plagued [open]

[♥Picasso]

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[atrb=background,http://i45.tinypic.com/4jt26x.jpg,true] "Speech" The face is contorted, skewed. It roars into the deafening blackness, shrill and painful as it shrieks. The body is warped and broken in too many ways. The disgusting blood oozes from its maggot-ridden flesh. Its eyes are just hollow sockets, unseeing and black. There is no escape from such a monster. It's yellow, rotten teeth curve into a smile, the sharp canines gleaming in the moonlight. It's horrifying. It's jaws open wide, aiming to close in around your throat. Orion startled awake in a fit of panic. Breathing heavily, the wolf looks around with alarmed, wide eyes. There is no monster in the huge cathedral. His body is racked with tremors as he tries to scramble to his paws, however he is too weak. The wolf slumps back down onto the cold, unforgiving ground. Closing his eyes, Orion tries to repeat himself over and over again: It was just a dream. There was no monster. Letting out a strangled cry, he burrowed his nose into his two front paws. Orion had never experienced fear like this before. He was unaccustomed to trembling like a weak puppy. He'd be a laughing stock if someone were to find him here. Orion opened his eyes to gaze at the huge, wooden doors. They had decayed considerably in the past few years, but they still lay on their hinges, creaking in the wind. It was a cold night. The snow was falling heavily and the wind was howling. Orion wanted to cover his hears at the frightening sound. It reminded him too much of his nightmares. The wolf curled up tighter, suddenly feeling very cold. It had started a few days ago. Orion had paid no attention to people who had been whispering of the plague. He had laughed it off. Orion was strong, he'd never been sick in his life! But he had started getting excruciating headaches. It had felt as though someone had wrapped their cold hands around his skull and had begun to squeeze. The wolf had to reside in darkness to try and dull the pain. The pain became so great that nausea followed. He had been constantly vomiting since yesterday morning. There was nothing in his stomach to throw up but bile now. He was exhausted. Now he felt as though bugs were crawling along his skin. He felt as though there were people watching him. His dreams were plagued with horrible images. He didn't know when he was awake and when he was asleep. Orion felt so confused, but he had no one to be there for him. He had heard of the plague's death toll, and it frightened him. He didn't want to die. He was still so young. The shaking wolf whined lowly, body shivering from the cold. His fur prickled uneasily as another gust of wind made the doors slam loudly. The wolf let out a groan of pain. His headache had got better, but he had still not recovered. The wolf felt awful. He truly thought he was going to die. Who would find his corpse? Would anyone even care? The cathedral was a place that animals came for shelter. Perhaps someone would come before he died and give him food and water. Orion let out a weak, insane laugh. Who would help a stupid wolf like him? He was disliked by many. He liked hurting others. He had no friends. He didn't care about anyone, and in return no one would care about him. That was the harsh reality. A wave of nausea hit the wolf again. It took all of Orion's strength to stand up and begin to retch. Nothing came up and his throat felt raw. Swallowing, the wolf's legs gave away from beneath him. He collapsed to the ground again and closed his eyes.

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[Hunter]

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[atrb=background,http://i45.tinypic.com/oqd5hv.jpg] "Speech." She had been out hunting all day, and had already filled a few hares into the Tempest Pack’s food stores. Now she was heading back to her pack’s territory, a fat male peasant in her mouth, and Cinta felt quite satisfied with herself. Despite the cold, this winter would be easier to overcome for her than the last ones she’d experienced. She was living in a pack now, and everyone would help her live through the winter – that was what a pack did, protected each other. Even when it wasn’t the enemy standing in front of you. The white Kintamani dog had come to like the life in a pack, though she wouldn’t admit it of course. There was strength in numbers, and even though the four year old female wasn’t the most sociable member in the pack, she still liked being around others. It was windy, and the snow fell heavily from the sky. The night sky was cloudy, and Cinta counted herself lucky that she’d been able to get back to the city from the outlands where she’d hunted. Snow storms were close to common these days, but since nothing had appeared in the sky earlier today, the female dog had chosen to work for many hours. Then she wouldn’t feel so bad if there was a day where she wouldn’t be able to hunt because of a blizzard – or came back home unsuccessful. She padded through the snow, her body slightly shivering as a cold wind rustled her fur. The snow had started to fall heavily from the sky shortly before she made her last kill for the evening, and she’d been trapped in the blizzard. How stupid of her not to be more careful. Hunting so far from the pack’s territory was dangerous, since she’d been so far away from proper shelter. This was the second time she’d been caught in a blizzard – she should know better. At least she wasn’t facing a lioness this time… but she’d heard about something just as dangerous. A plague roamed in the city’s streets, and she’d heard that it’d killed both felines and canines. This time, it wasn’t just the cold which made Cinta shiver. Lifting her head to take a whiff in the air, the packmember saw the silhouette of the cathedral. She was still a while from the pack’s territory, so a shelter like that huge building would do just fine for her tonight. She needed to rest after the long hours of hunting. Bouncing through the snowdrifts with the peasant still hanging from her mouth, the white dog soon came to the big wooden doors and went inside. It was warmer inside where the wind barely came in, but Cinta’s relief of finding shelter was short. She heard the sound of someone trying to vomit, then something fell to the floor. Not something, someone. There was another creature in here. She looked around, but couldn’t see anything at first. But she could smell it. It was the stench of sickness, and beneath that foul scent, she recognized the scent of wolf. ”Hello?” she called out after laying her kill at her paws. She took it back up and paced carefully deeper into the cathedral. She was a strong canine; no sickness would take her down. And maybe someone needed her help. She then saw the ebony wolf, lying on the floor. She flickered her ears back and forth, trying to figure out if there were more than this single male, before she laid the peasant at the ground again. ”Who’s there?” she asked, her voice a mix of wary and commanding.

[♥Picasso]

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[atrb=background,http://i45.tinypic.com/4jt26x.jpg,true] Orion heard the door creak uneasily, and another gust of wind made the wolf shiver. He closed his eyes, knowing that he now had company. He just hoped they wouldn't kill him. He had heard of the canines and felines that killed anyone that displayed symptoms of the sickness. They didn't want to catch the virus, and instead slaughtered the poor souls that were suffering. He weakly raised his head to look at the stranger. A white canine. He had never met them before and was extremely wary. He padded away from the doorway, eyeing him suspiciously. What did they want? They looked hungry. Probably coming back from an unsuccessful hunt. They also looked extremely cold. Probably not as cold as Orion was feeling. He let out a small snarl at the stranger, raising his hackles and arching his back, before coughing. He keeled over in pain. His face was contorted as his coughs turned into splutters and retches. Once the pain had subsided, he raised his head and continued to back away from the ivory canine. "What business do you have? Are you foolish enough to approach a sick wolf?" He rasped out, throat sore from the vomiting and coughing. He had fully expected the dog to turn on its heel from fear of catching the plague. Instead, they had stayed. Out of morbid curiosity? It made Orion feel even sicker. He should have resided into a more enclosed area. Perhaps the belltower. Too late now. His body was too weak to go any further. The wolf finally collapsed by the altar. A huff of cold air escaped his lungs as his body hit the ground. Closing his eyes, Orion half hoped that the dog would kill him now. He feared death, but this sickness was making him think terrible things. As his eyes blearily opened again, the world seemed to warp out of shape. Confused, Orion looked around for the white bitch, but she had disappeared. In her place was a shadowed beast with long, sharp talons. His breath hitched as Orion let out a long, low whine. Flattening his body against the cold ground, he didn't let his eyes wander from the monster. "What do you want?" He hissed, desperately looking around for an escape route, "What did you do with the bitch?" It must've devoured her body, eaten her whole. His stomach rolled uneasily at the thought of him being next. Was this death? Is this what the face of death looked like? Body trembling from fear, Orion buried his muzzle back into his front two paws. This was where he would die. His body would be consumed by this monster and he would be gone. "I don't want to die. Please." He had never begged for his life before. He almost regretted the words that left his lips, but this may be the only chance he had to save his skin. His fur prickled as his eyes began to dart about the room, feeling more and more confused. What was going on?

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