everybody knows the plague is coming / joining

[BUBONICPLAGUE]

[align=center][div style="width: 500px; padding: 10px; height: auto; overflow: auto;"][div style="width: 400px; padding: 0px; line-height: 14px; text-align: justify; font-family: helvetica;"]dormancy. hibernation. something that was becoming an annoyance to the male. though he could definitely use an eternity long nap, it bored the shit out of him, made him irritable and prone to snapping at the littlest things.

like the poor feline beneath his paw, drowning in their own blood by the way he listened to them gurgle and wheeze. his lip curled slightly at the stench, though deep down he felt alive. he hadn't killed in a long time, and the feeling of having someone writhe beneath him, begging mercy... oh, how he had missed it. maw twisted in a wicked grin, the direwolf bent down, sightless eyes boring into the dying feline's for a long moment, before he wrenched to the side and snapped his jaws around their neck. a loud, glorious crunch, and the body fell lifeless.

before coming to this world, bubonicplague had been ruthless. a creature born of hell and raised in war. he was cold-blooded. a monster ( still is, never free of it ) that killed without thought, killed without a care for his victim's life or whatever family or goals they had to look forward to. it was when he was stealing lives, reaping souls, that he truly felt alive. yet over time, he grew softer. when he fell and love and had children, settled down, he toned it down, for the better of his loved ones and for his own well-being.

it didn't last long. never did.

shit happened, people died. it was commonplace in the demon's life, something he was used to, but it hurt. fuck, it hurt when rick was murdured, it fucking hurt when lirim died. it hurt when he left them all. why did it have to hurt? demons shouldn't feel. the pain faded, eventually. slowly, so slowly, it faded. but it never went away. only when he reunited with his husband did it disappear. he was happy, he could feel, felt his heart swell with each day in their company. but the two of them were ghosts, long due of losing their place in the living. though they weren't dead, they weren't around either. bubonicplague was tired of it, though nothing would change. he would always be a ghost. a beast that lurked in the shadows, the monster beneath some poor creature's bed. how tragic a life, cursed to ever walk the land in search of a purpose. he'd never be free.

the direwolf hovered silently at the border, white eyes staring ever ahead of him, empty but oozing malice. he'd heard word of a growing group of rogues, ruthless in nature, warmongers killing without reason. the rosebloods. it was certainly a name that he could get used to. a lovely, but deadly name, a welcome difference from the shit old 'exiles.' though he missed the place, it was far past time he moved on. this group was a perfect fit.

he licked his dry, bloodied lips. "bubonicplague." he rumbled out. might as well skip the irritating questioning and state his intentions right away. "joining."

[cyantist]

[align=center]

[color=#6ABAE8]「NIGHTSKY MORTEM — it's a quarter past midnight」
Night should not have been so far out of camp, and Night is afraid of monsters. Perhaps it is ironic that someone such as him, born in a group such as this, would be afraid of the things that go bump in the night. Nightkit is a child - a child that has yet to find his feet and still wants his mother and fathers to protect him from all the world has to offer that can kill and harm a child.

The direwolf stranger seems downright terrifying to the child, and for good reason. Night is but a small kitten, small by any standard that anyone was measuring by, and here he was. Met on the border by a direwolf, easily able to crush the kitten should he wish to. It wouldn't be a hard task for anyone to do, and Nightkit is painfully aware of his own mortality. Despite what the Rosebloods may think - nobody is above death.

This stranger, Bubonicplague? That name was an odd one - plagues were bad. They killed people, thousands and hundreds of people dead from rampant diseases. Why would anyone take that as a name? "I think you can join... My name is Nightkit Mortem." He has to reply to be polite and welcoming like he should be, but the poor boy is almost shaking, his voice quiet and high pitched as if he's debating running in the opposite direction to grab a responsible adult. Someone big enough to fight the Direwolf for sure, like his mother or his fathers.
[align=right][color=#6ABAE8]「& the sirens are mending some hearts — ROSEBLOOD CHILD」

[Jiyu Simul Stamus]

Nightkit would not have to go far to find someone who was at the very least capable of protecting him. Almost out of thin air? A black paw came down to stand between the kit and the dire wolf, the white leg it was attached to extending into the form of a large calico feline. Most would not consider a mere cat, even a large hybrid like herself to be much of a threat to something like a dire wolf. However, Jiyu was far from a mere cat and she had taken down beasts larger than herself before. No one could count on her for emotional support, pep talks, or even to understand when they were hurt unless she had known them for years. If she could be relied on for anything 'emotionally' based? It was knowing when someone she wanted to keep safe was even the tiniest bit scared and stepping in promptly to ensure they remained safe. Clearly, she would never tell Nightkit it was him she was here responding to, him she was protecting right now, but in her mind, she shouldn't have to tell anyone something like that. If she was bothering? She cared and was doing whatever she happened to be doing very purposefully.

Glancing briefly with an empty gaze between the dire wolf and kitten, she crouched down keeping eyes on the wolf even as she faced the kitten. "Come on Nightkit, get on I'll carry you home." it was dark and the kitten was far safer if she could keep him on her person, she would prefer to hold him in her maw or something, but the slightly sabered fangs she had clearly provided an issue in doing that if she was not careful. With her comment, the large calico bent her head down so she could let NightKit climb on from there but she also did not have to lay down in the presence of someone she did not trust. "You, follow." he had stated his intentions and even if she would have liked to ask some more questions, her more immediate concern was getting her friends child back to the safety of the mansion. If Bubonic turned out to be unreliable or dangerous? She would fight and defeat him like she did with every other threat that came in the way of her and those she cared about, cold as she was the calico could not risk losing anyone she loved. Suffering too much loss of love? Could be catastrophic for her mental state after-all.

Once Nightkit had gotten on her back or refused to be some strong little kit? Jiyu would start leading the walk back to the mansion, rather with Night on her back or kept her steps so he was very close to her.

[ceilidh]

[div style="margin: 0 auto; border: 0%;width:50%;text-align:justify; font-family: verdana; font-size: 11px;"]Fighting was in her spirit, brave-hearted and gold. Unlike Bubonicplague, lives had more purpose than reaping and collecting, souls had value. Some positive and rich, other negative and barren. She didn't think of herself to be worthy of deciding who was eligible for life and the unfortunate that weren't, however she knew the taste of death. For her own protection, for the sanctity of others, blood had ran through her claws. There wasn't regret for it, though she wondered sometimes why the stars aligned to make death so necessary. Life had strung her up like a bead, and she just had to clutch on as the other pearls fell.

The brilliant red fighter had been slinking about in the murky undergrowth, blue eyes peering between brindles and ferns. Her gaze traced the figure of Jiyu, before seperating and meeting back at the forms of Nightkit and Bubonicplague. Isolde was aware of the dialogue, the very minimal conversation being spared about on the border. So she took her step forward, head bowing to each of the three. "Isolde." The ginger tabby introduced herself, nostrils flaring ... this figure reeked of death, and the scent was fresh. Her whiskers twitched curiously, before falling into the pace of the path back to the mansion. "I hope you don't take offense to this when I say that I won't be carrying you home too." Isolde's words were humorous, but she kept a flinty face, humility only revealed by the quirk in her heavy brow. She found Jiyu's obedience and superiority complex to be relatable to an extent. Compared to her own upbringing of luxury being dangled just above her and the neglect that followed it, she thought she would take more admiration to the calico. Instead, she was just more intrigued, confused, almost like she was seeing a very different version of herself ... like a parallel universe where her parents had not abandoned her and instead used her to serve the family.

[BUBONICPLAGUE]

[align=center][div style="width: 500px; padding: 10px; height: auto; overflow: auto;"][div style="width: 400px; padding: 0px; line-height: 14px; text-align: justify; font-family: helvetica;"]a child stood before him. in the air, the scent of fear. somewhere inside of him he felt a pang of guilt. it was unfortunate that a beast terrifying as he had such a love for children, despite the fact that they all seemed to be afraid of him. despite this, he took the fact in stride, ignoring the guilt and inside turning his blank white eyes down to the kitten. bubonicplague said nothing, only watching nightkit with his sightless gaze, nostrils flaring lightly.

if he was to be seen as a monster, he might as well live up to it.

a larger cat was next to approach, by the sound of her footsteps. lynx-sized, perhaps a bit smaller. despite being blind it was easy to catch the way she radiated power, commanding the area around her. seemed she thought she was top dog. bubonicplague would prove her wrong on that. eventually. the horse-sized beast twitched an ear at her instruction, staying rooted to the ground for a lingering moment, before slowly following. "do i have a choice?" he grumbled out.

the lives of the rogues here, or rather any life other than his own or his husband's, bubonicplague couldn't have cared less about. he was beyond that point, in all honesty. nothing really mattered to the timeless demon anymore. he'd been alive so long, the lives of mortals eventually began to blend together. they were different, and yet... so similar. repetitive. they repeated their mistakes time and time again, and at some times, it was easier to just put the stupid beings out of their misery than to let them continue with their meaningless lives.

though the way they fought to defend themselves and others was admirable, in some sense. they struggled every hour of every day just to keep going, despite the fact that eventually, they would die. the creatures could reincarnate or possess a new body as many times as they wanted, but eventually, death would catch up. and it would not be merciful the day that it finally put a rest to the defying mortals. at times, bubonicplague wished he was mortal. wished he could have the privilege of dying and not coming back. staying dead. he had been around so long, too fucking long, he wished someone would put an end to his miserable, cursed life.

but such a thing was not possible.

in the midst of his thoughts, another feline joined, introduced herself and said something about how she wouldn't carry him. there was humor laced in her voice, but it did not reach the male. he spared the little cat nothing but a twitch of his ear, blind eyes narrowing to slits. "i don't care." bubonicplague told her, voice flat and face void of emotion. he wasn't here to make friends. he was here for something to do, a temporary purpose. the direwolf continued in his path behind jiyu in silence.

[lexasperated]