HOW DID YOU LOVE? ☆ return

[S. PENDRAGON]

Her entire body shook violently as she put one paw in front of the other, she wouldve flown home but... With her current condition that seemed impossible. The puppet had torn away from her strings yet at a cost, her body continued to wobble to the sides as blood dripped from both her maw and nose. She had one of her eyes closed to avoid the blood getting in it and both of her ears pressed flat against her skull, she grit her teeth as she hissed underneath her breath "Bloody hell..." She could barely make out the trees and swampy waters of Tanglewood as the small feline proceeded to push herself forward with a foggy gaze. It hurt so much to walk as she pressed herself against one of the trees letting her blood flow onto the bark, she brought one of her paws to her stomach trying to stop the bleeding but the blood would drip from in between her toes. "Damn wanker... Really did... Shit..." She muttered under her breath knowing that she still had a ways from the town and it would be best to keep moving forward, she didn't want to get picked off by a gator.

Rising to her paws, Sophiea would adjust her wings to her sides though they appeared a lot more different... Given the fact that all her flight feathers had been plucked off and large clawmarks streaked on her back. She could've died and she had been fine with that possibility, she had already betrayed those close to her. People like her didn't deserve to live. "Dishonest slag..." The injured Tangler said with a shake of her cranium feeling her body growing heavy and her yes drooping slightly, the loss of blood was beginning to effect her and her every movement. She glanced behind her for a moment to make sure that no one had possibly followed to finish her off and only saw her droplets of blood becoming small puddles. She took a deep breath noticing that the town was only a few steps away did she topple over, Sophiea brought a paw to cover the large gash on her stomach and began to drag herself forward with her teeth gritted in pain. Maybe she would be fortunate enough to be ended by one of the Wanderers from the Coalition, she had left in hopes to see Eternalknight one last time but perhaps... She was too late.

He could be dead and it was her fault. How did she even know if anyone even wanted to see her after betraying everyone like that? She laid there for a moment as these thoughts would buzz throughout her numbed mind, her eyes half closed as she mumbled out "You twit... Why did you come back?" She questioned herself as her slow breathing became long heaves for oxygen as her eyes began to sting lightly. Perhaps it was the fact that she didn't want to die alone? Using her back legs, she pushed herself forward not seeming to care that her blood was starting to smear onto the town's floor. Just a little bit more, came a quiet thought knowing exactly where she was going now. A pained smile on her maw as she reached her destination, she crawled onto the porch of her home and managed to push the door open. A bit more, her gaze became blurry yet she pushed on feeling herself wince as she slid onto the floor of her home. She began to doubt that she would be able to go upstairs to the attic where she stayed.

"So close yet so far..." She breathed out before coughing up some blood as she laid there still applying pressure to the gash on her belly, she could feel her body losing all its energy. Everything was starting to get dark and Sophiea still could feel that fear gripping at her heart but it was less, she was home... Somewhere safe in her last moments. "Good job... You fucking twat," She mumbled to herself as the tears slid down her face. Oh, how she wished to apologize to Aurum, Vigenere, Eternalknight, and... Goldenluxury. She had hurt them all and herself in the process. Sophiea moved away her paw from the gash looking down at her paw noticing how it was drenched in blood. "Better... Be easy to clean out..." Soph mumbled out to no one in particular, her breathing continues to grow slower as she lays there in silence. She knew someone would find her at some point but there she would lay by herself in what felt like her final moments.

If only it had been a more noble death... But this is the death fitting of a traitor, she thought as her eyes began to struggle in staying open. Her ears twitching before resting on her skull "I'm sorry..." A wheeze left her as her eyes closed wishing to seek some form of rest. The only thing she could hear was the ticking of the clock within her home.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

[wormwood.]

NOTHING BESIDE REMAINS — It had been some time since Aurum had seen Sophiea, but it wasn't as if he had just forgotten about her. No, much like he had said to Eternalknight, both he and his cousin were considered to be part of the family that Tanglewood was. As harsh as Soph could be, and even with the obvious mistakes she has committed in her past, the angel had no intention of turning his back on her. However, when the dust had finally settled on the rescue raid, the lion had been forced to realize that he had little to no idea of where Sophiea could possibly be. The feline had disappeared quite a while ago, and although he had obviously put together that it had something to do with Stryker, he had no idea where the other lion had taken her. With finding Eternal, it had been easier. He had known that there was little place else for Stryker to take him and hold him prisoner, other than the bunkers that lingered beneath the town. With Sophiea, though... she really could've been anywhere. The Typhooners had mentioned seeing her during the raid on them, but that wasn't exactly uplifting. Even if she was being held hostage with The Typhoon, that meant that there was little hope of him getting to her immediately. Instead, he would be forced to wait until they were able to save the whole of The Typhoon.

Truth be told, it had been difficult for Aurum to ignore the feeling of anxiety that had settled in his chest ever since the Typhooners had told them about seeing Sophiea. It was obvious that she couldn't have been in a very good state, considering the last most had seen of her was when she had been shot out of the sky. While the angel certainly had quite a few different things on his mind already, the status of his groupmate was certainly up there, if only behind watching over Tanglewood as a whole, and planning for the future. He desperately hoped that she was alive, especially considering the recent rescue of Eternal. It was a miracle that the other male was still alive after everything he had been through. To go through all of that, only to find out that the last bit of your family was dead... it would be heartbreaking. So, with every day that passed, Aurum worked harder and harder on his plan to help The Typhoon. And, by extension, he worked harder and harder on his plan to help Sophiea. That wasn't to say that Soph would just be able to get off scottfree for what she had done – even if it was for family – but the lion had no plans of judging her so harshly. Especially not before she had a chance to recover from whatever she had been through.

Aurum hadn't immediately been aware of Sophiea's return, having been near the other side of town when she managed to drag herself back into her home. However, it wasn't as if he was left unaware for long. It took only a couple of minutes before the long and messy trail of blood had garnered attention, and the male could hear his name being frantically called, both out of fear and confusion. He was quick to head over once he heard the various petrified NPCs, only to freeze up himself when he saw the "path" leading inside. He immediately winced at the scent of blood and rot that clung to the air, and it was clear that whoever had gone inside – whether it be Soph or someone else – was not doing well. He hushed the various nearby onlookers, taking in a deep breath before he pushed the door open. He tried to keep his tone light as he spoke, although there was a clear frown on his muzzle, "Sorry Soph, I know you don't like me coming in without knocking..." However, all humor drained from his face when he spotted Sophiea, lying on the ground and still bleeding profusely. The paw pressed against her belly was doing a valiant if slightly pathetic job of keeping her together, and immediately he felt his ears pin back against his skull. He was vaguely disgusted and terrified, but there was no way that he was going to run away from this. Sophiea needed help, and Aurum was going to make sure that she got it. He was a stubborn bastard, that way.

Moving closer to the much smaller feline, the lion leaned down, pressing his own paw to Soph's stomach in order to apply more pressure. He muttered in the most soothing tone he could manage, although it was also slightly scolding, "Damn it, Sophiea... you're not dying on me, alright? We just got your cousin back, and you're far too cranky to die. Who will be around to scold me if you do?" He pressed his nose lightly to her shoulder, keeping his paw on her belly before he lifted his head back up. He put on his most authoritative tone, calling out in a roar, "[member=3521]moth[/member]! We need you over here, now! Bring everything you can, Sophiea needs a lot of help!" His one eyed gaze then darted over to one of the NPCs still standing outside, his voice stern as he commanded, "If she's not here and five minutes, you're going to go and get her, got it? Sophiea doesn't have that much time." He then watched as they hastily nodded, already turning and heading off. With a heavy sigh, the male then turned back to Sophiea, rumbling in the most soothing voice he could manage even as he felt blood staining his paw, "You're gonna be fine, alright? You have to be, so I can yell at you for being so reckless, for once..." With that said, he was then forced to just sit there, waiting alongside Sophiea. He didn't want to risk moving her, and making her injuries even worse. — OF THE MAN WHO WAS BORN AND DIED A KING.

[bubblegum]

DEAR FRIEND as you know,  your flowers are withering
your mother's gone insane, your leaves have drifted away.
    but the clouds are clearing up
        and i've come reveling, burning incandescently,
                                              like a bastard on the burning sea.

YOU'RE JUST LIKE YOUR FATHER,
BURIED DEEP UNDER THE WATER.

There was gratitude, in know she was alive, in knowing she was safe, at least temporarily, in knowing that she would have at least a little bit of time to heal. In her allies giving her a place to stay, until it was time to go home. In seeing a friend despite it, family. There was gratitude. But, there was pain. Exhaustion. And most of all loneliness. She'd not spent so much time in the territory since...since Sam. But, she was gone now. Not coming back, as far as they all could see. And Aurum was here still, but her cousin, her former friends, their leaders, they'd passed. They were all in some state of grief, in some state of shock. As she struggled to move, it only felt as if the thread had wrapped itself around her tighter. The details of what all had transpired the past month was too much to process, too much to try and work through for now. There was bigger things to focus on, think about, but she was stuck. Her body struggled to balance, shook against its own weight, and the captain who'd always been the one to lead headstrong, get everything done with efficiency, was stuck. And there was no one to carry that weight but her. They'd all already had far too much to carry themselves, so she may be left in their dust.

It wasn't her right to complain - it wasn't much of anyone's to, really. They'd all much bigger things to worry of than lovers who died months ago, than friends that came and went in the blink of an eye, of missing legs, of threads of lives entangled and knotted. There was something much bigger at play, bigger than any one of them, any one of their friends, their lovers, their lives. It was about all of them, their homes, and the future of a man that had deserved death two years ago, that had sealed it, the moment he tried to convince Goldenluxury Roux she was less than, that she deserved to be his slave, that for her freedom her mama must die, that she was anyone but who she was. And she'd intended to do it long ago, but the lying fox had beat her to it - the only thing he'd managed to fuck up in her plans despite his greatest efforts. And so she trudged on quietly each day that passed, trying to put on an uplifting spirit for her friends, put on a serious mind whenever discussion of strategy came about. But the truth was, an old fuzz had taken hold of her mind's empty space once more. And progression was almost stunted.

Still, when she smelt the blood, heard the call of Aurum, she knew she couldn't just sit by. The tigress would be far too slow to reach Moth, best left to whoever the lion had yelled it out to, but she had some knowledge, some use where she was, if she could just get herself to move in time. She didn't know of all of the swamp-dweller's medical supplies, but it wouldn't be hard to get makeshift bandages of cobwebs, not far away, collecting them with a stick. She'd need to count on someone else to bring proper herbs.

And in the tigress' shaky, struggled movements, harsh breath, she enters the home of a female she'd managed to befriend in a short span of time, one that arguably helped lead to her situation now in her inaction, but such a thought had never truly crossed her mind. Or if it had, it had been briefly pushed away. She'd not known the specifics of that day, it was hard to remember it at all. Her mind was not a reliable source right now. She stumbles over next to Aurum, landing in a sort-of fall as she drops the stick filled with cobwebs. She catches her breath for a moment before speaking,
"We need t' stop the bleedin'." A simple command, weak voice calm in its instruction. "Moth will bring the proper herbs for it, so in the meantime, help me clean n' apply pressure. Unless you can find some horsetail or marigold really quick." She's sure there was likely some growing not too far off in their forest territory, but she didn't want to pressure him to go off and find an herb if he was unsure of it.

[trojan g.]

[align=center][div style="max-width: 450px; font-family: timesnewroman; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;"]It seemed as though more and more there were animals getting hurt within or near Tanglewood, and it meant more and more that Moth was needed. She didn't mind the need, it gave her something to do and took her mind off of her son, but she wished there weren't as many that were getting hurt.

Hearing the call once more from her brother, Moth would quickly make her way over to the home of Sophiea, nose wrinkling at the smell of blood and at the sight before her. Although she was thankful for Goldie being there, Moth knew also that the other needed rest, though that'd be something to talk to the tiger about later. "Goldie's right, just apply pressure and clean the wound while I get everything ready for application, it shouldn't take too long." She would speak, digging quickly through her satchel to start on it.

Once it was finished she would move forward in an attempt to apply the poltuce to the wounds, before turning to give Soph something for the pain. Making sure the wound didn't get infected or kill her had been the former medic's first priority.