Set just after the BWP! Fiora Valeska Glitch Amaris Lylith and anyone else if anyone wanted to pop up with her, but no pressure!!

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"Together." She had told them, and she intended to uphold her end of the promise. And where Amaranth was frail in body, she was powerful in mind (or so she believed) — and she would use every ounce of her determination to rattle the chains that bound the beast.

And together, they would free him.

With a mighty snap, the chains would shatter, shaking free from the earth that housed them. Glowing debris scattered, decorating the air around them for a few precariously beautiful moments before the flailing chains became chaotic. Shards of debris littered the atmosphere, and where they were once beautiful, they quickly became dangerous glowing projectiles. Amaranth's vision squinted, head turning away from the blast of hot air and light as the chained wolf reared free of his imprisonment.

As her head turned, she saw Glitch ... and she saw the large piece of debris headed straight for him. Little Ghoul! Her warning came with movement, body moving with an instinct unknown to her. A flare of heat and adrenaline drove her, body instinctively angling to protect his own as the piece of debris landed with a shattering thud into the side of her chest.

A pitiful whine squeaked past her lips, muffled by the horrific crack of her rib bones. A sputter of breath left her, saliva tangling with blood, as she fell into a heap on the cold, glowing stone. The pain was potent and sharp. That familiar sear of white-hot agony flooded from her side, crawling through her entire body as her breath caught in tiny, suffocating motions. 

The familiar pull of unconsciousness tugged at the edges of her vision as her body begged her to sleep. Blood pooled at the edges of her lips, collecting in the base of her mouth, as her shallow breaths struggled to deliver her mind the oxygen it needed.

With a flutter, her eyes moved from side to side, desperately trying to make sure everyone was okay. Gl..ch...Val...es......k... the sounds simply gurgled from her twisted form. And as the panic rose, the darkness spread across her vision, forcing her to succumb to sleep.

She woke to the same horrible ache, her mouth tangy with blood and her lungs constricted. Every breath brought with it a new wave of pain, washing over her in rhythmic waves as her eyes flickered open. She tried to swallow her panic, for each breath brought with it more agony.

But ...

The sun . It smiled overhead, rising from the distant horizon as if it hadn't just been gone for months. Amaranth's bloodied lips tugged into a weak half-smile, her eyelids falling closed once more.

They'd done it.

She imagined Valeska's eyes, as golden as the sun that had left them. Shimmering. Bright. Full of hope. Amaranth could recall those eyes ... that smile ... she could pull the image from the deepest parts of her mind. And she would hold it there, on the screen behind her eyelids. It kept her breathing steady, and it kept the smile on her lips.

At least if Amaranth died here, it would not have been in vain.

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Skill:

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Amaranth Amaya

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Together! Mama had cried, so together it was. What looked like hundreds pulled, all different shapes and sized, but Mama was there, Valeska was there, they were all here. There was a clink sound as the chains fractured and broke, those chains that once held so tightly, so taught, were now flailing every which was and he tried to avoid them but he found it would be far too difficult, and he winced, he turned his head and suddenly a large piece of debris was flying in his direction.

He was frozen with fear, unable to move as he winced and braced for impact. He could hear the echo's of Mama's voice calling to him, Little Ghoul! She would cry, warn him, but he couldn't do anything but hunch himself and whimper in fear. But there was no impact, there was only... Mama?

He opened his eyes and noticed that Amaranth had taken his blow, and he opened his jowls wide to cry out to her as the piece that was headed for him hit her smack dab in the chest. MAMA! Glitch shouted as he rose and came to her side, he heard the whine and heard the ragged breaths, he whimpered and fell to his knees, but before he could speak there was a sudden crack through the air.

Almost as soon as the crack reverberated through the cavern, a white hot flash came over him, it was like ice and fire at the same time. He'd felt pain like this before, when they were picking him apart piece by piece. He let out a strangled cry as he felt his ear alight with heat and agony.

Gl..ch...Val...es......k... Amaranth croaked as she fluttered into unconsciousness. Mama...! The boy cried out again, ignoring the blood pouring down his face, the crimson starting to impede his vision. He shook his head and let out another yelp as his ear flapped against his head, leaving a splattering of red across the top.

He felt his own vision star fading, and he was getting nauseous, he felt like he might be sick. He flicked his eyes down towards Amaranth and saw the tip of his ear...

Glitch vomited up bile and water as he fell to his side and blacked out.



When the boy woke, his body was cold, he shivered and whimpered as the virus in the code looked around from the position laying on his side. How could he be cold when the sun was shining for the first time in forever? He groaned and lifted his head, letting out a yelp as he felt searing pain rip through the tip of his ear. Glitchtrap shuddered and pulled himself around himself, he shifted his eyes around and found Amaranth nearby.

Ma...Ma....! He croaked as he rose to his paws unsteadily, he wobbled and shook on his legs while he looked around, he stumbled a few times as he scented the air and caught her on the winds. Struggling he made his way towards her scent and when he arrived he caught the view of another short wolf, shorter than himself, and noticed she was coming to Ama's side.

There was a screeching sound and Glitch flattened his good ear and let the injured one stay erect, he growled a little as he came closer to the scene of the woman drooling glowing spit over his mama. Ew! Stopthat! He growled as he charged forth, he didn't know this woman was Amaranths daughter, though he knew them by name he didn't know them.

He didn't want mama getting covered in glowing drool, that was just gross. Coming to Amaranths other side he scowled at the other wolf and snorted through his nose as he stared at her, lowering himself next to Amaranth slowly. Mama... You okay Mama Ama? He gently nosed the woman before flicking eyes back up to the other darker wolf before him.

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Skill: heartbreak

Set right after this thread with Lylith

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Amaris did not feel any semblance of himself within his body as his paws raced atop the summer-kissed grass. He was nothing more than an observer watching from above as his own legs moved with the panicked gait of a man now lost.

Lily—Lylith—had dropped a very real bomb atop his head, chucked it his way, and what? What was he meant to do with that information? Why did he need to know any of that? Could they not have—Could they just have—Could she have just—

He wanted to scream.

But instead, he focused his attention on something entirely different, if only to bring a semblance of relief to his churning mind.

Amaranth.

He had been searching for her before he had been stopped by Li—Lylith.

He needed to see her.

He needed to talk to her.

He needed—

His heart was a thundering beat within his ears, all encompassing and all surrounding as his gaze tuned in and out—half blurred, half sharpened—as he searched for his mother. A state of numbness came next, paired with his heightened adrenaline, as he raced across the field—gaze cast toward every semi-familiar body that existed in his line of sight.

If it were not for his sister’s familiar horror-like screech, Amaris perhaps would have been too late—too lost in the assortment of his own thoughts—to have found his mother in time. Instead, his body veered in the direction of his gremlin-like sibling, and before long, he spotted both of them, or well, all three of them.

Amaranth, lying bloodied on the ground ahead, his sister Amaya, and Glitch all huddled together.

Blood was heavy in the air.

As was a mysterious glowing ooze dribbling from Amaya’s lips.

He would think on that later.

MOM! He called, as his paws skidding to a stop beside her crumpled form, practically nosing his way into the fold between both Amaya and Glitch’s lowered heads.

One of you, he directed, turning his golden gaze, which now practically burned with two panicked heartbreaks, toward the others, Go find a healer. There has to be someone around here who knows something.

He hoped.

Amaris glanced at the shaky rise and fall of his mother’s chest. At least she was still breathing…

His body all but shook in quiet panic.

Someone should go find Valeska. He murmured to anybody who would listen.

But as his eyes trailed his mother’s golden form- so much like a bird who had fallen from a tree—he remembered the horror he had felt when he had found her half-drowned by the mouth of the river.

At least then he had had half an idea of how to help.

Here…he didn’t know what to do.

Mama, he whispered, his voice a wobble (not only from the trauma of seeing his mother half dead, but also once more from the bomb Lylith had sent his way), as he planted a kiss along her forehead. Stay with us. Please.

The chains were spicy.

It would have been nice to imagine Valeska, noble High Priestess of Elysium, wholly focused on the task at hand in freeing the captive within the Isle's depths. She had personally led the charge, hesitating for only a fraction of a second before swallowing her terror and clamping down on the nearest chain as she pulled and pulled with every ounce of strength at her command.

The fact of the matter is, in the absence of terror, her mind splintered and was forced to fill the gap with other things - and it grabbed them from every corner of her subconscious.

"Why is this tether so spicy? It is like a hot pepper! Ow! Ow! Such poor design!" she thought through burning gums.

As her mouth sizzled, she remembered the first time she'd ever tried ayahuasca root with Amaranth. That was when she knew her companion to be directly in communication with the gods; where they had always spoken to Amaranth with clarity and ease, Valeska was forced to interpret their strange visions as best she could like a child fumbling through the dark.
What an experience! It had almost made her nauseous at the time...

"What would I be doing now if we had not been taken to this strange land?" she continued to think. They still would have had their five children from before, but what of Aelia, of Amaris - of Amaya? Would they have been the same them as in this place? Or had this Mythris changed them into who they are now? It was an interesting thought, but she scoffed. "No, no. In spite of the cracks leading to Hell, and this raging mountain in the sea, and the sun's death, I still would not change anything."

As more and more wolves gathered around her, her mind continued its meandering path through various topics and scenarios, jaws locked tight as she never ceased pulling at the chain which still burned her lips.

Something flew at her - she barely had time to register - but there was a sudden flash of brown, and she caught the tail-end of Lylith dashing across her peripheral before the girl had already taken the hit. Sacred Wolf Mother! Did she just - Valeska turned to look, but the chain started to slip from her grasp, and she forced herself to hold fast.

Had Lylith just done that - for her?

The sound of Amaranth's cry, however, was her weakness. She abandoned her post long enough to rush to her mate's side, Glitch laying equally unconscious close by; tears filled her eyes as she frantically nudged them both with her muzzle, willing them to rise, but they gave no response.

The chained wolf roared, and the cavern shook.

If there was any hope to save them - it was to finish this.

Valeska shut her eyes as she wrapped her teeth around the searing metal and her flesh burned and burned...

---

And then it was over.

Valeska opened her eyes. She was on her side sprawled comfortably in the grass, and it took her a second to realize that most of the snow had already melted. She pushed herself up with some effort; her mouth ached, that much she knew, but it would heal in time.

The sun (oh, the sun!) was warm against her fur as she enjoyed it for a long, lingering moment before she remembered -

LYLITH! GLITCH! she screamed. Her heart then leapt into her throat as she suddenly recalled her mate's blood-speckled body lyng motionless, and the howl that tore from her throat nearly shredded it.

AMARANTH!

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A cacophany of voices guided her path. Cruel irony that Valeska was almost entirely unharmed, and she sprinted through the grass on silver legs carried by the wind and approximately one metric ton of adrenaline mixed with fear.

She could see them.

AMARANTH! AMARANTH! AMARIS - GLITCH - Amaya? - LYLITH - AMARANTH!

And then she was there, standing over Amaranth with a face drenched in tears.

Amaranth! Is she going to - is there a healer?! she cried. FIORA! She must be close by -!