The Castle (IC) [M] {04}

[Boog]

Jeremiah staggered down the hallway, one hand to his head. He felt so strange... Drunk, almost. Or ill. He didn't stop for those behind him, Ian or Ketefe. Somehow, it wasn't important. He just had to, had to...
Had to something. Who knows? It was the same sort of feeling that had sent him wandering to the castle in the first place. So tired, so confused, so he just walked...
Eventually, he found his way over to where the others were aiding the various wounded. He took in the scene, already large eyes even wider than usual.
"Wh-what? Aisha... What happened?"

[Gareeku]

Gareeku could feel the energy flowing from his body as the waves of light magic tore through the shadow hounds.
"Back to hell with you..." the wolf muttered to himself as he watched his enemies perish in the attack. Once everything had gone quiet, however, he suddenly collapsed, falling to his hands and knees as he violently coughed up blood. It seemed that the hard blows he had received from the shadow hounds' attack were taking their toll to say the least; it was likely that the wolf had a broken rib or two and internal bleeding. Groaning slightly, Gareeku then slumped on the floor as everything faded to black.

[Prof B Hunnydew]

Jeremiah gets up leaves unsteadly as Bam is checks on Ketefe and Ian.  He is out the door before she can stop him.  Bam yells after him but he continues on.  Bam, herself, is getting uneasy with the situation, She has two no three patients in a defendable room, but the castle seem to feel increasing more wierd and dangerous by the minute...

"Come on Ketefe awake up.." trys Bam.  "Ian?  "  Ian wounds maybe healed but he lost a lot of blood, which Mel cured but he may still be in shock as his body recovers...

"Gina, Are you able to help me at all...?  Must we close the Hellgate somehow, or can we go to heaven some help?  Please, Gina, this is something, I think, you were suppose to guard.. If you can't or If we can't close it back up.  It will take over Furrae, and no one or place will safe." begs Bambi "This Old Bat is going be going after Stygain and he will not be able to setup anything to close the Gate."

PBH

[Aisha deCabre]

"A battle, Jeremiah," was all that could be heard from the tigress, her head turned away.  As Mel helped with Aisha, Rynkura managed to tear her eyes away from her injured form to watch Keaton tend to Stygian.  She had noticed the jackal's avoiding the tiger's gaze, but for her at least, that seemed understandable.  For all purposes though, she had been doing an impressive job healing the bat long enough for him to suggest that they make haste.  And she was quite willing to agree.

She turned to the dragon, who had effectively placed her magic tourniquet on Aisha's bleeding stump of an arm, and gently took her limp body as she was passed.  The tiger's emerald gaze was solemn as she looked upon Aisha's face, her eyes closed, looking almost for all the world to be dead.  But a pulse still lingered there.  A slight glow surrounded Rynkura's body, and so it did to Aisha, keeping her body frozen and still while she was moved so that little damage, if any, could be done.

And then, with a look around, she paused to let the others gather themselves.  And then, the tigress heaved a sigh and headed for the nearest stairway up to the floor they had been on.  She kept her step slow and steady enough that they could keep up.  And when they reached the stairs, she led the climb for two floors.  But Aisha had to be taken to a bed, and quickly, which she was willing to do.  "She'll be in a nearby bedroom," Rynkura assented.  "We'll be in roughly the same place, you can find your way around and gather."

And with a combination of magic and movement of her wings, Rynkura made a gentle leap from the stairway and flew up to the third floor.  She cradled Aisha as carefully as she could, though she figured that pain was far out of her reach for the time being.

When she reached the third floor, searching for a room, the scent of the carnage still lingered noticeably...and down the hall, among his slain targets, lay Gareeku.  Eyes wide, she regarded the wolf for a moment, the healer cursing herself...someone should have stayed up here.  She called to the stairs.  "Mel, everyone, Sir Manoko needs help as well!  Hurry!"

Oh, how to stop this...

[Mel Dragonkitty]

After handing Aisha over to Mistress Rynkura Mel spared a glance at the others. Keaton and Cog were tending to Stygian. She did pause for a moment when she realized the limp bundle that Cog had been dragging around was that cursed spider. She had figured that merely showing her face would have been a death warrant for that one with all the trouble she caused. A moment behind the tiger when they got to the stairwell Mel gave her another moment of lead time. Flying too close together was a risky game. As soon as the angel cleared the next floor Mel opened her large wings and followed. So the dragon was over the stair rail almost as soon as Rynkura called for help with Gareeku. With one eye on the tiger to see where she was headed Mel knelt next to the downed wolf to assess his injuries. Broken ribs, internal bleeding. Serious, but not as bad as she thought with the amount of blood covering him. It must be mostly his opponents blood. Luckily she was still at her larger size and with a bit of a magical assist able to pick him up and follow in the direction the tiger had disappeared.

[Sunblink]

As Keaton morosely went about, healing Stygian's numerous injuries by utilizing the shadows flowing in a rippling wreath around her, she couldn't help but feel somewhat satisfied as she watched each atramentous strand of darkness weave and tie together the lacerated flesh, or at least somewhat comfortable that she was actually helping something. The glow that seemed to radiate off of the monochromatic juxtaposition of Stygian's flesh and fur was unnerving, almost palpable, but for the most part Keaton attempted to ignore it so she could concentrate on healing him. Unexpectedly, after his body arched, she felt his hand close around her wrist.

He was muttering something she didn't understand. Deliriousness after enduring such wounds probably had attributed to that. Fortunately, Stygian provided a translation (Keaton assumed, or he was just mumbling) shortly afterwards. He insisted on leaving, something Keaton normally would've agreed with, but for once she was hesitant. "I..." she stared down at the hand trapping her wrist, "I need to keep healing you, otherwise you're going to--"

For some reason, Keaton couldn't bring herself to deny him of that, so she reached over and allowed the shadows to crawl up Stygian's mangled leg and restore the ruptured bone and tattered skin. Enough to help him walk, or sustain him for now. Carefully, Keaton  stood up, bringing Stygian's arm with her, and looped it around her shoulder so he could lean against her. He was much taller than her and his weight was hard to support. Grunting slightly, Keaton led Stygian away from the mound of rubble, where she finally noticed Cogidubnus. The irrational guilt she had been fighting back returned.

Quickly, Keaton averted her eyes and drew her lip into her mouth, unconsciously tasting the dried blood there. "Come on," she said in a wooden voice, "Let's just get out of here."

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Aisha deCabre]

With Mel's quick appearance, Rynkura breathed a sigh of relief while doing a slight bit of maneuvering to tuck her staff under her arm.  Watching as the dragon carefully took the wolf in her protective grasp, she only hoped that the healing process would go as well as possible for everyone.  Now that Asal was dead...the spider was downed, guarded by Cogidubnus...and the third presence had yet to show itself.  The castle still had an air of dark and hellishness around it, though by the way things looked, it had toned down considerably enough to allow the wounded their peace and recovery.  The healer had begun to feel a little too far away from the comfort of her monastery.

Her wings were furled around her arms, enveloping Aisha in a white barrier.  Not just because she was somewhat protective of the panthress, but also that she tried to keep them as close as possible even when the halls were more than large enough to keep from bumping into walls.  Cumbersomeness was one of the reasons the Angel just kept them hidden.

But finally she found a hall with a series of bedrooms, some a bit large and suite-like...easy to expect in such an expansive place as the castle, as much as she could remember of its layout.  Looking through the doors, she found one which seemed ideal enough.  Lavish and comfortable as per the norm, but slightly larger, with an adjoining door to another room beyond it...not too many entrances and able to be restricted to the patients and healers if needed.

The tigress turned and nodded to Mel.  "Place the wolf in the bed next door, you can see to him there.  We can have an easy time walking between the rooms as well.  And thank you."  Rynkura then stepped inside and placed Aisha gently and comfortably onto the sheets.  It seemed that she saw the adventurer in this state far too often...she looked to be locked into an uneventful sleep.

"Now..." Rynkura mused with fitful concentration.  The first thing she did was re-activate the jewels on her sleeves.  With a shimmer, the wings had vanished from the tiger's back, and then she set the staff at the foot of the bed, her hands starting to glow with the healing energy that she also used for Mel before.  It was time to work.

[Angel]

For a few moments, Ketefe couldn't hear anything save for her own heartbeat and her demon's laughter. It was all so awfully clear now; she was going to lose any grip on her own body once this was over. The demon was going to use her as a vessel and gain its freedom as a prize for leading the vixen to her prey. She would never see Jarevei again... she'd never find her parents... she couldn't save her newfound friends. The pain, Jeremiah, none of it mattered.

But a blinding flash and swirls of darkness snapped her back to life.

Stygian, Mel and Ian took care of the hellhounds with a flash-bang grenade and an explosion of light magic. Ketefe had to cover her eyes with her arm - which, she noted, was now back under her control. She heard a hiss come from the vixen yet again, and she could've sworn her demon was in some sort of pain too. Once the light faded, she uncovered her eyes to see that the room was now much darker, with Stygian being the main source of light somehow. He destroyed the last struggling hellhound, tearing it apart with a dark force that somehow seemed akin to the beast's own skin and blood. He crushed it with one fist, then dropped to a crouch and faced the demoness. She looked ready to kill the bat, but he held out one hand and impaled her with a thick tendril of blackness. She screamed in pain, crumbling to ash.

At the same moment, Ketefe's parasite shrieked in agony, before fading out almost completely.

Ketefe's mind felt like it had been released from a powerful, painful grip. A wave of the most intense relief she'd ever experienced washed over her. For a long time, all she could do was bask in that blissful feeling, not caring about what happened around her.

When she snapped back, she heard more chaos, but it was a bit far away. Gina and Bam were in the room, fretting over the sounds of battle outside, a rather badly injured Ian, and the azure feline.

"Whoa. Sorry, Bam; guess I blanked out there for a second," Ketefe said. The sentence was so bizarrely normal for the last few circumstances that she almost laughed. "What happened to everyone else? And what's going on out there?"

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel put Gareeku on the bed Rynkura had chosen. After resizing herself to more room friendly proportions she went immediately to work. His ribs were in shards that had to be carefully maneuvered back into place without causing more damage, then each gash and hole caused by the splintered bone had to be sealed. It was slow and tedious and wasn't helped by the distractions of the darkness of the castle, wondering how the healing in the next room was going, and worry over those whose locations she was unsure of. But despite all these she made herself work carefully on her new friend.

[Stygian]

Stumbling along, Stygian leaned half-conscious on Keaton's shoulder, an injured angel-thing which while almost ethereal in appearance weighed heavy. Still, as the jackal walked she gradually felt that weight lighten, the bat starting to stand straighter, though his dark eyes kept half-shut. The place's darkness was having positive effects on him, at least. If only the same could have been said for Aisha, things would actually have seemed to have been improving.
   When they entered the bedroom Stygian let go of Keaton and walked over to a chair, his drooping wings slowly dissipating away into nothing, and slumped down, falling asleep with his head to the side. His wounds had visibly begun healing, but though the blackness seemed more living, there were still gaping wounds in his skin. The one revealing his skull was somewhat concealed against the wall, but still hinted as he mumbled in his sleep.
   'I... killed... Powerless...' he whispered, voice filled with despair.

[Sunblink]

Even in her guilt-stricken, partially-numb state, Keaton was aware of the fact that Stygian's weight was gradually beginning to alleviate, eventually petering away until she could barely feel him against her at all. Made carrying him much, much easier--she wasn't sure if she could keep the tentacle she had utilized protectively wrapped around his waist any longer. After using her tentacles so shortly after their incapacitation it was becoming painful.

Keaton hastily chose a bedroom, thankfully vacant, and didn't protest when Stygian stood up and walked of his own accord to a chair. The moment he sat down his ethereal wings began to vanish, soon disappearing altogether. Unsettling as it was, Keaton couldn't bring her face to muster the effort to express her shock. On their own, the injuries and various lacerations were regenerating. Bitterly, Keaton wondered if he had needed her help to begin with, not quite grasping the concept that her assistance had been integral as well. As the bat slipped away into slumber, he continuously mumbled incoherent nothings under his breath, only a few Keaton had understood.

Keaton, troubled, stared with icy irises at Stygian, attentively listening. Cryptic, his voice permeated with sorrow. Was he just saying nonsense? It still was worrying. And regardless, a certain word struck a chord with her: Powerless. Lifelessly, Keaton's vision swung away, staring at the darkness. If she wanted to, she could walk over and allow the shadows to accept her presence so they could swallow her in a protective, isolated pocket, but in the hellish state of the Castle such a maneuver would be risky. So instead, Keaton murmured something under her breath, nigh inaudible.

"Yeah. I feel the same way."

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Prof B Hunnydew]

"Well, Ketefe, After the Vixen, Stygain had found that Aisha was lead astray and when Off to rescue her and as well as Mel.  I fear that Jeremiah, when off to find Aisha, but he did seem in his right mind but I couldn't get him and watch out for you and Ian...and Gina." says Bam and she turns to look a quiet fearful Gina.  Bam goes to Ian as well as and see If he is improved.

"Ian are you awake or you hurt?" asks Bam


PBH

[Stygian]

The ambient sounds of the castle made the waiting in the darkness all the more unnerving, the all too whisper-like wind in the distant and the voices that came at completely irregular intervals, so quiet and strange that they might as well have been imaginary. It just didn't seem possible to get used to it.
   Stygian slept, shivering and mumbling occasionally where he sat. Strangely, the adventurers found some short respite, perhaps half an hour or more of still silence and peace, though ominous creaks and the sound of breathing and claws scraping on stone made it a very tense refuge.
   When the bat finally stirred, or more accurately opened his eyes, his arm had regenerated to something like a skeletal state, the black flesh twining around it like writhing snakes. He looked around, confused for a few moments, and then turned his eyes to Keaton.
   For a few seconds he just looked at the jackal where she stood, sable black markings blending into the shadows. 'Are... things alright?' he finally asked, eyes steadier than his voice.

[Aisha deCabre]

It was hard to tell what time was passing, when the castle still felt as dark as night and no light penetrated the windows just yet.  Anyone coming up to Rynkura would have noticed her concentration as she knelt by the side of Aisha's bed, eyes glowing a bright shade of green as she worked on Aisha's internal injuries, detecting them as far as the magic sight and touch would allow; this was done after she made sure that the tourniquet was doing its job and that the bleeding had been curbed and covered with some clean cloth.

For all the panthress appeared on the outside, it was a pretty much extensive and brutal mess to go through.  It made the thought of Asal's death all the more reassuring.  The first things she searched for were any lacerated internal organs; stomach and diaphragm in particular.  The bones in Aisha's ribs were brought back to their original places, but time would be needed for them to mend.  Bleeding stopped, though bruises would still be very tender.

Throughout the tiring procedure, Rynkura kept Aisha still with the magic as she had done with Mel, as well as keeping the feeling of pain at bay and instilling her with what would be registered as a feeling of warmth.  But still she figured the huntress still was too far away from feeling anything, let alone pain.  For a second, the healer was curious as to what was going on in her mind at that point.  The last thing she wanted was for Aisha to gain nightmares that lurked in this hellish landscape...

*     *     *

Darkness.  For what seemed like an eternity after the world just rushed away, all that was there was darkness.  Nothing.  Like she was trapped in a corner of her mind, a soul enveloped in a useless body...only waiting for the time when the body would just die and the soul released.  There was no more pain that could be felt.  No emotion but emptiness.  Memories faded.  Just...waiting.

That was when the light came.  It wasn't blinding; it just came gradually and slowly, bringing with it a feeling of such warmth...and a part of her felt reawakened.  The memories came back slowly, just enough for her to recall them...and she was satisfied.  She had accomplished it.  But...

Aisha looked around to still find herself surrounded in a blackness lit with a strange glow just ahead.  She appeared the same, an image pulled out of her mind of how she always looked.  No scars...no ripped clothing...no missing arm.  And no pain.  Just enveloping warmth, and that light.

"So...I'm dead..." her voice muttered, almost sadly, almost accepting.  She wanted to move in the direction of the glow, but she was frozen, like she was held there.

And then something replied from the direction of the light.

"No, hija.  Not dead.  Just on the edge.  You'll be here for a little while."

The voice was familiar...so familiar, unbelievable, that it made her feel like weeping.  But she couldn't, not here.  Instead, something turned her to look at who had spoken...

[Angel]

Ketefe blinked when Bam explained what had happened. "So that chaos we heard earlier... that was... " She prepared to stand. "Should I go help? Aisha might be hurt... And she might need this more than me." She gestured to the bracer on her arm. She was a little nervous about taking it off, but if someone else was hurt worse than her...

[Cogidubnus]

 Cog looked at Keaton and Sebastian silently, the wolf's eyes passing slowly over the bat's injuries. Cog made a low noise, squeezing his eyes shut and again leaning against the wall.  He took a few deep breaths.
It's fine. Just flesh wounds. And pain...

Cog shook his head, breaking that line of thought, and left Keaton to take care of the bat. There was little he could do, anyway, and from Keaton's expression...he seemed to be making the jackal uncomfortable, anyway. He wasn't quite sure why, but...

Rynkura half-jumped-half-flew Aisha up three stories again, back to the level where he had just come from, and the others began moving back up the stairs to the third floor, where most of the bedrooms were located. Sensible, Cog thought as he looked at the others dispersing. "Well and good...."

Guard the spider. Cog looked over his shoulder at the unconscious form of Sal leaned up against the stone wall. The wolf involuntarily bared a tooth. If it wasn't for that damn spider, none of this might have had to happen. Aisha, Sebastian...
Cog stood silently before the unconscious arachnid, fingering the guard on the hilt of his blade, his gaze blank. A good minute passed before he dropped his hand from his sword, and again grabbed one of the arachnid's arms to wrap around his shoulders. He grunted and lifted, again managing to lift the rather heavy spider off the ground, and slowly Cog began the trek back up the hallway to the stairs.

This is ridiculous. Cog thought, staring up the winding, steep stone staircase back up to the third floor. He stood before the staircase motionless, not really wanting to even attempt such a journey, yet not willing either to simply leave the spider behind. The wolf looked behind him, his gaze finding settling on Jeremiah. Not really the strongest of fellows, but any help he could get...
"Jeremiah. You mind giving me a hand here?" The wolf said, indicating the stairs with his head.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

As Mel finished with Gareeku's internal injuries she noticed that wherever his fur was clotted with blood the the skin underneath was red and inflamed. Unfortunately they were without medical supplies so the best she could do was wash the blood off and hope that the irritation would fade with the cause removed. Perhaps Rynkura had some soothing cream, not that she could be interupted to ask.

There being nothing else the wolf needed but a bit of rest Mel crossed to the adjoining room. "Mistress Msh'Taan, where do you need my help?"

[Boog]

Jeremiah had been shocked by what had happened while he was down. Aisha was down an arm, Gareeku had been seriously smacked around (again), Cog looked seriously perturbed (and it wasn't in some way Sebastion's fault), and even Sebastion- Stygian- was missing a few square feet of skin and muscle. He was still digesting recent events when Cog jerked him out of his thoughts.
"Hm?" He looked over and for a moment, when he first laid eyes upon the oh-so-familiar creature in Cog's arms, his thoughts had all the clarity ice and glass wished they could be compared to. Somewhere in the frog's skull a man with half his face smashed in pulled more strings, readying.
"Oh, sure thing Cog. Absolutely, sure." Ugh, why did his head feel so... ugh... Whatever the reason, he stepped forward to help the winded warrior move Sal. While Jeremiah was indeed not the strongest of fellows, he had little trouble supporting the spider under her middle pair of arms while Cog took her feet. Then again, he was probably the least damaged person there. He looked down at the woman who had attacked him so many times...
Being attacked.
Going mad.
Being controlled.
Going mad again.
Confusion.
Pain.
Fear.
And other associated concepts assailed him. She had attacked them on multiple occasions, made him doubt his own sanity, he had every right to want to just drop her down that flight of stairs right there...
So why do I still pity her more than I hate her?!

[Stygian]

When Cog uttered those last words, he heard Sal's somewhat coarse voice right next to him, and felt the spider's weight shift. 'I can walk on my own, thank you...' she mumbled. Then, she almost shoved Cogidubnus and Jeremiah away, stumbling a bit before standing straight. She looked at them.
   She paused for a second, flexing her fingers. 'Run upstairs, and then knock me out again,' she then said. 'Or restrain me.' She slowly began advancing on the two, tensing up in a threatening fashion, even though her expression was one of repugnant unwillingness.

[Sunblink]

Fortunately for Keaton, nobody tried to follow her into the bedroom she and Stygian had occupied and claimed as refuge. This was quite relieving--she desperately wanted to avoid a despairing or fretful Cogidubnus after he had seen Stygian in such a moribund condition. Plus this gave her an opportunity to clear her head and confront some of her more unpleasant emotions while Stygian was asleep, or hibernating, or in that regenerative state which seemed to be steadily sealing over his injuries and restoring his rend flesh. The distant, eerily-echoing voices resonating throughout the ambiance of the castle prevented Keaton from concentrating too much on reconciling some of her personal issues.

Sure enough, Stygian awoke not long after. Darkness crept in twining tendrils up the blackened, skeletal frame of his partially-healed arm, knitting together the torn skin. He seemed disoriented, until his gaze rested on Keaton's tense form. In response to his question, Keaton let out a sigh. Not out of exasperation or frustration. Did he forget everything which had occurred? Regardless, Keaton was to inform him.

"More or less..." she muttered, then summarized the situation as thoroughly as she could. "That panther guy's dead, but Aish... lost her arm. Gareeku's been trampled, too, and is off getting treated, as is Aisha."

Keaton stood up, pacing the bedroom restlessly. She walked over to the nearest mirror, leaning in to examine her reflection. Much to her revulsion, she realized that, after forgetting and neglecting her visage for a while, that her face was still caked with mostly-dried and syrupy blood, collecting in matted splatters around the slash on her forehead. Lower lip was mauled by her teeth, having been split open in two places, and her upper arm was missing a big chunk of flesh from during her scuffle where she tried to kill Sal. It wasn't the first time Keaton looked so dreadful; she had grown somewhat used to it, although it was still sickening. Sighing, Keaton leaned her temples against her hand, closing her eyes.

I probably need to get treated too, before my lip or my arm gets infected... she conceded, then stared back at Stygian. "That answer your question?"

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Stygian]

Stygian took another long pause, just watching the jackal as she strode over to the mirror and listening to her explanations. It seemed that she hadn't entirely understood what he had asked. But her answers explained things well enough either way. Almost as if in self-contempt for having gotten off easy, the bat looked down on his blackened arm, moving the skeletal fingers, their black bone still clearly visible and all but the thumb and index finger claw broken off. Then he slowly clenched his fist and tensed his muscles. Out of an effort of will, more blackness rushed down his arm and his flesh, if that is what it really was, twisted and flowed, repairing itself much faster. He clenched his teeth.
   When the last patch of black disappeared under his fur, no longer so porcelain-white and glowing but still very pallid in the darkness, he finally let out his breath and eased up, slipping out of his seat.
   'That's not what I was asking,' he said, walking over behind her, looking at her through the reflection, his face like a mask over those dark openings of his eyes. 'We're still threatened here.' There was another pause. Then he walked closer, and put his hand on her shoulder.
   'You really need to clean up,' he said.

[Sunblink]

Watching Stygian through the reflection of the mirror, Keaton observed with heightened fascination as the bat examined his mutilated arm, then quickly reformed the skin and fur there, coating ebony black with ivory white once again. Apparently, Keaton had misunderstood his question--he clarified what he meant, much to her embarrassment. She shouldn't have been, but she was just uncharacteristically sensitive at the moment.

Sighing, Keaton's head slumped into her hands again, so that way she was cupping her chin. She analyzed her appearance again, trying not to look perturbed as Stygian walked towards her. Within short time he was standing directly behind her, then his hand was gently draped over her shoulder. Muscles tensed and bone subtly lifted beneath his palm, a dedication to the tension gripping her body. Keaton merely looked at him, expression slightly saddened, then sighed and scratched behind her head.

"I'll ask Mel to heal me and clean up later," That was said succinctly, although morosely. "And we're still fucked over. What are we going to do? Should we just go after who's responsible?" At this point she was grasping at straws to find a solution, hell, she barely understood what on earth was going on or who were the masterminds behind this nightmarish experience. This became painfully obvious to her, and she remained silent afterwards, listening for Stygian's answer.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Prof B Hunnydew]

"i  i I don't think we should seperate, Ketefe, so If you go, we go with you.  That mean Ian too.  I need some help carrying him, through.  The others should be close by, so see if you can hail the others but trying stay in sight of here."  Says Bambi.  She try to picks up Ian, but puts him down.  

"We can carry him but only a short distance.... Scout ahead... Here takes this butterfly, you can talk to me through it and I will hear you." says the Fae and puts a glowing butterfly in the catgirl's hair...  "it will get you back here, too."

[Cogidubnus]

 Hearing Sal's rough voice suddenly speak right next to his ear rather unnerved the poor wolf, Cog's eyes widening as he slid away from the arachnid. Sal pushing him away was rather unnecessary, the wolf stepping back from the spider as quickly as he could, hands already settling on the hilt of his blade.

He paused from drawing for a moment, however, backing away from the suddenly conscious spider, the wolf moving slowly as he ascended the stairs backwards. At her words, however, the wolf quirked an eyebrow, noting the spider's resigned expression, even as she began walking towards them menacingly.
Cog looked down at Jeremiah, the wolf exchanging a glance with the art teacher.

"Iaidouka do not run." Cog said, letting go of his sword and making a elaborate bow to the spider. As he rose, however, the wolf leapt backwards, running up the stairs three at a time as he called back to the arachnid.
"Generally."

[Aisha deCabre]

Rynkura hadn't heard Mel enter the room...she was too caught up in her concentration.  But there is something about one's name that breaks them from a great trance; for as she heard the dragon's voice address her, the tiger's ears perked and her eyes stopped glowing.  Her sight was brought back to the outside, in the comforting and yet darkened surroundings.

"Oh, Mel," she turned her head, greeting the dragon with a smile that could be seen as slightly tired.  Rynkura had done all-night healing before, but that night seemed to take a slight toll on her.  "Yes, I would appreciate your assistance," she nodded and turned back again, regarding Aisha. "Check her arm for me, and see if there's no trace of infection.  I have most of the internal injuries, but you if you may please, check that too.  I may have missed something...the amount of exertion she seems to have shown without ripping a tendon is impressive, the stubborn girl," she smiled softly.

Before the dragon did that, Rynkura removed what was left of Aisha's tattered shirt, taking the brooch that had held it before with it, so that it wouldn't be in the dragon's way.  Then, the tiger stood back and idly rubbed an eye with her palm, glancing across through the door to the other room where the wolf lay.  "How is sir Manoko?"

[Stygian]

Stygian's answer was short and cold. 'Yes.'
   He looked her squarely in the eyes, the sudden sadness having been washed away by an even gloomier hatred and fury that scared Keaton somewhat, however little she wanted to admit it. 'I had thought that I could drive off Asal. Aisha... wasn't really ready for him. She shouldn't have had to deal with this yet,' he said, and sighed, turning his eyes away for a brief moment. 'It's too much damage in a situation like this. But we still have another enemy.' Again he looked at her, and suddenly his hand seemed hard and cold as steel on her shoulder. 'My enemy. He's the greater danger by far.'
   The bat sighed again, and then turned Keaton around, gently but firmly. He looked down at her significantly shorter form, a looming, dark shape like some Apollonian statue. Equally carefully he raised his hand, and let his clawed fingers run down the side of her face.
   'Clean these up immediately,' he said. 'The blood might decide to burn, and while I know that you cubi heal, I wouldn't want that sort of face ruined.'

- -

Surprisedly, Sal switched her gaze back and forth between the wolf and the frog. 'No, wait! You don't understand!' she called after Cog, then frowned and gritted her teeth, turning her attention to Jeremiah.
   'I'd go with him if I were you,' she said, even as she began stringing web between her fingers.

- -

It was odd, but somehow, Gina seemed to have disappeared. Throughout the exchange that had been, she was nowhere to be found on the upper floors. And considering the things that had happened...
   There was a moment of silence after Bam had spoken. Then, very silently yet jaggedly sharp, there was the sound of some light, girlish voice, sobbing somewhere.

[Boog]

For one tense second, Jeremiah and Cog looked at Sal.
Then each other.
Then Sal again.
And then Cog made a break for it.
"Cog... What... What's going on?! What's with-!?" This was pretty damn out of character for the stoic swordsman. And then it was Jeremiah and Sal.
She was readying her webs. Weaponry.
Jeremiah scrabbled up the stairs, less gracefully but a little faster.

[Sunblink]

At first Keaton was initially uncertain about toward whom the tangible hatred in Stygian's voice was directed to, especially in her period of self-inflicted sorrow, but she found that was overwhelmed by the slight feeling of fright which spiked in the pit of her stomach. Despite this she couldn't bring herself to redirect her gaze, especially when Stygian started speaking again. Surmising from his cryptically murmured statement, he was intimately familiar with this new enemy--but in a way Keaton didn't understand. She was mostly confused by all these developments, being stunned and weary from the earlier events. But judging by the sudden harshness of the once-tranquil hand seated on her shoulder, it was beyond mere speculation.

She was turned around. Keaton did nothing to prevent or resist this as she was steered around, her ears merely flattening and her eyes peering up owlishly at the bat's towering form. He was looking down at her. At that moment Keaton had no idea how unusually vulnerable she looked, something she would later come to resent if she realized it. Velveteen-alabaster fingers trailed down the slightly damp side of her face, tracing the splatters of the blood.

Then when Stygian spoke next, Keaton felt her cheeks flare up in a not-quite-unpleasant way which she wasn't used to, red hidden beneath red. Quietly, Keaton stared at the door, then looked back to Stygian, nodding unconsciously to his statement. Subaudibly, she meekly uttered an affirmative "Alright..." then she turned to leave. "I'll--I'll go talk to Mel. I'll see you after everyone's healed."

And with that, she left, closing the door gently behind her. Once outside, she slumped against the surface of the door, releasing a long-restrained, exhausted sigh, then realized with shock how emotionally exposed she had looked. Cursing several unmentionables under her breath, she proceeded to walk to the door to Mel's room.

She paused for a moment, coming to another realization. She was blushing.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel moved to the opposite side of the bed from the tiger. "Gareeku had smashed ribs and some internal bleeding. He will be sore when he wakes up. Oh, and some burns. I think the demon blood causes burns." She began gently double-checking all the areas Rynkura had mentioned. The angel was truly an expert healer, Mel wouldn't have believed the amount of damage she had managed to heal in a relatively short amount of time.

[Cogidubnus]

 Cog fairly vaulted up the marble staircase, eating up the distance to the third floor with surprising speed as his footsteps echoed downwards. He didn't bother to look back - Jeremiah was a smart one, if nothing else, and Cog was fairly certain he would get the idea pretty quick.
This way was a lot easier than carrying the spider up the stairs, anyway.

It couldn't have taken the wolf more than fifteen seconds to climb all the way up to the third floor. Immediately, Cog looked around for any sign of the others, noting the lights beaconing a little ways away, and nodding to himself Cog whirled around the banisters to stand at the edge of the stairwell. The wolf was -just- out of the range of vision for anyone who was entering from the stairwell.

Cog drew his sword quickly and silently, readying the blade over his head. He could hear both Jeremiah and Sal making their way up the stairs - as soon as the frog passed him, Cog would be ready.
He tightened his grip.