She felt like she could barely move as she slowly regained consciousness. Her lungs burned and her leg hurt. She wasn’t actively bleeding but the open wound was red and irritated. Not as bad as a broken leg, but if it didn’t get cleaned up and seen to it could get infected. Had the large burn not been there Venom would have thought the entire experience had been some strange dream. Wolves coming out of the mist, secret lava filled rooms, and falling into the red hot depths…

Venom startled herself the rest of the way into consciousness, realizing she was laying on the border of the redwater rocks and the oasis itself. She would have whined in pain had her throat not been so raw. She lay her head back down, unwilling to move as she just tried to catch her breath and figure out what had happened. Already the memories were growing foggy, like it really had only been some kind of dream.

"Venom"

Patrolling as always, it was no surprise that Chimera was the one to come upon the prone, injured form of his sister. The brute's pale pink eye could see the labored rise and fall of the woman's ribcage and knew that she was in distress, so he put on a bit of speed to come to her side quickly. "Venom," he spoke her name, pulling her attention onto him. The panic on her face was evident but he didn't know what was wrong just yet. Chi gave her a visual inspection and saw no severe injuries. What had happened?

Never one to be too serious, Chimera smiled down at the speckled fae. "Are you sure that I'm not your guardian angel rather than your brother? How many times have I come to your rescue now?" It was his way of trying to chase the panic from her. He was letting her know that he was here and she was safe.

"I'm here, Venom. Tell me what happened." The big brute curled himself around his sister, one foreleg draped over her body to pull her against his chest. If she was in shock of some sort, warmth was good, right? Perhaps a moment to let her calm down, then he could carry her back to her den if he had to.

"Chimera Klein"

She tried to slow and calm her breathing as she lay there, still stunned and uncertain what had happened. Sunset eyes were closed as Venom tried to regain her bearings, which did not happen before she heard Chimera’s voice call from the pathway. The Empress blinked open her eyes to find his concerned features before he smiled at her, obviously trying to assuage the fear and confusion within her.

He teased her slightly, reminiscing about the time, many years ago, that he had found her when her leg had broken. Chimera brought a grin to her features with that as he wrapped himself around her and held her to his chest. "Careful,” she warned lightly as she revealed the wound upon her leg. "I don’t even know what happened myself. If it weren’t for my leg I would believe it had all been a dream.” She told him in disbelief.

"I was in the oasis when a mist began to form and three beasts appeared and bid me follow one of them. I don’t know what the purpose was but when we reached the destination I fell.. Into lava.” Just like her father, but why was she still here?

"Venom"

Venom asked him to be careful and Chimera halted, looking towards the injury that she spoke of. He was careful not to jostle her or touch the injury, but he did curl around her. Ears shifted as he listened to her story, brows knit with concern. Aspects of the tale seemed familiar, but Chimera wouldn't point that out. He didn't want to spook Venom any more than she already was. Mentioning that it reminded him of the Long Night wouldn't be wise. He had been incredibly ill after and could only hope that the same wouldn't be true for his sister.

She fell into lava? "Very strange," Chimera confirmed. There were no burns on her, nor did Venom stink of sulfur or char. He knew that her father had been killed via volcano, so perhaps she had been thinking of that in her subconscious. Again, Chimera wouldn't speak his suspicions out loud. He didn't want it to seem as though he didn't believe her, for he surely did.

"Are you able to walk or would you like me to carry you back?" He would be fine doing either. He noted that her body wasn't trembling and her temperature seemed to be fine, so she wasn't in shock. It would be safe to move her. Chimera looked into the distance, catching sight of one of his mastiffs. He sent the dog off to notify Aliana that he would be bringing Venom back with an injury.

"Chimera Klein"

Venom wasn’t certain that her worries were properly conveyed, but Chimera didn’t press her so likely he saw through her vague fears. What happened to her? What had she been through, obviously she had been through something traumatic but her memories said she had slipped and fell into the lava below her. Obviously that couldn’t be true unless she had died and this was some after life, but the pain in her leg said otherwise. She was alive, but everything that happened was a mystery. Nothing made sense.

Chimera went on though, moving on from whatever confusion lived within her now. Who knows what happened, the future was what they needed to look to, and she needed medical care. "I think I can walk.” She would certainly scar, but it was surface level. Nothing like when her leg was broken. She looked where his eyes went and saw the man's massive dog stalk off, presumably to tell Aliana they were coming. To prove her words she struggled only slightly to her paws.

"Venom"

Tumultuous emotions flitted over his sister's features and Chimera's brow knitted momentarily. She really was shaken up about whatever dream she'd had. It made him wonder if there was anything more to it. Clearly she'd injured herself. Had she fallen somewhere and struck her head? As he looked at her, Chi inspected Venom's pupils. They looked even, though her eyes themselves were a little wide. Probably from the shock of waking up in such a state. Ali could make a better assessment, so it would do well to get his sister there quickly.

Venom rose, though she staggered a little. Chimera pressed his side against hers to steady her and the pair began slowly moving off together towards the caverns that housed his family. "Is there anything else that you remember? Does your head hurt at all?"

"Chimera Klein"