forever hunted - open; death

[rhosmari]

What was that thing! His brain was struggling to process just what on earth had attacked him, what had decided that he was some sort of prey that was fit for consumption. Tree branches and foliage ripped across his face and legs as he barreled through the forest, not trying to look back at the thing he was hoping was not giving chase to finish him. Flesh was torn and ripped from his flank, leaving a big gaping wound that hurt more than anything that he had experienced. He had watched that monster chew on him, swallow his flesh down his throat and he had aimed to take more off of him. It was by some sheer dumb luck that he had managed to get away from him. His heart was hammering in his chest and he burst from the forest, a scream of agony stuck in his throat. Claw marks dragged at his throat, damaged vocal cords struggling to work. The gladiator tried to scream for help but nothing else would leave his throat save for odd gurgling and as he stepped onto the beach, running along the shoreline, it was like a sudden wave of pain encapsulated his whole body. His legs gave out. He crashed in to the fine sand sending it spraying up into the air. A gasp left his muzzle, tears falling along the side of his muzzle as he laid there.

He couldn't move, he felt as if his body was weighed down, sluggish. Too tired. His heart he could still hear it pounding in his ears. Sorbet blinked slowly trying to calm himself but the intense pain that was spreading like wildfire boggled his head, made things swim and darkness gathered at the corners of his eyes. Would someone find him like this, or would it be just too late. The idea was terrifying and a thought passed by that he had been poisoned with something. It was eating away at his system. Slowly the tide began to push up, salt water encircling his body. Fear struck him harder than it had before, the ocean. Sorbet closed his eyes and tried to think of something else, maybe they wouldn't feel it. But his blood was tinting the water, turning it an odd green hue as it swirled and pushed in and out with the waves. It was then that he began to get tired, the pain becoming a numbing sensation. His mind floating and things sounding so far away. 'is this it...? i've never died before...i don't want to. i'm scared....please someone...'

He just wanted someone to find him before his consciousness passed into the void. Water began to bubble around him, the smell of strong salt wafting through the air and a chill began to slowly creep up along his limbs and along his back. It was a chill he was familiar with and slowly he forced his head to turn to see them. The witches of The Brine. There was nothing he could do to stop them, their translucent crab like appendages snapping, serrated teeth grinning in their victory. They had found him so quickly. He tried to stay out of the water, he hated the ocean. One of them reached forth and grabbed his mangled body though had problems with his weight and began to drag him deeper into the waves. They would have their due, this was their punishment for a deed done so long ago. The hybrid had no strength left, the venom working through his body and surely putting an end to his escape he had tried so hard to keep going. One last thing...one last struggle. A tittering on the edge as his head peeked above the waves for a short moment, rasping voice. [b]''....M...Mom....Rhine.....Qua...''[b] Then his head slipped beneath, leaving a small ripple and nothing but silence and green blood that stained the sands, the ocean trying to sweep that away as the tide lowered.

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How, how much to light up my star again and rewire all my thoughts? Oh baby, won't you remind me what I am? And break, break my little cold heart. I'm living someone else's life. Suppressing who I was inside. I don't know if I can be alone again. I don't know if I can sleep alone again.

%u2014 Sorbet Monroe Roux

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[SirDio]

MEDUSA, THE FIRESTARTER

"Sorbet? Where are you, kid?" She called out, walking toward the beach. She wanted to talk with him, spend time with him, the boy she subconsciously deemed as her son. The ocean's waves brought a dread. Was he swimming?

The stained sands. The stench of salt. Her head sank, body crumpled. "Sorbet.. Sorbet, my boy.. SORBET? WHERE ARE YOU, MY BOY?" She called out, begging. Hoping. Praying. The silence she dreaded. "Not my boy.. Not my boy.. my boy.. my boy.." She strained through tight jaws, aware of the flames that spiraled from her paws. With anger, with rage, she stared out into the ocean. It took him.

"DAMNIT! ARE YOU NEVER SATISFIED? YOU NEARLY TOOK ME, AND NOW YOU TAKE MY BOY - MY SON?? HOW MANY SOULS HAVE YOU TAKEN IN YOUR STUBBORN VIGOR?" Despite the anger, she was breaking. Her voice crackled and she wailed, weeping.

Deep within her, the dam began to crumble, a swath of hellfire and suffering began to spill. Heat radiated in her body, a pain stabbing her heart, her mind, her skull.

Deep within her, a flame grew.

Deep within her, scales shifted.

I'VE BEEN SEARCHING FOR AN ANSWER BUT I AIN'T FOUND ONE,
I'VE BEEN KNOWN TO TEAR SHIT UP AND GO OFF LIKE A GUN!

— Reggan

[METEOR]

Blood. He followed the stench, weaving between the trees, chasing the scent. Sorbet, he thought, recognizing the individual beneath all the red, and he grit his teeth to squeeze another iota of speed out of his legs. He bulldozed through the undergrowth and snapped branches beneath his paws, and all the birds in the forest screamed in alarm as he raced towards his friend.

He skidded to a halt, breathing so fast he couldn’t think, bumping his shoulder against a tree and zapping his ears against a branch. Chest heaving, he stared at the waves, then at Medusa as she shrieked her grief to the heavens. But he wouldn’t believe… no, Sorbet….

Quasar charged, smearing the green bloodtrail, into the waves. His lips pulled back into a snarl and electricity crackled in every direction, but the ocean didn’t care about a little shit like him. The next wave crashed against him, bashing against his head and salting his tongue. He growled, close-lipped now, and waded through the surf as it pulled him in and pushed his paws back.

“SORBET!” He scanned the water, looking everywhere and anywhere for a sign of his friend. But the rough surface revealed nothing. The navy waters and white foam surrounded him, and not a dark blip or tuft of fur marred the sea.

Eyes burning, Quasar couldn’t tell if it was the strong breeze or the ocean’s salt (or his own tears). Deeper now, his paws barely touched the bottom, and he threw back his head again. “SORBET!”

The centurion inhaled deeply, filling his chest to the brim with his deepest breath of the new year, before he dived. The grainy water offered no visibility, hazy with kicked up sand and seaweed tangles, and even his neon green paws were barely visible.

He surfaced, the sand slipping under his paws. “SORBET!”

[RHINESTONE.]

RHINESTONESTAR ❝ RHINE ❞ LEGATE
"TALKING" || "TELEPATHY"

Death. It was a cruel and unpredictable thing, and Rhinestone knew that well. After all, the reaper had come for him once before, as well as many of his friends, and family. He tried his best to believe that life had mercy, considering that it had brought him back, just as it had brought Medusa back before. However, with everything that was happening recently... he wasn't so sure that was true, anymore. He didn't know what kind of beast had managed to get to Sorbet, but he did have to wonder if it was anything like what had happened to him. Had the same wolf that had gotten to him managed to get to Sorbet? Of course, unbeknownst to the young legate, the beast that had attacked Sorbet was nothing like anything Rhine had seen before. He had seen towering dinosaurs and rather unique hybrids of creatures, but this thing... it would've made him shiver right down to his core if he had seen it himself. As it was, however, Rhine had no kind of image in his mind for what could've taken Sorbet down. Instead, the entirety of his focus was on what they were going to do. They had to... there had to be some way to get him back, right? Just as he had come back. Just as Medusa had...

His mind was a blur of different thoughts as he went rushing up to the edge of the shore, water brushing lightly against his paws as he stared outwards. His darkly colored eyes simply... stared outwards, shocked and frozen in place. In the back of his mind, the serval was vaguely aware of the fact that Medusa was screaming, as was Quasar. He winced at the frantic tone of Quasar's voice, his own tone weak as he spoke to his son, "Q... Quasar. I don't think that you can help, with this one. I wish you could, but..." His heart was aching as he took another step forward, pressing one of his front paws beneath the waves. As he did so, he summoned up his air elementals, trying to use the wind to push back the water with all of his strength. He had already begun to feel slightly dizzy, but he pushed through, shoving the water back with all of his might and forming a sort of "wall" so that he could see beneath. Unfortunately, he could see nothing but shells and the faintest splashes of blood against sand, with no sign of Sorbet in sight. He let out a wheezing gasp of pain as nothing came into sight, releasing his elementals and letting the sea settle back into place.

Feeling thoroughly exhausted after the use of his elementals, Rhine fell back onto his haunches, a groan leaving his throat. He pressed a paw to his head, muttering softly to both Quasar and Medusa, "I thought... I thought maybe I could find him. Bring him back..." He felt like such a fool, with tears beginning to sting his eyes as he turned to Medusa. Her emotions were boiling over, just as they all were. He had to do something, even if he couldn't bring Sorbet right back to her, as he had hoped. He took a long step forward, pressing his head lightly against her shoulder in a gesture of comfort. He said softly, his voice so low it nearly couldn't be heard above the sound of the waves striking against the shore, "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I should've been able to do something. I don't know what... I don't know how this happened." He wanted to scream, but he couldn't – at least, not right now. If he fell apart alongside them, then who would be the shoulder for the both of them to lean on?

tags + roleplayed by stilly + the palm glades