, looking over the form that scrambled helplessly. It was more like they were pinned down by their own weight than she was, and a tiny tut came from her lips before she could stop herself. "Alpha," she said softly, twisting underneath them, and reached to press the soft of her snout to its shoulder. She got one foot up, stretching it back to place against one of its jerking limbs. To get it to still, somehow.

It felt impossible to stop it... But out of the two of them, she could hold her ground.

"Please," she urged into their carapace as quills pricked her cheek, "please stop."

@Orthoclase-Alpha

Content Warning
This post contains potentially sensitive material:

You... get the idea...
The contact was like being branded with fire—and it was not from the magic of a wulfenite or its holder. It was unwanted, despised, too many pieces of stimuli arching towards a honed reflex to fight, to attack, to defend. Nemesis shifting beneath it did not read as anything but an attempt to grapple back where she'd been apparently pinned. The orthoclase twisted and flailed in place, then; wild-eyed and fallen into its combat rhythms because… that was what this was now, right?

(How did it get on top of her again… ? I fell—no, no, that wasn't it—)

Caged and unleashed, Alpha scrambled for a handhold on the rhinoceros. Hooked talons did their best at clinging to thick hide, but its grip wavered from both weakness and a failed attempt to squirm away from the horns coming closer, closer, closer—

If it'd not tortured its throat already, the monstrous thing would've screamed.

And, it was such a gentle contact, too. A muzzle pressing against a shoulder that could barely even feel it; a forelimb curling around one of its own, pressing the softer chitin against a warm belly; a voice murmuring and vibrating from the whole body underneath it.

Quills rattling, tears streaking down broken, scarred cheeks, the kaiju managed a high-pitched growl, before devolving to a strange sort of wet clucking—tongue against the roof of its mouth—and short, bellowing breaths amid its increasingly lightheaded panting. Its tongue lolled out the side of its mouth, where saliva was starting to foam up.

STOP TOUCHING ME I NEED TO GET AWAYGETAWAYGETAWAYGETAWAYSTOPTOUCHINGME—

It thrashed in place, and twisted its head at an odd, awful angle to sink its teeth in where it could. A head, a nape, whatever it could—whatever would get her to let it go. Teeth snapped shut on nothing, and it twisted again, tried a different angle to no avail. Alpha writhed, wincing as it nearly tore a limb out of its own socket, and continued to scrabble away.

Voice dying in its throat, it dribbled a mix of saliva and blood all over itself as it pleaded in more of a sob than anything else, "l-let mmm... m-me g-go—"

("Can I go?" "I'll g̶̛̻̹̞̻̦͓͇̭̜̜͕̞͔͂ơ̴̞̭̳͎͜ ̷̢͍̮̰͚́͑̆b̴̨̻̞͙͖̻͓̖̫̥̓͂͗̋̑͘ͅa̴̺͓̱̪̼͔͕͛̎͋̑̿͑̂̉͋̈́̎͗͘̚͜͠c̵̰͇̤̋̃̏̐̑̒̄̈́͝k̴̳͖͕̼͓͒͑̈́̀̑̉̒́͆͝ ̸̧̺͎͕̭̩̖̹́̓̂̋̈́̎̋̀́͆̈̒̕̕t̸̨͖̻̥̘͂̆̂̎̽̈́̈́̌͘͘͜͠o̷̤̦̎̃̆͝ ̷͎͈̪͔͖̦͖̬͂̓̏̌̎̀͝͠C̷̨̧̫̤͖̮̟̝̱͑̊̓̅̾̌͊̐̌͌̄̾͘͜͠͝a̶͔͖̖̯͂̐̉͂͗̿̆̂͂́́͘̕͝͠n̶̢̧̮̣̲͖̲̤̖̖̪͚̽̓̀i̸̡̢̪͓̅̈́́͝ͅs̶̟̫̞̜͍̜͉̜͕̦̮͇͋͌̒̿͑̑͋̿̌̆́̚̕͝͝.̶͓̺̹̯̙͚͚̱͒̋̀͌͛̏̽̕͜" "W̴̰̎̔̈́̈͂̔́̚ḧ̵̡̹̟̳̘̩̩́̈́̂̈̀̎̾a̷̛͍̣͖̣̿͑̈́̅͝t̵̨̠͈͇̻͎͙͕́̎̽̚'̷̥̘̣̟̠̭͔͎̋ṣ̶̡̢͉̬̫̌̉͜ ̶̡̩͔̳̂w̸̨͕̙̺̄̇̑͂́͌̌̔͜͜ŕ̶̡̢͓̳̖̰̖͕̿̽́̈́͊o̸̢̝̤̻̮̲͙̬̗̽͗n̷̢̠̏̆̈́̾̕͠ḡ̶̡̢̬̤̈́̓͐̐͋̑͒̕͜ͅ ̸̨̼͕̤̹̰̞̉̊̚ͅẅ̶̥̳̗́̈̉͒̍ì̸͚͖̥̲̯̈́̇̿̑͘͝t̷̛̛̝͍̱̬̬̊͂͛̿̏͝ͅh̷̻͙̲̳͕̣̀͗̍̅ͅ ̵̢̰̥̬͔͔̩̱̉̈́̀̂̅͑̂͘y̷̢͕̲̯̒̉o̷̰͐͗̆̓̽́̕ù̸̢̪̫̥̾͆̊?̶̯̝͚̊̅̋ͅ" N̵̨̧̧̢̧̡̧̡̲̫͚̹̳͔̖͖͇̼̣̯̬̣̺̩̙͓͖̺̪͍̱͎̮͙̈ͅͅǫ̷̨̨̡̢̧̛̛̛̛͙̪̫͇͇̳̟̱̻͔̗̰̹̱̥͖̹̜͖̦͍̝͚̤͇͕̺̻͇̬̦̪͍̯̤̹̙͎̟̼̅͛͑̽͐́̈́̉̈͂͒͂͊̂̿̃̈͗̔͂͒̍̍̀̐̃͑̆̽̈́͑͋͘͘̚͜͠͠ͅ.̸̡̨̨̳͈̙͙͇͓̣̲̹̼̯͓̟̘͓̺̝̺̥̳̯̯̬̼͎̮̬̩̯͓̼͕̦̙̰͕͓̣̭̘̘̬̯͍̝̗͉̠͈̺̫͉̼͛͌͋͗͐̎̐͐̽̇͐̔̔̈́̽͑̔̋̑͐̽̓̿̏̍̃́͛̏͌͐̓̂͒̓͆̅̍̓̌͆̋̆̚͘̕͜͜͠͝͝͠ͅ ̸̢̢̧̺̻͓̞̙̝͇̜̠͈̞̫̠̳̖͇̂͌͂͂̉̃̓̒͌̈̾̏͘͘͜͜C̴̙̳͔̘̼̗͖̞̙̻̫̺͙͓̬͖̪̺̥̫͙̘̮͚͌̔͒̓̋̌̽̆̅̿͂͑̉̌͌̅̒̆͆̊͌͊͑̋͜ō̴̡̧̧̧̧̡̨̡̡̨̧͉͍̣̙̥͇̮̜͉̳̤̹̣̞̦̹̘̦̯͉͈̰̫̪̼̣͕̩̲̳̻͖̦͉̲̫̩̗̞͔̺͔̝͉̠̼͎̫͇̹̠̪̰͇̞̰͚̭̠͇͈̮̍̅͋͒̅̊͌̄̒̾̍̇̓́̄̀̀̆̐͑̎̚̕͘͜͝͠͠͝ͅͅḿ̴̡̡̡̡̢̢̡̛̛͇̪̥̙͇͖̩̥͔͖̱͙̯̦͈͈̯͖͓͈͙͙̖̥͈̹̝̠̞̻̭̺̘͍͔̘͍͓͖̹̳̩̼̦̜̙͍̗͎̺̠̹̦̬̝̙̎͆̀̑͐̆̈́̀̀̐̓̓̆̒̏̀̐̔̚͘͠ͅe̶͕̟̮̥̝̥̺̝̙͙̠̯̦̘͓̰̪̥̗͎͎̼͖̠̱̥̩̭̗͓̞̫͔̓̔͗̊͂̋͆́̓̿͛̂͛͆͛́͒̽̉̓͗͗́̂̆͛̀̊͐̋́́́̌̓̎̒̂̍̆̕̕͜͝͠͝͝ ̶̨̨̡̨̨̢̨̛̪̰̺̝̥̹͈̪̪̤͔̫͚̹̞̯̜͙͈͎̘̩̖͖̠͉͎͔̰̻͉̬̬͉͖̘̲͚̬͇͖̦̺͍̩̪̳̻͉͉̠͕̻̮̬̦̤̤̥̠̙̰̙̲̺̘̦̫̓́̔̓̆̈́̓̎̃̏͗͐̽̾̈̄̕͜͜͠w̸̧̡̧̡̢̡̗̻̮̭͚̖̩̗̼̜̠͖̦͎̠͔͓͍̩̩̺̭̬͉̤͖̱̦̖̻̯̗̺̼̤̰͚̟̤̜̣͎͉̯͎͈͎̤̹̺͙̘̫̹̖̺͔͆̆̔͌́̈́̏͜͜͜͜͝͠ͅį̶̲͖̙̯͚͙̠̖͈̞͍̀͒͋͑̏̓̓̽̾̉͋̔̓̅̄̈̎̏̃̋̔̄́̄̆͒̌̽̐̏͋́̾͂͋̾̇̒̀̍̈́̾͂́̒̿́͒̽̄͗̋̊̔̋̈́͊̀͆͌̾͑͐̈́̈́̉̚̕͜͝͠͠͝͝͝ţ̸̡̢̢̧̢̧̢̡̢͈̝̠͓̝͍̺͖̳̝̣̤̞̲̤̥̯͔̘̹͓͉̼̺̞͙̻̳̯̞̺̟̭̼͎͍̺̖̖̻̱̣̯̟̲̺̹͍̫̪̺̹̪̤̻̤̜͖̪͕̘͚̠̥͎̭̘̉̋̌̊̉̔͂̈́̋͋͐̃͒͂̃̉̾̑̋̎͛͊̅̄̿̀̉̌͗̃͒̀̇̓͂̒̆̅̽̈͑̒̒͒̍͛͊̌̊̆̅̔̏̿́̒̏̊̽̉͗̈́́̾̎́̈́̌͆́͛̍̿̍̂͐̅̕͘̕͜͝͝ͅȟ̷̢̡̢̛̛̜̭͖̗͕̻͍͎̙̮͕͕̰͙͚̳̪̘̬̞̘̱̜̲̭̭̪̮͕̯͍̼̟̠͓͖͖͔̣̗͖͔̝̅̔̍̾̑̏͑̐͋̄͗̓̌̈́̿̓͒̿͛̾̾̐̈́̂̐͛̈́̏̈́̑̓́̋̒̇̋̿͋͂͗̊͊̐̄̑́̇̾́̓̅̾̑́͌͐̔̇̈̒̅̐̎͘̚̚͘͜͜͝͝͝͝ ̵̧̧̡̨̧̢̺͔̩͚͔̘̼̙̫̞͚̤̗̫̥̝͕̥̣̙̗͓̮̭͚͎̹̱̮̲̦̟̖̖̟̟̣͚̙̥͛̍̈́́̃̽̊͆̀́͛͆͂͊̈̓̓̔͆̐̃̈͑̔̌͛͐̓̓̕̕̕̕̕͜͜͠͝m̴̛̝̞̪͔͕̼͔̖̯̭͕̬͌̏͂̒͂̌̈́̓͒̂̊͌̾̐͑̽̅̐̾̾̓̍͆̐͆͆̉̂͑͒̕̚͜͝͠ȩ̸̨̢̡͚̮͕̩̙͍͕̲͎͈̞͎̞͇̘̗̰̝̦̞̖̘͎̝͓͉̼̅͂̾̈̉̍͑̇́͌̊̐̂̀͛͂̇͋͑̐́̀̉̉̈́͆̾͊̅͂͊͐̃̓̑̉̍̒͊̽͋̕̚͘͜͝͝͝.̸̨̢̡̢̡̛̰̰̪̣̤͎̜̠̤͖̰̯͍̳̘̩͇̟͕̗̺̳͉͙̦̹͕̩͍̦̥̘̗̜̯͍͎̪̝̫͈̟͚̣̻̞̯͎̖̻͛̽̒͌̈́̾̈́̽́̀͒͆͋̀̏̉̽̈́̾͐̀͑̔̀͑̑̀͐̔̀͊͊̾̏̀̀̃̔̓̃̆̄́̓̐̑̔̅̅͒̅̕̕̚̚͝͠͝)

@Nemesis

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This post contains potentially sensitive material:

strong language

Nemesis's eyes shut tight as Alpha's body jerked and jolted, thrashing even more violently on top of her. There was a rearing snarl, one that shook the air and made her ears twist away. Click, click, click; a gun without bullets trying to fire. When she opened her eyes again, it was to see teeth snap just short of her face, and again the beast thrashed.

She was trying to help, but that was a no-go, apparently.

She withdrew her limb as it's garbled voice begged, its body rolling over her and the floor in a pathetic attempt to do something. Her head pulled back after, and with a deep breath she flopped back, letting her head fall on to the stone. She relaxed every limb, at this point certain that Alpha couldn't hurt her if it tried... and it wasn't about to try, either. Not in any way that mattered.

"I'm not going to fight you," she raised her voice, if only to be heard over the sound of its panicked thrashing. "You're going to be okay, Alpha."

Was it, though? At least it hadn't tried to subjugate others to its reckless, corrupted will like she had seen time and time again. This one just wanted to get away, to hide-- did it intend to find a dark hole and rot?

Then, what was her next step? Was it going to run again? She breathed, preparing herself.

"Come on now," she turned her voice to instructive, softening her tone, "deep breath. Put all six feet on the floor, yeah? You can't stand if you keep trying to fall over me, bub. Keep it up an' I'm gonna be bruised all to hell." Maybe some of her usual roughness was starting to leak through, but as long as she was still talking to it there was a chance something would get through to it.

@Orthoclase-Alpha

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continued panic attack, one f-bomb
Nemesis shifted to lie flatter on the ground, soft snout and craggy lips moving away from its shoulder. Slight as that movement had been, it was still unwarranted and—and perhaps the telegraphing of another grab. With a ragged huff and a nearly explosive motion, the orthoclase half threw itself away from any forelimbs or stabbing horns. It fell back onto the trinoceros with a heavy grunt.

Every twitching and grappling limb moved with… increasingly lesser fervor, frenzy, however you want to name it. Tendons and joints screamed their protest, overexerted and overworked. It'd managed to avoid another for this long, and now—

Now, it couldn't even manage to escape.

Lightheaded, dizzy, every sharp inhale punctuated by a whistling through a broken nose, the monster's world was going dark. Syncope crept up like a death knell. Blackness shot across its vision for a moment, and it fumbled for some kind of grip on reality. Hot, (imagined to be) acidic tears tore down its face.

The rhinoceros uttered some sort of command, some sort of instruction and, despite itself, it wanted to listen. It just wanted to follow and have some sense of normalcy. Not to be so fucking horribly lost with no compass and expected to find due north.

But, it couldn't manage to breathe, it couldn't comprehend. It knew only the tone and that it was such a cruel reminder of how things used to be.

A six-thumbed hand felt out for a limb, gripping it with only the crushing intensity needed to shove it away from itself; it blinked, a low whine building its throat, but it tapered off—it didn't manage to peel its eyes back open. Its grip faltered, limb—and its entire body—going completely slack against Nemesis's flank. Consciousness rescinded.

The monstrous hybrid stopped breathing for a moment, quills limp. A soft crackling emanated from it—either from its abused throat or an aborted chrysalis—and it let out a soft, pathetic murmur. Its flanks shuddered in starts and stops, just barely taking in air.

Maybe, it would wake up soon, but… that was a matter of Nemesis hanging around.

(temporary?) exit
@Nemesis

Content Warning
This post contains potentially sensitive material:

strong language

Despite Nemesis's blind attempt to help, to get Alpha back to its feet and senses, her words seemed to have the opposite effect. Within moments, the huge creature slumped against her.

Shit, came her first thought, did their heart stop? Her eyelashes beat back panicked tears that suddenly swelled to the forefront of her attention, craning her head up. "Don't you fucking die on me," she grunted, "literally or otherwise." But there was no humor to those words, her heart thumping against the cage of her chest.

She pried herself upright, leaning in closer to check that it was breathing-- it wasn't-- only to start as it it let out a relief-giving whimper, and her posture relaxed. "Fuck me," she muttered, watching that unsteady breathing for long enough that only the thought that she was being a creep stirred her from her stupor. It wasn't dead; it wasn't gonna die on her. She nudged it with her snout, and when it didn't wake from that, she exhaled softly. Probably wasn't about to wake up anytime soon, then?

"Come'on, hun," her voice softened as she pulled herself to her feet and set herself to work. "Momma's got you." It wasn't awake to protest now, at least, so maybe she could actually take care of the helpless animal.

The effort of moving the Orthoclase wasn't an easy one, but the trinoceros didn't want to leave it out in the open. She pushed it back, shoving it slowly but surely back into the shade of the ravine, where it would be tucked under a lip of stone and foliage. She took extra effort to rearrange its limbs with her mouth, getting the damn child to at least look like it was laying down comfortably, rather than just splayed like the deer carcass it had left in a panic.

She looked upon Alpha, asleep, looking more peaceful than it had been in cycles-- even if she had no way of knowing that this was an improvement-- and still felt an itch under her skin as its flanks struggled with each breath. The moment reminded her of endless days sat watching her child's chrysalis, and nothing changing. She didn't have Mags to tell her that this would be different. "You look like shit," she told it again, and struggled to decide what to do from here. Standing around didn't do her or it any good.

Basic needs. When it woke, would it be hungry? It had just eaten, even though she had interrupted it. Maybe water? Would it awake while she was gone, and would she lose it again...? Her ears twisted forward and back, and eventually she decided she simply couldn't leave it here.

If it awoke, weak, and she could talk to it-- convince it to stay put-- that would be better than it simply awaking to being alone again. Even if the damn thing believed it wanted to die alone in some dark hole. She stood guard a safe distance away and turned her eyes back out toward Leo's sprawling jungle, and tried to think of what she needed to do once it awakened once more.

@Orthoclase-Alpha

Limbo. A seemingly eternal damnation, yet so fleeting—like the motes of a dandelion spinning through a whirling storm. Muffled voice and suppressed consciousness deep beneath Leo's waves. Its limbs were too heavy to swim through molasses and ichor, thoughts too addled in the mire to take full shape. Geometry folding in on itself and losing every vertex as soon as it formed.

In short and in common diction, there was nothing to occupy the blackness of its mind. No in-between state filled with memories of its desperately troubled existence—barely scraping an Earthen year's—and no joining path from wakefulness, suspension, and awakening once more.

For Nemesis, it'd have only been fifteen or so minutes (ten of it occupied by lugging the orthoclase back to the edge of the ravine) but for Alpha, it felt like seconds and hours at once.

It clawed its way to cognizance with a heavily distorted sense of time's passing. Putrescent eyes winked out from behind barely opened curtains, the world too bright to allow them any more movement. A low murmur crackled out of its throat, and it closed its eyes again. They burned too much to leave open.

A leaden arm lifted to cover its snout and block out the light, and it was content to just lie there a moment—

Wait, wasn't there someon—

—its hand hit the ground with a thump!, the fingers of it curling and vying for a steadying grip on the ground. Taking in an involuntary gasp of air, it peeling away crusty eyelids. Flanks shuddering with a second wheezing inhale, the monster forced itself to lie somewhat upright. Nostrils flared, the lime-streaked-purple flesh within blinking. Toxic eyes searched and searched its seemingly unfamiliar surroundings (this isn't where I was, came the terribly familiar thought) and found—

—and found Nemesis, a stalwart guardian… or a persistent threat.

She was looking away, out into the endless green; eyes fixed distantly in thought. If it were quiet—no, no, perhaps it had managed to evade her, managed to move away into some different spot, hidden itself before darkness came.

(It dutifully ignored the pervasive knowledge of what was before its jump in memory, struggling and vying to escape. It did not linger on what'd happened there.)

Alpha set its feet underneath itself, limbs quivering with exertion while it barely pushed up into a crouching position. It shuffled backwards, curling in on itself, making itself smaller in these confines. Quills rattled limply against its shoulders, entirely involuntary. Putrescent eyes stared Nemesis down through wary slits, too-bright amid its darkening silhouette.

Even that dim flickering of magic was enough to elicit a shot of white across its vision, and its weight shifted enough to disturb some sort of leaves or ground matter beneath its feet. In its fixation on the trinoceros, it hardly noticed; that, and its racing heart and increasingly rapid breaths.

@Nemesis

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Nemesis heard the thump, her ear swiveling back against her frill. She almost glanced back, and then forced herself still. No, she grimaced, you'll just startle them. She stood like a statue, straining to hear the sounds behind her. Would it lunge for freedom again, or try to attack her? Maybe it would give up...

She heard the labored breathing, its claws rustling leaves, quills rattling with a sound she now associated with a mangled combination of fear and aggression. Deep breath.

"... alright," Nemesis spoke, making not a single motion. Her back remained toward Orthoclase-Alpha, "wait just a minute, bub." Each word, slow and meticulous, was like pulling teeth. There was almost no chance Alpha was even going to listen. It hadn't thus far, after all, why start now.

But if she didn't budge, maybe it would finally stop fighting. Nem could out-stubborn anyone, surely.

"I got a proposal for you. Yeah? I don't know what you're doing out here, and I don't need to know. I don't wanna know. But you gotta admit this isn't getting us anywhere, right?" It was hard not to grind her teeth or sound frustrated. She kept her voice low. "How about you get some actual rest, Alpha. Stop running for a hot minute."

A beat. "You do that, and I'll go. Deal?"

Bribery, wow. Really returning to her roots, here. Striking a bargain with the big lug was probably the only way to win some ground, though... At least, it was the best she could come up with. Maybe Mags could come up with something more clever.

As it was, she fully expected it to charge off into the undergrowth again, though, and that would be a real sad sight-- she wasn't looking forward to chasing it down until it had yet another cornered panic attack.

@Orthoclase-Alpha

Still, still went the trinoceros; and it tensed in kind, joints all rigid and primed to snap at a moment's notice. Atrophied muscles threatened to collapse with every passing second spent crouching against the brush. Blistering lime eyes stung (and it tried to tell itself that that was due to it staring with such intense focus. Omit the tear tracks.) They watched as Nemesis went still, ears flickering toward it even as she stayed looking dead-ahead. Overgrown talons curled tighter into the springy soil.

Nemesis spoke—to it, not at the broadness of Leo, she knows where—and did not budge. It remained solidly in place, flanks shuddering and ribs sore; it became dimly aware of the hairline fractures down its one arm, trying and failing to ignore the cause of it (the feeling of gravity sinking its stomach into the ground—) She was negotiating, offering: leaving in exchange for… for—

It couldn't quell its response fast enough, a monosyllabic, crackling "no" tumbling out of its mouth. Putrid eyes blew wide, and it tensed to flee then and there. The pistons fired, but there was no oil left in the cylinder to light the ignition. An elbow buckled beneath it, and it winced through the effort to set it back into place. Quills rattled with increasing intensity.

No, it did not believe that Nemesis didn't know what it was doing. No, it did not believe that she did not need to know what it was doing. No, it did not have a shred of trust for Nemesis. No, it… it didn't want to listen, not to someone who wasn't a Master that'd discarded—

"G-g—" it tried again, abused throat snapping and popping against the force of simple air. "Gu—" Alpha withdrew, retreating further into the undergrowth, "go— auh.. away."

@Nemesis

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Nemesis stared out into the jungle, heat rolling off her back from standing under the same cave lights for who knows how long. Her breaths huffed in and out from her ribcage, and it was all she could do to keep from swinging her threatening frill back toward Alpha. But hell, she did it, even when the grumbled no came back to her.

"Bub," she repeated, letting the sound pop off her lips and hang in the air. Where the fuck to even start? It was a broken record, and she was the stubborn ass just slamming her head into the wall over and over again while the track skipped to the beat. One word at a time: "I hate to break this to you," patient, and forced calm through every single world, "but you don't have much of a choice. At least meet me half way." Her ears swiveled back, straining to listen for the big lug's reactions.

The poor wreck. What the hell even made something like this? When Nemesis saw that huge purple prick, she'd have to stomp his ass for letting it happen. She didn't have any proof that he was responsible (except for a gut feeling, the way Alpha had quivered in the ring once it recognized its.. Master, ugh, what a terrible title) but damn if she would let that stop her.

"Just relax. Breathe. Count to ten, six times, and I will leave you be." She wasn't too worried about the follow through on that, considering that Alpha was about as likely to listen to those words as it had listened to the last few words.

"Or, here," she caved. "If you promise to stay put," it would surely lie, "I'll go get some moss, soak it in some nice water, and bring it back so you can hydrate. When was the last time you had a good drink, kiddo?" Oh-- damn, that was probably a touch patronizing. Her patience was wafer thin at the best of times, and uh... well, she was trying, but it wasn't like she was a psychiatrist. She was just a big beefy lady who was desperately trying to give a damn. Not like anyone else was.

@Orthoclase-Alpha