Home sweet Home [open]

[INDUZO]

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[atrb=background,http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/z426/kerikins06/sepherobg.jpg] Directionless raindrops filtered their way from the slate stained and impressionable face of the sky. Tumbling amongst one another to an inevitable fate. Colliding into the unforgiving surface of the dilapidated and decaying abandoned testing facility. Slivers of gnarled and twisted metal jutted rebelliously from the sunken soil, gleaming in caught moonlight like jewelry embedded along the grooves of the ugly earth. Each porous cloud shuffled alongside one another, a dreary march displayed as entertainment to the suffering observing creatures beneath it. Toiling here amongst all man-made broken and unwanted things resided Sephero. A ghastly spectacle, scarcely recognizable by even himself anymore. Prone to avoiding reflective surfaces, tormented by his own inevitable fate much like the plummeting rainfall. Each droplet collided against the wiry contents of his coat. An array of melded cobalt’s and silvers infused with one another to produce the equally doleful stain of his fur. It’s straggling individual hairs grouping with one another, rain serving as a natural adhesive that laminated them against his frame. Spindle like limbs crawling upwards from the turf, serving as pillars to support his abnormally long torso. The unusual trait of his hue-less eyes, brash in their appearance and quite distracting against his otherwise dark figure. A lackluster uninhabited look to them glazed with the deceased film most decaying creatures adorn. A haunting sense was poised about him. Looking as abominable as any unsavory cursed creature could manage. Uncanny and spectral, the simple presence of him unsettled most. He felt himself fit for the location, a tampered with subject from humanity, cast aside after it had outlived it’s purpose. Nearly unrecognizable as many of the mangled metal heaps and tumbling concrete walls, no longer graced with the valor and splendor of his previous form, the way nature had intended him prior to being seized by humans. It was here he made lair, festering amongst the open eye sore of the abandoned testing facility, the location that served like social leprosy. Despite the lack of human presence, their existence was evident in all such destruction left behind in their wake. Sephero was merely another hindered soul to count among the thousands of corrupted victims of humanity. At times he succumbed to a near comatose asinine state, inwardly holding hope he would be pitied and the virus would dissolve his very existence. It wore on him endlessly, infused in his blood, altering his physical appearance and disestablishing his sense of identity. Having been entangled in his own personal limbo, snared between life and death having experienced both and won no permanent place on either side. The unsavory scent of waste wreathed it’s way into the overly sensitive moist nasal passages of his snout. Though it caused no reaction, his increased senses and physical ability though useful frequently did not seem worth the price paid to achieve them. His mind was swollen with partial hysteria, though outwardly aside from his abhorrent appearance he seemed relatively intact. He could easily display a reasonable personality, one capable of adapting in a social scene if it were to his benefit. Though the unsettling presence of him seemed to devote others quickly into passing him by. The barren surroundings only seemed to magnify his situation. He felt he’d found refuge here, where so many of kind had originated. Back when these walls held substance, and symbolized utter torment and demise. Huddled among what was still standing of the vacant structure, now safely avoiding the downpour that had consumed the region. Succumbing to the shadows, remaining a mere shadow amongst the wreckage, for now. This was home sweet home.

[elvira]

---

Elvira had been wandering for hours among the desolate lands that surrounded the old nuclear testing lab. It was the very place the R114 virus had been injected into her veins, the very place that it had been set free to cause the destruction of mankind. It mingled with her crimson blood; it tainted her, it destroyed what was once her stable heart. She felt as if she'd lost a piece of her soul here; that it would forever be embedded in the rotting, abandoned walls of the testing facility. It was something she knew she could never get back, though she tried so many times before. She couldn't deny her attempts to forget the memories that haunted her every nightmare, that caused her to choke back sobs in her sleep. As much as she'd like to believe that those days were gone, that they were simply a scar on the tale of her history, they were still very much alive. They thrived in the minds of the infected, the ones who had lost pieces of their own souls to impertinent human hands. She knew she wasn't standing alone against the demons of her past, but she couldn't help the overwhelming feeling that she had been hopelessly lost. Tainted. Forgotten.

As she stood, motionless in the pouring rain, her glowing blue irises drifted over the ruins of the barren lab. The pernicious, starved memories stirred in the back of her mind; aggravated by the sight of the crumbling walls. It was as if a sleeping monster had been carelessly prodded; yet it did not fully wake. Then, as if on cue, thunder clapped overhead; voracious and hungry. It sounded as though it wanted to devour all the poor souls who dared to be caught out in such a bloodthirsty storm. Elvira wanted to take shelter underneath the protective roof of the forsaken lab; yet, she felt a lingering fear toward her miserable nightmare. She decided to weigh her options as another growl of thunder warned innocent bystanders of the storms great power. She made her decision wisely.

It took all her strength to take the first step toward her own personal hell, the place she'd spent most of her life. The unforgiving rain battered her body as she moved quietly toward a large hole in the side of one of the walls; the one she'd been eyeing since she realized where she was. But, as she was about to approach the safety of the decaying roof, she realized that she wasn't alone. There was another dog, who had been concealed inside the shadows of the lab. He looked... unstable, as if he could give in to insanity at any moment. His prominent hue-less eyes stared out at the storm indifferently; his wiry gray coat recently wet from the tumbling drops of rain.

Elvira felt a bit apprehensive about approaching him. He didn't seem like the type who'd prefer to indulge in conversation, much less enjoy the company of others. She slowed her pace as she watched the unwavering male for a moment. Perhaps... perhaps he wasn't what he seemed. What if he had a completely different personality? What if his appearance had nothing to do with the way he acted? After all... you can never judge a book by it's cover. Still, her feeling of danger pushed her to believe that this dog wasn't safe to be around, that he'd attack her the second he got the chance. Elvira fought with herself for the brief moment she had before she found herself standing a few feet away from the male's stony figure. She forced herself to speak, her voice coming out as a mere whisper, "Hello?"

---

[INDUZO]

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[atrb=background,http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/z426/kerikins06/sepherobg.jpg] The calamity of thunder turned the acoustics of the decaying facility into deafening ones. The vibrations radiated throughout the dilapidated walls, threatening to crumble the staggered stacks of brick and cement. Each thunderous blow unsettled a little grime from the roofing, filtering it’s way down in sheets of fuzzy dust particles. As a fresh curtain of dislodged grime floated directionless to the barren floor, an unfamiliar tone hissed it’s ways into the flaccid triangular lobes of the beast. His form ceasing it’s trembles, freezing instinctively as senses demanded attention. Dreary face turned mechanically to asses where the tones had derived from. Amongst the delirious swirls of maroon and lime green that currently served as walls in his tortured and manipulated sight came the pristine form of a very realistic looking canine. She seemed capable of waltzing her way through his hysteria and hallucinations without altering her form in the least. The focus on her reasonable lines and contours eventually began to settle the world around him back into reality. Slowly walls and sky began to regain their former shapes and colors. Until the last mind bending shade of maroon faded into the realistic murky grey’s of the facility. Feverish blinks of disbelief consumed his churning hueless orbs, until eventually they settled upon her again. A simper slowly melted away the indifferent expression on his facial features. His weary hunched over posture transformed into a more appropriate stance. Raising his dome, the haunting wisps of his fur still dispersing a sense of unnerve. That simper, that crooked and fragile grin seemed to teeter and balance with great difficulty against his inky labrums. Taking a moment to remember the keys of his vocals, he sidestepped his position to create more room should the other care to occupy it. Providing a shelter optional for two instead of one, possibly even three had it not been for his breed’s abnormally large size. ”Oh, Hello dear. Come out of the rain, won‘t you?,” he uttered in a tone that mismatched his appearance. It was smooth and riddled with confidence. Though that made him all the more maddening overall.

[SUMMERRAIN]

Rain. One of the few things that made this young basenji smile. Shizuko stood under the rain, her head turned upwards. Unlike most of the canines here, she had been born with the virus in her bloodline. Her mother had been infected, the disease slowly destroying her from within. Because of her father's uninfected bloodline, Shizuko had a very small chance of the virus stealing her life before an old age.

Her companion, Akane, stood underneath her, attempting to keep her red pelt dry. "Can I go back inside?" Akane asks. Shizuko looks down and rolls her eyes at Akane, a way of saying yes. Akane smiles and brushes against Shizuko's leg. Shizuko nuzzles her companion before Akane takes shelter under a piece of rusting metal sticking at a perfect angle for her out of the ground. She would be close enough to get back to Shizuko if any other canines started speaking to her, but not close enough to be seen before revealing herself.

Despite this killing-healing virus in her blood, Shizuko had been born mute. Basenji are barkless, but she had been unable to make the yodle-like howl unique to her breed. Akane, a red panda, also an unusual sight around here, served as a constant translator for Shizuko's way of speaking. No others had ever understood Shizuko like Akane before, not even shizuko's mother, who had come very close before her body succumbed to the virus.

Shizuko sees the other two kept in this place, but does nothing to move closer. If they wanted to speak with her, they could come to her themselves. Akane's eyes follow the direction of Shizuko's gaze. Akane slinks back out and stands beside Shizuko this time.

[elvira]

---

As the persistent raindrops fell upon Elvira's tan coat, she watched the unwavering male. He seemed to ignore her at first, although his haunting eyes stared straight at her docile figure. She shifted uneasily, her bright blue irises staring back into his. She couldn't see any emotion, any kind of hint that indicated he had heard her, in his vacant eyes. They were an unsettling, ghastly feature on his otherwise dark face. Yet, her fear began to dwindle. It was as if the rain had begun to wash it away, like the dirt on her luxurious fur. Her ears fell forward and she raised her head slightly in response; her uneasy appearance melting away.

She watched as the male began to blink in disorientation, as if he couldn't believe that she was standing before him. His spine, which was hunched over a few moments ago, straightened; his inky dome raising as if her words had barely registered in his mind. A grin, which was fragile and slow, crawled across his somber features; before he side-stepped to create room for Elvira. She blinked in response, confusion riddling her own features. Then, he spoke. "Oh, Hello dear. Come out of the rain, won‘t you?"

He sounded level-headed, stable. His voice was in stark contrast against his otherwise precarious figure. Elvira, who had pushed her sense of insecurity away, stepped into the safety of the building. She turned to face the barren landscape as she sat down; her tan fur dripping with rain water. She stared silently out at the unforgiving storm for a brief moment, before she turned slightly to gaze at the ebony male. "Thank you," she smiled in reply to his previous comment, her pearly white canines glimmering warmly; despite the shadows that surrounded the two. "My name is Elvira."

---

[INDUZO]

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[atrb=background,http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/z426/kerikins06/sepherobg.jpg] The demented beast retained his poise. Alabaster gaze drifting out past the pristine female, watching the last fluid bits of maroon and green swirls detach themselves from his scenery and disintegrate before his warped eyes. His unhinged simper remained teetering along his labrums. His newly acquired companion was a sharp contrast to his own appearance. Her refined conditioned illuminated the beauty of her canine features. She seemed far less imprudent then himself. It wasn’t long before another creature ambled it’s way from the beyond. Revealing itself at quite a distance and making no motion to approach. That was odd, yet understandable, if the other was not infected like the pair beneath the shelter of the tumbling facility it would be instinctive for it to keep it’s distance from them. His attention was diverted back to the female before him. No suspicion seemed fervent in his thoughts, instead he was quite pleased at this new discovery. Uncertain why her appearance calmed his hysteria, but he welcomed the relief all the same. Sephero was half tempted to thank her, to show gratitude from taking away all the psychedelics of his deranged visions. However that could prove to be most unwise should she take offense to it, or become frightened. Which the blabbering thank you’s of a delirious large infected canine didn’t seem so unreasonably frightening. Instead he attempted to keep his trembling idle, and resonated his vocals in retort to her statements ”Of course, lovely name..,” he became lost in thought for a moment. Riddled with curiosity and intrigue at what specifically caused this phenomenon of eliminating his illusions. ”Sephero,” he stated in a tone that undoubtedly suggested this was indeed his calling. ”You are unique?,” he inquired, this would be taken as an inquiry on whether or not she was indeed infected, as he was actually referring to the miraculous ability to uncloud his judgment this fae seemed to posses. Gaze shuffling unsteadily back towards the apprehensive female in the distance. Pushing his oversized figure further into the unreliable wall of the facility. He’d created just a little more room in the makeshift shelter. A timid and partial whine uttered out towards the mute female. He needed to words to make his offer apparent to her. There was always room for one more, right?

[SUMMERRAIN]

Another blast of thunder makes Shizuko jump. She begins moving closer, then picks up her pace to a run when the rain begins pelting her. She ducks under an overhang next to the other two, then shakes her pelt free of excess water, unsure if she accidentally splashed the other two canines. Akane does the same, on a smaller scale. Shizuko watches the others, a male and a female, wondering if they will make a move toward her.

"Can we wait here until the storm blows over?" Akane asks. Shizuko smiles and nods. "Good. I hate getting wet." Akane shakes her pelt again, spraying Shizuko. Shizuko gently swats at Akane with a paw, but playfully so. Akane's laughter bubbles up from inside.

A flash of lightning lights up the scene, swathing the female Basenji and young red panda in light. The dog's pelt is a light fawn and white patern unique to Basenji. Her hazel eyes are full of emotion, mainly joy at having her only friend so close in the storm. The red panda, rare in these parts, is licking at her pelt. Her red-ringed tail swishes back and forth on the ground. She looks up at the Basenji with loving eyes. The bond between them is obvious, yet mysterious at the same time.