How The Mighty Have Fallen

Tales of Jaycynda Ashleana and her associates.

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Teagan
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How The Mighty Have Fallen

Post by Teagan »

A door of the Outback slammed open, allowing the entrance of the two women. Jaycy led Teagan into the building, both clinging onto each other while tears wetted their faces. Slender fingers gripped and tugged at the collar around Teagan’s neck, desperately trying to pry the steel loose of its confining grasp. Hysteria was beginning to tighten its grip on the two.

“Are you okay?” Jaycy asked, her voice shaky despite efforts to remain calm enough to sooth her friend.

“I’m sorry. So sorry. I could hear them all-“ The blonde muttered out before being cut off.

“Ignore it. Hold still.”

Teagan had fallen to sit on the floor, her elbows braced on and her head hung between her knees as she sobbed quietly. Jaycy dug the key from its hiding spot within her cleavage and pulled aside Teagan’s hair to expose the lock holding the cursed thing in place. Shaky hands made fitting the key into the lock difficult. After fumbling with the device a couple times the key slid in and with a violent twist, Jaycy unlocked the collar and threw it aside, the steel landing with an echoing clang. She sank down next to Teagan.

“I’m so sorry, Teag…” Jaycy’s crying grew louder.

The ward of the rings had prevented Teagan from suffering any life threatening wounds, but the blonde still looked as if she’d been in the fight of her life. Her exposed skin glistened with the sweat of effort, and streaked with the trails of blood from the wounds suffered. Teagan didn’t dare look at Jaycy as tears rolled freely down her face. Her speech was broken and distant.

“I did not know. I did not think it would attract so much… I don’t want to do it again.”

“It’s okay.”

Jaycy wrapped her arms around Teagan despite the blatant lie. Her attempts at diffusing Teagan’s state growing more futile with every moment that Jaycy herself was losing composure. Neither of them noticed the small crowd that had begun to gather near the doorway. That is, until a growl from across the room sounded.

Teagan’s head snapped up at the sound. Her face was uncovered and unhidden. Skid saw her now, completely broken. Their looks were unspoken words, soon followed by Teagan’s face contorting as she started to cry harder than before. Her face buried between her knees and her arms covered her head. She tried her best to hide in plain sight, in the middle of the Outback floor.

“You know, I’d like to chastise them both for this, but I think there’s been enough suffering for them both.” Colleen spoke to Tass, both of them remaining at the doors of the Outback.

The rustle of gauze and cloth heralded Skid’s approaching of the women. Lowering himself to Teagan, he decidedly pulled her to his thin, bony frame in a tight hug. Skid’s tail wrapped around Jaycy’s leg to pull her in as well, though it was a weaker embrace. Jaycy clutched onto the two of them while Teagan lost what little fight she had left. She buried her face into Skid’s chest and wrapped her arms around him tightly. Her breathing was ragged and her voice shaky in between hysterical breaths.

“I feel sick. I am sorry… I won’t do it again.”

“We didn’t want Anubis to take her.” Jaycy added to Teagan’s rambling. She was more capable of offering some form of explanation to Skid for what happened.

Skid lowered his head to Jaycy and Teagan’s and uttered words that none would likely understand, save for Tass. “Japaq, hofibai. Japaq.”

Colleen and Tass exchanged glances with each other. Their own conversation continued quietly from the side with Colleen speaking words, and Tass speaking expressions.

“I want to leave.” Teagan’s voice still muffled in Skid’s chest as she shifted to her knees and shakily tried to stand.

Teagan slipped from Jaycy’s reach, leaving the gypsy alone on the floor, lost, and gasping for her breath through the sobs. Her eyes turned to Colleen then, the woman’s words falling deafly on Jaycy’s ears as she rambled her explanation again.

“Teag asked if... if she were collared would it stop Anubis... I said... I said I didn't know... she asked me to do it. We both did it.”

“Do you realize what you have done?” It was a murmured reply from Colleen. Jaycy failed to hear her, but Teagan did not. Colleen’s word causing the woman to break into tears all over again and she pleaded to any who would listen to her. “Make her stop… please make her stop.”

“It is not a matter of what he might do, it is a matter of what you did do.” Tass spoke sternly to Teagan before turning his attention to Jaycy. “And what you were willing to do.”

“I’m taking you home.” Skid muttered down into Teagan’s hair before speaking aloud to the two women. “Now. Both of you. There are too many things to discuss.” Skid continued to escort Teagan and Jaycy toward the exit. Again he spoke a foreign tongue, this time directly to Tass. “Letoclo ve, juanth sthyr. Petranas.”

Jaycy was pleading to be let free to go alone and Colleen continued her lecture of the blonde and the gypsy. “You have bowed to his threats. You have proved Vanion right.” A shake of Colleen’s head given.

“Stop it!!! You don’t know! You weren’t there in that ring!” Teagan shrieked at Collie and fought against Skid’s hold to go after the woman. Jaycy was freed in the commotion while Teagan was held fast.

“I know Anubis… do you?” Colleens parting words to Teagan before she faded into the mists.

“See that she is safely home and her wounds tended.” Tass instructed Skid.

Skid met Tass’ gaze, then moved Teagan to the door as gently as he could despite the fight she put up. He pressed a furiously shaken kiss to the crown of Teagan’s head and took her away.

Jaycy was moving for the door. She violently snapped the chain carrying her Baronial ring from her neck and flung it to the Outback floor. Tass intercepted Jaycy, blocking her exit.

“Are you going to pick up your ring, or shall I?” Tass folded his arms across his chest while looking down at Jaycy.

“Please just let me go. I was willing because I knew what he does, what he could do. Please let me go…” Her eyes were wide as she looked at Tass, pleading.

Colleen reappeared holding the ring out to Jaycy. Tass’ voice still held no inflection toward the gypsy. “I am not stopping you.”

Jaycy stared at the two of them in horror, either over the ring of the words spoken about the events earlier. With a loud sob, Jaycy rushed past them both to get through the doors.
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Post by Teagan »

Teagan held onto Skid’s arm as he escorted her into what she could only describe as some mountain fortress. Enough time passed from the trip for her crying to have stopped, but her demeanor had grown eerily quiet and distant. She walked stiffly from the bruises over her body and the now dirty cuts that accompanied them.

Your selfishness was stronger than your loyalty.

Shaking her head to clear a thought, Teagan obediently followed alongside Skid through an impressive set of obsidian doors. A question for her went unheard behind the replay of events in Teagan’s head. She could not remember being so afraid of something that had not even been threatened. Teagan closed her eyes tightly to ward off another round of tears.

Foolish little girl.

Her eyes opened to see Skid staring at her expectantly. Momentary surprise on Teagan’s features soon faded away to neutrality. Her lips parted slightly to speak an escaped thought and only resulted in silence. Abandoning the offer of food, Skid gently took Teagan down the hallway and into the bathroom. Helping Teagan off with her dirty, bloody and torn clothes, Skid then ran water for a bath. The blonde stayed in place as the tub began to fill, her attention focused on what stared back at her in the mirror. Her eyes narrowed at her twin in disgust and contempt.

What a waste.

Her glare was interrupted by the call of her name. Teagan took Skid’s offered hand and he helped her step into the bath tub. She couldn’t help but think about how large it was, far too big to be practical. She was thankful for the momentary distraction of her current state of mine. The water was perfectly warm, though tiny gasps escaped her lips from the water contacting with the cuts and scrapes over her body. Once submerged, she sat straight and close to the edge. Skid dipped a cloth into the water and very carefully ran it over her shoulders.

“Why did you do it?” He had her in a place she couldn’t easily escape from, so the flow of conversation began.

Teagan stared at the water in front of her. She tried to hold strong in her silence, but Skid wouldn’t let it go. He started to ask again, but she cut him off with irritation in her voice. The question was a broken record by this point.

“I did not want to be collared, Skid. It won’t happen again.”

Skid’s hand grasped Teagan’s jaw and she clenched her teeth when her face was turned to look at him.

“Do you really think that is the end of this? That it’s that simple? You’ve just managed to single-handedly annihilate your reputation. And that’s nothing to begin to say what you’ve done to Jaycy’s.”

Skid’s sudden outburst changed the very air around the two of them. It shattered the walls that kept herself so guarded since the incident.

“I was scared, Skid. I heard the stories. I stood in defiance of him twice before and walked away. I thought it was only a matter of time before I did not walk away.”

Her voice shook of fear. The fear that she had felt over the past days, and the fear of what Skid would do or say to her for her actions. She was ashamed that she disappointed everyone, but especially him. His anger faltered for a moment, then turned to hopeless frustration.

"Becoming a slave is no way to avoid someone else's collar, Teagan.."

Teagan fell to a contemplative silence this time, as opposed to the stubbornness of earlier. Skid finished bathing the woman and helped her out of the bath tub. She was wrapped in a towel and kept warm by his larger frame while he took her through the halls to a bedroom where she let the towel drop to the floor before tender muscles pulled her into the bed. She knew Skid’s sleeping habits were erratic. He wouldn’t sleep, but he would be there through the night regardless. Teagan’s mind began to wander in the darkness again and she quietly cried herself to sleep in the confines of Skid’s arms.
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Jaycy Ashleana
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Post by Jaycy Ashleana »

(A day before, directly after the events in the Outback)

Jaycy tumbled from the Outback, nearly losing her balance in her hurry to escape. Her hands scraped against the ground to prevent worse injury to her body. She regained her footing after several awkward steps and resumed her mad dash.

Foolish little girl,” she heard, the whisper in her mind chiding. The gypsy Baroness tripped and stumbled, the words taking her by surprise. “Foolish little girl,” it repeated. “You’re acting pathetic.” She landed hard on the ground, yelping in pain as her side crashed into the packed dirt of the road.

“I wasn’t going to let him have her!” she pleaded.

Fresh tears traced new paths of dirt down her cheeks as her body wracked with sobs once more. “What is she to you? Your beloved? Your fiancé? No, of course not,” the male voice scoffed. “She is just a nice bit of pleasure. You’re not even friends.” Her bruised fingertips dug into the ground at his accusations and she turned her face into the dust. “What a waste. You were so respected.” A hint of sadness seemed to tinge his words.

“No, no, I like her,” she denied. “I like her. I would do anything to keep her – to keep anyone – safe from him. Anything.” Her legs curled up toward her chest, tucking her knees close to her upper body. She turned her head once more, again pressing her dirt-smeared cheek into the road. “I knew what he could to her; there wasn’t any way I could let it happen. I know too well what he can do.” Her forehead touched her knees and she curled more into herself, sobbing heavily.

Oh, Jaycynda,” the voice sighed. “You have tried so hard. Of course you would do anything. You would do it for anyone to save them from Anubis’ clutches. In the end, though, it wasn’t enough. She was under no threat and you destroyed her reputation, as well as your own. And now you’re simply carrying on as if the world has done wrong to you.

“NO!” she screamed.

“No,” she continued in a whisper. “No, I… I know how horrible I made things. I… she was so afraid. She was right to be. He’s a monster. What else could I do?” Her eyes screwed shut as she talked, as if she were unable to face the world … even if all she could truly see were her own legs.

What’s done is too late to undo. What would she say, though, if she saw you like this? Would she respect you for flying into hysterics when she needs your help? You must stand up. You must face the consequences of your actions. ” The voice in her head paused for several moments, then continued his lecture. “You were a fool, indeed. You must answer for your foolishness. You have behaved childishly. She fled from you as you clung to her like a bawling baby. She despises you, and you know you are deserving of it. You could not take responsibility for your own actions, and that must stop now.

“No,” she protested weakly. “I couldn’t bear to be with them. It was me. Of course she despises me. I was even worse to her than Anubis was to me, because she trusted me. I tried to not hurt her, but I saw it in her eyes. I saw her defeat from the beginning. She lost herself, because of me.”

The green opal, PathFinder, knew the gypsy was projecting her own feelings from the event onto the former Overlady. Jaycy was always so resolved never to hold a slave, especially after her experiences with Anubis. More than a small part of her died when Teagan locked eyes with her and called her “Mistress” the night before. No one could have known how much worse it could get as she was forced to play the part.

You have ruined her life, and your own. Do not ruin anyone else’s.

The presence that was PathFinder faded from the forefront of her mind and Jaycy was left alone with her own demons.
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Post by Teagan »

Do you realize what you have done?

Teagan awoke violently from her sleep, tearing herself from the grasp of Skid, who also jumped back from the sudden surprise.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Worry etched in his voice.

Cold sweat made her shiver and she gasped to bring her breathing under control. Teagan laid a comforting hand on Skid’s arm for reassurance. Her first lie to him. After sliding from the bed she opened the bedroom door and looked over her shoulder.

“I will be right back.”

***

Jaycy lifted her dirt-mottled cheek an inch from the rough road and twin tears fell to the dust. The voice had been silent for some time; perhaps he had given up his lecture. “I’m sorry.” Hands that bore thin bloody scrapes from her tumble pressed into the ground and she stood, shaking from head to toe.

“You’re right, I couldn’t handle it. And I ruined the life of someone I care for.” She seemed to be murmuring to herself, but her hand strayed to the green opal tucked underneath the waistband of her leather leggings. She lifted the gem and squeezed it in her palm.

“I can’t stay here. I need to go.”

She began to run, stumbling at first, but her steps became more sure and swift as the adrenaline began to flow.

***

Look at you, lying to the only one left that cares. You have no respect for anyone.

Teagan stepped into the bathroom and kept the knob turned until it would close without a sound. She observed the contents of the room and inspected the door, carefully sliding the bolt over to lock it. Her twin showed itself in the mirror once again and Teagan scowled at it. She saw the devil in her reflection and her eyes dared it to show its form.

***

I’ve ruined lives. I’ve ruined Teag.

She ran blindly, uncaring of where her feet took her. The city passed by without notice as she followed the road. A young scamp, out too late, unleashed a string of curses that went unheard as she crashed into him. The collision sent them both flying, but she picked herself up and continued to flee. Buildings became more sparse and squat as she left the confines of Rhydin, and her headlong rush slowed to first a jog and then an exhausted walk. The gypsy numbly plowed forward in the dark of night until she reached the woods. She stepped off the trail, blinking as she finally took note of her surroundings, then slid deeper into the sheltering trees.

She was beyond tears.

***

She said you needed someone to take care of you. She was right.

Determination struck her at that moment. She hated what she was staring at and decided that something had to be done. Her fists clenched at her sides and she could hear the heart in her chest pounding harder and faster. Teagan gulped down a stroke of nervousness and spoke out in defiance of the blonde in the mirror.

“I can take care of myself.”

What would Daddy think?

***

Skid probably hates me too. How could I have done it? How can I face him?

Determination struck her at that moment. She had done the unthinkable and it was time to pay the piper. Hands clenched tightly at her sides as her breathing came more rapidly, more shallow. Her eyes closed tight for a moment, and then she forced herself to relax. Jaycy moved through the trees, green gaze darting from side to side as she sought an adequate place to rest. The soft babble of a nearby stream caught her attention, and her pace quickened as she moved toward the sound. She knelt beside the water and stared down, blinking as the rippling of the moving liquid distorted her face. She slapped at the water in horror, and then leaned back on her heels.

She drew her sword.

“What are you doing?” Pathfinder asked in her mind, but his question was ignored.

***

The skin on Teagan’s fist opened itself up against the shattered glass of the mirror. The look on her face said she thought the evil twin looked better in pieces. Her slender hand wrapped around a jagged shard of glass and ripped across her left wrist. The shard slipped in her blood covered hand after it was changed and she sliced open her other wrist. The glass fell to the floor, forgotten. Teagan stared at the broken image of herself, each rapid beat of her heart dropped more and more of her blood down her hands and onto the floor at her feet. Teagan’s tears mixed with the crimson puddle, she started to sway on her feet. The rush of nausea filled her body until it collapsed to the floor. It was odd to her that she thought of her Mother just before drifting out of consciousness.

***

She turned the sword upside down and tucked the hilt of the weapon between her thighs. Her legs clenched tight and she took a deep, slow breath. Rather than a calming effect, the gypsy felt how furiously her heart was pounding in the moment of stillness. She raised both arms until they were parallel with the dual edges of the short sword. The arms were lifted higher then brought inward until the gleaming metal kissed tender flesh. She violently pulled her arms down across the sharpened edges of the blade, cleaving the skin on both deeply. A hiss of pain escaped and she stared at the damage. The blade fell to the ground as thighs released their tension.

“Skid, I nee – no! I need to save them from me.” She leaned forward and plunged her ruined arms into the stream. As the crimson drops diluted and faded away into the water, she eased herself down until she stretched out in the frigid dirt. “I need to die.”

“Oh, hell.” PathFinder groaned in frustration as his holder fell unconscious.
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Post by PslyderFTA »

Padding through the dark forest, a new scent wafted along the gentle breeze to be caught by the prowling wolf. The tang of copper, the salt of fresh tears, the stench of approaching death. All overlaid by the smell of the familiar. A sudden burst of speed brought the wolf to nose cautiously at the unconscious form laying at the streambank. Death was coming soon for this one, unless help could be found quickly. A wordless mindcall brought more of the wolf's brethren to surround the prone woman.

***

That same mindcall registered in the mind of the speeding form of Max, who found himself rushing headlong to a small barn-type structure outside of Rhy'Din's city limits. He barely had time to stop before balled fists pounded on the door, seeking to wake the occupant within. "PSLY! Front and center! Butt outta bed, now!"

A low grumble as the former cybered elf opened the door, blinking a trace of sleep from his eyes. “Y’know whaht time it is, chummer? Some’n bes’ either be dyin’r givin’ birth.” Psly wasn’t used to being woken from a dead slumber anymore.

Max, meanwhile, paled at Psly’s words. “Pick a better metaphor, jackass! Or did you get. . . Never mind, there’s no time. Got any new bikes you wanna try out? Really really fast ones?” Panic shot through Max’s voice, showing clearly in his eyes.

“’Ey, calm down a nano. Whaht th’ frag’s goin’ on’s gotcha all worked up?” Psly’s brain was clicking a little faster now. Max wasn’t one to get this riled without good reason. With a thought, clothing appeared on his body as he stepped from the confines of the barn. “Ah ain’ got nothin’ really new inna works jus’ yet. But Ah’m fas’ ‘nuff t’get us somewhere inna hurry.”

Max’s head flicked back and forth, looking at Psly one second and out into the distance the next. “Then make with the speedy, dammit, or we’re gonna lose her!”

Psly shook his head and pushed Max aside, finding suitable empty space to shift fully into draconic form, waiting just long enough to get Max up on his back before taking to the air. Whatever words might’ve been said were torn away by the wind of their passage upward.

***

The wolves surrounding Jaycy had a new problem to deal with. Not something they knew, other than as a danger, but seemingly perturbed by their interference. It was big, and nasty, and seemed to think that something dead – or soon to be so – was its rightful prey. Gnashing, yipping, barking and biting, they worked to drive the creature off, or at least keep it at bay.

The creature, while not particularly intelligent, was stubborn. A stalemate, for the moment, as it couldn’t get past the wolves to the prize laying there on the water’s edge. The wolves that weren’t involved in keeping that thing at bay, were howling loudly, serving as a beacon for the one who was bringing help.

***

The distance wasn’t long, as such things go, but it took a few minutes before Psly’s hearing picked up the sound of howling wolves. “Hold on!” He called out over the wind, as the dragon tucked wings in for a powerdive. Max, in his own right, could cling like a tick when the situation called for it, and did so now. The ground came up fast, as his wings unfurled again with a thunderous snap, bringing them up short of crashing. The sound and force of backwinging gusts sending wolves and creature scattering. Landing with a heavy thump, Psly waited until Max slid off before looking around, seeing what was the commotion. When he spotted Jaycy’s prone form on the ground, all he could do was curse while changing on the run.

As gently as he could manage, Psly lifted her from the water, paling when he saw the wounds on her wrists. “Frackin’ sonuva drek-bleedin’ slitch! Dammit, Jaycy! Jaycy! Wake up!” A pair of slaps to her cheek, as he panicked. “Max! We’re needin’ some serious get-‘eah-fas’ kinda ‘elp!”

“No way. There’s no time! You gotta do something. I can’t!” Max was shaking, seeing the pale waxiness of Jaycy’s face. His friend was slipping away, and he couldn’t think.

Psly, however, didn’t have time to think. Instinct took over, as his hands found Jaycy’s forearms. Breath hissing with the pain of it, the clothing over his arms faded away, as the skin seemed to have a mind of its own, rippling and flowing over the entirety of her forearms, his blood vessels seeking hers to join with them, letting his blood flow through her body, to keep her alive. He’d never done this level of shapechanging before. Never known it could be done. Desperation fueled him, kept him from thinking of the impossibility of this task. Psly’s teeth were tightly clenched, as his flesh melded with hers, feeling his blood flow into her veins. “Max! Go . . . get help! Ah’ll . . . Ah’ll hold ‘er steady as Ah can!”

Jaycy was hovering dangerously on the brink. The water had thinned her blood, almost draining her completely. Her brain screaming for oxygen, her body numb. Until the sensation of liquid lightning seeped into her arms, her chest, her entire body. Only Psly’s strength kept her from flailing away, tearing her arms from his. Her body writhed, as his blood flowed through her, her heart racing, her mouth opening to take a deep gulp of breath, to scream out in pain. And she kept screaming.

Psly was quiet, fighting to keep his breathing even, and her arms steady. This was delicate, beyond all meaning of the word. If she tore free, that would be the end of it. For both of them. Too much of his energy was involved in this. Max, however, was talking enough for all three of them. “Jesus, Psly? What the hell are you doing to her! I brought you here to help her, not kill her faster!” His attention got caught in a different direction, as one of the wolves warned him in time to duck under the swiping claws of the scavenger creature. Where the wolves thought simply of seeing a large thing, and danger, Max could clarify the distinctions in a more well-rounded fashion. Large and dangerous, yes. Nasty claws, yes. Sunken eyes, matted greasy fur, the beast looked like an unholy cross of sewer rat and a hyena, only more ugly. This was something he could take care of. Something he could fight and rail against, instead of feeling helpless. Growling, letting fangs and claws emerge, he stood his ground, taunting the creature wordlessly. Leaping upwards, with his arms spread wide and a fierce snarl, he joined in battle with the beast, the wolves darting in to nip and distract while he swung.

Psly’s eyes closed, as something unexpected flashed in the back of his mind. Her memories and his flashed back and forth between them as her body writhed under his grip. Unable to stop this, all he could do was endure, both the pain and the images. What seemed like hours passed, before he focused his will to think directly into her mind. “Jaycy! Wake up! You need to wake up!”

((Events in this post continue in The Fires That Bind))
A Learning Experience. Typical three-word preamble to a closed-casket funeral service.
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Skid
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Post by Skid »

It all began with an echo; Jaycy’s voice, indeterminable in tone or meaning through the slosh of water and the harsh chill of anger overriding fear. It bred a discomfort in Skid he couldn’t wrap is mind around, and that of it which he could came only as distant, strange sense of familiarity.

What followed that was silence. Teagan’s quiet sobs became the silence itself, until she slipped into unconsciousness. That, too, ended once she shook awake.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Worry etched in his voice.

Cold sweat made her shiver and she gasped to bring her breathing under control. Teagan laid a comforting hand on Skid’s arm for reassurance. Her first lie to him. After sliding from the bed she opened the bedroom door and looked over her shoulder.

“I will be right back.”

He watched after her as a predator might a sickly prospective meal. It wasn’t intentional, he just happened to look like a monster all the time. The current state of his body was no help, either. With its withering frame and deathly pallor beneath the bandaging, he was hardly a picture of comfort to anyone.

Things like this he dwelled upon, until a crash ensnared his attention, and he slid from the bed to make his way down the hall and towards the bathroom. It was the only place near enough to break glass, and for the love of all, he sincerely hoped Teagan hadn’t thrown something into his mirror. Things always seemed to carry him away from reality just moments before something of importance happened, and the second crash was less resounding, but heavier. Like a body. It pulled him back, and caused him to quicken his pace.

“Teagan?” He stopped outside the door, where the scent had just barely begun to filter out from beneath. When it hit him, and he’d yet to receive a response, his anger and panic flared wildly.

“Teagan!?” He pounded against the door after he’d discovered the bolt was in place, and it slowly began to give way. There was no great show of force, for the minerals and molecular structures within the obsidian simply began to break down and turn to, lacking a better word, mush.

This greatly expedited the process of rending the portal to nothing and letting him get through to the heap of woman lying on the floor in a pool of blood and tears, not to mention his mirror. He almost immediately snarled out some kind of negative, unbelieving sound at the sight, but wasted not a second in checking her body and then lifting her aloft in his arms, to manage through the portal and towards the lab. The ground beneath Skid’s feet smouldered with rot, and Teagan’s heartbeat slowed evermore while she was left within his grasp.

The medical lab was a picture of sterility and unbending elements, so Skid’s current entropic tendencies went mostly without detriment to the environment itself. He laid Teagan out upon an examination table, hooked a bag of blood up to an intravenous needle, and began to tend to her wounds. She’d cut fairly deep, but not deep enough to sever any tendons. It was with much haste and care that Skid tended to the wounds, and by the time he’d bound them back into place, and began to let the blood flow back into her, that he realized what was happening. She was still dying.

It cannot comprehend that it is Its own doing; how pitiful.

He wheeled sharply around, eye wide with confounded rage. “What?” The voice was unmistakable, and yet impossible. It couldn’t exist anymore, unless he himself had actually begun to slip into the coils of true, unfettered insanity. “It isn’t me, it’s you!”

No, perhaps is correct… It is Us. We rot the world around Ourselves. Has it forgotten Us so soon?

The connection was radical, and Skid caught on in moments. Hethen’s essence was entwined inexorably within him. As such, his mere presence was driving Teagan back towards oblivion. The very help he’d given her was a death sentence, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. She was doomed.

It has such low expectations of Itself.

“Shut up..” He concentrated. He thought harder. There had to be a way out of it. There simply had to be. He checked Teagan’s pulse, arbitrarily.

It wasn’t there.

((Events in this post continue in Where Death Treads Not))
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