[ Looking back, Zack will ask himself how he let it happen. As a trained SOLDIER with years of experience under his belt and enhancements besides, he shouldn't have been able to let himself get ambushed in that way. He'd been on the patrol routes for a month now, and maybe that was the problem. Maybe he'd let his guard down too much. Or maybe, just like before on Midgar's bluffs, it had been an issue of sheer numbers. They'd decided they wanted him and they'd done whatever it took to make that happen, overwhelming him before he could have a hope of fighting back.
He's now been in this cell for he doesn't know how long, and that's the thing, isn't it? It's dark, it's dim, and there's no way to track the passage of time. He's done this before, and having to go through it yet again is like having his head forcibly held underwater.
The full moon's arrival is a distraction of sorts, and while there's less that has to change now that he's acquired so many of his animal parts permanently, he still has to endure the agony of two wings bursting free from his back, the tearing of skin and splattering of blood that's become the norm for every month.
It's worse than that, though. With his Bond so far away, Cloud having disappeared deep into the Wilde on a trip, holding back on his monstrous instincts is harder than it should be. Zack's slumped on his side, doing everything in his power to cling to what's left of cognizant thought, when the cell door screeches open and another body is dumped inside. There's another one that's already been here, seemingly lifeless in the far corner of cell, who Zack hasn't had the wherewithal to investigate yet.
As for this new person, though? It takes some squinting through the dark, but his sharpened eagle-eye vision allows him to piece together that it must be another chimera. The bent-back limbs, the mess of fur — do these people just want to put them all together for some reason?
Zack pushes himself up, his bloodied wings sagging behind him, and pads forward. His feet are digitigrade now, something he always has to adjust to when the monthly changes happen, but he makes it over and crouches down at the side of his new cell mate. ]
Hey. [ He grabs for a shoulder and shakes, taking care that his nails that are more like talons don't dig into flesh. ] Hey, you alive? [ How many times had he mumbled things like this to Cloud, within the depths of the Shinra mansion? The memory makes his stomach twist. Still, at least this is serving to keep his mind clear, to not let the monstrous nature buried inside him come to the forefront. ]
I-A
He's now been in this cell for he doesn't know how long, and that's the thing, isn't it? It's dark, it's dim, and there's no way to track the passage of time. He's done this before, and having to go through it yet again is like having his head forcibly held underwater.
The full moon's arrival is a distraction of sorts, and while there's less that has to change now that he's acquired so many of his animal parts permanently, he still has to endure the agony of two wings bursting free from his back, the tearing of skin and splattering of blood that's become the norm for every month.
It's worse than that, though. With his Bond so far away, Cloud having disappeared deep into the Wilde on a trip, holding back on his monstrous instincts is harder than it should be. Zack's slumped on his side, doing everything in his power to cling to what's left of cognizant thought, when the cell door screeches open and another body is dumped inside. There's another one that's already been here, seemingly lifeless in the far corner of cell, who Zack hasn't had the wherewithal to investigate yet.
As for this new person, though? It takes some squinting through the dark, but his sharpened eagle-eye vision allows him to piece together that it must be another chimera. The bent-back limbs, the mess of fur — do these people just want to put them all together for some reason?
Zack pushes himself up, his bloodied wings sagging behind him, and pads forward. His feet are digitigrade now, something he always has to adjust to when the monthly changes happen, but he makes it over and crouches down at the side of his new cell mate. ]
Hey. [ He grabs for a shoulder and shakes, taking care that his nails that are more like talons don't dig into flesh. ] Hey, you alive? [ How many times had he mumbled things like this to Cloud, within the depths of the Shinra mansion? The memory makes his stomach twist. Still, at least this is serving to keep his mind clear, to not let the monstrous nature buried inside him come to the forefront. ]