@Poe

The last few days were spent in a fog. Had it even been days since leaving the Jungle? Time was too abstract to keep track of at the moment. Dero barely registered the physical beings that were ushering him along. They seemed familiar, but certainly he must be delirious. If he was seeing them.... no, if he was feeling them like this, then the onyx lion was surely dead, right? Limping along, propped up against his grandfather's shoulder, the fallen king obediently followed wherever they would lead. He was vaguely aware of substances spread across his wounds, poultices Ademt must have made, but Dero was still weary. The battered form of the Hodari faded in and out of consciousness, having lost so much blood in the battle. While the king had been prepared to go down with the ship, unwilling to leave anyone behind this time, the spirits had other intentions.

They arrived in droves, plundering the lands for all they sought. The king pleaded with his family, demanded of them even, to flee while they still could. There was no saving the lands from this many rogues, not without losing too many lives. But he would stay. He would find the rest and bring them to safety. With the utmost trust instilled in his eldest sons, Dero knew his family would be okay. Accepting his own fate meant buying them time, a distraction, to help them escape. He had made peace with his choice in the moments before what should have been his death. Exhausted from battle, the edges of his vision were already growing dark before one final rogue sought to take his pound of flesh from the king, aiming for his throat. With nothing left to give, Dero's body was still, barely bracing for the final blow that never came. A blur bashed against the side of the rogue, and before he knew it, the fallen sovereign was being braced against a strong shoulder and ushered out of the Jungle. He would live, but for how long?

Long enough, it would seem, to reach the sandy edges of a new land. The spirits spoke of a new land to be offered to them, a safe haven for the refugees, and here it was. But had the others made it? With each night that passed, the man of ebony and crimson looked to the skies, seeking his star that he shared with his wife. If he could find it within the night, he could convince himself of finding her again, if he truly was alive, that is. With a mind still so foggy, however, Dero barely knew where he was or who was around him. Exhaustion clawed at his limbs once more as the trio stepped foot upon the sands. Stumbling in his fatigue, the battered man would do little to move himself forward. "Rest," he mumbled to his saviors as the rest of his body made its unceremonious collide with the ground. Just let me lay here, he begged, but the words wouldn't come out of the rogue's mouth, too dazed with fever to even realize. Just a little nap....

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Chaos. That was all he could see the moment the Deity had arrived in the Jungle. He didn't even know who had summoned him, but there he had stood with a sight of rogues attacking his family, and there was nothing Ademt could do. Try as he might, the specter had attempted to spook the rogues away, popping in and out of sight in front of them, trying to force intimidating thoughts upon them, trying to physically attack them, but nothing seemed to work. Whatever physical presence the living could feel from him was not enough to be of any use, so the Hodari eventually gave up his onslaught to try and help his family escape, offering his aid in finding a safe passage out of the Jungle. But Dero.... Stubborn, stubborn Dero. He wouldn't leave. After everything the man had been through, the king would not leave without everyone. If such was his dying wish, Ademt would not leave his grandson either.

Only able to watch the scene for so long, the spirit continued to try his unsuccessful tactics of distracting the invaders. In the end, though, Dero was the last one left of the jungle pride, unable to find his way out of the mess. Certain to die, the spirits simply couldn't sit idly by any longer. In a blinding rage, the spirits forced themselves upon the rogues that sought to end the king's life, and by some gracious miracle, bodies actually collided. Ademt felt his form bash against the rogue that nearly took his grandson's final breath. He could spare only a split second of bewilderment to feel the ground beneath his paws, smell the scent of the jungle flora. Was he alive again? Ademt looked for his wife, if she had found the same gift bestowed upon her before his attention instantly snapped back to the fallen king. "Dero!" he called, rushing to the man's side. Hefting a shoulder against his battered frame, he sought to bring the lion to his feet. "Palo, help me get him up!" he begged of his wife. The appearance of these strange lions seemed to confuse the rogues just enough to aid the trio in getting out of the Jungle. Ademt stopped here and there just enough to keep the rogues at bay before they finally found their freedom. Hold on, Dero.

With the aid of his wife, the trio did their best to follow the scent of all the other lions who had fled. Ademt had sensed the words of the spirits that promised a new land to the refugees. In his current condition, though, Dero slowed things down considerably. Along the way, the brown lion managed to find a few helpful herbs here and there to use on his grandson's many wounds. It nearly felt foreign to work with herbs again, having not touched actual plants in many many years. Rusty as he was, though, Ademt managed to make a decent poultice to put on the fallen king's wounds. It wasn't much, but it would do for the time being until proper treatment could be administered. Worried gnawed at the Hodari's stomach every time his grandson slept, concerned that he may not wake up. The blood loss had been substantial. Infection was sure to follow if Dero's wounds could not be treated properly, but the land grew scarcer of useful herbs the farther they went. They tried to travel mostly at night as it was cooler and seemed easier on their grandson. There even seemed to be an odd energy within him whenever he looked up at the sky. Dero didn't speak much, lost in his own daze, but the pair of former spirits managed to move him along well enough in the end when finally salvation seemed just upon the horizon. Their little stretch of sandiness looked to be leading towards something grander. The voice beckons again in their minds. A welcome to the lands, but just then, Dero collapsed on the ground. "N-no, no, n-no, Dero. You've come too far," the grandfather stammered while moving to the larger male's side once more. "Come on... We're almost..... there," he grunted slightly while trying to get the onyx lion back on his feet. Where "there" was, he didn't know, but Ademt just knew that he had to at least get his grandson inside the lands if he had any hope of survival. Worry knit the man's brow as he looked to his wife. What could they even do?

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The past few weeks had been.. different. Paloma and Ademt had watched with clenched teeth from the other side, doing what they could despite the veil that kept them from interfering in any other way besides moral support. The next thing she knew, Ademt had completely shattered the barrier and surged forward into reality -- real reality -- in order to protect their grandson. It wasn’t that she was displeased by his act of heroism, but how the fuck? At first she had been flabbergasted and shocked into silence, but it only took a second of seeing Ademt bleeding before she charged herself after him. Paloma loved her grandson -- really, she did, but Ademt was an entirely new level of care and consideration. She would annihilate anyone who hurt her family, but Ademt? Ademt she would claw her way through hell -- or tear her way through the spiritual realm -- to defend.

The transition back into a physical body was bizarre, but she couldn’t deny the fact there was satisfaction in finally being able to bitch slap someone. After so many years of sassing from the other realm, Paloma was back and ready to slap.

When all was said and done, Paloma left the elephant in the room behind as she helped her husband guide their grandson to safety. She had to admit the travel was grueling, but Ademt hadn’t complained once and neither would she. Instead, she did what she could to help Dero while simultaneously trying not to bawl over how similar he looked to her brother. It was just a lot, okay? There was a lot of processing going on in that ancient head of hers.

Eventually, Dero went down citing rest as the reasoning for it. Ademt took the sweeter route and while Paloma appreciated it, she was alive again and it was time to be what she was known for being: a bitch. “Dero Hodari, you get back on your feet right this moment.” Her tail lashed as she moved to grab his ear between his teeth and tug him, growling softly. “You’re not going to make it this far and then give up. No, you’ve got kids and a wife and a sister and -- come on, get up or you’re grounded.” She could do that, she was alive. “Get up, Dero. You’re almost there.” Paloma huffed, smooshing her head against his neck to push him onto his feet.

@Poe

The sands were warm, allowing the tendrils of sleep and try and wrap themselves around the fallen king's body. The words of the spirits were muffled in his mind, still convinced that they were specters and not physical beings. Ademt's voice was barely audible, too gentle to even be noticed. Paloma on the other hand, her ire was not lost. Kids.... wife.... sister.... "Hanneth," he managed to mumble out as the king's body still lay limp in the sands. Even as the pair of Hodaris tried to rouse their grandson, Dero's gaze was shut. His breathing was shallow. "Just... bring her.... to.... the tree...." Each fraction of the sentence was weak and airy, barely audible between breaths. The dark man was already convinced that he was dead. This strip of sand must be some sort of a metaphorical road to the afterlife if they could not reach the sacred tree. He could still show up there, right? What was he even thinking? The invaders! Even if he could be summoned at the tree, Hanneth wouldn't be anywhere around after Dero told them all to flee while they still could. So this journey, it was all for nothing. What was the point of an afterlife if he could not still come back to see the living?

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Ademt took a step back when his wife tried her method at getting their grandson to his feet. Yes, dear. Grab him by the ear. That will totally work. Normally, he would have offered this sarcastic comment out loud, but now was not the time. It didn't even seem to phase Dero to have his ear being gnawed on by his grandmother, though at least it did seem that her words broke through more than his own. Hanneth. Dero spoke the name, prompting a bit of hope to flutter in Ademt's gaze. "Yes, yes. Hanneth. Let's go find her, Dero!" the elder sought to encourage. She had to be within these lands. It's where all the scents were leading, but the trio took so long, they never managed to catch up to the group.

That tiny spark of hope was quickly extinguished when Dero mentioned the tree next, however. "Dero, you're not dead! Get up!" With a tone more akin to his wife's this time, Ademt hoped he might be heard better. When Palo pushed against their brute of a grandson from one side, the dusky Hodari aimed to do the same from the other. Maybe they could just sandwich Dero between them long enough to get him across this sandbar and into the lands. And maybe then Ademt could finally find some useful herbs. Certainly they could all do with food and fresh water as well. They just needed to get Dero well enough to start looking for their family again.

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Grounding him had been inefficient, but she intended to stay true to her word. He was grounded because disobeying had its consequences, thank you. Not that she had any way to actually enforce her punishment, of course, it just made her feel better to slap the man with a citation. It was either that or face the reality of the situation, which was their grandson was dying and desperately needed medical attention. Her ears flattened against her head in annoyance at the entire situation and how utterly helpless she felt, though she said nothing about it. Instead, she did whatever her husband needed her to do in order to get the lion up and back at em.

"Ademt," she murmured softly, glancing at him with a pensive expression. "I have to go find Hanneth. She's the only one who can heal him the way he needs." Splitting up was not ideal for a woman who had been inseparable from his side for the last eighteen years, but it needed to be done and maybe some space was healthy as well. Mhm, yep. "Let's get him somewhere comfortable and I'll go find her. Stay with him and do what you can." It seemed logical enough on her end.

ooc: skipping myself because i can. and pp myself too. makes more sense in this order anyway




Between the two of them, the living spirits managed to get Dero back to his feet, but the large lion was leaning heavily upon their shoulders. It was a step in the right direction, though, both metaphorically and literally as they managed to start moving along the sandbar again. Ademt worried over how long they could keep doing this, though. Dero was obviously in poor condition, likely on the edge of death if not treated well enough, but there was little the aged healer could do in these desolate lands. Ademt glanced back over towards his wife at the sound of her voice, not likely the fact that he knew her words were true. "I know," he'd concede. He knew Paloma was right, as she always was. They needed Hanneth. They needed anyone more equipped to heal Dero than Ademt who hadn't needed to use any healing knowledge in years. Even aside from the knowledge they lacked, though, they needed actual herbs as well. "Let's just get him into the lands. Find fresh water, at the very least. Somewhere I can keep him safe while you find Hanneth," he offered. Finding herbs would be preferable as well, but at least water would keep them all hydrated and well enough to continue. Water would likely also mean some sort of vegetation and prey. The Hodari had every ounce of faith in Paloma's ability to find their granddaughter-in-law. Hanneth just had to be here somewhere. And if not, well maybe the del Sol woman could at least find another healer. For the time being, they'd move onward.

This fog, it kept him hidden from the world. It kept his mind secluded from the beings that were trying to help him. Weak and vulnerable, it was a state in which Dero never wanted to be. His mind took him away to simpler times. To the mountain that had truly forged him. His need to protect others, to keep them safe. The avalanche that decimated the peaks, that propelled him to lead for the sake of others. To the same mountain where he loved and lost, only to love once more. Then the jungle. The rebirth of life, the void of loss finally filled once more. Was this his life flashing before his eyes? The fallen king barely felt his body rise beneath him, barely realized that his feet were moving and voices were talking. All he could hear from the muffled words was a single name... Hanneth.

He envisioned their star, and from this star shined a light. This light lit a path. It was not the same path into their old valley, though. Instead, it led somewhere new, somewhere foreign. The obsidian lion followed it with every fiber of his being, believing it to be that fabled light that should guide him into the afterlife. Ademt's words about not being dead had been lost upon his ears, lost in the fog of his injuries, but somehow, the brute still moved as his saviors debated their next course of action. They could not keep this going for much longer without some sort of help, be it from Hanneth or someone else. They needed more assistance in the art of healing. That was for sure.

Paloma was always right, thank you. She appreciated Ademt realizing that, particularly now that she could bite his ass instead of just glares in spirit in order to sway him one way or the other. Dero roused himself from the ground and Paloma was grateful, leaning forward to nudge his cheek reassuringly. Ah, well, time to get the show on the road. "Come on, Dero. Think about all your cubs waiting for their father, too." At the very least, think about whatever convinced him to move forward. "Sounds good, Dem. Let's make it happen." Palo did what she could to help guide the wounded man, but her thoughts were already somewhere else. Where would Hanneth be?

//eeexit?

One foot in front of the other. With Dero on his feet, Ademt knew they needed to make the most of it before the larger male was ready to collapse again. "Yeah, come on, Dero. They need their father." Reiterating his wife's words was the best the dusky lion could do for now. Words of encouragement didn't seem to be making it into the onyx lion's head anyway, falling on deaf ears. It worried the white maned lion to see his grandson like this. Was Dero too far gone if he was barely responsive? Would he even survive once they got into the lands? Well, they made it this far. Ademt wasn't about to give up yet. With another nod to Palo, the elder persisted forward, bearing Dero's weight as they continued. "Lead the way."

exit Ademt

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