middaeg | [open] if you could only see

[ One might think that Zack might avoid the Wilde for a time following his trouble with the full moon early in the month. There are a number of jobs that would keep a person safe within Aefenglom's walls, after all, and he doesn't necessarily want to speed along his transformation.

On the other hand, resisting his transformation and the monstrous urges inside of him is what landed him in that mess in the first place. He's going to turn into a chimera no matter what he does, and so limiting where he can go out of fear of how he'll change isn't going to help his situation.

So here he is, on the lookout for Forget-Me-Nots. The long-sleeved turtleneck and gloves he's wearing more or less mask the changes that remained following the full moon, but his quest partner may see that there are brown feathers woven into his long hair, and smaller ones dusting the side and back of his neck.

They've located one of the prickle-bushes they'd been warned about, so here comes the tricky part. ]

If you hold back some of the branches, I'll try to reach in and pluck the flowers. [ He turns to his partner and signals with a thumbs-up. ] Deal?

[ While Zack's previous intentions of going to see the Underground had been derailed by a blizzard, that won't be the case this time around. It's only when he arrived that he heard that the Matriarch and her people had need of the Mirrobound's help. Which involves wrangling some... wormipedes?

A few different monster possibilities from Gaia come to mind, and some manner of joke about Zack being a country boy isn't missed on him. Once he's told that the wormipedes would be impossible to miss, along with some clues about how to lure them back into their pen, Zack heads off into the tunnels to find the escaped livestock.

Can bugs be livestock? Food for thought as he makes his way.

It doesn't take him long to find one, and wow, that's a lot more teeth than he was prepared for. Zack takes a careful step toward the wormipede, but it doesn't seem at all pleased with his presence. It wriggles away from him, its horror movie mouth opening up with a hiss. ]

Boy, oh boy...

[ Zack lifts his arms and shakes his head to himself, making the dark brown feathers in his hair and around his neck a little more noticeable. ]

Think we're gonna have to lure it over with some of that algae.

[ In the week following the full moon, Zack's got enough to worry about after his little jaunt in the woods. He needs to sort out a bond sooner rather than later, or at least before the next month when the moons will hang heavy in the sky again.

Funny, then, that he ends up the victim of a spell gone wrong in the aftermath of the Lùnasa celebrations. The red strings are impossible to miss, not just tied to his own (now hardened, talon-like) fingers, but also everywhere else in the city. Walking through any well-populated area means seeing an entire web of the strings going this way and that, though it's only the ones attached to his own hand that he can feel or interact with in any way.

While he doubts that this would be the correct way to figure out a solution to his bonding problem, that doesn't mean that he can just ignore it either. The only way to make the strings go away seems to be figuring out where they lead, and he can't help but be a little curious.

So he'll be walking all throughout Aefenglom, trying to locate whoever it is he's been tied to. ]

[ The fight with the wolf had been brief and violent, a clash of fangs with talons, before the two monsters had decided that they had no true quarrel with each other and were better off hunting in different parts of the expansive woods.

Zack hadn't come out of it completely unscathed, however, with some scattered scratches and bite marks which have slowed him down slightly. Chimeras are one of the more resilient monster types, so he's able to press on.

Still filled with a need to run down prey, he ends up wandering the Wilde, on the lookout for something that isn't already tainted with Cwyld. There's nothing appetizing about the black inky substance that seems to overtake anything it gets near.

When Zack comes across a cabin near the edge of the woods, his newly-grown wings twitch with interest and his golden eyes gleam in the shadows. At this point he's given up on walking on two feet, instead embracing how his lengthened spine and limbs allow him to stalk forward on all fours. His tail flicks from side to side as he follows a faint smell of something alive and unspoiled. It smells like...

Lilac and gooseberries. ]

[ It's late into the night at this point, with the moons high and full in the clear sky, and Zack's transformed self has pressed deeper and deeper into the Wilde. He's even managed to hunt down prey, hands that are more like talons slicing the neck of a hare as predatory instincts drive him to rip raw flesh from the bone.

It's thanks to this that he's let his guard down, his wings folded in against his back and his tail prone against the forest floor as he feeds.

With a mind this far gone, there's no reason to believe that anyone would come looking for him. There's nothing to think about other than the next meal. What he ran away from or how he ended up in this state -- all of those thoughts have left him as his monstrous sides have finally decided to assert themselves in a real way.

This is why people fear chimeras, he'll realize later. They're unpredictable, driven by at times conflicting interests. A part of him wishes to take to the sky; another, to slink through the shadows.

For now, though, he's distracted enough by his kill to not realize that someone might be hunting him, as well. ]

[ There's a lot she'll never openly admit, but she'd been vigilant tonight knowing Geralt was probably going to go feral. She'd half expected to find him in her garden again with far less pleasant intentions.

The golden eyes are the first thing to catch her attention in the darkness, relief quickly being replaced with caution as she studies them. Standing in the entranceway to her kitchen, her posture is relaxed even if she's on edge. Her magic was unstable at best right now, trying her best to not use anything unless absolutely necessary. Violet eyes meet the gold ones, an eyebrow arching as her hand rests on her hip. ]

If you're looking for an easy meal, you will not find it here.

[The moons have clutched their influences around Sephiroth’s mind, as well, on this night. Like clockwork, he falls into a deeper transformation — wings larger, plumage fuller, ears at a longer point and his fingertips curved with dark claws — and a Harpy’s instinct overcomes him, has him departing the city and flinging himself into the Wilde’s treetop canopies, lost in shadow and the interlocking weft of thick branches.

His mind is affected, too, like any Monster’s. Even his steel will bends under the purview of the swollen moons hanging in the night sky. And yet Sephiroth has an advantage where some do not: he has his Bonds, and he has a growing experience with nights like these, to rein in his impulses until they feel like they are about to burst, and to set them upon a single target who’s deserving of his attentions.

It grants him a mild lucidity, until he chooses to ignore it altogether. Blessedly, it is just enough to hear the sound of another creature, footsteps heavy, nearby. The sound of flesh being rent, bones snapping. A feeding.

Sephiroth’s wings extend, large enough to blot out moonlight as he tracks the sound, gliding from one tree to another. Branches shudder in protest as he perches atop one in particular, high above, moon and starlight straining through his feathers, or reflecting off the silver of his hair.]

Zack.

[He would know that shape below him, changed as it is. The wings and the tail are new additions, but the frame of his body is the same, the lines of his shoulders, the back of his head hunched down to feed. The rational part of his mind dictates that he should watch him, speak with him, make certain that he will not give in too deeply to those animalistic instincts — his friend would not want to, on any other day or night.

The other part, the Harpy that feels so free in this range of forest, only wishes to engage and to see what might come of it.]

Do you recognize me?

[Kor was feeling than a little dubious about the idea of giant bugs being used as mounts. Like, is that possible? How do they haul cargo? Are they fast? What if someone squishes them with a giant rock?

Once he saw them, though, he understood. With that many legs, they were totally fast.]

Sounds good to me! How much do you think it'll take to make 'em happy?

[ Spells going wrong seem to be how people end up in Aefenglom to begin with. And the Mirrorbound caught up in them!

This particular stretch of red string will bring Zack up by the old barracks, where the doors stand open and few people come and go as they please. Sat on the steps, a dark haired woman with pointed ears has her head bent over the connection, futilely trying to saw through it with a dagger -- or would be, if said dagger didn't simply pass through harmlessly. Again. And again. And again. Augh!

She can't help but heave a sigh as she gives up, weapon dropped in her frustration to skitter across the cobbles. Beside her, a bear (wait, a bear?) makes a sympathetic noise and nudges her shoulder gently. But with the twists of red string connected to some distant person Vex'ahlia hasn't been able to find yet, she's rather at her wits end. ]

[It's a few nights after the full moon when Lightning decides it's time to visit Zack. She knows how it goes, and has seen its after-effects firsthand herself, electing to take care of her newly transformed housemate in the days that follow, watching as her energy slowly returned to her. Enough that she could sit upright longer than a sentence's worth of conversation, that is. It's probably for the best that she gives him the same amount of time to recover, too.

So, after some handwaving magic, Lightning is able to locate his address and sets out to his place with a bag of goodies in her hand. She'd sent him a message over their compasses to let him know that she was coming, and he would have no choice but to unlock the door and let her in, so hopefully he's at least prepared to do the latter!

Later, in the evening when the sun is on its way down, after some deliberation on his front steps, she finally takes in a deep breath and raps her knuckles on the door.]

Zack, it's Light.

[Well, that answers that question. He hadn't said what he was when they were introduced, and she hadn't really asked, but she's pretty sure he doesn't seem the type to weave feathers into his hair for decoration.

... Reminds her of Lex, in a way. Well, time to reminisce about that one later, they have a task to accomplish, and Maria would rather this be done quickly.

She doesn't trust Monsters she doesn't know well, but she trusts the Wildes even less.

The advantage here is that Maria is wearing thick cloth and leather. She doesn't venture into the Wildes without her Hunter attire on, and there are... a lot of layers there. They don't protect from much of a Beast's attack, but they can be the difference between an immediately fatal wound, and one that can be retreated with and healed with Blood.

So sure, it's not a big problem for her to reach down, and grab the branches of the bush, and pull them back. The thorns can't get through her Hunter attire.

Boringly enough.] Can you reach?

[once again, this word proves to be cool as fuck with how metal some of the things living in it were. Styx had been down to the Underground before now, but it had been at the height of the red algae crisis - hardly time to really be looking around. the opportunity to help those people out again but in a much more lowkey capacity seemed perfect at the time, but now -

don't get him wrong, this thing really did look rad. he's just feeling vastly unequipped to be dealing with it, is all.]

Yeah? Uh...think we've got enough for it?

[that was a lot of teeth, after all.]

[ In this state, it doesn't take Zack long to track the smell, and as he comes up on the open doorway and finds someone standing in it, that clawing need within him to hunt rears its ugly head.

He doesn't make a pretty sight at the moment. The full moon has left him as something between human and beast, an amalgamation of different parts, and it's no wonder that the chimera is one of the most hated and shunned of the Monster species.

The woman with her sweet smell speaks words. Somewhere far in the recesses of his mind, they register, but his hindbrain is what has the majority of control right now. His lips peel back, revealing elongated teeth, and he stalks forward, tail whipping. ]

[ She doesn't move, doesn't run to provoke chase as it stalks forward, instead holding her ground. There's a lingering scent of Geralt as he gets closer, while that may be worse for her in this situation, Geralt had been around her home and garden recently enough.

Powers weakened by the lunar effects, so it isn't as effective, but as he stalks forward... he suddenly finds himself teleported 15 feet back. ]

I don't want to hurt you.

[ As soon as a figure crosses the canopy overhead and blocks out the natural light beaming down from the twin moons, Zack becomes aware that he's not alone. That's been true for some time, as the Wilde is full of creatures big and small, infected and not -- most of them prey, but others are legitimate threats.

Whatever has fixed its sights on him, it falls into the second category. Animal instinct alone tells him that, but it's possible there's something familiar about the way this potential threat is looming over him, as well.

The creature he'd been ripping apart with his teeth and claws is forgotten as he lifts his head up, scanning the trees for where the harpy's landed. Then he spots it, draped in long silver hair, and a name is spoken.

Zack.

The name and the voice it's spoken in mean something, and for a moment the person lying dormant rears up in response to it. But with his Monster side having taken over almost completely and with no real bond to ground him, it's nearly impossible for the human part of him to maintain any sort of control. Recognition lights up in his now golden eyes, but only for a moment before the pupils contract and the beast takes over once more.

He makes a noise, something between a lion's growl and an eagle's cry, and then flaps his wings as a show of warning. Don't come any closer. ]

No idea. Seems like we might just have to trial and error this.

[ As far as partners for this little quest goes, Zack is happy to have Kor at his side. He's not sure if the kid is really used to this kind of work, but he doesn't seem at all deterred by any of it so far.

He glances back to Kor, then nods to a collection of the algae attached to a nearby wall of the tunnel. ]

I'll keep an eye on our little friend. Grab a fistful, okay?

[ Having wandered by the barracks during his first few days here, Zack is fairly certain that he must be close to finding the person that he's been attached to. The string is much looser now, which must mean that he's close.

Given that there's a woman sitting with a bear next to her and groaning in frustration, it doesn't take Zack long to figure out where his string leads. Though he remains confused, as he has no idea who the woman is, or why she's got a bear, or why any of this is happening, really.

He steps forward to grab the discarded dagger, picking it up with the hand that isn't currently looped with red string. As he steps forward, there's no denying it; they're tied to each other for some reason. ]

Here you go.

[ He extends the dagger to her hilt-first, then glances at the bear -- who thankfully doesn't seem to be vicious or anything. ]

I think I might be who you're looking for.

[ It's true that Zack's been resting more than anything else these past few days. The transformation had taken a lot out of him, and given that he'd been running through the Wilde like a rabid animal for a good chunk of the night before Sephiroth had managed to incapacitate him, he's needed some time to recover.

And get used to the changes that weren't temporary, mild as they might be in comparison. As soon as he hears Lightning knock at the door and the muffled sound of her voice, he lifts himself up from the couch and heads over to let her in.

The thing is, even grabbing a door handle is awkward at the moment. His fingernails have morphed into long, curved talons which means that grabbing just about anything runs the rest of him slicing into his own palm. Still, he's had some time to practice, so he does get the door open with little fuss.

Other than that, he's now also got some feathers weaved into his hair, mainly at the back, and shorter ones that have grown in around his neck. It's hard not to feel a little bit awkward about the whole thing, even if this process is normal here. ]

Hey. [ Despite everything, he greets her with a smile. ] Thanks for coming by.

[ He holds the door open, allowing her entry to a quaint cottage that's filled with plants, swords, and furniture in almost equal measure. ]

[ If Maria feels any particular way about Zack's appearance, she hasn't sad anything yet. He's aware that may change, having learned more about Maria and her feelings toward Monsters from Kaede. Still, the main point he'd taken away from the conversation was that Maria could come around to a Monster if they proved that they were deserving of her trust, and Zack doesn't mind working for it.

Frustrating as it is to be judged based on a designation that had been thrust upon him here, he's aware of why she would be wary. Having experienced firsthand what the full moons could do to a Monster who wasn't prepared for it, Maria's concerns are understandable.

It just means he's going to have to take measures to deal with it, sooner rather than later. He has no intention of letting himself go feral again.

For now, though, his problems are a bit more straightforward. More flower-picking. When Maria pulls back the branches, Zack nods firmly. ]

Should be able to, yeah!

[ He does have to get down on his hands and knees and then stretch forward as far as he can extend his arm in order to grab the flowers, but he manages it. It's only as he's pulling his arm back to safety that one of the thorns tears through his sleeve, grazing him just slightly. ]

... Whoops.

[This festival, like several other recent ones, had passed in an unexpectedly contented haze instead of something mired in resentment. For Kaede, at least. They became welcome places to distract herself from a house that was suddenly a lot more empty.

Kaede was still inclined to be a prickly person, though. Especially on full moons, festival or no.

There were several threads on the Chimera's hand, leading in very different directions. Perhaps because Chimeras were more sensitive to magic, or because she was...attached, to several others. It led to some fussy thoughts, and drew her out of the house to at least figure out where some of them went. One led her to her Bonded--as expected.

But that left other unknowns, and Kaede didn't like that. One, at least, might be answered soon--one of the threads went a bit tauter, and the sound of footsteps drifted from around the corner.]

Who--

[She started, rudely, her ears pinned back and a disagreeable scowl on her face.

And then, if Zack were listening very closely, he might hear her brain short circuiting for a second.]

Oh. Uh. Hi, Zack.

[The grimace falls from the antlered Chimera's face and her hand lowers, ears coming forward again. A little. She was still a bit sheepish about the fact she was considering mauling the person she didn't know on the other end of the thread. And that it turned out to be Zack and there was...some baggage that came with that. Baggage he didn't seem to know about at all and Kaede's mind constantly skittered away from wanting to talk about.

It's fine. If she ignores it it's fine.]

[ While Zack has gone toe-to-toe with all sorts of monsters back on Gaia and isn't one to balk at some of the uglier creatures that exist out there, he has to admit that this wormipede isn't the prettiest thing he's ever seen. And that's a lot of teeth, yep. ]

Guess there's only one way to find out. It's domesticated, so... it'll probably be fine, right?

[ He flashes his partner in worm-wrangling a grin, then bends down to collect some of the algae from the tunnel's floor into his palms. He can tell the other guy is a little apprehensive, so he doesn't mind taking point here. ]

If it eats me, tell my story, all right?

[ Vex doesn't initially notice how slack the string is getting, lost in her sighs as she is, but Trinket's ears perk up as Zack approaches, watching the human duck briefly to collect the dagger. No aggression, his pose is far too lax for that, and one might almost be forgiven for mistaking him as a giant shaggy dog. Almost.

Her head does lift from her hands when Zack speaks, however, Vex blinking twice - once for the words, and once for the offered dagger. ]

Oh. Thanks. [automatic, as she accepts the blade back, before she seems to shake herself out of momentary stupor] So it would seem!

I'm guessing you're probably not responsible for.. [she tugs her end of the string ruefully.]

... Whoops?

[She raises an eyebrow; she can't see beneath the branches - there's too thick a snarl of them - and she can only watch below as he seems to pause.] Is there something else under there?

Yeah. 'Bout time I checked up on you.

[The feathers around his neck are the first thing she notices, eyes falling from his face to pause on them, before they roam down to his hands where she sees the long claws that weren't there the last time they saw one another. She had been expecting this, so she doesn't look the least bit surprised by the changes, but it's hard not to let her gaze linger for as long as she does while she tries to take them in. He looks a little worse for wear too, in comparison to what she's used to, although she can't blame him for that.

Returning the smile, Lightning lets herself inside.

She knows nothing about his housemates, nor has she met either of them, but this seems... about right. The swords, especially—a decoration she can appreciate. The plants make it feel homely and welcoming, too. After a moment of taking it in, she turns to him again and lifts the bag in her hands, jiggling it.]

Brought you some soup. Homemade. Thought you could use some.

[It's about that time of the day. And it's still hot and fresh.]

Oh, yeah - it is, isn't it?

[they'd been told that at the start of this journey, but seeing the creature in the (too fleshy) flesh had chased that fact straight out of Styx's head. if it was tamed then why was it looking at them so meanly?

...better question, why was Zack talking to him like there was a real chance he was going to be eviscerated!?]

D-dude, you don't gotta die! I can't write songs for shit!

[when did this memorial tale became a musical, anyhow? but songs are the only expression that Styx really knows, and of course it would be way cooler if your final exploits were written into a ballad; the only problem was that with both Vincent and Ymir absent from this world, his ability to do so was...not looking great.

spurred on by this and also his own desire to not have anyone die for him, Styx begins to collect some of that same algae himself a bit more frantically.]

Be better with two at once anyway, right?

[open] if you could only see

QUEST 🌺 forget-me-nots 🌺 open

QUEST 🤠 cavern cowboys 🤠 open

POST-LÙNASA 💞 red string spell 💞 open

FULL MOON 🌕 for yennefer 🌕 closed

FULL MOON 🦅 for sephiroth 🦅 closed

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