Head held high, he was stumbling by the end of their journey as it had taken a far while longer to get here than he had first anticipated. The occasional break was taken, a combination micro cloud was used on Booker in order to both dull yet multiply the disease that lay within his breast. During these breaks, he had been wary of the pink and white dragon but he had come to realize that they had something going on between the them he hadn't seen before. Eventually, this would have to be utilized for his own gain but he could wait. There was much more to do before then.

Ascending to the platforms, the weight was shrugged off his shoulders as he pushed the numbat onto the ground a little bit too roughly. Head rolling around his shoulders as he cracked his back, his amber eye snapped open. It would seem that living up so high was an extremely hazard idea with his impaired sight but if he fell to his death that was fate right? Most of his philosophies were changing as he went out and experience the world, felt pain and been on the brink of death. That was certainly something to cause massive upheaval in a person's morals, but it only made him more aware of mortality and how fragile it was. How easy it was to smudge out.

A deep breath out and he straightened his body, the pink dragon should be up here shortly but he had to assemble everyone. Diamondfang had been speaking of war, certainly this would not be the meeting to call them together for it but rather to announce his new prizes and then begin to formulate a plan. Especially with talks of a wedding, he wasn't sure who but even he knew not to ruin something like that. Maybe the only piece of heart and kindness he had. "MERRY MEN YOU BETTER GET YOUR ASSES UP TO THE LARGEST PLATFORM AS I HAVE VISITORS," a smirk and a gentle nose nudge of the numbat boy. While he slept he was so innocent, it made his smirk wobble and waver but there was no break.

Not good with large groups exceeding more than two, he figured he would tag out once the thief woman got here. She was a lot better at this whole leader thing than him as he was merely a Witch Doctor with a penchant for wanting to cause harm rather than heal. There wasn't anything wrong with that. Settling down next to his seriously ill guest, he ran his tongue along Booker's fur in an almost soothing way. Certainly intimate for him, and he wondered why he enjoyed it as much as he did but he found caring for Booker... We'll stop there.

ooc; set after the proposal thread when talks of the wedding are starting to spread, please let Baratheon and Booker post first <3. Anyone with ties/interest in joining Merry Men is welcome to join!

@Booker @Nemesis @Gwazi @Diamondfang @Baratheon @Fleur @Magdalena

It felt as if they had been travelling for days, weeks, centuries, an unending cycle of being re-infected, sapped of even more energy, unable to keep his eye open to even guess at where, exactly, they were heading. Booker's bond with Baratheon, so beautiful before, a bright chain of white and pink, was shriveled on the numbat's side, now, infected and covered in creeping puke-green tendrils, sagging under the weight of Louie's disease. The most the tiny Gembound did was hiss, claw blindly at his captor, sending across continually softer messages to his brother, trying to calm the dragon down, trying not to think of severing their bond entirely to spare Baratheon the pain. This was one situation Booker couldn't, for the life of him - quite literally - find a way out of, not even with his connection to the Mother.

Eventually, Louie began to limp, then to stumble, then to slow, and finally, he heaved his shoulders. Caught off guard, Booker couldn't do much to roll into the fall, dropping to the cold floor with a thump and a pained squeak, gem spires clacking against the stone loudly, sending a spike of pain through the numbat's head. Breath knocked away, Booker lay, struggling to pant, open his eye, do something... but he stilled. This place, it felt familiar. Wrenching his eyelid open, the tiny Gembound sucked in a breath, grimacing, gaze darting about the wretched place. "Mono... ceros... should've... guessed," he grunted, ears pinned back, shifting his head slowly to glare up at Louie. It surprised him that the beast hadn't killed him yet, but then, Booker couldn't understand much of anything about the fox.

Exhausted, Booker let his eye slip shut, whiskers twitching at his captor's loud decree. Visitors, he thought with a huff of amusement, leaning against the bond within his mind-space. A nudge made him shiver in fear, reaching out to his bonded with a wince, trying to hold onto the quickly shrivelling comfort. The scribe heard Louie sit nearby, and braced himself - would the fox kill him now, in some sort of show of power? But no teeth made their way to his flesh. The only pain he felt was the clogging of his lungs, the stiffness of his muscles, the ache of the virus. Instead, a tongue groomed at his fur, and unconsciously, Booker relaxed into the gesture. It had to be Baratheon, after all - what would Louie be doing, being kind to his prisoner? Comforted, the numbat relaxed into the sensation, snuffling, trying to block out the howl of the wind through the very place where he and Baratheon had almost perished.

Poetic, huh, Bara? Had to be Monoceros. Funny.

@Baratheon

"Baratheon Speech"


As they traveled Baratheon had hung back. He didn't know where they were going, didn't care really. All he cared about was watching Booker and making sure that he wasn't hurt. So far the fox hadn't hurt his Rider and the walk was relatively quiet but that was probably because he refused to speak. Half-Face deserved nothing from him, not even his insults. All he needed was death... As they walked along he focused his attention also inwards, on the Bond. It helped to keep his mind from the rage which would certainly bring on the fever. Half-Face had tainted the Bond... clogged it with sickness that dragged at Booker's life force like a plague. He tried to filter his strength and hopefulness that they would get out of this situation. He was a guardian, it was his job to figure out a way to get them away from this danger. He could not... would not let this fox win. He was an alpha... a leader, it was his job to keep his Rider safe.

If he couldn't then he was hardly a dragon at all...

He snorted, smoke filtering from his nostrils. Ae'thiya forbid that he fail in his task... He wouldn't, he could do this. He was a dragon, wild and untamed. He wouldn't be bound forever by this stupid half-face! He just needed a plan of some sort but what? He didn't know...

They reached Monoceros, he could tell by the rush of wind to his long fur. With a blink he focused his thoughts outwards but kept the hold onto Booker with his bond, making sure to keep filtering his strength and resolve. Perhaps it was good that he focused himself outwards or he might have lunged at Louie for dropping Booker in such a fashion. As it was he simply let out an enraged roar and flapped his wings, heading right up to the platforms where he stood protectively over the numbat as he glared down the fox. Don't do it again or I'll kill you... His eyes said.

He leaned downwards to nuzzle his Bonded softly while his tongue briefly slid out to give him a soft lick. Before sitting down on his haunches but turning his gaze around to await the others to assemble. It was almost poetic but he wasn't much into poetry. What he found himself focusing on at this moment was, Magdalena... His thought spoken voice was nearly a growl. This was Magdalena's place alright... So why had her crony taken them as prisoner?

While he looked around he felt something, gross, foreign, wrong. He made a disgusted snort and shook his head in irritation. After a moment when he could ignore the strange sensation no longer he turned his head to Booker and Louie with ears pinned to his skull in irritation. What he saw had him hissing at first but then stopping with a slight head tilt. It was that licking that he felt but he felt it as an invasion of his body while Booker seemed to enjoy it. It disturbed him. The fox was licking him in such an intimate way and intimacy in general disturbed and confused him... What should he do? Stop it? Let it go on? He hated Half-Face and hated that he was touching Booker but he wasn't hurting him but... his very existence hurt him... The result of his confused emotions sent out a mix of body language. His ears were still pinned and his lips curled in anger but his head was tilted and eyes wide open in confusion. That isn't me... His voice wasn't angry, wasn't even curious... It just was. He would gauge Booker's reaction and act accordingly.

@Booker @Louie @Fleur @Magdalena @Gwazi @Nemesis

In silence, the dog spent a lot of her time reminiscing, thinking; memories of the voices of ones she knew flitting through her mind like recordings. She played them over and over, cherishing what she knew and had experienced, delighting in each reiteration as if each time they may hold something new to her. She remembered when Delphine had come to visit, and how worried she had been only to find relief in that she had recovered. She remembered the feeling of being lost when Nemesis was trapped in her chrysalis, and the happiness of her breaking through the orange crystal, the happiness that was her waves of warmth. A sensation blissful in its reality. As Magdalena sat in the heart of the room where the twister once was, meditating and honing in on the swarms of prokaryotic life she had come to covet, she remembered, and she focused.

Only a shrill bark had shattered the fragile concentration of the dog; the tender grasp she had on the bacteria cultivated around her would shudder, and her place in the memory fell to the wayside, leaving nothing for her to hold onto as she meditated still. Her attention finally left the cultures, the swell of life that lingered on the walls and the floor, and it wandered up to the voice of the fox that had called out to them. Demanding and familiar, she didn't mind the callous tone and obscene language he used to summon them. It was hardly graceful but she accepted it for what it was. Magdalena didn't need to be told twice to get going. Her hind limbs unfolded and she strode forward, her sloped nose angled downward for now while she focused her paws over the uneven earth. She moved, stumbling only once or twice before reaching the platforms, and blindly she clambered up until she had reached what she thought was the biggest platform.

Post-Roll Edit:
An outpouring of magic beckoned for the feel of familiar bacteria. It came first to her as Louie's, a pulling that took form as it waited nearby. But what came to her after were two more - one smaller than the fox, and one massive, a titanic presence that made her spine quiver. A flash of memory, sounds and pain; anger. She hesitated once she had reached the platform, but knowing now who stood before her, visitors, she advanced once more. Those slow steps took her to Louie and the numbat and dragon bent to his will. She didn't know that they were here against their will. She didn't know anything of the fox's plans, but her apprehension and bitterness towards the dragon had kept her from greeting them. Her blind eyes wavered just above the fox and she whispered only to him, "Finis originae pende." before falling silent and still. Feeling the swell of Baratheon's presence, she wished that her Fire would arrive before long.

Nemesis, recovering her wounds with the smell of burnt skin and blood, came to Louie's call. It hadn't been too long since her fight with Niru, but her body eluded the waves of heat as her body churned and fought to survive. She stuck true to her namesake, Fire, as she plodded up to where the foul mouthed fox was.

She heard the Dragon before she reached Magdalena, before she even saw Louie. Her ambling walk turned into a charge, her body lighting up in flame, flame that threatened to swallow her. Her frill cast a ring of fire, her tail and feet blazing the storm of smoke behind her. She ignored the pain that came with it as she came to the meeting area, the scene unfolding before her. The beast was huge, long-- a banner of white-- grown much in the two weeks of sleep she was subjected to.

The rhino did not take any time to absorb what she saw: Louie with a skinny cave rat thing, Magdalena by herself before them, and the dragon staying beside the fox, looking for permission to rampage once more... With just a glance, she could tell the white monster was tethered by a thin line. "LOUIE!" She shrieked, racing to her Princess' side.

Her body willed her to stop, to quell the flames in her heart, but she burned them stronger instead. The wounds that scored her body were well hidden by the fire (and thankfully, the smell of blood covered by the scent of burning flesh)-- and she hoped that her monstrous appearance would be enough to discourage the dragon to stay away as she moved in front of Maggs, shielding her with the broadside of her burning flank.

"What is the meaning of this! What is that thing doing here! Trespasser-- I'll fuck you up so fucking bad if you so much as touch Magdalena, you hear me?!"

Diamondfang and her young pupil were out in a tunnel near Monoceros. The mongoose thought it high time they work on some techniques together to prepare her for an eventual heist. In the tunnel Fang had the skunk run through an obstacle course consisting of a part where the skunk had to leap from rocks spaced a few inches away from each other and another part where she had to balance and walk on her hind legs for a period of time. At odd intervals the mongoose would toss a rock to the skunk and have her practice holding it while walking. What was the point of this? To get Fleur used to going about on her rear legs and free up her fore. Fang found it intensely useful to be able to go about and hold things in her forepaws, things such as swords and tools. If she passed this test then Fang would reward her with her own sword or spear to play with but until then they would practice.

"It's all in the tail. Use it like a balance beam an' you'll be fine." The tiny queen was reclined against the wall as she watched her pupil work. Her tiny paws were on her hips while her sharp eyes examined the skunk's every move for a sign of weakness. Merrymen was all about strength and she would push and push to make sure that Fleur had it. It was during this moment that she suddenly heard a fierce roar and a loud exclamation from the Fire. The mongoose leaped in her fur and blinked in surprise. What on earth was happening? The creature was naturally a coward at heart but she felt more confidence when her bodyguard was around so she felt safe enough to go back to Monoceros rather than running away.

Diamondfang whistled to the skunk then waved a paw towards Monoceros, a signal that they should go investigate.

----------------

Upon arriving Fang saw a few of the Merrymen assembled at the Platforms. What caught her attention was a huge white furry thing standing next to Louie. Who was that guy? More importantly why was he here? Did he want to join the Merrymen? She hoped so, they could use brawn like that! The queen smirked, rubbing her paws together in satisfaction. Oh, what a glorious little gift Louie had brought her. She could always count on the handsome man to bring her little surprises. "Sit tight, little Princess, this should be an interesting meeting." With that she scampered up the platforms and went right up to Louie. She stood next to him, eyes first on Nemesis and then on the huge dragon who seemed a bit peeved. "Whoa whoa whoa! What's goin' on, Fire? If we have new members that want to join then I say let's welcome them. He looks awful strong anyway... and you..." She had just noticed the tiny thing in Louie's paws. Aww, wasn't he a cutie! He was her size and though he looked a bit sickly she liked what she saw. One silvered eye winked at the little creature. "You're a cute guy, a bit nerdy, but I think that's sexy. Who are these fellows, Louie?" Now her gaze went up to the witch doctor who held them captive. That scar was a new thing on him but she liked it. Showed a bit of toughness. So many cute fellows around here.

---

words: 574
tagged: @Fleur
ooc: Fang... please... stop
muse: 6/10

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

Fleur de Lis

LET ME DEFINE A LEADER

Fleur panted, ears pinned back, eyes narrowed, sweat dripping down to slick her long, snow-white fur, focusing on her task with dogged determination. Her legs were shaking from first the rock-hopping course, and now she balanced on her two hind legs, holding a pebble in trembling paws as the skunk tried to focus. At her mentor's advice, the tiny beast lifted her tail, wobbling, immediately sighing in relief as her center of balance readjusted. A quick glance towards Diamondgfang showed that the mongoose was still watching, eyes examining her every move, and Fleur snapped her head back forward, trying to focus on the strange sensation of bipedal motion. One step, another, and the skunk started to grin - and swiftly lost her posture when an angry roar ripped through the tunnel, causing the thief-in-training to lose both her rock and her awkward pose, tumbling to the floor with an irritated, frightened grunt.

Baring pink teeth in the vague direction of the noise, Fleur got back up on all fours, shaking out her fur and followed her leader, scurrying behind Diamondfang so as to make sure nothing could sneak up on the mongoose. A few minutes of this hypervigilant travel later, the duo arrived in Monoceros proper, a group of Merrymen already filling the space. She recognized Magdalena and Louie, and vaguely thought the fire-thing resembled the chrysalis Mag had been protecting, but the gigantic, menacing beast standing next to Louie was... less familiar. Unconsciously sending the creature a wary glare, Fleur opened her jaw with a sharp crack! as if to speak - before watching her teacher go running straight towards the thing. "Fang - what...?"

Utterly baffled, Fleur stared after the mongoose, mouth hanging open in a stunned, sparkly o. Snapping her jaw shut, the tiny plague vector sat back on her haunches, snuffling in annoyance at being unable to protect her friend. After all, this "Fire" seemed to have the same job for Mag, and she was doing it! Fluffy white tail swishing back and forth, the babe stewed, watching Diamondfang keenly for any signs of distress. Cute... guy? Was there something else besides the roary-thing? Trying to peer over the crowd, Fleur caught sight of a bundle of fluff by Louie - was that little thing really a Gembound? Perplexed, the skunk sniffed, ears twitching this way and that, an attack dog waiting for its orders.


"Listen to me."

So they gathered slowly and in a small number, though he had been expecting it to be small he felt sort of empty at knowing it had shriveled into this measly excuse for a group. Halting his rhythmic strokes of his tongue on his new found "pet" he raised his head, straightened up and set his one eye casting around the room making sure he wasn't leaving anyone out of his vision. Baratheon certainly took up a lot of space and he raised his one eyebrow before nodding with his head for Bara to stand beside him. Not his place but he knew the pink fuzzy one wouldn't want to be too far from his beloved. Magdalena was next, her movements ghostly and he could say despite his lack of training she had grown as a mage and he concerned bitterly that she might even have surpassed him.

No one could possibly do that, in the bacterial world he was king. That stupid song bird had nothing on him in Maji Walezi. Uttering their phrase, he knew now where Booker had heard it before and his casual sweeping gaze turned into a harsh scowl. Not that she could see it, but he wasn't impressed with the word being thrown about in such gay abandon. Maybe Diamondfang had been planning that but she hadn't discussed it previously. Actually, it wasn't even a few seconds before Nemesis came charging in screeching his name. If Louie hadn't felt fear with the dragon he certainly felt fear now as his hackles raised and his lip curled. "The fuck is your problem Nemesis, you gotta learn how to behave," he didn't allow fear to enter his voice. But the fire that covered her and almost seemed to breath from every piece of her being made him feel small. Throat tightening, he tried to not become overwhelmed both as the numbers grew and the presence of fire appeared to cloud his vision and presence.

Trying his best to quell his feelings as well as strengthen his soul, he encouraged the bacteria in the room to feed, gorge themselves on everything living... Instead it backfired and he felt himself being drained of energy as the bacteria chose to turn on its master. Fucking shi- Diamondfang cut him off and he could easily say he'd never been happier to see the woman. Not really comfortable speaking in such a large group, he tried to usher Diamondfang over so he could speak solely to her, "They're not exactly joining. More so they are prisoners, I feel they will aide us temporarily in whatever scheme you had in mind." Not really sure how he felt about Diamondfang calling Booker sexy, he found himself stepping over the numbat in an almost protective manner. It was weird, but he wouldn't allow her to mess with his new friend.

Satisfied that it wasn't going to get much bigger than this, if it did he would surely melt into a puddle he started speaking to the group. It was shaky, he wasn't fueled by anger or fear as he had been in his last encounters with similar sized groups. Instead, all the attention was on him and what he had to say and he felt sick. That smell of burning and the fire that danced off the rhino was just making him sweat more and he took a ragged breath as he kept himself positioned over the top of Booker, "Baratheon and Booker. I'm not going to lie as there is obviously no point in that seeing as they are perfectly capable of speaking themselves, I've captured them. Booker is sick, he needs me to keep him alive." Just knowing someone depended on him, knowing he was the only reason they had not crossed the threshold from life into death was empowering. It made him feel song and as Fang would say, sexy. "Both will be staying in Monoceros for the foreseeable future." Seeing as that was all the news he had, he turned to the mongoose to see if she had anything else to add.

@Diamondfang @Baratheon @Booker @Fleur @Magdalena @Gwazi @Nemesis

from the shadows i watched them all. the monstrous beings, the smaller fiends, the guild coming together to..help someone. the crimson horn glinted in the minimal light as i still remained as hidden as i possibly could. i feared that if i stepped into the light, as one of the smaller MM, as one of the youngest, i'd be dispatched for even being there. especially with that..thing bellowing about touching her friend mag something. wide, dark carmine lenses watched them all, small striped body was trembling where i huddled. long limbs here tucked beneath my antelope stature, as massive satellite ears swiveled to each person speaking as they did in order to catch what they were all saying. but even still, i remained ever silent and ever still, noticing the small spat between louie and nemesis. that was the big thing's name, nemesis. i feared for her safety, little louie may be just that but he sure was a mighty creature. i'd never piss him off intentionally, or speak out against him. such a notion, a thought, caused a cringe to run down my spine.


{short and shitty, love me anyway}

That isn't me... As soon as the message made its way through the bond, Booker froze, heartrate kicking into over drive as he peeled his eyelid open, staring in horror at just who had been grooming him. What was the fox doing? Confused and afraid, the numbat began to shiver, not able to move away from Louie nor towards Baratheon. Stuck, the tiny Gembound simply curled up into a tight ball, trying desperately to be forgotten, to have everything just stop, if only to give his brain a moment to catch up. Bara, what... I don't... under-stand. I d-dunno what's goin' on, the scribe whimpered across the bond, trying to forget the momentary oblivious comfort of his own kidnapper's affectionate gesture.

The wish for peace went ungranted, as the voice he'd been dreading spoke up over the wind, as soft and melodic as always. Is that... is that Mags? Terrified and shaken, Booker swallowed dryly, only daring to crack his eye open a smidgen to peer down off the ledge he'd been deposited on - and there she stood. This... this isn't happenin', right, Bara? We're dreamin', or s-some-thing, he whispered, gaze stuck, horrified, on the visage of his friend. Was this why he and Baratheon had truly been captured? As some sort of revenge for the bloodshed of the dragon's rampage? Booker flinched away from the thought, trying to right himself once more, only managing to flop over onto his stomach, chin knocking against the floor with a dull clack. The pain didn't get rid of the vision, however, and the tiny Gembound simply watched, spellbound, as the gathering began to grow.

He heard the second beast before he saw her, an angry screech and heavy hooves, but his breath caught in his throat at the sight of her. Within the span of only a few seconds, Booker's eye clenched shut and he shook once, twice, dragged back down into a rather spectacular panic attack. No, no, fire, fire, no, make it s-stop! Heavy, burning claws circled around his lungs and squeezed, robbing the numbat of his breath, leaving him panting, gaze darting about blindly, unable to see anything but flames and ashes, throat clogged with the smell of burning fur and lichen. Distantly, he heard someone screaming, saw a blur move in front of Magdalena, but Booker was floating by then, struggling to break the surface and escape the grip of the attack, dragged down by pure, undiluted fear.

Shivering silently, it was only when something spoke directly to him, soft and coy, that Booker snapped out of it, staring quite blankly at the source. She was small, about his size, actually, and for a moment, the scribe felt a flash of wild hope - had the Mother sent him help, after all? But then the woman turned to Louie, greeting him by name, and Booker sagged once more, utterly defeated, bushy tail curling up and over his snout, leaving only his working eye visible. With everything the Merrymen had done, the numbat had no doubt they would be willing to go for his gem, next. There was another figure, in the background, bright white and angry, but Booker tuned it all out, retreating back into his connection with Baratheon, clinging desperately to the support his brother offered, wordlessly pleading for help he knew would not come.

And then Louie began to speak, hushed at first, but considering the fox was quite literally standing over him, Booker could hear every word. S-sick, he thought with a soft huff of amusement, is a bit of an un-der-state-ment. Still, he didn't reply verbally - no, Booker did the only thing he could do in his weakened state. He watched. Another creature joined the little party, and the numbat snorted, lip curling, gaze flickering from one Merryman to the next. He didn't understand - well, no, Magdalena and the fire? He understood perfectly. Baratheon had spilt quite a bit of blood, and Booker had made his peace with that. But the rest of them? Why were they doing this? If it was for simple revenge, why make the Rider suffer? Were they really that cruel, to use the bond against them?

Maybe they are, Booker wondered, gaze stuck on Magdalena and Nemesis, clear of judgement but overflowing with fear. Bara... if. If the wors' comes ta wors', I want you ta leave me. Okay? Please? Don't... die here, with me. You gotta... run, and if ya can't do that, do what-ev-er the hell you need to to get out. I won't be the reas'n you die.

@Baratheon