HOLY / DEATH.

     // @eternalhunt·  |  Signal

     A pack of these unknown creatures were foolish enough to try and strike down Adam Taurus. A pack of static bodies laid around him, the light blizzard already working to cover up their remains. Adam was growing more and more irritated with these encounters… not only due to the sheer amount and frequency of them, but mainly the fault lies in the setting. The constant reminder of Solitas was absolutely as unwelcome one– anything would have been preferable over this.

     A swift flick of his wrist made the crimson blade lash out, any remaining traces of blood splattering on the pure white snow. But once he finished placing Wilt back inside his sheathe, he heard the faint movements of something approaching around the corner, right in his blind spot. There was the sound of a bowstring being drawn, the bull turning to see who the wielder may be.

          ”– Careful with your aim.”

   The city had changed, in a single moment, what was once new and shiny had been reduced to something a lot more familiar to the hunters. Pillars of magic coiling and pulsing like massive tendrils from cracked ground, wrapping around buildings. Arcane runes dug into the ground and into street windows by unknown hands. Scenery ripped right from the Rune Wars and haphazardly pinned onto the skin of the original city.

   To Lamb, it was fascinating. Though Wolf cared more about the monsters which now prowled the streets. The Kindred had run into the other by pure chance, spotting him putting away his own weapon as Lamb had drawn hers. How curious, could he not see the beast which lucked in the shadows right behind him? The Kindred stood their ground, Lamb’s bow aimed steadily right at the man’s head.

          ❀   @eternalhunt !

            ❝  HEY NOW, don’t do that—  ❞ she protested gently and with a smile to shame the cold setting into the fall air, seemingly unperturbed by the situation unfolding before her. that was… a big dog. or maybe it was a wolf?

       regardless and without a glimmer of fear, persephone approached, maintaining a caution in her manner and pace, her freshly bought meal in hand. he shouldn’t have to dig through a food cart like that looking for food— maybe he’d be satisfied with her box of sandwiches? she’d accidentally picked up the ones with chicken, but they’d probably taste good anyway, right? ❝  do you want my lunch? i don’t eat meat anyway and you look pretty hungry.  ❞

       she stopped at a respectful distance, a stride from the beast, and held out her open package, revealing rows of neatly cut sandwiches, ❝  i know it’s not much, i’m sorry. maybe i can get you more later?  ❞

            ❝  here.  ❞

   Now where could Lamb have gone? At the moment Wolf didn’t much care, he had ran off from his partner’s side as soon as the scent of freshly made food had caught his nose. Tearing every morsel of food he could get his jaws on to shreds between his teeth. Wolf never cared to ask for the food from these stalls, and why should he? The people here have never tried to stop him before.

   Large ears perked up at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. But more than that, the hound quickly took notice of the air of serenity which surrounded it. While the owner of the stall srank back in fear of his mere presence, the approaching stranger showed no glimmer of it. Wolf normally would have ignored her for that reason alone... if not for the offering she held in her hands. Wolf’s head picked up, turning towards Persephone before he sniffed at the air in front of him. A smile spread across the hound’s masked face.

   A gift freely offered, and a promise for more? Why not accept?

What little time was garnered from this howl isn’t put to use fast enough.

Ekko’s current state of overall weakness adds to this as he whips his head around in reaction; and only then starts sprinting for what very well could be his life on the line. How? Why? What the ever-loving-hell?

None of the specifics or questions mattered right now, this was his own fault! He didn’t have the Z-Drive, he should’ve been on guard, more aware of his surroundings. It was all too much like home to have been worried, yet - now he didn’t have a choice. Attention now focused on all of what lies ahead, he only knew so much about the two now after him.

What comes to memory isn’t pleasant, now that he’s running. Wolf, the excited one, was notorious for chasing those who feared death and dared escape. The line about cheating could only show how much they couldn’t wait to get a hold of him. The other, Lamb, was there– at least he thought he saw them both. They’re never far from one another.

Everything about him is racing, the boy turns a corner down an alleyway. This city has to have some escape routes, right? Janna’s mercy he hopes so, he could already feel his ribs in stitches and see his vision darkening from the pain.

   He shouldn’t have ran. Him turning and bolting was more than enough incentive for Wolf to give chase. The hounds speed quickened, he ran low to the ground, excited barks and howls following him as he took off after Ekko. Yet, this was all a game to him, a game he was more than ready to let drag on as long as he could. He had no intention of killing the boy. Not today. His time hadn’t yet come. For as savage as Wolf was he too knew their purpose. But oh how Wolf was going relish in the thrill of this very moment.

   How long has it been since he’s had a good chase? How long has it been that he tasted that FEAR of a mortal desperately clinging to life? That pulsing, beating, heart pounding at the boy’s throat. RUN. FASTER. MAKE IT MORE FUN. No, Wolf wouldn’t let this game end so soon. He’d chase him down until Ekko’s legs gave out under him.

   Today, it’d be Lamb that trailed behind.

   Wolf swooped around the corner moments after the boy did. Yet, Wolf didn’t pounce as soon as he spotted him. Instead, he smiled wide, a low chuckle filled the air around them as the hound slowly crept closer.

The way she had spoken that line … it sounded so natural to someone like her.  As natural as the wolf tearing its targets limb from limb.  It was now that Sharingan hues were examining both of them as he glanced from each of them to get just a better idea of just who he had come across.  One thing he could take a note on were the masks the two wore.  The soft spoken one held a mask of the wolf while the beastly wolf wore something of a lamb, perhaps?  

“If I can refrain from using my stronger abilities, stamina won’t be too much of an issue.  During my stay in these … games, I’ve felt my health gradually improve since my…passing.” he paused in thought as he wondered something.  Between knowing his name and even the feeling of being around them holding a familiarity… Were they one in the same?  Aspects of death, perhaps?  The Wolf held that more appropriately than the Lamb.  One death? The other life?  Maybe that was possible.  One held a personality of a demon as the other held the personality of an angel.  It still doesn’t seem right.

“I’m certain the illness that took me back home has left permanent damage to my body, so I would rather not push my luck when it comes down to it.”  

Though, the taunting of the Wolf as he rushed forward for his next target caused the Uchiha to crack a bit of a smirk.  Whether his body was truly weakened or not, he was still plenty strong.  He held a power he believed would be useful at the end game.  If he could survive until that time, then he could give the opening that would be necessary for the win.  He had full confidence he would come back, so death was far from any sort of fear for him.  As if it ever was in the first place.

“My legs are plenty strong, but there is a lot more to war than a chase,” he spoke to the wolf as he eyed the enemies that needed to be dealt with.  A bit of a smirk as if to taunt the wolf, Itachi held out his arms in front of him before weaving a couple of handseals.  “Round up your targets at once and finish the battle before it even begins… How does that sound?”

   Passing.. Death.. A body brought back from it’s end. Is that what he was then? No, that wasn’t quite right. The man was not undead, not in the way of those who dared defy them. That felt different. Undeath always made mortals feel different. It tainted them in a way that was unmistakable to the hunters. Off. Wrong. Unnatural. It churned within them a feeling of disgust the Kindred could never hope to put into words. No, he wasn’t that. He was still alive. But his words, his past, it was enough to catch Lamb’s interest. Enough to allow Wolf to play along with his remarks.

   The hound looked back towards him, pausing for just a moment as an unnaturally long smile grew across his face. “IT SOUNDS BORING. LIKE SOMETHING LAMB WOULD THINK.” The Wolf’s head shook. “BUT WE’LL PLAY YOUR WAY.” He took off once more, running circles around the mass of enemies. He herded them together, nipping at heels and driving them closer, egging them towards where Itachi and Lamb stood. And closer they moved. Yet, even with Wolf right beside them, the monsters hardly seemed to notice. It was almost as if Wolf wasn’t there at all, as if he was little more than a shadow at their heels, yet his presence was more than enough to drive them together.

   Lamb, meanwhile, simply watched Itachi. Examining the motions of his hands. Magic? Something like that, yet not quite. Unfamiliar. A lot about this was unfamiliar. How interesting. She held her bow down, her posture relaxed. Their next words were spoken in unison, spoken the moment the hound had rounded up their targets.

she’s known death for as long as she’s known consciousness; not as an eventuality that dogs her every step, but a familiar companion, one that comes to collect what she creates( annoyingly, consistently often. ) the world around them has shifted, but the demon and the kindred remain the same; death can only touch what is not already set in stone, and they were whole from the moment they came to be.

“ some things last forever, ” she says, with a crooked grin, “ though never anything quite as enjoyable as war. ”

unfortunately. – maybe it will, someday.

but here is a unique opportunity; too often, death is a bothersome finality, one that cuts short her every endeavor – but now, with their adversaries endless, every creature that is torn to shreds by wolf’s teeth or silently dispatched by lamb’s arrow will be replaced ( and they come in so many varied shapes, a shifting mass of forms that ends up being delightfully unpredictable. )

in this moment, now – they are aligned. for some greater purpose chosen for them, maybe, but the act of defending their continued existence need not be dull.

evelynn stands, and, with mock-formality, extends lamb a blood-smeared hand, smiling sweetly.

“ – but i must confess, my hunt has been terribly lonely. would you be so kind as to spend this night by my side – dear ina, beloved ani? i can show you how much i’ve grown. ”

   Wolf was quick to take off as the demon talked, the sounds of the raging battle quickly drawing him away from even someone he normally found to be entertaining. The hound’s cries echoed across the field, the mass of shadow vanishing between foe and ally alike in search of his own prey.

   Left alone for that moment, Lamb simply watched Evelynn’s movements. For a moment, she set down her bow, the moon touched weapon resting calmly within her hands. Her posture relaxed even as the struggles of countless around them continued on. Her attention turned to the demons outstretched hand, and there was but a brief second of silence, a brief consideration on the Kindred’s part before Lamb spoke once more.

   “If you so wish.” Lamb’s response was simple, straightforward. She knew the demon well enough to feel the mocking in her words. Afterall, they had always hunted by her side.

   Wolf sprinted back towards Evelynn then, shreds of monster still freshly clinging to his teeth. Despite not being there while his partner responded to the demon, he picked up the conversation as if he’d been there from the start.

    What funny little things. Human forms twisted into new shapes with wings and feathers. Yet despite their new shapes it seemed at least some of their original essence still remained. But how much? They wondered. Wouldn’t it be fun to find out?

    The handiwork of a mage, no doubt about that. One who likely would not be pleased to find their birds now being terrorised by Wolf chasing them across their front lawn. 

    Not that the Kindred much cared. Wolf, for now, finding entertainment in chasing around the flock of murkrow, seemingly focused on chasing the human-turned-birds in particular, snapping his teeth at them as if to purposely drive them into a panic. While Lamb, for her part, simply stood by and watched from upon the front porch, a soft hum escaping her as she watched her companion play.

    Here is something more familiar to her. Well, not entirely. They are on the edge of a forest, which is something she hasn’t sen much of in her life. Still, she’d been told that this island had wilderness, and it does. A good thing, too, because she’s got to find a way to feed her unfortunate passenger now that she can’t just hunt other monstrosities all day. Fortunately, it’s not a picky eater, and a bird or a cat is as good a meal as any small void creature would have been.

    Besides, she likes being out of the city. Cities back home were strange and unfamiliar, and this one is even stranger; with its tall buildings and contrasting districts and odd technology. It makes her head spin and her skin crawl, a lot of the time, and she’s glad to be out.

    The wilderness is something else. Even if she’s never really been close to the forest before, the rules of wilderness are always the same. Men and beasts follow simple laws, when there are no walls and roads to shape them. These are laws that she’s lived by for her whole life; even before being claimed by the void.

    Today, though, she’s not the only hunter out here in the wilds. The mask falls away from her face as she draws a claw back over it, revealing her eyes.

     ❛ You remind me of old stories, stranger. The kind that they tell every Shuriman child, about the wolf and the lamb, and two deaths. ❜ A macabre subject, for sure, but when you live where death is so ever-present and threatening, even children must know the stories of it. ❛ Is that what you are? ❜

                                      —   &  starter for @eternalhunt

      They felt her presence long before they laid eyes on her. Or, perhaps, it would be better said they had felt its presence long before. The woman’s second skin. A hungry, unnatural, alien thing, grafted onto mortal flesh. It was enough to make Wolf bare his teeth. Shadow body sinking low to the ground as his eyes stayed locked upon her form.

      The hunter’s where no strangers to the horrors the void had brought upon Runeterra, to the scar they left permanently upon their hunting grounds. A mindless entity which fell outside their cycle. One which dared steal from them.

      And to think, so far from home, here one was now standing right before them; bound to the skin of someone oh so very human.

     Lamb knew this word. It was called ‘hate’.

@eternalhunt

The few days he’d been here, Ekko had been doing his best to take it in stride. Considering the state of his lungs upon arriving and being planted in Fibonacci, it wasn’t the easiest. He felt like death, hell, he’d rather be dead at this point than having to deal with all the drainage he was dealing with. The sickness itself was taking away from his given time to gather what he could about this universe. The events going on around Spirale could be used for ample info and perhaps clues on possible… return.

That was the thought process as Ekko delved deeper into the canyon of the ward. So similar to Zaun, painfully so at this point. Pressured layer after pressured layer of culture, class oppression and crime; what kind of cruel joke is this to slap him in an almost copy and pasted Zaun? Everything about it was angering, and on top of it all he wasn’t certain how to combat it. Deeper and deeper still, the boy could hardly feel his situation bettering - perhaps he just wants an escape?

It’s little in the end, he knows that this will end with everything catching up to him. The world cannot be changed so easily – not with a simple pull of a lever anymore. What he doesn’t know is that his wishes for death might become realistic in more ways than one. Surely seeing an old friend won’t be the worse thing in the world, right?

   This had been one of the last places the Kindred had decided to explore. Clogged air and machenry, an oppressive atmosphere for any mortal, of that they were certain. Even as they wandered this place unfazed, much like the Zaun this place seemed so reminiscent of, there was little here which would serve to catch their eye without possessing an obligation to hunt here.

   Yet even if the ward did little to catch their gaze, a certain boy most certainly did. Yes, the Kindred could recognize that face anywhere. A name woven across countless almost lives; a bow aimed but never fired, teeth barred yet no chase given. This was a child which had always remained just outside their reach.

   And now here he was right before them. One of the few mortals which had genuinely managed to peak their interest. And in this place where even their powers were weakened, it naturally followed his should be as well.

   Perhaps there would be no rewinding their meeting this time.

   The hunters approached Ekko casually. Lamb cared little of making her presence known to him as she approached, knowing full will he would notice them both soon enough.

   Wolf was another matter. He had no patience for waiting, separating from his companion to bound over to the boy, his excited howl filling the air around them,

 Oh, now that was interesting. “Deify.” The Joker nodded slightly as the good spirited one informed him of Wolf’s disposition. It was one he could appreciate, at the very least. So, Wolf was a hunter, through and through it seemed, and Lamb was at least somewhat interested in culture and pleasant socializing. The clown tapped his chin, wondering if there could perhaps be a way to more funny entertain the pair of them.

 “But let’s put the brakes on the game for now, you’ve got me curious. What do the pair of you do for fun? Do you just throw a bone for Wolf over and over? Or is it anything a little more…. morbid?”

   If Lamb was disappointed at their game stopping it didn’t show, her calm composure still as perfect as when their conversation had started. What they do for fun? Well now ,wasn’t that a question? Lamb had never quite thought about it. Their existence up until this point had been one charged with completing an endless task. It was a lonely existence, a necessary one, but they had no real need for their hunts here. Not yet anyway.

   For once Lamb didn’t quite seem to have a quick answer. Wolf instead was the one who took the lead, an unnaturally large smile forming on his features, “BONES ARE FUN TO BREAK IN MY TEETH! BUT THEY DON’T SCREAM OR RUN! THERE'S NO POINT IN A CHASE IF THE PREY CAN’T TRY TO FLEE!” Well, that answered the morbid part at least. A soft laugh escaped Lamb then,“Yet a good chase has eluded you for quite a while now. Free time is quite a new concept for us.”

With his blade unsheathed, he had his next target in sight.  He may not have all of his ANBU gear for these battles on ahead, but he still had a hold of his blade from long ago.  The Elven Uchiha stared on toward the Mist Walker with red eyes, but a loud, demanding voice called out.  Coming to a stop, Itachi watched the wolf pounce the prey and begin to tear the walker to shreds.  Rather vicious, but it was hard to argue progress.

A much softer, kinder voice spoke out next.  Red hues rested on the humanoid figure that dawned a curious mask.  What was more interesting was the knowledge this one possessed.  How did she know his name?  Did she know someone he was close to?  Interesting thought, but he had not heard of anyone like this individual nor the beast devouring the prey.  The wolf had a mask as well.  … Just who were they?

“By all means.  So long as I do not end up as a meal for your friend,” he would show some bit of his humor his direction returned to the soft-spoken one.  He wouldn’t question too much about who they were or perhaps even what they were.  The more he could feel, the more he realized that they felt like one.  It only brought more questions.  “I cannot afford to use too much of my stamina with a bigger battle up ahead.  I can call myself lucky at this point.”

      “Not here. Not yet.” Lamb’s response was a blunt one. Though said in the same soft voice as before, there was something like finality lanced into her every word. Yet, it did not sound like a threat, it did not sound like much at all. A simple response, as if Itachi had simply been asking about the weather as opposed to joking about Wolf ending his life. Still, Lamb could not help but laugh a bit, a sound like tinkling bells. Lucky him was it? Perhaps so. Still, how rare to hear such words spoken by a mortal. Most would never consider themselves lucky to face them so casually. Not that Lamb could really expect for him to understand why she found the phrase so amusing. He was not one of the souls they knew of from before they came here after all. Among all the mortals gathered, very few seemed to be.

      But those where musings for another day.

      "Stamina is your worry then? I see."

to be in contact with life – sensation – at its most desperate, fleeting – that is the only way for her to be alive.

evelynn finds her home in the frenetic violence, waves after wave of the hordes in all shapes streaming into the space – rent and impaled by her lashers and her claws, alight with otherworldly energy, her face split in a wolfish grin.

it is a dance. one fluid motion executes one, stretching into a lunge that sends her slamming into the chest of a bipedal creature with reptilian features. its jaws snap shut with a snarl in her face, and evelynn returns the gesture with a guttural sound of her own – from deep in her being, drawn-out and satisfied as she finds purchase on its chest and curls her claws to tear into its organs.

only the clarity of lamb’s voice brings her back from that instinctual brink, knowing nothing but her immediate surroundings and the conflict rising to a fever pitch around her – she sits back on her haunches to see the ethereal hunters trailing through their own dance as one.

how odd that she cannot remember when they met.

– the past doesn’t stick well with her, her mind composed of the moment-to-moment highs that she rides on, cresting and falling, always looking for more. back then, she was easily overstimulated – nearly blinded by the brilliance and intensity of mortal wars, but now, even this neverending stream is only temporary, just like the rest.

she wants to get lost in it, because she knows that.

evelynn puts enough strength onto the beast under her claws that she hears its ribs crackwith a satisfying shock, and replies, without even tearing her eyes away from the way the unnatural light in its eyes fades,

“ you’re worried about sentiment, at a time like this? i guess even death has poor priorities. ”

      “Yes, less pointy indeed.” Young was perhaps not the best way to put it. New. Yes that was a lot better. Newer, less experienced. Yet even now, years later, the demon had only really grown in regards to better hunting methods, what gave her more pleasure. She hardly changed at all. Though, in the time they had known of her, perhaps from her perspective they never had as well. What a funny concept time was.

      Still, it had always amused Lamb how similar the demon acted in some ways to her dear Wolf. An existence lived moment to moment, hunt to hunt, no cares about the past, only running forward. It was so very much unlike herself. She remembered everything. Every face, every moment, every life brought to an end, she recalled all of it.

      As such, as far as Lamb was concerned, she really would not refer to it as worry. Let alone poor priorities. Mortal wars would always come and go, it was such the nature of life that conflict would arise. the Kindred had no doubt of that.

    // @eternalhunt  |  The Fantasia War: Finale

    Death. This massive battlefield was a perfect breeding ground for death. Any grand scale battle could qualify for that, but when it comes to a war where the stakes are thishigh… The intensity of the battles are pushed to the limit. This notion certainly holds true for the Grim Reaper, his full power allowing him to cut down any monstrous creature that was foolish enough to cross his path. If they weren’t ended by the steel of his blade or the energy of his scythe, then it was his power over the Black Beast that brought these monsters to their death. A small group of orc-like beings were swiftly brought down by a massive Beast head, crashing into them and grinding their skin and bones with its massive teeth sinking into the flesh.

    It seems that one of the shadowy creatures managed to avoid the impact, and was smart enough to try and avoid the Reaper’s reach. However, this wasn’t the only harbinger of death to worry about in this war. The creature’s cowardice in the face of battle was met with swift consequence, as a wispy being donning a white mask took charge past Ragna to claim a new victim. The brush with one of the Kindred actually made Ragna pause, even if only for a moment. It was like an icy hand had grabbed his shoulder in that brief moment… a true brush with Death.

         “Gh– The hell? I’ve felt that before…“

   Wolf tore at the creature with no mercy, teeth easily finding flesh and tearing it to ribbons. Yet, if one where to look beyond the brutality of it all, it was almost as if the hound was merely playing. A dog with a ragged toy, tearing it to shreds before quickly growing bored of it and shifting his attention instead to the man who had made the monster run in the first place. Tongue hanging out of the side of his massive jaws, Wolf called out to the man with an excited bark, “YOU, RAGNA-THING! MAKE MORE OF THEM RUN!”

   “Patience, Dear Wolf.” the Kindred’s other half soon caught up to meet with her partner, cloven hooves delicately prancing over the fallen bodies left in the wake of Ragna’s attacks. It was with little more than a simple nod that Lamb acknowledged the Reaper, “Of course you have. All will know us in time, even you.” her soft laugh filled the air around them soon after,