[Valtoria] A thousand cuts
Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2021 5:43 pm
73rd of Ash, 4621
Hyenas. They were strong, their bite was something to be feared; the damage to his leg and arm was a testament to that fact. But even with their strength, they weren't nearly enough to repair his bones, at least not quickly. In just one sitting, he'd eaten maybe ten Hyenas, but he still found himself limping. They weren't enough to heal him, but they were enough to keep him going.
Through the ruddy iron bars of the storm drain, Arkash crawled. Along the darkness of the fortress grounds, he dragged his belly to the far tower. When he was certain none had yet discovered him, up the door, he climbed with his claws, and twisted the handle, he did with his jaws. As the barrier swung open at the addition of his weight, he let go and dropped to the floor.
Quickly, he crawled inside on his three legs, and began to change his shape once more. When he stood, tall, lanky, and nude, he closed the door behind him and peered about the darkness that seemed to blend with his scales. His superior night vision reported he was alone in that tower, and he adjusted his splint for the long descent with bloodshaping.
On his way down, he pulled some black bile from one of his wounds, and pressed it to the x-shaped keyway of the Laboratory door when he arrived. He listened closely to the inside, furrowed his brow, and began to pour the blood into the keyway. With his superior knowledge of lock mechanisms, and from memory, he made the blood press into each of the locking pins and tensioned the barrel until everything clicked into place, and the door unlocked. He withdrew the black mass and let himself in.
Just across the room and under the countertop was the combination dial on the safe that guarded Raphael's tools. Arkash had wanted to use them for some time, but hadn't found the proper motivation, despite everything that he needed them for. Reiss changed things. So, with the combination committed to memory, he put in the numbers, turned the lever, and unlocked the door with a pull. Inside was a bag of dark leather, which Arkash peered inside before taking. They did indeed appear to be Raphael's tools, and Arkash would need them for his new friend.
Carefully, he closed up the safe, and reset the combination dial to its original position before he exited the lab, relocked the door, and snuck his way out of the fortress without any trouble.
Arkash really could have been a world-class thief if his path were just a shade or two brighter, but the hall of broken glass and smeared bloodstains guided him down down darker straights. A path of bloodshed and suffering had been laid out for him, and even if he had to limp for some of it, he wouldn't change his fate for the world.
Reiss had been hidden away in the canyon-like cavern he'd discovered for the majority of the evening. Arkash had briefly returned to her with a cane of black blood, just to inform Reiss of his plan. He was to wait until his necromancer friend was asleep, then collect his tools and return to repair her. The cane was just to support his leg while it healed, but he found he was faster without it on his way back to the fortress. On his way there, he recollected his discarded assistant, then began to reassume his True Form. Again, he adjusted his splint with blood shaping and hobbled the rest of the way to Reiss.
As he began his descent into the cavern, he lowered to his tail, and began to steadily slide himself the rest of the way down. Stairs were hard enough to descend, but a slope? He'd rather lay down on his side and roll the rest of the way down than suffer that pain. When he made it to the bottom, he pressed into his cane and lifted himself to his feet.
More hobbling ensued, and he kept his night eyes open for a glance of the rotting wolf, whom he'd found himself dotting over all day. Again, he could smell her before he could see her, and the thought made him grin before he turned that corner of the tall red pillar at its deepest point, and set the bag on the same naturally-formed table of those large Hyena carcasses. His stomach growled at the sight, but he paid it no mind.
"Okay!" Arkash called, then exhaustedly turned around and leaned against the table with one hand, while he held weight off his injured leg with the cane. "My friend's asleep, so we've got a bit less than six hours to get you all fixed up. The guy has a queue of injured soldiers and mages he has to fix up when he's awake," he explained while he looked the wolf up and down with his pale yellow eyes, still lined with a terrible hunger.
It felt strange, funny even, to be voluntarily working on someone else's body, to be trusted with that sort of responsibility. He couldn't deny that he was eager to begin, despite the underlaid fear that he might botch the surgery somehow and leave her disfigured.
"You said you have a tail I could start with?" he asked, and tilted his head to the side, leaning more of his weight on the cane that supported his injured leg, as if to get a look behind her. "It sounds like as good a place as any to start, if you're ready," Arkash declared with a nod, then looked about the cave. Near her horse, Fruit, was a small jutting of rock that almost looked as though it could be used as some makeshift operating table. Arkash could at least treat it like such. He grinned a little, and nodded at the idea before he lifted his body from the edge, and took hold of the doctor's bag.
"If you just wanna lay down on your front over there and set your tail out for me, that would be great," Arkash declared with a smile, then looked to the Hyena corpses.
He set the bag in his mouth and pinched it between his jaws before he seized a leg of Hyena, and extended his cane's side into a jagged edge before he sharpened it with suffusion, and cut the limb clean off with one swipe. A hum reverberated through the doctor's bag before he began his limp to the wolf, dragging the severed Hyena leg with him all the way. he set it on the makeshift operating table, and set the bag down beside it.
"If you're still not sure about this, it's not too late to back out," he offered with an open claw, whether she'd taken the opportunity to lay down or not. "Otherwise, I'm ready to begin."
Reiss didn't seem to have noticed, but Arkash had withdrawn somewhat. As he feared might happen, he'd shown her too much of his heart too quickly. No fault of her own, of course. He knew she accepted him despite his terrible magic and his tears of weakness.
Even so, he'd begun to taper off on talks of personal matters and resumed his guise of the clumsy, carefree necromancer's apprentice he'd painted himself to be, despite earlier revelations heavily suggesting otherwise. It was all business between them, and Arkash's walls, though breached in patches, still stood tall.
Hyenas. They were strong, their bite was something to be feared; the damage to his leg and arm was a testament to that fact. But even with their strength, they weren't nearly enough to repair his bones, at least not quickly. In just one sitting, he'd eaten maybe ten Hyenas, but he still found himself limping. They weren't enough to heal him, but they were enough to keep him going.
Through the ruddy iron bars of the storm drain, Arkash crawled. Along the darkness of the fortress grounds, he dragged his belly to the far tower. When he was certain none had yet discovered him, up the door, he climbed with his claws, and twisted the handle, he did with his jaws. As the barrier swung open at the addition of his weight, he let go and dropped to the floor.
Quickly, he crawled inside on his three legs, and began to change his shape once more. When he stood, tall, lanky, and nude, he closed the door behind him and peered about the darkness that seemed to blend with his scales. His superior night vision reported he was alone in that tower, and he adjusted his splint for the long descent with bloodshaping.
On his way down, he pulled some black bile from one of his wounds, and pressed it to the x-shaped keyway of the Laboratory door when he arrived. He listened closely to the inside, furrowed his brow, and began to pour the blood into the keyway. With his superior knowledge of lock mechanisms, and from memory, he made the blood press into each of the locking pins and tensioned the barrel until everything clicked into place, and the door unlocked. He withdrew the black mass and let himself in.
Just across the room and under the countertop was the combination dial on the safe that guarded Raphael's tools. Arkash had wanted to use them for some time, but hadn't found the proper motivation, despite everything that he needed them for. Reiss changed things. So, with the combination committed to memory, he put in the numbers, turned the lever, and unlocked the door with a pull. Inside was a bag of dark leather, which Arkash peered inside before taking. They did indeed appear to be Raphael's tools, and Arkash would need them for his new friend.
Carefully, he closed up the safe, and reset the combination dial to its original position before he exited the lab, relocked the door, and snuck his way out of the fortress without any trouble.
Arkash really could have been a world-class thief if his path were just a shade or two brighter, but the hall of broken glass and smeared bloodstains guided him down down darker straights. A path of bloodshed and suffering had been laid out for him, and even if he had to limp for some of it, he wouldn't change his fate for the world.
Reiss had been hidden away in the canyon-like cavern he'd discovered for the majority of the evening. Arkash had briefly returned to her with a cane of black blood, just to inform Reiss of his plan. He was to wait until his necromancer friend was asleep, then collect his tools and return to repair her. The cane was just to support his leg while it healed, but he found he was faster without it on his way back to the fortress. On his way there, he recollected his discarded assistant, then began to reassume his True Form. Again, he adjusted his splint with blood shaping and hobbled the rest of the way to Reiss.
As he began his descent into the cavern, he lowered to his tail, and began to steadily slide himself the rest of the way down. Stairs were hard enough to descend, but a slope? He'd rather lay down on his side and roll the rest of the way down than suffer that pain. When he made it to the bottom, he pressed into his cane and lifted himself to his feet.
More hobbling ensued, and he kept his night eyes open for a glance of the rotting wolf, whom he'd found himself dotting over all day. Again, he could smell her before he could see her, and the thought made him grin before he turned that corner of the tall red pillar at its deepest point, and set the bag on the same naturally-formed table of those large Hyena carcasses. His stomach growled at the sight, but he paid it no mind.
"Okay!" Arkash called, then exhaustedly turned around and leaned against the table with one hand, while he held weight off his injured leg with the cane. "My friend's asleep, so we've got a bit less than six hours to get you all fixed up. The guy has a queue of injured soldiers and mages he has to fix up when he's awake," he explained while he looked the wolf up and down with his pale yellow eyes, still lined with a terrible hunger.
It felt strange, funny even, to be voluntarily working on someone else's body, to be trusted with that sort of responsibility. He couldn't deny that he was eager to begin, despite the underlaid fear that he might botch the surgery somehow and leave her disfigured.
"You said you have a tail I could start with?" he asked, and tilted his head to the side, leaning more of his weight on the cane that supported his injured leg, as if to get a look behind her. "It sounds like as good a place as any to start, if you're ready," Arkash declared with a nod, then looked about the cave. Near her horse, Fruit, was a small jutting of rock that almost looked as though it could be used as some makeshift operating table. Arkash could at least treat it like such. He grinned a little, and nodded at the idea before he lifted his body from the edge, and took hold of the doctor's bag.
"If you just wanna lay down on your front over there and set your tail out for me, that would be great," Arkash declared with a smile, then looked to the Hyena corpses.
He set the bag in his mouth and pinched it between his jaws before he seized a leg of Hyena, and extended his cane's side into a jagged edge before he sharpened it with suffusion, and cut the limb clean off with one swipe. A hum reverberated through the doctor's bag before he began his limp to the wolf, dragging the severed Hyena leg with him all the way. he set it on the makeshift operating table, and set the bag down beside it.
"If you're still not sure about this, it's not too late to back out," he offered with an open claw, whether she'd taken the opportunity to lay down or not. "Otherwise, I'm ready to begin."
Reiss didn't seem to have noticed, but Arkash had withdrawn somewhat. As he feared might happen, he'd shown her too much of his heart too quickly. No fault of her own, of course. He knew she accepted him despite his terrible magic and his tears of weakness.
Even so, he'd begun to taper off on talks of personal matters and resumed his guise of the clumsy, carefree necromancer's apprentice he'd painted himself to be, despite earlier revelations heavily suggesting otherwise. It was all business between them, and Arkash's walls, though breached in patches, still stood tall.
