what I've done -- transformation (mdc prompt: death)

[Verdigris]

  [font=trebuchet ms]/tw: blood, throat injuries/choking, mentions of death
  /tl;dr at the end

  It was never smart to leave your prey to rot. Even the least of the hunters knew that.

  He woke up in agonizing pain. The fur around his shoulders, neck and face was clumped with blood, the rusty odor of which threatened to overwhelm him- he was not used to the keenly-tuned sense of smell that this body seemed to have. His tongue could taste it too, copper staining its surface with a tang that would not leave for some time.

  After almost a year of isolation, to be able to feel again was simultaneously a blessing and a curse.

  When the jackal opened his left eye, he saw a mirror, and himself within it.

  Crimson liquid gushed from the gashes in his throat and eye socket, painting his fur in a jarringly-bright red. Dust and grime melded with the edges to form a muddy brown border around the stains.

  The look of horror, of betrayal, was still frozen on his marred face.

  With a harsh wheeze, he dragged himself over to the fallen satchel by the entrance and peered inside. The precious gemstone, the one that gave him life, nestled within the material. Reaching in with one paw, he took the ruby and hung it around his neck. This way, it would be right where he needed it.

  Turning his gaze downwards, he saw a golden chain, broken apart by force, the small heart-shaped object clinging helplessly to one end. Blinking his good eye, he took the chain and put it in the bag. It was worthless to him, but perhaps he could sell it to someone, if he could find anything worth trading for. A weapon, perhaps.

  Wincing as the pain lanced through his wounds, he picked up the bag in his jaws, then slowly descended the steps of the jungle temple.

  "It really is miraculous. Somehow he missed all the major arteries."

  Papercutter whipped around to snarl at Rubydelusions, but no sound left his throat. He barked, howled, even screamed as he struggled to try and reach the falcon, but all that came out was the light whistle of air exiting his mouth.

  "Apparently he damaged your vocal cords, though," Ruby commented, smirking as much as his beak would allow him to. "He must have grown tired of listening to your voice. Anyway- you remember the deal."

  Paper bared his teeth, though already the rage was slowly melting away. In its place, pain crept in, swiftly followed by despair. How could this have happened? When he made the deal, he expected to die fighting for his crew- not being murdered by his own captain, or at least someone who looked like his captain.

  He knew now who had attacked Gold, and he almost wished he had never found out. It didn’t make any difference, anyway. He doubted Ruby would make any effort to tell the crew the truth.

  The crew had no need for the truth. He would expose Pincher eventually, of that he was almost certain, but only when it became convenient. Right now, he had a plan to set in motion.

  He trudged slowly back towards the Tempest, struggling to breathe all the while. He may have lucked out this time around, but vocal cord injuries were nothing to laugh off. He only hoped the medics might be able to ease his breathing.

  Agwe, this body was so weak.

  ”I thought so.”

  As Paper stood there, his breathing labored and shallow, Ruby jerked his head- and Paper collapsed, unable to move.

  “Pathetic. To think you genuinely believed that child when she told you you were helping the Typhoon.” The falcon touched down and perched atop the fallen jackal, digging his talons into the wounds hard enough to elicit a pained wheeze.

  “Tell me- do you still believe it now?”

  Paper stared back into the mirror, meeting his own blank, dull stare. The tangible sight of how far he had fallen would have made him want to retch, were he not focused on not choking at the moment. He was useless to the Typhoon. Cleo, Silus, Jacob, Pincher, all could attest to that.

  Miragelight would have been so disappointed.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of the Typhoon far better than you ever could,” Ruby crooned, as Paper’s vision went dark.

  Actually, he needed an alibi, didn’t he? He could always pretend to be the genuine article, but someone would eventually catch him in a lie and it would all be over. There was a much easier way to avoid being questioned, and one that would provide an excuse for any differences in behavior at that.

  Stumbling into Barracuda Bay just as rain began pouring down on the sand, the wounded jackal stared faintly at the scattered huts, then slowly lifted a paw to touch the ruby. It would take him some time to get the hang of using his powers again. Hopefully, though, someone would come by soon.

  ”H-hello?” he cast out telepathically, doing his level best to sound confused. ”Where... where am I?”

  /tl;dr: Papercutter was near-fatally attacked by something, and was forced to give up his soul because of a deal he made, so a rogue spirit is now in control of his body
  /so now he's wandering around in Barracuda Bay, seriously injured and pretending to have no idea where he is, and has sent out a telepathic message to people nearby
  /injuries: bites on the head and neck, severe enough to have taken out his right eye and damage his vocal cords; otherwise mostly just bleeding from other assorted cuts and scratches

[the trash man]

[align=center][div style=" background-color: transparent; border: 0px solid black; width: 550px; min-height: 9px; font-family: arial; line-height: 109%; text-align: left; color: black; padding: 20px;font-size: 12px;"](sorry about the crappy response :'0)

linux didn't really know who papercutter was. papercutter didn't really know who linux was either. it was inevitable that when the pair stumbled upon each other following the string of fate, the two were going to not recognise each other anyways no matter the unfortunate circumstances. well what an exciting first impression it was going to be.

aimlessly walking around, linux had been moving a lot lately to try and get their new plaything to count numbers upwards to try and figure out exactly why it was counting. no luck yet, but the number was pretty high now. dusty hues became locked in a trance gazing deep into the toy's electronic display, too absorbed to notice the bloodied jackel wandering around barracuda bay. until she did notice. his voice sounded so clear, but the noise didn't reach the child through her ears - they came through her mind. the actual hell? linux pressed further as her paw led her to the unsightly sight of what was paper and the numerous injuries accumulated upon his body, unaware that it was currently hijacked. "oh my god! oh my god, oh my god oh my god!" completely at a loss as of what to do, the snow-white child merely panicked and paced around and not exactly aiding the injured jackal in any way shape or form. hopefully someone older and of actual use would come find the injured member quickly.

[Kian.]

KIAN Ó FAOLÁIN

So bring on all the monsters, That lie sleeping in the blue
I'll fight 'em all bare handed, Screaming I ain't scared of you

"Jesus," the rusty spotted cat murmured.  The faerie did not know Papercutter, at least, not really.  No doubt the two had seen each other around, but nothing aside from that.  Right now all his brain registered was an injured creature and a frantic child.  "Hey, calm down kid," the irishman urged, frowning.  "Last thing 'e needs is you pancking, aye?" The feline's brows creased.  "How about you track down one of our healers, okay?" At least then, she could be doing something useful.

Kian himself landed his thoughtful sea-green eyes on the terribly bloodied jackal, concerned but not terribly distressed.  He'd seen worse, unfortunately.  "Hey, we're gonna get you some help friend," at the very best, he could keep an eye on the guy until someone with medical supplies arrived.  There was not much for the small feline to do when his paws were empty of supplies.  Not without leaving him, and Kian honestly did not like the idea given his state.

typhoon | rusty spotted cat | #faesquad | ✘

© madi

[bubblegum]

[Verdigris]

  [font=trebuchet ms]/ic opinions ahead

  He stood there only a few minutes before someone arrived, but it seemed more to him like hours. The form of a quadruped would have been difficult to get used to even if he were in perfect health, and he most certainly was not. Perhaps he should have taken that into account after making the deal- being severely injured tended to come with the territory of "things that should have killed you".

  The first to arrive was a child, not one that Paper had encountered directly before. He wouldn't have expected her to heal him, as young as she was, but her panicked reaction was still a sight to behold. Watching her pace about and yell frantically, the jackal said nothing, his wheezing breath serving as enough of a response for now. He could already spot someone else arriving through his good eye, anyhow.

  This one also wasn't someone Paper had run into after finding the ruby, though if he reached back far enough, he could locate vague memories from the body's previous occupant. The spotted feline's name was "Kian," and he had a child here. That was enough for now; he doubted he would ever have a need to blackmail this individual, but if he did, there was an easy way. As Kian calmly ordered the child away, then reassured him, he nodded slowly. As weak as this body was, he had no doubts about his ability to keep it alive until help arrived. He was not terribly worried.

  Then came Goldenluxury, the one that he had picked out as being incredibly important to the Typhoon as a whole. In a hostage situation, she would be the one to hold at knifepoint, and the rest of the crew (barring perhaps Caesar, the only sensible one here) would do almost anything. The Typhoon he had known would never have let itself revolve around one person... but then the crew had done quite a lot that he would never have expected of them.

  Setting those thoughts aside for now- he had technically made a deal that he wouldn't hurt the Typhoon's members, and now, with Paper emotionally unstable, was not the time to break it- he listened closely to her words. "Home," "the Typhoon," "clean your wounds," "do you remember anything" was the best he could gather through the stuttering, but it was close enough. Touching a paw to the ruby, he answered, "Go ahead... and no. Nothing besides my name."

  Closing his eyes, he paused, as if thinking. He had decided on a false name on the way back, but it was more convincing to seem hesitant. Finally, he nodded.

  "It's Infinitepotential."

[Keona.]

✯ — female. striker of the typhoon. blind. rusty spotted cat.  ref. bio.

She could smell blood.  Taste the bitterness in the air.  Her ears flicked back as she followed it warily.  Pale sea-green hues flickered in concern as she found herself close to her father, almost entirely subconsciously.  Without any concept of sight - and she did not want to touch the other's injuries to find out - Keona was not sure how bad it looked, but with the extremely strong smell of blood, she figured it was definitely not a minor wound.

"Can I help?" The tiny fae did not want to step on anyone's toes and tilted her head upward, towards the sound of her father's accented voice, brows creased lightly.  Keona was not a medic, in any sense.  She knew little to nothing about the art of healing.  She did not however, want to be useless.  It was a nagging worry in the back of her mind that maybe that was exactly how she seemed to most.  Hopefully not, but it was a concern she often wrestled with.

Maybe her father had something she could do to help though.  Water.  Fetch a- no wait, he asked Linux to find a medic.  Herbs?  Did Goldie have herbs on her?  Or did they need some?  What if she did not know how to recognize their scent? 

The kitten's tail flicked to-and-fro, even as she frowned lightly at the jackal's name.  That did not seem right.  Keona had spoken to Papercutter on a few occasions, once when neither of them had known anything about a butterfly, and she knew his scent.  Knew the feeling of his presence.  The latter felt off, but she had thought for sure she'd recognized his scent and voice.  Perhaps it'd been too long since the two had spoken.

code by spacexual

[no more]

[align=center][div style="width:400px; font-size:8.4pt;line-height:1.1;color:#000;font-family:arial;margin-top:3px;margin-bottom:3px;letter-spacing:0px;margin-left:0px;text-align:justify;"]Wrong. Something within this situation spoke of such, a gentle murmur of something slightly off, as though a lazy hand had swept through and left all but one little thing as it was, pushed only a fraction, largely unnoticeable but the mind clung. It was a simple detail, minute in the grand scheme of what worked around it, but enough.

The two held no prior experience, passing the other as they went about their lives, performing daily routines which might bring them into contact, given to being drawn together in moments when discussion was called for, but never had the two shared words. Such factors only made it all the stranger, this lingering doubt strange to him. Beneath dark fur skin crawled and about it goosebumps rose, ears pulling back. The name he uttered was strange, one like so few harboured as they had adapted to different customs, though the child knew not of the time when two part names were common, the hesitance before it speaking of it being false for one reason or another.

For a few brief moments, time in which he drew deep breaths, held in the lungs until they burned and exhaled in a sudden rush, Silus stood at a distance and watched. Into the sand toes curled and he wondered if his presence would be needed for the blood which coated the jackal appeared old, given a rusty tone rather than the crimson of fresh, his movements unhindered. It might simply have been another who had fall beneath him who now found their life blood decorating his fur, yet the words, cries from another his age, spoke of harm upon this... Infinitepotential.

“Get 'er away,” snapping out the order the tiny Sage finally made his approach, his hopping step almost dragging him own as he took a quick pace, one he was unaccustomed to in this state, gesturing with his injured leg towards Linux. Her panicking would only cause further distraction and he had no need of it, better for another to draw her aside, calm her where he could offer no such empty words at the moment. Stopping before the jackal a tentative smile was offered to Goldie, once more the one to assist, always there when it was needed. Settling his weight upon his back legs Silus gestured for Infinite to lower his head, at his full height the jackal towered above the smaller stature of the feline, to such a point work would not be possible.

“Sumun get Rose,” calling over his shoulder he reached out and gently made to touch along Infinite's face, close to the empty socket – claws found his eye, dug into the thin flesh and out it came, so easy and quick – teeth grit behind clenched lips. It seemed the worst of his face, attention shifting to his throat for but a brief moment. Time enough for that, for now he needed to deal with this. “An una da fire users. Since ya usin ya thoughts rada den ya mouth it got ya vocal cords, don' know 'ow much we can do ta fix dat but... we'll see.”

This was all new, each injury he assisted with something so wildly different from the last. The only eye removed recently had been his own and such had been of little use to him, so for now he merely looked across each wound, checking to see if any were deep enough to need stitches. The small cuts and abrasions seemed largely superficial, however, and so he rooted through his bag, pulling out some marigold he began to chew on. He didn't seem to be within a state of shock, a plus in this situation at the very least. "Ya don' member nutin? No idea what got ya?"

[bubblegum]

[Verdigris]

  [font=trebuchet ms]The next to arrive called for Rose- Rosemary, they probably meant- and the "fire users." They were going to cauterize the wounds, most likely. He had never undergone such a treatment before, and he had no doubt it would hurt, but it couldn't hurt worse than the bites did now. As long as he focused on breathing, he'd be fine.

  The name that came to mind was Silus- this was another of Pincher's children. There were so many potential ways to get at Pincher that he had to wonder what was going on in the captain's head. More likely than not, he was just flying by the tail on his hindquarters, too convinced of his own strength to think about all the ways his enemies could hurt him.

  Still, Infinitepotential had made a deal. For now, he was not one of Pincher's enemies.

  When Silus mentioned his vocal cords, he nodded slowly, noting that the adrenaline was beginning to wear off. The feeling of the wipes against his face stung, but he maintained a straight face, his good eye flickering between the three children. "Maybe... some water," he directed to Keona, twitching an ear. To Silus, he added, "No. Don't remember anything about them."

  As Goldie spoke Papercutter's name, he shook his head slightly, raising a brow in feigned confusion. "That doesn't sound familiar," he projected, his eye focusing in on her. "All I know... is that Infinitepotential is what I was born as. Might have changed it, might not have."