Sticking to the North after his violent encounter in the East, his wounds had started to heal, but slowly. Some ooze spilled from the healing wounds, but it didn't particularly bother him anymore. He had more or less accepted the sickness, and he had little knowledge of herbs to try and find a cure. Since his sister had disappeared, he had nobody to turn to for advice nor a potential cure. Sometimes he felt like he should've stayed on the medicinal path, but...that was nowhere near his forte, no. He was a creature of violence now, driven by the madness and his ancestral demon. Through blue ooze pooled eyes, he tried to figure out how he'd gotten into this eternal darkness...his shoulders felt sore, so he was sure at some point he had crawled through an entrance or something somewhere, but he'd been lost in his thoughts and these days, and since he became sick, confusion had made things worse. It was almost as if he lived in a dream the past season, but he didn't seem to care much where he was going these days. He was still alive. Still breathing. He would not die until his goal was complete and his demons satisfied... "Speech"

He had made his way out of that icky mushy forest and swiftly set forth away from it, not wanting to return to it any time soon for any reason. His paws brought him along the base of the mountain, following its curvature as he ventured forth, and eventually he found himself at some sort of cave entrance. With a quick sniff check to make sure there were not any bears or large predators waiting inside, Laith slipped his way in, curious as to what was inside. It elongated into a tunnel, and he continued on, eyes squinting as it became darker and darker the deeper with he went. At some point he came across a single small entrance, large enough that he only had to crawl on his belly to squeeze through, but as he dropped to his elbows and began to crawl forward, he found that the level of light dropped to absolutely nothing, and he was left in complete darkness. The thought to back out and leave definitely crossed his mind once... and also twice, but he had come this far and so was determined to at least check it out. He managed to squeeze his way through until he no longer felt pressure around his sides, and slowly rose to his full height. There was pitch blackness all around, but Laith felt confident enough to take multiple strides forward, and promptly walked face first right into something furry, yet also kind of... sticky? "What the fuck?" He yelped out, jumping backwards to get away from whatever the hell that was. He brought up a front paw to try and swipe away the oozy liquid that had gotten onto his cheek, letting out a noise of disgust as it just made his paw all sticky too. "What is this shit?" Laith mumbled grouchily to himself, spitting out a gob of saliva to make sure he did not swallow any of it. "Who's there?" He called out, taking another step backwards, ready to turn tail and escape through the small opening if it was something that wanted to try and eat him.

The darkness consumed him here more than it did anywhere else. Outside, there was at least the light of the moon and the auroras and the glowing mushrooms, crystals, and fireflies. Down here though, it didn't seem like any of that dared touch this place. The only source of light was that from the ooze that slipped from him, but even that was barely enough to make a dent in the darkness down here. He thought he was alone down here, that is, until something bumped into him. He had not heard the scrapes nor footsteps of the offender, and it wasn't until he heard someone that his lips drew up in a snarl and he whirled on them. The stranger, no doubt, had gotten some of the crimson males ooze on him, and Ignis briefly wondered if he would become infected from touching him. "Who's there?" the voice rang in the darkness, though it did not echo. Odd... "Ignis, the crimson demon." He growled softly, tail lashing between his hocks as he strained his eyes in an effort to see who it was he was speaking to. He shifted enough so that his bear furred cloak slid of his frame, exposing some more of the ooze so that it glowed enough to allow him to at least get a glimpse of the stranger. "That shit is the ooze I seem to have contracted...many of us are sick, you see...so I came here for solitude, though it seems even I cannot escape...who are you?" He questioned, his growl dying down slightly though he remained in place. "Speak"

A voice spoke back to him, and a small bit of relief washed through his body at the fact that at least it was not some type of creature wanting to eat him for dinner. Though he suspected there may be some wolves who would entertain the idea of eating a fellow wolf, particularly if they liked to live in what seemed to be eternal darkness. He would not put it past the idea of there being some pretty fucked up and cannibalistic wolves out there in the world He raised an eyebrow, a soft scoff escaping his maw at the offered name and title the other wolf gave him. "So is that like some kinda self-given title ya got there or... did your family just not like you or something?" Laith had no time for fancy titles, feeling that wolves who had them were simply trying to show off to everyone at how nice or scary or mystical they were. It was nothing but a farce in his opinion, a way to persuade others to give a damn about them. The wolf shifted before him, and with it was just the slightest amount of light that, after a couple rapid blinks to adjust his eyes, exposed the form of Ignis. At a closer inspection it seemed the ooze itself was giving off the glow, which could only mean bad things. "Aw fuck," he muttered to himself at the knowledge that the ooze was a symptom of some type of sickness, now feeling perturbed as he had gotten some of it on his face. Surely if it was contagious that meant he was sick now, too. "Well just... stay over there, then. I don't wanna get sick with whatever you have." He backed up until his rump was pressed against the top of the entrance he had crawled through, wanting to put some distance between himself and the infected wolf. "The name's Laith," he eventually said, squinting slightly to try and figure out where the head of Ignis was. "Ain't got no fancy title to go with it like you do though." He just could not help himself from adding in the extra comment to poke fun at the wolf, it was too good of an opportuntity to pass up.

He listened as the stranger seemed to mock him. While his former self would have carried on with a joke, Ignis was definitely in no joking mood lately. It was also safe to say the sickness didn't help, and neither did the transformation that had been coming with it. He slowly bared his teeth, ooze dripping from his teeth as his gaze narrowed and zeroed in on the man he learned was Laith. The much smaller male was backed up against the wall, afraid of touching the crimson wolf for fear of getting sick. Unfortunately for Laith, he had managed rather quickly to trigger his violent side. Though these days, it didn't seem to take much. "It's a shame that you stumbled in here, Laith. You should've kept going when you had the chance!"

He snarled, and without hesitation, Ignis launched at the smaller male. He sought to close the short gap between them, seeking to slam his chest and full weight into Laith to pin the male between him and the wall behind him. Jaws parted wide, head snapping in towards the unfortunate soul as he sought to grab the top left side of Laith's head and hopefully, gain a grip and immobilize him.

Ignis vs Laith for Minor Maim (Shredding of left ear)
Round: 1/?
Age: Over 1yr
Size: Dire wolf
Build: Heavy
Offensive Battle Accessory: Skull helmet
Defensive Battle Accessory: Black bear cape
Companion 1: Palm cockatoo, Male - Flying
Companion 2: Wolverine, Male - Battle
Skills: Master Fighter & Advanced Hunter
Specialty: Slave Master

"Speech"

As per usual it seemed like he had taken things just a tad too far and pissed off the other wolf. If the stranger hadn't been infected with the weird oozy shit then he wouldn't have minded as much, but right in that moment he was very much afraid of catching it and getting sick himself. Laith had barely a moment before he felt himself being squished up against the wall and Ignis, and he felt the air being squeezed out of his lungs from the sudden force. It was almost as if he was being lifted up into the air, and he scrabbled with his hind paws to find purchase on the ground, even if he still couldn't see fucking anything in the darkness. Pain blossomed on the left side of his head, and a sharp squeal left him as it radiated all throughout his left ear. That was likely to leave a mark if he wasn't able to get away from the snapping jaws that were apparently right in his face. Now angry at being shoved up against a wall and bitten, even though he had simply spoken some words, Laith snarled and snapped his own teeth at where he thought Ignis' face was, hoping to grab the other wolf's muzzle in his mouth to stop the ooze-covered beast from biting him again. At the same time he wildly flailed with his body and front legs, hoping to free himself from between the wall and the wolf, so he could try and slip away into the darkness. Laith vs Ignis for Minor Maim (muzzle scarring on left side) Round 1/2 Age: Over 1 year Size: Medium Build: Light Skills: Novice Hunter & Novice Fighter

He'd succeeded in pinning the smaller male up against the wall and he relished in the satisfaction as Laith scrabbled to get out of the predicament he was in His teeth ripped into flesh, his opponent's blood resting on his tongue and it only served to fuel the crimson wolf further. The pitch-black darkness of the cave made it difficult to see, but as Ignis moved, the ooze splattered every which way and illuminated bits and pieces of his surroundings, and his opponent.

As Laith flailed to push Ignis off, Ignis felt teeth against his muzzle and so he ripped away from Laith in an effort to get away from the snapping jaws, but not before Laith's teeth managed to leave light lacerations there. He reared up on hind legs then, seeking to use his greater height and weight against Laith as he sought to come crashing down, forelegs sought to wrap on either side of the male's neck in a hug, and he aimed to press down on Laith with his weight while his head snaked forward, teeth seeking Laith's scruff. His goal was to throw the man to the ground and pin him there. To suffocate him in the darkness with his bulk.

Ignis vs Laith for Minor maim (shredding of left ear)
Round: 2/2
Age: over 1yr
Size: Dire wolf
Build: Heavy
Offensive Battle Accessory: Skull helmet
Defensive Battle Accessory: Black bear cape
Companion 1: Palm cockatoo, Male - Flying
Companion 2: Wolverine, Male - Battle
Skills: Master Fighter & Advanced Hunter
Specialty: Slave Master

"Speech"

He could feel the sticky ooze splattering up on his body and face, and closed his eyes shut. hey weren't any fucking use in this darkness anyway, and he didn't want to risk going blind or something. He had no idea what the ooze would do to him. But it seemed his wriggling worked, or perhaps it had been his teeth finding purchase on the other wolfs' muzzle, as he suddenly felt himself falling back to the ground, and landed roughly on all fours, staggering slightly to one side. Instead of taking the opportunity to settle himself and prepare an attack, Laith used a few precious moments to wipe his face on the inside of one of his legs to clean up any of the ooze so he could see properly, and when he lifted his head it was to the darkened sight of the other wolf rearing up above him. His skittered backwards trying to scooch out of the way, wanting to reverse back through the small entrance he had initially crawled through and get away from this pissed of oozy wolf. His rear caught on the side of the entrance, and in the time it took for him to correct his position the other wolf was landing down atop him with a heavy force, pushing his shoulders and head down onto the ground. Laith snapped sideways with his jaws, wanting to grasp at the sensitive flesh where Ignis' front left leg met his body, while at the same time still trying to crawl backwards and out of the strange dark hole. He was still hoping to manage to squeeze his way out and make a mad dash before the wolf could catch up, but he was definitely still at risk of having his front half be squished and pinned on the ground, leaving him at the mercy of whatever his opponent wanted to do to him. Laith vs Ignis for Minor Maim (muzzle scarring on left side) Round 2/2 Age: Over 1 year Size: Medium Build: Light Skills: Novice Hunter & Novice Fighter

And the winner is...

Ignis

Ignis' maim was successful. Laith must give up by submitting, fleeing or passing out. Totals: Laith: Attack Roll: 8 Defense Roll: 30 Agility Roll: 82 Perception Roll: 72 Total: 192 Attack[8] + 10% Bonus[0.80]: 8.80 Defense[30] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 30.00 Agility[82] + 5% Bonus[4.10]: 86.10 Perception[72] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 72.00 Total[196.90] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 196.90 Ignis: Attack Roll: 97 Defense Roll: 27 Agility Roll: 50 Perception Roll: 60 Total: 234 Attack[97] + 45% Bonus[43.65]: 140.65 Defense[27] + 15% Bonus[4.05]: 31.05 Agility[50] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 50.00 Perception[60] + 10% Bonus[6.00]: 66.00 Total[287.70] + 25% Bonus[71.93]: 359.63