Content Warning
This post contains potentially sensitive material:

violence

Chaos-Two's nightmares started the exact same way. With pain.

It felt like someone had shoved a hot wire up their spine. Before Vargas had so mercifully fixed them, nights like these were a reality, when the rain caused their hips and disformed rear end to ache, the raw, grinding bones hurting and hurting until they simply couldn't move. Those days they hid away from Vargas, from the others, not wanting them to see their weakness.

This was where the dreams usually ended. Pain, the fear of being caught and killed, a lingering anxiety that had only been amplified by Vargas' admittance that he hadn't kept Chaos-Two out of some sort of mercy but of horror for what he'd done. Out of selfishness.

This time was different. Anyone near would see Chaos-Two twitching and whining softly, their torment apparent.

Draconua loomed, teeth gnashing, oil dripping from between slick-stained teeth. Beady eyes rolled in their sockets as she reared and thrashed, the ground erupting beneath her.

Chaos-Two could do nothing as they desperately tried to run, their hind legs just as useless as they'd been when they were younger. But the dream didn't have the mercy to take their sight away, it seemed, because they were forced to watch as the Sleepless Chaos descended, her jaws opened so wide they split all the way down her neck, exposing rows of jagged, crooked teeth.

Oil exploded from her maw and drenched them, and it was their mistake as they gasped, the substance getting up their nose, in their eyes, even in their mouth. But no, their torture wasn't over, not yet.

Teeth grabbed them and dug into soft fur, tearing it away and ignoring their agonized screams. She choked them down, blood filling her mouth as quills and claws alike dug into the soft flesh of her mouth, but of course that didn't bother her. Pain was an old friend to Draconua and she was a masochist of the highest order. Pain? Oh she relished in it.

And then Chaos-Two was falling. Falling and falling, the pool of liquid corruption that loomed in the pit of Draconua's stomach rising up to meet them, lifting up great hands to catch them and grip so tightly that the breath was forced from their lungs. Their screams only increased in value as their skin was melted away, every inch of them joining the pool of what had to be thousands of other gembounds stuck within it too.

They saw Sentinel there, a small puppy slowly sinking to the bottom, engulfed by it. Vedette, thrashing and screaming, only making it worse as she became more and more stuck, entangled in it like a fly in a spider's web. Esther. Vjira. Chaos-Four. Dying or already dead.

Chaos-Two's screams disappeared as they went under, everything that was pure and bright being stripped, happiness turning to misery, kindness twisted into hatred, and Khavur...

Throat torn out, Vargas looming over with a hand on Chaos-Two's ugly, distorted shoulder.

"I'm proud of you," he said, and finally Chaos-Two could see themselves reflected in the blood pooling on the ground.

Oil dripped from their eyes, their nose, their mouth. Soft, tawny fur was falling out and their features were sharper, their bones stark against pale skin. But one thing didn't change. It never did.

They still had Vargas' eyes.

A shriek left Chaos-Two's mouth as sobs wracked their body, their head flying up so fast that it smacked against the top of the little nook they'd made their nest in. They flinched and thrashed, clawing at the basin of their bed as they shoved themselves into the smallest corner of their hidey-hole, unable to catch their breath, the whispers and screams flooding in while they were weak.

"H-help me...", they gasped, the touch of chaos feeling more like a hand gripping their heart and squeezing.

They were dying, they knew it. They were slowly fading away... the day had finally come.

This is AW to any sympathetic or non-sympathetic Chaos Forge. bullying is allowed but no chrysalis or death plz

"H-help me..."

She was exploring Draco in all honesty; still growing familiar with the place she now called home and all those who dwelled within it. She expected many things, most lined with curious possibilities of what may lurk within the shadows- but she did not expect someone crying for help. The voice was so faint from where she stood, all six golden eyes flickering for any sight of whom it might be. She couldn't recall whose voice this was- or if they were...familiar-but if they were here...surely they were family no? She trotted, faster now; pale yellow head twisting and turning with a pristine pale form to try and find the source at well any angle she could as if catching just a glimpse could save whoever it was. Sadly though there were quite a few nooks and crannies- places to hide in Draco if one was smaller than most. So she twisted over rocks as if fluid made flesh, crevices- trying to locate who- or what was in need of help. She was quick- till she saw...someone-something. She froze to observe if only for a moment.

Help.

Something within her stirred and writhed beneath flesh- whispers rattling with a harshed but overlayed tone; hungry and confused she could not make out the words that rattled around- for now it was like white noise. The partial sight of whoever this was though- and the thought of tears and pain- memories flashing back to that rat her Overseer Cain had so generously dragged out to her before. It's panic and the pitiful and desperate attempts to escape an unknown grasp before its death. This-valkhound though she had seen at the meeting- it was the one that Master Vargas kept mentioning...V-Chaos-Two?

Here they were nestled away- and they had asked for help, were...they dying? Would they die like the rat?-No...no they couldn't be right? She hadn't smelled blood- at least not yet.

"Hello?-Do you need help?...Who hurt you?"

She did recall that if anyone were to harm another Forge member outside of a designated spar...well that was against the rules was it not?... Master Vargas wouldn't be so pleased- and it was in the best interest of everyone to...look out for each other no? They were family- even if some were a bit more...hostile than others. Granted she had no idea of the nightmares that plagued them- nor what caused their pain...the best she could do right now though was to simply ask? Perhaps she could help; she was rather hopeful on this curious situation.

@V-Chaos-Two

Chaos-Two twitched from the phantom pains and the feeling of oil dripping down their back. They had called out for Khavur accidentally, but someone else had come.

Immediately they flinched, terrified it was someone like Cain or Vargas, here to ridicule their weakness. They were afraid to look as Aurelia spoke her concern, their form trembling as they fought down their panic.

"N-no one hurt me," they sniffled, their tail tucked between their legs as they quickly wiped their tears, risking a glance.

The new valkhound that Overseer Cain had brought. They recognized her. Immediately they relaxed, just a little, hoping that she wasn't like the others, that she might forgive them for this moment.

"It's just a dream," they whispered, mostly to themselves to try and calm their churning stomach, "I-I didn't catch your name at the meeting."

They could smell the taint of corruption on Aurelia. They knew it well, for it was the smell of Draconua, of Vedette, of the Black Spire. Of oil-slicked teeth crunching down on bone, cracking and splitting. Of violence and death and decay.

It was strange that Aurelia was acting rather... sane. Kind, even. Asking if Chaos-Two needed help, a phrase that made just the tiniest bit of hope well up in their chest.

@Aurelia

The valkhound's sudden flinch did not go unnoticed, this only seemed to louden the white noise that scratched at the back of her skull. For now, she only watched- patiently hoping for an answer. Luckily one did come, and it was of some fairly good news. Nobody had hurt them. Then why cry?-And were they trembling? She took a step closer, neck craning to get a better look at them too. All eyes focused on them, gold in a sea of black she watched unwavering.

They were crying, wiping tears away with a quick trembling hand-and they looked at her; just a glance but she took that as an invitation to approach-if only by a few feet. She'd keep her distance, it felt...respectable even if she wanted to be closer. Aurelia could only watch as they whispered, she hummed softly in response before opening her maw once more.

"I am glad you are not hurt.-But a dream caused this? Is there...anyway to help?"

She paused for a moment then, eyes unblinking till they all slowly did in unison; like that of a cat.

"I am Aurelia. And you are, Chaos-Two? Yes?"

She was ever curious, and perhaps didn't quite understand that dreams could hurt someone- she after all was still a child and only familiar with the dreams within her chrysalis thus far. But she was ever-growing both in size and knowledge of the world around her. But regardless of her age, she felt that desire- that familial pull, she was already so loyal to her Overseer Cain- and Master Vargas by extension. And now she had met another member of the family-one who was in pain. It pulled something in her-beneath the skin. Aching and writhing like eels beneath flesh that searched for a way out. She wondered if there was something she could do to help...if there really was anything one could do to help with a dream.


@V-Chaos-Two

Chaos-Two looked unhappy as they shook their head, "A nightmare. A bad dream. But I don't know how you could help unless you somehow managed to get into my head and took them away."

They looked over at Aurelia as she moved closer and hoped she didn't crawl into their nest. Either they'd become extremely upset or immediately adopt her as their own and they didn't know which was worse. Aurelia was... well, a child. And they had a bad habit of getting attached.

"I am," they said, looking away in shame, knowing how she got that name, "... I'm surprised you're at all willing to even be in my presence after what Master Vargas said about me."

Why did Aurelia care? Was she simply too naive to stay away from weakness like the plague? Like everyone else (except Khavur) seemed to?

@Aurelia

Content Warning
This post contains potentially sensitive material:

gore

[Just her remembering food gfsnjkgfs]

A nightmare, so thats what it was...a bad dream...how awful- to dream was something she had only experienced in moments of peace and yearning in the times before. But to know now that they could twist and coil in ones gut and ache the heart too- even well one up with tears- well she wasn't exactly looking foward to that should she ever have one...but still she watched them, thinking. They knew no way for her to help, well unless she could get into their head and take them away. This spurred something to churn in her gut, tendrils of muscle writhing beneath smooth pale skin as if something living squirmed chaoticlly ravonous beneath the surface of her spine. Echoes and overlapping whispers hushed but fiending rose in her mind as images of rats and meals past came back to her- squelching fat and gristle; gnashing bone and marrow between teeth with cracked skulls to remove the insides out- to take-

She breathed...

All eyes shut she was silent, trying to make sense...perhaps she was hungry- yes...whenever she grew peckish she noticed it now; the whispers faint and often inaudible...till she missed a meal or put it off- then it grew louder- often overlapping in words she could barely make out but at time they grew clear- and there was many...

That had to be it. It took her a moment, she did not move forward but she did focus on Chaos-Two once again. The talk of getting into one's head and taking away something- of course it made a growing child hungry in...such a peculiar and unusual way; but she shook it off. She'd eat later- family was not what one should or ever eat nor would she ever think of it. She seemed a bit- bristled...well if she had fur that was. Though she was rather pleased to admit at least she only thought about rats- hearty meals and quick snacks rather than- well the valkhound before her. They were family, perhaps...they needed food?...That always made her feel quite a bit better- though...when was she not hungry...

Anyway she inhaled softly, focusing at the valkhound before her with a calm and unwavering gaze.

"Why would I not be here?...You needed help...and- you are going to make...gardens no? Master Vargas said you will help farming?"

She didn't quite understand...they were- doing something for The Chaos Forge- under Master Vargas's word- were they not?... Perhaps they failed then but- surely they were honored with a new role now- a task from Master Vargas himself? Was that alone not something worthy of praise and pride?

"You will find your purpose even if it is not the one's you have tried before...I have yet to find mine...in due time I'll have it just like you."

She was- perhaps a bit naive...but a good heart- and if anything she was loyal to family and quite confident in what she had yet to accomplish but hoped to achieve. Perhaps it was even overly apparently that she felt such things in those around her too- at least its how she felt for V-Chaos-Two.

@V-Chaos-Two

Chaos-Two shrugged gently, "Weakness is discouraged among the Chaos Forge. I was... I was so terribly frightened by Draconua that I just... ran away. That is why Vargas used me as an example. That is all I am, an example of what not to be."

Bitterness welled up and they wiped their eyes again, curling up in a tight ball in their nest, sniffling, "... I will help garden, but I am meant to become a medic. A healer."

They looked over at Aurelia and wished that she'd never been brought there, that she could have run far away the second she could. Tears came unbidden again and he shuffled over, patting the space next to them.

"Come," they said softly, "My nest is large for a reason."

Mostly because they and Khavur often snuggled together on restless nights, or when it became cold. Or whenever they wanted, really.

"You're kind," they said softly, sadly, "I fear for you. I fear that your kindness will get you hurt. I'm sorry."

@Aurelia

"Weakness is discouraged among the Chaos Forge"

Perhaps...they were right- weakness was discouraged. But weakness would mean giving up, wouldn't it?.. Absolute failure in everything- they all had their strengths...and Chaos-Two was still here and trying. Aurelia did not see that as weakness, perhaps in a fight against the one known as Draconua, yes. But against one as her- well only a select few could do such a thing; that she was sure of. Memories flickering back to the meeting- from when the giant valkhound had torn her own tendril off in twisted hunger in front of everyone.

Regardless she did not speak- she didn't have a chance to by the time Chaos-Two was curling back into a tight ball. Soon tears left their eyes and they called her over. She felt something then, an ache deep within her chest; as if muscles were strained and crying for them too.

She was not one to shy away from contact, being so young and still not quite understanding of the term personal space to many. She did after all receive caring gestures, purrs, and the like from her Overseer Cain when she had emerged from her chrysalis. She wanted a family, those who she could protect and make proud. She wanted purpose, she wanted to belong. Perhaps Chaos-Two really wasn't that different from her in that sense.

She entered their nest, taking care to not lay entirely on them all at once. While she was still young she was- still fairly large by the standards of valkhounds she had come to notice. But still even in height and well length for comparison as she walked along with all appendages- Chaos-Two was still larger so to speak. She would catch up to them in time- but now wasn't the time for such thoughts. She afterall could only listen in silence as they apologized for her kindness. She was young, observant, and kind yes. And Chaos-Two's words had her hope she would not change for the worse.

Perhaps she would learn through others- to be careful...maybe Chaos-Two was hurt long ago...Regardless she would take care to try and avoid such; though most people do and it doesn't always work out in the end how one plans. But still, she had others- Overseer Cain and Master Vargas no?... And well now Chaos-Two too, certainly their wisdom and knowledge of life would aid her. No, she felt no fear. She would triumph over pain and scorn, she was sure of it; confident. But she would not speak much of that, only snuggling up to Chaos-Two now in silent reassurance as she thought on these matters and their words.

"I am kind...as are you."

She paused, a low rumble of purr rising in her chest, it was- different than that of a cat; but seemed to hold a similar function.

"Do not be sorry Chaos-Two, for you are not at fault. I do not fear I will be hurt..and if I should be- well, I have family like you. All will be well in time."

She proceeded to purr, maw still open just a tad as all eyes remained closed in a lazy focus.

"We are not failures for as long as we breathe."

@V-Chaos-Two

This child should not have to think of all of these things. She should have been allowed to be a child. The Forge was no place for children.

Chaos-Two shuddered at the contact, having only had the kind touch of Khavur to sate their need for touch, for affection. But Khavur could not be around all the time, and so they often found themselves itching for a touch, and unfortunately that often drew them to Vargas, their only other stable connection.

"... Family," they said, choking up, "I-I... yes. We're not failures."

They were attached, securely and firmly. Not good, but... what could Chaos-Two do? Aurelia was only a child seeking affection, and even better was the fact that she was offering it back. She wasn't like Vedette and Sentinel, monsters in smaller, cuter bodies.

So Chaos-Two opened their heart cautiously and snuggled closer, setting their head on Aurelia's neck, showing their horns to the outside of the nest in case anyone decided to interrupt them. A warning.

"I will do my best to protect you," they said softly, daring to stroke their hands along smooth skin. A promise not made idly. Chaos-Two had lodged Aurelia firmly on their list of 'to die for'.

"Thank you," they said softly, getting out one last sniffle, "The Forge needs more kindness, I think. But sleep well, Aurelia."

They closed their eyes and settled down, more comfortable now. They felt... they felt okay, actually. The voices no longer whispered and everything was so... quiet.

@Aurelia

She was pleased when Chaos-Two agreed. They were family, they were not failures. Aurelia though was not entirely used to the whole cuddling or any amount of snuggles. Though don't get her wrong, it was wonderful! Now this, oh this she could most certainly get used to. It was calming, secure, and heartwarming. Better than the close embrace of her chrysalis from the time before when it was all unknowing bliss.

Her tail, prehensile, curled around them both. The tip hooked over a portion of her tail almost interlocking perfectly. A silent way of saying, do not let me go- and some insurance to ensure he was not whisked away. She listened, eyes closed almost too perfectly in which her head would look to be just a smooth shape. But neither she nor he would notice right now. Chaos-Two spoke, making a promise to do their best to protect her.

"And I'll protect you too, goodnight Chaos-Two."

Her voice was softer, laced with sleep that was beginning to trickle in with each breath. They would protect each other as a family should. That much she was sure about. The purr that vibrated deep within her chest would grow weaker by the moment, not worryingly so just-idling almost till she too was out like a light. Succumbing to weary eyes and the call of the sandman. Peaceful silence, even the voices were all hushed now.

@V-Chaos-Two