Sunbeam Lair Sometimes I'd like to die and climb inside you

she hadn't been at the emberwood - her scent instead meandered up this way and her scent was the only thing that mattered at this point. the only thing he could comprehend. he clutched it like a talisman tight to his chest squeezing squeezing kept him grounded

and up he went into the mountains, past the rock where she'd BETRAYED him

up up up and her scent grew stronger and Pygmalion could feel it in the marrow of his bones. no heart left, no soul, no brain, only a blind hunger that spurred him on. a brutish slavering beast, slobbering, trembling

he entered the cavern where her scent proliferated

drew in a great breath, let out a rattling sigh

Bhediya, he whispered, his first word in days - and his last.

her coughing seems to have subsided, for the day, and moony is set on exploring the place between here and the vale to the west. she's half-tempted to find salvator, though chides herself for it; she'd probably bore him. 

her way out the entrance is stalled by the slavering, trembling phantom she finds there. soft "whoa," leaves her before she can stop it. the scent of sickness coming off him is distinct, sharp and the scent version of a neon-flashing beware sign. she gulps, taking half a step back. "you alright?"

not Bhediya. not the shadow he sought. younger, lighter-pelted, questioning (he didnt know her and nor did she know him) and he shook his head, opening his mouth to speak

nothing came out but a croaking whine, a sound that managed to be wispy and gravelly all at once.

foam hit the stone floor. splat - splat - splat

where was she? why hadn't she heeded his call? anger began to course through him, heating him up, tensing his muscles and lurching toward the girl with a grumble in his throat

bhediya had become accustomed to disturbances. she knew that until their border was solidified, these intrusions would be common place. in fact, even hearing moony's concerned greeting was not enough to stir her from her rest.

the scent of pygmalion, intermingled with something other; this is what drew bhediya from the densite with apprehensive steps out into the main cavern.

immediately upon spotting him, she barked for moonshine to step back. a call was then sounded for @Salvatore, the only member she'd told about the situation. the seraph was careful to stay as far from his slobbering snaps as possible, calling to her dominion, he's dangerous!

he's disgusting. something thick gathers around his mouth; the splatter of it against the floor a steady beat. her expression twists, shifting from disgust to anger when he growls, lurching in her direction. her own hackles prickle, and she steps nearer, tail curled. "you need to go." she commands in a voice that isn't really all that commanding, hoping the curl of her lips will make her message clear enough. bhediya then, with a warning; she is distracted for a moment, glancing back toward the woman as she calls for salvatore.

the call rises and alert salvatore rouses from his slumber — later he would kick himself for not patrolling when the pale male slipped inside their borders — and emerges from the depths of the lair, hackles bristled and a low sounding snarl rumbling from the depths of his chest and winding up his throat. the pale man lurches towards moonshine who steps nearer and looks back; distracted. ❝hey!❞ he launches forward with a snap of his teeth, hoping to draw the pale male's attention from moonshine who was at the most danger of being at reach of his teeth; the stranger's mouth slick with the white death. ❝the pale plague —❞ salvatore chokes.

salvatore's never seen it first hand but he heard tales of it from the loch's surviving shaman. the pale plague. his stomach turns and heart beat quickens in his chest. fighting him would be awful hard when it puts salvatore at risk of incubating the pale plague himself. ❝you need to get lost, pal.❞ a final growl of a warning is given and despite sal's hesitance, if nothing happens to change it he will move to put himself between moonshine and pygmalion.

the pale man doesn't look like he has much life left in him but every alarm bell is going off inside salvatore's body all the same as he stands, tense and ready to tango if it comes to that.

He'd been on his way back from some unsuccessful hunt when he heard Bhediya's call echo off the cavern walls, it's tone sharp and pleading for the aid of some unfamiliar name. It wasn't directed towards him but was still enough to put a spring in the youth's step as he rounded the last of his trek towards the mouth of the cavern.

Upon entering, Xizur quickly discovered the source of all the commotion in the form of some slobbering, ugly, walking corpse of a man. He wasn't aware of what had unfolded, but it was clear the pale intruder was not welcome within their walls.

So while everyone else stood around and seemingly demanded the man to leave, which apparently wasn't very effective, Xizur took a more physical approach. There was no warning to signal his attack, just the silent, eerie crack of jaws parting to latch around Pygmalion's neck.

pp permission given by Moony

his eyes were only for her even as others arrived. only her. the rest were unknowns but she was a known in a state of mind where he knew nothing else. just her. he moved forward with a gasp, belatedly noticing the young male hurtling his way in attack --

the impact jarred him, brought his hackles up he pushed back against the youth hoping to slam him to the ground

bhediya! she was so close

heedless of further attacks he continued his forward motion onward onward ONWARD but the young girl was angry and he sank his teeth into the flesh of her shoulder SHE WAS IN THE WAY he tore tore tore tore took blood his spittle drizzling down upon her pelt he ripped away and saw the shadow --

bhediya!

mouth painted red he headed her way knowing nothing but her nothing nothing he tried to speak tried to tell her everything everything he felt but he had no words he had no speech he had nothing but her and she was 

here

bhediya didn't have time to react because everything seemed to be happening at once, and before she knew it, the others had arrived and pygmalion was latched onto moonshine and—

she was here, but not there. her mind had wandered off where it could not be reached, where it could hide far from the chaos that had overtaken their lair. she did not know fear, did not know courage; she was neither aware, nor unaware—

not bhediya;
not khoe;
not akuti;
no one.

short legs sprinted from one hiding place to the next. her body carried itself around the group, circling both men and the injured girl; and if no one stopped her— if empyrea did not stop her, she would know the taste of his blood.

behind him, between the three others, she lunged onward into the unknown.

fangs tear open her shoulder; the girl falls back with a sharp cry. so suddenly had the interaction shifted into stark violence, she does not know what to do, where to be. but the girl is not especially bold, and so faced with the spilling of her own blood, and the trio that moves with much more confidence than she ever had, she remains on the fringes of the scene, ready but quite unwilling the jump into the fray should it be demanded of her. for now, adrenaline masks the hurt.

while salvatore doesn't think all of empyrean has rallied together to ward off the man with the pale plague a fourth joins the battleground, attacking the rabid man. getting the pale plague was...it worth this? he doesn't want to die foaming at the mouth — but moonshine gets his teeth, the froth of his saliva dripping into her wound. she was just a kid. the boy that had grabbed him initially was just a kid. the shadow of their seraph rushes past him and salvatore feels hatred bubble like molten lava about to erupt. how dare he come here and bring his sickness.

regard for his own well being gone — what was the sense? they were all going to get the pale plague now, surely — salvatore rushes pygmalion, jaws parted to attack his left leg in an effort to get him down before he can sink his teeth into their seraph.

Everything that unfolded did so in a blurred haze. He'd pierced flesh, crimson beads pooling into his mouth. He was high, and then he wasn't; smacked against the earth with a thud at the sudden force of the pale beast. His mind rattled within the cage of his scull as he desperately tried to suck in a breath of air, his vision fogged with a stab of pain as he watched the madness unfold.

What happened to the others of his flock went largely ignored. Pygmalion's focus was Bhediya - Xizur's focus was Pygmalion. He pulled himself to his feet, tail feathered and hackles raised as he set his sights on the diseased brute once more. This time he struck with a more rational target in mind, aiming directly for the man's tail. Should his attack strike true, Xizur would aim to pull the beast away from the others, or at least keep at bay for now.

bhediya bhediya only bhediya. his eyes followed her as she circled, watching the shadow. oh love oh dear he needed to embrace her, to tell her everything. his gaze found hers and his lips parted but naught but a whimper emerged. the words he needed would not come.

but he saw her and he saw all of her; he saw all of their memories, the ones they had and the ones that could have been. it was a striking moment of clarity for a wolf so far gone -- he loved her loved her loved her and perhaps he could be --

pain!

The man's grip on his leg and the boy's grip on his tail brought him to reality, and the last of his coherent thought fled.

Like a rodeo bronc, Pyg began to hop, twist, kick, a veritable tornado of pale fur and fresh blood. He snapped his teeth at anyone who dared come near, coming away with whatever he could find, be it flesh, fur or empty air. He was heedless of faces, names, the place he found himself in. He only knew that he was in danger, and he must fight back.

Anger fueled by paranoia fueled by sickness egged him on. The once docile Pygmalion Pangloss had transformed fully into the monster that had shown its stripes for brief moments in recent days. There was no turning back.

Y'all can decide whether he bites your character or not.

—and she might have made it.

mid-leap, bhediya was pushed out of the way by the body of either barreling brute. pygmalion's kick hit her cheek as she went down, leaving her momentarily unconscious.

the fight continued, however; the sound of snapping jaws woke her from the short slumber, albeit disoriented and struggling to find balance. salvatore was on one side with xizur on the other, both men pulling at the first available appendage.

it was her fault, bhediya decided. all of this was her fault.

she did not want anyone to die for her sake. if anyone deserved to be at the receiving end of pygmalion's madness, it was her. the others had no place in this fight.

on the mountain, she'd cowered, but in this lair— her lair, she would not.

steadying herself enough to walk once more, bhediya stepped in front of pygmalion, keeping a short distance between them. her goal was to steal his attention long enough for someone to do fatal damage. the consequences of this decision would be negligible.

the goal is no rabies! other injuries (hits, sprains, etc.) are welcome from any participants.

snarls, growls, snapping fangs. she can stay on the sidelines no longer, but the courage to leap into the fray is hard to scrape together. she breathes in, once, twice, edges near only to fade back again. coward. gritting her teeth, she prepares to make another attempt when bhediya suddenly steps clearly before the slavering man. her heart skips a beat—this is the woman who took her in. auds flattened to her skull, she steps forward to stand at the woman's side, lips curled and ready to attack once more should he make for the woman. somehow, he seems entirely focused on her.

Men—
the reek of them had plagued incessant insatiability of her dreams; the lingering scent of phantom desire that had so harried her from her own Court; had caged her within thickets, within briars if only to evade harrassment and all those unwelcome.

​Man—
the stench of him; the Lair that had been so oft attended by tranquility was now rank with the stale smell of blood, of spittle; piss  –  the fetor of fear. This was not at all what she had wished to find upon her foray to the green underworld, upon her return to her courtlings; no!  Bhediya—!

The tousle-throed Andraste now enlivened into some marred terror at that which sketched itself before her very eyes; slanting with the late mornlight down down down into the very Lair, lune-jaws yawning in some hideous snarl as she sought to bring down this maleficent beast with the once-druid's apostles by whichever mouthful of fur she could wrest.

EDIT: please skip me until / if aure is tagged

Oh lord. Was the wisp of a lady's first reaction walking into the cave beaming with a cacophony of noise. Peering inside, the place looked like a war zone. It was a war zone! One glance proved it would not be safe for her to rush in, but she didn't have to. The one that the infected wolf seemed focused on was the wolf she had met before. Bhediya. Whistling the code and nodding to the crazed wolf she snuck into the cave, latching onto the wall and hiding in the shadows. 

Right on queue, her feathered friend swooped in with the wisp and attempted to distract the infected. If it worked, Lale would swoop out of grasp and fly to the top of the cave, out of harm's way. Either way, afterward Iolana would shoot from the shadows and ran her head into the deranged's hip. Both staying out of the way of teeth and attempting to disorientate the wolf, then backing out of the cave once again. Hoping the wolf would stay in the cave, away from her.

I'm going to eat! Feel free to skip me! <3

i ...didn't realize it was my turn. i'm so sorry. T-T last post for me & sal.

there's an influx of wolves all crowding around their only ( known to him ) exit to the lair; corralling the carrier of the pale plague in. there's too much. too much heat, too many people. too many chances of getting bitten and infected. they could create a pandemic right here and now. something within salvatore falters: self-preservation winning out despite his want to fight. fuck. he doesn't want the pale plague. doesn't want to die like that.

he backs away from the mess and when he's clear sprints down deep into the lair; knowing it makes him a coward. the title of 'coward' could be shed, eventually. the pale plague? was a certain death sentence.

His jaws locked, grip firm and unwavering as the wave of bodies came crashing in.

One after another they took their turns at the ravaged beast, yet none were apparently willing to do what was necessary.

Through the eyes of a naive boy they were what was most obvious; cowards. Running from what? Some ugly, mindless body that moved on it's own? What was so terrifying that it caused them to flee or tremble in the shadows? It's not like a scratch would kill you...

He huffed through a mouthful of bloodied fur and gave a last tug towards the lair's entrance before he released the brute's tail. There was no running, no option to back away, and so the wayward youth lined himself up to strike - ready to bring about the grand finale of this drawn-out altercation.

Okay let me get my bearings here. . .please no one else join this, lol.

Slavering, mindless, bristling in fury—he snapped until his jaws should surely break, hoping to find some skin in the process. There was nothing left but basic, animalistic instinct; even as teeth pierced his flesh, he remained oblivious, bleeding out while continuing his blind assault.

And then the shadow appeared before him bhediya he loved her he loved her he couldn't hurt her he lunged forward stumbling whining gasping pleading bhediya please spare me

He stopped dead in his tracks and then plummeted to the ground, eyes rolling back as the seizures began. On and on, merciless, his limbs smacking against the stone floor. All was lost, for beyond this there was nothing but comatose silence, a blank stare, a limp barely-living corpse.

For now, Pygmalion spasmed.

bhediya braced herself for the seemingly imminent impact. salvatore dashed past both herself and moony in his escape, a choice for which he would not be faulted. andraste had joined the battle at some point, as had iolana and her bird; at the rear was xizur, circling to find another target.

she focused on pygmalion, watching as he fell to the ground some inches from where she stood. the seraph took several steps back, stumbling over her own paws as she fought to get away from him. xizur! she called, hoping that he would seize the opportunity.

The commotion of the cave was still exceptionally loud when a wolf unbeknownst to her bounded out of the cave. Of course, she didn't blame the wolf. Nobody wanted to die like this, it was an awful way to go. But she still owed the seraph her life for comforting her when Lale had gotten lost, and Lale owed her life. She would stay and help. 

Ducking back into the chaos, the wisp stayed back and watched her surroundings carefully, searching for the right moment to help. It wasn't long until the infected fell to the ground, convulsing, and Bhediya hobbled back yelling (or so it looked). Behind the fallen wolf, another stood preparing. Whistling for another round of cat-and-mouse, Iolana hid in the shadows as to not be seen when Lale headed her call and flew in.

Hovering above the infected, Lale squawked and chirped and whistled, sometimes high and sometimes low. Xizur seemed to know what he was doing so she would let him do his thing. Hopefully, after Bhe's outburst, Lale would be able to grab Pyg's attention with her noise and allow a window for the attack. Iolana didn't care which direction it came from, as long as somebody made an attack, Iolana would be happy. Especially if it gave her and her feathered friend time to regroup before rejoining the battle if needed.

His vision grew narrow, his ears grew deaf, his purpose made clear.  

As soon as Pygmalion's disheveled body hit the floor with a thud, the unbridled youth had sprung upon him. There was no hesitation nor moment of doubt as his jaws found their way to the seizing man's neck, fangs yet dripping scarlet beads of blood as they pierced weakened flesh. 

Ba-bump, Ba-bump, Ba-bump, ----

The silence rang louder than any heartbeat ever did.

Moments turned to minutes and soon Pygmalion's body fell still, alabaster coat now stained with crimson fury. 

he dead

The young stranger had pounced upon Pyg, blood oozing from the bite. The attacker finally conquered, the sick put to rest. Iolana looked around at the remaining, many strangers. For a split second, she allowed the thought of staying, of residing with these wolves. Whoever they were, they would be good for survival. 

Glancing back, her electric gaze ran over her only true friend. Lale was flying at the mouth of the cave expecting, waiting. And Iolana knew that this was not where she belonged, she had come to help, her job was done. The wisp nodded to those surrounding her, then turned and spoke to her friend. 

"Pono mākou i kahi mea kūikawā no ka mea ʻaʻole manaʻo? We deserve something for that don't ya think?" she said with a grin towards her companion. "Whatcha say we go on a nice hunting trip?" she inquired, which was courtly responded with a high pitched chirp. With Lale at her side, the two padded (and flew) out of the cave and took off.