To Aggrivate the Dead

[ωΘĿƒ]

He could barely hear the sound of Illia's voice. It sounded so far away....

He wasn't dying he knew he wasn't dying; but all the sounds sounded so quiet, and he couldn't feel the grass he saw himself land on. Where was White? Was he still on Z's back? He didn't want to get up and look, because he was afraid there'd be another gunshot, and this one he wouldn't be ready for either.

But could he even get up to begin with? He didn't know. He hadn't felt tired when he landed, but for some reason nothing would move anymore. Was that just tired? Or was it something else? He was listening to Illia's voice, and he thought he heard her say something about him being alive.

He wasn't too sure that was true right now...

"Where's White?" He asked. It wasn't hard, but it felt strange somehow to ask it, like there was something strangling him, but he couldn't feel it. He didn't want to talk because of that strangling feeling, but he had to. He had to know where White was...
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[Iƪƪia]

Instead of a response, Illia was given another question. White? Why ask? He didn't follow them did he? Nervously, the chimera spun around several times, two sets of eyes scanning their surroundings. She found nothing. So they were safe for now. She didn't bother thinking they would ever stay safe for long.

"I don't know... Still in the town?"

She began shifting her weight as she waited for Z to say something. Why wasn't he moving? Or saying much, for that matter? He was okay, right? He didn't look like he was dying... So what was wrong with him?

"Hey! Can you hear me?" She asked, concern present in her voice, "Are you alright?"

[ωΘĿƒ]

The sound of Illia's answer was music to his ears. She had four eyes, not two. If she didn't see anything, then he must not be here...

That only left him wondering when White would show up. He did seem like that kind of nightmare, to keep following them until something stopped him.

What about the castle? Was he allowed to go inside the castle? Crane didn't like him in there, did he? For some reason - possibly instinct, possibly something coming from the strange state he was in - he didn't think White was allowed in Chimera Castle. It seemed like a territorial thing to him. Dragons were highly territorial, but were vampires? Were chimeras?

His head hurt now, because he was thinking too much. Why did he only think when it was too late for it to help anything? Why did he get mad first, then start to use his brain?

He tried getting up again, hearing his claws scrape against the grass and dig into the soil beneath with the effort. He couldn't do it. It didn't hurt to move, but even if he gave it his all, he just heard the sound of his scales grating together as his limbs shook.


"Hey Illia..." He said, feeling that strange strangling sensation. His vocal cords felt wet, like there was water dripping down them. He rolled his neck around, and the feeling only got tighter. Then, there was a little slick shine in the dappled sunlight, and he saw the bright red trickle down the front of his neck. He was bleeding, badly. There was a wound on the back of his neck, near the base of his spine. He couldn't tell how far up, but it was there, beneath the scales where no one could see it. There was just the slick blood welling up from the wound that told him it was there.

"Can you um.." He tried not to panic as he wondered how bad it was, and why he couldn't feel it. "Can you do me a favor and carry me back? To the castle, I mean..."

He wondered if he could shift like this. He'd never tried it before. But if he could, then Illia could pick him up and take him back. He couldn't move, he knew that much, but he didn't want to stay here and wait for someone to find him.

He tried to use his skin, focusing to shift back to his small, light human form. He didn't know it was working at first, he couldn't feel his scales change, but then he saw that he was much closer to the ground, and he'd figured he'd changed.

At least something was working for him...

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[Iƪƪia]

A strange mixture of fear and concern resonated through Illia's body as she listened to Z's words. She didn't quite understand what he meant, until her snake-like tongues cut through the air. That was the familiar metallic taste of blood. This was bad. This was very bad.

As she watched him shift back to his human form, she tried with all her might to compose herself. To her surprise, she was able to accomplish this almost immediately. Now she appeared nearly completely calm, even though it was taking all her strength to keep her body from trembling.

She edged toward him, hesitant to move him at all. Lowering herself closer to the ground, she heaved him onto her back. Hopefully, he'd at least be able to hang on.

Setting her sights on the Academy, she bounded away. The chimera was cautious not to move too fast, however, she didn't dare run at a leisurely pace. She wanted to get back to the school and away from that accursed town as quickly as possible.

As she ran, she felt a strange new feeling bubble up inside of her. In the back of her mind she knew what it was, of course. Guilt. A back-and-forth battle began in her mind. This was entirely her fault. Well, what else could she have done? She left Z to die. Well, he wanted to die for her! Attempting unsuccessfully to push these thoughts aside, she concentrated only on their destination.

[ωΘĿƒ]

He had no idea how hard it was to hold on. He was holding on though. He gripped the thick fur around her neck and shoulders tightly, watching his fingers shiver but not knowing if it was in a silenced pain or simply a massive fatigue. Neither of them sounded all that good, and he really didn't want to dwell on why he still couldn't feel a thing. It was like the sensation you got when your leg fell asleep. You'd sit there for a while, and all of a sudden you'd realize there was no feeling in your leg. It was like that, except all over. There was bloodflow though. He could smell the blood, wherever it was, as it continued to leak. He even aught a glimpse of it once as he was riding along. He'd taken a look over his shoulder as he was hunched over Illia's neck, and he saw a bright red sheen that made him turn away very quickly.

He decided to keep his head down and from then on just stare at the chalky white fur of Illia's scruff. He wondered if it was soft. He wondered if it was cold. He also wondered if they'd make it to the castle before anything else bad happened.

He wondered a lot of things, but he didn't say anything. Not up the wooded pathway to the castle, not when they crossed the huge iron wrought doors and went over the drawbridge. Not even when they made it all the way inside the castle without incident.

He had felt that funny tightening around his neck, and he tried hard to keep his breathing steady as slowly that feeling got tighter and tighter.
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