SCREAMING AT THE ONES WE LOVE
LIKE WE FORGOT WHO WE CAN TRUST!

Thunder crashed in the sky as the lioness staggered toward camp, wings limp and dragging behind her. Her eyes were dull, glossy and staring at the area before her. Rain drenched her fur, but the woman cared little as her mind buzzed. There was so much, and yet so, so little going on in her mind space. The buzzing turned into screaming in her mind as she shook her head, her entire body following.

Pain radiated in her body as bones broke and reorganized, fur turning into feathers and scales, skull reforming until the deinonychus form had completely shifted. And the beast sniffed around, eyes wide and wild. It made chittering noises and extended its neck toward the town, brain foggy as it started for the town.

Upon entering the town, her brain cleared, if only for a moment, and only for a memory to resurface. A lion, a cheetah, a domestic feline, all trying to stop her. Console her. Her head ached and she growled, alerting npcs nearby. Some remembered the instance that happened years ago, and were preparing to run. She growled again, shook her head, then reared back and screeched, feathers raised and flared.

the clamor of the thunder had driven him from shelter to shelter, the pelting of rain into the swamp camp nearly paralyzing him when the rain slammed down on his small frame. the agony of broken bones still on the mend would forever haunt him, he believed, the cold and damp weather affecting his joints. was he so old, or was it so injured? he'd been visiting seven in her home, borrowing a lion's form to interact with the blind tigress vocally. he was on his way to his home and to the pup he'd rescued not so long ago. exhaling as he stretched on his toes, ears flattened against the roar of thunder and dripping of rain on his ears.

a growling screech filled his ears, fur bristling up despite being driven back to his body by the rain, head turning as the camp began to erupt into chaos. a snarl bubbled up in his chest as he heard an NPC shrieking "The monster is back! Everyone run!", turning himself in the direction that the NPCs ran from, pushing through the few that were out and about in the foul weather. Through the driving rain, he could make out a form against the dark backdrop of the soaking jungle, lightning cracking overhead and illuminating the deinonychus' form. eyes narrowing at the sight even as his coat bristled, cursing the gods for this situation. it was too wet to smell anything unless he was right in front of it, keeping ares' scent from reaching him, even in this body.

did he have enough strength to shift again? breath tremoring in his lungs, swearing softly, stretching out his limbs as the domestic approached the dinosaur for lack of better words, memories of ages long past filling his mind. huffing as he came before ares, standing on all four limbs despite the agony that ripped through him, bones creaking in refusal at the sudden force and usage. standing in her way, as best as he could, tail fluffed, not aware of this form of hers, but willing to put himself in front of the others. his ears were pressed back from the rain, not so much fear as he gazed upon her. he could lead this creature away into the swamp, he remembered that this creature was smart and fast, much to the injured tom's displeasure. perhaps he could borrow the body of a cheetah to try and outrun the beast? to lead it away? clearing his throat, the tom's body melted away, a larger feline in his place, keeping the dark grays and blacks of his lion form, a cheetah standing there. "who are you? what do you need with tanglewood? are you one of us?", called out the mild voice, tears in his eyes from the force it took to speak in a throat that had no use of one for so long.

SCREAMING AT THE ONES WE LOVE
LIKE WE FORGOT WHO WE CAN TRUST!

As Aesior approached and stood between it and the rest of the town, a small part of Ares, untouched by the feral anger and madness that possessed her, recognized him. The beast tilted its head from side to side, feet stepping around anxiously. A chittering noise left her, followed by her jaws snapping as she lost herself in the madness yet again. It growled deeply and narrowed its wild yellow eyes at him as he shifted forms. Spoke words she could not reply to.

It took one heavy step forward, fire igniting under its feet as flames sparked under feathers, creating an orange glow in her wings, arms, body, tail, as though burning from the inside out. Claws spread out, and the beast stood in a challenging pose, wings expanded to make it look far bigger than it truly was, feathers shuddering with each angered breath. It stomped on the ground again, lips curling in a low snarl.

okay, this wasn't the response he was hoping for, full honesty. he wasn't expecting the aggression though every part of his instincts from eons past screamed at him that this was a viable outcome to the situation he faced. exhaling wearily, fur rising along his spine as he looked at ares, watching as she tipped her head, broaching some sense of familiarity. the chittering it emitted was soon replaced with more aggressive posturing, fire spreading up and through the beast as his own coat bristled.

the stance it took was clearly aggressive, the stamping of her feet alerting him to the damage. shit, these things jumped on their prey. raising his own tail with a yowling snarl, the cheetah glancing side to side swiftly, leaving his claws sheathed as his tail lashed, watching the last of the NPCs clear out of his way. pressing his weight on weary bones, the brute hissed at ares, darting forward towards her. attempting to either knock against the beast's feathery chest or leg, he would attempt to get up and lead the chase away from the populace. gods help him, he was going to pay for this. he didn't know this was ares in this form, or what she was suffering from, he just saw a creature that could threaten his family and group, and he had to do something about it. gasping as the air was driven from his own lungs, muscles spasming and screaming as he struggled to his paws, body screaming in protest, "C-Come on! This way!", he called out to her, trying to run in the opposite direction of camp.

SCREAMING AT THE ONES WE LOVE
LIKE WE FORGOT WHO WE CAN TRUST!

Ares responded to Aesior's hiss with a roar, fire spilling from her jaws, and suddenly cutting off when he ran into her chest, sending her backward a bit. A wordless yell left her, sounding a lot like Ares for a second before it became more monster than the former. If this was how he wanted to do this, so be it. The turmoil inside her was fueling the anger and madness now. It had to stop.

Body turning around to face him, it started to move. She let him run, wanting to toy with this old man. But after a while, the beast stopped and almost tripped, a ringing in her head becoming far too loud. A painful groan left her, and claws reached up and scored her face. Another wordless scream left her, and she tore the terrain, racing toward him. She leaped into the air and tried to slam her body onto the back of the Cheetah. Whether or not she was successful she would still skid into the sodden earth, turning around to face Aesior.

Chase or not, she was done. It was either kill him or leave, and she wouldn't run away again.

the sound of one of the younger generation filtered through his ears and the pain, through the swelling of voices beginning to fill in the silence around him, wanting to scream at all of the ghosts around him to just shut up so he could focus. his ears swiveled quickly, searching for ares, ears flattening as he stared at the creature. could it imitate his groupmates? how long ... how long had it actually been in their territory? how long was it a threat to the group?

shaking his head, the cheetah looked over his shoulder at the beginning of his desperate race from camp, lungs and ribs protesting against his decision. he saw the beast chasing him and turned his head back around to avoid driving himself into a tree in the first leg of this. he faltered as he lost the sound of her feet chasing after him, ears laying back before all too suddenly, he'd let his guard down and he was being driven to the ground with blinding pain emanating from his back and spine. a scream of pain ripped from him before he clamped his jaws shut; he couldn't let anyone else hear him and try to come to the rescue. crumpling to the muddy ground, mud drenching him in it's cold wetness and clinging to his skin. gasping as he opened his jaws to try and breathe, trying to recover some modicum of strength that had been ripped away by the pain.

ears pressed to his head, struggling to breathe through the pain, whites of his eyes showing as his claws and paws scrabbled at the mud as the shock of the pain faded slowly, allowing him to see once again from the blinding pain. it tasted like blood in his mouth, huffing and panting, body shaking from the agony of nerves on fire, or so it felt. the sound of the beast skidding on the sodden terrain pierced his ears in all too loud of a sound, forcing his eyes to open, looking for the dark beast. laying in the mud, in great suffering and wondering if this was the end for him, he picked up on the rustling of undergrowth not far away. struggling, he began to draw his limbs to himself and push himself up from the dirt, each movement shaky and weak until he stood on his paws again, though mightily unsteady.

gods hep him, he wished that he wasn't the one who had gotten to the scene first. a cowardly thought, one that he hated, but he was tired, so tired. there was enough going on, he'd lost enough. could this be where he bowed out? could he even bow out? shaking his head, head pounding and ringing as he stared down at his paws and the mud below, mildly aware of the warm feeling of blood dripping from his nose. swaying on his paws, he tried to pull at all of his senses, to get them to coordinate. his hearing was all so suddenly lost from him, haziness in his eyes as he lifted his head to stare at ares, jaw agape, the taste of blood thick on his tongue. panting, the grim forced himself to take a step forward, towards her, his ears focused on her even as the ghosts screamed in his ears to run away, to escape. he wanted to escape, he wanted to run the other way with everyone else. running wasn't an option he had anymore, each and every movement rekindling the fury of pain raging along his spine, nearly paralyzing him. what was he going to do?

wheezing as he struggled, pain in each and everything he did, he was out of options. are you there, aristotle? do you still wait for me?, he found himself thinking as he struggled to keep himself upright, drawing his lips back to show his teeth in a silent growl, mindless of the blood dripping from his lips. shit. inhaling as much as he could, "so this is it? what a shitty ... shitty life.", he breathed, watching her for any signs of movement as he tried to build his energy and strength. could he land a blow back to her? running was out of the cards, his back was in too much agony. what could he do? frustration welled inside of him, body trembling, eyes watery with tears of pain. inhaling again, he exhaled, closing his eyes for a few seconds as he forced himself to draw upright, keeping himself going with the memories of the lives he'd cared for, of the folks in his group that he needed to protect. "... you ... i don't know you. but my children won't be safe if i can't keep you away.", he whispered, looking at the feral beast before him. "ares, sethiram, solsken, vintara. can't let you near them." he coughed, feeling the blood this time. huffing and panting as he unsheathed his claws, taking another trembling step towards her, his claws out in an attempt to keep himself rooted and upright, dragging his hind legs to move even as he cried from the agony. each movement screamed of agony, the tom drawing closer and closer before looking up at her, eyes dark with pain and foggy. he stood before what was likely to be his maker.

leaning forward, he would attempt to put his muzzle against her forearm, breathing hard with the effort. he knew this was incredibly stupid but the cry from earlier ... it didn't sound like mockery. it had sounded true. "child ... i know ... i know you're hurting. i don't know what hurts you, but ... i'm sorry." he whispered, blinking at the beast. if this was going to be his undoing, he wanted to die trying to help someone else. then his death wouldn't be useless. then his life would have been worth something. inhaling, he felt the rest of his strength ebb as his hind legs gave out on him and sent his lower half to the ground. gasping at the pain that re-ignited, gritting his teeth as he looked at the creature, "if you're from here, we can figure this out. it'll be okay.", he tried to offer to her as he tried to keep his front sitting up. shit, he was going to black out at this rate, the pain constantly keeping his vision blurry and beginning to feel numb all over.

SCREAMING AT THE ONES WE LOVE
LIKE WE FORGOT WHO WE CAN TRUST!

As the cheetah crumpled to the earth in a painful wail, the beast froze. Some sliver of consciousness rose, some small moment of what she once was. The beasts eyes widened and she leaned forward to sniff, a hollow bark leaving her. But as he rose, she skittered back, watching him as he swayed and stepped toward her.

No, no, no! the words repeated in her head as reality slowly closed in on Ares. Again, again. She was hurting people again. As Aesior spoke, she crowed gently, forcing herself to stand still. Dion. Dion. I'm going to hurt Dion! She let out a small cry before his muzzle met her forearm. Every fiber in her body wanted her to lash out, kill him here and now. But...

She listened to him as he offered to help, and emotion, true and genuine, shimmered in her bi-colored eyes. She stared, chittering lowly as her mind worked. She stood there as his lower legs gave in, unsure of what to do.

Slowly, she stepped back. Attempting to help keep him supported until she stepped back far enough. Her wings shook with the anger inside. And instead of turning it toward Aesior, she reeled around and slammed her head into a nearby tree. Even after she felt the stinging pain, she slammed her head again. And again. And again until blood welled and spilled down her face. The pain cleared her mind, if only for a while.

"Aes..ior... I'm so...sor..ry. Hu...hurt you." she whispered, words broken by primitive vocal chords. "Must.. leave. Too dangerous... here. No one.. safe." she snarled, realizing that the clarity was leaving.
[div style="max-width: 380px; padding: 5px; margin-top: -10px; text-align: center; font-family: arial; font-size: 10px;"]TANGLEWOOD — LION/SHAPESHIFTER — BIO — ATTACK IN #C16666

If he had it together enough, he would know that he must have had a lapse in his sanity or the like. No sane creature would be doing as he was. Hell, the only reason he was here, doing any of this, was because of Ares. His daughter, though not of blood or official straits. Coughing, blood covering his tongue as he choked on air, nose clogged with the rich liquid. Choking and coughing, tears squeezing from his eyes as he struggled to keep himself in the land of the aware.

Chanting to himself the mantras he used when he was once a student of the ways of the Grim, when he was but a young man years, eons, lifetimes ago. These words filled his mind with the calm that was fleeting him at the instinctual fear of drowning in his own blood, the calm that he needed to get through with this. His fears were irrational but he'd never felt so ... so mortal. Inhaling as he could barely pay attention to the sounds that she made, eyes fuzzily focused on her beak as broken pieced words escaped her. Closing his eyes as he swayed, trying to keep himself upright, letting her sword skin in before the world was shattered by the sound of bone on wood.

Fur bristling as he forced his eyes to open, greeted by the sight of Ares slammed her head, speechless as his mind processed the words she'd spoken. This was his child, the words were enough to assure him. Swallowing thickly around a tongue to swollen to speak, jaws aching as he stumbled over his fat tongue and looping mind, "Little one ... it's gonna be okay ...", voice all but a whisper, strength fading too quickly for him. Forelegs inching forward until they gave out, closing his eyes as he groaned in agony, muzzle digging into the mud, "I'm sorry, little one. I couldn't protect you ...", he croaked, raising his head just enough from the mud to gaze at her through foggy eyes, From yourself, or from the world., he finished within his mind as the fuzzy darkness that swallowed all of his senses swallowed him whole in a warm loving embrace. With that, his consciousness faded, one paw reached out towards her direction with a sense of sadness and longing to comfort her. If only his body had been stronger.

// out, passed out not dead dw //