Amia Tulip

It had happened so quickly, had attacked her body like venom in the blood stream. Her blood felt like it was burning in her veins, her vision was blurred and head pounded. She was nowhere near the den when it hit her. Though not too far away it suddenly felt like the den was worlds away from her. Her steps faltered, her breathing labored. What was wrong with her? Her body swayed from side to side violently till it knocked her off her paws. She crashed to the ground, eyes closing. Everything hurt and panic set in. Did something infact bite her? Was she poisoned? Was she going to die? She fought to open her eyes only to see a blood red world. She took a sharp intake of air before she screamed. Body tried to pull backwards as if trying to get away from what she saw. Head shook from side to side. She screamed for so long but wasn't sure if it made any noise. She grew tired and laid on her side panting. She felt on fire, the sunlight too bright, the cold breeze seemed to only intensify the fire laid upon her body. Her thoughts became blurred, not making sense. She thought she heard voices only to realize it was the dead leaves and grass stirring by her ears. She curled up into a ball whimpering. She felt so alone, so scared. She didn't know why or how but she was on her paws. Eyes crying blood and body shivering with fever. Jaws gaped open with tongue rolled out as if she had been running. The world lurched one way then the other as she made slow steps across the plains. She had no idea where she was going or even doing. A thought of home was the only thing to enter her mind from time to time. She crashed to the ground many times, struggling to get up. She felt weighted down by some sticky substance. Again she was up till she crashed once more in the pack meeting place. She rolled onto her side screaming again but her voice didn't reach her ears. She couldn't really hear anything now, couldn't focus. She just knew her body felt like it was on fire, it hurt so much, the pain unbearable. Her legs thrashed violently, flanks twitching and breathing labored. What was happening?

Laufey's approach to handling the epidemic had thus far been very hands off: he saw a sick wolf and ran in the opposite direction as fast as his legs could carry him. The idea that he could become infected somehow and suffer the same fate as the others drove him to a higher understanding of himself: he was beyond selfish. This revelation didn't bother him too much; every time a twinge of guilt hit him the boy pictured himself seizing on the ground with blood pouring from his eyes and diarrhea running down both legs. The image quickly cured him of his regret. Now more than ever, the boy clung to Valhalla's borders. At least here he knew what to expect. There was an order to the chaos that he could wrap his mind around, an order he found soothing. Who knew what kind of state the world beyond Valhalla was in. Laufey, for one, had no intention of finding out. The boy had been holed up in hidden den for days now as he counted on isolation to keep him safe. Only every once in awhile did he venture out when the most basic needs grew too urgent to ignore. When he did, Laufey was careful to remain unseen. Of course, if anyone was really looking for him all they had to do was follow his scent trail, but that was a risk he didn't know how to fix so instead he stayed awake worrying about it. This very morning the boy had been startled awake by a nightmare that ended with a plague-carrier reaching out to touch him as he stood trapped against the back wall of his den. Needless to say, he'd spend the better part of the day digging an emergency exit. For some time now the boy had listened to the screams of another. Of course the ill cried out, but usually by now someone had come along and helped them. This screamer had gone on for an impossibly long time. Long enough that his (now) callous heart was beginning to soften. There was a crack in his resolve. As he listened to the wolf's fading cries, guilt began to gnaw at him. This time now amount of squirting blood and uncontrollable bowel movements could drive the feeling away. The infected wolf had suffered for far too long and a battle began to rage inside the boy. He absolutely did not want to help and risk falling ill...but he wasn't sure he could bear her torment any longer. After much turmoil, Laufey caved and set out looking for the screamer. He moved with the slinking gait of a wanted man; perhaps taking the assumed identity too seriously by moving from shadow to shadow. It wasn't long before he picked up Amia's trail. She moved recklessly, blazing a clear path of destruction. He didn't even have to use his nose to follow her. Instead his eyes picked out each crushed plant, each patch of tore up dirt, and his feet moved him with much trepidation in her direction. The boy heard her long before he saw her and when at last he laid eyes on her, the scene was exactly what his mind's eye had pieced together. She lay writhing on the ground, the picture of sickness. It was only once he could see her that the boy realized there was one massive flaw to his plan: he had no idea how to help. Approaching slowly, he decided to try being soothing. As far as he knew, no cure had been found yet so there was no point in running around madly looking for herbs or shoving plants down her throat. "Hey? Lady?" He stopped a few feet away from her. Becoming the picture of uncertainty, Laufey drew his right paw up to his chest. "Is there anything I can um, do for you?" It occurred to him then that he might be gazing into the face of a soon-to-be corpse. The thought chilled him. "Lady? You're going to be okay." "Speech"

He was running. The news of the plague had spread throughout the pack like a wildfire, and so far he knew that several Valhallands were already ill. The first being Jinxx Black, one of Erani's recently adopted. The male had bitten Sephiroth, and he hoped dearly that the Beta would be okay. His cousin Surreal was also ill, and he worried immensely for her. It was as he left her side to find some herbs that might soothe some pain, the screaming would commence. He flinched slightly, eyes darting about as he tried to locate the agonized calls. Once pinpointed, he would lumber in that direction as fast as his paws would carry him. Heart hammered in his chest, sure he was scared...but he would not abandon someone and leave them to the grasp of the sickness sweeping the lands. The stench of sickness wafted towards him like spilled sewage upon the streets. Paws crunching upon already broken vegetation, and so he would slow his pace for only a moment to try and catch a scent of whoever had made this path. Though it seemed to hold not just one scent, but two. The other was unfamiliar to him, so he would hasten his pace once more as he drew closer to the crying and the screaming. It was ear piercing, and could only gape in horror as Amia finally came into view, writhing as she bled. Another was with her, seemingly trying to help though also seemed too young to know anything. Caerul didn't know much, but he had learned some basics from Cael and Erani. He approached, forest green gaze scanning over Amia for other signs of injury other then what was already going on, but none were present. "Don't get too close boy!" He would warn the child, not wanting him to contract the illness if it were contagious. He stopped by Amia's side, looking her over as he spoke. "Amia! Amia it is I, Caerul! Try and relax Amia, I will help you." He would urge her to try and relax, though he figured it would be to no avail. Jinxx had gotten overly aggressive, and he was not one to get aggressive. Glancing towards the boy, he would look him over for signs of illness as well though seemed to be fine. "I am Caerul, Digamma Primary of Valhalla. I need you to get a few things for me. Elderberry is a must, also Jewel weed and lavender to calm and sedate her. She needs to be kept from hurting herself. Can you go and fetch those from Erani's den while I look after her? It's not far from here, follow my scent trail and the herbs will be in the back of her den." Speech Thought Others