Can I be a child again? ( Take me back to when laughter was endless, and my dreams were bigger than my fears. )
3-3-3 OC

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Speech Emotional Actions Thoughts

Mercury wasn't one to travel far north, he hated the cold and yet it was the only way to escape the terror going on in the south. Perhaps it was safer up here..The cold would slow it down, right? The sickness wouldn't, it COULDN'T spread that quickly? He hoped so..

He had been venturing, exploring, wanting to find somewhere to lay and sleep. Until he ventured too far, into a land poisoned by something he did not know. With a sniff of his nose, He was instantly coughing, what was wrong with the air? Why did it feel like he'd breathed in the smog like at the boot camp..Was he back? had it been here, in this snow covered area all along? Surely not..

With tedious steps further, closer to the cliffs edge, his eyes narrowing as the air grey heavy, the winds were shifting this vibrant snow around. Why was it vibrant? The more important question, why was it PURPLE? Purple of all colors, the harsh reminder of his mother. A snarl settled in his throat, but quickly it was snuffed out by harsh, painful wheezing.

This wasn't snow, but a biting, toxic dust that clawed at Mercury's throat with every ragged gasp. Each inhale felt like swallowing crushed glass, the microscopic particles abrading the tender lining of his windpipe, igniting a raw, searing pain that intensified with every desperate, wheezing breath. His ginger fur was already dusted with the insidious purple, and the world dissolved into a suffocating haze of purple.

With each wheezing breath, Mercury staggered forwards to the cliff. Peering down over the edge, his eyes focusing in on the water below. It seemed like down there wasn't too bad, it didn't look infected or well..Deadly at this far? What if he just..Stepped off, he'd feel so much better, no more suffocating! He'd be free, but also..He wasn't a great swimmer, that idea though was washed away by another fit of wheezing and coughs. He wanted to step off, rid himself of this world and perhaps, never see it again. He wanted to, so bad but this snow, it was making his legs weak, his mind foggy and his stomach to do flips, hurling a meal from just a few hours ago, back up into the snow.

Plague Effect: 「 Poison Snow - difficulty breathing, fatigue, and nausea 」

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It - he - emerged from the trees.

A twisted, wolf-shaped thing that looked less born than fished out of some godforsaken pit of rotting meat. Matted fur clung to his body like heavy black ropes, slick with the sheen of something unidentifiable and wet as the creature lurched through the lavender-tinted snow in a direct line heading toward only one thing:

You.

His eyes gleam with sick delight, a jagged smile curving up the sides of his mouth as twisted, yellowed teeth put themselves on display like the terrible visage of death itself. A rattling cough bubbles up from the back of his throat, but it sounds almost satisfying for the beast, like someone taking a long drag of a cigarette and savoring the taste of ash it left behind.

He moves not with the grace of a predator, but with the relentless, inexorable crawl of a disease made flesh, each step oozing murderous intent.

Suf krose, (So close) the monster rumbles, stopping only two meters away. Af yia nad ezjiaragemelk? (Do you need encouragement?)

Can I be a child again? ( Take me back to when laughter was endless, and my dreams were bigger than my fears. )
3-3-3 OC

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Speech Emotional Actions Thoughts

Mercury stared at the bile in the snow, his throat hurt worse, now because of the vomit lingering and the poisonous snow. His chest felt tight, tighter than it had ever felt before and he pleaded with whoever could hear to make it stop. For once, a war dog, built to hardly fear, was terrified of death itself and at the same time, not at all.

Only till the voice behind him spoke did he look, eyes narrowing at the...beast-like thing that stood just a distance away. His ears swiveled, narrowing a little and Mercury worked a growl into his chest, weak, pained and perhaps..a silent plea. Carefully, he stepped to turn to face the beast, but instead, his legs went numb and weak and folded underneath his body weight, ripping a sharp wheeze from his lungs as his chest slammed into the dirt below.

Every part of his body burned with pain that didn't want to go away, didn't stop or even settle for a moment. Breathing hurt, but the longer he was in this forsaken place, he had to breathe more to get oxygen into his lungs. It sucked, truly it did, worse than the smog in the bootcamp or on the war grounds, and that hurt alone.

What are you, what do you want.

The gingers voice was heavy, not stern, not demanding but fearful. Terrified of the being, the smell of it burning his nose to the point he had to open his jaws to hopefully make it easier to breathe but all he got in turn was a mouthful of the snow as the wind blew harshly. Every part of his lower half was numb, and he couldn't even feel the warmth on his legs as his bladder simply, let go.

What is happening to me..

skill: scout

Wardruna kept to scouting the neighboring territories of her home for those in need who might be caught in this mess. Bright ginger furs shined in the white and pale gray of the taiga - or, well, more like gray and choking lavender, these days.

The wolf could be spotted at the crest of the promise, straddling the line between cliffside and a long drop and swift death.

He was not safe.

Wardruna knew that any ill thoughts this wolf might hold were not his own. At least, she could hope. The toxicity of that which was this plague could make anyone want to end their suffering, but their was a way out - Wardruna knew this, even if he did not.

So she ran, galloping into the other wolf's direction until she too was coughing and spitting, foaming as she did her best to not swallow her own saliva for fear of the purple smog to destroy her from the inside out.

THIS WAY! WE NEED TO - A hollar cut short, as a creature that looked nothing less then the smog from Ferngully, came seeping into their direction. Wardruna tasted blood as she bit her tongue while holding back a scream. The creature was no wolf, though attempted to claim the body of one. No less then disease itself posing a primal form.

af guðunum. (by the gods.) But this was not one of her gods. In fact, she could not recall a tale or diety that might even come along to this abomination. It was not of her people, nor any other she had known. It was only disease.

We - we need to leave, now. Urgent and yet whispered, as though too loud and word might draw too much attention onto herself, which was the last fucking thing she wanted.

Plague Effect: 「 Poison Snow - difficulty breathing, fatigue, and nausea 」

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By way of response, the beast only stared back with empty eyes. What do you want. How quaint. Dre Klage did not want; he was an action, a shell, a mass of sick shaped and willed into motion by unseen forces, and all the while the mouth with which he uttered his poisonous speech grinned and grinned.

His eyes trailed down to the wet puddle that had formed between the cowering wolf's legs and then slowly, agonizingly, dragged their accusing gaze back up to pierce through Mercury like a spear.

Hie rude fier yia ali make laba mer. (How rude of you to make a mess.)

His voice sounded thick, throat almost clogged with slime as he bubbled and rasped around his words with an almost playful tone.

A shout split the heavy silence between them as Dre Klage turned to focus on the source of the disturbance. Another toy? Another corpse, perhaps?

You may, he dribbled in the common tongue, regarding Wardruna with curiosity.

Yes.

She could leave.

Yia ma lule, aln yivra dre kir fier yiar fur widr yia, (You may leave, and take the stench of your fear with you) he rattled out a chuckle, and you somehow understood the nature of his speech. But he will stay.

With me - in the dark.

Slowly, Dre Klage resumed his wet, trudging walk toward Mercury.

Yia ere alrudyl dud, (You are already dead) he slurred lustfully. Aln yia af an elen drie ut. (And you do not even know it.)

Closer, closer, backing the smaller wolf toward the edge of the cliff...

Can I be a child again? ( Take me back to when laughter was endless, and my dreams were bigger than my fears. )
3-3-3 OC

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Speech Emotional Actions Thoughts

Mercury stared at the beast, his chest tightening up like it was being crushed. The stench of this creature made him want to hurl, even if he had already done so and had nothing left in the tank.

His ears twitched some, perking a little as he looked over to the voice, his eyes narrowing to focus onto her. His throat hurt, his eyes watered with the sharp pains scattered across his body, Mercury struggled, his front legs pushing him up as best as they could. Teeth bared partially at the beast, until he saw the female get closer, quickly turning his focus to her and barking out hoarsely.

Don't- Just, go!

His throat hurt even just speaking, tears pricking his eyes at the burning pain. Each breath made this suck even more, it felt like he'd inhaled shrapnel and yet it wasn't..sickening, the lack of fear made his brain fuzzy. But as the beast of a being started trudging closer his heart thudded loudly in his ears, barley able to scramble backwards away until a leg slipped from the cliff edge for a moment.

What do you want..

Wardruna could not escape the fear which compelled her actions, causing her to back away the moment the plague lay eyes on her. She knew she would die, one day at least and hoped that it would be gloriously, or even remotely so. Not by this abomination which walked their world now.

The moment it said she could go, she quivered, a mix of relief and yet still obvious fear. But he - he could not. Eyes turned to the quivering ginger, urine, desease and terror overwhelming her senses.

Just go. His death would not be so in vain then, if in those last moments they believed themselves to be a sacrifice for her? She have a curt nod to the ginger wolf. To Valhalla then. She didnt know this man's beliefs, yet held close to her own. She didnt imagine he would go there, either, but it was the only thing she felt she could offer as Wardruna turned tail and ran.

Plague Effect: 「 Poison Snow - difficulty breathing, fatigue, and nausea 」

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Little wolf teeth flashed ineffectually toward the beast, and he smiled.

Brave - and foolish. The piss-soaked straggler was likely only posturing for the female's benefit. Dre Klage inhaled deeply and the acrid stench of urine flooded his scabbed nostrils, and he croaked out a low, burbling laugh.

Valhalla? he sneered. Yiar kiln kelnal suf muth kina kumind uk dilirelk armirlilal. (Your kind spends so much time dreaming up different afterlives.)

Taking another step forward, the lumbering hell-hound watched with interest as his victim stumbled back, slipping. So close to the edge, now; why, a strong wind might have knocked him right over. How precarious.

Want? he echoed.

There was a wet sound as his lips pulled back nearly all the way, stretching far, too far into the sides of his face in a grotesque mockery of a grin. Bits of rotted flesh hung limply from yellowed fangs as he continued his approach.

And then he was there - looming over the ginger-furred wolf like a terrifying monolith, the stench of him alone nauseating enough to make even the strongest man's stomach turn. His breath was hot and close, and he leaned in toward the slipping figure that clung to the edge of the cliff as if imparting a secret.

Dre wirlk win sepa shutir widriat yia. (The world will be quieter without you.)

Lifting a heavy paw, Dre Klage placed it atop Mercury's head. How small it looked beneath his colossal frame.

How small they all were.

Eliryl lak fun fier yia. (Every last one of you.)

And pushed.

Can I be a child again? ( Take me back to when laughter was endless, and my dreams were bigger than my fears. )
3-3-3 OC

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Speech Emotional Actions Thoughts

Valhalla... The one place he'd hoped he'd go when he passed, to know someone else believed he would go there eased him, his entire body giving into the toxic fumes that weakened every joint and muscle in his body. Everything seemed to burn, to slightly fade into a tunnel as he stared at the beast.

He'd go out in a fight; it didn't matter. When the beast moved closer and closer, Mercury snapped forward, teeth attempting to dig into the leg of the being in front of him, just for it to melt into black sludge. It was disgusting, and he accidentally swallowed some of it in an attempt to gasp a breath, coughing and choking on the sludge that now dripped from the beast's leg until it regenerated.

What..the fuck are you..

His eyes stared narrowed at the beast until its paw came to his head, and he froze, frozen in fear and panic at what it might do. Would it snap his neck? slam his head into the ground? Shove him off?

His questions and woes were quickly answered; his front paws were unable to grip the stone and grass below the snow enough to prevent it, and he was shoved, shoved hard enough to send him falling, plummeting to the rocks and crashing waters below. He didn't feel the impact, just the sharp wheeze of a last breath before everything went dark.

A soldier, once formidable and feared, lay dead, slain by a beast that should not exist.