CHERRY BLOSSOMS EXPLODE ACROSS THE DYING HORIZON | o, severe injuries

// slight gore warning, beware!

Blood pooled from beneath the feline and the deposit of broken concrete that had seemingly come from the heavens. She couldn't move her legs -- did she even have them anymore? They were completely numb; the feeling was as if she wasn't born with them at all. Her eyesight dwindled, every passing glance towards the daylight outside the broken building becoming so much as a bright white blur. Tears would form without a sob, pooling at her broken eyes and streaming down red-speckled blue cheeks. She couldn't even stifle a groan. The only sounds coming from her frail, beaten body were the short breaths coming from her nose. She had been truly weak, truly vulnerable. It was a wonder how she hadn't been killed by anything that had just happened to her.

How could she have been so weak? And why did this all happen?

x

Waking up from a week's worth of slumber wasn't a usual occurrence for the now-medical apprentice. Turning back into her red coloring was awfully unusual, as well. It seemed like everything started to get weird the moment the Earth's tilt against the sun was at its apex position. When she woke from her week of dormancy, her head felt ... awfully dizzy, as if she couldn't get a grip on her thoughts or her actions. Iota stumbled from her resting place on the floors of her conservatory and just barely made it out of her broken glass door, nearly collapsing just from the shock of being awake alone. She still felt as if she were sleeping, as if she barely had any control over her body. She had to find someone, someone who could help her wake up. Her mind raced in an attempt to break free of her dreams and return to reality, but her body acted much different. She was intoxicated by her own thoughts, her body moving free of will.

Stumbling into the city, she collapsed unto the broken, cracked concrete, unable to continue to move much further, as her body coloring shifted back to its blue hue, attempting to reclaim its dormant state. "Ugh... This new form sucks... Hopefully, I'll get some more answers as to what the hell's goin' on soon... But for now, I'll just lie here. And hopefully not die." Though she didn't want to die, her body felt as it had already given up. Was it attempting to go back into its dormant state, and breaking free of this state early caused her mind to disassociate from the rest of her body? She couldn't tell at this point; anything could happen, no matter how weird of an occurrence it was. She endured so many changes from her joining up until this point, why should she even be surprised?

She could feel the hot, dwindling summer's sun beat down on her back as she laid on the jet black concrete, feeling as though she were roadkill. She groaned lazily. Her body felt as if it had a mind of its own -- a childish one, at that, and her own mind were that of a concerned parent. What could she do over a body conflicting with its own mind?

Suddenly, a sound pierced the air and distracted her from her own thoughts. A low-pitched growl, one so deep and deafening that it probably could deafen the naked ear. It sounded strange, though, as if the sound were mutated. Iota laid still, hoping whatever was lurking in the stark daylight wouldn't attempt to attack the now-defenseless medic. Sweat beaded at her temples, dripping down sapphire fur as she awaited the actions of the creature nearby.

The growling became distant, and therefore at a safe distance. Iota sighed in relief, her legs quaking nervously as she tried to gain her bearings and stand, trying to move away from the threat of lurking in the strange abandoned town.

Pain. It surged all throughout her legs, as if her body was disagreeing with her. It was excruciating; it was as if she had been stung by a thousand ants at once. The feline shrieked as her nerves were shocked, and she panicked. The scream was so loud, anyone within a mile's distance would have probably heard it, but she was not one to tolerate pain so easily. She couldn't help herself. Panting as the pain started to calm down, she made an attempt to limp away from the town, her blue paws treading the hot asphalt and making her wince with every step.

She stopped again.

The growling. It began again, nearing closer and closer, the mutated sounds creeping up quickly on her as she attempted to make her escape. Fuck. She had no choice but to defend herself from whatever was going to try to slaughter her. She knew it heard her screams, so it will probably try to take advantage of that sound to find her location.

She tried to unsheath her claws again, them having gone unused for countless amounts of time. Her paws bled as the small incisors made their way to the surface, and she winced in pain as they cut through her skin. But, all that mattered was that she had some line of defense against whatever was charging at her, and that was all she could really do.

It was a dog. A huge, muscly, terrifying dog. The mere sight of it closing in on her sent shocks down her spine, chilling her every bone. But... Something looked quite off about it, as if it had been mutated in some way. That may have contributed to its horrifying visage, and the fear Iota had accompanying it.

Even if she could defend herself, the dog's speed outmatched her own. She leapt at the dog in an attempt to be the first to strike, but the dog had the upper hand, its large jaws closing like a vice around her already weak body, crushing the bones inside. The grip winded her, and she screamed in terror as the dog shook her as if she were a toy. It kept its grip on her as she swiped its nose, attempting to set herself free, yet this only angered the dog more.

The dog charged, Iota in mouth, headfirst into a nearby building, crashing her and itself into the furthermost wall from the opening. The strength of this dog was terrifying; it was if she had been launched at the wall by a cannon. Every cell in her body screamed as blood began to drip from the maw of the beast. "It's over. Everything... is over. I'm dead."

The dog pressed the broken feline against the wall, the growling intensifying as it attempted to seal the deal. Iota's screams were bone-chilling, echoing across every corridor of the building and off every building close to it.

The ceiling above them gave way, chunks of concrete and rebar falling from above. A grand deposit of this debris fell upon the dog, crushing the life out of the mutant and freeing Iota from its grip. Yet, this came at a cost, as more concrete fell from above, landing on the feline's hind legs, crushing them and trapping her again in a stationary position. She made an attempt to scream in pain, but her body wouldn't allow it. She was far too weak to continue on; she may as well have been killed on the spot.

Her mind sent out a distress signal using telepathy, the only effort she could do to call for help. She hoped someone would be able to answer the call and come to her aid, she didn't care who it was. Tears swelled up at her ducts as her vision began to cloud; she could feel the mutant beast's heat leaving its corpse as the concrete from above had taken its life just as quickly as the creature could've taken her own.

Death had continued to call her, yet she refused to answer.

malphas, like iota, was also adjusting to his new role. being a nurse was difficult and taxing on the boy, but he made do. for nayru and for iota. in his defense, he had volunteered out of sheer impulse, but strangely... he didn't regret it. he was here now. he was playing with the big boys and swimming in a sea of sharks. even so, this career was... taxing. already haunted by his encounters, he closed his eyes and saw viscera every time. wanting to free himself of the bloody thoughts, he drank to forgot, but it always came back.

he half-closed his eyes, about to do a shot of vodka and lounge about lazily in the hot summer sun when he heard mirror-shattering screams and he dropped the cup. wasted my alcohol, he thought, for a split second, before letting his eyes dart around for a source. that sounded like... iota. holy shit. unlike his encounter with stocking, where he had been drunk and lackadaisical about treating a broken leg, panic set in and sent his chest throbbing as he ran.

he saw her delicate form amidst the debris. a flower gasping under the rubble. "iota," he said in a panicked voice. "it's ok. it's malphas, i'm here. i'm sure... nayru will be here too..." the scene was horrible and malphas tried to block it out. but he couldn't. he started crying, unable to push the rubble off of her. he was just a cat. he treated what he could, putting a disinfectant on the bite marks on her body and carefully bandaging it this time. "it's alright. it's going to be ok. you're going to live." he said, voice shaking. "just stay with me. i care about you, damn it," he whined, unable to emotionally unattach himself from the situation as he worked.