[Leonora]

A E S T H E T I C       A R T
BACKGROUND MUSIC
Dragon Palace - Okami

The amount of visitors that had flooded into Inaria's relatively peaceful forest was overwhelming to her. Suddenly she awoke one day to a myriad of smells of different origins - similar in some ways but each individual had an element that was wildly different. She hung back in the healer's garden, the only other place of comfort other than her home; which she avoided for the most part, she did not want to deal with the conversation that she'd likely have with her father - "Why don't you go make some new friends, Leo?"

With the help of some others, notably her father and Anglachel (the mysterious, yet kind healer from another land), the garden was beginning to become restored to it's former glory. There was still work to do, so Leonora tried to set her mind on her work as much as she could to distract her from the grief and guilt of Prince Wheatley's death (she still hadn't ventured into the den where he had passed).

She was taking a break from managing the gardens to get a drink by the nearby river, dipping her toes into the rushing stream to clean the dirt off of them. She didn't notice the other girl approach until she was too close for comfort (there was still a little bit of distance between them, but there are those in this world that you'd rather keep much farther away - oh poor Leonora, you wouldn't know anything about that). The smell of blood in the air made her turn her attention to the approaching girl, but her eyes stared past her at the trees behind.

"A-are you okay? I can smell blood on you." She stepped away from the river and towards the stranger. "It's okay, I can help."

(Nothing can truly protect us from evil in the world).

[Shuck]

#317873

She had to spit fur from her mouth, she'd been doing that for a long while it seemed, always licking away blood and fur, but the way she saw it was a means to an end. She'd never remember any of these fucks. They. meant. nothing. So marking them meant EVERYTHING. Each each fucking tear into any sniveling piss baby meant that she was that much closer to finding Sterling. Or so she thought.

Another kid had run away from her crying, and they were so brave at first, but they crumbled as soon as those teeth met the side of his face and just RIPPED into him. Perhaps no one understood the gravity of the girl's war path. Her siblings seemingly turning a blind eye to their sister's actions, their loyalty to each other would be their downfall.

So far the search had been fruitless, ear flicking to the sound of someone approaching from behind. Wild eyes widened and the girl whipped around, face smudge and reeking of blood. Storm wrapped in fur look positively feral, pinprick pupils unfocused, but definitely on the stranger who called out to her, but it seemed as if the youth was staring through the other. She was soundless at first, mind blank, but the only words the she could think to form in that moment were, "Where's that fucker? WHERE'S THAT PALE MOTHERFUCKER?!"

It had occurred to her then, the words that finally registered (it seemed like they had taken several minutes), weakness? Assumed weakness? The child stood up then moving toward the red female with purpose, body shaking for unknown reasons, probably anger, it was always anger. That beast howled, You let her call US weak!!! It gnashed it's terrible teeth and roared it's terrible roar, and in that moment she thought of a wheezing child, soft voiced, and pathetic.

Red, red, red. "TELL ME!" The girl screamed, Shuck was beginning to tire of this place and their shitty, unhelpful people. If she had to beat the answers out of all of them then so beat it. "TELL ME OR ELSE, I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU, YOU STUPID BITCH!" That'd be the final warning, the warning poor Leonora would not see, but hear and then the rushing sound of paws. Shuck sprang to attack teeth snapping in a flurry  at her face and if possibly she'd attempt to latch onto the girl's throat. You better kill this one kid, you talk a big game, NOW FUCKING DO IT.

[Leonora]

A E S T H E T I C       A R T
BACKGROUND MUSIC
Dragon Palace - Okami

"Where's that fucker? WHERE'S THAT PALE MOTHERFUCKER?!"

Leonora flinched; taking a hasty step behind her with her ears pinned back. "Wh-what?" She stuttered, incapable of hiding the shock and rising fear in her expression. She shrank back as Shuck screamed at her again, as if the force of it was physically pushing the blind healer down. "Wh-who are you talking about? A-are they the reason you're bleeding?" She tried desperately to stay calm, but her voice wavered and her confidence dropped. "I-I'm a h-healer. M-my mum's a g-guard, we c-can sort this out."

"TELL ME OR ELSE, I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU, YOU STUPID BITCH!"

Leonora had always tried to persevere despite her disabilities and all the hardships she faced. Born in one of the most beautiful kingdoms, yet she would never see it for herself. Born to a determined mother and a strong father, yet she was too weak to pursue what her kind was bred for. Practiced in the healing arts to help others, yet failed to save a member of royal blood. Tried to help a stranger who she thought was in danger, but look at how cruel fate has turned against her once again.

Leonora notices for the first time in her life how dark and claustrophobic everything is.

She doesn't move when Shuck charges, the concept of running away is too foreign to even process. Run where? How would she get away? How would she know where not to trip up, how to avoid obstacles if she's in a hurry?

Shuck pierces the flesh on Leonora's face - ragged teeth tearing through skin and muscle like paper, until something pops. The healer screams - an agonized, horrible high pitched sound that sends the nesting birds scattering from their perches in the trees throughout Inaria. She sobs and scrambles back in a panic, salty tears streaming down her face on one side but mixing with blood and the remains of an eyeball that's not quite removed on the other and it burns it BURNS IT BURNS IT BURNS.

She slips on the rocks beside the river, pawpads slicing open as she crumples to the ground, screaming and screaming - why why why wHY WHY WHY WAS THIS HAPPENING?

"MADRE! PADRE!" She screams, crawling away, trying to find her feet again. "AIUTAMI!"

Shuck storms towards her again, this time looking for the jugular, the killing blow - and it would be so easy for her, a poor blind woman who couldn't fight back if she tried.

(there's always more to a story though)





Leonora runs aimlessly into Inaria's depths as a black and blue bullet shoots out from the shadows towards Shuck.

[Cappella]

A E S T H E T I C       A R T

She had always kept her children sheltered from the horrors of the world. Kept them safe in Inaria, dedicated her life to defending this land so her children would never have to suffer the pain she had. They were already so disadvantaged, and yet they always proved their strength to her in their own little way. Just surviving; it was a trait that existed in Cappella's blood, from the barren deserts to the bloodthirsty jungle.

How could she have ever guessed that the danger would be in Inaria itself.

(YOU FAILED, YOU FAILED LIKE YOU ALWAYS DO - USELESS INARIAN, USELESS MOTHER)

Shuck looms over her daughter with a hunger and a thirst that reminds Cappella of the Saborans who kept her captive. Leonora lays screaming on the floor, bleeding but angled as such that Cappella can not see the damage that the angry child had actually caused.

(Perhaps, for now, thats for the best).

She had heard the yelling and the cussing from a fair distance away, but it's the screams that still rings through Cappella's ears. The Elite Guard bursts from the lilac thicket, a raging bull that had just seen red, barrelling into Shuck and shoving the little shit and sending her away from Leonora - who proceeds to run away in a panic before Cappella can even turn to help. So it left her with one target, and something inside her began to brew - an anger she had not felt in a long, long time.

"You absolute fucking shitstain." She shakes with anger and her eyes glare like molten lava. "You stupid, disgusting, fucking horrible little fucking BITCH." She spits acid and fire and suddenly theres a side of her that hadn't been seen since before the Saboran's had ruined her.

"Get the fuck out of Inaria you fucking pissant."

(WELCOME BACK, INARIA'S LITTLE HORROR, WE'VE MISSED YOU)

[Shuck]

#317873

There was a vile scream that ripped through the air was accentuated by the feeling of flesh giving way for teeth that were much too sharp for a youth. Teeth that sort of knew what they were doing by now. Blood, and a fluid that was unfamiliar to the pallet, but it could've been the first real taste of whatever hid behind the eye. The taste was disgusting, and the significance of the damage meant little, especially if the girl still had the capacity to scream. That beast roared deep in her stomach. THAT WON'T DO, KILL THE BITCH, KILL THAT FUCKING WHORE.

Bloody maw and spitting, she crept forward as the girl fell back. I'll kill you, I'll kill you, I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU. "All you had to do! ALL YOU FUCKING HAD TO DO WAS TELL ME WHERE HE WAS, YOU STUPID FUCKING BITCH. YOU DUMB FUCKING TWAT, STOP JERKING ME AROUND!" She sounded almost exasperated, but truth be told she never felt more energized. That gaze boring into Leonora's and she would've gone back for a second round if it weren't for the sudden and forceful body that slammed into her's and sent her back with a loud OOF.

The hurricane shook her head, the mad screaming of someone enter her ears and for a moment she thought of back when the pair of female stopped her from getting even with Ant, vision snapped up immediately and Shuck was quickly on her four. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR, YOU STUPID FUCKING TWAT?!" A new found viciousness to this intruder, a child throwing a fit for stopping her fun. Shuck simply couldn't understand, she wasn't doing anything WRONG. You warned her kid, you fucking warned her.

But as this unknown challenger stepped up to the bat, Shuck felt a smirk pulling at her lips those insults meant nothing, and maybe Cappella would hear the girl even LAUGH slightly. However, would the elite guard expect the child to rush forward with no warning? Spring back into action, a lightning streak reflected on a dark sea. Quick, wild, and untrained, yet she struck with the intent. "I'm gonna KILL YOU!" A rumbled growl of words as Cappella would find the youth in her face in a matter of seconds. What Shuck lacked in height, she made up for in speed and viciousness. Legs propelled her upward, teeth stained with poor Leonora's blood.

It was unclear what Shuck was initially aiming for, possibly trying to blind this new attacker, but she was off the mark, she was always off the mark. Her teeth met the scarred flesh of Cappella's cheek, and tore open that old wound instead. YOU MISSED YOU MISS YOU MISSED! That voice cried and the girl felt her heart twist with rage. Paws met the ground and she nearly tumbled over, but she was greed, always so fucking greedy. Attempting to lunge again, make good on your promise kid.

[Cappella]

A E S T H E T I C       A R T

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR, YOU STUPID FUCKING TWAT?!"

"SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH YOU STUPID DIPSHIT!" Cappella felt her eye twitch when the little bitch straight up laughed, and she stormed forward, teeth clenched in an ugly snarl. "GET. THE FUCK. OUT." There was only a flash of surprise when Shuck suddenly bolted forward, the distance already too close for Cappella to dodge out of the way.

"I'm gonna KILL YOU!"

In a heartbeat she felt an old wound tear open, in a heartbeat she was just a scared little kid again, in a heartbeat--

She was back in that forest.

Theres a red and black shadow that looms nearby, green eyes piercing through her. Her blood drips from its mouth, and somewhere a girl begs and pleads for it to stop - but she's not a little girl anymore, is she? She's older, stronger, and she's become something more and suddenly she lunges at the demon, her eyes pinpricks in a sea of amber-

(Shuck's lightning strikes an active volcano)

Cappella strikes out multiple times, viper-like in it's speed. She gashes it's neck, it's shoulders, blood splattering through the air but that green eye never blinks it never LEAVES HER--

(They won't take me, they won't take me back - somewhere the skulls on the beach are laughing)

It runs from her, but she gives chase this time. She was no longer an inexperienced child with a chip in her shoulder; she was stronger, faster, she had seen war, she had taken lives before and this time Dragon would not escape her. A part of her wanted to yell, wanted to demand that the criminal turn around and face her, but she continued to chase, a determination overtaking any logical or rational thought.

She sprung, toppling Dragon's shadow over and the two tumbled forward towards an open body of water.

And Cappella shoved the green eye beneath the surface.

Cappella held it there until she saw the life DRAIN FROM IT.

[Shuck]

#317873

Pain, it blossoms, and this is pain is different. Different from the once off of Shark's swift kick to the face, the same kick that tore open his own daughter's lip. Then she felt it, the blood on her neck, her own blood, and that stomach creature gave a howl. The pain rippled then to her shoulder and the girl was wordless as she ripped herself from the elite guard's grasp.

That part of her, that stupid part of her wanted to stand and fight a battle that she knew she wasn't going to win. Proud and idiotic, anger makes you stupid and stupid gets you killed, the words of a ginger female to a little boy. Shuck was stupid, she had always been stupid in that regard. But amber gaze flew down upon the girl and for the first time, she RAN.

A trail of blood followed right after her, and she stumbled here and there, eye blurry, but she knew if she could book it to the borders and make it for the treeline she'd be golden. A smile twitched at her lips amused at the thought of getting away, she was gonna fucking make it, running for her life wasn't even a thought that crossed her mind in that moment, and yet?! Here we fucking are!

It was a stumble that fucked her up, at the most inopportune time, Shuck was fast, but she was also injured. Her shoulder screaming with each spasm of movement and when that finally gave way ate fucking grass and dirt, but was quickly snatched when she tried to recover. It was best described as the movement of a mad cat, teeth clamped on her scruff and she couldn't break free. Blood and foam collecting at the corners of her mouth. I WAS FREE I WAS FREE, THIS ISN'T FAIR I WAS FREE.

And then her face met water and all her insults where merely bubbles and thrashing, eyes blown wide for a hot second until the murk of the water stung them and forced them shut. You had one fucking shot kid, and you fucking BLEW IT. The voice was fuzzy, distant, but she knew it well.

[Haylyn.]

#899ec1

There was something that kept her close to Inaria, perhaps she couldn't fully leave it, the sweet medic had talked of healing and time away from a place that gives you pain, and yet here she was. Still hovering close to Inaria. What were you so scared of? This wasn't how the healing was supposed to go, she scolded herself, but Inaria was her home. Something she couldn't just up and abandon, even if it was for a little while.

Stepping across the border weeks ago was a feat all in its own. Healing was a slow process, correct? It wasn't linear, and even this small step was something large in comparison to the actual growth in her recovery.

The pale female had found a nice little abandoned spot, quite and usually full of birdsong, but today it seemed like something had disrupted that. Ears perking at the loud screams of something very close by? Immediately there was worry upon her face, and the fear of something happening so close by to the border dawned on her. In that moment she was a queen again, young and fearless, rushing forward to protect her people.

Cutting through the brush she came to a crippling halt, brows knitting together as she was unsure of this scene, but the colors were familiar. "C-Cappella?" Haylyn tested, words hoarse from how out of breath she was. Unsure if her daughter heard her or not. "Cappella!" There was a little more force to this one as Haylyn dared to step closer, finally catching and hearing the thrashing form that the blue-black woman held onto. Small, youthful. A CHILD.

The gravity of the situation finally hit the pale woman, as a look of shock and absolute horror wretched across her face and her chest twisted in fear. MOVE HAYLYN, DO SOMETHING. "CAPPELLA NO! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?" She sprang forward, blue eyes wide and jaw quavering. "THAT'S A CHILD! THAT'S A KID! CAPPELLA S-STOP!" Her voice high pitched and nearly clipped by her own breathlessness as she felt her body collide full force with her daughter's own. "GET THE FUCK OFF OF THEM!" The child was free at least and nearly knocked into the water, raising with a loud splash and cough as Haylyn stepped in front of them to act a shield against Cappella, her face twisted in pain as a stormy youth shook and seethed, bloodied. "What did you do? What's wrong with you?! CAPPELLA, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

Haylyn shook with uncertainty, she couldn't simply fathom this, her daughter, but this child that backed away behind her, her wounds in that moment seemed grievous. Tears welled in the ex-queen's eyes, and she'd thought she had cried her last. "ANSWER ME!" Came the shrill voice of the mother.

[Cappella]

A E S T H E T I C       A R T

"CAPPELLA NO! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?"

A voice thundered through the illusion like a lance, striking Cappella and clearing the mist that fogged over her eyes. Lavender and heather began to weave their way through the dark forest; Dragon began to become pale and the green eye dissolved. Her grip loosened, confused, but there was no time to process the thought as something charged into her and sent her flying away. She hit the ground, skidding in the mud, before shakily getting to her feet and-

"GET THE FUCK OFF OF THEM!"

This isn't right.

Her eyes darted around, confused at where she was. Where was Dragon? She was so close, so close to finally ridding Inaria (who was she kidding? she wanted to make Dragon suffer for her own personal agenda) of it's demon, but now Haylyn was here? She spots the child emerging from the pool and suddenly it all clicks, the Elite Guard letting out a shaky breath as she realises what she has done.

(Useless Inarian, useless mother, nothing but a traitor and a MONSTER)

"What did you do? What's wrong with you?! CAPPELLA, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

Cappella backed away from Haylyn - the mother looking at her daughter like she was a rabid beast. She felt the sting of her open wound on her cheek, blood still oozing and dripping through ebony fur. She tried to find her voice but it was gone, ashamed and horrified at what she had done.

"ANSWER ME!"

"I-I didn't - I didn't know!" Came the stuttered mess of excuses. "I-I thought it was Dragon, I-I thought she was going to t-take me back to Saboro, I-"

There was no time to finish the explanation, for everything always escalated in milliseconds. She saw Shuck making another move, before a burgundy blur shot in front of her, tackling Haylyn to the ground. "Haylyn!" The Elite Guard cried out, eyes darting back to the...bear? No...

The thought was short-lived, for it whipped around and smacked Cappella across the face with one large paw.

Everything went black.

[Shuck]

#317873

There was a look in Cappella's eyes, one that wasn't so rabid with the intent to kill a CHILD. Like whatever gripped her had broken, but Haylyn was confused and afraid, even as her daughter attempted a mangled answer of stuttering. Behind the pale woman, the CHILD was breathing, a waterlogged rat. Hacking up water still, but her eyes were finally focused and the voices didn't sound too fuzzy and distant anymore.

Those eyes flickered to the darker female, deadly as the rage began to build back up and the storm found it's second wind. The pale woman stammered something, but the girl didn't hear. Her senses slowly coming back and that anger, god that unmerciful anger she felt towards that fucking bitch. I'm gonna kill this one, I'M GONNA FUCKING DESTROY HER. The two were talking and it was in that moment, Shuck moved.

A little bolt, sluggish from her wound before and delirium from a near death experience can do that to you, but she didn't think anything of it. Just red, red, FUCKING RED. Kill Her, KILL HER. This one was WEAK. The paler female heard the rustle of grass turning slightly at the child behind her, saying something Shuck didn't hear, couldn't hear, wouldn't hear. NO. Deaf, dead, silence. Within that small span of time, something else came crashing in, someone else.

It knocked the absolute wind out of the pale bitch, she went flying, hitting the ground with a thud, and she lay there. Like she was DEAD. Shuck collided with this brown force, bouncing right off of it like her weight didn't matter at all, nearly knocking the wind outta her as well. She snapped up in an instant, teeth bared, but that didn't matter because that black and blue bitch was down too? A large male?? WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT??? Did he? Did he fucking kill them? "Y-you... YOU FUCKING KILLED THEM, YOU MURDERER, WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM?!" Shuck screamed, backing away slightly, the pain of her neck and shoulder causing her to wince.

The dark bitch was supposed to be her's to destroy, what the FUCK. "YOU FUCKING CRAZY FREAK, MURDERER, GIANT FUCKING FREAK!!" The shrill screams of a tired youth, but what little of her senses that willed for her survival whispered then 'and you're next, RUN'. "FUCK YOU!" She backed away once more before straight on sprinting out into the tree line away from this place, away from Inaria.

[Deltoid]

A E S T H E T I C       A R T
Deltoid's Background Music

He did not know why he hovered near Inaria's borders. He had left Gemini behind him some time ago (he wasn't sure how long - time didn't really matter), but now he found himself hovering near their scent. Was it guilt, perhaps? He did not know why they were in this land of purple trees and sweet scents, but he couldn't deny the smell of his family. Regardless, what would he achieve by going in there? He hated this feeling that he had to be there because thats where his blood was, he had managed perfectly fine before then.

Maybe it was fate, as he heard the commotion nearby.

He saw a woman drowning a child before being forcibly removed by another. The smell of blood was in the air, the tension was thick and Deltoid felt similar to how he did besides Saboro's borders when their volcano erupted. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, and it put him on edge.

(He was made from blood and violence, and he knew when things would kick off).

The child moved but there was anger in every step, and the behemoth made his move. She was too close to the silver woman for him to weave his way between them, so he settled on the next best alternative: he forcibly body slammed Haylyn away from danger, feeling Shuck bounce off of his side. The ebony woman cried out, but she was too delirious to even see his paw coming before it was too late.

Deltoid smacked Cappella with enough force to knock her out cold.

"Y-you... YOU FUCKING KILLED THEM, YOU MURDERER, WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM?!"

What? He turned back to the child but took a glance over to the silver woman and- Oh. She was out cold too. Perhaps Deltoid had underestimated his own strength. And size. And everything, really.

"YOU FUCKING CRAZY FREAK, MURDERER, GIANT FUCKING FREAK!!"

Why must children yell.

"FUCK YOU!"

And with that, she was gone. Where she was going did not matter much to Deltoid. She smelt of Gemini, so it was their problem. He had his own problems, you see, like the two unconscious women surrounding him. He gave one sniff to Cappella, whom smelt strongly of wisteria and lilacs, similar to the packland beside them. The other woman, however, threw him off. Haylyn had a faint scent that was similar, yes, but it was nowhere near as strong.

An outsider, perhaps? Probably.

He felt guilty though; she wasn't an intended target. An unfortunate casualty. A poor outsider who probably lived on the borders on this pack and kept to herself (oh how far from the truth he was). She was only trying to do the right thing. He would have to make sure she was alright, but he did not want to linger near Gemini's scent long (the last thing he wanted was a second family reunion where he had to explain why he abandoned them in the first place).

Deltoid grabbed the silver womans scruff in his maw, easily lifting her. With one glance to Cappella (her pack would find her, he decided) he carried Haylyn away from her home.

(Not that he knew that, of course).