Snippet #1559994

Mentally, he was already gone. Talae's urgings seemed to merely bounce off the numbed deep human as he gently rocked himself a midst the bodies. Ugly thoughts ran through his head, threatening to overwhelm him. And it nearly did, if two soldiers hadn't come up and began dragging him, kicking and screaming to the meeting point. There, he was given medical attention for the wounds he did suffer, though there were greater wounds than those that were physical. Throwing him onto a stretcher, the only thing that came through was the suggestion to sedate him. Screaming, he began struggling violently. Not sleep. Anything but sleep.

He had to stay awake.

Clawing at the arms that restrained him until they drew blood, the men cursed and demanded that the healer put him under. The healer did reluctantly, and it was with tears streaming unrestrained down his face that Kisikoni gave into the darkness that shadowed his eyes. The moment he was cloaked with the fog of unconsciousness, he saw blinking eyes- red ones, small ones, ones with huge pupils, ones bloodshot, ones contorted in pain, ones that cried blood. They all stared at him, straight through his skin, his bones, his flesh. They all stared straight into his soul. Kisikoni clutched his face with trembling hands, too weak to claw his own eyes out.

Why have you awakened me, mortal?

Kisikoni paused, looking up. The scenery had changed- he was sitting in the middle of an endless desert, the sand was red and the sky was white. Kisikoni didn't like the desert. You couldn't burrow. You couldn't live under the earth because here, the earth was formless, like water. Swallowing several times, Kisikoni gathered up his courage while the being waited patiently.

"The n-need arose." He said, forcing the words out of his mouth.

The being exuded a aura of tension that was palpable. It threatened to wash over Kisikoni, and pull him under the sands where he would cease to exist. The being seemed to remain neutral to this.

Need? Your kind has not called me for hundreds of years. Your need was so you could protect a wounded ally?

"Y-yes."

Amusing. Very well, I will work with you. The being replied back, an edge creeping into it's tone.

"Just like that?

Of course. Your mind won't remain yours for long anyways, now that you've bonded to me. The voice replied, filled with a soft glee.

Kisikoni froze, and by some instinct, looked down to see a brown root-like growth sprouting from his torso and chaining him to the sands. Even as he pulled, he felt the root growing and burrowing further into the ground and spreading it's arms.

Struggle all you want Deep Human. You are saved by the fact that I like to... toy with my food before I eat it. Now, begone!

Kisikoni coughed once, crashing into the sand as his eyes rolled into his head. A flash of white light met him, and suddenly his eyes fluttered open, taking in his surroundings. Pel leaned over him, a lot more real to him than anything he had been seeing before. She was speaking before he could touch her face in wonder, his hand pausing as it lifted maybe a centimeter from the cot. His face didn't register the slight irritation that shot through his head. Another battle? It only felt like he had just finished fighting the entire war. It took a huge effort for Kisikoni to move his mouth and form words- it was as if the being had left behind years of savagery when it controlled him. Slowly, the letters trickled back into him, and it was a full minute before he answered the halfling.

"I will fight." He said, grabbing her hand. "Thank you." Simple enough words, but they were slightly hesitant as Kisikoni tried to find his own natural rhythm once more. No doubt, this would get simpler as the transformations became more precise, but what the being said haunted him. What exactly did it mean? He was too dazed to figure it out.

---

"'nother." The spider moaned, before realizing the bartender was off fighting with Nhil. All the bottles sitting at the table were empty, and the strong liquor made her vision so fuzzy it was something of a miracle she was able to crash over the bar and grab several more before planting herself back in the seat. Sucking at the bottle as if she were a child, she emptied the first bottle in her arms within seconds, and threw it at the the pole supporting the massive mess tent. The bottle turned over once, before smashing squarely against the pole. She continued to stare at the pole with an unfocused glare before something else caught her attention.

Shokunen slithered into the room, taking a seat next to her. "Sho! Honey! Where've you been the past years?" She cooed, slumping against the table. The lamian prince began discussing his plans with her. She was just content with drinking herself stupid, too. "Ecchy is und'r s...siege?" She asked stupidly. She hadn't heard any news from the hive capital in decades. "Whats goin- Wait, wha?"

However, Shokunen was already gone.

"Fer queenssake." She growled. "I'm exiled from that place, damned you. I know as much about those jungles as a child would." She hadn't returned to Ecclavaria for over fifty years now, and here this lamia was, assuming she knew friggin' everything. She was just like that damned Mantis. "I hate this army." She moaned, downing the last of another drink. What was her name? Neira? Why didn't they get her to do it? She had been there more recently, if their brief conversation was anything to go by. She grabbed the next bottle.