HOME | DD

Description

Breathe. Just… breathe. Keep on breathing. Don’t hold it. Just keep… thinking about breathing.

Ryuu buried his face in the pillow under his head, trying desperately to refresh his boiling head with deep breaths. Everything was wrong. Everything… was wrong. He should not be here. He should not be here. Where was he, even? The man who had rescued him in the woods had told him many times over the course of the last week, but his mind simply could not grasp the words. Something about a cabin and the forest… had he talked about Spoodles too? He couldn’t tell, and he didn’t really care to know right now.

He had to… focus. Focus on breathing. That was his main objective right now. Stay awake. Keep breathing. Keep on living.

He closed his eyes tightly. Ryuu wished he could just wake up, as if all of this had been naught but a dream. Waking up next to Azelea… she’d turn to him, smile the way she always did, and he’d smirk back. That was how he’d start his day, with her light shining on him.

But now he was here.

But now I am here.

Heavy eyelids lifted themselves, as if supported by bricks. It felt like he had both slept too much and not enough. He wanted to close his eyes again and sleep, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to. The pain… the pain in his left thigh was too much.

Burning. Pulling. Searing.

Boiling. Melting. Scorching.

Neither of all of these words were strong enough to describe it. He felt both frozen cold and burning hot, to the point where it felt like his body wasn’t even his to control. He was a soul in an empty husk… or was he even still in his empty husk? Maybe he had passed on a week ago, from loss of blood. The shadow that followed his footsteps had abandoned him, and with it, every chance he could have had at life.

“Run,” it told him to do. “Run.”

Run he had done, from everything he had known, from everything he had held, he had dropped it all… and now he was paying his just price. It was all he deserved, really. Whether he kept on living or not, there was no way… he could ever show his face again.

“Boy…”

The voice again… it was calm, quiet. Gentle, like a breeze. He found he quite liked it.
Gentle footsteps, coming closer. The wooden floor creaking. He felt a paw, first its alien touch, and then its welcoming kindness.

“You’re cold… Hold on, let me grab ye another blanket…”

Another kind of warmth slid over him, akin to Azelea’s fur covering him in the dead of night, when he was cold and fought against his shadows… That, too, he quite liked it. In his blurry gaze, he could see the sparkling warmth of a fireplace nearby. He couldn’t feel its heat, but its presence alone reassured him. He was awake.

“Here,” the gentle voice said as a bowl containing what appeared to be soup slid right in front of him. “Drink it while it’s warm. Me own recipe, should help rejuvenate ye.”

He felt like he had been told that very same thing many times already, but the man knew he had to repeat things, otherwise he would just not remember. And clearly he didn’t, he realized, for that soup’s smell felt new to him. Slowly, carefully, he raised his head, the good smell of the brew filtering right through his tired cranium, and brought the bowl closer with his claws. Somehow the smell itself was enough to give him a clearer sense of self, and he became somewhat more aware of his surroundings as he dipped his tongue in the soup.
As was the case for the past week now, he was occupying a space on the floor in what appeared to be a living room. The walls and floors were all of wood, and there were a few windows around the room, though they offered little light. Was it night? Or was it raining? He couldn’t really tell…
The man who had been so kind as to offer him shelter and medical help walked by and sat by the fire. His long sleek tail wrapped around his legs, and Ryuu couldn’t help but follow the spikes lining his back all the way up to his head. Wings, stuck to his sides like cloth, a pair of horns spiraling around his ears… and one of them was broken. The man was staring into the fire intently, as if lost in thought, as he mindlessly prepared his smoking pipe and stuffed it with herbs.

“Wh… who are you… again?”

He was surprised at his own voice, and so was the man, for he turned to look at him briefly. His eyes ignited with fiery red lights, and a flicker of flame erupted from the tip of his claws, lighting up his pipe. Bringing it to his beak, he answered:

“Thelagon.”

Ryuu felt like he had told him multiple times, for that name did ring a bell. He stared back down at the bowl of soup. Somehow, he felt somewhat… clearer.

“What… happened to me? My head is a mess… I can barely think straight…”

“Well, first of all, I’m glad yer awake,” Thelagon started, pausing to breathe out the smoke toward the fireplace. “You’ve been in an’ out for the past week. Thought I’d lose ye a few times. Ye lost a lotta blood out there, I don’t know if your leg will heal completely, though. Not only that, but I get the feeling ye got some other spiritual issue going on. Ye talk a lot in yer sleep. Saying names and curses among other things. Don’t make that face, I won’t ask. What ye need now isn’t an old guy judging ye over past mistakes, not that I’m interested in doing so. Overall, ye could be better, but yer good.”

He looked off into the dancing fire…

    “Yeah. Yer good.”

    Ryuu found himself staring at his back. Something about the way he had said that came off as odd to him, but in his state he couldn’t quite pinpoint what.

    “I… Thank you. For your help, I mean.”

    “Don’t thank me, boy,” Thelagon spoke, turning his head again to smile at him. “As you can guess, I don’t get a lot of visitors out here. Truth be told, I was beginning to feel lonely, so it’s nice to have someone to care for again after all this time. Feel free to stay here as long as ye like, boy. When ye get better, ye could help me out on the farm. Have you ever cared for Spoodles? Easiest thing to care for, it’s like watering plants.”

    Aah… so that’s where the Spoodles talk came from. Ryuu found himself smiling. His situation wasn’t quite as bad as he thought it’d be… Out of the corner of his eye as he went back to slurp at his soup, he saw Thelagon look out the window; he grumbled something under his breath, but in the silence of the room, Ryuu heard it quite well.

    “Mmh… Warptide is coming soon…”
____________________________________

Previously: The Trap

Oh hey, Ryuu's alive! He's a hot mess, but he lives, yay! Truth be told, he was gonna lose his leg here but Warptide happened and it was bigger than I thought, also rules changed suddenly on me so there was a change of plans about that. :') Canonically, this happens some time before Warptide, it would have made sense if I had posted it sooner but also I was busy all through October so uuuh no time to focus on that. :'D Oops!

Also, mysterious NPC got a name! Meet Thelagon!

Hope you like!

4/356

Description

Breathe. Just… breathe. Keep on breathing. Don’t hold it. Just keep… thinking about breathing.

Ryuu buried his face in the pillow under his head, trying desperately to refresh his boiling head with deep breaths. Everything was wrong. Everything… was wrong. He should not be here. He should not be here. Where was he, even? The man who had rescued him in the woods had told him many times over the course of the last week, but his mind simply could not grasp the words. Something about a cabin and the forest… had he talked about Spoodles too? He couldn’t tell, and he didn’t really care to know right now.

He had to… focus. Focus on breathing. That was his main objective right now. Stay awake. Keep breathing. Keep on living.

He closed his eyes tightly. Ryuu wished he could just wake up, as if all of this had been naught but a dream. Waking up next to Azelea… she’d turn to him, smile the way she always did, and he’d smirk back. That was how he’d start his day, with her light shining on him.

But now he was here.

But now I am here.

Heavy eyelids lifted themselves, as if supported by bricks. It felt like he had both slept too much and not enough. He wanted to close his eyes again and sleep, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to. The pain… the pain in his left thigh was too much.

Burning. Pulling. Searing.

Boiling. Melting. Scorching.

Neither of all of these words were strong enough to describe it. He felt both frozen cold and burning hot, to the point where it felt like his body wasn’t even his to control. He was a soul in an empty husk… or was he even still in his empty husk? Maybe he had passed on a week ago, from loss of blood. The shadow that followed his footsteps had abandoned him, and with it, every chance he could have had at life.

“Run,” it told him to do. “Run.”

Run he had done, from everything he had known, from everything he had held, he had dropped it all… and now he was paying his just price. It was all he deserved, really. Whether he kept on living or not, there was no way… he could ever show his face again.

“Boy…”

The voice again… it was calm, quiet. Gentle, like a breeze. He found he quite liked it.
Gentle footsteps, coming closer. The wooden floor creaking. He felt a paw, first its alien touch, and then its welcoming kindness.

“You’re cold… Hold on, let me grab ye another blanket…”

Another kind of warmth slid over him, akin to Azelea’s fur covering him in the dead of night, when he was cold and fought against his shadows… That, too, he quite liked it. In his blurry gaze, he could see the sparkling warmth of a fireplace nearby. He couldn’t feel its heat, but its presence alone reassured him. He was awake.

“Here,” the gentle voice said as a bowl containing what appeared to be soup slid right in front of him. “Drink it while it’s warm. Me own recipe, should help rejuvenate ye.”

He felt like he had been told that very same thing many times already, but the man knew he had to repeat things, otherwise he would just not remember. And clearly he didn’t, he realized, for that soup’s smell felt new to him. Slowly, carefully, he raised his head, the good smell of the brew filtering right through his tired cranium, and brought the bowl closer with his claws. Somehow the smell itself was enough to give him a clearer sense of self, and he became somewhat more aware of his surroundings as he dipped his tongue in the soup.
As was the case for the past week now, he was occupying a space on the floor in what appeared to be a living room. The walls and floors were all of wood, and there were a few windows around the room, though they offered little light. Was it night? Or was it raining? He couldn’t really tell…
The man who had been so kind as to offer him shelter and medical help walked by and sat by the fire. His long sleek tail wrapped around his legs, and Ryuu couldn’t help but follow the spikes lining his back all the way up to his head. Wings, stuck to his sides like cloth, a pair of horns spiraling around his ears… and one of them was broken. The man was staring into the fire intently, as if lost in thought, as he mindlessly prepared his smoking pipe and stuffed it with herbs.

“Wh… who are you… again?”

He was surprised at his own voice, and so was the man, for he turned to look at him briefly. His eyes ignited with fiery red lights, and a flicker of flame erupted from the tip of his claws, lighting up his pipe. Bringing it to his beak, he answered:

“Thelagon.”

Ryuu felt like he had told him multiple times, for that name did ring a bell. He stared back down at the bowl of soup. Somehow, he felt somewhat… clearer.

“What… happened to me? My head is a mess… I can barely think straight…”

“Well, first of all, I’m glad yer awake,” Thelagon started, pausing to breathe out the smoke toward the fireplace. “You’ve been in an’ out for the past week. Thought I’d lose ye a few times. Ye lost a lotta blood out there, I don’t know if your leg will heal completely, though. Not only that, but I get the feeling ye got some other spiritual issue going on. Ye talk a lot in yer sleep. Saying names and curses among other things. Don’t make that face, I won’t ask. What ye need now isn’t an old guy judging ye over past mistakes, not that I’m interested in doing so. Overall, ye could be better, but yer good.”

He looked off into the dancing fire…

    “Yeah. Yer good.”

    Ryuu found himself staring at his back. Something about the way he had said that came off as odd to him, but in his state he couldn’t quite pinpoint what.

    “I… Thank you. For your help, I mean.”

    “Don’t thank me, boy,” Thelagon spoke, turning his head again to smile at him. “As you can guess, I don’t get a lot of visitors out here. Truth be told, I was beginning to feel lonely, so it’s nice to have someone to care for again after all this time. Feel free to stay here as long as ye like, boy. When ye get better, ye could help me out on the farm. Have you ever cared for Spoodles? Easiest thing to care for, it’s like watering plants.”

    Aah… so that’s where the Spoodles talk came from. Ryuu found himself smiling. His situation wasn’t quite as bad as he thought it’d be… Out of the corner of his eye as he went back to slurp at his soup, he saw Thelagon look out the window; he grumbled something under his breath, but in the silence of the room, Ryuu heard it quite well.

    “Mmh… Warptide is coming soon…”
____________________________________

Previously: The Trap

Oh hey, Ryuu's alive! He's a hot mess, but he lives, yay! Truth be told, he was gonna lose his leg here but Warptide happened and it was bigger than I thought, also rules changed suddenly on me so there was a change of plans about that. :') Canonically, this happens some time before Warptide, it would have made sense if I had posted it sooner but also I was busy all through October so uuuh no time to focus on that. :'D Oops!

Also, mysterious NPC got a name! Meet Thelagon!

Hope you like!

4/356