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So engrossed in his composing, Leo didn't even begin to realize that the tower was falling until Sena bowled him over, the prideful lion knocking Leo onto his ass. Yelping as his hood was picked up by Sena's teeth, the familiar took off running. "Whahahaha Sena! If you really wanted attention you could have just told me!" Leo howled, dangling limply from his familiar's jaws like a kitten. He seemed completely oblivious to the peril around him as Sena leapt and weaved through the falling debris navigating through the terrain. The other members of Nyaitsu meowed as they were nested within Sena's gorgeous mane, holding on for dear life as the group made their escape. A large beam struck Sena on the back as the lion stumbled, dropping Leo onto the ground as he winced at the stinging pain. By now the composer had recognized that the situation they were in wasn't ideal and he ran alongside his companion, the two doing their best to avoid the death that rained down upon them from the sky.

Sprawling onto the ground, Leo's chest heaved with breath as he burst out laughing, a trembling hand beginning to write out a melody on the dirt. "Inspiration, it has come." He panted as Sena lay on the ground beside him, both of them out of breath.

---

As the clock mechanism crashed through the stairs, the walls began to crumble as well, spilling out to the sides while Leo made his escape. The roof of the tower was virtually untouched, the materials only slightly rotted, leaving it in one piece as it fell down, the bell breaking loose, its mallet striking it once, twice, three times as it malfunctioned, the gears and other mechanical bits going into a frenzy as their springs went into overdrive. Three loud chimes rang out, spreading ten, twenty, thirty, forty five miles into the surrounding areas. Finally, the walls finished their collapse, the bell hitting the ground with a sound so unimaginably loud that it could have deafened anybody around it, if they could hear it over the adrenaline and beating of their own hearts. The final sound rang outwards, farther and farther still, reaching the ears of beast and survivor alike. Fifty miles out, a four legged beast began its charge...

...

Hearing the mighty gong sound off, Icarus whipped around and started sprinting towards the area, his harrier flying ahead to scope it out. A beast was charging ahead of him, oblivious to his presence, its one track mind focused on the idea of consuming flesh. Icarus gritted his teeth as the thing barreled straight through rubble and small buildings, leaving a clear path towards the fallen tower. Icarus clenched his fists, then started running along the same path, no longer having to leap over rubble or climb over anything.

Protecting his face as gears and springs flew apart, Leo curled in on himself, protecting his fragile hearing from the incessant ringing of the bell, his own screams drowned out by the gong of the fallen tower. His Nyaitsu were protected by his own body, the poor kittens writhing in pain as the sound assaulted their senses. Even Sena, strong powerful reliable Sena was on the ground with paws over his ears. In one heart stopping moment, Leo couldn't hear the symphonies that had lived in his head for so long, a blank noise that buzzed empty and hollow. Paranoia rose up within him as he squeezed his eyes shut, blunt nails scratching against his scalp as if that would do anything to bring back the lost melodies. No no no, what use was he to this barren, forsaken world if he couldn't do the one thing he was good at? What was his meaning if he couldn't compose anymore?! Letting out a mournful wail, Leo dug his hands into the rough gravel, feeling the sharp rocks cut into his hands as he pushed himself up to rip at his hair which had long since fallen out of its messy ponytail. Spotting the half finished score on the ground, Leo lunged forward to try and complete the piece, hands trembling as he scratched at the ground with a rock, uncaring as the jagged edges cut more into flesh than it did into dirt. No no no, that wasn't it. Furiously scribbling out the piece, Leo started again only to throw the rock away at how viscerally Wrong the piece was all wrong, it wasn't supposed to be this sad. He was done writing sad songs, he was done being broken, he was only going to write happy songs. happy songs that made people like Sena smile. Gripping his arms tightly, Leo very nearly let himself roll down the small hill they were seated on before Sena chuffed and nosed him, picking Leo up like a limp kitten again. He didn't make any noise, simply letting Sena carry him to wherever the lion wished. His inspiration was gone, scattered like the countless leafs of paper he threw around carelessly, and it made him feel so hollow. So... hollow.

---

Nox stands a distance away. Dust from the rubble sweeping towards her. She lowers her head, allowing her hair to fall in front of her face like a curtain, shielding her face from the dust. Her home was gone. No matter, she could easily relocate, but she had something important in there. She edges forward, not noticing the nearing monsters or even Leo. She stoops by the rubble desperately searching for it. She swallows a sob, it was gone. It was the only thing that reminded her of her old, happy life. No... it had to somewhere, hidden underneath these rocks.. with enough work she could find it. She tenses up, hearing a familiar cry. Monsters were quickly approaching. Nox unsheathes her two katanas, holding one in each hand. She glares into the darkness, mentally preparing for an attack.

𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗡 𝗔𝗛𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗚𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗘
AND 𝗗𝗔𝗘𝗗𝗥𝗜𝗦

[ 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥 Female - 𝗟𝗢𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 City Outskirts - 𝗔𝗚𝗘 20 - 𝗧𝗔𝗚𝗦 Alone ]
xxxxxxA distant roar of sound drew her attention away from the jackasses in front and the hardened assassin turned to the distant horizon as the booming only crescendoed. The distant rumble grew and grew, and borrowing Daedric's owl-sight for a moment, Eden managed to get a close up to look to the falling bell tower. Holy s— The sooty owl whispered quietly. It was the bell-tower, cracked and withered with age. Prone to fall at some point, and as if playing its own requiem, it unleashed a mighty gong, the sound echoing through the air, traveling resonantly even to where she was. It was a call to war, the shriek from the valkyrie's throat calling soldiers to battle. The brutes around her were murmuring, casting wary glances like mice. The coin pouch which had her payment in it started to grow heavy around her waist, and Eden's hand instinctively traveled to the blade strapped at her waist. This was exactly the kind of thing that could drive dogs against dogs, humans against an ally.
xxxxxxBut the chilly dome of silence that enveloped her and caressed her cheek with menacing fingers was dissipated when an ear-splitting screech and flash of grey loomed in front of Eden. The beasts had caught up at last, and from the shouts and roars coming from the brutes to her right, this one hadn’t come alone. She got a brief, horrifying glimpse of flesh-tearing fangs before the beast fell to a flash of steel. Blood sprayed her armor in a morbidly dark splatter, the iron reek of it coating her senses as the head of the monster fell to the ground. She barely acknowledged that out of pure instinct alone her machete was out of its sheath, the tip already sordidly with darkness. Daedris was by her side in his wolf form, claws digging into the dirt as his chest rumbled with challenge. The wolf hadn’t had a proper fight in weeks, and the thought of wrestling one of these abominations to death made him salivate with bloodlust. The wolf was easily twice his original size due to the sheer thickness of his puffed-up pelt. There was no greater desire, it would seem than to rip and tear to his heart’s content.
xxxxxxMost of the brutes had the bare necessary weapons to deal with these beasts; the knives sheathed in a bandolier on her chest and the bow-and-arrow were extravagant by comparison. But from experience, no weapon went to waste. Where the bow-and-arrow fell short in close combat situations, the machete would quickly slew her enemy, and even the most hardened brutes quivered when they found Eden’s signature black-hilted knives sheathed in their associate’s bosoms. When the second hardened beast lunged her way, it was knocked onto its back by the brute at her side; Daedris’s fangs flashed as he detached one tentacle after another in his vicious rage. The silver steel of Eden’s blade soon carved a fatal cut into the monster’s neck, leaving it to be ripped open even further. But only a few had found her and the men to be worthy prey. The rest with eldritch strength were intent on a different path of destruction; smashing their way towards the center heart of the city. Toward the bell tower, where dozens, if not hundreds, of innocent people lay in blissful unawareness. Going there would surely risk death, but not doing so would (indirectly) damn dozens of souls to be ripped apart and devoured by these tentacled monsters. Eventually, she made a decision. Likely not a very good one. Daedris answered her call on the first whistle; the muscular grey wolf bounding to her side as Eden mounted her motorcycle.
xxxxxx“You can’t be serious if you are headed to the bell-tower.” Daedris snarled roughly through their mental bond; the wolf put one massive paw in front of the vehicle. As if that would change his partner’s steel hard resolve. But he knew better than anyone to never try to sway Eden’s stubborn resolve, and as the motorcycle raced away, he leapt into the air to escort her; fur and claw changing into feather and talon.

[ 692 words]

Charging after the massive beast, Icarus shouted to Osiris, his harrier, to scout ahead and check for fatalities. Drawing his axe, he got prepared to fight as more and more of the four legged beasts would come, probably followed by the two legged ones as well, their simple minds curious about the gathering of larger abominations. Osiris reported back, No visible fatalities, but the tower won't ever stand again. The beasts that are already there are tearing apart the wreckage. Gritting his teeth, Icarus put on an extra burst of speed, hoping to recover anybody that was sitting among the chaos.

A four legged creature leaps out of the darkness. Nox just barley leaps out of it's way. Avoiding the gaping mouth just in time. Before it spin around, she slashes the katana across it's face, giving her time to step away from it and edge close to a building. It gives her some cover, but now she is trapped. At least the creatures can't attack her from behind. The four legged beast recovers, it growls and leaps forward like a frog. A stupid choice. It ends up smacking it's own face against her katana. It withers around in pain before finally dying. For a moment, there is silence and Nox can relax. Until more screeching and growls can be heard. Freyja shifts into her panther form, her ears are pulled back and a snarl was on her face. If this was how they were going to go down, they would take down a few beasts with them.

*Ezekiel came out hiding as he now goes back to a populated town to sell whatever he had on him, he hides his thing inside a bag making sure none of the people would see what he had so they couldn't steal it. As he walks to a huge building going to the back as he walks to one of the abandoned buildings he goes inside putting his stuff in a corner and going to bed.*

(Let's say he is somewhere were you guys are)

---

As Sena ran, carrying Leo in his jaws, the beasts began to arrive, converging on the group with their inky tendrils all reaching out to grasp at anything they could get. A tendril slithered out to whip around the lion's hind paw, yanking the large cat up off the ground as Leo was unceremoniously dropped onto the ground, his limp body bouncing and rolling before coming to a standstill. Yowling as he struggled in the monster's grip, Sena scratched at the appendage keeping him suspended in the air which did little other than annoy his opponent even more. Flung to the side, the lion crashed into the rubble and wrecked remains of the tower, a choked out cry for his partner leaving his maw.

Leo's dull eyes flickered up at the yowl of his name as he staggered up, blood oozing out of the shallow wounds that littered his head and side. Dragging his feet over to the limp pile of fur laying unmoving among the barren wasteland dotted with eldritch horrors, Leo threw himself over his companion, wailing loudly about how Sena was such a loyal knight, laying down his life for such a foolish king such as himself. "Senaaaaaa! Why did you have to die?! If a nice guy like you has to lose his life, this world is pure hell! What are you doing, God?! Get back on the job!"

"Shut up Leo." Sena weakly growled, halfheartedly biting at his companion. "I'm not going to die, so~o annoying."

Stroking Sena's cheek as the lion let his exhaustion take over, Leo set his mouth in a hard line as he drew the his sword standing guard over the one who had always protected him at this point. "I know, Sena. But this time, I'm going to be the one who protect's you." His Nyaitsu seemed to have a similar idea as four sets of paws ran to encircle Sena's unconscious body, hackles all raised and hissing at the monsters who slowly closed in on them.

"Ah, Inspiration! I could write hundreds of movements about a naked king and his knights facing peril, defying death with every stroke of their blades! Come, my Nyaitsu, let us fight to the end!" Leo laughing, eyes glittering with a maniacal dull rage that was reflected tenfold against the metal of his blade.

---

"Stop talking!" Icarus leapt onto one of the beasts and slashed at its tentacles as they rose from its body. "They're attracted to sound, dammit!" He watched the stumps of tentacles wave around uselessly in the tings mouth as other started to rise and lash out, hoping to ensnare Icarus. "Toss me a piece of wood, will you? Light the end on fire." He dropped to his knees, then slashed his axe above his head, taking off a few feet of disgusting slimy tendrils. Standing up, he glared at Leo. "NOW!" He cursed as one of the tentacles wrapped around his waist, his axe finding saliva covered flesh almost immediately.

*Silver Ezekiel eagle was watching Leo from a distance doing whatever he likes while his partner rest. Ezekiel was looking at the things he has collected mostly junk like phones, scrap, and luckily some can food that still had some edible food, he calls back his eagle flying through some building and diving into a hole and arriving to Ezekiel place landing in a bird resting place scratching his feathers*

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"Whoa!! Ahahaha! You got some nerve ordering a king around!" Leo's booming laugh cut through the silence as he slid forward, blade flicking one of the tentacles off. As he rolled to his feet, he grabbed a rotting piece of wood and examined it in a confused manner. He.... wasn't quite sure how to light it on fire but he shrugged and swung his sword, sending another appendage flying. "Heeeey grape head, catch!" Throwing the wood, the projectile bonked Icarus on the head lightly and Leo burst into laughter spinning around to cut down his foes.

---

Icarus muttered under his breath, "Psychopath." He picked up the wood, then ran towards the wreckage, where some great amount of friction had started a small fire. Holding the stick in, he started to curse as it didn't light. "C'mon, c'mon..." As soon as it lit on fire, a tentacle snared his waist once more, catching his axe hand with it. Gritting his teeth, he was lifted into the air, then pulled towards the gaping maw at breakneck speed. The tentacle turned him around foolishly, and he waved the burning stick at the beast. It seemed to flinch, all eight of its tentacles jolting as the fire met its mouth. It dropped him, and he stepped back a little waving the stick at incoming limbs. "What in the name of god's green Earth do you mean by 'a king'?" He shouted over his shoulder at Leo, the eccentric boy seemingly having a wonderful time. Osiris dove to the earth, morphing into his hyena form and jogging over to the other spirit animal, hoping to tend to it.

𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗡 𝗔𝗛𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗚𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗘
AND 𝗗𝗔𝗘𝗗𝗥𝗜𝗦

[ 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥 Female - 𝗟𝗢𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 City Square - 𝗔𝗚𝗘 20 - 𝗧𝗔𝗚𝗦 Icarus/Osiris; Leo/Sena (ment.) ]
xxxxxxThe city, as it had turned out from three years ago, was in a consistent state of disrepair; buildings had huge hunks taken of them and a constant gloom hung over the city like morning mist. Only, there was no dissipating it; the menace had long since ensconced itself in our city. Dusk’s modest colors contrasted with the violence unfolding below; the colors separated from reality as though the heavens themselves were remiss. But for her familier, which found the nighttime to be his favorite domain, he looked more at home than he did in the morning. There was nothing to see from the magnificent metropolis that this city once was; a broken husk of a once beautiful estate. Well, when it wasn’t raining that is.
xxxxxxHeavy paws thrummed the ground as Daedris’s aggressive form appeared beside her, fangs bared and ready to kill. The scene before them was unabridged chaos. Entire swarms of six or seven monsters apiece ripped into the once glorious monument with a vengeance. Screams rose and fell; the air rang with the crash and crumble of falling rubble, the screech of monsters, and the sound of flesh on steel. The battlefield’s sound crashed against her like waves of an ocean, threatening to overwhelm her, but Eden mustered herself against it as Daedris tugged her further into the fray. The grey atmosphere was dotted with the fallen, mostly monsters, their various assorted body parts disfiguring the street in a gruesome manner. The scene would haunt her nightmares tonight, she was sure of it, and her mind began to withdraw; the dark ocean waves taunting her seductively to return to their depths. Cold fingers clenched around her windpipe; sound could not escape her lips, and life left her dark storm-blue eyes, leaving them hollow. A scream lay crushed on the tip of her tongue; thunder cracked and she was back in that dreadful place with the hollow cadavers she’d once called family.
xxxxxxDaedris must have sensed her disdain, and he gently pressed against her mind; “The field of battle is my temple.” His dark, rich voice echoed in the catacombs of his partner’s mind, an anchor for which to draw herself back to the present. “The swordpoint is my priest. The dance of death is your prayer. The killing blow is your release.” Slowly, the fretting ceased and the tight, merciless grip that the carnage in front of her had on her mind…began to evaporate. Sounds that had previously been muted and shoved away came back in full force. The screaming, the roaring, the tearing. Monster and man tearing each other apart. Right…she needed to move. Unsheathing her blade, she just managed to meet the open maw of a two-legged beast. Eden filled that maw with tempered steel, shoving and twisting, blood, bone, and tissue sliding and scraping past the blade as she hit to the skull below. The mad beast was already falling, the corpse being trampled by its comrades as they lunged for the wreckage. Or for a poor soul still inside.

Beasts hurl themselves towards Nox's position. But they immediately pass around her, not noticing her under the shadows of the building, or maybe something was attracting them. She listens closely, hearing voices in the distance. That must be what was attracting them... whatever, not her problem. Nox shrugs and walks away, but a sudden jerk almost throws her onto her butt. She turns and glances at Freyja, who has her teeth sunk into her cape. Where do you think you are going? Freyja asks.
"Away, where else?" Nox asks. Her natural voice a soft and gentle tone. It definitely didn't match her personality. Aren't you going to help!? Freyja asks.
"Why? It's a waste of time and energy. Don't forget, I don't have any money to pay back Stormhunter, I have to steal something tonight" Nox tells Freyja sternly. "Release me!" She commands. Freyja only tugs harder, nearly ripping the fabric in the process. "Fine! Fine!" Nox shouts throwing up her hands in frustration. "But you better help..." She turns around and irritatedly moves towards Icarus and Leo.

Sena had slipped back into a silver lump of cute fur, conserving energy as he rested from his injuries. As Osiris approached, the litter of cats that comprised of the rest of Nyaitsu bunched together hissing and spitting as they blocked the familiar's path towards their valued friend.

Leo's fighting style was... Chaotic to say the least. His movements were unpredictable, akin to a toddler playing around in a play pen, waving his blade around without care as to what the edge bit into. However, his strikes always rang true, carving cleanly through his target that one had to wonder if the boy was simply playing around. "I am a king! And Sena is my knight! Wahaha Inspiration has come!! I have to write it! It's flowing it's flowing, the music is flowing!!" He declared almost dropping his sword to write out the music playing in his mind when Sena's prone form caught his eye again. "Ah, but Sena would just say 'stupid Leo, now's not the time to compose.' Wahaha! But the stupid one here is Sena, sleeping through a fight! Stupid, stupid! Stupid Sena!! Wahaha!!!"

---

The hyena bristled as the small wall of cats appeared in front of him, a guttural growl echoing from his throat. His eyes examined every single one, the dark spheres piercing even beyond their souls and minds; He knew all the secrets the felines held, and knew all too well what they thought of him. He growled again, then turned away, tossing up as much dust as possible towards the cats with his paws. Watching as Icarus waved his flame stick at the four leggers, Osiris started to trot in circles around them gaining speed with silent paws, step after step speeding him up. His ominous laugh began to fill the area, bouncing off of everything, the creatures, the rubble, the shells of buildings around them, echoing like it was a cave. The beasts grew disoriented, striking more at walls now than at the humans, even with Leo incessant blabbering. His laughing was covered for a few moments by the roar of an engine, a motorcycle pulling up to the chaos ensuing. A wolf's snarl joined the laughing, the creatures collecting there now tearing apart piles of rubble with a fury. Icarus turned to see who had dared approach via such a loud mount, then nearly dropped his weapons. His arms fell closer to his sides, his eyes filling with something of a mixture between admiration.... And betrayal. He opened and closed his mouth more than a few times, his mind without words to spill from his face.

The small bad of cats hissed and spat out the dirt that Osiris kicked up, their paws scrubbing away the grime. One of the cats stuck his tiny tongue out at Oasis. If they looked closely, the cat responsible certainly bore a resemblance to Leo... Orange striped fur that was unkept and long, mischievous green eyes. The resemblance was uncanny

---

𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗡 𝗔𝗛𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗚𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗘
AND 𝗗𝗔𝗘𝗗𝗥𝗜𝗦

[ 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥 Female - 𝗟𝗢𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 City Square - 𝗔𝗚𝗘 20 - 𝗧𝗔𝗚𝗦 Icarus/Osiris ]

xxxxxxTime seemed to stop when she saw him. It was almost as if she were back in that hotel, when neither of them kept secrets from each other; when there were no monsters that screeched at night, and no people for Eden to hold at gunpoint. They hadn’t spoken since that night, when she’d pressed a needle in his neck and whispered good night. And at those eyes that stared holes into her mind, brazenly yet seamlessly softer than ice, burned right back, asking a thousand questions while gracing her form. Icarus. A name that she had not contemplated uttering again, a legend from mythology who plunged to his death after grazing the corona of the sun.

*Ezekiel went back outside ready to collect more as he went down going back outside to collect more trash to sell or keep, as he walks down he sees a girl stabbing someone as they whisper something to there ear. He goes to hide quick before she could see him, he didn't want to start a fight now especially one has her*

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