it's empty in the valley of your heart

Fisher's life was in absolute shambles. He had let everyone down. For days, the mustelid didn't eat, staying close to Fallah's side as she grew covered in crystal and began to regrow her body. Would she even be the same after that? He had never seen anything like it, but he could only hope that she wouldn't be dead for ever. She hadn't disappeared like Deus had, right? She had to still be alive.

The brown noodle couldn't help but blame himself, however. His paws dragged through his home land, the bog firm under his wide, low spread weight. His partially webbed toes kept him above the muck with ease as he sulked about, sniffing around for food. Black would be upset if he starved himself to death after all.

But Fisher didn't want to eat. He wanted his friends back. He wanted to have a family, a true family, once more. For now, he walked alone, searching for food on his own. If danger came, he could scamper up a tree. He didn't stray too far from Fallah's cocoon either. Sniffing at the cool, misty room, he hoped to find some sort of prey hiding among the thick, endless whiteness.

His world had become a waking nightmare. For cycles, his dreams had been haunted by the mist of his childhood, of the endless humming. Monsters had filled his sleep, giant, ice breathing yetis and the king of shadows, murdering his friends and snuffing out his life. It was only fitting that he would retreat here in his darkest hour, where his worst fears could come true and his haunts pry open his heart. His scarred body quivered with each step, ears twitching off drips of moisture as they formed on his shaggy fur. Part of him felt drawn towards the water, to ask Noodle Dad about what was happening to his friend... But he could hardly find food for himself, much less a gift for the giant snake eel living in the swamp.

@Baratheon

BARATHEON

"the world is mine for the taking"

That stupid, stupid idiot! How could he go off trusting that half-faced menace! It was a trap! It was stupid! It was! It was! Unacceptable! A snarl ripped from the dragon's angry maw as he flapped his wings and flew over the mists of Cetus. He needed to hurt something, needed to destroy something! He had too or he would go on a rampage again! He probably would anyway but he needed something to occupy his time! He peered downwards through the pink mist, eyes locking onto the dull form and glowing spots of a few cave deer. With an angry roar he went into a steep dive. The sound of his snarling and wings scattered the deer but they were not fast enough to avoid his wrath. He snatched up two before they could even scream. He vented his rage out on them, ripping them apart and giving into the red mist.

The sound of his rampage might reach far and wide but he didn't care. He hardly cared about anything now that the red fog had overcome his vision. He tracked down the other cave deer and wreaked havoc among them. Sating his bloodlust and trying to forget all about half-face and Booker. For now he would just eat and live like he was supposed to. As a carnivore out to feed himself and live in the moment. He allowed his bloodlust to last a few more moments before he finally snapped out of it. He felt better... But he still wanted more... Perhaps later he would find a real adversary.

He shook his head, ears flopping against his skull as he turned away from the bloodbath. His ancient hunger satisfied he went on to do other things... Like sleep off his laziness or perhaps find someone to talk to that wasn't Booker. Maybe Delphine? She'd love to hear more of his stories, right? He was secretly quite fond of the little foal and wouldn't mind spending time with her. However, as fate would have it. He did not run into Delphine... He ran into something else entirely.

There was a chrysalis... or something like that. Curious he dipped his head down low and brushed his muzzle against it, sniffing. Was a new babe being born? He actually liked babes quite a lot. They were refreshing with their innocence and curiosity. A low hum rumbled from his throat as he lifted a paw and gently touched the smooth stone, nose still snuffling across its surface. Completely unaware was he of the other creature nearby that stood guard over the stone.

"Talking looks like this!"

462
@Fisher
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5.5/10

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

The head that popped up suddenly from the other side of the chrysalis was square, black, and blinking away sleep.

An instant later the black dog had sprung to his feet, bristling and baring his teeth, fear gripping his heart as a low growl rumbled from his chest. He was sleeping--as he ever did--alongside the chrysalis, which was nestled deep beneath the roots of a tree. The dragon would never fit beneath, which is why Black had chosen this place to place it, but its head was here--nuzzling the chrysalis. How had he found it? They were deep in the dark, under the cover of the tree... yet here the monster was, touching it.

Fallah's chrysalis.

Black erupted into a series of ferocious barks, a warning--but perhaps Fisher, wherever he was, would hear.

He knew another fight would be lost, but he knew just as well that the dragon could hardly eat a stone; Fallah, at least, was probably safe.

________________

(( ooc - I hope you guys don't mind me posting, neither were on when I got back from my delicious hotel breakfast. I can remove/edit as needed; Black won't interfere much regardless ))

it's empty in the valley of your heart

Awareness snapped into the dreary mind of the Fisher, the scent of blood seeping into the mist, flooding it like food coloring dye into water. His ears laid back, the snarls and tears of flesh-- and his instinct took over, his body launching up the nearest tree, his heart pounding in his chest as the slithering white snake came through the mist, his outline a faint shadow bellow.

The King of Blood.

Fisher cursed himself, his cowardice, as he clung to branch after branch, climbing through the trees to follow after the dragon, knowing that his worst nightmare was coming true. Baratheon was walking right towards Fallah's chrysalis, and there was nothing he could do. He shivered, his eyes wide as he clung to the tree just above his best friend's shell, watching the scene unfold.

Black was down there. No, no, no. He had to get Baratheon away-- but the dog was barking, a guard dog too loyal, too brave. The mustelid didn't deserve a friend like him. A small whimper broke from his throat, afraid, unsure what to do. Did he attack? They would die-- the beast was out for blood, he was sure of it.

... He could at least distract the dragon. With a deep breath, he twisted his body, lining himself up on the trunk, judging the distance. He stared at those flared wings, the perfect safe landing to drop on to-- and right into the beast's teeth, right into the trap.

What else was he to do? Swallowing hard, he counted to three, and then he leaped, plunging down into the pillowy mist. The fog dropped him like a stone, hardly slowing his sharp, narrow body as he fell, but at least his target was large, and as long as Baratheon didn't move, Fisher would plummet right down on the fluffy white noodle.

@Baratheon

BARATHEON

"the world is mine for the taking"

So absorbed was he in examining the chrysalis that he did not see the dark dog until it started barking and growing. Startled, Baratheon snorted and lifted his head slightly. His pink eyes stared down at the angered creature and after a moment of thought he realized that this dog must be guarding the stone. This dog was also... familiar... For some reason. But why? They hadn't met before... He was sure of it.

Baratheon's brow furrowed and he shook his head. "I'm sorry... Wasn't gonna hurt anything. No need to get bent outta shape. I'll just--"

Plop!

He was startled once more as he felt something land on his soft back, on the thick mane of blue fur. What on earth? He snaked his head around and peered down at the brown creature standing on him. Hmm... This one was familiar too but he just couldn't place how. No matter. It would come to him eventually. "Just gonna sit there? No introduction or nothin', just gonna land on my back and stay? Pfft. How rude." His voice was filled with amusement, obviously joking. This one wasn't a child, was he? He was certainly small enough to be one but his body was made wrong. Nah. This was an adult, as was the other making a racket.

"Talking looks like this!"

---
@Black
---
5/10

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

He paused as the other spoke, his thick muzzle becoming an ugly, wrinkled snarl. Blue-grey eyes seemed to glow in the darkness beneath the tree--though they didn't--and slowly he stepped forward, pacing around the chrysalis with his head held low, hackles still bristling.

The monster was speaking. It struck him first that perhaps it wasn't the same dragon, but then he realized how unlikely this was. It didn't much matter, anyway; Black would not trust him. He was likely trying to lure him out into the safety of open space--or simply toying with him.

He slowly maneuvered himself between Baratheon and the chrysalis, or tried to--and then the dragon's head was snaking out, peering back at something, and Black quickly darted forward to take up a spot guarding Fallah. He was mighty close to the dragon, now, his fangs all still bared, but his safety did not matter.

He felt the surge of the cold heart-stone inside of him, felt the pull and the tug of magic as his shadows coalesced, trying to shroud him in the same blackness that filled the underside of the tree. Even the pale eyes seemed to blink out, a shifting, shuddering void remaining where the dog and the stone had been. He growled, again, as he heard the dragon once more speaking.

"You are he who harmed her. You are he who forced her into her stone. Into death. Why."

The words were a gritty growl.

Black hadn't yet realized that it was Fisher on Baratheon's back, or he might not have remained so calm.

________________

@Fisher

it's empty in the valley of your heart

The King of Blood craned his head towards the mustelid, large pastel eyes batting at his small frame. Those teeth, still stained with blood, flashed as he spoke, but Fisher did not hear-- his mind was whirring away, churning with full on panic. Get him away. Save Black. Save the one last thing he had in this world.

If he wasn't numb with shock, the noodle might have realized that the beast was not snapping his jaws at him and instead speaking-- in fact, the King of Blood seemed very calm for a bloodthirsty beast. Fisher did not notice. He snuck under the chin of the fluffy dragon, twisting a squirming until he got right up under the King's pronged horns, digging his claws into fur, his muzzle pressed right up under the monster's floppy ears.

"Back up, now, or I'll stop both of our hearts," he threatened, his voice so quiet that it could hardly be heard under the snapping, vicious barking of his loyal companion. Right up against the King of Blood's ear, however, there was no way Baratheon wouldn't hear him. His body was thick with static, crackling between them, short, barely noticeable pricks flicking across the mustelid and the dragon.

"I'm not letting you hurt any more of my friends. Back up now," he snarled, letting his claws sink deeper into the scruff of the dragon. He was fully prepared to go nuclear-- the acidic taste of bile rising in his throat. He felt like he was going to be sick straight from worry alone, but other wise he barely felt a thing.

Nothing mattered. Save Black. Black mattered. Nothing else. Save him, and save him quick.

@Baratheon

BARATHEON

"the world is mine for the taking"

He looked down at the brown thing on his back but he heard no words in reply from it. The creature only looked worried, like he was in a full blown panic. Oi... Why did all of these creatures think he was out for blood all the time? Well, he did have blood on his fur and fangs but that was from prey. Surely they could tell that and stop being so judgmental? His ears then his eyes turned back to the dark dog who'd managed to get himself in between him and the chrysalis.

"You are he who harmed her. You are he who forced her into her stone. Into death. Why."

Baratheon's eyes widened and his blood ran cold as he finally began to remember. He was taken back in time to his rampage when everything was red, even his thoughts. He remembered a lynx, attacking it and grabbing a black dog. There was a brownish thing there but it was hazy and dark in his mind's eyes, not important to his Bloodlusted self. He remembered the dog, neck ripped open and the lynx, weakened and almost dead. He'd almost killed them all... Nearly destroyed them...

A choked sob ripped through his throat as he came back to the present. He could feel claws in his thick fur, it didn't hurt but it let him know where the fisher was. The words, it was like they'd been yelled at him. As guilty as he was for causing so much pain he jerked his head up slightly, body tensing as he backed away from the dark dog. He stopped when he was a few feet away, eyes staring sadly down at the canine while he focused on the fisher at his ear.

"I... I'm sorry... I wasn't myself then..." He wouldn't touch them, he would try to make amends if he could. That rampage... It had been one of the things he'd regretted most as it had been when he'd hurt Delphine. He hadn't even realized that he'd this many more gembounds though... His mind had repressed it until now. "I'm diseased... I lose my wits when I scent blood. I never would have hurt you otherwise. Understand what I'm saying and know that it is truth." If they didn't believe him or chose not to forgive him then there was nothing he could do. "I am truly sorry for what I did and the pain I caused." He dipped his head down in a sort of bow, trying to show that his words were sincere.

427
@Black
---
6/10

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

Black stopped barking, at last, though he stood tense and bristling. His lips lowered over his fangs, his pale eyes remaining locked on the head of the white monster.

"Then back away, if you are no threat," he warned in a low growl, agreeing with Fisher. Once the dragon was away from Fallah, away from their little nest, maybe they could talk.

But there was something else that struck him, resonated with his logic.

If he knows that he is diseased, and regrets, then why does he allow himself to live?

So in his plain and straightforward way, the dog asked just that.

"If you know you are threat, and you are diseased, and yet you regret--then why do you allow yourself to live?"

It was half-suspicious, half-suggestion. Would anyone who truly knew they killed friendly Gembound in a rage allow themselves to live? Was Baratheon lying, or had he simply not thought of the idea? To Black, there was no emotional attachment. The idea of clinging to life was foreign to him. He was a guardian. If he became a threat, he would end himself. It wasn't even something he'd internally debate--simply fact.

"Do you lie? Even exile--exile in narrow caves, filled with life. It is impossible. There will always be others. There will always be blood. You claim innocence, yet you live?"

His tone held both doubt, now, and accusation, but then--in a moment of clarity--Black realized that it might not be a good idea to continue aggravating the giant dragon, especially with Fisher clinging to Baratheon's throat. The last thing he wanted was to provoke it into killing his friend, and so at last he fell silent, simply watching Baratheon, his gaze brimming with suspicion.

________________

@Fisher

it's empty in the valley of your heart

Fisher listened to Black's words, the coldness of them clear cut and dry. Part of him felt a tinge of guilt, a memory of death and injury that plagued him, but he stamped it out and forced the thoughts back. He could not think that way, he couldn't let those words cut him in such a way. There were more important things to do.

Such as make sure no more barkfriends died at his expense. This dragon carried a fatality with him that was worse than his accidental childhood incidents, and that was that. Swallowing, he felt he had little to add-- he wanted to hear Baratheon's response. So instead, he decided it would be best to get the least on the beast while he had the chance. If worse came to worse, he could drop down by Black and push Baratheon away, keep him from Fallah's chrysalis.

If he couldn't get the leash on before the Dragon snapped, however, he knew what to do. His strongest magic. Turn himself in a small generator, turn his body into energy and give them both the shock of a life time. It would probably shatter his own gem-- Black would never forgive him for that-- but it was an option.

@Baratheon