forum A Sort-of Lion, A few Witches, A Not-Quite Closet(malfunction). Stalkers wanted.

Started April 04, 2018 by @Ca1iCa1--Is--Tired

tune

(oHHHHHH) Sam's eyes widened in realization. "I…I know what you are now. Leave us alone. Give Orion back," he said, embers sparking from his body

Lata noticed Orion in the distance. He was talking with Sam, but his voice sounded strange. He looked tired and angry. Why was Orion so mad…? Was something wrong?

When Orion speaks he doesn't seem himself.
You.
Hurt.
Us/Him/Me.
A cacophony of voices, running over each other, water caught in a turbulent stream.

Sam squinted at Orion, clutching his sword a little tighter. "Wasn't on purpose. I swear. It was the energy release, I wasn't trying to hurt the forest."

Lucy gave a quick nod, putting some distance between her and whatever was possessing Orion. She glanced around, jogging over to Lata when she noticed her. She crouched next to Lata, speaking in a soft tone. “Are you okay?”

When Orion speaks he seems lost.
He.
Warned.
You.
Guardian.

He.
Is.
Tainted.
Now.

He.
Fears.
You.
Now.

You.
Hurt.
Him.
Guardian.

silence
silence
silence
silence

W H Y ? ?

Lata couldn't hear whatever Lucy was trying to ask her. Her body begged for rest, but she wouldn't allow it, knowing something was wrong. She couldn't hear correctly still, but based on Orion's expression and posture, she could only assume he was upset. Lata wanted to get up and hug him, the man who welcomed her with open arms. She sat up, to the best of her ability only to feel a wave of dizziness.
"Orion…"

Lucy put a hand on Lata’s shoulder, holding her steady. “I know, but you shouldn’t. That’s not Orion right now,” she said quickly, glancing over at him.

With Lucy being this close, she could make out the fact that she was talking to her. Lata looked up at Lucy, still exhausted, "Like in the forest, can't hear," she whispered. She knew Lucy would know what that meant. About a month ago, she had run off into the forest, upset that everyone had gotten hurt. Her emotions strengthened the impact of using her ability, creating blood that wasn't there. Afterwards she had been exhausted all day. No doubt she would be sleeping for quite awhile when everything was said and done.

Lucy bit her lower lip sharply in a worried manner, nodding in understanding. She remembered what had happened, and she felt terrible that Lata was going through that again. Everything has gone to complete hell she thought, reaching around to feel the back of her neck again as she looked at whatever was possessing Orion.

Blue eyes are green.
Looks relaxed.
Coiled as a spring.

Sam stood, leaning on his sword. His eyes glinted angrily, like something was inside of him. Something that wanted out. "I said. Leave. Him. ALONE!" he roared. He lifted the sword, its point aimed for his own chest. Cas's eyes widened.
"Sam, what're you-" Sam plunged the sword into his chest, staring Orion down. He didn't even wince as the sword glowed white-hot, didn't flinch as his skin blackened except for the white-hot runes and cracks that spread outward from the sword across his body. The heat became unbearable again, embers flung this way and that. Runes and circles flashed around him, sparking and twisting. Sam grinned, a large, fanged smile making its way across his face. Another set of eyes opened beneath the ones already there, bright and glinting sadistically. His body seemed to be melting, folding in on itself. There was another wave of heat and the sword dissolved into Sam's body. His grin grew impossibly wider, and waves of molten metal began to seep from the cracks in the ground, arcing around his body. The metal covered him, circling him, and in a flash of heat an enormous black-furred lion stood where Sam once was. Its flaming mane shot sparks into the air, its twin tails lashing. It seemed to be grinning down at Orion, towering above him as it sank too many claws into the ground. It lowered its head, four eyes glinting murderously as they focused on Orion.
"I am Samandriel of Molhaven, guardian of the gods and king of flames. You will leave this creature's body, or I will burn this forest to the ground."

For a moment. Green eyes met the lion's. Blue eyes.

Orion lunged forward. "Sammy stop Sammy please your killing me! Please!"
Orion's shirt burning off. A paw print burning into his back. A paw print with too many claws.
Orion stumbled down. Eyes wide, pleading. Begging.
"Stop Sammy please it hurts!"
A child's voice, a flashback. Seeing Sam instead of captors.
"Please…"

Lata flinched from the heat, squeezing her eyes closed. When the intensity died down a good amount, she reopened them to see Sam in his true form. Then she heard shouts from Orion, still unable to make out words. Reading his lips, she could just tell that he was yelling "stop" over and over. Unfortunately, Lata couldn't fight off the darkness of sleep that pulled at her, despite not wanting to rest.

Lucy’s eyes widened and her hand covered her mouth as a gasp escaped. Everything seemed to be burning up, things were just getting worse. The spirits seemed to have left Orion, but now he was getting burned. It looked terrible. She tugged Lata against her side when she noticed that the girl seemed to be drifting out of consciousness.

Sam stared down at Orion, claws twitching. He was angry. He wanted to hurt something. To take the anger he'd held for so long, the indignation, and shove it through someone like a blade. He was angry. He was tired. He was tired of being angry. He backed up a few steps, the heat dying down. Slowly, the molten metal began to return to the depths of the earth, but Sam's eyes didn't leave Orion. The heat died down until only the area a few feet from Sam's body was browning, drying instead of burning. Three impossibly large broadswords appeared around him, their golden points aimed at Orion. "Tell the thing inside you to leave. I don't want to hurt you."

Orion curled into a ball. "IT WAS GONE AS SOON AS MY EYES WERE BLUE SAMMY STOP IT STOP IT PLEASE YOUR HURTING ME STOP!" The burn on his back blackens and chars the skin, a permanent mark. A permanent reminder. Orion is seeing those who held him captive. "I'LL BE GOOD JUST STOP IT IT HURTS!"

A voice like a waterfall.
Like wind whispering through trees.
Like a thunderstorm.
Like a hurricane.
Panicked. Afraid.
The voice of the Forest.

STOP IT YOU ARE KILLING HIM GUARDIAN! HE HAS NOT WRONGED YOU! HE IS A GUARDIAN LIKE YOU! A GUARDIAN OF LIFE! STOP IT!

(Yo Shin, would it be safe to say that a life guardian has not been seen in centuries?)

(Probably? Guardians in my story kinda power dimensions, and since the goddess of life has kinda monopolized that type of power it would make life guardians rare) Sam backed up, the swords turning this way and that, seemingly pointing at nothing and everything. Sam could see something. Could feel it. And he didn't want to. He kept backing up, away from Orion, trying to stay away from the trees. "What are you?!" he hissed, panic in his voice. "ANSWER ME!" he roared at nothing. Something that looked like spirits began to materialize in a ring around him, their red eyes standing out against the transparent, grotesque outlines of their bodies

The paw mark, no, the brand finished burning itself into his back. Skin black and charred, crackling when he finally uncurls. Ears pinned back, he looks at Sam and Cas fearfully. Taking in the damage to the forest, he winces. Standing, even fearful as he is, he starts to sing. (Jet Pack Blues, Fall Out Boy) As he sings the woods replenish, as he sings he slits his wrist to let more blood fall to the ground. Life for Life.

Sam starts to panic. There's something wrong, it doesn't make any sense. There can't be a guardian here, he must be seeing something. His vision starts to swim, and the strange outlines seem to solidify for a moment before crumbling back into the ground. Sam falls to the ground, the swords melting away into thin air. His eyes land on Orion, and the anger turns to self-loathing. To sadness. He suddenly feels like he can't go on, and there's a flicker as another outline appears in front of him. This one looks like a little girl in an elaborate dress, floating a foot or so above the ground. "Lillith?" he asks tiredly. The outline puts one hand on his muzzle, smoothing the bristling fur. The heat has died now, and the lion's form seems to shrink. Sam doesn't have the energy to create a new vessel to hide his form in. He's tired. He's worthless. He wants to go home. The forest finally goes cold, and the flickering girl turns slowly to Orion. She gives him a small smile before vanishing, leaving nothing behind. Cas, who had been curled in the corner out of fear, slowly slithers to Orion, stopping a foot or so away from him. "Are you alright?" he croaks, throat dry and voice raspy from exposure to so much heat

Lucy was still sitting on the ground, a shocked ad slightly terrified expression on her face. She continued to cling to Lata in a protective manner as she watched from a short distance away.