☆ Event Log: Snatched, Part One

[faileas]

Event Log: January, Snatched - Part One

I. The Fires (14th) Though it began this month with petty vandalism, before long, things escalate. On the evening of the 14th, when many are settling down for the night, fires blaze to life simultaneously all over the city, though they seem to cluster in places that Mirrorbound and refugees frequent. Homes, businesses, market stalls, the Barracks, the Residential Districts, they could pop up anywhere, but the worst of them seem to hit different locations within the Haven. The refugees stand to lose a lot in the fires, everything they've built up since arriving here at the end of September, and Mirrorbound stand to suffer damage to the homes or businesses they've built in Aefenglom. No doubt everyone is quick to catch on, but with so many locations burning at once, help is thin on the ground. As soon as they're alerted, the Coven sends out a call to all Witches, Merrow, water-based Dragons, anyone who can manipulate water or ice to help put out the fires across town before they can spread. With the city plan so tight and buildings so close together, it's a real worry. They'll accept all hands, even those with no particular water-based talents - anybody can carry buckets, after all. Bucket brigades made up of mostly Monsters form from the River Temese out to pass water to where it's needed most. Others with fire magic or resistances are asked to search the buildings still on fire for anyone still trapped inside. On the streets, more set up stations to treat burns and smoke inhalation, and to check people over for worse injuries. It takes a couple of hours to put out the last of the flames, but thanks to quick action, no lives are confirmed lost. The City Guard is present at the sites of the fires in the hours afterward, questioning witnesses and determining the sources with both magical and Monster-ability-based methods, but as the chaos calms down, it quickly becomes clear that 1. this is a case of purposeful arson, and 2. not all witnesses are present. Maybe it's your friend, or family member, or just an acquaintance you know you saw go into their house at the end of the day, but they're conspicuously absent from the crowds gathered on the streets. Those who are Bonded to a missing person feel it first, though - a horrible sensation like a pillow over the face or a tightening in the chest, smothering their Bond to barely anything, except the very rare flicker of something, a tiny spark lost to the darkness as soon as it's felt. The sudden absence of them is like a case of phantom limb, something that should be there suddenly isn't, but yet it isn't quite an annullment or breaking of the Bond. It's still there, just muted and tamped down. It feels a little different for everyone, maybe painful or maybe just uncomfortable, or maybe, in the cases of new or less-close Bonds, it simply feels as if it never existed. Regardless, those Bonded can't be found through Bonds. It's like those loved ones have vanished, without a trace. The City Guard and Coven representatives alike will seek to make a comprehensive list of all who have gone missing, but Mirrorbound cooperation will be needed for that; they would know better than anyone, because the missing ones are all Mirrorbound or refugees.

II. The Lost Souls (14th - 20th) CW: Torture, captivity, restraints. You were spirited away in the middle of the night. Maybe you were out, or maybe you were safe in your own home, but either way, someone managed to get the drop on you. Upon waking, everything is fuzzy, until clarity returns suddenly and violently. It's possible to remember a struggle, an enchanted darkness that might have enveloped you, maybe even a glimpse of the face of the human or Witch who grabbed you, but now you're stuck in a small, stone cell, the only entrance covered in shiny new bars thick enough to hold back a rampaging Dragon. The hall beyond is also stone and dimly lit by sparse magitech lights and the soft, runic glow of spells drawn on the walls and floors. There are more cells like yours, filled with more Monsters and Witches like you. What's worse, maybe you're alone, or maybe another poor soul is trapped with you - the space isn't exactly large enough for two, but the comfort might be nice. Witches will find their magic restrained, tamped down with a spell similar to the Coven's punishment for lawbreaking. Monsters' restraints are more traditional - muzzles, chains, manacles, and particular weaknesses that differ from Monster type to Monster type, such as silver or iron, water, or the lack of water. Even if, by some small mercy, a person finds themselves with their hands free, all of the captives' Watches have been taken, along with most other belongings on them. The uncertainty of your new location doesn't last for long. It's only a matter of time before people pass through the cellblock in pairs or trios, talking to each other and ignoring the captives behind bars, checking up on the spells that line the room. Those with keen memories will realize - these are not the same people who took them in the first place. All are human, and they all share a familial resemblance - black hair, violet eyes, pointed noses, and unpleasant sneers. Over time, with observation (and what else are you going to do, while you wait for the worst?), maybe frequenters of the Coven will pick out a familiar face, a haughty, unpopular Witch named Constance Rathmore who refuses to associate with Mirrorbound in classes, or those familiar with the law might pick out a mid-ranked member of the City Guard named Godfrey Rathmore, who perhaps looks the other way when refugees are harassed. As the hours tick by, it becomes obvious that there are maybe 22 of the Rathmore family, the only ones with access to this corridor. Other voices, maybe familiar from the kidnapping, can be heard outside the main doors at times, but they never enter, and seem none the wiser as to what is actually happening. a. The Torments And what is happening? Something sinister. It's usually a different set of family members, a pair of cousins, the daughter or the son, occasionally even the matriarch and her son and daughter-in-law (who may be recognized as long-time members of Parliament). Their methods and motivations may be a bit different, but they share one thing - innate cruelty, and a hatred for those they see as a plague on Aefenglom, those harbingers of unwanted change. Sometimes they inflict pain on captives right there through the bars of the cells, with nasty spells or physical instruments, but more often, they choose a victim or two to remove from their cell, still in restraints, to take down the hall, through the heavy door at the opposite end from the entrance. The wide room at the end is a place of horrors: instruments of torture lining tables, heavy restraints, and glass jars to receive any bits or blood they might separate from the original owners, to sell on the black market. The runes on the walls and floor in this room are different as well - this is advanced, forbidden magic, practiced by the daughter Constance on brand new test subjects. When the family members have grown bored or tired themselves out, they return their current playthings to a cell - not always the same cell with the same cellmate, not always with the same restraints, but every time they ensure that it will be difficult to escape or fight back. b. The Whispers While the Rathmores do not often speak directly to captives, they speak to each other quite a bit, as do the others who occasionally pass outside the heavy door at the entrance and simply seem to serve as watchmen outside the corridor. It's easy to get snippets of conversation between the horrors. What else are you going to do, besides wait, and listen, and plot your escape? "Shame about Uncle Rodolphus. Scarred by the mist, his Black Market business raided." "None of it would have happened if they hadn't provoked Dorchacht. It was Drummond's Witch in our city who unleashed that awful gas, as retribution for what they did over there..." "...-Destabilizing a whole city like that, and there are only a hundred of them give or take. Imagine what they'll do to Aefenglom if we don't stop it." "They'll all want to leave after this, surely. We'll go for another batch in a couple of weeks, once Godfrey convinces the Guard to stop looking." "Good. Maybe Dorchacht will take them. Them and their brutal revolutionaries..." "...-Father thinks we can control them if he manages to get in touch with his contact in Dorchacht. They had that spell, you know? Like the collars, but better. Maybe then we can sell them off, make some money back to cover our losses..." "...-All this pushing for equality. The whole economy will collapse. Everyone has their place in a functioning society, right, sister?"... "...-heard from Mr. Rathmore himself they're doing magic in there. A spell to send the Mirrorbound home, and the refugees along with them." "Then why did we have to grab them like that? You'd think they'd want to leave." "The Coven wants them here, obviously. It's a power-play, there's no way they'd allow Mr. Rathmore to do this..." "...-I don't know about this, the Rathmores always seemed a little extreme-..." As a reminder: while this prompt contains a general content warning for torture, please make sure to leave decently specific content warnings in your headers for anything that may be uncomfortable for other players to stumble across. The level of torture experienced by each character is up to the individual players - please respect each other's limits!

III. The Ones Left Behind (14th - 20th) Meanwhile, out in the city, the atmosphere is a new kind of tense. The papers pick up the story pretty quickly, so before long, it seems that everyone knows about it. In the days since the fires, repairs seem to be on the backburner; the remaining refugees especially worry for their missing friends and loved ones, and the missing Mirrorbound. The graffiti stops entirely, as do nasty comments in the streets. The upper-class, when they come into contact with the remaining Mirrorbound, cannot meet their eyes, or even react with genuine sympathy, a rare few even saying in hushed murmurs that they hope they find their people. Vandalizing their property is one thing, it seems, but people simply vanishing, Bonds being smothered... that's another. Even if they don't worry for the Mirrorbound, they worry for their own safety in Aefenglom now. On the other hand, residents of the Western Residential District, primarily Monsters but including a fair few humans as well, stop by the Haven more often, bringing food and kind words, and asking after the disappearances with real concern. The City Guard is an increased presence on the streets, trying to track down witnesses who may have information, but without warrants, their hands are tied in a lot of cases. Some Mirrorbound are asked quietly by the Lead Investigator if they wouldn't mind looking into some of the sources of the fires, and trying to track down anyone who might have seen something - they can operate a little more loosely, not being bound by the same bureaucracy as the Guard. They're promised Guard and Coven cooperation and support in this. The demand for artists increases in the days after the abduction. Many of the refugees especially will seek out anyone who can draw to help them create fliers about the missing people to post around town, to raise awareness. Maybe they want to make posters of another refugee, or maybe they want posters made of particular Mirrorbound faces who helped them in the past. They're distressed, but they're pulling together as a community - and it's clear they consider all the Mirrorbound a part of it, judging from how they'll try to pull anyone in to their efforts to put the 'missing' posters up around the city. The Coven, too, is in a flurry of worry, second only to the refugees, who are missing some of their own as well. Many of the regular classes are disrupted and become impromptu Divining sessions, circles of Witches holding hands and chanting in rooms filled with incense smoke, making concentrated efforts to determine the location of their missing fellows. After all, many Mirrorbound are their classmates, and they want to see them returned safely. Anyone passing through the Coven may get pulled into one of these sessions - Witches to lend their magic to the circle, Monsters who know any of the missing to act as foci. Unfortunately, nothing concrete turns up in the fleeting visions they do get, and the backlash is immense, resulting in splitting migraines. It's magical interference for sure. Luckily, Miss Aerianna, the middle-aged Arachne caretaker to the Dreamers (who, she'll say, are currently unreachable - they're trying to suss out the missing Mirrorbound as well), is well-versed with Divination headaches, and is around distributing her supposed cure-all, which smells like swamp-water and tastes twice as bad. At least it works on the headaches. While the part of the city who wanted to see the Mirrorbound gone have quieted down some, the part of the city that welcomes them has grown louder, providing what support they can to try to find those lost souls who have vanished. The investigation briefs will be posted under location-specific headers down below! Feel free to thread underneath them with others investigating the same area, or collaborate with other teams to share information. We decided to go ahead and allow for everyone who signed up to investigate whichever area they're interested in rather than splitting characters into mod-decided teams, but we encourage working together!

Welcome to Part One of January's event, Snatched! The sign-ups thread is here - it's not too late to get involved. Only the kidnapped characters who will escape on the evening of the 20th is closed out to new sign-ups. Headers for the investigations are here. Part Two of this event will be posted on the 21st and will include the escape, rescue and bringing the perpetrators to justice.

And a note for all! If your character does anything significant during Part 1 or Part 2, we want to hear about it on the city tracker! Make sure your submissions are in by Feb. 3rd, because a special aftermath post will go up on the 4th.

Comments

[curruid_coinchenn]

[ The muzzle drops away and the cuffs on his wrists fall off, clattering to the floor; the collar remains around his neck. It's enough of a relief that he absently rubs his raw, bloody wrists before touching his face. He'd been denied food already for some time, starvation an easy tactic to make a resistant beast more pliant. The scent is mostly annoying for now; he's good at self-denial in everything and had no joy for eating (it was simply necessary, nothing more).

He's also in enough pain that standing up is not an option right now. If he were in better shape, Judar might have more to worry about. Berserker does sit up and straighten himself out, grimacing briefly from the effort. ]

You shouldn't be. You know Caster, after all.

[ The Grail and Medb's wish greatly corrupted who he should have been and robbed him of many things; his attitude, however, was no one of them. ]

[kuroi_taiyo]

Yeah. Going for the simple and straightforward method is the usual choice, talking shit, and maybe something with bad luck.

[ It's what he learned about 'Caster,' and if that meant he should apply it to Ciarán, then he will. Just... Moodier.

Where Berserker was getting used to a little bit of freedom, Judar's eyes were on the wired globe. He was also gently pulling one of his legs towards him, to feel along the area, or steadily rub against the source of pain. Not that he's showing the pain very much, save for a bit of tension in the face, but he's trying to keep distracted on a more productive level. ]

How much could you move, if you were desperate enough? Not even getting up- just moving.

[ Because with that orb, he's guessing that it doesn't matter how long it's been since Ciarán had eaten. Even now, while the smell of blood wasn't adding to it, the herbs were reminding Judar that it's been a while since he's had anything as well. His studies have been towards different kinds of magic, but he can guess what it's meant to do. He bets that before long, it'd be like they were starving. ]

[curruid_coinchenn]

I can lunge my body length, but not far beyond that...My tail is free and unharmed.

[ With his injured leg, it's unlikely he could run far or fast; even if he ignored the pain, he couldn't get very far. He stays seated for now, his tail curled against him.

Berserker is aware, of course, of what they're trying to do. They want him to rip Judar apart and devour him like a starving beast. He's too in control of his faculties (and too stubborn) to give into these desires so easily. ]

So if I got desperate, I could use it to trip you up. Stay on the other side of the room from me...Did your ankle break or is it just twisted?

[ Something he needs to know in case he does get overwhelmingly desperate. ]

[kuroi_taiyo]

At least they left you that...

[ It seemed like such an easy danger to their captors that Judar almost expected them to do something about the tail. Especially if it had as much strength as it looked for lashing purposes.

Broken or twisted is a good question, though. He'd probably need to stand on it to really make sure, but right now, he could only tell one thing. That it hurt a lot. Giving the timing, he was too busy landing hard to have heard the snap completely. ]

Knowing my luck? At least I got away with it not being a full break, if anything. I'll try it out after the initial pain eases up and find out. Unless they try something else out, or there's a second stage of that ball, we've got time.

[curruid_coinchenn]

It's too difficult to easily restrain a tail. They'd have to bind me to the floor to keep it from moving.

[ That's his best guess, anyway. It not as simple as binding wrists together and there are far too many bones in it to effectively break it. ]

...They're going to be disappointed when whatever they're planning backfires. [ Berserker slowly comes to stand on shaking, unsteady legs. The wound on his thigh throbs, but he manages to stay upright. ] You're not the kind of prey I like to hunt.

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ And hopefully they weren't planning on adding 'tail shortening' to the list of things to do to the dragon later on, after all of this. ]

Yeah, you've made it clear enough that I'm not your type. Too gamey or something. Barely a hunt right now, anyway.

[ See, he can continue to make light of the situation, not even really being worried as, despite everything, Berserker was still getting up. He'll worry and deal with making a potential break even worse later on, if the guy tries going towards him, or if he starts to drool. If he's anything like his counterpart, which Judar's been referring to them due to all the similarities, Ciarán was too stubborn. ]

Should you even be getting up like that?

[curruid_coinchenn]

[ Don't encourage them. He's grown to like his tail and its use as a third hand.

Stubbornness is a trait he and Caster share. They share more in common than they differ, truthfully. They're both practically fueled by spite and a petty need to prove anyone who doubts them wrong. ]

No, but I wanted to make sure I can still stand.

[ They hadn't gone after the wound on his leg, not yet anyway. It's an easy target, certainly, and could cause extreme pain as a vector for infection. ]

Why? Worried about me or afraid I'll come after you?

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ There's a reason why he was keeping that thought to himself. He didn't need to give the Rathmores more ideas. ]

You're the biggest danger in this cell to anyone that gets close enough. Which makes you more useful.

[ With the stone floor, Judar couldn't even grow a flower at someone, even if he tried. What he had the best was his speed, which was now hindered to... Some degree. It's not like he was going to test it right away. ]

So now that you know you can stand, stick to whatever works for you to be useful, or survive.

[ Well, he's doing well in not sounding like he's afraid or anything. In a way, it sucks, but he knows he'll survive after this. Not for optimism, but for practical reasons. Even if the dragon gave into his hunger, Judar was banking on the fact that they seemed to want as much of his antlers as possible, and with whatever they were planning having failed, they'd need to keep the faun around longer. So, maybe maiming and being eaten was in his future, but if his thoughts lined up right, so was his survival. At least for a while. ]

If I remember right, some prisoners used to talk on and on about the people that they had 'on the outside.' Sometimes to beg for freedom, or like a weird determination. Use that if you need to.

[ The dragon was... In really shitty condition. So if any of that, or even spite worked, then let it. As Judar said, he'd be the bigger danger to their tormentors. ]

[curruid_coinchenn]

I have no intention of dying here.

[ He'd lost one Bond the same day he was kidnapped, so he's still dealing with that aching sadness. His determination to see his other two Bondmates is what drives him. They're all that matter to him now. Sure, he has friends, too, but they are secondary to those closest to him. ]

Not that they'll let me die...A dragon is too valuable for that.

[ His hunger is noticeable now, annoying and distracting him. Judar is beginning to look more and more appetizing in a twisted way. Berserker shakes his head and ignores it for now, though it's hard to ignore the predatory way he looks at the faun now. ]

And as I said...stay on the other side of me. As far as you can manage.

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ Too valuable and rare, that's for sure. At least that's the information he gleaned from texts; before Mirrorbound were showing up again, they were a rare breed that were even more reclusive or something. Similar to how there weren't really many fae. You don't get rid of that unless you have a guaranteed way of getting a fresh replacement out of it. ]

I mean, being too valuable's why they're feeding you. It'll get your strength up, promote any healing done on you, and get you ready for more harvesting.

[ They might have waited, and just tried testing a mirrorbound's compassion for one another, to torment off of that, but... Well, someone goaded them a little more. They brought a prey into the cell, so why not deal with it with a more common beast that wasn't getting them... Whatever they were hoping to do. It's not like Judar had to be alive to harvest the antlers. ]

That's as much your work as it is mine. You stay as far back as possible, too, for as long as you can.

[ It's subtle, but he can tell the way the expression starts to change. However that means he can't really wait to test his leg. Though, as he tries to push up to his feet, on his good leg, there's something that stops him about halfway. Whatever had been there to yank him down was still in place, like invisible chains. Of course the bastard didn't release the spell. The only 'release' was cast on the predator.

Of fucking course.

Not enough to get up, but he'll shift closer to the wall he was yanked towards, seeming to avoid putting any weight on the injured leg. He can work with this, and make it all seem fine. ]

I'll have the adrenaline to move quickly if you try anything. Unless you can move faster than lightning in that state, we'll be fine.

[curruid_coinchenn]

I will...

[ Berserker sits back down. His leg was aching way too much for him to continue standing. The hunger is forgotten for the moment as he gently presses the area around the wound. It's tender and hot, neither of which are good signs.

As strong a front as he puts up, the hunger is getting to be unbearable. The dragon stays on the ground as he continues to observe Judar. ]

As I've said, I have no want to play their game. [ He shrugs. ] I can lunge forward quickly enough, but...defend yourself as you see fit. I'm in no danger of losing myself to my instincts.

[ Not...entirely the truth. He's having to push his need to hunt to the back of his mind right now. ]

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ Yeah. The leg- well, everything about the guy was in pretty bad straits. He needed both food and a healer of some kind, of some skill. A shame they made the mistake of putting potential food that the dragon didn't hold any feelings towards. If they really wanted to test the camaraderie or torment them with the idea of survival against their loved ones, this was a big mistake. Maybe they thought the Mirrorbound all cared about one another. Idiots. ]

Right. Like I said, we'll be their most frustrating cell. Never letting them get what they want.

[ It's not like he was just going to give up or anything. After finding the key bit of information to destroy them, he was going to get out of here. ]

Keep resisting the spell and they'll get bored pretty quickly. They tossed that thing in here because they didn't want to wait.

[ Or to speed things up, but the way Judar was framing it gave them both an opportunity to spite the Rathmores. Just a little bit and they'll be pissed and impatient enough to move on to something else. How strong can spite be over hunger? ]

[curruid_coinchenn]

Frustration might lead to another beating.

[ It's a dry remark delivered in his normal disinterested tone. ]

What do you think they'll do when we don't play their games? Their cruelty isn't very inventive...This is the most interesting thing they've done so far.

[ He closes his eyes, trying to focus on anything but the nagging hunger that only grows greater. The scent of Judar's blood certainly isn't helping things. ]

[kuroi_taiyo]

Would you rather be more cooperative?

[ After everything that was said earlier? Though there's going to be a point when they didn't have much choice, Judar was sure of that. They could make things difficult, but it'll only lead to problems later on. ]

If there is anything interesting that they've got in mind, it might take time to put together. For now, aside from the ones like that guy with the glove, it's just grunts and mooks. So... Beatings for the most part.

[ He couldn't assume that the other guy was a witch. The glove could've easily have had some spells prepared into it- or it was prepared anyway to put some separation between witch and target. He hadn't studied very far into things like magical signatures or anything like that.

With that and the spell ball... The best Judar could do was to leave the cuts alone, so that they'd clot and stop, instead of doing anything to smear and worsen the smell of blood in the air. Hopefully it stops and wears off before the dragon loses himself to hunger. Though he said he was in no danger of losing to those instincts... ]

[curruid_coinchenn]

No, I wouldn't.

[ Time is all they have here, it seems. The blood scent is getting to be unbearable for him; it's like a wounded animal released in front of a starving predator. Berserker doesn't move from his spot, but he stares at Judar with that same predatory look at before. The faun is less a person and acquaintance now and more a potential source of food. ]

We're giving them time to come up with something creative. [ He shifts a little bit to one side, as if gauging the distance between them. ] Won't that be something...

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ Of course it's for something like this that their captors are fine with giving a break between visits, and probably taking 'care' of the people in other cells.

Ah... That expression really is starting to change, though. Was the spell that effective? Not that Judar's naive or stupid enough to not realize that the injuries they both had made things more desperate. They were turning the dragon into both a starving and injured predator, who would need the hunt even more desperately. Now, without a means of getting away, Judar was just bait, taunting him due to the bloody antler. ]

Someone else has been working on that the entire time, I bet. Those people just went to deal with people in another cell.

[ And to indicate how he knew, Judar tapped at the edge of his deer-like ears. All the better to snoop. ]

You know that if we live and get out of all of this, you're really going to owe me, right? I'm still going to fight you off, but we know where this is going.

[ Even injured, there's no way that Berserker was weaker than Judar right now. ]

[curruid_coinchenn]

...I should warn you I'm poisonous and likely to use that against you.

[ He doesn't move from where he sits, just shifts again, almost into a crouch. One quick lunge across the small space and he could be on top of Judar in no time. ]

We'll live. Whatever it is, I will repay you. It's only fair for what's to come.

[ The spell isn't that effective, it's that it's compounding on his instincts. He hates these instincts and hates that they can used against him so effortlessly. ]

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ Berserker, you dork. If it's taking advantage of your instincts to make you ready to pounce and devour someone you somewhat know, the spell's exactly as effective as it needs to be.

He really doesn't like the way the guy's shifting even more. It's not too different from how Caren and that jaguar person were ready to pounce, going right for his throat. The fact that poison's also going to be involved... he really didn't stand a chance. Despite the shitty situation, the amusement of his own luck is not lost on him. ]

If they don't break it up in time for a healer to work... I guess it wouldn't matter. You'd be free of that debt, as there's no one I bonded to that would feel it. Lucky that, huh?

[ So either you better really hold back on killing him quickly, or do it as fast and painless as possible. It'd depend on how much Berserker was ready to hold that debt. ]

[curruid_coinchenn]

[ Shut up!! Don't tell him that!! ]

The poison won't kill you. [ As if that matters. ] But you will panic and hallucinate terrifying things.

[ What happens next is lightning quick. Berserker lunges across the room towards the faun. A thick, black, acrid-smelling substance drips from his mouth. Unable to resist himself any longer, he snaps at Judar with his sharp, poison-covered teeth. ]

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ If he ever heard that those were Berserker's thoughts, he totally will. ]

Great. We know what'll-

[ Ah, it was already happening. The lunge was quick, too. Quick enough to demonstrate just how desperately hungry the dragon was. While he didn't share the lack of ability to run, it meant Judar was ready to act in other ways. In this case, taking the right moment to pull his legs in and kick back at the figure. Judging by size and speed, he thinks it'd go for the shoulder and face. At this point, it was a test of how strong his legs were going to be against gravity.

Regardless, it's enough for the faun to seethe from the pain in the injured leg. Even worse, he still didn't have anywhere to go. ]

[curruid_coinchenn]

[ Judar's kick nails Berserker in his injured shoulder; he's quick enough to guard his face from the attack. It still hurts like hell and is more than enough to bring him back to his senses for the moment. ]

...Did you have to kick that shoulder? [ He snarls, not backing away. ] I should tear you apart just for that.

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ Enough sense to talk, but not enough to back off... They were just delaying the inevitable, but damn if they were going to make those people wait on whatever show they were hoping to get. ]

You're going to tear me apart either way. I said I was going to fight back.

[ Ah, but he really won't get away with doing that again, probably. That really made his bad leg hurt more. ]

You'd be more pissed if I just let you do what you wanted, anyway. Easy doesn't seem your style.

[curruid_coinchenn]

[ It really did take the wind out of his sails, but it's only for a moment. Unable to shake the feral instincts screaming in his head, he lunges at Judar again, aiming to grab him by the shoulders and sink his teeth into the crook of his neck. It seems he's holding nothing back now... ]

I guess officially starting the cannibalism/assault/gore CW?

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ He really didn't have the ability to pull that off twice in a row. The ache in his leg was too much of a distraction.

As the teeth sink in, there's a choked sound of pain. Not just choked because of the teeth and pressure, but Judar was actually pretty good at holding back sounds of pain. For as long as he could, he was going to deprive the Rathmores the satisfaction of hearing him scream. Yet, in a way, it's also like a white hot fire sinking in, as the black poison did its work.

As the pupils dilated and panic started to set in, it seems that Judar's way of panicking was getting even quieter while reacting. Hands over Berserker's face, and knees against the body to push it away, but really. There was always going to be a clear difference between a dragon and a faun, even if the latter had a unique amount of strength in their legs. ]

[curruid_coinchenn]

[ Even as injured as Berserker is, he does not relent at the force. Judar's struggles only make him that much more determined, angry even. He releases the bite, a mixture of blood and poison dripping down his face, only to gnash his teeth at Judar's hands. The attempts to create separation between them only give the faun a few extra inches.

Berserker's grip grows stronger, his sharp claws dig into whatever he can grab a hold of. Judar is nothing more than prey to him now. ]