It's madness, it's madness - O; Ana's death

[Ares]

ARES THERVOS

Ares hadn't seen her sister often - which was strange, the two had promised to be close to each other. With the heat wave bearing down on everyone the girl wanted to find her sister. She needed to know the news. She needed to be there. Midafternoon was upon the swamp, heat scorching her back as she walked toward the crater. Ana's scent, though slightly aged, was fresh enough to follow. And then there was a trail of blood. Wild scent, rogue beings belonging to no group, mingled with the trail. No. Ares moved faster. Quicker. Suddenly, just at the edge, she saw them. They were large wolves, ripping at something. Something? No, someone. Someone. Her.

"ANA!" The scream ripped from her as she threw herself at the assailants, gripping the dagger Elsweyr gave her in her jaws and stabbing into the thigh of the first one she saw, slashing and slashing. The wolf whipped around, trapped her in his jaws, and flung her. "Another? Wow." It snarled to the other two, moving away from them to see to Ares.

As he bent down to bite she shoved the dagger into his eye, relishing the scream he let out as she brought the dagger back to her only to sink it into his neck. The liquid, warm and thick, meant nothing as she pushed him away, body shifting. Slamming into the second wolf, the great Deinonychus expired him easily, leaving a mangled mess behind before biting into the third one, dropping the limp body at her feet before rushing back to her sister. 

"Ana...? Ana, oh god, Ana.." The beast spoke hushed words, staring at the mangled mess of grey fur and broken wings, tears blurring the scene. "No... no, no, gods, no!" She gently wrapped her claws around her sister's body, holding her like a baby. "We were sisters.. I was going to.. we.. we were... Elsweyr is.. Pretty-Mother is..." And the dinosaur fell to her knees, gnashing her teeth, tears falling down her cheeks. Jaws opened in a wailing, grieving screech, wings folding in around her head, blocking the sunlight.

//tl;dr - Ares, noticing how Ana had been absent around tanglewood, went to go and find her to tell her about what was going on. Following her scent toward the direction of the crater, she finds that three wolves have mauled her sister. Ares, taking her dinosaur form, dispatches them quickly but knows she is too late. She's close to the crater, holding Ana's body while her wings are blocking her head and the body from view.

[ATBASH CIPHER.]

ATBASH CIPHER

tired eyes, barely open ,
crippled by a promise broken !

Ana's absence wasn't hard to notice; Atbash hadn't seen the girl around for a while but with the heatwave going on, she couldn't entirely blame Ana if she decided to stay inside all day. Atbash was trying to get away from the heat by sitting under a shady tree when a bone-chilling screech sounded through the air. It made the fur on her spine rise and the savannah quickly got to her paws - following the scent of Ares that she picked up as she ran. The noise was hard to tell what was going on, mixing rage and grief, but Atbash knew she wasn't in danger. Or at the very least, that's what she hoped.

The mess she came upon was... Something she didn't want to see. Bloody and gorey, a couple of dead wolves laying on the ground and Ares sobbing with her wings covering her head. Cautiously, Atbash approached and softly mewed, "Ares...?" As she got closer, she could see the body that Ares clutched; Atbash stopped where she was, her ears flattening. "No... Ana..." The voice came out as a choked whisper, tears starting to fill her eye.

female f1 savannah | vassal [hp] of commune of tanglewood | "speaking" | thoughts | "telepathically speaking"

© madi

[rhosmari]

LIKE WHAT YOU SEE? THEN YOU GOT GOOD VISION
BOY, THIS BEAT HITS SO DIFFERENT.

Things were turning from bad to worse. She wasn't getting enough food like she was supposed to. Her body was rejecting what she ate and she also felt the tickle of thirst in the back of her throat. Worse she had less and less energy as days went by but she was trying. Struggling to get things together. Perhaps this was fate telling her that she was not meant to be leader here. The heat was not losing momentum and their territory was suffering for it. Shaking her head a bit the woman wanted to get some time and space to herself. Just a little bit. Just a moment but the scream that echoed through the swamp from the Crater made sure she did not get that peace and solace. What more could she or anyone in Tanglewood bare? Making her way there as fast as she could the panting lioness paused upon the scene. Staring with wide eyes.

There was blood everywhere but what was worse was the fact that Ares seemed to be cradling something. Hiding it away and she stepped forward toward the large dinosaur never having been afraid of the massive reptile. Her eyes lifted up to the other before she moved a bit closer. Inching her way closer before she peered around to see...the sight made her stomach drop and the more death she saw the more she grew cold to the world around her. To the other groups that came and even rogues. "She....she is so sorry, Ares..." The woman tried to hold back her emotions but tears began to fall from her eyes regardless. This...she could have been another daughter. No, no, she had lost a child today and it hurt.

— Reggan

[Ares]

ARES THERVOS

Wings slowly folded in at her sides, once wailing beast suddenly silent, eyes focused. With a shaky breath, she lowered Ana's body, placed her tenatively on the ground before looking to her mother, standing up as sadness graced her blue eyes. She looked at Atbash, a gentle rumble coming from her. God, they were all hurting. And it made her angry.

Eyes focused on a tree, dying from the heat, close by. Jaws parted in a yell, civil and manic all in one, as she threw herself at the tree. It groaned against the impact and then she started clawing. Scratching. Hate. Hate. Hate. "Damnit - damn it all! WE WERE SISTERS, ANA. SISTERS. YOU WERE EVERYTHING TO ME." She panted, body tense. "WHO DARED!? WHO SAID WE DESERVED MORE SUFFERING. I'LL KILL THEM. KILL THEM, I SWEAR! I-" And she fell again, yelling cut off  by a choked sob. Don't promise something you can't do. You've avenged her. "Shut up." She hissed, swiping a claw across her face loosely. Silence within the mindspace.

[VENUS C.]

The death of a loved one was not something Venus had ever really experienced before. All their life, they had been surrounded by people who used the feline as a tool or treated them as an annoyance, so when those people ultimately left them behind, Venus didn't shed a tear. Why should they cry over people who believed they didn't matter? Crying was a sign of weakness, a silly thing that only children did. Or at least, that's what they believed. It was the same with love. Why should they love someone who was only going to leave them behind? It was weak and foolish, a setup for being stabbed in the back.

Many times before, Venus had been confessed to after spending a night with someone after a few drinks, and each time they had rejected the other. The very last time they had received a confession had really stuck with him, as it was something they had never heard before. Right before parting ways, the female had gone through the usual spiel they had heard a million times over, and of course, they would say no and apologize, but instead of being upset, she would become furious. "You're heartless Venus. A heartless, unfeeling monster, who loves and cares for no one but themselves." And that was the truth. They knew it, and they certainly didn't argue. At the time... it didn't bother Venus, but now, as the words came back to them in an echo, they felt... something. A sting in their chest, perhaps? Strange.

As the feline approached the group, they would say nothing, feeling a bit out of place as each of their clanmates cried for deceased. Usually, they would make some sort of lighthearted or snarky quip, but even they understood that now was not the time. When Ares began to charge and attack the tree, Ven would jump, ears flattening as they helplessly watched the other's breakdown. "Ares..." They started to say in a worried tone before falling silent once again. They didn't know what to say... and they didn't think there was anything they could say.

the road i walk is paved in gold to glorify my platinum soul

— Reggan