[Zaniah]

A E S T H E T I C       A R T

In the dead of the night, the forest was filled with screams. Zaniah tracked it through the woods, following its foul, rotting scent and it's gigantic pawprints that it left in the mud. He did not know whether the beast was screaming or whether the noise came from it's victims; he sincerely hoped it was the former. The silver woman had given him her blessing in her Lord's name, but to be entirely honest, he was going to go on the hunt whether she had turned up or not.

He was tired of hiding away from his vengeful Goddess.

If she wants me so badly, let her take me.

He only saw the shadow of it at first; in the distance, it had stopped in its warpath. Despite the monsters horrific smell, Zaniah could distinguish that there was someone else more like him nearby, too. There was no time to try and decipher it, the creature could be getting ready to strike the other and so he acted before anything else, giving out a sharp "HEY!" as he skidded to a halt. He heard a soft wheeze come from the behemoth before finally, it turned to face him.

Zaniah swore he felt his heart freeze.

It stood at least 8 foot tall, wolf like in structure apart from a few certain details: it had only two slits for a nose, and no ears in sight. It's eyes were black save for two pale white irises that stared down at him. It's tail was furless, more skin-like in texture. Perhaps the most alarming thing, however, was it's mouth. It was far too large, and it stretched beyond it's face, towards it's neck - if it had gone any further, the two sides would have met around the back and there wouldn't have been a top to this monstrosity.
ref here

Which is why it was more terrifying when it's grinned at him.

And then it screamed.

It shot forward, faster than something of its size should have, but thankfully Zaniah regained his senses and bolted to the side, hearing the sharp clink of it's teeth smashing together beside him.

He had forgotten, in that moment, that there were others around.

@waka @Gothy @Huckle @toby

[Templar]

Night came and it was far more eerie than he imagined. Templar had seen scraps of odd liquid and screams in the night as the weeks progressed. He was right when he had the itch to leave the area, but Filianore had talked of a hunter who she gave blessing to. Maker, help them. This was a bad idea, but he had to help the poor soul who sought out the abberations in the night. The Knight was half excited to finally do something, but also half regretting going out into the dark woods at night, hearing the screams and crunching of bones and squishing of bloody meat.

Templar paused, tail waving behind him order to stop Filianore as well as he heard the beast roar another time. Between the darkened trees, a golden figure had been running and halted as the beast moved. Ears caught the crunching of foliage, they weren't the only ones. Others, but there was no time to assess anything. Moonlight reflected against the armor the smith had given him back in Borogrove. Despite their differences, he was thankful to still have this gear, especially now in the face of real danger.

Against a monster. An abberation.

Eternal Fire, which lighteth our hearts and giveth us light

The beast was fast, already on the trail of the golden stranger.

heat us with Thy warmth

Templar turned to Filianore, nodding to her. He was afraid for her safety, but he also would be the first thing between her and whatever creature bellowed and snapped.

dry our tears

The Knight surged forward then, his large frame closing in on the creature fast and snapped at their heels. A distraction to lift off the golden stranger. He'd give himself a considerable distance between himself and the abberation before turning around completely and snarling. He'd bark a few times for good measures as well, come this way.

Burn our foes.

✦ ✦ Speech Text ✦ ✦

[Filianore]

#996699

It was a tough decision to leave the boy behind, but this would be no place for a child, this night of all nights. The chill in the air made her shudder, moving closer to the blue and silver Knight. As she steeled herself to whatever horrors the golden paladin had spoke of.

There were others here, two strangers she had yet to meet, they'd must have been acquaintances of Zaniah, pale blue eyes glanced at the ghostly one and oddly enough she though of Ouroboros, gaunt and haunting. The other didn't strike much of a recollection within her.

A loud cry broke through the trees and echoed on this chilly night, the smell that followed was enough to make her toes curl and her blood curdle. The Apostle fought the urge to press a paw to her nose, the golden boy rushed forward and Templar surged after him. The woman's eyes met the dark form of a creature, whose eyes glowed in the night, shaggy and unseemly. A drooling beast that raked its long claws into the ground, its cry was nothing she had ever heard in her life. A horrific scream.

"ZANIAH!" She screamed at the foolishness of their leader, paws staggering her forward. If she was able to save one thing of her own from Borogrove it was her censer and incense, and hopefully it would act as a repellent towards the beast as soon as she got it lit. Placing her censer on a rock, she fumbled to light it, nearly dropping her flit twice, but finally a spark had caught and with a nurturing breath the smoke began to plume from the metal contraption.

Jaws grabbed hold of the chain that it was attached to and the priestess would swing the censer back and forth. The Lord is with us, give us your strength.

[waka]

gibs kissies
@toby @Huckle

[Zach]

ZACHARIAH

There was a fracture in the air that night. The starlight hour had been shattered by screams, shrieking echoes that were loud and piercing but more than anything unnatural. They'd wrenched the golden male violently from his dreams, burying their teeth in, burying them deep, mauling the memory of soft red eyes and waves of silver hair and a white meadow. 

Zach had woken up with his heart in his throat, and the sound of those screams still echoing in his ears. When he'd made the tentative decision to follow them, the sounds only seemed to grow more deafening.

Nothing could have prepared him for the sight before him when he finally emerged through the foliage though. The smell alone was nearly enough to make him cringe, but the sight...

He had no idea what he was looking at. 

Sharp eyes narrowed, studying the massive creature warily. Zach wasn't sure if the emotion that he felt in that moment was fear, but he was unsettled enough that the fur along his spine refused to settle. He hadn't felt this on edge since the war, since the blazing maze had taken half his face, but even those emotions didn't compare to what he was feeling now.

Something about that thing was very, very wrong.

For a short time, Zach kept his distance. He watched the creature and the three strangers facing it. He could just leave, he told himself. He could turn around right then and there and easily go back the way he came before they noticed him. This wasn't his business. These people weren't his people. He was under no obligation to stick around and help them. He didn't care. He didn't. 

"ZANIAH," the silver woman's voice screamed.

(Something in his chest tugged, and for a heartbeat, Zach thought it was his mother standing there, crying out his name.)

"Goddamit," he hissed quietly, bristling. "Goddamnit!" he cursed again, louder, because he knew exactly what he was about to do.

A flash of ivory fangs. Within seconds, the golden wolf shot forward to join the fray, running as fast as his feet would carry him. He saw the silver lock of hair, intertwined with his own, shift out of the corner of his eye. He let it give him strength as he drew close, feigning a lunge towards the massive creature before a sudden pivot had him circling the other way, constantly on the move, watching. Waiting. 

....

In the distance, a tall white figure watched the scene unfold, as still and silent as the trees surrounding him.

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