The moments following the blow to her cheek passed in a gut-wrenching haze of stars and color. It hadn’t hurt so much as it had stunned her, but that was enough for her to retreat a bit for now. Her paws unconsciously lead her a safe distance away, gait a drunken stumble. She attempted to catch her bearings once more, ears pricked to the distressing sounds of the struggle. Distantly, she heard something that sounded like the earth growling but wasn’t sure whether to attribute it reality or imagination. When she felt that her pathetic body would finally obey her commands, she lifted her head to survey the scene.

“For fuck’s sake,” she whispered upon seeing a familiar pair of horns.

The alabaster bastard from before was perched ridiculously on the sow’s face, his body being smashed against the ground in retaliation. He was getting a beatdown, but intuition told her that it wouldn't last for long. The sow was weakening, dying. It was about time. Licking her lips in satisfaction, Callisto rejoined the fight in order to witness and aid in bringing about the terrible creature’s final moments. She launched herself at the forelimb opposite of the other dark female and tore in with a punishing savagery in hopes of disabling the limb.

tags: n/a
words: 214
notes: i got lost after oberon posted so idk if i read all of the other posts right! :'0 lmk if i need to change anything

Note: Due to the unexpected difficulty, the reward has been suitably increased to 75 EVO Points from the previous 50.

The wolves fell upon her like a horde.

Before, at the beginning of the battle, they had felt like little more than overly-large, overly-zealous flies. Each had been a parasitic nuisance, insistent upon her flesh – but ensured certain death, given patience.

But with her back legs ruined, with a horned abomination hanging from her face, with the sudden pillar of packed earth and molded stone that had jammed itself up and into her lungs – she felt the first flash of fear.

And once she felt it, she was unable to escape it. It overtook her much as a flash flood might, suddenly swamping her, dropping her to the ground.

The wolves that found her front legs dropped her heavily, and though her head shoved the white god down, it lacked the previous force she had wielded. All she could managing was the snuffling scream she imagined her children had given as each was mercilessly cut down by a wolf.

Where there’s one, there’s always another, she thought, even as her eyes grew heavy, even as her blood soaked the ground, red-smeared mud caking her underside. Like rats.

With her final acceptance of her fate, what strength she still held faded away, and something warm and liquid spread through her. Pain still battered her senses but it was… blunted, almost. As if her failing consciousness had erected one last barrier, that she might slip away in peace.

It was difficult to tell when she truly died, but slowly a silence fell over the clearing, an immutable presence telling the wolves to cease.

Enough, it said. She is gone.

All that remained of the great sow was her body, her blood, her bones. Consume her, the divinity within each whispered, and grow stronger.

ooc: wolf attack rolls. Ding dong, the witch is dead! I'll leave this thread open until July 1st for any wrap-up posts and then move it to archives after that date.

The beating she placed upon him was brutal. He felt it, with each heavy smash of her head, against rock, against ground, against whatever surface she found suitable to smear him against.

But he held on, his teeth aching, threatening to rip out at the roots, as she continued her rampage against him. Morpheus’ eyes were barely open, blue slits in the white of his face, but he occasionally caught sight of the others – of the renewed fervor with which the mortals attacked the beast –

And something like relief trickled through him, as he felt her begin to flag. Her thrashing lost its strength, began to take on a weariness he recognized as dying fatigue.

But he held on until the end. Held until he felt her final sigh, hot and wet and sticky against his belly fur – her blackened blood burned as it mixed with his own divine droplets, but he continued to hold on as her great head finally fell forward – and then he was struggling to escape the heavy weight of her deceased skull, squirming free from underneath her bulk.

If there was any gratitude he could heap upon the beast, it was that she had not fallen upon his horns and that they had not snapped in the preceding fight.

As he pulled free of the bloodied carcass, the aches of his body made themselves known. Being a creature of divinity, what harmed the others could not truly kill him – no, that right was reserved for other divine creatures – but that did not mean he did not suffer for carelessness.

And he suffered now – a crushed lung; bruised, cracked, broken ribs; paws that shook to stand on; something that might have been blood clogging up the back of his throat.

“Well done,” he croaked out, and something like amusement threaded through the pain.

He looked toward his charges, examining both more carefully now that the beast was slain. He hobbled toward Pepper, because she was the one who had accepted his help, checking over her injuries with something like regret dampening the light of his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly, meant only for her ears. “But you did very well – were very brave.”

And he turned to look at the black female that had discarded his help, something like a wry smile tugging his lips up. “It seems you did not need my help after all,” he said lightly.

But now there was only the boar and these injured wolves and – the other Guide. Morpheus turned to face the black brute, unscathed despite the raging battle that had just concluded.

“Thank you,” he said, politely, uncertain of how to act around this god. The divine creature was the first of its kind that Morpheus had met since he had awoken without memory. He wanted to ask things, wanted to know if the black male knew him – but they were not alone, were in the company of mortals, and he was weakened.

His ears flicked askance, flip-flopping between up and down as he mulled over his options. At last, with a small hint of regret, he bowed his head and said, “I should go.”

Not just because he was injured, needed to feast upon the dreams of the creatures that slumbered within the Black Forest. But because he was suddenly surrounded by so many of his kind, or almost his kind, and his lack of memories struck him as a very dangerous problem.

One that he would not allow the other to exploit. Not until he was more confident in the present he had managed to scrape together.

With last breath Zora released her grip. Inhaling, caused the bruised and cracked ribs to radiate the pain that her sensors mostly blocked during the heat of the fight. Her teeth ripped into the flesh of the sow pulling a long strand which she promptly carried to Pepper. Trust was something earned, and friendship slowly grown with Zora. The females of this group were skilled and determined in their hunt, she hoped that seeds were sown, but caution would be given of full approval until time had passed. All in attendance would be able to fill themselves today. Attention turned to the others gathered around. She glanced to Oberon with a slightly wearied by grateful smile. The appreciation for both gods appearing when needed, was a feeling Zora was sure she was not alone in. Glancing around the group in turn she spotted Callisto, Quartz, who was attending Pepper. The double horned god was also close beside her.

Her teeth ripped into the flesh of the sow pulling a long strand of meat, hanging from her jaws she walked slowly towards Pepper. A bow of her head was given to Quartz upon approach, if she hadn’t retreated yet. Morpheus seemed injured, which drew Zora to wonder how gods heal, . She set the meat down in front of Pepper though stepping back she dipped her head slightly. “My name is Zora Talus, and I know full well I would’ve died today if not for everyone’s skills.” The features on her face were serious with a hint of lightness though subdued. Alone had been most of her life, the feeling of another jumping in to take down the ‘enemy’ was always a rocket to her emotions. Happiness, worry, and any others one could think of. The pain in her right paw was setting in after limping towards the pair. “I am grateful to have met you both, there will be plenty for all, eat and grow stronger…”

The word friend had nearly formed on the tip of her tongue, when she suddenly stopped, mouth closing. She wasn’t sure how ready she was for making companions in this new world, but her guess was that both females genuinely were friends one should want to have. Even they way they cared for each other, it made Zora feel out of place. The small jealous thought the rattled to life was squashed as she thought of the nature of both females. ”I hope to call you friends, I assume we are all on separate paths, but support and knowledge shared I think would prove helpful.” The mental filter that normally strained her thoughts into careful words had seemed to vanish. Zora was astonished at her own honesty, something as simple as wanting friendship was foreign to admit out loud.

tags:
words:465
notes: sleepy, so if any mistakes or confusing parts, pls let me know.