The terrible beast, with its rising body count, doesn't seem to relent. Blood and shimmering ooze coating the snow, and Hazel is... ragged. Raw. Raw rage, mixing with fear. Hell, every part of her is do it scared, and this? Well, this is a good lesson in that. Perhaps the most afraid she's ever been, and that includes the last time her life was threatened.

Lashing out at the beast once more-- relentless. A dog with a bone, she's not letting up. The beast has felled more than its fair share. Far more. Hazel won't let it get away with this. She can't. As the worm's rage grows, hers does too. Crystalline fangs digging into the beast, reaching for one of the already open wounds. Their anatomy is bizarre, so it's all Hazel can do to rip and keep ripping.

"Speech"

His vision was swimming, his rear legs still burned with the pain of pins and needles lancing through his limbs. His cover seemed to save him from the oncoming slaughter, but was he really just going to stand here and bark? Would it help save him in the end with the rampage this creature was on?

He took another mouthful of alcohol from the small barrel he had made for when he couldn't take his big one with him. If only there was a way to strike a flame... but that was silly. They were surrounded by ice, sharp ice that was raining down on them from the ceiling overhead.

Gem getting her face ripped open was the final straw, but the arrival of Artorias only bolstered the boy. He pushed off from the rock with a wince and a grimace, bright lights dancing across his vision. It's guts were hanging out, that had to be a good sign right?

Invertedly weaving in his approach (why were his rear toes so numb?) He joined those attacking the open and oozing wound. "If it looks like it's gonna fall get ready ter run..." Could he run? Maybe he could slide across the ice instead.

"speech"

coded by NachoMumma

She let out a sharp, primal scream as she was thrown by the tremors. Hanako slipped from her back easily. The moment she landed, Makara knew her front left paw was broken before she even opened her eyes - a hot, lancing pain raced up her leg, and the sight of it was almost enough to make her sick. She'd never broken anything before. The leather ties of her bootie served as a poor splint, but she gritted her teeth as she gasped and tried to tighten them anyway. Stars exploded in front her eyes and she almost passed out from the pain.

"M... mother?" she said hoarsely, finally letting her inhibitions down. Where had Hanako went? She had to bring her home. They needed to talk. She had so, so many questions for her. Makara lifted her head, her vision swimming, as Hanako came over and nudged her shoulder weakly. "I... I'm sorry I couldn't carry you, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I'll try to - " she whimpered, tears of pain and regret burning behind her goggles. As soon as the words left her mouth, the worm began its next set of attacks and landed a devastating wound across Hanako's throat. Blood sprayed and colored the lenses of her goggles red, red, red. So much blood. Adrenaline surged through her and with all the grace of a drunken sailor, Makara stumbled onto her working three paws and hobbled towards the worm.

What was one more blow? Holding her injured paw close to her chest, she aimed for where the viscous chunks of flesh had begun to leak through and slammed the spikes of her goggles into its side over and over again. She had needed to speak to her mother again, to get some closure - something, anything, and all of that blood... Makara wasn't a healer, but she knew what she'd be bringing back to the Armada. A corpse. "YOU FUCKING FUCK, THAT WAS MY MOTHER!" Her mother, who she'd hated for not protecting them from their father. Her mother, who had always turned her back when it was convenient for her. Her mother, who was dying or dead. There would be no closure.

Speech

Wolves and the worm attack another stranger crumpling to the floor as death greets claims them. Blood flows from both those attacking and this strange creature and it floods Wade’s senses, tipping something in him and making him feel alive, unafraid, crazed… invincible. With a whoop of excitement, his spear bites into the worm’s flesh and he watches a stranger with a sword appear and attack the worm while he idly wonders where he could something like that.

Chaos reigns as some shout, perhaps askig for help or barking orders (neither of which he hears because he doesn’t really care) while others continue to attack. Never one to be left behind, Wade launches himself forward and toward a thick chunk of rock that calls to him and he smacks it up toward the creature that still hangs from the ceiling (seriously? Can’t it just fall already?!) while he continues to race through the debris.

Pale gaze finds what he is looking for, a piece of the collapsing ceiling that is tapered on one end and comes to a deadly point. While he may not have a cool sword (yet but he’ll get one for sure), there are still deadly weapons littered around the wolves. Maw closes around his makeshift weapon and he continues to race, finding the ramp he had already used twice and thundering his way up along it.

Wade leaps through the air, ice spear aimed toward one of the open wounds in the hopes of burying his weapon deep into the worm before ripping it free while gravity pulls him back to the ground. White eyes are wild and alive as they glitter with bloodlust all while he sails through the air.


"Wade Preator" 'Thinking'| 'Sly' | 'Loki'

A sharp cutting pain sliced across her neck and Hanako couldn't even cry out, just slurring, wet gargling breaths as she laid there, the white of her coat stained a vivid red. The struggle was deafeningly loud to her ears, the panic razor sharp because the wound to her leg had been bad, but this was...the end. It felt inevitable and Hanako stubborn as they came wanted to kick and scream and demand more more more. She deserved better; and it wasn't even a statement born from selfishness of entitlement, though at a glance it no doubt seemed as much.

She had spent her whole life pretending to be someone she wasn't, had twisted herself so out of shape she didn't even recognise herself any more. And maybe Hanako had never been a good person, but it was just too easy to write her off as a vapid bitch, an entry level take that left a lot to be desired. Was it so wrong that she had been desperate for comfort? Had been shaped into a prize when in reality from the very start she'd been tossed aside, a slave in every sense of the word but just without the title, so she could pretend. So that she could smile.

Hanako couldn't see much, her eyes felt heavy and there was too much movement, but she knew Makara was out there. Tried to rasp out her name, her paw dragged against the ice, reaching out as if she hoped to make contact. A warm touch. Comfort. Just not to be so alone.

She had been afraid before, thought she might die once before during the long night. Had lost all her fur, been riddled with crystals and had near bled to death bringing her children into the world. Though perhaps she was cursed, never meant to have a piece of her live on because there was so little of her in them. As if Azure had fully taken over. Deep down Hanako knew she deserved their ire, redemption would always be out of her reach, but she had loved them as much as a broken wolf could.

In the very end she was sorry and maybe that meant something. Maybe not.

The cave shudders under the worm's thrashing, the sound of cracking ice mingling with the beast's guttural roars. Its rage only builds with each concurrent attack, building into a crescendo of destruction.

Gem charges forward, desperately aiming to shove a shard of ice into a slice wound in the frozen outer shell of the beast. Adrenaline seems to drown out her fear as her attack lands, striking true- embedding into the viscous flesh beneath.

The beast responds shockingly fast, body rearing and twisting as it screeches, flinging the ice shard back and straight through Gem's neck with an awful crunch Bones in her neck shatter, blood bursting forth from the wound as the yearling's legs buckle and her body hits the ground.

Not far off, Hanako's throat wound worsens, blood spurting from the wound as she crumples to the ground, breaths wet and shallow as blood pools around her in a vivid puddle, paw outstretched toward her daughter.

The worm's fury grows with each attack, piercing sharply through icy hide and revealing fluid and ooze inside that begins to trickle out, mixing with the blood of the four wolves who lay dead. Their lives, all snuffed out so abruptly.

The worm isn't done yet, though it seems to be losing its strength as guts spill out from its worsening wounds, a mix of fleshy fat and thick, sticky liquid. Each movement threatens to send the ceiling of the cave crashing down as it pounds forward, thrashing erratically against the ice.

Barghest’s world shattered mid attack, the chaos of the fight blurring into a distant, meaningless noise as her gaze locked onto the sight before her—her Gem. Her sister. ”NO! GEM!!”

Gem hit the ground with a sickening thud, the shard jutting cruelly from her neck like an accusation against the gods themselves. Blood spread so quickly, dark and glistening, pooling around the too-still form. Too still. The truth slammed into Barghest’s chest like a physical blow, robbing her of breath. Her mind screamed against it, but the image was unyielding, seared into her soul. Her sister.

Gods. No. No, not her. Not Gem.

For a fleeting moment, the past rushed forward to greet her like a cruel specter. She saw Gem as a pup, all laughter and clumsy paws, her bright eyes sparkling with curiosity.

A sound rose from Barghest’s chest, a keening wail which fractured into a raw, guttural roar, laced with anguish so deep it felt like it would break her apart. The sound tore from her throat, savage and unrestrained. It reverberated off the walls of the cavern, a pained proclamation of her grief. What was she supposed to tell their mother? Father?

This can’t be real. This can’t be happening.

“No!” Her voice cracked with the weight of despair. But there was no time to grieve, no time to hold her sister’s lifeless form or curse the heavens for what had been stolen from her. The worm thrashed, each movement a reminder that the monster had to fall, that vengeance was all she could offer Gem now.

She turned, her vision swimming red. “You’ll pay for her! You’ll pay for all of them!” she snarled, her voice raw and broken. Her claws dug into the ice as she charged again, leaping onto the worm’s hide with reckless abandon. She sought its weakest points—the bleeding cracks Gem had helped create—and tore into them with every ounce of strength she had left, ignoring the tremors in her legs and the ache in her chest. She clawed deep, trying to lodge herself deep enough to bite and rend a hole through the whole beast.


""

Éldi's fangs latched hold of the worm's poor excuse for flesh. It felt like he was biting onto solid ice rather than a living thing, the skin hard and rubbery. He held on for as long as he could but as the worm attacked and thrashed Éldi was thrown violently into the wall. He gasped as the air was pushed from his lungs, his vision spinning and blackening as he slumped to the ground.

He blacked out for a second, coming to shortly after and stumbling up to his feet. His whole body ached, his breath coming in gasps. Around him the cracking of ice echoed with the mix of yelling and screaming. There was blood everywhere and Éldi struggled to get his senses back on track. The worm… right, he needed to destroy that fucking thing. He dug his claws into the ice, shoulders rolling forward as his neck scrunched back. He kicked off hard, charging for the worm. His raven swooped down once more, talons outstretched as it tried to grab one of the petals and pull, distracting the beast as Éldi moved for its throat once more. He sought to aim where he had attacked before, fangs looking to land beneath the right lower petal. His forearms stretched out as he sought to dig the blades of his bracers in and down to better anchor himself at his target.

The search for his mother had brought him to a place full of death and devastation. The thrashing of something massive and the sounds of splitting ice drew him closer to the danger, and the scent of blood only had him hurrying to investigate. Bodies, those injured, wolves of different packs and allegiances were gathered. Alexander’s ears flicked back against his skull, lips peeling back over his saber fangs. The beast was injured, probably dying, but how could he walk away knowing that it still lived and could take more lives? He wasn’t perfect, but Alex did want to help these wolves before more lives were lost.

A snarl ripped from his throat as he surged forth. Gathering his strength, he attempted to leap for one of the wounds on the worm and snap his teeth down into it. His hope was to use his fangs to worsen the wound and spill more of its innards out onto the earth. He lost all sense of self preservation, focused only on his attack and aiding those who were already fighting.

"Speech," 'Thought.'

Over and over she slammed the edges of her spiked goggles into the worm's fleshy segments. Cracks in its iron ice hide were finally appearing, and the further she dug with the sharp metal tines of her goggles, the more some strange viscous liquid oozed over the lenses and further obscured her vision. Behind her, Hanako reached with a futile paw towards her daughter, suspended in motion forever. Makara's sides heaved, streaked with Hana's blood and the worm's viscera. It thrashed against the ground like a drum, creating a constant rhythm that she focused on as the ice rocked beneath her paws and she heard the distant sound of the icicles rustling against each other above, each point sharp and set to kill any wolf unfortunate enough to be caught in their trajectory should they fall. All of it was distant and meaningless. If she had use of her legs, she'd be scrabbling and pulling out whatever entrails she could, but all she could do was gouge deeper, deeper with her goggles and pull and twist and gnash with her teeth. It had to end - and not just end, it had to be eviscerated.

Speech

Bodies piling up around her. Hazel watches as the girl she'd tried to body block for goes down-- a child. Fuck. Fuck. Hanako too, goes down. Her stomach churns, the beast forcing her to come alive in ways that she'd tried so hard to silence. Every part of the girl is trembling with the effort, but she doesn't fucking care anymore. There are few parts of Hazel left.

Let it be mad. Let the rage flow through it. Relentless in nature, Hazel doesn't let up. She can't let up, not now. Not anymore. Teeth sinking into the beast, ripping and scraping and doing everything she can. For as much damage as she can deal, she stays close. There's no use in harrying, all of her prior training thrown summarily out the window. She doesn't need it anymore. All Hazel needs to do is kill the fucker. Slipping on the bloody, sticky ground, and allowing herself to come unglued yet again.

Hazel, The General

table coding by bunni ♥

The worm’s roars of anguish were music to his ears, each pained cry a sign they were dealing damage to the monstrosity. But any victory Artorias had begun to feel was short lived when he heard the wailing cries behind him. Pulling his sword from the worm’s lacerated carapace, his eyes fell upon a gristly sight. A yearling cradling another, clearly dead, their similar fur leading Art to believe they were siblings. Further off, Hanako lay still and motionless, still reaching out to her child. His sister-in-law, dead. Ciaran still hadn’t gotten up yet. And more were panicking or despairing. The world drowned out in that moment. All he could hear was the pounding of blood in his ears, thumping with his heartbeat. This had to end now.

Turning his attention back to the worm, Artorias’ focus was steeled and lethal. His gaze caught a glimpse of the worm’s tendrils striking out at wolves and his enhanced senses caught the movement coming his way. He deftly sidestepped a lashing tendril, barely avoiding the strike. With a furious roar Artorias brought his sword around on the tendril before it could retract, slicing clean through the worm’s deadly appendage that had claimed lives. Around him he saw Kenway and the monochrome girl getting into the fight, reinvigorated and ready to kill. He had to keep them safe.

Realizing the worm’s thrashing was threatening to cave in the ice around them, Artorias had to find a way to immobilize the creature. With the other wolves attacking its body and his ravens trying to distract its head, Art focused on its legs. The multitude of tiny appendages beneath it were the next targets for his sword. Running down the length of the worm’s body, Artorias cleaved each leg he came past, swinging with all his might as many times as it took to sever the legs before moving to the next. If he could cripple its movements, the worm wouldn’t be able to keep throwing itself into the cavern walls and risk burying them all alive.

"Artorias Carpathius"

the city looks so pretty
do you want to burn it with me?

He should be scared- but he isn't. Bodies are falling around him- but he is unphased. Even as the wound under his chin leaks down his throat and into the fur on his chest, he is unwavered. This is nothing but fun for him, even as the others around him lost their life. Never once did it occur to him that he, too, could lose his life here today, however death was not something he feared and he wouldn't start today all because of some weird monster worm hungry for some wolf.

While the others were distracted by the lifeless bodies, Battery leapt towards the worm once again, seeking to sink fangs into any thing he could reach. A dangerous act, absolutely, as the ceiling above looked as if it would give away if just one more pound hung from it. Battery wasn't one to notice the details though, nor think too far ahead.

Speech ─ Think

─ by Skelle !

The icy ceiling continues to crack and the beast’s roars do little to drown out the impending doom that is slowly spreads above them. Wade ignores the spiderweb work that is quickly growing into fissures because his only focus is to deal damage to the worm so that he can safely walk away from this when all is said and done. Nearby, a yearling attacks, the ice shard she wields biting deeply into the flesh of the undulating worm and the beast’s reaction is fast and deadly.

That same makeshift weapon she had buried so deeply into the viscous flesh is sent hurtling back at the girl, spearing her neck and killing her quickly with a sickening crunch. A wail fills the air from another yearling and Wade’s ears pin back, a growl rolling from his maw as his anger toward this raging worm increases. ‘Don’t lose yourself Wade.’ Sly warns him but the world is already shifting, reddening at the edges as the room elongates and shifts.

The playfulness that had been on features shifts as a stony mask suddenly slips into place while Sly and Loki try to shout to him but Wade can no longer hear them. In fact, Wade is no longer there. In his place an ice-cold killer now resides and his observant eyes quickly assess the damage that has been done to the upside-down worm. Without a sound, he gathers the same icicle he had used to spear the worm and lines up his attack, rushing up the makeshift ramp of debris to leap toward the worm once more.

This time, he aims to slam his weapon into one of the larger wounds and leave it buried the beast’s body while he quietly drops back to the ground to find another weapon to use.


"Wade Preator" 'Thinking'| 'Sly' | 'Loki'

The worm continues to thrash, the icy cave walls shuddering under its rage. Every moment causes more cracks to splinter out, the cave's ceiling beginning to sag heavily under the pressure of the worm's weight.

Barghest springs forward, successfully worsening the wounds made by Gem; in the worm's frenzy it manages to fling the attacker away from it. Barghest lands hard on her back right ankle, sharp pain flooding her, indicating broken bones.

More wolves attack.. Eldi, Alexander, Makara, Hazel, Artorias, Battery, and Wade- all their attacks land solidly on the monstrous thing, worsening the wounds that continually ooze and sputter. The fluid steams in the cave's icy air, the smell putrid as it continues to pour out of it, from each and every puncture.

A shard of ice goes falling from above, slicing through the right side of Hazel's cheek and leaving a wound that will scar. Blood dribbles out, joining the sticky fluid that coats the icy ground.

Each attack seems to drain more of its strength. From where it hangs it tries to lash out, though its body sags lower and lower. It makes one final effort to lunge at whoever it can, petals flared wide, but suddenly it gives a final series of convulsions before its massive head goes hurdling down. Its length isn't fully revealed, still hanging upside-down from above. It lets out a gurgling cry as it finally grows still and silent- the only sound that can be heard is the slick sound of liquid, still oozing out of it.

(Battery has received an item, Creepy Contact Lens; Makara has received an item, Snake Oil, they have been added to your respective OOC accounts!)

The world blurred into irrelevance; there was only the monster, the blood on the ice, and the chill she felt in her heart.

The worm writhed beneath her assault, and every motion only served to feel like a mockery. Barghest was beyond reason. She tore at the cracks in its armored flesh with the desperation of someone who had nothing left to lose.

Every breath was a struggle in the frigid air, a battle between her body's limit and the demand of blood by her rage. Blood, her own and the worm's sickly clear fluids, slicked her fur and pooled within her maw as the beast convulsed, thrashing violently in its death throes. Barghest clung to its massive form, her teeth sinking into the wounds with savagery and pulling away more and more of it’s insides.

And then it flung her away, easily throwing her to the ground in such a way that she’d nearly caught herself and thrust back into the fray—only she landed wrong. Her rear ankle made an audible snapping noise, her weight crumbling harshly as her jaw thudded against the ground. Stinging, cutting, her ankle felt equally on fire and cold as ice. Thankfully her fall muffled the sound of her pained cry, her ears folding back as she took a register of the pain and exhaustion in her body.

The silence that followed was deafening. Was it over? Her bright gaze shifted from the limp and dangling sight of the worm, seemingly defeated—to the crumpled form of her sister.

Gem.

Barghest stumbled toward her, her legs trembling, her breath hitching with every step. Her teeth clenched, refusing to cry out from the pain of her foot. She fell to her knees beside her sister, her paws trembling as she reached out to touch her, to confirm what her heart already knew. Gem’s fur was still warm, her expression eerily peaceful, as though she were merely asleep. But the blood that had once surged through her veins now painted the ice in a damning display of crimson. The ice shard that had truly taken her life protruding from her jugular like a sick final victory from the beast. The ache in her chest dwarfed the pain in her ankle. She wanted to curl up beside her sister, to wail and scream and demand the gods undo what had been done, but others were watching. And Barghest didn't have the luxury of falling apart, she still had to make it home. Take Gem home.

“I’m sorry,” Barghest whispered, her voice cracking as tears blurred her vision. She fought down a lump in her throat, brows knitting together as she muttered her apologies. “I’m so sorry, Gem.” What was she going to tell her mother? How could she, knowing it would break her heart?

She lowered her head to Gem’s shoulder, the weight of grief crashing over her in full in this cold cavern, and even colder world.


""