[ tldr at bottom, please do not feel the need to match length

tw for blood, death, anxiety attack, nightmares, just a bunch of unpleasant experiences ]

Sitting alone in his house, the domestic feline tended to his plants. This way and that he swayed as he watered each of his delicate herbs. The lavender intertwined with his paw as he gracefully slipped through the plant life, grasping tiny weeds and plucking them from his carefully hosted gardens. Soft hums passed his fragile lips as he did so, trying to keep his focus upon the world around him rather than the recesses of his mind. Lately, he had been so full of agony and peril from deep within his brain, incapable of grounding himself or making sense of the atmosphere surrounding his petite form.

For days, he would hardly eat. Some, he refused to sleep. Yet he never brought himself to the brink of cracking open another pristine bottle. His paws refused to entangle themselves and wrench open the poisonous liquid which altered his mind. Instead, he tried to cope in other manners. Tending to his garden was of the few things that brought him peace since his return, as it was a duty done in solitude. It was familiar as well, which is something he desperately craved for by this point. Everything had shifted and his world had turned upon its head. For once, he just longed for something to be right again.

Approximately half an hour passed before the sleek feline finished caring for his garden. He was beyond exhausted, finding himself straining to keep his eyes open. They fluttered closed multiple times as he tried to maneuver through the territory, feeling the intoxicating grasp of slumber encasing his body. Soon, he could no longer resist the promise of a sweet slumber. Perching his body up against a tree trunk, he allowed himself to slip into unconsciousness.

——

It was late. Corrupttimelines was walking along a dirt path on the way home with a fresh bundle of herbs clutched in his maw. The wind was ripping through the trees and causing the leaves to topple over themselves. As the trees roared and stretched their limbs every which way, Cory groaned softly. His eyes narrowed into slits at the bitter realization that a storm was inbound.

“Ish about to rain,” he proclaimed to his sister, the herbs in his mouth muffling his words as he walked. Rejectedlove whipped around and glanced at him before rolling her eyes. Her mouth was full of prey she had gathered to bring back to their resting place. She didn’t even need to breathe a word into the air for him to know what she was saying. She knows, just hurry up.

He padded a bit faster to catch up to her, sticking by her side as the wind picked up once more. It whipped and whirled all around them, throwing stray branches in every direction. Cory’s eyes widened as one narrowly whizzed by his head, shrinking into himself to avoid being smacked upside the face. Annoyance prevailed in his expression as he glanced to Rejectedlove with a frown. She glanced back at him after a moment, and nodded her head in understanding, then turned and glanced about for temporary shelter. Cory assisted her, trailing up by her side and squinting as the downpour began. Rain whipped into their pelts, stinging his face as he tried to shelter the herbs from the onslaught of water. Rejectedlove hissed, just before her eyes locked on a nearby cave. She motioned for Cory to follow, and follow he did.

The duo sprinted through the rain, racing through the torrential downpour as it began. Hideously dark clouds sprawled and flashes of intense lightning struck across the skies, thunder roared with a night larger than a lion. For once, a storm actually had the siblings feeling a heavy sense of unease. They hadn’t much more time left before it would worsen when they skidded into the cave, panting as they both dropped the fruits of their labor upon the dimly lit cave floor.

“Ah shit. I’m sorry Cory, I had no idea it would rain today,” she apologized, panting as she shook out her water logged pelt and moved deeper into the cave, trying to shield herself from any more of the rain. In her current state, she looked quite the mess. Her stark orange hued pelt was a deep ember hue from the rain, and her gaze was full of nothing but sheer annoyance with herself. Cory frowned and shook his head, dropping the herbs behind a rock to protect them as well before moving to her side.

“Can’t predict the weather. I just hope we can get home before our parents have a cow,” he replied to her, to which Rejectedlove nodded in sincere agreement. Cory and Rej hated being around their parents after a long hunt, that much he knew. In an attempt to wait out the storm, the duo sat upon the cave floor and simply stared at the pounding rain.

They waited hours for the rain to settle, and once it slowed a little they decided it would be best to just keep going. Grasping their supplies, they both maneuvered back onto the trail. The siblings made sure to keep close to one another for fear of one of them getting lost in the rapid storm.

Everything was fine, until a wild dragon appeared in their path.

Verdant scales swooped down from the sky sporting tattered wings. Crimson eyes peered down at them with an intimidating huff. Immediately, the two stood side by side with a burning look flooding their gazes. They each went on the defensive, knowing this dragon wasn’t about to step aside and kindly let them pass.

The dragon struck out at Cory first, swinging its large claws at him and leaving a superficial wound upon his side. The domestic feline hissed as his body was sent off in one direction, the herbs still clutched tightly in his maw as he did so. Blood trickled from the wounds as he stood, thanking the gods above it wasn’t deep. However, before he could even get to his feet, he heard her voice.

“CORY! You overgrown iguana, I’ll KILL YOU!”

With this, Rejectedlove lunged forward and clutched onto its tail. Digging her claws in as deep as she could, she held onto it and hissed and snarled as she chewed on his scales. The dragon grew irritated fast, flailing about with a burning rage in its eyes.

After a few moment, the dragon’s sporadic movements caused Rejectedlove to let go. As she did, she landed on her feet with a thud. She hissed, anger flooding her gaze as well as her body as she stood there, face to face with something potentially ten times her size.

“Come get me you bastard!”

Cory’s eyes widened as he heard this. Instantly, he knew it was about to go wrong.

“Rej! Rej no!” cried Corrupttimelines, scampering towards his sister as she fought against the enemy dragon. He towered over her, slamming her claws into her side as she screamed and wailed. Cory let out a fierce hiss, flinging mud into the dragon’s eyes as he flung himself forwards, latching into its nose and scraping his claws against his face. This caused the dragon to shift away, repulsed. It flung Cory a few feet away and let out a mighty roar, soaring off in the opposing direction. Cory’s body hit a nearby tree, causing him to collapse.

When he looked up, everything seemed surreal.

Her eyes twinkled with the light that peered through the abysmal clouds. Blood trickled heavy down her side as she fell, collapsing into the mud as she writhed in agony. Her golden hued fur, strikingly different against his own had dazzled in his eyes as a horrified look up took her face. She was sniffling and sobbing in agony. Swiftly, she dropped into the mud beneath her feet before his eyes. Her choking sobs wheezed into the sky as she made her plea.

“Cory! Please, help me! It hurts! It burns!”

Cory forced himself to his feet and went to work on her. First, he cleaned her wounds, but in the process Rejectedlove wouldn’t stop shifting in pain. Tears poured down her cheeks as he worked, trying to stop the blood with some fresh moss. It was of no use, though. No matter how hard he tried, the wound wouldn’t stop bleeding.

“I’m dying, aren’t I?” she asked, sniffling as she looked up at Cory. He froze, taken aback by her statement a she shook his head. “No, I just need to stop the bleeding and you’ll be fine…just give me some time-” he began, just before Rejectedlove cut him off. She smiled at him, tapping her nose to his paw.

“Stop. It’s okay….you did your best Cory. You…you did good.”

“Stop it, you’re not dying on me Rej…I won’t let you,” he grumbled as he kept trying to work, but Rejectedlove halted him, shaking her head.

“You will never be your namesake. Change the world…like you……we’re always……….meant……to.”

And that was when she took her final breath.

Cory shot up from his slumber, wheezing as his heart raced. His mind was whirling and he was overwhelmed quickly. Tears poured down his face as he began to hyperventilate, gasping for air as his claws dug into the earth. Everything was beginning to crash down upon him as he tried to ground himself, to no avail. What on earth was that?

[ tldr; Cory regained the memory of his sister’s death and is now having an anxiety attack ]

code by spacexual

He had never been good at the whole comfort shtick. Nor had he ever had to deal with someone having a panic attack. The sounds of heaving breath were the first to reach the tom as he padded through the trees, coming back from wherever his wanderings had taken him after his recovery. A voice reached his ears, making him turn his head for the curiosity of it all. Was everything alright? Was someone injured? The labored breathing was enough of a warning and a tell-tale symbol that something was going on, and that it was late enough in the day to cause questions to come to mind.

Paws leading him in the direction of breath, Aesior would find himself presented with the shaken Corrupttimelines and his own daughter at his side. Faltering, the Luminary felt his ears lay back in an odd sense of concern. Was the other feline alright? Opening his mouth, the gray tabby paused, as if remembering he had no voice with which to express himself. Setting his mouth into a thin line as he inhaled, closing his eye and walking closer to sit down at the other's opposite side, across from Venemousimpulse. Settling in and tucking his tail, he would offer his tiny back to the other to lean against, lowering his head to his paws.

He could feel something building in his head and chest, something that caused his claws to slide from their sheaths and to attempt to press closer to Corrupttimelines, something that he couldn't name. He didn't want to name. Panic. And it was strong. Issuing a curt breath, he would turn his head to look at Cory with a raised eyebrow. Was it coming from him? Could it have been from the one time he had spoken into the other's mind? Sheathing his claws as he adjusted himself again, he lowered his ears slightly and made to nudge Cory, "Hey. You're gonna be okay.", he offered, reaching out gingerly with his mind and attempting to think the thoughts to the other along an imaginary crimson line.

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