In Dire Straits - fire through my veins [prp]

Things had been changing so much lately – it was hard to keep up, and yet at the same time it fueled the newly appointed War Captain. The world was shifting and molding to better fit Zanna, making room for her to grow, enabling her to be the best she could be. It seemed as though nothing but good had come from this move to the mountains.

Well, nothing but the one thing.

Lips curled back in a grimace as the maroon female stared daggers at a small puddle of cosmic black slime just outside her old den in the second ring. She’d since moved to the fourth ring but found herself on an old path that was etched into her mind, her mindless route ending at her old resting place.

How long after she’d moved did this creature visit her previous living quarters? She must have just missed it. The thought sent a wicked shiver down her spine, her hackles rising on the back of her neck. What did this thing want? Where did it go?

Zanna’s nostrils flared as the pungent stench of the mystery blood wafted up toward her face and she swallowed, fighting back the bile that rose in her throat. Disgusting.

She forced herself to turn away, peeling her eyes off the horrid sight of the rancid sludge that now plagued her old den.

We’ll find it yet, she reminded herself. We’ll figure this out – we’re making a plan.

Her paws carried her from the crime scene, away from the stink and toward the lake. Zanna could always find solace in the lake – and she always would, right up until the day that crater fills with thick, black blood rather than crystalline waters. She dreaded the thought, and dismissed it for the time being.

Nearing the calm waters, she saw someone sitting at the edge of the large reservoir. The sun was dropping behind the mountains, painting the water with pastels of red, orange, pink, and yellow. The boy was mostly a silhouette in this lighting, but Zanna could tell his fur was of soft brownish hues and she saw braids hanging from the sides of his face. Zanna came up to the lake, bending down to take a drink from the waters before speaking to the male – she was anxious to get this taste out of her mouth.

Lifting her head, she looked over to the setting sun, admiring the colors of the clouds that were smeared across the sky. “The mountains make for a nice sunset, don’t they?” She asked absentmindedly, her tone cool and calm. “The rainforest never offered much in terms of sunsets and sunrises. This is … Refreshing.”

Zanna would turn her head to the male now, emerald eyes searching to meet with those of burnt orange. Did he care about the sunset? Zanna wasn’t sure why she did right now – maybe it was simply a nice distraction from the strange tensions that had risen since coming across the black blood. “I’m Zanna. I don’t believe we’ve met?” She said then, falling silent until the boy spoke back, if he’d speak at all.

A E S T H E T I C

Things had changed. His arrival in Saboro had been an unpleasant one, drug here as a slave, and the only reason he was not still a slave was because he hadn't run when the opportunity presented itself. He couldn't. Even as the volcano destroyed the packlands of the terrible, violent pack of monsters that lived there he knew that they were not all devils. He couldn't leave those who needed him to their deaths, so he followed them to the new land of frost, snow, and needles. It was not so bad. In a month the coughing had stopped and during the night he could sleep outside under the silent stars, his long tail curled around him to keep him warm. He ate better than he had in a while, but even when he had been a slave he didn't seem to lose much of his fat, and he was a plump beast. Despite his improving health, he still felt tired.

One long rabbit-shaped ear flicked back to catch the sound of approaching paws. He knew better than to flinch now, lest he want a blood scruff filled with teeth. His head turned slowly, cautiously, but the russet beast approaching him seemed relaxed. At least they weren't directing their violence towards him. Yet.

Griffin considered the setting sun. It came quickly with the mountains blocking so much of the horizon, but that hadn't been so different from Gemini, had it?

"Yeah," he tried to echo her cool, calm nature, but he was obviously nervous. "The uh, jungle was pretty miserable, no offense. I guess some good things happen after all that horror. Like nice sunsets and way less insects."

He offered an awkward smile, somewhat shy. The stranger could tell by now that Griffin wasn't normally so reserved. Saboro taught him his manners quickly.

"Uh, hi, Zanna. I'm Griffin. I mean, it's probably good we haven't met, I think, since I'm not really important right now or anything, but I guess I'm not a slave anymore so hey, step up, am I right?" Griffin chuckled to himself then he looked more seriously at the water in front of his paws. "Uh, Zanna, I don't know if anyone's told you, but there is some weird stuff I keep finding and it might be poison. I don't know. Do you think that stuff is going to get in the prey and all the water here?"

He didn't know if she was someone special or if he was to call her by a certain title, but it seemed like passing this knowledge on was much more important in that moment. He looked uneasily at the pool before him. Would she share with him if she knew anything? The water at least looked clean. Maybe this was the only clean water left. He probably shouldn't hang out here if that was the case. More wolves would be coming through here and he liked to avoid as much conflict as he could.

The maroon wolf half-smiled back to the bunny-eared boy. She had to agree that she didn’t miss all the bugs of the swampy jungle. To breathe clean, crisp air without the fear of inhaling a mosquito or two while doing so was something she definitely took for granted until Griffin had mentioned it.

The tawny wolf introduced himself then, downplaying his ‘importance’ but mentioning that he was a step up from a slave now. So he was a slab, then. Zanna nodded her head slightly, taking in the information. “To be fair, the bar is pretty low for slaves.” Her tone was factual, but she raised her brows at him, implying that she wasn’t trying to be a jerk, maybe even making a small joke.

But her expression fell grave as Griffin went on to speak about the ‘poison’ in Saboro. He knew – he’d seen it too. Zanna recalled seeing the disgusting filth splattered around her old den, and she fought back another chill that crept up her spine

“I’ve seen it, too.” She confirmed, following his gaze down to the water. She hadn’t really thought about the slime getting into their water – she was more concerned about what was leaving the sludge behind, rather than what it was getting into. “Those are both really valid concerns. Unfortunately… I don’t have answers. I wish I did.” Remorseful, perhaps a little disappointed in herself.

She didn’t know why, but something within her was telling her that she needed to be the one to figure out this mystery. She needed to protect her pack, to keep everyone safe. Every day she wasn’t doing something about it, she felt guilty. But she’d had this battle in her head a thousand times – what could she do?

Zanna sat then, a small huff of air pushing past her lips. “I went by my old den today in the second ring, and the stuff was all around it.” She confessed, her eyes narrowing as she stared into the water. “I wanna find out what’s causing this. Whatever it is, it doesn’t belong here.” Her voice turned to a low growl, her passion for this mission clear in her tone.

She turned her head to look at Griffin again. “I haven’t seen any in the water yet, and I’m not sure if any animal would eat the stuff – it’s absolutely rancid. I think we’re safe as far as water and food goes. For now.” She tried to console the boy, but it was hard when you didn’t really know what was going on. She couldn't be sure of their absolute safety at this point, but she did feel confident in her thought process.

A E S T H E T I C

Nothing the stark red wolf said to Griffin could raise his ire. He found her suspiciously polite, but he was in enough control of himself to not let that show beyond a quite veneer of gratefulness. Speaking of the affliction that gripped her pack brought forth a passionate thoughtfulness the younger wolf hadn’t been prepared for; so many in Saboro seemed harsh and impulsive, but she cared deeply for this place. It made him privately hope that his choice to stay here had been a good one, despite the violent nature of his arrival.

“You…care deeply for Saboro,” Griffin put his thoughts to words with a curt nod of his head. “Good. That’s—”

Maybe it was good he was never able to finish his though. Both wolves would hear the movement, the shifting of a massive form moving through the pines. It wasn’t very close at first; there is not much foliage in a boreal forest, and they could easily spot the dark thing moving towards them, slowly at first. It was coming towards the water. Griffin was instantly on all fours, moving with surprising speed.

“What. Is. That?” his voice was low and dangerous. The fur on the back of his neck stood on end.

Its gate was unnatural, slow and jerky, a sickly gait. Then it seemed to notice them. It heralded its arrival with a sickly sounding trumpeting noise as it lifted its massive, oozing nose in the air. Griffin had never seen a deer like this in Gemini. Some would call it a moose, but the tar that dripped from its mouth and nose told other stories. Griffin stepped forward without thinking. Zanna could probably protect himself, but he hovered over her like a mother hen. As if he could do anything against such a great animal.

“Is it disoriented?” he seemed to speak more to himself than her in that moment. The beast charged towards them, bellowing in rage and anguish, all of its attention focused on the two wolves. “Move!”

Griffin voiced an observation, stating that it seemed Zanna cared for Saboro beyond the usual ‘pack loyalty’ feeling. But before he could continue or Zanna could reply, a sudden sound of movement in the near distance caused them both to immediately turn away from each other and toward the source of the sound.

The slab stood and Zanna took a defensive stance, watching as the dark figure moved about the tree line which suddenly felt dangerously close. Griffin asked what it was, and Zanna couldn’t even find the words to tell him she had no idea.

A gross bellow erupted from the creature, wet and gurgling. Every hole upon its face – nose, eyes, mouth – leaked and oozed the same black substance that was being spotted around Saboro. A pair of impressive, twisting horns rested atop the sickly beast’s head, and the War Captain felt her hair raise as she noticed it was moving toward them.

Instinctively, Griffin moved in front of Zanna. He murmured something, as though to himself, and Zanna didn’t catch the words he spoke. Suddenly, the beast charged forward, huffing and gurgling and bellowing as it moved.

“Move!” Griffin hollered, and the two of them leapt away from the lake, trying to put space between themselves and the disgusting animal that came toward them.

In an attempt to act quickly, but smartly, Zanna took a mere half-second to assess the situation. Unknown beast, feral and ill, charging at them. So far, it was alone. Do they risk going anywhere near the tree line? Do they attempt to kill it? Is the gunk oozing from its face toxic?

“We gotta split up. I need you to be bait.” The War Captain needed to act now, and she wasn’t about to trust a slab to make any killing blows to an unknown creature. If he led the corrupted beast away from Zanna, she could attack from behind and take advantage of the element of surprise.

She quickly turned to face Griffin. “Lead the thing away from me, distract it. I’ll attack from the rear and try to take it down.” Motioning her head as though to say ‘go’, she told him, “those are a War Captain’s orders.” She’d not told him yet of her title, but now was as good a time as any, right?

God, she hoped this worked. And she hoped there wouldn’t be any more coming behind this thing.

A E S T H E T I C