+- Court of the Fallen (https://cotf-rpg.com)
+-- Forum: Out of Character (https://cotf-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=26)
+--- Forum: Important (https://cotf-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=27)
+---- Forum: Archives (https://cotf-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=38)
+---- Thread: [SE] blood red debts splattered on white snow (/showthread.php?tid=12005)
RE: blood red debts splattered on white snow - Dantalion - 09-18-2025
A deer, a crow and a tiger all walk into a bar--
Ahem.
Danta soars overhead on silent wings, occasionally dipping into the skeletal branches to keep a better eye on Asta and Thal, able to track them by the licks of amber among the dreary grey and white. The wolves are harder to spot even if they aren't difficult to hear, but soon enough the Maverick spots the pack prowling around and ahead of Asta, as if to pin him in and cut him off.
And when his head lowers, the butcher doing an excellent job of playing prey, Danta's wings are already spreading wide to take him in an arc close by. Seconds pass, the woods silent but for the pulse of blood in their veins--
Then one of the younger wolves loses his nerve and bursts through the undergrowth with a hungry snarl, bounding towards Asta with the full intent of spooking him into the rest of the pack waiting in the scrubland close by.
RE: blood red debts splattered on white snow - Thalassa - 09-19-2025
The wind carries the scent of desperation and impatience mixed with pine and embers. She picks through the new addition as she drops to a crouch, eyes scanning for the source that she knows is nearby. The snarl is a dead giveaway even if the scent isn't, and she's rushing forward on silent feet to fall behind the young wolf. But she doesn't attack. Not yet. She lets Asta lead the way, keeping close enough to intervene by far enough away not to raise the canine's suspicion - although she could have been on its tail and it wouldn't have noticed with how laser focused it is on the feirw.
Distant howls begin to join the hunt, hinting at the pack ready to intercept the chase. They taunt and aim to terrify with the haunting echo of their voices, victory already lacing the tone of their barking laughter. It only brings a feline smirk to her lips, her tail twitching as she prepares to ruin more than just their day.
She looks up to Danta through the leaves heavy with snow, giving a flick of her ears that she hopes he understands before she's moving to flank the pack. Her paws are quick and silent, eating the ground up in a slow prowl towards the wolves. When she finally spots the hungry eyes and dripping canines, Thal doesn't wait for the others, creeping forth like a demon in the night - glowing blue eyes and sizzling magma the only sign of their doom before she's lunging for the nearest predator.
RE: blood red debts splattered on white snow - Astaroth - 09-24-2025
He plays the part well – perhaps because he’s been on the other side of this sensation so many times. He’s familiar with the way the deer might usually perk up, let their eyes grow wide when they scent the predator, the way their hooves scramble the second they hear it to bolt the opposite way into waiting jaws.
So he does the same – waiting for the one wolf to lose his nerve, to be unable to wait it out. Asta’s head perks up, the bursting canine immediately “spooking” the feirw to run the opposite way. He bounds over the fallen logs and branches that would trip him up otherwise and with the distant sensation of wings swooping on the air that sounds different from the wind rushing through his ears, the butcher dives toward the scrubland to meet the rest of the pack.
He's cautious, though, because the second he bursts through and the wolves have met him, he immediately turns on the offense – rearing up and lashing out with sharp hooves made for the brunt edges of lava rock. He strikes out at one of the wolves and uses the force of his landing to buck and kick out his back legs at the next that tries to swipe at him precisely when Thalassa breaks through the underbrush to take them on. He listens, more than tries to see when Danta arrives, sure that the corvid would aim for the one that might be the biggest threat to the feirw before he has a chance to shift into his fyrhund.
RE: blood red debts splattered on white snow - Dantalion - 09-26-2025
Asta would be right, of course - though unlike his companions, the Maverick has always favoured getting his hands dirty out of shift when it comes to sating his bloodlust. And so whilst the crow had taken to the air after seeing Thal prowl off to sneak up behind the wolf pack, he's been circling and keeping a sharp eye on proceedings. And as the young wolf Asta had struck with his hooves scrabbles back to its feet and makes to lunge for the butcher's neck, Danta is already diving.
Sharp and small, he's like an arrow against the grey-white sky, shifting at the last second to land directly atop the wolf with a rather sickening crunch. Snarling and immediately going for the throat with bared fangs and fire sizzling through fur and flesh, evidently he doesn't intend to waste any time. And with the way he gets lost in the hunt, odds are good that he soon won't realise the others are there either.
RE: blood red debts splattered on white snow - Thalassa - 09-29-2025
There appear to be six in the pack, not including the hot head on Asta's fuzzy tail. She knows it's not going to be an easy fight, and it makes her blood sing with excitement, her feline grin sharp in the shadows of the trees as she leaps for her first target.
The wolf is small with a dark brown woodland pelt, its back turned to her as it focuses on the incoming prey. Ears rotated forward, it doesn't notice her until Thal's jaws are clamped around its neck in a vice. A high-pitched whine devolves into a weak whimper as it thrashes in her hold, pulling clumps of fur into the gaps of her teeth when it tries to rip free, but she keeps her teeth imbedded in the canine's pelt, tasting warm blood on her tongue as it breaks skin. It floods her system with sweet relief, fire raging in her veins, singing the song of chaos and destruction that she longs to answer.
Her ears pick up the sounds of the other Ancients and their own targets, the cacophony of noise disguising the approach of her target's packmate when it lunges for her. The black mass slams into her left side, disrupting her balance and forcing her paws to spread through the cold snow of the forest floor. She growls so deep that it seems to darken the shadows around her, and she responds by strengthening her bite so that it forces a yowl from her prey as she drags the small wolf around to face the second, bloodied fangs bared through the fluff of brown fur. In a flash of movement, her paw whips out to slash against the other's muzzle, spraying the white snow in splatters of red.
Tail flicking sharply in the rush of adrenaline, Thal barely has a moment to finish off the first wolf with another crushing bite before the second is clambering to return the favor for the red waterfall gushing from its missing ear to block the amber glint of its left eye.
RE: blood red debts splattered on white snow - Astaroth - 10-03-2025
He is right in assuming that the corvid would dive on the biggest threat to him. And in a moment of appreciation, the butcher moves just in time to evade the bite from the wolf while Danta descends and shifts back, tackling the back of the wolf with a pressure that already has bones deliciously cracking. And if the feirw could grin, it certainly would be.
Instead, Asta takes note of where Thalassa is with the other canines, taking the moment to shift from the prey animal he’d been appearing as, deciding last minute that he didn’t particularly feel like shifting into the fyrhund when he could simply bloodbane the next wolf that dove on them. So he takes a page out of his lover’s book, shifting into himself and leaving the larger, flame tipped antlers behind for the butcher himself, snow grey fingertips digging into his boot for his blade to slice along the hard edge of his wrist to send the bloodbane into the wolf that charges at him.
It starts to collapse by the time it reaches him, skating through the snow and kicking it up as Asta pounces on it, sharp teeth and the blade digging in to tear away the fur in order to get to the meat of the wolf.
RE: blood red debts splattered on white snow - Dantalion - 10-05-2025
Oblivious to the chaos and violence unfolding all around him from his companions - though undoubtedly he'd be impressed were he in his right mind - Danta's focus has narrowed to the wolf beneath him. Its pelt is surprisingly soft, the blood gushing from the wounds he's opened in its scruff warm enough to steam in the cold air, and gods it's impossible not to lose himself in it.
It has already fallen still by the time he's ripping into it with bloody hands, bones shattered by the impact of his landing, crimson soaking into the snow scattered earth. Danta has no idea how many other wolves might be in the pack - and he doesn't care, either. If one sneaks up on him he might give enough of a fuck to turn and fight, but for now, whether its friend or foe, all he cares about is sating his bloodlust until it fades back into a low and distant hum.
RE: blood red debts splattered on white snow - Thalassa - 10-05-2025
Similarly engrossed in her own battle, Thal can only appreciate the pleasant symphony of crunching bones and ripping flesh. She trusts the men enough to hold their own as she gives her attention to the black mass of fur and muscle barreling towards her, blooding streaming behind it. Her paws plant in the snow, standing her ground with a rumbling growl of warning that the wolf doesn't heed. It makes her want to laugh, especially as she waits just long enough for it to lunge before she's leaping over it.
Sailing through the air, she shifts, horns and pale skin catching what sunlight makes it through the trees, fangs glistening like they've been sharpened just for this moment. Her boots are barely crunching in the snow when she vanishes, darting into the wolf's range to slash her dagger across hind leg. Its yowl echoes through the small clearing, but Thal doesn't stop, flaring the fire to draw its attention. When its head turns, she vanishes in a blur of shadow, drawing her blade and flames against its throat to cut off the cry. Blood sprays across her face and the snow around them, the victory and bloodlust thick in her mind.
She pounces. Her face buries into the fur and blood, the cold forgotten in the warm heat of its body on her tongue. Blade and fangs pull it apart to get at the muscles and organs, appreciating it with a soft groan of satisfaction that should serve as enough warning to anything that might interrupt her.
RE: blood red debts splattered on white snow - Astaroth - 10-06-2025
They all seem to forget about one another, the wolves picked off enough that the rest don’t seem to wish to stick around. And if the butcher was more aware of his surroundings, he might note that they’ve all slunk away, tails tucked, head lowered. He doesn’t notice, though, not as he delves into the beast beneath his fingers, staining and drenching his clothes in the process, enough that it begins to freeze on the outside expanse.
Not that the butcher cares too much about it, sticking his fingers into the belly of the beast to get all the best parts. It’s warm in there anyway, hot enough that it staves off the cold grey that tries to take over him. He eats his fill until he’s coming back to his senses, sitting back in a bloody reverence, the blood dripping from his fingers and his chin against his chest – eyes closed as if he’s praying.
It only lasts a few moments of getting his emotions and all the sensations under control when he exhales a long slow breath in a pale plume of a cloud and summons a ball of flame to stick his hands into, watching the blood turn to ash, flaking away in the faint breeze.
RE: blood red debts splattered on white snow - Dantalion - 10-08-2025
It's no bad thing that they've all opted to focus on their own respective bloodlust, and by the time Danta realises that the baying of the wolves has faded to soft breath and the shifting of snow and fur, he's devoured his fill of the beast. Streaked with blood and with it staining his hair and one side of his face, he isn't nearly as controlled or reverent as Asta as the other man comes to.
There's no ball of fire for him to shove his bloody hands into, there's no moment of quiet clarity. Danta is already rolling to his feet, eyes sharp for any interlopers that might come to encroach, to take, to fight for what they've got. But of course there's nothing and no one around other than the trio, and once the thunder of his pulse has calmed he's sure he'll feel much better.
RE: blood red debts splattered on white snow - Thalassa - 10-09-2025
It's a slow descent from euphoria, the cold brushing her spine like an insistent coaxing back to reality. She eases in her feast, taking a deep inhale of relief before ripping a last bite of muscle and sinew from the neck of the wolf. It splashes pleasantly on her tongue, a final relishing of her kill just as she sits back on her heels in the snow.
Blood clumps in the right side of her hair, framing the wild blue blaze of her eyes when she assesses the space. She spots Danta and Asta unharmed, enjoying their own meals. The other wolves have obviously taken the opportunity to escape, leaving the Ancients blissfully alone in their worlds of bloodlust and uninterrupted in the following haze of adrenaline.
Thal begins to clean her dagger with the edge of her tongue, positioning herself against the warm underside of the black beast. Knee propped and head tilted, she looks to the others. The break of silence is gentle, the draw of a sharpened blade, teasing without splitting the skin, an offer laced with delight. [say]"There's an extra if either of you need more."[/say] She angles a bloodied blade towards the brown lump of fur still staving off the Deepfrost chill with the cooling blood. Being the smaller of the three (by a more than two feet combined), her bloodlust might be fierce, but she doesn't need quite as much to satisfy the urges. Even if she has yet to finish her current kill, it'd be a waste to leave so much meat after all that effort.
RE: blood red debts splattered on white snow - Astaroth - 10-09-2025
The ash flakes off like their own little version of sinful snow – watching as it hits the pale powdery snow beneath his knees and immediately turn black upon contact with the water the second it melts. It’s a captivating little distraction as he lets the bloodlust settle, pushed away back into the recesses of the butcher’s soul.
His only other distraction at the moment is when Thalassa speaks, breaking up the reverence the butcher’s been so devoted with, hesitating to look over at her and the rest of her kill. He stands finally, immediately reaching for Danta with his ash tipped hands in a silent check in with him. “[say]We will not let it go to waste, mm?[/say]” He drawls with a sharp smile, squeezing Danta’s arm and in spite of the exhaustion lingering in his bones he steps over to the wolf that Thalassa had taken down, withdrawing his dagger, Astaroth lives up to his namesake as he begins to carve out portions of the wolf’s meat and hide that isn’t ruined, arranging them neatly.
And in a last moment decision, severs the smaller wolf’s head from the rest of its body – knowing just what to do with the skull.
RE: blood red debts splattered on white snow - Dantalion - 10-09-2025
With his gloves and scarf saturated with blood, there's really little reason to keep them on any longer, but as the slow haze of post-bloodlust slowly blankets him, Danta barely realises the state of himself. He sighs, long and hard, jumping ever so slightly as Asta reaches for him, as if not expecting the other man's touch. Offering a quiet nod as if to tell him he's alright, he glances towards Thalassa and the remains of her kill and trails after the other Ancient as he draws closer.
[say]"I will leave that up to Asta,"[/say] he says quietly, the butcher already stepping forward to carve up whatever he wants from the wolf (which includes its head, apparently, and the Maverick is not complaining about that in the slightest). [say]"It's been a while since I hunted with a group,"[/say] he says, still a bit distant with the too-close memory of violence and chaos singing through his blood.
[say]"Thanks for having us, Thal."[/say]
RE: blood red debts splattered on white snow - Thalassa - 10-09-2025
Thal grins as Asta moves to harvest the wolf, pleased that they'll have something to take with them as a souvenir of the hunt, a symbol of forgiveness and their growing bond. [say]"Good."[/say] She finishes cleaning the knife in her hand, choosing to leave the blood splattering on her face and clothes until later. It might not be steaming anymore, but it's another layer nonetheless.
The appreciation does more to warm her than any fire, strengthening the affection that's slowly growing in her chest with a soft billowing. Her hum is pleased and satisfied, as much from the hunt as Danta's approval. [say]"Mm. Thanks for putting up with me. We'll have to do it more often."[/say] She says it with teasing and snark, her smile sharp, but the men will know her well enough to hear the honesty in her words, the genuine gratitude hidden beneath.
Regardless, she doesn't give them a chance to think too hard on it, rising to her feet with a reluctance that speaks of diminishing bloodlust and the continued presence of the outside world. Flicking her gaze to Asta's decapitation process, Thal raises a dark brow, licking her fangs to clear the copper taste as she asks, [say]"When he's done with that, want to wash all this down with a drink?"[/say]