Crippled upon all four legs, Ghoul would not blame Macabre for not sticking around to ensure he lived. He had even been surprised by Medusa's pity to carry him back to her newly claimed homelands. Unlike the rest of his family, who sorely let him down, Ghoul could never hold a grudge toward Mac. His one and only best friend and closest sibling, he loved his cow-spotted brother more than anyone else. Upon arrival to the dens hidden amongst the Dancefloor of the Gods, Ghoul sent one of his companions out to look for Macabre. Knowing the injuries that Mac had suffered at the challenge, he wondered if his brother was even mobile yet. "Mac, please, I need to see you," he mumbled under his breath as he lay in his dismal corner of sadness and hopelessness.

It was a surprise to Mac, albeit a welcome one, that he had awoken to a familiar sight; an albino caiman approached his den, pink eyes staring at his slumbering form expectantly. The half-blind boy stirred, pulling himself up the best he could. Such a distinct companion could only belong to one person. His brother. His brother was here. With a soul-tearing cough that rattled his frame and jarred his still-broken limb, he was still determined to get to his sibling. He hadn’t seen the rose-pelted boy since..well. Since then. Even that was a blur. He was really in no shape to walk, much less stand, but the muscular boy had achieved his goal - his own companioms rushed to his sid to give him some semblance of balance as he hobbled by the caiman as it led him to another den. Though fever still raged under his skin, and infection swelled in his facial wound and in his fracture, he would cross hell and high water to find his brother. Any feelings he felt, any fragment of emotion was reserved for him. He struggled to process anything on an emotional level, even his own predicament, but even a shred of concern crossed onto his festure as he approached the maw of a den. Ghoul’s own form was crumpled on the earth, and his stomach tightened upon seeing the way his brother’s strong limbs were angled and swollen. Were..were all of his bones broken? ”Ghoul?” He said, voice raspy from not being used. Another painful, rattling cough shook him on his unsteady feet as he struggled to stay upright. Clenching his jaw from the onslaught of shattering aches and stabbing pains, he added, hoping to see his brother respond, ”I’m here now.” ”Speech” ’Thought’

It felt as if a century had passed since he sent one of his caimans out to search for Macabre. Drifting in and out of consciousness as his eyelids fluttered, trying to keep him awake, he was close to giving up hope. Would Medusa have allowed Mac to roam free among her lands? Or would he have been sequestered somewhere? Unlike Mac who had been taken by Medusa straight to the new pack lands after the challenge to heal his Armada-given injuries, Ghoul hadn't rushed to follow. Emotions he had never felt before had raged through him and he had needed time to process them. Then the incident happened to cause further delay in his arrival to Insomnia where Medusa assisted him from the Soulless Forest. Dwelling now upon the fury that he felt about the downfall of his mother and her escape to who knew where, a sound of scrabbling paws and harsh breathing distracted him. Having spent more time than he wanted on all his recent mistakes, Ghoul's heart nearly skipped a beat at the sight of his cow-spotted brother. "Macabre," the boy crooned as he attempted to lift his head higher than he had in days. "I'm so glad to see you, brother," he rasped, ruby eyes nearly tearing up. Maybe life wouldn't be so hopeless after all.

TABLE & CODE © SKELLE 2021
"Speech!"

Mac's lips twitched into some form of a smile, his seeing eye scanning his brother's broken body. His limbs had clearly been fixed up in some manner, not just left to heal in twisted, swkward angles. He was a tad puzzled as to why Medusa, of all wolves, would ever help the children of a family that kept her as a slave all this time. Until recently, of course, when shit hit the fan. He attempted to sit down near Ghoul's head, glancing behind him to find a generous pile of moss and some furs Medusa had likely left behind for him. He aimed to gently help Ghoul prop her head up by placing a bundle of fur and moss beneath him, hopefully allowing him to see Macabre fully without moving around too much. "There. Now you can see me, and you don't have to talk to the ground." His smile curled up more, and though it was wickedly twisted, it meant nothing but care for his closest sibling. He noticed the dire boy's eyes misting with tears threatening to overflow, but his own eye held nothing - it was his usual unfeeling, yet all the while holding some form of care for Ghoul. He wasn't totally apathetic when it came to his family. Hoping the pillow he'd made would make his brother more comfortable, a steady pause hung in the air before Mac let out a series of chest-rattling coughs, sniffing as he wiped his nose with one forepaw and nodded gingerly towards Ghoul's broken limbs. All four of them. Yikes. "What happened to you? It wasn't that moldy-looking dude who broke my leg, was it?"

Ghoul was more than relieved to be in Mac’s presence once more. The sight of his cow-spotted brother was calming, but something was different. His eyes squint as he peers through the dim light to figure out what had changed of his favorite brother. He would not move as Mac lifted his head and placed it upon more moss and furs. “Brother, what happened to your eye,” his throat felt scratchy with each word that left his mouth. Even the coughs rattling Mac’s chest sounded terrible. What had fallen the two of them?

His eyes shift to the ceiling for a moment as he lets the question settle in his mind. He almost wanted to laugh at the moldy-dude comment, but all he could do was gently shake his head. “No, whatever he could’ve done to me wouldn’t have been nearly as bad,” a grunt leaves him as he glances back to Mac and pointedly looks at Mac’s injuries. “That statue. The one that made you sick broke all of my limbs,” Ghoul couldn’t blame Mac for leaving him at the altar. Both of their choices had been idiotic and anyone would have thought he was as good as dead.

G H O U L

TABLE & CODE © SKELLE 2021
"Speech!"
There. Macabre padded his brother’s head on the furs, and despite his own wealened state, he at least was strong enough to make sure Ghoul could see more than just what was at his current eye level. Besides, Mac was a hard wolf to ignore - both in his obnoxious mannerisms and his flashy fur. Sometime he knew his brother appreciated in him. They made good company, truly.

The cow-spotted boy blinked (with the one seeing eye) as Ghoul asked about his bandaged other eye; the one that had been clawed through and maimed. He still recalled the squelching, the white-hot burst of pain as rivets of blood trickled down his cheek and snout that day. Kinda gross! But he’d find that little shortstack one day and make him pay, but he was in no rush. "Oh, funny story! Y’know that shortshit dude with the raptor claws we lost against twice? Yeah, he blinded me at the pack challenge.” He said it about as nonchalantly as one would talk about the weather - unlike Ghoul, Mac rarely ruminated on matters that affected him even personally. One would expect him to be furious at the prospect of being blinded - but he just didn’t seem to wrap his head around the notion of being bitter. It was the past anyways. He shrugged halfheartedly. "I just wanted to give him a broken paw, but I’ll get another chance someday."

His brother seemed amused at him calling the wolf who broke his leg moldy, and proceeded to explain through a pained expression that the weird statue they’d teased at the Soulless Forest altar had done that to him. The smile fell a bit as Mac curiously tilted his head. Ah..that happened. He furrowed his brow, trying to convey concern for his brother. That really sucked. Imagine trying to swipe one stupid firefly and getting all your limbs cracked for that. Those statues were rude! And they made him all gross and piss everywhere. Man, he was up all night for a good week trying to get rid of the fireflies that had..erm..entered him. But now he thought it was a cool party trick. When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.

"Those statues sucked anyways, Ghoul. We’ll make it! Until your legs heal, maybe I can find a wagon for you so we can go on adventures and I can take you with me," He explained, clearly not thinking logically about how he’d find a wagon, nevermind try to lift his much bigger brother into it - bit he’d do anything for Ghoul! So why not? "All I know is, I won’t leave your side again, Ghoul. We’re brothers for life!"