Location: Hallucination Caves

Duchess had taken Artorias through the sugar caverns behind the Lazuli Falls, just passing through but allowing him to stop if he wanted to. Her entire expression and demeanor had changed once she left his grasp, she was much quieter and her emotions flattened out now that they were separated and she felt like they wouldn't be connected again. It did frustrate her, but she tried to let it slide for what the brute had given her.

They exited the caverns to the south, coming across the entrances into a deeper cave that she had never been to before. She turned to look behind at Artorias to see if he was still following after her, but she was less intent on keeping track of him now. She went to move down into the entrance of the dark cavern without any hesitation, she supposed she didn't mind if he had left her now.

"Duchess"
F2U base by Snowylaika

Perhaps it would have been the better decision to leave Duchess after the intense moment they'd shared back in the hidden grotto behind the falls, but Artorias couldn't bring himself to just up and abandon her. He didn't know why; he certainly didn't owe any allegiances or loyalty to the petite purple seductress. But something about her kept him from just turning tail and leaving. Maybe it was his incessant need to care and protect, to make sure she was okay. Maybe it was something far more primal and biological that he was trying to ignore that kept him following after her, forcing his eyes to remain on the ground in front of his paws, lest he look up at the way her hips swayed and sashayed as she walked. Whatever it was, the young dire brute followed his guide out of the waterfall caves and further out west.

He didn't say anything to her for a while, not entirely sure what he could possibly say when he still had the taste of her lingering in his mouth. Eventually, she led him towards the mouth of a large cave. Artorias had never been to this part of Auster before, far more south than he'd ventured, and he knew nothing of the cave system she ducked into. Raising a curious brow above fire opal eyes, the giant of a wolf followed the galactic nymph in, almost entranced as he walked behind her. The cave itself was mostly just dark and otherwise unassuming to look at, but it did have a strange musky smell to the air the further down they went. Duchess glanced back at him briefly, then hurried forward deeper into the caves.

"Duchess," Artorias called out to his companion, still not entirely sure what he even wanted to say. Maybe it was to apologize—but what did he have to be sorry for? Maybe it was to make sure she was okay, even though she was clearly put off. Whatever he thought to say, it was suddenly gone from his mind. Every thought was. Artorias blinked and furrowed his brow, wrinkling his nose against that musty smell again while he followed after her, seeking those duo-toned eyes that had smoldered for him only moments before. Something didn't feel quite right about this place, but he couldn't put his paw on it just yet.

"Artorias Carpathius"

The silence was not what made her feel that tension between them, it was what she wanted more of the she didn't receive. Was she not good enough for him? He had said she was beautiful, she had settled for only his lips but it made her feel like what he told her was a lie. She couldn't linger on it, she just put her paws in front of her and left him with the emotions she showed others. Not the content, lustful ones he found in the back of Lazuli Falls.

They moved farther down into the cavern, Artorias had called her name but it seemed by that time they were too far into the cavern without knowing of the properties that it possessed. When she heard her name from his lips, she didn't go to turn fully towards him but instead only her cheek moved towards him. But he wasn't there anymore. Duchess was wholly out of her mind as she almost descended into another realm. Instead of Artorias' voice, she heard Draco's, Indigo's, Emersyn's. Inside her mind she was spinning, she felt almost like she was under water.

And then just like that she was back again. it felt like all this time had passed from when he said her name, but actually it had only been a few seconds. She wobbled under her footing as her one paw found the surface of the stone under her. "Artorias?" In a near voice of worry she called out like she was lost, but he was standing just behind her.

"Duchess"
F2U base by Snowylaika

Black eyelids slid down over dilating amber eyes, brow furrowed while the dire brute shook his head to try to clear the haze that had inexplicably come over it. Artorias felt like he was walking in a dream; not quite grounded in reality, but not quite fully immersed in fantasy either. Duchess turned her cheek toward him, but then when he blinked, she wasn't there anymore. He was alone in the cave. Artorias spun around in a hurry, looking all over for the fae. She had just been here a moment ago. Had he walked by her and not even realized it?! No, that didn't make any sense. He turned around again, and there she was. Right where she hadn't been. No, wait... she'd always been there. Hadn't she? What the fuck was going on? Duchess called his name with a touch of worry, looking to him like he'd vanished before her eyes. Was this real? Or was he imagining all of this too?

"I'm right here, Duchess!" he called back, hurrying to close the distance between them. Physical touch would prove she was real and not some phantom of his mind. But before he could reach her, she was gone again, and in her place was Briar, then Bowen when he blinked again. Artorias stared in bewilderment, still hearing his name echoing around the cave in Duchess' voice. But Duchess wasn't here. This was Bowen. Oh, wait, no, never mind, he blinked and there was Duchess again. "Are you all right? Are you feeling anything... strange?" he asked when he finally came up to her, his steps wobbling as he walked.

Every time he blinked, the wolf in front of him changed. Sometimes it was Duchess, sometimes Briar, sometimes Bowen. Each time made the tension in his belly clench from the unrelieved arousal he'd received back in the waterfall grotto. His head felt light and he felt an inexplicable euphoric high sensation, similar to when he'd gone on a salvia trip. Fuck, this place wasn't right. That musty smell was only getting worse the further into the caves they went, and he didn't know what would happen if they kept going forward. What would happen if they both lost control of their minds down here?

"Artorias Carpathius"

She didn't jump as Artorias responded to her, her frame turned towards him but her eyes stayed down at the surface floor and walls of the cavern or what she could see. It was almost a growing paranoia that Artorias would see in her if he wasn't envisioning things himself. She didn't move from around him, she wanted to keep him close to her. Shadows walked along the cave walls, Draco's humming, Noir too. She started to shake slightly maybe to the exposure of the hidden gasses but it was a lot more mental than that.

Still without looking to Artorias' face, as if she could hide the worry and paranoia in her own features she spoke quietly as if others were in here listening to them, "We should leave." It could have been an answer to him asking if she was alright. She didn't move from her place, only waited for him to lead the way though she didn't know he was having a strange, same and different experience. She didn't want to move forward without him. She knew Draco was dead, she knew Noir wasn't here, but she was still hesitant to move forward on her own. Her eyes lightly closed as she shivered gently, she wanted to get out of here.

"Duchess"
F2U base by Snowylaika

It took Duchess some time before she showed any sort of response to his words, and Artorias was beginning to grow worried for their state the longer they remained in the cave. He couldn't have known of Duchess' mental state, but he didn't need to in order to know they both needed to get the fuck out of there now. A sinister sort of whispering began to call out from deeper in the darkness of the caves, at first indistinct, then gradually transforming into the mocking, cynical tones of Oxx. Artorias turned to face the darkness, his heart racing in his chest when he swore he saw glowing slate eyes from the shadows. The sounds of his maniacal brother's laugher and lustful panting and groaning echoed in his ears while visuals of his assault played behind his eyes. "Compared to me, you are nothing." The voice bounced around the cave, seeming to come from all directions, inescapable, invasive. "Nothing... Nothing... You are nothing..."

At last, Duchess spoke, still not looking at him while she said they should leave. Artorias nodded without a sound and turned back the way they came, helping to usher Duchess back out of the cave. His paws fumbled about on the ground, but he didn't lose his footing. Not wanting to spend a second longer than they had to here, Artorias would go to slip his larger body beneath Duchess' to hoist her up over his back. It wasn't that he didn't think she was capable of walking out on her own, but that he knew they would make their escape faster this way. Artorias then hurried back up the sloping path towards the light of day, moving as quickly as he could without dislodging Duchess, and he didn't stop until he emerged back out into the fresh air and misting rain, gasping for breath to rid himself of the ethereal specters in his brain.

"Artorias Carpathius"

Artorias quickly responded to getting out of the cavern, lifting Duchess up carefully onto his back. She didn't struggle against him but she also wasn't completely present in this moment. Looking around the cavern it was dark, she couldn't pick out a direction or tunnels or anything inside other than the way out. Against his back she clung gently onto the fur along is neck and shoulders, and once they started moving her face found comfort laid down in the thicker fur of his scruff. Her body trembled slightly against him from the experience, but while she was here traced into his fur she was with Indigo instead. Feeling herself against him, the soft pillow of fur surrounding her face. Tears had fallen out over her cheeks and probably some on his shoulders. But she didn't say a word. Just wallowed in this moment with Indigo, missing the days where there wasn't this mass destruction of her emotions of physical loss. Craving his touch on her again but also finding it here. It was beyond the sexual pleasures that she could feel with any man, but she wasn't willing to let herself see how to begin mending what had happened between them. The light from the cloudy skies hit her face, causing her to push more into his pelt.

"Duchess"
F2U base by Snowylaika