just when you think - open; returning with plus two

[rhosmari]

- tw for gore in third paragraph
[member=18108]RUVEN[/member] [member=18019]RAVENWOOD[/member]

The last thing she had remembered was the mudslide, towering over her and proclaiming her weakness. Laughing at her as it bared down and then there was nothing. Just an expanse of darkness before she felt like she was drownjnf and suffocating. She needed to get out but get out of what she didn't even understand she just pushed and pushed against her fate and then there was a sense of release. And she was floating, looking down at herself. Looking at the others of the Coalition as they scrambled around trying to make sense of the situation and what had happened. Her brother seemed to be the only one that noticed her there as she drifted up. His paw reaching for her as if he could grab her body and she had to wonder then. Was she dead? Was this it? Would she really be killed by just nature who moved and bended to her will. It was almost sickening. The idea of it was so disturbing to her mind. She was not weak willed she was not simply a pushover. She would not let this be her last moments. And her last moments it was not.

Her soul had rejected that quiet night and searched. A deadly thief she had invaded a body and took it. She swarm around the other soul till she had consumed it. Confused her memories had lapsed and she found herself in the Typhoon. Bleeding and hurting but alive. It wasn't till she found Raven, till she had encountered Roxanne did everything come painfully rushing back. Everything from the pain of Stryker's death to what she perceived as the abandonment of Ninazu's empty corpse. The pain of the Coalition losing everything they had worked for only to end up in the territory of a group that the others didn't feel was worth their time in saving. A cold and pitiful place but it had become home. Home. It was where she wanted to go, where she wanted to be. But she had screamed and she had cried as her mind broke. She wanted to kill her. So she had tried. But she knew also that she didn't have much time before her lackeys showed up. So she had to leave. She had to get Raven out.

Shielding the both of them with ice they broke free of the Typhoon but the Kingpin was still angry. The wild look glittering in her red and blue eyes. She kept quiet as they trekked together, her figure covered in the blood of herself and her attackers. She didn't seem tired and didn't seem to feel the pain of her injuries. Unfortunately as they traveled back to the Coalition they came across a little lion family. One that immediately saw the woman as a threat because of her appearance. So they attacked and she welcomed it. With a wide grin the leopardess forcibly shifted the blood in the female lion's body and it made her drop to the ground in dizziness. The male attacked her and she turned on him, rushing to sink deadly teeth into his body. Twisting her jaws she forced him down against the ground. Claws gripped his stomach and dug in. Deeper and deeper before she split him open. Peeling back the layers of flesh, entrails falling out. Blood sloshed against the ground and she remembered his screams. He was almost a coat as she continued pulling and stretching his flesh open. He didn't last long, he died before she got to his back.

The lioness well, she became just a meal. Something to satisfy her hunger. It wasn't till she was finishing tearing the flesh from both carcasses that she realized that there was a child. A child. Alone now. Without parents and she found some semblance of sweetness in the hellish darkness that was her mind. She coaxed the cub, told sweet lies to him. That his family had been attacked. That she had seen but was too late to help. She tried to give chase, tried to stop his parents' blood. It was why she was stained with it after all. It would be better if he came with them. She would look after him now.

This was how she came to be back home. Standing upon the lands with both Ravenwood and a cub lovingly named Ruven. She was still covered in blood but she would clean up. Her eyes scanned the horizon, not feeling the cold of the territory. "It almost feels different. Anyway, we are home." Home.

[trojan g.]

[align=center][div style="max-width: 415px;text-align: justify;font-family: times new roman;font-size: 10pt;line-height: 116%;text-indent: 35px;"]He had been asleep when it had happened, away in a bush shielded from view while his parents had been out on a small hunting party of just the two of them. They had been coming home empty handed and in defeat when they had met their death. The screaming is what woke Ruven up at first, head shooting up and looking around, confused, for a moment, but he was greeted with silence. He knew it hadn't been himself that had screamed, so it had to be something outside of the small place he had been sleeping in. It had taken the young boy a while to decide what to do before he had exited the little nest, and greeted by the body of his father and the scent of blood he listened to the words Sojourn spoke. She was covered in blood and it scared him but she was nice to him, so she didn't lie, she wouldn't lie to him, he knew that to be true.

So he followed the two off the main island that the other groups took their home in, making his way onto the little shattered pieces of island that had long since broken off from the main island when the Coalition had taken over. Tired and hungry the small cub hid behind Sojourn as he looked over the expansive territory before him, waiting for someone to come to greet them.

[angelembrace]

"they flip the siren, hit the lights" ✭ ── The cub had caught word of the fact their leader had vanished, at least as far as her soul was concerned. He didn't really understand, simply thinking to himself that she would be back, and that there was nothing to be concerned about for too long. Romulus handled the immediate concerns while she was gone, so it wasn't like too much chaos would take hold post-mudslide. Or so he believed, but there was no reason so far to doubt his own claims.

Sojourn had indeed returned like he'd predicted she would, different in body but in not in spirit. What he had not predicted was her two companions to flank her, Ravenwood who he did know, and a lion cub who he did not. The boy did not smell of the Coalition, and so logically Angel assumed he was not part of them. A newcomer. "Who's this?" Angelembrace asked as he pulled his spotted body up upon a rock to gain some leverage to observe the returning party better, visibly disturbed but otherwise remaining quiet about the blood Sojourn wore like she had slept in a carcass for a night. "Surely Byriath is around somewhere, if you're badly injured."

[APHRA CIPHER .]

[glow=grey,1,400]I'M IN THE BUSINESS OF MISERY ! — ｡+ﾟ.[/glow]

Aphra would never say this out loud or admit to it, but she actually missed Sojourn. The fact that the Kingpin's (Queenpin's?) brother had just... taken it upon himself to be in charge infuriated Aphra. Romulus didn't have a right to try to be in charge, when she and Byriath were right there. Right fucking there. Romulus wasn't even a high position to her knowledge.

So when she heard Sojourn's voice in the distance, Aphra was relieved. She came walking up soon after Angelembrace, dropping the catch she had gotten earlier. "Welcome back." She said to Sojourn and Ravenwood, looking at the individually, but did not say anything towards Ruven. She had no reason to, right now.[glow=COLOR,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]

[INFERNO CIPHER-VANTAS]

[align=center][div style="width: 45%; text-align: justify; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -1px; font-family: times new roman;"]♡ —  ɪɴꜰᴇʀɴᴏ | ꜱᴄᴀʀᴇᴄʀᴏᴡ ᴇꜰꜰᴇᴄᴛᴇᴅ ʙᴀʙʏ | ᴄɪᴘʜᴇʀ-ᴠᴀɴᴛᴀꜱ | ʙɪᴏ



ɪᴄ ᴛᴇxᴛ | ɪᴄ ᴏᴘɪɴɪᴏɴꜱ

Yeah she watched everything happen. She watched Sojourn kinda go unconscious and Romulus just snatch up the Kingpin's position like he was born into it. She had narrowed her eyes, silently observing everything that had happened. Unfamiliar scent caused her to follow her mother with a frown but visibly relax as she saw that it was Sojourn. The Vantas child would offer a small smile.





ᴏᴄ ᴛᴇxᴛ!




"ꜱᴘᴇᴇᴄʜ"

[Byriath]

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While Aphra and Inferno seemed to look down on Romulus for taking up the mantle for a while and exiling Jormungand, it didn't seem to effect Byriath. He had come from a place where the next ruler was determined by blood relativity. Siblings often took the crown after their older sibling left it. His paws here heavy as he walked toward the group. Eyes immediately narrowed at Sojourn, who he had yet to really recognize, as well as Raven and Ruven. Where had Ravenwood gone? "Welcome and Welcome back. A change in looks, miss?" He tilted his head, the Xeno twitching his nose at the blood that Sojourn wore so proudly and, dare he say, quite beautifully. He lived for violence. "Are there any wounds I need to deal with."

BYRIATH - GURU OF THE COALITION - FALLEN GOD OF WAR

©tikki

[RAVENWOOD]

R A V E N W O O D

i'll pull the trigger with my eyes closed,
hoping to hit you somewhere vital

He was exhausted. Every fiber of his being was worn, from the injuries he sustained from Roxanne, to the injuries to he sustained from Michael. It had been a narrow escape by far, and Ravenwood didn't look any better for it. He had no idea how he had even gotten that lost, but he was grateful that Sojourn was there. But on the travel home, something had happened. Something the churned his stomach, but he couldn't bring himself to speak, seeing the child so small, so innocent.

His ears were flat, gaze turned away from Ruven and Sojourn when they returned to the devastated area. His eyes were half lidded, his body near back to skin and bones, his tail missing and his body wounded up down and sideways. He didn't speak, nor look at anyone- besides searching for one face in particular. Upon not spotting it, his eyes dropped again.

SPEECH
FLASHBACK

— Reggan

[Romulus]

When his sister's soul floated off into the abyss, Romulus' felt another wave of dread rush over him. His remaining family had all died or disappeared, leaving him truly alone. It was a new feeling. Something he had never experienced before, especially with his sibling's always around or his parent's always by his side. The lion was having trouble convincing himself that he was 'okay' without them. Companionship was important to him. To be left without someone to rely on or someone to confide him left him in a dark place. Another dive into imagination. A whole new world. Somewhere different.

After Jormungand's exile and the finalization of a few homes to stay in while the area cleaned up, Romulus had retreated back to his cave. The mudslide had ruined many aspects of it... but it was weirdly still home and, with time, everyone needed to leave home. With his head high, periwinkle hues looking outward, and claws scraping across the wet ground, the lion headed out into the territory with no expectations. Paws crossed through the caves of the serpent. The chatter externally kept him preoccupied while his mind raced, eventually reaching the edge of the territory.

His rounded ears perked at the sound of voices in the distance as he walked along. Curiosity perking, the lion redirected his patrol. Romulus' eyes widened at the aura in the distance, one that the others didn't see, and began to slink over quicker than usual. Not missing a beat, a soft and weary remark left him. "Sojourn?" came his concerning drawl. Legs shaking, he paused before her and looked her new form up and down, brow furrowing in confusion. Possession? He held back his inquiries as he leaned forward and attempted to lightly nuzzle at her cheek with a sigh. "I thought you were gone."

Pulling away, his attention settled on Ravenwood and Ruven momentarily. Bryiath had already asked if they needed assistance, but the lion could see that medical attention was a necessity. "Let's get you back to camp so we can deal with your injuries," he offered. "If not though, I can... treat them here." He fell momentarily silent as he eyed Ruven. Who was this? They seemed relatively uninjured compared to Ravenwood and Sojourn, but he still wondered if they needed anything, especially since they hadn't said a word. He'd ask later, presumably.


//If you guys list specifications to injuries, I can have Romulus attend to them in this thread or something separate <333