death won't severe our bond

he sound of rushing water flooded her ears. it roared, screamed, and wailed at her - demanding her attention. and yet, those screams seemed all too familiar. it was also haunting, how the sound of water crumbling down a mountain sounded so similar to the agonizing howls that emanated from her very own jowls.

then her eyes snapped open.

seemingly blooming from a beautiful blue tulip, emerged the princess. her tired body pried itself seamlessly from its cocoon, her groggy eyes rolling over the new landscape. not once did it click that she was in a new domain - let alone that she just *came from a gigantic flower*. all she could think about was him. his face, the way his eyes found her own before he was slaughtered. after that, it was red. red as a blood moon. red as the blood that coursed through her very veins. red as the knot that swallowed her heart as the night replayed in her mind.

it was debilitating, truthfully.

staggering, rhayne groaned as she tried to drown out the sounds of the waterfall. her eyes wielded themselves shut, her body crumbling to the floor as her paws moved to cover her ears.

"*please*," she begged on the brink of tears. "please, stop." her voice was weak, a pleasing whisper.

as if hearing her prayer, the voices that have plagued her since that day eased in the back of mind, settling into a familiar discomfort.

finally able to breathe, rhayne took a moment to take in the scene around her. settled in the heart of what seemed to be a jungle, the princess scoffed in disbelief. "that fucking asshole," she growled. "he must have drugged and ditched me!" the huff that left her lips could curdle even the freshest of milk, she was so annoyed. first she had night terrors, and now this brutish man brought her to some god forsaken island and left her! how did he even *manage* to dump her on an island? ugh! not that it mattered. she would find him, gut him till he saw stars, and then would weave him back together. "freaking idiot."

noticing he didn't even leave her with any herbs, she vowed to beat the man straight when and if she found him.
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 said asshole—or freaking idiot, if she preferred—is finally coming into the reality that this dream was lasting too long to be fictitious. the Wayfarer, henceforth donned kyo, is unable to sleep and took to the cool night to clear both head and body when he stumbled upon the scene.

 large, giant blue flower, as if spawned from nowhere, lay by one of the key’s falls. his eye twitches, ears snapping forward. he knew that voice.

 “are you bitching about me, princess?” if anyone drugged anyone, it would have been her drugging him. tail swats behind him, as kyo strides to her side with cocksure confidence. champagne eyes drift over her. “‘bout time you showed your face.”

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  decadent sky blue eyes shot towards that shrill irritating voice. it grated against her skull like nails upon rocks, so deep and gutteral to the point it made her want to scream. he was this agitating little voice inside her head that she couldn't get out. or rather, wouldn't. he was a friend, a dear, well loved friend, by a man she can no longer remember without tears flooding her eyes. and it was due to that unbreakable bond, that the woman vowed to take care of him. to mend him back to health and ensure he kept living. even if she could care less about him, he was now her last remaining bond to her home and past. wayward, that cheeky and irritating bastard, was all she had left.

  "shut your trap," the princess barked. ebony pupils dilated into slits as her eyes bore into him. "the fuck did you do to land us here? what did you put in my food to be so... so.." rhayne fumbled for her words, her brows etching an emotion of rage mixed with confusion, "so fucking incompetent!" she roared. an invisible aura began to emanate from her slim frame while her eyes darkened, "take me home, now. please." the jungle was beautiful, but she needed to get home. even if home didn't want her anymore. even if she approached her borders, the ones she would one day rule, would slaughter her... she still wanted to go home. home meant her bones being buried next to her lovers.
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 why is it, that every woman he’s run into thus far, decided he was powerful enough to be responsible for this… mess they’re in?

 (isn’t it a paradise, compared to what he’s been in throughout his life so far? no matter how much they run, and see different scenery, before the empire was on their heels—pressing, sending more.)

 and rhayne, their putty to mend, to tempt back to her cush home. all she had to do was throw him under the bus.

 the Wayfarer rolls his eyes: “free folk sure have funny theories.”

 “you really want to go back to that cesspool? and you think i can get you there.” don’t make him laugh.

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  those words. free folk. they sounded so foreign, but so familiar at the same time. it was odd. rhayne was not naive enough to believe wolves would volunteer themselves to the pits. she was fully aware of what and who those wolves were. but it made her uncomfortable. wayward was a free folk now as well, so why would he say such things in such a peculiar connotation.

  taking a moment to blink, the silken woman merely stared at the brute. harsh words, but he wasn't wrong. the man was a lot of things, and a wizard was not one of them. so they got here some other method. had they died? is this some odd version of heaven? in all truthfulness, she never imagined the place to appear as a jungle. the humidity was awful but the scenery was pleasant. beautiful, even. could he be here?

  flashing the man a glowering glare, she released a huff in defiance. "no need to be an asshole," she retorted. no point in arguing with the man, they were here now. "where are we, exactly? visiting a jungle was not on my schedule." wayward probably had no idea, but he seemed to have awoken earlier than she did. surely she could assume he's met another, or figured something out. but it also wouldn't surprise her if he doesnt understand context clues.
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 it’s like she just keeps throwing kindling on an open flame.

 “you come out swinging at me, but i’m the asshole?” he snaps, temper flaring; oh how tolerant he has been, lately, that it’s piled and part of it is taking it out on her. “don’t you fuckin’ think, if i had this secret power to teleport us somewhere,”

 “that i would’ve used it long before? you think i wanted to be stuck there, killin’ my friends, and watch you two play this game of fuckin’... pretend house in secret, only to go along with his stupid idea to escape—” do you really think he would’ve let him die like that if he could portal him away? she already blames you for him dying.

 “fuck.” the Wayfarer spits to the side, exhaling into the night air with gritted teeth. his inhale is slow, steadying. “this is niawaki key. i woke up here a few days ago on the beach. someone else was with me. the empire isn’t near here. no idea how far out we are, but no one’s heard of rothskel.”

 “i’m stayin’ here with them. we agreed to be partners ‘til this situation’s figured out. i ain’t lettin’ anyone else hold me down. are you in?”

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