Despite the feelings of fear dissipating the rat clutched on, for the moment not registering the great black beast as anything but a part of the environment.

Instead its beady eyes began to focus on the orange object in its right paw. Something about that crystalline spire called to it, spoke to the very fiber of its being. It was stuck though, embedded in this fleshy thing. Embedded in this predator who could decide at any moment to harm it.

It wasn't fair! Why should the predator keep the spire? It already had more of them on the rest of its head. It couldn't hurt to try to take the crystal back it its nest. The predator wouldn't miss it.

These obsessive thoughts burned in the rat's simple mind, distracting it from the deep pain in the back of its own neck as the bleeding only got worse. Primordial feelings of envy overwhelmed it as teeth came down to the base of the spire in an attempt to chew the creature's flesh away and free the pretty orange gem.

@Aaliyah @Equinox

Astaroth groaned as he rose slowly from his sleep, his fur damp but painfully warm. He saw flames around him and bolted out, yelping and screaming. "What the actual FUCK, is happening?!?!" He rolled, his fur steaming as he jumped through a wall of flame. His eyes wide, he yelped and scrambled away from the black.. thing. Sprinting in a random direction before stumbling over the pumacal, curling into a ball and whimpering with fear and shock. "This isn't real, they aren't real, this is another nightmare." he whispered as he covered his eyes with his paws.

@Aaliyah

Slow paw-steps were carefully treading the Caves, the mutants' large claws making clattering sounds against the hard ground. Their movement was awkward since she still is getting used to this new body of hers, while it technically isn't new now Rinaotei went into a deep sleep again soon after her reawakening. Amusingly enough her new wings while initially were some challenge to handle aren't what's making things so complicated, the moment she began to mentally imagine the wings as a new set of limbs, flexible limbs that she can use for boat sails of sorts flying become a breeze to learn quickly. However, since she has practised so much in the air and has grown to love it, it occasionally feels odd to walk on the ground again, especially with larger claws that were curved somewhat like sickles, this is especially the case with her well-built hind legs.

Eventually, the mutant caught an odd concentrated odour in the air, making her nose twitch to take in the scent. Whatever it was made her feel somewhat uneasy; for this fragrance seemed to indicate danger, although her expression looked slightly relaxed the moment Rina caught this smell her fur was standing on the ends, even her scales doing something similar for they have shifted up and look a little more substantial because of it. Noticing the source of this scent was coming from Eridanus she made haste, her wings shot upwards as she took off flying over there to see what is wrong.

Closer to Eridanus, the scent seemed to be getting fainter as she got more nearer, is it possible that she's perhaps going the wrong way? No. It is most definitely coming from Eridanus. She hoped the putrid scent fading was a positive thing.

Finally reaching the entrance, Rina carefully landed on the ground and walked cautiously looked inside and scanned the area, the scent oddly just about gone but a lot of other fragrances detected of other Gembounds.

Seeing the commotion of other Gembounds, quite unusual looking, Rina ventured into Eridanus towards where all the other Gembounds gathered, for she sincerely hopes that conflict isn't happening right now, if so perhaps she can attempt to quail it, and maybe assist in case that smell came back again.

Joining in the large group to see what's happening, she takes note of some others one other wolf in particular who appeared to be quite distressed. Rina also took concern when she saw that a rat was looking to be gnawing at the flesh of the feline Gembound. Rina acknowledges the great Gembound whose body has a unique substance coating them, although they don't seem to be doing anything towards the others that looked malicious. But she stays on guard with them nonetheless, didn't stop her from lifting one of her front legs, and none threateningly fanned her claws at them as a way to wave a quiet greeting towards them. Rina tries to make her posture and general attitude amicable despite her fur and scales still standing on the ends.

"Please calm yourself things are alright," She softly spoke to the other wolf in a voice like a water stream; soothing. Hopefully, things are alright right now anyway, but she left that unsaid as she turns towards the others to address them. Rina moves closer to the rat and pumacal, while delicately moving her wing in front of the rat to possibly make it stop chewing on the Gembound's skin by blocking it from doing so. "what's happening?"

_____________

words| 599
tagged| @Aaliyah @Equinox @Astaroth
ooc| ---
muse| 6/10

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

.

Li jumped in surprise at the grumbling noise that came from the large black creature. She watched it leave, only to come back and continue putting out the fire. She'd have to thank it at some point. If it wasn't for the large creature, she'd be toast by now! After it was done putting out the fire, it stooped down to her level. She opened her mouth to thank it, but the feeling of something gnawing at her made her mouth snap shut.

She let out a yelp, for a moment wondering what was going on. When she realized the rat was chewing at her fur for whatever reason, she began to paw at it, desperation increasing as time went on. She shook her head a few times as well. What was it trying to do? Was it trying to chew her gem off? She couldn't let it do that! She continued to paw at it, claws slowly getting more involved, when something stumbled over her, making her yelp and stumble as well. Her head quickly whipped over to where the creature now lay, paws over his eyes.

Seeing another gembound here made her feel slightly uneasy. There was already a large black creature, and a rat trying to chew her gem off. She backed away from it until freezing as another voice came up. She turned and saw a wolf with wings speaking to the other wolf. Now it was really getting to be too much for the hybrid, and when the wolf approached her, she backed away a little. As the wing extended to block the rat from chewing on her gem, Li flinched. Looking down, she noticed the claws on the wolf and her eyes widen, and she begins to scramble backwards, ears lowered, rat completely forgotten.

The claws reminded her of Imperia's, except these were worse. They were curved and large, and she could only imagine the feeling of them ripping through her flesh. She didn't stop to consider that this wolf likely wouldn't attack her. Then again, she couldn't know for certain, could she? Anyone could attack her.

Her gaze flicked between the three gembounds, landing on first the giant black creature. Sure, it had helped put out the fire. But the creature was huge! It wouldn't take much for it to hurt her. Her gaze landed on the wolf curled into a ball, whispering nothings to himself. He didn't seem like much of a threat, but she knew from experience how someone could go from being like that to immediately angry. She'd seen Imperia do it plenty of times. Lastly, her gaze turned to the wolf with wings. Her claws were large, and Li let out a low whimper. Her gaze constantly flicked between the three gembounds, only partially aware of the rat.

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts looks like this."

tags: @Equinox @Astaroth @Rinaotei
notes: here

Equinox's neck arched back as suddenly her concentration was snapped by something screaming and a black wolf writhed onto the
scene, seemingly reacting to the few smouldering spots that she'd left in her dousing onslaught. They were getting too close to herfeline charge for comfort. She let out a hiss in the back of her throat at the loud noises, her skin writhing in ripples of textures as she stared unsure, then glanced at the cat she'd been looking at before.

They appeared preoccupied, as the previously-amiable rat appeared to suddenly take offense to the predator it rode upon- giving Equinox the chance to look around and acknowledge the other strangers- her diamond-encased eye flickered wildly from being to being, and though the draconian wolf-thing appeared calm, its attitude soothing her slightly, the black wolf had definitely unnerved her. Texture continuing to ripple over her slimy skin it appeared that she was for a moment covered in a seething mass of black worms.

She hissed again in the black wolf's direction, her chest vibrating in a thudding growl. Then, if such a creature could look worried, she did, and looked over Aaliyah, then the dragon-thing, and finally back at the black wolf. then her enormous bulk skulked forward as she coiled herself next to Aaliyah, between her and everything else, but the majority of her dripping, throbbing bulk in between the cat and the black wolf.

She hated loud noises.


---

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts looks like this."

tags: @Aaliyah @Rinaotei @Astaroth
notes: here

Chew chew. Rip the flesh! Must get the shiny thing! But pain, the pain in its neck was growing, spreading. Unbearable.

More predators, more chaos. It didn't matter. They would try to take the trinket from it. They would try to stop it as it flayed meat from bone until all impurities had been stripped away clean. Bite the pale flesh, bite the wing. Would the pain that was spreading deep inside stop if it did this?

The world shifted as a wall of black worms manifested, blocking off the other predators, the other bags of flesh.

With a terrifying sound a single lung collapsed, which was just enough pain to snap the rat out of its single minded gnawing. The voice of instinct was much quieter now, fighting with all its might with this new drive that had washed over it. The pain wasn't stopping. It had to get away!

The rat scrambled, gripping any bit of flesh it could as it flung itself away from the cat. It wanted to run away. It had to run away. Why wasn't it running away? Why was it stopping a short distance away and facing the creatures again? Why was it hissing at the things that could easily kill it?

Unknown to the rat at the time a visible black strand was emerging from the wound on the back of its neck, clawing its way out like a single spider leg. The leg poked around in the air before resting itself onto the rats flesh as though it were looking for a grip to climb the rest of the way out. Instead the glimmering black and bloody tendril began to grow, extending its length along the side of the rat's neck, branching at various points until like a vine it had claimed almost a quarter of the rat's face and both its forelimbs down to the joint.

A strange voice echoes in the minds of all present...

ąƒƮƹř ƹɲȡŁƹȿȿ ȼ¥ȼŁƹȿ Łɨƒƹ ȿƮɨŁŁ ȼŁɨɲǥȿ. Ʈɦƹ ώǿřƙ ɨȿ ɨɲȼǿʍρŁƹƮƹ. ɨƮ ɦµɲǥƹřȿ. ɨƮ ƙɲǿώȿ ɲǿ ȿąƮɨąƮɨǿɲ.

ɲǿ ʍąƮƮƹř. ąȿ ƒŁƹȿɦ ȡƹȼą¥ȿ ąɲȡ Ʈɦƹ ŁɨǥɦƮ ȡɨƹȿ ąŁŁ ώɨŁŁ þƹ ąȿ ǿɲƹ.

Astaroth jumped up and started growling and pawing at his ears with the voice. "No you can't do that only I should be able to do that get out of my HEAD." After wards he squinted and looked around at everything around him, seeing the charred forest and HOLY HELL WHAT IS THAT. He stalked around the black creature, trying to keep as low and small as possible as he examined it. "What in the Spire's name are you?" He said still slightly afraid of the large creature, it could smash him like a bug if it wanted. He then looked around and saw the other two creatures, acknowledging the other.. wolf? In particular. He nimbly stepped to where everyone could see him at once."Hello, I don't believe any of us have met, I am Astaroth." He focused on the ground and trees around him, attempting to shake it to the sound of his name. He grimaced with the effort but was satisfied with the trees rustling around him in particular, though the ground remained still.
"Speaking."
Thoughts.
tags: @Aaliyah @Equinox @Rinaotel
notes:

Rina tried as best as she can to avert making sudden forms of movement that would perhaps startle the other Gembound or the rat, but that was in vain as the feline flinched nonetheless. The mutant was about to try and reassure them that she was only attempting to perhaps assist them with this here rat, but Rina didn't get the chance to as the she-feline stumbled away from her in terror, taking notice that their eyes are on her claws.

Oh goodness... Was she perhaps too forward to them in silently approaching proximate to them without uttering anything? Or is it possibly the fact that felines can retract their claws as some way to be non-threatening? With that thought in mind, Rina droops her ears a little in marginal shame, looking marginally apologetic to the cat for frightening them. With that gradually, she backed away from them to allow them some space and tried as best she can to remotely retract her front claws, thankfully her new thick scales don’t make them hurt her, woefully she can't do much about her hind claws though.

The tension seemed to expand when the large one appeared to be remotely agitated now additionally, making Rina concerned even further, albeit they appear to have just been startled from the other wolf since it doesn't seem to be hissing at her or the cat. Her relaxed expression did betray a quick look of unease when the large one's body commenced to distort rapidly.

Oh dear... Is that akin to fur standing on the ends? She needs to know what's been transpiring so she can find a solution without anyone getting hurt. But when the large one coiled around the cat she gradually backed away even more, are they trying to bulwark the cat or something?

The rat seemed to let go, making her relived just scarcely finally, but that relief soon went as when she kept her eye on it as it took a truculent stance from a distance. Then something somewhat unnatural appears to be transpiring to its body and with the strange voice in her head, trying slightly to ignore it as whatever it is saying can take priority later, there's just too much going on right now...

Alright... The other wolf seems alright now, did her words help? Either way, they look okay now, hope that could result in one problem solved. Wow though, did they not see anything happening here? They seem a bit too oblivious to things right now... Good grief.

_____________

words| 430
tagged| @Aaliyah @Equinox @Astaroth
ooc| ---
muse| 7/10

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

.

Li was only partially aware of what was happening, although that soon ended when the black creature curled itself around her. She bristled, but made no effort to move. The rat was still chewing at her fur around the gem, and she had given up getting it off. It hurt like hell, but she couldn't be bothered. She didn't even know if it was possible for a part of her gem to break out.

She could hear a voice. It sounded like it was from the wolf who had been curled up just moments before. She paid it no attention. He didn't matter at this moment. He no longer seemed like a thread, much to her relief. She didn't have long to dwell on that, however, as the rat on her head seemed to finally stop gnawing. It scrambled away and she let out a yowl as it took a bit of flesh with it.

She turned to it and was surprised to see turning back and hissing at them. She scrambled away from it as a black tendril began to appear, clawing its way out from the back of its neck. It continued to grow until it took up part of the rat's face. At that moment, a clear yet strange voice rang through her head. It took the rat and that voice for her to snap.

She began to back away, whispering quietly to herself, panic etched in her voice. "No, no no no...Leave me alone! Don't hurt me, please..." Tears began to trail down her face, leaving marks on the tan fur. Her ears were lowered, eyes wide. She stopped against the edge of the black creature, and her flight or fight response kicked in. Flailing, claws out, she scratched and bit anything in her way in her attempt to flee. She couldn't stay here, she had to leave! Her movements increased as desperation kicked in. Anything could attack her! She had to get out.

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts looks like this."

tags: @Equinox @Astaroth @Rinaotei
notes: here