NOBODY’S LISTENING // trying to walk

Things were... slowly healing, that’s for sure and Atbash honestly didn’t know how she felt. The Hailcaller felt bad about her tribe being forced into such a situation and yet here she was, horribly wounded and unable to do anything against Stryker and The Pitt. Not only because she was too afraid to, but because of the injury Stryker had inflicted on her. With her eye gone, Atbash had to get used to just seeing with one eye and using her senses more.

Today was going to be that day whether Stryker liked it or not. Atbash shakily rose to her paws from the nest she was laying in, a wave of nausea crashing over her as she stood up. The she-cat stood over her nest for a few heartbeats as she tried to calm her trembling body and swallowed down bile that was threatening to rise up her throat. The entire left side of her face still felt strangely numb though Atbash knew there was a leaf-bandage still covering the open wound. It probably wasn’t a good idea to go out into the cold with an injury such as hers, especially when it hasn’t fully healed yet but Atbash didn’t care. She had to prove she was strong. For Snowbound. For freedom.

Atbash slowly turned towards the entrance of the medicine cabin, her steps careful and light as she placed her paw down. The Hailcaller placed one paw after the other in an extremely careful manner, as if she was testing the ground in front of her. She wasn’t completely blind of course, but things just felt so damn off with her being unable to see our of her left side anymore.

Eventually Atbash reached the entrance to the den and she winced as the cold air blew on her face. She closed her good eye and walked forward, completely forgetting the slight dip in the ground from where the house didn’t exactly connect with the snow. It wasn’t a very steep dip whatsoever, but it did surprise Atbash and the she-cat stumbled, letting out a yowl of surprise as she fell to the ground

//mobile

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SNOWBOUND
FEMALE
POLARHEART

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[div style="width: 360px; font-family: verdana; color: #FB9B85; text-align: left; padding-top: 15px; padding-left: 10px"]I AM IN CONTROL!

Nui had not seen Atbash for days. That was understandable, given the last time she saw the savannah; Snowbound seemed to descend into heavenly chaos the moment a sickeningly sweet squelch of a claw tearing through Atbash's optic slunk through the banquet hall.
And Nui? She had cozied up within her own cabin; weaving herself into exhaustion and sharpening her telekinesis for her opponents; a wicked surprise she was sure they'd be pleased to discover. Hammering her powers into a sharp, vicious blade for her foes. Harime refused to let herself fall prey to the clutches of inactivity. Lack of practice made you slow and weak-- taking hits where you could have dodged them. Dealing blows that failed to land. Such a future for her was unthinkable.

While she had not entirely desisted in eating, her form grew gaunt from the lack of blood and fresh prey-- necessary nutrients to her survival. All forgone in favor of starving herself into frustration.

Frustration, which was a powerful motivator. She'll mold herself into the feening carnivore, lusting for blood. And when the time came for Snowbound's inevitable reclamation, the Polarheart would trample them under heel with her bloodlust. It was a glorious thought, and it was only a befitting end to infantile creatures who prided and paraded themselves as oppressors, when they were naught any concern for the gal. She did not even considered herself to be intimidated by their presence; it was laughable. Her first time being subjugated, and the Pittians had done the bare minimum. Absolutely pathetic.

The feline stepped from her cabin, spotting Atbash's vibrant pelt amongst the fallen snow, stuck out like a sore thumb and practically face planted herself into the ground. There was a brief moment as Nui stared, before disappearing into her cabin to once more return with an obnoxiously pink blanket draped over her back.

Atbash's wound was plastered with a leaf. The blood was long ago dried, now healed how disappointing. Nui's paw pads pressed against cool, compact ice. She siddled over to the leader; pressing into Atbash's shoulder in an attempt to ease her upright. The felidae was even surprised that Stryker allowed her to walk about. Was he so assured of his victory that he allowed her to do so? Or maybe it was a powerplay, displaying his unconcern about any thoughts of retribution from the enslaved clan by letting his ransom walk free?

"You're okay," Nui offered her assistance, noting with satisfaction how Atbash's own missing eye matched her own. She looked far more beautiful this way, in the only way a scarred woman could. "You'll get used to it," And with that, she'd offer the blanket, should Atbash take it, and help the savannah drape it around herself like a cape. Warm and comforting.

She knows of loss. One of her most valuable assets-- the feeling of uselessness as she stumbled around in a dizzy frenzied, frustrated and helpless because that object looked to far away; and i thought it was closer and all that had been left in those months were hot red rage rage rage. The first time her eye had been taken from her, she struggled with the knowledge that perhaps everything may not be alright again.

And then she got used to it.

"Are you hungry?" Her inquiry was light, singular orb gleaming as she blinked at the Cipher. "ma dame, the food will help strengthen you. you'll feel much better." With that, she'd lean into the hailcaller, aiming to offer her own warmth. She did not do tenderness, but Atbash was to be helped if they could do anything about their current predicament. A little bit of nurturing could go a long way, and just a little nudge in the right direction would be beneficial to escaping their current unfortunate situation.

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.. Izuku hated it. He hated what was happening. He hated that Snowbound was in shambles and people were hurt and so was Atbash. She didn't deserve it. None of them deserved it. They were his clanmates, and just by virtue of that, Izuku wanted, needed to protect them. But Izuku couldn't protect everyone, and so the dragon was left restless and pacing. Not even Locket was here anymore -- well, not right now. She'd been scared off by the Pitt. Well, scared off of interacting with anybody. He still saw her, sometimes.
... Nui isn't the only one surprised to see Atbash, though. The dragon had been prowling around, skittering around edges and he wanted to go home or to the medical cabin and rest some more but he couldn't. Sure, he had Atbash to keep on eye on, but .. If he left, even for a moment, what would happen to people? Would they get hurt? If they got hurt, he wouldn't be there to protect them, or to heal them. .. Protecting was better than healing, in his experience. It prevented the nasty healing stages and people would be okay. .. This mission proves to have worked out in his favor when Izuku catches the bright pelt of Atbash and Nui is there too but Atbash. The dragon's breath leaves him all at once as he hears her and he's already skittering towards them at once. She was up.
"Atbash!" He speaks softly as he circles around the two with eyes nervously wide. He doesn't want to call attention. Granted, Atbash and Izuku call attention to themselves just by virtue of their color -- and also Izuku's size. He's still getting bigger by the week, unfortunately. He loosely tries to curl himself in a protective circle around the two, eyes glancing over to check their status. He opens his mouth to speak, and then finds that .. he doesn't have any words to say. He closes it, and his ears lie back. .. He didn't need to speak, anyways. Nui had. Atbash had to, too.

[glow=black,2,300]I WONT BE HERE LONG AT ALL ☀[/glow]

Atbash only really had decided to step out when she noticed that Stryker left and wasn't seemingly lurking around. Of course, little did she know that he was likely out there somewhere, completely aware of what she was doing. The fact that he simply 'allowed' her to walk around so freely was torture in of itself. It was almost as if he was toying around with the Snowbounders, teasing them and provoking them.

Nui's presence startled her a bit and Atbash tried to scramble to her paws as quickly as she could once she heard Nui's paws shuffling about in the snow. The Hailcaller blinked at Nui several times, as if trying to register that the Polarheart was in front of her. It wasn't that she couldn't tell Nui was there, it was just she was so damn blurry at the moment and Atbash wasn't sure how far or close she was, and she believed that blinking away this fuzziness would work. Luckily, her hearing was normal and Atbash visibly relaxed once she recognized Nui's voice. The blanket made her jump a bit, but again, the she-cat relaxed and allowed its warmth to wash over her. It was a relief to feel the warmth the blanket gave her, rather than the cold floor of the cabin and the chilling wind that Snowbound's territory provided naturally.

Food? Atbash echoed the word in her mind, suddenly realizing the gnawing feeling in her stomach. Of course The Pitt would not allow her to eat under their watchful eye, but god was she hungry... Should she risk her tribemates' safety just for a bit of food? "Y-you... need it more." Atbash responded vaguely, as if she was trying to avoid the question on whether or not she was hungry. She should eat, yes, but her tribe needs it much more. She was disposable, a weak link in the tribe, as evident by the takeover. Sure, everybody in Snowbound seemed to care about her and her well-being, but she still stood by the fact that things would be much easier if she just... wasn't here. Would all of this had been avoided if she had just followed Caesar? Probably.

Izuku was next to approach, although he was much more easier to identify due to his scale color and size. It still spooked her a bit, but she was almost reassured by Izuku being here. He had been here in the beginning and helped Snowbound prosper, he should be the Hailcaller instead of her. He had been here longer than her, even! But because of his rank as Tenderfoot, it seemed like Jacob completely disregarded that. "A-are you okay?" She asked him, trying to keep her voice as quiet as she could despite trying to talk up to a dragon.

Honestly, Izuku didn't think he would've made a good leader, so he probably would've argued with Atbash if she expressed such a sentiment. He wouldn't be the best pick now, and especially not back then. Having power at all was very jarring, and it was kind of hard to adjust to how much he did have.
"Atbash," Izuku's voice is scolding at her refusal, having heard it with his approach. He definitely seems worried, but he doesn't push anymore than this. He doesn't know if it's his place, especially not since Izuku would probably do the exact same thing if it were him. Doesn't mean he can't gently judge her for it, though. He worried about the feline. I mean -- of course he did, that was his job, but even so.
His ears fall back just the slightest at Atbash's question. His eyes are a little wide, though not because he's upset or anything. He's just .. tired. And worried. He doesn't even feel that ever-present pure hate for the Pitt at the moment. Which was maybe just a little shocking, honestly. "I'm fine, don't worry," The dragon chirrs, tail gently thumping against the snow. He hasn't gotten many injuries, largely because of the fact that he was pretty much bigger than everyone by this point, and also the scales. "I should be asking you that, though," He huffs, shutting his eyes and tilting his head a little. He's just .. tired. So tired. But he opens his eyes and allows Atbash a weak little smile regardless.

[glow=black,2,300]I WONT BE HERE LONG AT ALL ☀[/glow]

Atbash flinched a bit at Izuku's tone, immediately knowing why he had said her name in such a way. She shouldn't be refusing, she knew. She should let Nui assist her, regardless of whether or not Stryker may punish the both of them later. "You let fear control your actions." Both Stryker and Quantum of Sunhaven had said that, and the words stung. But that's just it - the truth hurt. Atbash didn't look Izuku in the eye as he looked down at her, and simply stared at her paws. "I-I'm fine. You guys just need to worry about you know." She didn't want to outright say 'get rid of The Pitt' mostly due to the fact that they could be listening, but also due to the fact that there... wasn't much of a resistance right now. Understandable, since The Pitt seemingly had no weaknesses, but all groups did, regardless of who led. Hell, Stryker acted like he was the leader of the damn place but supposedly he wasn't. That was something to start with, right?

♡ — DON'T YOU DARE FORGET THE SUN, LOVE.
"Isn't it just useless to act tough when you can barely walk?" Came the soft, but stern voice of the blind borzoi puppy, stubborn pale green eyes sightlessly trailing over the three people who were in the area, squabbling amongst themselves. She didn't really care for caring about others, in all honesty. She couldn't feel pain, and her own sense of understanding of others pain was also slightly dull. She was raised this way, after all. Raised to be harsh, cruel, numb to the feeling of others. Her parents thought that it would save her, but it didn't. It only made things worse.

"Why did they decide to take over? I wasn't here when it happened, but I'm not one to just.. acknowledge it either." She muttered softly, her skinny form slipping in beside Izuku's, pressing against her adoptive siblings side in greeting. She didn't really care for Atbash, or Nui. Izuku was the one who shielded her from that.. Thing, that showed up at the borders. Well, he couldn't protect her from going blind, but she didn't care. It didn't hurt, after all.

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tags :: updated 8/19:

izuku is here, with tedious concern.

nui blinked at atbash's refusal, recognizing it as the leader's attempt to remain steadfast. nui did not withhold a scoff. "nonsense," she admonished quickly. she doubted that the pitt would allow atbash to starve to death; she was their ransom, after all. their major binding insurance. to let the feline waste away would be an undermining of their plans, nothing left to hold the snowbounders back from revolting without fear of atbash's further injuries. if anything, the "pacifists" would be enraged. with their leader's passing, only spurred on by bloodlust and injustice.

but she wouldn't put it past them to make that mistake; they'd already issued the flaw of letting the snowbound leader walk free, and atbash wasn't too carefully guarded. the pitt members were no more competent than she was an innocent girl.

"i'll go get you something, yea? what would you like?" it was probably best that she depart to get atbash food. all of this oozing concern was making her lightheaded with disgust.

yuuri was a new face. but came with questions and a half-healed face. nui, too, probably would have agreed with atbash. she had been a weak link; her own inability to defend herself against stryker's clutches had been their demise. it was nothing more than a fact within her eyes, and the polarheart idly pondered if the other would live long enough through this conflict to grow with this experience.

IS DRY

BEFORE MY BODY