Khloros slowly came back to his feet, watching Aries. The ram appeared... stubbornly upright, yes, but swaying, injured, moreso than he--if barely. The sheep just didn't seem to have the magical abilities required to recover his own strength and energy.

For a moment the plagued horse simply stood, focusing on his magicka. He could feel the latent bacteria in the room again feeding--perhaps those on the ram, as well, but it was not a particularly powerful cast of the spell. Still, he could feel some measure of energy returning, and he came back upright, back to his hooves.

He had no desire to individually murder each member of the cave. He was not a bloodthirsty creature, nor even a particularly cruel one, and his rasping voice came soft.

"Do not pursue me," he warned quietly--and turned to move away down the tunnel. He had no intention of lingering for Aries to recover, to attack him until one of them was dead. He did not care about the ram's morality, other than to approve of it ever so faintly; pain was a terrible thing, in that he agreed.

Further conversation--or even further combat--depended on if the ram pursued.

It did not. Instead, it went careening off a cliff, and Khloros turned, peering after it quizzically.

Quiet hoof-beats signalled his arrival--his sides heaving with effort, slicked with burned pus, his bruises aching. Still, he stared down, peering at the ram motionless far below.

It took him some time to make his way down there, more carefully, and a few times his hooves slipped heavily on ice. At length, at last, he stood over his fallen attacker, watching him. His long head leaned down, and he listened closely; the ram was indeed still breathing.

Khloros stood there for a time, debating whether he should do his best to end the ram's suffering, or allow him to linger, pained, but with a chance to survive... for now. At length, he spoke quietly, voice rasping toward Aries ear. His own pain was bad enough, and he had no intention of lingering much longer--regardless of the ram's choice, he would leave soon and find a place to hole up and recover for a time.

"Do you wish an end to your pain..?" he asked, though he was unsure if Aries could even reply.

________________

BRING OUT YOUR DEAD

Round: 7/7
Attempt: Feed from all in the room to recover energy
Defense: None
Injuries: Horn-thumped, burnt, horn-SMASHED

@Aries

Aries was not coherent, in fact, he did not seem to be aware at all. He laid there, limp, not responding to Khloros' presence or words. In other words, the fall had rendered him unconscious.

Other than the plague that ravaged his body, the ram had no visible injury that seemed fatal. However, his knees were badly scraped, a few cuts riddled his charred hide, and one leg looked twisted. Aries also had horrible nosebleed, blood pooled underneath his chin, staining the white ice, red, and it was clear why. Aries had cracked his gem, a large, painful looking fissure ran diagonally across the bloodstone plate on his face like a scar, almost severing it in two.

Even if Aries did stir, there was not much he could do. His broken gem looked grave. He would be in extreme agony when he eventually woke, however, in this state, Aries could not consent to the horse's offer. He was at the complete mercy of Khloros.

"speak!"

@Khloros
OOC: Aries is pretty unconscious. I guess this means Khloros can do whatever he likes. (just don't kill him though)

Adrenaline still roiled through him, his flanks heaving, blood dripping from flared nostrils. It made it difficult to think.

He knew he'd wanted to kill Aries, briefly, in the sense of, "this ram is an enemy trying to kill me," but he truly held no malice in him and he deeply disliked the idea of leaving him to a slow and painful death. He was bleeding heavily, his gem cracked, his leg twisted--it was unlikely he'd be able to get out of here at all.

Khloros looked him over.

He would have preferred to stay, to settle in and wait until Aries awoke and again offer him the choice of death. But he himself could feel his body weakening as the adrenaline wore off: the pain aching and stabbing all over his body, the battered muscle and bones, and the burns. For his own survival, he had to leave.

For a moment he considered cleansing the plague from the ram--but that would leave him to an even worse fate. The plague might take time to kill, but a slow death to starvation, stranded in the ledges of the tunnel, would be even worse.

It was not a good situation, physically or morally, and the plagued horse, fighting back a spike of fear and anger, wished for a brief and very normal moment that the ram had not attacked him.

At length, and after much hesitation, Khloros leaned down toward the ram. There was a quiet exhale, his magicka flickering weakly up at his call, but nothing much happened. Exhausted. His intention had been to provide the ram with strengthening bacteria without outright cleansing him, but it was not to be.

With a soft snort he turned, and on shaky legs he began to pick his way entirely out of the tunnel, back toward Orion. After the ram's fierce assault, there was no way he could continue the treacherous upward climb into Fornax: and so, despite his near-death, Aries had in in that regard very much won this battle.

Khloros resolved to speak to anyone he might run into, to ask them to ease the ram's suffering in some way--be it through death or through aiding his recovery.

If he found no one, well... He hoped that Aries did not suffer too long.

Leaving a trail of pus and blood spattering behind him, the black horse went back the way he'd come.

________________

BRING OUT YOUR DEAD

--ooc -- //exit Khloros ; I was wondering if you'd be okay with me asking if any mendery healery types want to pop in after Khloros spotted them but if not it's cool, I can say he found no one! @Aries

Character: @Aries Age: +17 (17 Cycles) Magic Level: +3 (Brawler) ROUND 1 Attempt: +7 Penalties: -0 ROUND 2 Attempt: +20 Penalties: -0 ROUND 3 Attempt: +20 Penalties: -0 ROUND 4 Attempt: +6 Penalties: -0 ROUND 5 Attempt: +14 Penalties: -0 ROUND 6 Attempt: +15 Penalties: -0 ROUND 7 Attempt: +1 Penalties: -0 Total: 103

Character: @Khloros Age: +34 (34 Cycles) Magic Level: +5 (Master) ROUND 1 Attempt: +12 Penalties: -0 ROUND 2 Attempt: +20 Penalties: -0 ROUND 3 Attempt: +8 Penalties: -0 ROUND 4 Attempt: +5 Penalties: -0 ROUND 5 Attempt: +16 Penalties: -0 ROUND 6 Attempt: +3 Penalties: -0 ROUND 7 Attempt: +9 Penalties: -0 Total: 112

WINNER: Khloros

When Aries finally came too, Khloros was long gone. His whole body ached, but the most intense pain came from his gem. Aries grimace, groaning, as he tried to stand. His cracked rib protested but he pushed through, until he put weight on his front leg. The ram yelped as agonizing pain burned through his front leg. Aries collapsed on the ground, wincing as his broken gem caused him more pain.

Aries tried to catch his breath, coughing harshly as his lungs heaved. He was still groggy. The last thing he remembered was fight Khloros, then he felt air beneath his hooves. Aries looked up from where he fell. It was longs ways up, and there was no sign of Khloros. He gritted his teeth in anger. Did he just lose? That meant Khloros was still out there, spreading death, and Khloros gave that very death to him. His throat became tight.

Is this how I die? In vain?

Aries shook his head.

"No," He rasped outloud, eyes darkening with anger. "He must stopped..."

No matter the cost.

He was so close to Orion, so close. Aries saw the silver sliver of light pour through its entrance. He found new grit, clinching his teeth, he bore past his pain, rising to his feet. Ignoring the fatigue that plagued his bones, he limped, torturously slow and steady, towards his destination. He had to make it, he needed to make it! The Cave's fate depended on him.

He had to find Kin-Kin.

"speak!"

-Exit Aries-