BACK FOOT + RETURN

[toboggan]

From the burning sands of Pittian desert, to the wet muck of Tanglewoodian bog, Leroy's limbs had convoyed not only him, but a gravely wounded [member=4834]samantha[/member] and [member=67]beck.[/member] as well. The hound ran like a madman, as if he had hot coals in his hypothetical shoes. The deformed duo bobbed fiercely atop his spleen over the trek's duration, violently seesawing up and down whilst potent leaps from below carried them closer and closer to their home. An ill extent of pressure was forced upon the cur's bones, compelling him to whimper and whine; though the pain he currently experienced couldn’t even come close to holding a candle to the shit the two captured Tanglers had endured. Soon, they'd all be well inside the borders. Soon, they'd be safe.

The town's outline was a welcoming sight, albeit not for long. A vignette loomed around the outskirts of his eyesight, slowly but surely growing as time went on. Only a handful of paces outside of the hamlet’s reach did he collapse, sending his two companions toppling over whilst he himself fell to the cool ground. There was no fight; fatigue has enveloped him.

Hopefully, something could be done about Beck's missing paws. Hopefully, something could be done about the missing eyes.

//out

[wormwood.]

[glow=#000,1,400]MY MAMA SAID THAT I'M NOT LIVING RIGHT. YOU RAISED A LION, MAMA, I AIN'T LYING, MAMA — ｡+ﾟ.[/glow]

Wormwood had been forced to flee from the battle eventually, his leg bleeding badly and his body too weak for him to actually continue fighting without the risk of being captured. He couldn't be captured as well, or it would just be a case of trading one prisoner for another, and he wasn't going to let that happen. Still, he had attacked Jervis pretty well, and it had seemed as though Leroy had made it out with those they had been looking for, so he had made sure everyone else was safe before he raced back towards home, collapsing a few times because of the pain in his legs. He didn't know what had happened with Draekon, but he hadn't cared at that moment, only caring about what condition Sam and Beck were in, and whether or not Leroy had managed to bring them to safety. When he had arrived before the canine or their rescued friends, Worm had been sent into a state of extreme worry and stress, pacing around his home and almost forgetting to get his leg patched up, although he had done a rather shoddy job of it himself. He had spent so much time just waiting and worrying about whether or not Sam and Beck were okay, or if Leroy had been forced to collapse or been tracked down and attacked or killed by Pittians. He would've gone to protect Leroy or help carry the two, but he hadn't been able to find him on his way home... until now.

The lion had been out on a patrol, his paws wearing marks deep into the muddy ground as he waited for any sign of anything out there. His face had snapped up when he heard twigs snapping beneath something collapsing, and he quickly moved toward the sound,
his eyes widening as he saw Leroy laid out before him, along with Sam and Beck. He stared in open horror for a moment before he turned and roared as loudly as he possibly could, his lungs and entire body aching from the force of it, [glow=#165042,1,400]"Selby! Delilah! ANYBODY! Leroy is back, with Sam and Beck, and they need help!"[/glow] He would've liked to be able to help himself, but as it was he had no medical abilities of any kind, and all he could do was carefully heave not only Leroy, but also Sam and Beck onto his back, between his wings, and begin carrying them further into the territory. The weight from all three of them made his spine protest weakly, but they were thankfully all pretty small, so he could carry then further and further within the swamp, closer and closer to the help that they all so desperately needed.

( [member=2072]selby roux ![/member] [member=1277]DELILAH.[/member] since he called for them )

[deimos]

The travel home had been hell.

Her body had complained, her wheezing lungs and internal bleeding causing her to split blood on Leroys back, which to nobodies surprise she could only offer apologies for, trying to weakly dab it up. The bumps, the jumps, the holding on for dear life- it blurred together in the end, Sam's eye fluttering and her body shaking in the cold. She made sure Beck was still on Leroy's back at all time, trying to ignore his stumps for the moment.

But at the moment they had returned home, Sam's ears pressed against her head. A hiss of pain fluttered from her mouth, and then a yowl as she hit the ground, stiffening up. She forgot about Beck, about Leroy- she forewent the entire thing and focused on the stinging pain, green eye wide as she started to hyperventilate. More blood dripped from her muzzle, and she coughed some.

Stinging breaths were inhaled as Sam sat up. Her vision was blurry, but her fighting spirit was far from dead. Her body was broken, shattered, and everything she knew to be good was gone for a long, long time. Her claws dragged at the ground, snarling in pain as her front leg cracked inside of it. Beck had been good to her, helping with his wounds, but there wasn't anything that could help support her leg.

The sound of paws, then the earth-shattering roar caused her to pause, however. She whined, curling back up and trying to push herself towards Beck, vision blurry. She didn't even bother to check the scent, listen to the voice- "Go away-" She tried to call out, before she was swung. She cried out in pain again, her spine- her ribs, her leb all complaining as she was moved. She started to hazily pass out again when they started to move again, head woozy.

"SPEECH"

♡♡♡
tags

[selby roux !]

[align=center][div style="width: 51%; text-align: justify; font-size: 10pt; letter-spacing: -1px; font-family: georgia;"]As he heard his name called, Selby appeared quickly, towing a heavy bag of medical supplies behind him. "Wormwood," he said breathlessly, setting down his tote. The medic quickly assessed the situation. Though Sam and Beck were both very hurt, he quickly decided that Sam had to take priority.

"Set Sam back down, I can at least start on her here. Take Leroy into town and put him in one of the cots I set up earlier. Do you know where Beck lives? If you do, please take him to his house, I’ll take care of him there," he said in what he hoped was an authoritative and professional tone. He began unpacking supplies he knew he’d need: bandages, water, suture kits, and poultices. He ignored the sick feeling pooling in his stomach, ignored the confusion that accompanied atrocious acts. That wasn’t his job right now.

[wormwood.]

[glow=#000,1,400]MY MAMA SAID THAT I'M NOT LIVING RIGHT. YOU RAISED A LION, MAMA, I AIN'T LYING, MAMA — ｡+ﾟ.[/glow]

Wormwood felt bad when he heard Sam's weak protest against him lifting her up, but he wasn't going to listen, because they still needed to go further in, closer to the medics and closer to concrete safety. He couldn't risk having somebody who had followed them coming and taking Beck and Sam back to the hell that they had just been rescued from. Still, he was trying to be as careful as possible as he wove through the trees, walking steadily onward before the smell of Selby reached his nose. He couldn't help but let out a relieved sigh as soon as Selby appeared from the swamplands, and he listened intently to the medic's orders. Gently dipping his head, he turned to gently grip Sam by the scruff and put her down on the nearby log so that her wounds wouldn't be filled with swampy water or muck. He then turned to Selby, mumbling in a gruff voice as he glanced back at Leroy and Beck, [glow=#165042,1,400]"I know where Beck lives. I'll get them there as soon as possible... please be careful with Sam, Selb. I trust you, but... I want to make sure she's okay."[/glow]

He gave Selby one last nod before he slowly took off towards camp, not becoming airborne since he didn't want Leroy and Beck to slip off of his back. Once he was close enough to camp, he slowed down and looked around, sniffing around before he eventually found the cots that Selby had been talking about. He carefully lifted Leroy up by the scruff as well, laying the exhausted canine down on the cot so he could rest off his exhaustion. Once he knew that Leroy was comfortable and able to rest, he turned and started off for Beck's house. He eventually made it to where the other's home was, and he carefully nudged open the door, glancing back at the ghost boy with a worried noise. He gaze a bit warily at Audrey as he moved over to where Beck usually rested, hesitating to make sure Audrey knew he wasn't hurting the feline as he finally took Beck by the scruff, moving to place him down as well so that he could rest. He looked over the boy's wounds worriedly and nudged him with his nose before moving out into the porch to sit and wait for Selby to come, since he didn't really want to leave Beck alone at the moment.

[beck.]

[align=center]

    In his experience, blood loss was one hell of a sedative. He remembered the cold tendrils of death snaking their ways through his suspended body; he remembered the fuzzy numbness claiming his mind all too well. Yet this time, no matter how much blood was drained, the viscous fluid seeping from lifeless arteries without a pulse to usher the flow along, Beck could not succumb to the still nothingness that enveloped him before. Thus, he remained trapped in a strenuous cycle. His faux blood would spill from the inflamed wounds bloodying his form until his veins ran dry, his remaining vision would fade as his apparition struggled to remain intact as more blood refilled his overworked system, only for the product of his exerted energy to surge forth and spill from the gashes along his flank and the mangled remnants of an underbelly. Unlike Sam, his right socket lacked its eye entirely, leaving half of his lifeless stare hollowed and clotted with globs of his foul blood. A ring of puncture wounds from Jervis' yellowed teeth marred his throat, severing his voice and crushing his airway in the ardent's vicious fury. To top off his direful condition, his front paws missed the memo to follow the wolfhound convey back to Tangle -- Beck had tried his best to grit his teeth on his tongue to keep from screaming out in pain as Leroy's trusty blade sawed through tendon and bone. He could never blame Leroy for the agony. The dual amputation had been the last resort in order to free him from the hell-forged shackles condemning him to an afterlife of eternal wandering. But soon after, the boy collapsed into shock, blissfully unconscious as the newly-appointed proxy sped across the uneven terrain as though the devil herself was nipping at his heels. If it weren't for Sam, the poltergeist likely would have slipped off the hound's haunches, delaying their escape even further.

    The impact jolted his broken form as he tumbled from Leroy's back, landing sprawled belly-up for the world to witness the aftermath of the ardent's crude vivisection. Beck failed to stir, his muscles slack and his tongue hanging past scarred lips. Wormwood desperately bellowing for the medics and even Sam pressing up against his blood-crusted ribs could garner no response. As if all the fight had been drained from him, he allowed himself to be limply draped across yet another back, darkened water leaking from where it remained sealed in irritated lungs and trickling from his mouth at the shift in position.

    'Do you know where Beck lives?'

    A single eye peeked open just a slit, gazing at nothing as his ears angled themselves towards his friend. Selby. Selby was here? Where? The mangled boy weakly reared his head, a scratchy gurgle attempting to make itself heard to no avail. Yet the world began to move once more, dizzyingly so. Beck slumped and closed his eyes, too exhausted to wince or whine at the accompanying pain. Before the lulling stride of Wormwood could return him to the unresponsive haze he had been found in, he was taken by the scruff. Learned instinct jarred him awake, panic fluttering in his broken ribcage like a caged bird -- yet instead of being tossed aside as expected, he was gingerly set down in the tattered blankets he called a bed. Beck could only grimace as the lion's nose prodded his side, trembling from the pain long after heavy footfalls plodded outside and his porch creaked with added weight. With a final quiver, the poltergeist fell as limp as a ragdoll, limbs at awkward angles and fresh blood soaking into the sheets.

[DELILAH.]

Delilah Evergarden
tanglewood | 32 m/o | femme | dark faerie

Brother.

It was an odd word, an odd feeling to feel kinship with another person whom wasn't related to Delilah herself by blood. A mere mortal, a mere animal that could easily be killed, yet fights with his very last ounce of strength. Delilah found herself jealous of such endeavors, eager to do the same, yet unable to due to lack of sight.

The smell of blood was a familiar one, but it still unsettled the ex-medic nonetheless. She wished she could be as confident as Malphas was when he was here- but nevertheless, she had people to look after. She had to help her Brother.

"Sorry, I'm a bit late! Tell me what you see, Selby?" Delilah could only ask as she pulled long leaf-like bags from her satchel, herbs lined up for emergency use. Bandages, mainly. She wasn't familiar with Sam, but Delilah had no bias when it came to helping her clanmates. Blind pink eyes flicked over the three that were wounded, exhausted, and spent.

"Your X-Ray Vision is useless in this situation, pinkie."
I know. Don't remind me.
"How will you help then? You can't carry them."
Shut up, shut up!

Delilah was staring off into space for a few seconds, but she soon snapped out of it, interested in her surroundings once again as she leaned down and sniffed at Sam's face, scrunching her nose up a little. "Her eye's gonna get infected the longer we leave her untreated. Does anyone have water elementals? We need to wash her wound out right now." She began slowly, softly, her claws pulling at the bark below her paws anxiously. This was unfair. So unfair for Sam. So unfair for Beck. So unfair for Leroy.

"And Beck's wounds? How are they?"

tags:

basics.
✯ delilah evergarden // deli, lilah, flower girl, pinkie, petals, miss evergarden.
✯ female // she/her
✯ 23 months // mentally mature // spiritually old
✯ tanglewood
- ex-medic
✯ revenant, gatorbait, host
✯ completely blind, has only three legs, usually seen with a hand-made metal prosthetic.
- mental bond with renegadeanthem
- shares body with succubus named lilith

appearance.
✯ maine coon [domesticated feline]
[ref]
✯ slim, feminine maine coon feline with soft pink pastel fur. around her paws is black vine-like markings, and there are darker pink dots on her back. black and pink cherry blossoms constantly flow from her pelt thanks to her aesthetic element. she has pink irises, pale schlera, and slitted magenta pupils. her tail is long and extremely fluffy. her other tail is whip-like, with a heart shaped tip on the tip of it. she has drippy, inky black faerie wings that look more cursed than pure. she has darker colored curved horns on her head that curls around her ears. she still only has three legs.
✯ accessories - grey scarf, satchel.
✯ scars/marks/tattoos - three claw marks over both eyes, whip/claw scars all the way down her back, scar on her left inner front arm, flower branding on her stomach, skull branding on her back left thigh, scar on the corner of her lip, scar marks on her muzzle, she has a large scar across her neck where her throat was previously slit.
✯ accent - Soft, gentle, motherly voice.
✯ phobias - None.

relationships.
✯ best friends with arrow
✯ sisterly affection for morgan
✯ respects leroy
✯ dislikes cosette
✯ mentored by malphas
✯ [G1] titania x oberon [npc's]
- adopted by talia and malkyn
✯ sibling of spica evergarden (f) & kasper evergarden (m).
✯ demisexual heteroromantic
✯ crushing // in love with renegadeanthem [1/2 of deliren]
✯ no children

interaction.
✯ tags // plot
✯ physically below average // mentally hard // x-ray vision, earth elementals, telekinesis, mental bond, mental manipulation, possession, enhanced senses.
✯ attack in underline

© LEXASPERATED