how lucky am I, that I'm living through the end of times?
Raure
Staying in the den was out of the question. At some point, he'd gotten sick, and he couldn't even force himself into the confines of the den that he shared with Pslam. Balthier and Azzurra were gone, and he didn't know where. Just like their father. Vanished in the dead of night, with some supplies. Leaving an empty room behind for the last two of the family to find and mourn. Beyond the thicket, these cliffs dropped off onto an icy sea. The roiling waters reflected the light of the ever full moon, and made it easier for the young Destruction to get some rest. He was still unable to get more than an hour or two of rest at a time, and his sleep was often fitful, plagued by terrible nightmares. His waking moments weren't much better, and his patrols were painfully slow as he found himself inspecting every nook and cranny for danger along the borders.
It wouldn't be surprising if the Sequoia kicked him out, he'd been lagging behind in his duties and hardly fit to engage in anything resembling diplomacy. Would Psalm abandon him too? Everyone else seemed keen to get as far away from him as they could, so it seemed reasonable that she would run off next. Leave him in an empty, too large den. Haunted by the spectres conjured by his waking mind and the notions of what could have been. Curling up loosely near the edge of the cliff, the burly yearling laid his head on his outstretched forelimb and stared out at the waves that rushed towards the cliffs. The tears that flowed down his cheeks did so in bright rivulets of magenta, staining the pallid fur of his face and betraying his moment of weakness.
As the boy blindly stumbled around, crystals protruding from not one anymore, but both of his eyes. Even some small ones formed within his ears, deafening him only somewhat. His nostrils were filled with the ooze that drained from behind each of the crystals and his body was sore with the bruises and cuts he'd acquired from wandering around. There was one spot though that hurt particularly bad, on the side of his maw. A new scar at formed there, twisting his lip up some and baring the fang there. If only he could see it, but for now he only felt different.
He wasn't even aware others were around him anymore when he walked. He accepted what would come of him. Either his head would hit a tree, his paws would trip over a rock, or he'd stumble into some water or mud. Each step was a gamble, but he hardly cared anymore. Whatever kept him moving wasn't in his control anymore, though he noticed the change in temperature as he climbed along the cliffs. The breeze here was stronger, and the air was cooling as his altitude rose... but he had no clue he was nearing a deadly fall.
"Speech."
It was a very lucky moment indeed that he hadn't been able to fall asleep, though the crashing waves were beginning to lull him into a short lived calmness. Dark auds caught the sound of approaching pawsteps, very small ones at that. There was a child out here? Alone? Instantly the giant was on his feet, mercurial optics scanning the slope in search of the child he could hear approaching. Sure enough, there was a dark furred child staggering up the slopes towards the cliff. Panic pushed his heart into his throat, and the pale Destruction kicked off at a gallop towards the little one. The closer he drew, he realized the child was plagued with the same afflictions that had spread across the lands, though his case was severe. Both eyes had been replaced with protruding spires of translucent, glowing stone. He skidded to a halt just shy of bowling the kid over, and hesitated. Would it be better to leave him alone? Infected, he's infected. You'll become like him! a warbling voice cried in his head, one that was not his own. It had a point, though, didn't it? Trying to corral the child away from the precipice might have dire consequences, and he could become even sicker himself. So far he'd only been oozing. Pale jowls opened and then shut with a click, debating the merits of dumping the child over the cliffs....
No! What was he thinking? This was still just a little kid, he didn't mean to get sick like this. Perhaps he could save the boy, and keep him safe. Protect him. Who left a little child, blinded by a crystalline infection, all alone in the dead of this everlasting night? "Stop, the cliffs are right there. Come towards the sound of my voice." he rumbled, deep vocals hoarse with disuse and that constant soreness from swallowing down ooze as it dripped down his throat from his sinuses. "What are you doing wandering around, you could get yourself killed!" he snapped, already casting his gaze about in search of some harried adults who might be running up the slopes after their little one. He didn't see anyone.. or did he? There was a quick flash of movement in the corner of his eye, a dark form that was there and then gone in a second. Auds pressed against his skull, he could feel the beginnings of a snarl twisting his features.
"I'm lost, I don't know where I am, and I can't see." He whined as he wandered, looking for the voice that was talking to him. He sure hoped it was real.
"Speech."
The boy stopped quickly, and turned towards him. Ah fuck, his face was more of a mess than he'd originally noticed. An old wound had scarred over along his lip, leaving a tear in the young flesh that showed one of his little fangs. He dropped his hefty skull between his burly shoulders, examining the crystal encrusted face of the boy without any awareness of personal space. He was sick, his sanity was teetering dangerously close to being lost entirely, and there was a lost pup in front of him. It was not a recipe for sound decision making, at all. When the boy mentioned being lost, the frown he didn't realize he was wearing only deepened. There was a soft glow peeking through the downy fur of his inner ears, and if he turned his head just right he could see the budding tips of small crystals peeking through the crust around the edges of his ear canals. This boy was very sick, and there were no parents here. Who could leave a child like that?
"Where are your parents? We can look for them.." his attention was quickly diverted from planning. There was something circling them. A dark shape, he couldn't even pin down exactly what it was. Every time he looked it was gone, but he heard a quiet cackling from somewhere behind him. Hackles bristling, the pale brute bared his fangs warily in preparation for whatever might beset him. "It's not safe here." he grunted under his breath, joints loosening as he centred into a defensive posture and tucked his tail. Magenta fluid oozed more vigorously from his ears as he heard the menacing spectral laughter again, but he still couldn't find the source. "I'm going to take you away from here, we need to leave." he said to the child, taking a heavy step closer in preparation to heft him in his jaws and take off at a dead sprint for the borders of Abaven..
"Speech."