◜ . the eternal flame ┊ new body & attack . ◞

[AUGUST]

[glow=#000,1,400]A MILLION DREAMS ARE KEEPING ME AWAKE — TAGS[/glow]

[ tired but i wanted to get this up! + tl;dr august shifted suddenly into a new adolescent horse body and he's stuck in a muddy ravine. also a hungry bear has come along and wants to Cronch him ]

Had it been a blessing or a curse for August to be allowed out into the territory? Both, in a sense. On one hand, he could stick his nose into places he had never seen before, gather new scents, explore unknown parts of Sunhaven. He felt like he possessed so much freedom now, freedom that he hadn't had as a ray. However, on the other hand, there were many dangers to behold. Traps, rogues, natural hazards? They were all very real and even present at the very moment. Just as August had been on a jog along the muddy bank of a ravine, his legs had elongated and stiffened. He had let out a shrill neigh and tumbled down the slope before sliding into the slush below, the mud caking his legs and pelt. What in the world had happened?

August winced, his bones aching and his head throbbing from the sudden fall. He raised his cranium and looked over at his legs, only to see that his gray paws had been replaced with hooves! He gasped and stood to his fours, only to stumble forward and wobble under the new [sub]weight[/sub] of his torso. What had happened? Why was he now a... a...

His thoughts had been interrupted by that of a throaty roar. August spun around, chest heaving in utter fear as he was faced down by a massive, hulking bear with saliva-slicked jaws. It snarled again and advanced towards him, and August let out another neigh and tried to dig his hooves into the muddy slope ( but to no avail ). He began to slip back down and he squealed, [glow=black,1,400]"Help—"[/glow] August crashed back down onto the floor right beside the bear and ducked out of the way just in time to be spared its long claws. He barrelled to the side and made a run for it, nearly tripping over himself every time he extended his lanky legs.

[clarence a.]

[align=center][div style="width: 45%; text-align: justify; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -1px; font-family: times new roman;"]Why was it this world, which had first seemed so filled with peace, was now shown to have danger lurking at nearly every corner? He supposed it was much the same way as the ocean. It may look beautiful, with sunlight glinting of white capped waves, but if you caught it at the wrong time, when an unusually large creature came around, when ships were fighting one another, when a storm rolled in with no warning; if you caught it at any of those times and were caught unaware because of it's former beauty, it was a near death sentence. So, he learned, he must stay vigilant in this world, especially now that he was part of two groups. There were lots of people here, creatures that had taken him in despite him being entirely unfamiliar, and he owed them his protection. He would make sure they were safe. He had to. It was the only way he could repay them for their kindness and he didn't intend to leave this place with unsettled debts.

He heard a roar echoing through the forest and his heart sped up, as did his paws. Once again, he found himself moving towards danger as quickly as possible until he arrived to the edge of a slope of sorts and noticed a horse, a child, running from a bear that was much faster and stronger than what it was pursuing. He glanced around, trying to think of a way for the child to climb up but he knew the foal wouldn't be able to hold onto anything when he just had hooves. It was hard enough with paws, in his opinion. No, there was only one option that Clarence could see. Suddenly, he willingly dove down the slope towards the pair. Without a word, he did his best to catch up to them, suddenly aware of the new speed this body possessed once again before he leaped forward and attempted to land on the bear and dig his claws into it before then attempting to also bite it as hard as he could. If anything, he would be able to distract it and get it away from the child. It was still significantly larger than him but he wasn't a priority right now.

[buckingham barnes]

At times, Bucky considers himself to be quite lucky he wasn't 'blessed' with the ability of shapeshifting. Despite it being such a common ability, the whole idea of it weirded him out. He didn't want his bones to shift, or to turn into some animal that just isn't him. The Helion knew he would panic if his body suddenly shifted, as he wouldn't know how to change back! He can only hope that he doesn't have the ability, shivers run down his spine just at the thought he might have an underdeveloped power of shapeshifting. The maine coon was heading out in the territory, when his ears pricked up at a neigh echoing through the territory. Woah, there's a horse? Sounds more like a foal to him!

Just as he began to head in the direction of the noise, a furious, menacing roar caused his ears to run flat. That was a bear, no doubt about it! And it sounded pissed, was it going after the foal? Bucky can try to fight the bear off, even if it kills him in the process! The maine coon began to run, tracing the noise all the way to the ravine.

When he came skidding to a stop, a familiar scent invaded his nostrils. August! Where's August, there's a bear he shouldn't be near here- and then it hit him. August's the foal! He thought to himself, taking Clarence's attempts to distract the bear to his advantage. Not another thought running through his mind, he carefully, but quickly, went down to the bottom of the muddy ravine. "Come on, I'll get you out of here," The former assassin said to the Hearthkeeper, before he attempted to nudge August towards the slippery slope, where he'd attempt to pull to the top. It'll probably be difficult, but it's better than staying down here with a hungry, feral bear.

[AUGUST]

[glow=#000,1,400]A MILLION DREAMS ARE KEEPING ME AWAKE — TAGS[/glow]

Everything was a b l u r. He was certain that he would meet his fate right then, being entrapped by the hungering jaws of a feral bear. August clenched his jaw and ducked his head as he braced himself for impact, but it never came. He opened his eyes wide to see a familiar jaguar launching himself onto the back of the bear. It was Clarence! A part of August worried for Clarence, even though he was much bigger and stronger, but he didn't know whether to make a run for it or not.

Another voice interrupted his thoughts and he whipped his brown gaze over to see the Helion trying to help him out. [glow=black,1,400]"Bucky..!"[/glow] The foal whinnied and gave one last glance at Clarence. He shook his head and dug his hooves into the muddy slope, and channeled his energy into climbing up the way. His shoulders trembled, his skinny legs wobbling under the immense [sub]pressure,[/sub] but he had made it more than halfway up the hill.

He collapsed on the top, quickly panting and clinging to breath. August scrambled to all fours and stared down at Clarence, who was still down there with the bear. [glow=black,1,400]"Clarence! Come on!"[/glow] He urged, not wanting the older member to get hurt.

[guts]

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She was used to the presence of danger, or at least having it lurking nearby. It was just how the world worked and she had gotten used to it, even though it was quite the pessimistic outlook. But she didn't consider herself that--she considered herself a realist, at best, looking at both the good and the bad. She was never surprised when something bad happened, maybe momentarily sometimes, but not long.

The roar pierced the quiet air, slamming into her and forcing her attention, her head whipping around at the noise. It sounded like a bear, and while it may have been nothing, she still wanted to check it out, if only to settle the dread in the pit of her stomach. She heads in the direction of the sound, paws carrying her over stones and fallen branches, until she comes to the ravine's edge. Bucky and August are there, struggling out of the dip in the ground.

At first she didn't recognize August, but when he called out to Clarence, it struck. Then she turned a wild eye down towards the bottom of the ravine.

"[glow=black,2,300]What the fuck--[/glow]" Ymir breathes out, an inch of irritation to her voice before she hurries past the two, down into the ravine where he was facing off against the bear. She hardly knew who this Clarence guy was, but she wasn't going to let him fight alone, at least.

There's barely any time for hesitation or doubt. She can only focus on the hulking creature, her breathing labored as she rushes towards it, ducking out of the way at the last minute and slipping behind it, nipping at it's heels to get it's attention to allow them to get a few blows on it.

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