?? ?????????  《》 the presence of others was becoming a thing of customary routine now, her senses had been lowered throughout the time that she had been staying within the group, lowering her guards against the members of the coalition slowly with time. she had come to slowly trust them, well, as far as she could throw them honestly but even she knew that they wouldn't waste their medicine, herbs and time on her if they didn't care. and so, she was led to slowly begin to trust them and their medicine.

laying still within her confines, her head upon her paws with eyes opening and ears pricking as she heard the press of pawpads nearby, fighting the urge to try and turn her head to see. after elsweyr's visit, she had slept for a good while, tired from everything and the amount of tears she had shed. it was frustrating, to be stuck in a body she could no longer control at this time, and for her own sanity she simply refused to try to move. she knew her wings were rotting, she could barely keep food down from the sheer pain that she went through when she tried to swallow and move her neck. her wings were limp, the nerves still connected often kept her awake and trying to move them, though the tendons within them no longer responded. she knew that she was going to lose them - she'd known since she discovered her inability to move them. she just had to keep her head up, yeah?

??? ?? ?????????  《》 im sorry its such low muse ;//;

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R A V E N W O O D

He was tired.

The time spent in the Typhoon wore him down, his eyes lowered and his missing tail glaringly obvious. Nobody had come to let him out- not even Vayne, despite what she had tried to do for him. What he had built up in the past weeks before his capture had quickly disappearing, and he looked like a sack of bones again. But upon hearing through rumor that someone was being held here, Ravenwood couldn't help but find her.

His head was lowered as he approached, ears pushed back. He almost gagged, the scent of rotting flesh hitting his nose, and flinched at the sight of her body. It was no good. The scent of rotting flesh and sweat raising in the barn, the working muscles and the tossing and turning of those who were still locked up. It caused the fur on his neck to raise every time he set foot in there.

A grimace crossed his face, and Ravenwood pushed his nausea- and memories- down as he approached. "A.. are you awake?"

SPEECH
FLASHBACK

?? ?????????  《》 The fresher scent of Coalition filled her nose, her paw stretching out slightly as she tried to adjust her body to get further comfortable, "An' if I wasn't?", the molly would reply, green eyes fixated on her paw. She wasn't mad at whoever this person was, she was mad at herself for being so weak to have been caught by the brute.

Stiffening of body as she prepared herself for the breathless agony that wracked her body, eyes closed in an attempt to stop the world from turning so violently in a whirl around her. His scent carried the sea within it, her fur ruffling at the taste of scent upon him. Pain-dulled emerald orbs would open and find his, scrawny and poorly set the canine before her gaze. A look of sympathy would momentarily cross her face as she twisted the poor body she carried.

Resettling upon the pile of mosses and leaves scraped together, she would face him, chest heaving from the minor movement as stars sparked in her vision, black edging her gaze as she put her head upon mismatched forepaws. Faint the disturbed groan that left her, eyes sliding to rest barely open, "What's yer name?", would he know how to deal with the fae before him? She had no interest in making use of his name, hells, she was still considered a child amongst the few fae she had met, including that bastard, Lear, who had given her the wings in the first place.

??? ?? ?????????  《》

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The tale of Jormungand and his victim spread across the Coalition quick, along with their enemies involved. Needless to say, Romulus was displeased. With Sojourn presumably dead, he got to properly exile the panther himself, but that still meant someone had to pick up the brunt work politically and then keep an eye on the girl's health. One side was dealt with. Now for the other. With a satchel wrapped around his back and his paws traversing slowly through the caves, he slowly made his way down to Merlin.

The cold spring breeze followed him down, but dissipated as the flames from his horns arose. Orange light highlighted the stone walls and lead him to spot two familiar creatures in the distance, causing his pace to slow. A curious gaze traced Ravenwood's stance. Romulus internally questioned his purpose of being here, but he trusted the boy. Surely, he wouldn't cause trouble, right? Coming from behind, he made his presence known. "Ravenwood," he mused. "I can't quite fathom why your presence is needed down here, but it's a welcome one." A small grin spread across his maw for a moment as he dipped his head in greeting.

His periwinkle eyes finally settled upon Merlin. Alabaster teeth gritted together as he swallowed his urge to grimace at her state. Romulus scooted closer to her. With a short nod, he slowly lowered next to her and unhooked the satchel around his back, dumping it's contents on the floor. The soft thump of a rabbit corpse echoed throughout the cave, followed by multicolored herbs and medical supplies fluttered to the floor without a sound. A paw gently pushed the prey away for now, knowing that if he started working and she got sick, the remains would just end up in his fur. Another paw reached out towards the many herbs, sorting through them carefully. Enraptured in his thoughts, he wondered how he was going to express that... well... an amputation was necessary. For the usually blunt lion, it was a struggle.

A soft sigh left him. Hues staggered upwards and settled on the female. "How are you feeling, Merlin?" came his calm tone. The answer was truly obvious, but it was only courtesy. His gaze shifted to Ravenwood momentarily, almost as if he was asking for the boy to help.

?? ?????????  《》 Gaze turned to Ravenwood, blinking faintly as she laid there, soon come across by the Malus lion, Romulus. Bookboy. She really ought to learn his name. The fire upon his horns gave her some wicked impression of a false halo, earning a soft world-weary snicker from her. Through his speech and approach, she would stifle a yawn, ears perking in his direction. She'd learned the others name, Ravenwood. An interesting name, truly.

Watching as he entered and emptied the contents of his satchel, she would watch the herbs fall, her eyes would glimmer for a moment. She missed hr flowers, the pretty things that they were. "Like we got dru' through hell.", came the croak in response to his question. Letting her eyes close, the firelight too harsh for her eyes at that very moment, the dancing light making her head lurch. "Mmph. Can ye bring a lady flowers?", came the soft request as she exhaled.

Whenever herbs were involved, it meant some deal of pain, good or bad. "Wings. They're bad.", open would come her eyes, gaze fixated on Romulus. She'd known since the time she couldn't move them. They were mangled and disgusting. They weren't the prideful things they once had been. She didn't want to waste away because of them, "In them we've accepted loss.[Color=#F9E79F]"

??? ?? ?????????  《》 trying to get into proper dialogue aa //

[Color=#F9E79F]?????? & ???????? & ????????? ????????

R A V E N W O O D

Her response made him hesitate, his breath catching. His head shook gently at her response- he meant her no harm, rather the opposite, but there wasn't much he can't do. Realizing it now, how she moved, the way her face looked.. she was rotting alive. There was a grimace across her face, ears on his own head slowly laying back. He swallowed gently, before speaking quietly. "I would have left to find you.. something. I didn't realize.. His words were tedious, quiet and small. But as he opened his mouth to speak, his head turned and looked towards Romulus as he arrived.

Ravenwood snapped his mouth shut, gently stepping back as to give the older male room to work. He looked towards Merlin again, and his response to Romulus was soft. "I had.. concerns. I didn't realize she was in.. this bad of a state, though.." His intention had been to come down here and simply set her free. It wasn't right, being kept down here, but he realized it was less of a kept and more of a she couldn't leave due to her body. He felt like an idiot, to be honest. Merlin was her name. Almost like the storybooks he used to read...

However, as she spoke, he felt his ears twitching and raising. "Flowers?" He questioned softly, taking a step forward.

SPEECH
FLASHBACK

?? ?????????  《》 Her breathing was faint and soft, her eyes lidded as she observed the other. She didnt feel threatened by him - his body language wasn't offering a reason to. She simply had too sharp of a tongue at times, and she knew it. "You don't need to worry about gettin' us anything. Just water is dandy." she would murmur quietly. Her lungs ached with each breath, her eyes sliding closed as she tried to take shallower breaths.

It seemed to help for a while. "It's dreary an' lonely down here ... we like flowers. Had a garden.", she hoped it wasn't too much to ask for that brief brightness. She wouldn't feel as alone with something else that lived alongside her. She doubted it would grow or sprout if planted but she had hope in her heart for it to live.

??? ?? ?????????  《》

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