Her senses were fading, tiniest gurgles emerging from her stricken chest and flames soaring high into the air. She now felt not only the heat as the flames consumed the slime that coated her, but the burning as it ate into her flesh, grey and blistering beneath. She hardly noticed the beating of wings, the cat and the wolf fleeing, the world and the sounds were a blur around her. only the acrid scent of smoke stung her nose, blurred sights were all she knew. all she could hear were the cries rupturing from her own throat.

She hardly noticed as cooling, life-saving water rained down upon them all, dousing both the world around and her sorry, sagging form. She whimpered quietly, and as the haze and smoke cleared she was visible as a bedraggled grey mass, blistered and burned seemingly beyond repair. She was sprawled on the ground, her head and neck curled against itself. She was breathing, although it was labored, and as the time ticked into minutes, it became clear that she'd lost consciousness, giving way to folds of sleep amidst the waves of agony and fear.

As the minutes faded into hours, Equinox curled into a tight ball, and a sheen of diamond began to creep from her maw, encasing her, so that she'd be given time to heal.

-exit Equinox-

---

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

tags: @Aaliyah @Rinaotei @Astaroth
notes: here

Astaroth groaned once again in pain, he gave up following the stream once the smoke started to settle after the last strong puffs of steam drifted over the water, he supposed it was safe to lie low, the fires must be out. he limped over to a niche by the stream bed, and laid down, letting sleep fall over him and letting the tension run out of his limbs slowly, smiling in spite of his soreness and the slight burn of his lungs.

"Speaking."
Thoughts.
tags: @Equinox @Rinaotei @Aaliyah
notes: --Exit Astaroth--

Gradually taking even breaths when the smoke commences clearing away more, sanctioning Rina to inhale clean air and, begins to feel marginally better from that. But the concern for the other Gembounds wellbeing was victualing at her mind, so her break was brief as she picks her wings back upward, taut, and takes off to the air again hoping to scout out the others to visually perceive if they're OK.

It was expeditious for Rina to find the other draconian thing, looking on to where they were, her expression having a marginal tinge of ruefulness for them... The poor thing... That must've been torture for them; she wishes she was quicker in helping them. Rina doesn't know whether they're alive or dead; since it's a chrysalis around their whole body, she thinks they're just in hibernation of sorts. Shutting her eyes, she sanctioned herself to recompose and to perpetuate her search, but she did jeopardise a couple of look backs to where the draconian being's chrysalis is, afore moving on. Probing for the other Gembounds whereabouts, more categorically the feline as they seemed remotely distressed and with how the other wolf was expeditious to leave she'd believe they're safe.

Descending to the creek as that would be the best place to look first, gradually gliding along to find the feline to see if they were alright.

Where were they...?

Her scouting took a very long while, and Rina could find no sign of the feline around the creek, and so she endeavoured to probe their whereabouts in other areas, above the stream, the trenches, even The Monarch but Rina could not find them anywhere. No sign at all. Rina believes that may mean they did manage to save themselves since if they didn't, Rinaotei may have seen a corpse somewhere, she's immensely blissful that isn't the case. But perhaps she should still search for them with how stressed they were. Could probably need some comforting maybe? With that thought in mind, the mutant wolf proceeds to leave Eridanus, but Rina stops by where the draconian being's chrysalis is again and bows her head just a little with her eyes shut in a long silence. She may visit their chrysalis sometimes to see for any alterations, but for now she'll leave Eridanus; hopefully, she'll find the feline along the way.

With that she gradually walks out of Eridanus in absolute silence, her gait not looking as inelegant now as it was earlier.

_____________

words| 426
tagged| @Aaliyah
ooc| -Exit Rinaotei-
muse| 7/10

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

.

Li heaved and coughed and spluttered as she lay there on the riverbank. She worked to gather her strength to leave, but she couldn't get herself to move. So she lay there, water lapping at her hind legs, and slowly closed her eyes and took a brief nap.

After some time, she woke. Slowly, gingerly, she began to get up, wincing at the pain. She knew she couldn't stay here. She had to get out. Slowly, she began to walk to the nearest exit, not caring where it led. She just had to get out. By the time she got to the closest exit, she wasn't in as much pain, and nearly ran into the exit and through the tunnel to wherever it led.

-exit Aaliyah-

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

tags: here
notes: here