Gathering the shards

The hallway was dimly lit by widely spaced oil lamps that were hung onto the wall casting eerie shadows from the few pieces of furniture. The sound of Roels boots echoed and he kept glancing back to make sure June was close behind him. During the excitement Roel hadn’t even thought about the deep scar that ran across his back that was now exposed from his lack of shit and that the girl behind him would be able to see it each time they walked past a lamp. It was unlikely she didn’t see it but was just being polite in not mentioning it, not when they had more to worry about.

Finally Roel came to a large wooded door, the same door they had went through before and he knew it lead to the master bedroom. The roars from the beast had stopped before they had gotten hear and Roel worried that he had been too late. His hand was on the door handle and he stopped and looked back at June, “Stay close, and watch my back. In case she is trying to hide.” His fingers inched for the hilt of his sword so he clenched them into fists.

Shaheen huffed with each step she took as it was hard to breath, “I have not gained weight. This is the same size I have been since we have met. No! Not that way.” He squirmed in her arms, “I can feel your friend this way.” He pointed down a turn they had just past, “I’m sure Roel is with her now.”

June had indeed caught sight of the scar but the moment she had her gaze had quickly fallen to his feet and she focused then on keeping pace with him. It was easier to focus on the solid thud of his heavy soles than to focus on the silence that had fallen since the beast's last roar.

She almost crashed in to his back when he stopped and she nodded up at his instructions. "Roel" she whispered when she saw the muscles in his arm tense as he clenched his fist and she gingerly placed her hand on his arm. "I won't let you go without your sword"

Arianna groaned at the otter "So bossy" she whispered as she back tracked like he had instructed and finally she caught sight of the two. "Roel!" She exclaimed again but hesitated a moment to scowl at the pair that seemed to be standing comfortably close in such a crucial situation.

Now didn't seem like the appropriate time to be jealous though and she closed the large gap between them and she thrust the sword into Roel's chest. "Don't forget this again" she seethed and she dropped her other load to the ground, the otter.

Roel felt relief at having the familiar weight of his sword in his hand and the long silver blade flashed with the light of the lamps as if the blade was eager to be used. But that light feeling disappeared when he looked up to notice how Arianna had turned away and seemed to be avoiding looking at him. “Thanks.” He was hesitant at saying anymore and decided he would have to wait and deal with it after they took care of this beast. He had led her on for a few moments and it was something he should have done.

“You two stay here.” He said as he opened the large door and slowly pushed it open, his sword gripped and ready.

The room was a catastrophic mess, the once prim and neatly organized area was absolutely destroyed. Furniture lay in splinters across the floor, deep claw marks riddled the ground. Sheets and feathers from the blankets were tossed about, and there was also blood. It was hard to tell exactly what the source of the liquid was since the heat and the smell of it was radiating from almost every surface.

If one looked close enough, they might be able to make out the large hand that lay dismembered on the floor. The only remaining evidence of the man that once was.

Arianna shifted about, she didn't want to feel bitterness towards Roel about earlier, but when she had rounded the corner she wasn't expecting to see him and June standing so close. Even though she knew that he wasn't necessarily standing close to her because he liked her, it was probably because he was protecting her because she's pathetically weak or something. Either way, she didn't like it.

June let out a soft sigh, she was beginning to feel uneasy about standing out in the hallway. She couldn't stop her hand that kept navigating to the dagger she kept permanently strapped to her waist.

Luckily for the three out in the hallway it was quiet for the most part, except for the soft rolling growl June was convinced she kept hearing. "Roel.." She whispered before shifting and turning to step into the bed room. "R-" She began to repeat but the sound got caught in her throat at the sight of the room and her hands fell to her stomach to ease it's sudden churning.

Roel instinctively pulled June to his chest when he saw the look on her face then looked up to see the state of the room. "Stay outside Arianna." He ordered her his voice deep with anger as his fist clenched his sword hilt till his knuckles turned white. Letting go of June's arm he looked down at her and tried to keep a calm look on his face as he said gently, "You shouldn't see this. Why don't you wait with Arianna."

Shaheen had entered behind the two and looked grimly around the room taking in the blood stained walls and the torn wood. He couldn't believe that his own power could be turned into something so evil and disgusting. "We need to find Vivianne. She could be the next victim."

June's eyes dropped quickly to his chest and she blinked rapidly to try and push away the tears that were threatening to form. "Sorry" she sputtered. She hesitantly brought her gaze back up to his "I just thought that I heard something." She stepped back away from him and turned her back to the room.

She had only seen carnage like this once before when the bandits had attacked her village, but that had been in self defense and this... this was just something totally different. This had just been malicious. Arianna had said that the man had been bed ridden. Had the relic changed Cassandra so completely that she would do this to her own family.

Arianna heard the danger in his voice and she stiffened in her spot. It couldn't be that bad. If June could handle it so could she. She turned to steal a peek but stopped when she saw her friend who had just emerged from the bedroom. It seemed as if all the color had been drained from her face and Arianna quickly decided she would do fine without seeing it.

Roel stood still even after June had left the room but his eyes moved fiercely over the decay and his jaw tightened painfully. The scent of blood was thick and seemed to pulse around him making his stomach turn. It was the same smell as that night. He covered his nose with the back of his fist and tried not to gag as he took quick breaths. “What the fuck is this.” He growled at the animal behind him but kept his voice low so the girls wouldn't hear him. “Is this what the gods powers can do?”

The look the swordsman sent his companion was deadly but it didn't seem to affect the otter who simply returned his gaze before padding across the room to where the severed hand of a human man lay on the floor.

Minutes passed as the pair searched the room before stepping back out to face the girls with a grim expression. "I need you two to go find the girl," Roel's hand had found its way to the hilt of his sword once again. "I'm going after this monster," he stated with a clenched jaw.

(All that happened and that was going to happen is that arianna was hitting on roel and then they heard the roar. so roel was worried about where june was so they went to find her and i dont remember how but they stumbled in to the cassandra and her husband's room and the husband was all torn up. june got upset and roel wouldn't let ari into the room and now they're going to go kill the beast/cassandra and the little girl is going to die)


Arianna jerked away from the door as it swung open, "Woah, woah what's with you?" She asked the concern obvious in her voice and she trailed after June who walked past her to kneel in what looked like prayer. Arianna scoffed and threw her hands up but when she went to open the bedroom door, Roel and the otter stepped out.

She rushed to him and arched on her tiptoes to see past him in to the bedroom, still wanting to catch a glimpse of the carnage which had everyone so round up. She hated being the only person who didn't know what was going on. "What do you think happened?" she asked then glanced down towards the strained jaw and the flexing muscles that held a tight hold on his sword. Instantly her mouth felt parched and she licked her lips to moisten it again because even with her annoying prattling or the otter's outrageous demands she had never seen a temper quite like this on the swordsman. A simple "Oh" was all she could manage so she wilted a little and she turned to look at June.

Her friend was still knelt in prayer. With one knee up and her hands clasped tightly together at her breast, she bowed her head low as she whispered off words asking for guidance, protection and for her faith to remain strong. Then her prayer ended

June stood then and turned back to the group, the thin fabric of her night dress sticking to her clammy skin. With her fist clenched she walked over to Roel, her face set in hard determination "We'll find the girl" She turned her head to look past them into the looming darkness of the hallway before returning her gaze to them. "Please be safe." She reached down and grabbed Arianna's hand and then they ran the way that they had come.

The hallway was eerily quiet and the only sound june could hear over her labored breathing was the howling wind and the house shifting on it's foundation. "I just need to grab my dagger" June whispered and she tentatively peaked around the corner of the hall before proceeding down the hallway.

Roel took a single glance at the back of the small woman, wondering if she would be able to handle the sight she had just seen. No. He knew as he forced himself to turn his eyes away that there was no handling the seeing the sight of a human's body torn and ripped, the way blood looked as it soaked into the carpets and the sheets. A shinning red as if a clear protective coat had been applied to it. It was not something that could ever be forgotten. There was no time to do anything for her. It wasn't even his place to do so. She was here to assist gods. Blood and death followed in the shadow of all gods.

Small hands tugged at his shirt as Shaheen climbed the swordsman's back, his claws clacked as they hit the plates of armor. Roel's stomach turned again, his grip tightened on to the sword handle till his knuckles turned white. Takes off down the hallway, he needed something to shove his blade into, he wanted to feel something besides the sickening weight of death. His teeth flashed, it wasn't a smile. There was little enjoyment with what he had to do.

Tony pressed his small body against the wall, his small chest heaving from his running. Sneaking into the house was easy, something he had done on several occasions to visit Vivienne when her mother wouldn't let her leave the house. Glances down the next hallway, seeing it empty he quickly made his way down it. Repeating the process as he counted the halls towards his friends room. Rain hit the house outside, flashes of lighting causing the dark hallways to cast long shadows creating an eerie effect.

An energy pulsed through the air causing his horns to tingle, an energy that didn't belong in the house of a human family. He knew Vivienne was in danger, his gut clenched with nerves at being too late for his friend. There was only one more hallway before he was there. His feet loud in his ears as he began to run as he got closer. closer. Just one more corner.

A scream resounded through the halls the sound bouncing in the empty space he wasn't sure which way it had come from. "Vivienne!" Toni cried as he picked up his pace, no longer trying to hide his presence. As he turned that last corner lighting flashes blindingly turning everything white. His eyes took a few moments to adjust and when they did he saw it. His breath stopped, his feet frozen to where he stood. It towered, filling up the space of the hall, its large black body squeezing into the space. It's black fur was matted with blood, red streaks from its clawed feet painted the floor. Its eyes turned to Tony, thick globs of red laced drool dripped from large yellow teeth. Lips peeled back a low growl escaped its mouth. Tony screamed his feet becoming active again as he turned to run back the way he came. There was no time to look back as he ran, focusing on turning the corners without slipping. He could hear it following him, its body slamming into the walls as it struggled to keep up with its huge body.

Faster, faster, faster. His brain screamed his lungs burned but he couldn't stop. It was gaining on him, its size dominating his small steps. He could almost feel its breath on its back, its jaws snapping trying to grab onto him. There was a tug on his shirt, a ripping sound as the fabric tore. He was feet from the open door at the end of the hall. Lightning flashed as the beast gave out a loud roar it front leg raised, claws outstretch to come down on the small figure below. The light blinded it for a moment, just long enough for Tony to slip through the door as the beasts paw tore through the frame of the door and smashed into the floor. An angry growl sounded behind him as it began to smash against the frame, to big to fit through the doorway. Toni never looked back as he continued to run. His thoughts flashing to the blood that covered the beast. Had it been Vivienne? Please let it not of been her, please let her be safe, tears ran down his cheeks.