Sunbeam Lair the beast

screams @Hyacinth

“you never should have left.”

he’d wandered off from easthollow for a bit. for herbs, to study the lands around them, for silence, he didn’t know. leo was lost in thought for most of the time, it always happened when he traveled.

he was drawn to the mountains and before he knew it he was there. sunbeam lair. ryūjin. or at least it used to be. now it was quiet, ominous, and empty. a rush of sadness washed over him. a part of him hoped asterr, sorrel, anyone would just come out and happily greet him, but there would be no such thing.


leo went deeper into the cavern and studied the flora around him. there were many herbs that could be put to good use. he started grabbing whatever he could find, not caring for which ones he got. it was a fatal mistake.

a white flower stood out against the foliage. it looked harmless so he mindlessly took a mouthful. some managed to slide down his throat, causing him to drop the rest and cough profusely. he was lured into a false sense of comfort once he stopped. he picked up the rest. a few minutes passed. the calm before the storm.

then it happened.

his mouth became oddly dry, so he dropped his bundle to lick his lips. it didn’t help. with each passing moment the pain got worse. his vision got distorted and he fell to the ground. he tried to cry for help but all that came out were sharp wheezes. pulsating jolts ran up and down his spine. his eyes went wild with fear. “h-h-help..”

panicked eyes darted around and locked onto a dark figure. it was the beast. they stared at eachother for what seemed like days. then it lunged for his face. leo screamed as he felt the phantom teeth tear his wounds open. “STOP, STOP, STOP, STOP.” there was nothing that could be done. he could only lay helplessly as the apparition tore through him. “ple....please s-stop...”

his eyelids fluttered and as they did the beast morphed into someone else. her fur was like the night. was it asterr? no, it was worse. lusa. she stared down in silence. then finally, she spoke.

“you never should have left.”

One of the things she realised she hadn't done yet was explore the areas around Sunspire. She had traveled around every now and then, but not once had she really wandered the mountains. Today she decided to do just that, leaving Sunspire after making sure that nobody was dying or injired and headed along the mountains .


The first thing she encountered was an entrance to an underground cavern. She sniffed inside and was surprised to find herbs she hadn't been able to gather yet. Yarrow was amongst them and she hoped she'd never need to to use it. Just as she hoped that, screams came from deeper inside and she nearly pissed herself. It sounded like someone was being attacked and she cowered until it went silent. She sniffed the air again, no trace of blood to be found which left her confused. She stood up and began to head deeper inside, spotting a form laying on the ground. "Oh my..." she murmured and approached slowly. She gave a soft chuff to let him know she was close and she crouched in front of him, sniffing. She caught whiff of an herb on his breath and gasped, eyes widening. "I'll help you, hang in there" she rushed off and grabbed the yarrow, taking some back to him. She dropped a few of the flower heads "Chew those and swallow. You'll vomit up the poison" she commanded.

a light figure slowly approached and lusa disappeared into thin air. her mouth moved, but he couldn’t pick up what she said. it was all just incoherent noises. he couldn’t tell if she was real or not. don’t trust her. don’t trust her, the voices chant. he wanted to run away, go back to easthollow where he knew it was safe, but there was no way of leaving. he needed help and this stranger was his only hope, whether he liked it or not.

leo tried calling out when she left but it only came out as hoarse whimpers. she came back with flowers and dropped them at his feet. her directions fell on deaf ears, but he ate the herbs, assuming that’s what she wanted. nothing happened for a moment, but then he felt something rise in his throat and out came whatever he had eaten that day. it was painful, so painful that it caused forced his eyes shut. and he was out like a light.

Perhaps when she gave him herbs to make him vomit she should have taken note of how weak he was. A laxitive would have done the job as well, messier and slower with more healing time but it would have prevented the current problem. Current problem being: She now had a passed out and ill male to drag all the way back to Sunspire. Curses.

She sighed and grabbed his scruff, beginning the long and exhausting journey back to Sunspire where she prayed Rannoch would be kind and allow him inside. As she got in closer she recognised a scent on him, the smell of Easthollow.