i'm not dying but i bleed now

@Faust

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All he could remember was the fall, the misstep he'd taken just moments before he'd plummeted. Everything had been still. His laughter rang out over the clifftops and his very rare exuberance was entertaining the companion he had on his walk. Swiftly though, there was a crack in his laughter, a mutter of obscenities, and then the fall. The air confined to his lungs left in a gasp as his nails clawed helplessly at the breaking ground. Too late to help him, he'd watched the cry of his companion as the last bit of tread he had on the terrain fell out from underneath him. And with it, he went also. His whimper echoed the more wind whipped at his plummeting body, a frigid touch to the skin underneath his black pelt. Then it all stopped as his body hit the water, and he was awake again on a bed of green.

Everything burned. Tamir could feel the ripple of shocks as they traveled throughout his entire body, pinning his coiled form to the jungle floor. His low groans only seemed to aggravate the blooming hum of pain at the forefront of his skull, another note he'd add to the list of unfortunate chances within this circumstance. His body was drenched, as if he'd merely been dragged from his demise, from the grasp of the depths he thought he'd succumbed to. He'd implore himself to dwell on that fact later, but for now, he couldn't think beyond the trembling of his frame.

It was as if gravity was holding him down, molding him into the damp terrain while his half-lidded eyes took in the plethora of greens surrounding him. He couldn't move, couldn't feel his legs enough to even think about moving. All he could feel was water. How heavy it was, how it filled his lungs, but most of all, how it burred the figure of someone looking down—searching for something that had long met its fate.

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Faust had been on the cliffsides opposite to the Vale of the Roost. He had been exploring the edges of the territory before it would meld into a jungle-like, tropical paradise. He didn't want to step in there. He had no means to. It radiated with heat and the buzzing of cicadas lingering on its trees.

Well,

that was before he had heart the gargantuan splash from deep within the grove. Perplexed, Faust knew it was against his better judgement to actually explore where the sound had come from. It wasn't like him to do that...but...

A flame flickered in his heart.

The next thing he knew was he was minding his step, occasionally tripping on thick roots and swatting away monstera leaves. "Fuck," he'd say under his breath, feeling the humidity clamor against his skin and beneath his heavy coat.

The weather had turned when he ventured deeper. Clouds meddled overhead. Then the rain started. Great.

But what lingered beneath the heavy smell of the storm was something different. Something purely masculine, familiar. It couldn't be.

He would repeat that mantra over and over in his head.

Until it was proven wrong.

Laying in a damp patch of grass was his shadowsinger. Laying there motionless, Faust was set into a panic. His breath caught in his throat as he raced to his side, nudging his neck with his nose. "Tamir," he'd call. Repeating it over until he would stir.

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“Roses...”

It was the only word he'd felt capable of muttering. The aroma of roses almost suffocated him, but he knew the undertones well enough to feel the familiarity that came with them. The figure of another lightened the heavy downpour, and for that he was grateful. With the amount of leaves he'd seen, he was surprised there wasn't more shelter. Nevertheless, the bastard instead focused on the rustle of leaves beneath him as opposed to the ones above. The scent of roses mingled with fresh rain and cedar, another thing he'd noted.

Ultimately, through the haze of pain and the rumble of thunder, it wasn't anything he'd cared to note when he finally realized who'd found him. Instead, it was a roll of baritone, a whisper of concern tilting his words as he grew closer. With their days spent joined at the hip, it would've been hard for Tamir not to notice when one of his best friends was near and speaking to him.

“Faust?” His eyes had long since opened, cream hues staring at his friend in utter disbelief. “Here? You..are here..how?” He was sure the other wasn't with him, positive he couldn't have been punished. He couldn't recall any sins they'd committed, so how and why them?

Pain momentarily forgotten, Tamir shifted in protest to his friend's incessant murmuring and grimaced in silent agony when he'd moved too fast. “What did I tell you about rolling in those fields, my friend? You can barely tell you apart from she-wolf.”

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Tamir awoke quicker than he thought. Faust would pull himself away, giving the man the space he needed to recover properly. In his weakened state, he could distinctly make out the floral scent he had adopted many moons ago. With a chuckle and shake of his head, he spoke. "I don't know, brother, but what matters is that you are here now."

When Tamir went to move and let out a low groan, Faust immediately went to his side, closing the gap between their bodies for him to act like a support. "Gūrogon ziry paez." — Take it easy.

Faust couldn't help the laugh that caught in his throat when Tamir made a sly comment about his most...peculiar habit of laying in the flower fields. Even when his friend was in pain, fallen from the sky into a pool of water, and half dragged his body out of it...he still made time to find humor in it all.

"I still get more ladies than you do..." his brows would raise, knowing eyes glistening. "Stop and smell the roses once in a while...maybe then you'd see to some more pleasant activities."

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“Where is here?” Tamir was less concerned with himself the moment everything else seemed to splash into perspective. He hadn't been alone on that cliff, and Faust? He hadn't even been there. “Skorkydoso glaesā kesīr?” — How are you here? The darkened brute's eyes made every effort to peer around the shoulder of his friend, desperately searching for some clue or hope the rest of his family too had joined them.

It was empty...the path in which Tamir had assumed his brother had come from was nothing but a chasm of green. No glimpses of tan and the brazen jokes of his friend Arcturus, no gentle protests from both friends Tove and Mia. It was merely just Faust, and he supposed he should be grateful for that. Nevertheless, the rims of his eyes burned with unshed tears at the idea of his family being lost from them both.

“Alone, brother? Īlva lentor...” — Our family... His heart seemed to cease its beat for a moment, the breath in his lungs holding steady as he awaited his hopeful questions to be answered. He'd never imagined himself caring so much, never could see himself expressing such emotions so boldly even in front of his best friend, but his circle was truly the only family he had left. The idea of them being gone...the pain was insurmountable. But their disappearances, or even deaths, was something he'd allow himself to dwell on later. He'd refuse to do it in some place unfamiliar, someplace more of a danger to him than anything else.

A low scoff lightened the mood of the brute. They wouldn't be a trio if the friends weren't prodding at each other with metaphorical sticks every now and then, but to Faust's gentle jab, Tamir simply chuckled. Leaning on the other for support, he'd slowly began lifting himself to his feet, teeth gritted and words leaving him in a low, muffled fashion. “Ao ōdrio nyke, lēkia. Women? No importance to me.” — You wound me, brother. She-wolves were the least of his worries, both back when he was a rowdy bachelor and now. Even still, he'd heed his friend's advice, that be if he ever decided to truly settle down.

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Tamir was certainly more erratic than he thought. Considerably so, since he fell straight out of the sky and into a world that he didn't know. Faust was the same, except dreary with confusion, and he didn't wake up alone.

Faust would hush him gently. "Nyke ropatas hen hen jēdar. — I fell out of the sky. If Tamir gave him a sassy look, Faust would follow up quickly. "Iksan drēje. — I'm serious.

His expression turned grim, and so did Faust's. The mentioning of family had Faust's heart aching. Where Arcturus was, Mia, Tove...he hadn't a clue. Everything happened so fast. One moment he was minding his own business, coincidentally in a field of roses, and fell plummeting to the world below. A world that he didn't know of. Completely foreign. There was a lingering ache in his heart from wondering where they had been. If they were even alive.

"We will find them." He said with confidence. "Savan is here. Savan." His words were spoken with disbelief.

"Almost like magic." Tamir begin to lift himself against Faust's weight and he remained sturdy. When he got his bearings, Faust took a step to the side, but ready at any moment to jump back to where he was.

A soft chuckle left him again. "Hen rhinka. There are more important things to tend to, now. — Of course.

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He supposed he couldn't fault the other for their bizarre arrival, but it was still bizarre nonetheless.“You felt this? This...falling?” Tamir, even still, was more confused than he was when he'd awoken. There were so many questions he wanted to ask, so many beautiful things overlooked because he was so hyper-focused on their arrival itself. It was maddening.

To add to their plate, Faust's answer was one he was doubtful of, but they'd try nonetheless. He'd scour the earth if he had to. But it was ultimately the name his friend muttered that had everything in Tamir ceasing to react. It was impossible. He knew of the fate Savan held, witnessed the utter grief that came with her death. But she was here, she was alive. “Iksā serious? But she...” — You are serious? The news was enough to earn a smile from the man, one of gratitude towards whatever helped pull his friend's sister from the depths.

“She is alive.” He repeated with a laugh to distract himself from the trembling of his limbs. He knew his strength, it'd merely take him a few moments—a few steps—for his body to ready itself again.

A few stumbles and stretches later, he turned to Faust, eyes alight with a margin of hope the other had given him. “Come. Ivestragī īlva jikagon pār” — Let us go then.

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Faust nodded his head. The fall he endured had been from a much smaller height, so he hadn't the slightest bit of a worse experience than Tamir. But here he stood on all fours, ready to take on the world. Despite his intimidating, domineering nature, it was only a shell. A mask. A simple facade that he put up. The Tamir that Faust knew was loving. Devoting.

It was a beautiful thing indeed. Savan's life had been ripped away from her, and her away from Faust. It had left remedied scars on everyone that he was surrounded by, not just him. There had never been a dull moment with her— full of laughter and fun. He wondered if that would ever return, or if she bore similar scars on her heart as she did on the outside.

Tamir had already jumped to his feet, ample and ready to explore. "Paez ilagon. Kesi jiōragon ao mirri havor. There is much for me to show you about these lands." — Slow down. We will get you some food.

Faust would join side by side with Tamir once more. Their gaits would fall in line with one another. A simple connection that ran deeper than blood. Cosmic.  "Se qēlos muña ēza given īlva zirȳla blessing." — The Star mother has given us her blessing.

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“Se quicker iksan bē, se quicker kosti find zirȳ. Too much time in dirt already.” — The quicker I am up, the quicker we can find them. He'd wasted too much time already lounging about when the rest of his family was out there somewhere, in pain and alone just as he had been. He fretted more for Tove and Arcturus, they were with him when he fell, he could only hope they met the same fate as he so that they may be reunited again. While a sick wish, he couldn't find himself living a life with his family incomplete.

It was why Tamir was so eager to begin the search, but he'd halted at Faust's next words. “Skorkydoso bōsa emagon ao issare kesīr, lēkia? By yourself?” — How long have you been here, brother? The man's eyes saddened at the news, sympathy rolling from his sagged shoulders in waves. He couldn't imagine spending as long as Faust had, here, and alone. Even a few days would've driven him mad.

The promise of sustenance was enough to hush Tamir for another moment, but he'd touch on their previous topic again, he was sure. For now, he'd worry about keeping himself up as the other guided him through a world new to them.

Their new home.

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Faust did not argue with Tamir. He felt just as strongly as finding their other family if they, too, had fallen from the sky as he. If he had been so blessed by the Star Mother, he would never relent his worship towards her. Never.

All he ever wanted was his family back together. That wish started to become plausible, starting with Savan and now Tamir as well. He uttered a soft 'thanks' beneath his tongue to the Woman above, lurking about the heaps of darkness in the sky.

Tamir looked concerned with Faust's declaration. The man slowed, shaking his head. "Īlen daor mērī." — I was not alone. He'd start walking towards the direction of the Vale, keeping a close eye on Tamir to make sure he didn't drop dead before him.

"Konīr iksis another. Ziry wishes naejot sagon lēda īlva." — There is another. He wishes to join. Faust shrugged his shoulders, but offered a tidbit of gossip. He was a bit of a sucker for gossip, too. "Ziry's iā uēpa vala. Sȳz arghurys. Yn uēpa." — He's an old man. Good hunter. But old.

That had never really been a problem. Faust knew for a fact that he could learn loads about Prvak's life and skills just from being around him. But he could never contain a secret especially from his closest of friends. "Barely speaks common, though. Big burly man with an accent. I think you'd like him."

Faust would conclude, taking the smoothest route back to the Vale. Through the mountain peaks they would go—

  home.

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exit

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