there was an unsteady rhythm in his gait, the lion padding along wearily, dark pelt of pitch and silvers weighing heavily upon his frame, shudders working through him with a gasp of air. a veil covered the lion's muzzle, hiding from sight vicious wounding over his muzzle and jaw, his dark horns peering through dark fur. each step was direct agony, broken leg barely able to take any weight as he limped along, back towards home, mask hiding his face from view, veil protecting the bridge of his nose.

releasing an exhausted breath, he would lift his head to stare at the borders of tanglewood, his heart sitting heavy in his chest. it wasn't too late to turn away now, it wasn't too late to leave for good. weary was the breath as he had to sit down, pelt smelling of blood and injury. he knew that he was being stalked by another creature, though he paid it little attention. if it wanted to make the kill, he'd left them too many openings for it to be that. he had no clue who it was, or why, but it didn't so much as bother him. perhaps it was for the best that he was unattached from the stalker, licking his lips as he sat there to catch his breath. each movement was another agony, so many broken ribs hurting him more than warranted. it had been a month or more and he'd been in healing the entire time, with more recent injuries, or rather, re-opened injuries due to stepping in to stop kidnappers from taking a child.

said child followed after him, taken in by the exhausted grim, though his face had never been shown to the youth. he didn't want to scare this one too. although this child was a canine, he had swallowed his hatred and fear of canids to protect this youngster. swinging his head to look for the pup, he shuddered in pain as his body began to change shape, shrinking in size and the color of his fur changing. soon in the american lion's beastly body's place sat a domestic cat, mask a bit larger in this body but still covering his face, veil dropping to the ground only to be picked up by shaking paws and tucked into his satchel, swapping out the larger mask and replacing it with an appropriate sized one. shoulders hunched as he rested again, pain screaming through every nerve ending. he'd taken as many poppy seeds as he could without losing control of himself again, and many other herbs for the pain and for healing, though his traveling supplies were now obselete and in need of replenishment.

for some reason unbeknownst to himself, aesior had returned to the swamplands, to a land where he thought might be home. looking up through the eyeholes of his mask, he would take a deep breath, opening his mouth to speak to the pup he'd brought home before disappoint threaded through him. there was no ability to speak in this body, unlike in his lion body. getting to his paws with a soft tamp of his back paw against a tree to get his attention, drifting his head towards the border as he limped towards it and over, tail dragging on the ground and each step costing him precious breath. after some difficulties, the tom would lead the way into tanglewood's camp, sticking to the edges of camp. he didn't really want to be seen, he wanted to go back home and get more medicines for himself.

please wait for [member=23339]Corrupted Flower[/member] and [member=23548]Bergamot[/member] !! these two should reply before other posts are made //

It had been a couple of weeks or so since Solsken had been kidnapped. He had hopped to return home by now but honestly the poor pup didn't even know where he was much less which was was home. He had gotten lucky that Aesior had stepped in and saved him from his attacker, graciously taking in the pup and dragging him along to where honestly Solsken had no idea. He knew he probably should've questioned or at least not so willingly followed a stranger but at this point the hellhound pup was desperate and Aesi seemed kind enough to say the least.

That's where he found himself now, trailing behind the lion with his head ducked. His tail drug across the ground, body hunched in on itself. He just wanted to go home, he missed the coalition and he missed Byriath. He was lost and confused and absolutely terrified out of his mind. He paid no attention the fact that Aesior had shifted into his other form, having grown used to it at this point. Only when Sol heard the tapping of a tree did the pup finally look up. He trailed after the feline, sticking to the edges along with the other. He wasn't about to question why Aesior was being so secretive and wasn't really sure he had a care right now.

I FEEL IT IN MY VEINS
IT'S NOT GOING AWAY!

"There you are." The lioness rumbled tiredly, padding toward the duo. Her eyes glanced to Eon, but quickly looked back to the boys. She knew something was off. And when she stared at Aesior, finding a young dog instead of an adult cat with him, her eyelid twitched. "Where's Sethiram." It was more of a statement and less than an answer. With a tired shake of her head, Ares turned her gaze to Solsken, wings twitching. There was just a trace of Coalition scent on him, but she wouldn't pry or anything. "And who are you."

the sound of feathers caused the tom's nerves to run alight, head tipping back to the forest canopy, fur bristling as his tired eyes tracked eon until he landed on a branch of the tree beside them, the sight of the fox bringing up too-raw memories. issuing a silent snarl in eon's direction, tail raised and back arching as memories sang through his blood of the one who had hurt him and his children in the past. panting and huffing as he tried to draw himself up as aggressively as he could, tail shaking and bushed out as he stared at him through his mask. good gods, what was this creature? muscles twitching and causing him to jump as eon spoke, a soft hiss that couldn't be heard leaving him as he slapped his paw on the ground, claws unsheathed, backing up. the words reached him but the fact that the creature who spoke them was a canid, shook him down to his core.

all too soon, did ares arrive, swiveling his head towards her as she spoke, as if he hadn't been gone all that long. breath shaking in his lungs, looking between her and eon, a startled breath leaving him as vintara hopped across the marsh to rub his head against his leg. using his broken foreleg, he tried to shuffle his adopted sun under him, to protect him from the threat he alone perceived in a groupmate he'd yet to meet, eon. his heart dropped into his stomach as ares spoke of sethiram, his other son. he forgot how to breathe, startled. he hadn't come home? was he .. was he still out there looking for him? flattening his ears, looking around, scrambling to find his notebook in his satchel, "seth not home? rescued pup. who fox?", he questioned, shivering as he turned his gaze back on eon, not trusting him, because of his own mental state and the past with others.