Inheritance of Chaos [Invite]

[TheRoguePrince]

"No, I will not leave, nor will I allow you to die under my watch... The costs will be just as great, if not worse... to myself." Keto said, grimacing at the thought of what leaving Delano would mean to both himself and his remaining dignity. It had been only recently the rogue had provided the balance Keto needed to secure his fragile mental state. Behind the stern look and scarred face was an extremely weak line of defense for his stability, if Delano should be killed, or Keto himself forced to abandon him the results would be catastrophic.

"If we should be attacked, I will stay, if only to redeem what little honor I have left, or prevent my other self from getting loose if I fail..." Keto turned his back on the wounded lion, shamed that he knew he could not control himself should he lose his companion any time soon. "...as either case may be, I'm not leaving." he said with some spite toward himself. Under normal circumstances he would have taken Delano's advice and left in the case of an attack, but his thoughts of self-preservation had been sacrificed, now the monster wouldn't be able to escape....

In the evening light, Keto stood basked in red, a dark, bloody red that gave his scarred face a fierce appearance to accent his feelings. Something was out there, watching them, but for some reason had left he and Delano alone for the time being. good, he thought, that will give us more time to get ready for them... He turned his face to his wounded friend, limping from the spread of still fresh wounds on his chest and legs. He would not be letting the enemy get anywhere near him so long as he still had the strength to do so.

[DGFone]

"Do you think whoever lives here will want to harm us?" Generally, it was safer for rogues to assume that all other lions were hostile, but sometimes they would come across others who won't attack on sight. And in the condition he was in, Delano knew which lion, if they would meet any, he would prefer.

While Delano didn't say anything else to Keto, inside, he was relived to know that Keto won't abandon him to his own fate. He limped the last of the distance to the pool and lay down next to it, glad to be able to give his legs some rest. But at the same time, he did not like hearing that the only reason he was still alive was not because Keto cared, but because of Keto's own selfishness. Even though he was currently benefiting from it, if Keto deemed it better to kill him, Delano wouldn't be able to do a thing.

As if to prove this point, when Keto looked at him, and Delano looked back, the sun's last light covered him in a deep red, almost as if he had bathed in blood. Without meaning to, Delano shrank away from his companion, wanting to escape away from the bloody figure that stood before him.

[TheRoguePrince]

Delano shrinking back in fear of his visage brought mixed emotions to Keto, who couldn't decide if he liked the respect, or hated himself for the prideful thought more. Here was someone who served to keep him from losing himself to the hatred and despair looming over him, and despite the attitude, he owed Delano something for that aid. Still, being attacked twice set him on edge and hardened his resolve despite the chaos within him, but something was there, something that threatened to destroy both of them, something that had almost destroyed Keto already.... Out there in the blackness of the night was something more terrifying even than his own mind, a monster that had left its mark forever on him.

As darkness closed in around the unlikely pair, Keto moved to his tree, forgetting his hunger in favor of keeping an eye on the rogue sitting nearby. The eerie silence around them put him on edge unlike anything else, even the sound of a hostile padding through the night would be more comforting to his questing senses. He was keenly aware of the penetrating emptiness as the stars came upon the sky, casting a pale light over the land around them, barely enough for his sharp sight to utilize. Yet it was his ears that first picked up the sound, barely audible even to him, the unmistakable padding of paws on the earth, but too small for lions.

"You hear that?" Keto whispered to Delano as he crawled into the bushes to take cover, "I think we're about to find out." Making not a sound, the scarred lion vanished into the underbrush to await whatever was coming their way. Soon the padding became accompanied by low, excited voices, and from the few snatches of conversation he could pick up, it wasn't friendly...

[DGFone]

As the sun's light began to be replaced by darkness, Keto's ominous blood red glow slowly faded away, allowing Delano to relax after the fright of seeing what he could only describe as a demon. Eventually, Keto moved away to his tree, and Delano lay down to get some sleep. But even as Delano closed his eyes, he knew that Keto was right there, and he felt his 'companion' watching him. Grunting with slight annoyance, he rolled over and placed his head on the ground.

But despite his fatigue, sleep wouldn't come to him, instead replaced by an ever growing uneasy feeling that something was wrong. Restless, Delano opened his eyes, looking around without having to move his head. By now, darkness had fully set in, and he couldn't see anything much further than to the few of the further trees. But what he couldn't see, Delano could hear. He now identified what he was feeling: that sense of dread one would feel when they knew something was about to happen that they didn't want to happen.

He nearly jumped when Keto whispered to him and nodded frantically in return. Delano dreaded the prospect of being found. Any contact was just about guaranteed to be hostile, and in his current condition, he doubted that he will be able to put up any decent fight for any meaningful amount of time. Crawling after Keto, Delano sat down next to the other lion. Even if he won't be much help as muscle in a fight, he can at least act as an extra set of senses for Keto, and be alert for any danger.

His ears too started to pick up the hushed voices. Whoever was out there, they didn't want to be discovered. Delano's pain lessened and his muscles tensed as he prepared for the coming fight, his passion to live fueling him to a better condition much better than any amount of rest can. Next to him, Keto also prepared to meet the sources of the voices, now just out of eyesight, and getting closer...