Red and the War Wolf (Cont'd Skarag x Sinclaire)

[Skarag]

At first, they felt nothing. It wasnt until their first steps, that they stumbled, breathing heavy, sweat forming quickly, a sense of vertigo plagued them.

Walking out of the cabin, became a chore. She was clinging to him by the time Alric could see them, bloodied, stumbling, and shaking.

He lowered himself a bit, for her to climb upon his back. He ran as best he could, given the circumstances.

Soon there was nausea and pain, dull aching pain, which only grew over time. By the time they reached the halfway point, Red felt the overpowering need to vomit.

The feeling of the curse taking effect was like a kick in the gut and Red paused midstep to breathe heavily, steadying herself by placing a hand on Gaknir's back. Damn that did not feel good. It felt as though she hadn't eaten in days and she'd done nothing but run for days, her stomach twisting painfully and her legs unsteady.

Climbing onto Gaknir's back wasn't nearly as easy as it had been and she had to use all her focus to keep herself anchored on his back. As the great wolf ran, Red's stomach only twisted further with each lunge, the pain turning to nausea.

As they arrived to Alric's she nearly fell to the ground as they arrived, holding onto Gaknir's side even as he panted heavily. The metallic taste of blood in her mouth let her know that they needed to hurry and she pulled her pack from her back as Alric exited his home, a false look of concern on his features.

"Red. Gaknir. You do not look well," he remarked as though sad, his beady eyes taking in their every detail. "Nor do we feel it Alric," Red replied weakly, spitting blood into the dirt and hobbling forward as the man approached. Get the information first, she reminded herself, resisting the urge to attack him outright.

Gaknir grew concerned by her inability to stay focused, let alone stand. He was not sure that she would have the time she was given.

He was uncertain if she had placed or would be able to place her decay rune. He, himself, was unable to call upon his nature magic, partially there were no undead at the edge of the forest, and secondly, Alric seemed to have warded the area to prevent its use.

"Im assuming you were not dumb enough to return empty handed, my friends." Alric held out his hands expectantly, as a small horde of zombies seemed to flank him, and a few moved towards the pair.

Gaknir shifted his body, trying his best to shield her, from the encroachment of the shambling horde.

The air was thick with the stench of decay and betrayal. Alric, was an eager opportunist, two powerful foes added to his undead collection.

He practically salivated at the thought of what he could do with his undead beauty, Red.

Red who knelt before him, fumbling for the clasp on her backpack, so weak, so feeble, so deliciously fresh and close to death.

 

[Sinclaire]

The world spun sickly around her and it took every ounce of focus for her not only to stand, but to remember their purpose.

Diamanda's magic had been more potent than she could have imagined. If she hadn't had the hope of a cure she might've begged for death in a moment like this.

Red felt far older than her years, every wheezy breath hurt. Shaking fingers fumbled momentarily with her bag and she feared it would fight her to the death. Finally it came free and she reached in for the book, looking up at Alric whose beady eyes watched her hungrily.

If it hadn't been for that look, for the knowledge that he clearly wished her dead, she might have regretted what was to come. As it was, she was going to enjoy this. Unable to stand back on her feet, Red leaned against one of Gaknir's legs as she held up the book to the greedy necromancer.

Alric snatched it greedily from her hands and she was granted the view of seeing his momentary shock as the book opened before it latched to his face. He made a few muffled screams and tried to tear it away as it pulsed, appearing to pull something from him. Powerless against the dark surprise, the wizard went limp where he stood and the book fell to the ground with a thump.

Darkness bled in from the edges of her vision but she smiled as it took her, relishing the zombie expression Alric would now wear forevermore. Unconsciousness swept over her and her limp body slumped to the ground, her body nearing its limit.

 

[Skarag]

"Get up. I need your hands." Gaknir growled, as the once tame and controlled zombies, swayed in confusion.

They did not resort to primal instincts, instead, they followed their Master's commands, of nothing. The magic still tied them to him, but the command was the sound of rushing water.

Gaknir pawed at her, before licking her face, robustly, lips, nose, eyes, he left none untouched.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up. I will piss on you, if I have too." he concluded in her ear with a sharp snarl.

In truth, he could carry the book or drag her, but not both. They needed both. He needed to get her back to the Lady of the Forest.

 

[Sinclaire]

Red let out a pained moan as something wet dragged across her face multiple times. All she wanted was to sleep. Sleep and never wake up. It sounded much better than the pain she faced while conscious. Still, the nudging was persistent and her eyes blinked open blearily at the sound of Gaknir's voice. His words were loud and brought the hint of a scowl to her face.

"Piss on me and you'll regret it," she warned, but they both knew it to be an idle threat. She could barely move, much less fight with the massive wolf. Trying to sit up, a sharp pain entered her gut and she cried out weakly, turning away from him to empty the contents of her stomach. It was a semblance of the food she'd had this morning and a fair bit of blood.

"That's probably not good," she murmured as she tried to catch her breath. The book was on the ground in front of Alric's feet and the purpose of the entire endeavor finally came to mind. The demons. Diamanda. Red would die soon if they didn't return. She could feel it in her core. Her soul was fighting to escape her body.

Gritting her teeth, she reached for the book and dragged it to herself, every move excrutiating. The zombified Alric was motionless and she could only hoped that there was still a small part of him that was aware. Returning the book to her bag she slowly hooked it across her shoulder and tried to stand. Her limbs felt like jello and when she tried to lift with her legs her body crumpled.

Spitting out the taste of blood of vomit at Alric's feet she sighed heavily between heavy breaths. Perhaps she should just give the pack to Gaknir to take back to the witch. Red looked up at the wolf, sweat beading her pale face. "I do not have the strength to stand, much less to hold on as you run," she admitted, her breathing heavy and raspy.

 

[Skarag]

Since her had shifted his body, she had nothing to cling to, when she crumpled to the ground.

Inwardly, which quickly led outwardly, he growled, at a few things, her apparent desire to give up, his lack of hands, and the fact if she died here, he would never have known what it felt like for her to break beneath him.

"Again. Stand again." he snarled, the air almost prickling with tension at disobeying such a command. Before his voice, softened to something, more caring and almost honeyed in texture, soothing her ringing ears. "Just drape yourself over me. We need to get you back."

She simply looked at him as he lowered himself to the ground. "Besides, who knows if this place is cursed, maybe dying here will still turn you into a zombie. Do not let Samuel go unavenged, we must go." he whispered, hoping it would give her another burst of energy.

 

[Sinclaire]

Red tried to ignore his offer. She didn't want to stand, she just wanted the pain to end. However, the thought of being one of the mindless creeps that shambled around them made her blood run cold. If that hadn't roused her, Gaknir's second statement would have been more than enough. Samuel's innocent little face, with blonde curls and blur eyes filled her mind.

"You're a right bastard, you know that?" giving him a view of her bloody teeth in what could have been a grin or a grimace. Red reached out to tangle her fingers in Gaknir's thick fur and pulled herself up with a gasp, leaning heavily against him as her legs trembled. Black dots spotted her vision and she paused, giving them a moment to subside before she pushed herself further, draping herself across Gaknir's massive back and shoulders.

Once he started to move, Red danced on the line that separated reality and dreams. At one point she saw Samuel running along beside them laughing and then he morphed into a demon who's laugh sounded the same.

"It's not real, it's not real, it's not real," Red muttered over and over again. She had completely lost touch with what was real at this point. She could only hope that they made it in time.

 

[Skarag]

"I will just settle for right..." he coughed a couple of times as she settled herself upon him.

He kept his next set of remarks to himself, but they would spring forth, when the time was right.

The next part was the longest, having to pause from walking to trotting to walking, only to shift to keep her perch.

He was travelling much slower this time, and she was far more delicate than he expected her to be, the apparent grip on reality slipping.

He wanted to offer words, words to keep her coherent, alive, but they all seemed obvious and contrived. Instead he focused on their journey.

He wasnt sure if he would make it in time for her to reverse the curse on Red or, even if she knew some way to bring her back.
"If you die, I will bring you back." he finally decided to say, he figured there was only a couple hours left in their journey.