CoR Klaxon: Ghost in the Shell

[Tiko]

The ghoul writhed and flailed beneath the viciousness of the combined assault. The tendrils that had earlier struck Baron turned on Chloe instead. They lashed out in blind desperation, striking over and over again. Outrage mingled with terror and a single thought pierced through the rest. HELP ME.

The creatures conscious awareness abruptly ceased as Baron slammed a foot down onto its skull. Bone fractured and caved to the blow. Its body continued to try and regenerate, but without its vital organs, it could no longer function. The tendrils twitched and flailed, but without direction anymore.

Baron did not let up. While Chloe savaged the creature, Baron hoisted a large crate and brought it down on the remains of its mangled skull. The injuries had not killed it, but they had effectively disabled it and rendered it unable to defend itself. The crate prevented the skull from regenerating.

With the abomination laid out and mangled, Baron's rage was ebbing as fluidly as it had risen. A steely coldness was taking its place.

 

[Sune]

The red wolf did not relent. Pain drove her, each lashing tendril of the monstrous creature feeding the fury that burned hot in her veins. There was no hesitation, no second thoughts—only rage, only the raw, searing agony that propelled her forward like a force of nature.

Even when the beast collapsed, its grotesque form shuddering in the final spasms of death, she did not stop. Baron had crushed its skull beneath the weight of the crate, yet that was not enough. Not for her. With relentless, snarling ferocity, she tore into the remains, ripping, shredding, reducing it to nothing more than twitching scraps of gore.

Only when there was nothing left to destroy did she finally still. Her breath came hard and heavy, her chest rising and falling with the echoes of violence.

Then, she turned.

The other wolf-man stood before her—the one who had called to her. Her eyes locked onto his, low and steady, her body eerily still. Blood coated her fur, dark and thick, an indistinguishable mix of her own, his, and whatever foul substance had spilled from the creature. She looked feral. Unchained. There was no trace of humanity in her gaze, only the primal awareness of a wolf who had learned too well the sting of betrayal.

We hunt.

It was not a question. If there were one of these, there were more of these sulking in the shadows of this territory.

 

[Tiko]

Baron's gaze met Chloe's and he did not look away. She could feel the ferocity that he had locked away behind his calm facade. It brushed up against her own, coaxing it further. For a moment their mutual rages threatened to redirect on one another. Had Chloe been more closely bonded with the pack, she would be more strongly influenced into joining with his own emotional state. But now that their mutual enemy had fallen, her powerful sense of independence stood at odds with Baron's own instinct to rise to what could be perceived as a challenge.

He recognized it for what it was though. She was reacting to him, not initiating a confrontation. He allowed his heart-rate to slow, and Chloe would feel the intrusion of his emotional state fade. He still met her gaze, but the intensity was dissipating.

Looking at her, he could see the division that Desmond had confided in him about. He had felt it as well. It was as if no trace of Chloe remained. The wolf that looked back at him had an intelligence to it though. It wasn't just acting on instinct. In her current state, she reminded him of Amara. He didn't know what it meant, or what to make of it, but he filed the information away for later. There was more important things that needed addressing.

"Come," he offered as he headed for the door to locate Desmond.

 

[Sune]

The wolf’s ears flicked at the subtle shift in his heartbeat, the rhythm slowing. Good. He understood. Maybe human-wolf wasn’t so dumb after all.

With a low huff, she began to move, though each step sent a sharp reminder of her injuries through her body. The rage had faded, the adrenaline burned away, leaving behind the undeniable weight of pain. It would heal—it always did. But for now, her movements were sluggish, unsteady. One side ached more than the other, a deep, throbbing wound that resisted her every effort to ignore it.

Still, she forced herself forward, limping after Baron with as much dignity as she could muster. She tried to walk it off, to push through it, but each misstep slowed her further. Frustration bristled through her fur, but she had little choice. If she wanted to keep up, she would have to endure.

And so, she hopped along, determined not to fall too far behind.