[God Quest] I'll bring you further roses, but it does you no good

The ambiguous affirmation only made Remi's trembling begin anew, the tears streaking down his cheeks leaving impossibly pure tributaries of skin. Inhaling with the shaky rhythm of one trying very hard not to collapse into sobs, Remi could only stare mutely.

Wonderful? No.

It had been perfect.

Squeezing his eyes shut and causing a small shower of teardrops to fall towards his hands, Remi shook his head slightly. He hadn't wanted death when it had been offered. But now he deserved it, and his soul felt like it was collapsing beneath the weight of his denied request.

Looking up as if magnetically drawn to the creature before him, eyes shiny with tears once again bore into the mask, hoping to find something his mind could latch onto. The fabric around him felt comforting somehow, as if the claustrophobic nausea was a step in the right direction.

Abandoned.

He didn't know what the word meant in context of this place, but a lifetime's worth of feeling precisely that was more that the young alchemist's fractured mind could take. A snarl appeared on his lips, teeth growing long again and tawny fur travelling up his arms. The tears that stained his cheeks disappeared behind a hellish roar as the lion leaped towards a throat for the second time this night.

ludo Braved the forests, braved the stone Braved the icy winds and fire Braved and beat them on my own The lion's maw opened and lunged for Ludo, but would find little more than a brush of dozens of ribbons and a mocking laugh. No throat to close around. No mask. Nothing but the slow return of life and movement to the woodlands, though anything that made its home there gave the beast that roamed it a wide, wide berth. If and when Remi eventually emerged from the woods, he would see her in his periphery. Standing at the fringes of the trees with her lantern in hand and a loving smile on her lips. Waiting for him again. [ADMIN NOTE: @Remi has successfully completed his quest and has become a Hybrid! He is now an Attuned/Abandoned. Congratulations!]