Everything had gone black. Something awful had washed over them all, seeping into their skin and the air they had no choice but to breathe. There was so escaping it. He hadn't even gotten a chance to understand it, before there was nothing but darkness. Nightmares. Awful images of horses around him dying. Dead. And then rising up as something deadly. Something sickening and terrible. And all he could do was stand and stare as they came for him. Mouths gaping and drooling, eyes glazed over. He couldn't move. Couldn't call out. They converged on him and he fell beneath the weight of them. Unimaginable pain as they tore into his body, his face. Until there was nothing but darkness again.
He wakes, drenched in sweat, breathing labored. His skin feels like fire. That's when he remembers. He'd come to join the fight on Rhonen, only to be side-tracked with the Fire Dick. Joined with Dovev, protecting his pet, Leliana. Where were they now? He groans out loud as he pushes himself up from the vulnerable position of laying flat to being more upright on his shoulder and belly. Oh, but his head swims with the motion and he has to pause. His muscles ache and his stomach twists. Good thing horses can't vomit. Sweat beads on his skin over his face and neck as he fights to keep it lifted. Brown eyes, flecked with amethyst, slowly scan the wasteland around him. The fire dick is gone. Through the blur of his vision, he makes out Leliana in the distance, limping hazily away.
Another groan and a grunt as he rocks himself up some more, trying to get his feet about him. He fails, falling flat and having to start all over. "Fuck." What is this. What's happening. Laying upright once more, his face tightens and his eyes clench shut against the pain behind them. The roaring of the beast echoes in his head, for only him to hear, and he hisses out a breath. It throws itself into the side of its cage, demanding release. Zoryn growls and shakes his head, trying to clear it. Trying to remember. Through the fog of his memory, there's the words of the Fairies. Infected, that's what he is. For listening to Carnage and joining the fray. Punished. Fuck. He has to get up. Has to get to his girls. Oh hell, where are they? Surely they hadn't come here, they were smarter than that. But had they been infected too? Shit. Fuck. Okay. Going to them would mean infecting them with this shit too. But he has to know that their safe. The fairies planted a map in his head, rearranged the world again- the wretches. But there are safe lands. Oh, fuck. Dizzy. Is she suffering too? Maybe she would find the girls and rush them to safety. But he has to find out. Needs to know at least his precious girls are okay.
The beast in his head roars so loud and, coupled with his own labored breathing, he almost can't hear the man beside him rasping out. Adrenaline pushes through him as he fights to get up. Rocking himself up on shaky legs, a cough racks through him and nearly has him losing his balance. His lungs burn amd crackle like fire, his skin so feverish and wet. His mane and tail stick to him, and his mouth is so damn dry. He gasps for air as the coughing settles, and finally, he can turn his head toward the sound of raspy breaths that aren't his own. Dovev. Laying flat a few yards from him. Looking like death, were it not for the breaths he could hear, and the motion of his head trying to lift. The man murmurs his name, calling for him, and he does his best to answer.
Grunting with the effort it takes to turn his body and take the steps, Zoryn goes to him. "Dovev." It takes everything not to crumble to the ground beside him and succumb to the darkness creeping up on the edge of his vision. But he can't afford to give in. There is no telling how long they've been lying here, helpless. They have to get up. Find water. Get moving and go find their loved one. "Dovev!" He manages to raise his voice, gain some energy with his next steps. The man at his feet looks as miserable as Zor feels, but they can't give into it. He won't allow it.
With a rush of rage and urgency, he collects himself. "Dovev!!" He's unresponsive and Zor can see some of his bone plaits piercing into his chest. Soon, it might begin to puncture a lung and be the death of him. He definitely can't allow that. With a bellow of madness, he lifts himself high and brings all the force of his weight down on his forelegs over those plates. He feels the give of them, but it isn't enough. Once more, he rises above him, stomping down on all that calcification under heavy hooves. This time, he's rewarded with a 'crack!'. Gasping and groaning for air, sweat dripping down his neck and shoulders, he looks down and assesses. Once more, he strikes him, until the crack follows through and the bit of bone pushing up into Dov's body falls away. Exhausted from the exertion, he collapses beside Dovev with a huff. "Fuck. Come on. We. Have to. Get up." And with a raspy sigh, he drops his head and neck over Dov's shoulder.
He wakes, drenched in sweat, breathing labored. His skin feels like fire. That's when he remembers. He'd come to join the fight on Rhonen, only to be side-tracked with the Fire Dick. Joined with Dovev, protecting his pet, Leliana. Where were they now? He groans out loud as he pushes himself up from the vulnerable position of laying flat to being more upright on his shoulder and belly. Oh, but his head swims with the motion and he has to pause. His muscles ache and his stomach twists. Good thing horses can't vomit. Sweat beads on his skin over his face and neck as he fights to keep it lifted. Brown eyes, flecked with amethyst, slowly scan the wasteland around him. The fire dick is gone. Through the blur of his vision, he makes out Leliana in the distance, limping hazily away.
Another groan and a grunt as he rocks himself up some more, trying to get his feet about him. He fails, falling flat and having to start all over. "Fuck." What is this. What's happening. Laying upright once more, his face tightens and his eyes clench shut against the pain behind them. The roaring of the beast echoes in his head, for only him to hear, and he hisses out a breath. It throws itself into the side of its cage, demanding release. Zoryn growls and shakes his head, trying to clear it. Trying to remember. Through the fog of his memory, there's the words of the Fairies. Infected, that's what he is. For listening to Carnage and joining the fray. Punished. Fuck. He has to get up. Has to get to his girls. Oh hell, where are they? Surely they hadn't come here, they were smarter than that. But had they been infected too? Shit. Fuck. Okay. Going to them would mean infecting them with this shit too. But he has to know that their safe. The fairies planted a map in his head, rearranged the world again- the wretches. But there are safe lands. Oh, fuck. Dizzy. Is she suffering too? Maybe she would find the girls and rush them to safety. But he has to find out. Needs to know at least his precious girls are okay.
The beast in his head roars so loud and, coupled with his own labored breathing, he almost can't hear the man beside him rasping out. Adrenaline pushes through him as he fights to get up. Rocking himself up on shaky legs, a cough racks through him and nearly has him losing his balance. His lungs burn amd crackle like fire, his skin so feverish and wet. His mane and tail stick to him, and his mouth is so damn dry. He gasps for air as the coughing settles, and finally, he can turn his head toward the sound of raspy breaths that aren't his own. Dovev. Laying flat a few yards from him. Looking like death, were it not for the breaths he could hear, and the motion of his head trying to lift. The man murmurs his name, calling for him, and he does his best to answer.
Grunting with the effort it takes to turn his body and take the steps, Zoryn goes to him. "Dovev." It takes everything not to crumble to the ground beside him and succumb to the darkness creeping up on the edge of his vision. But he can't afford to give in. There is no telling how long they've been lying here, helpless. They have to get up. Find water. Get moving and go find their loved one. "Dovev!" He manages to raise his voice, gain some energy with his next steps. The man at his feet looks as miserable as Zor feels, but they can't give into it. He won't allow it.
With a rush of rage and urgency, he collects himself. "Dovev!!" He's unresponsive and Zor can see some of his bone plaits piercing into his chest. Soon, it might begin to puncture a lung and be the death of him. He definitely can't allow that. With a bellow of madness, he lifts himself high and brings all the force of his weight down on his forelegs over those plates. He feels the give of them, but it isn't enough. Once more, he rises above him, stomping down on all that calcification under heavy hooves. This time, he's rewarded with a 'crack!'. Gasping and groaning for air, sweat dripping down his neck and shoulders, he looks down and assesses. Once more, he strikes him, until the crack follows through and the bit of bone pushing up into Dov's body falls away. Exhausted from the exertion, he collapses beside Dovev with a huff. "Fuck. Come on. We. Have to. Get up." And with a raspy sigh, he drops his head and neck over Dov's shoulder.
@[The Plague]