Judal laid down to sleep, overtired. Despite that, though, rest did not come neither quickly nor smoothly. The magi rolled around on his bed, unable to get comfortable. It was loud outside, still, despite being night. Stupid animals…
When sleep did finally wash over himself, it wasn't an easy sleep. He still moved around, mumbling even. Clutching at the sheets, his brows furrowed. Such a weird dream.
A breeze shook the trees, the action itself barely recognizable against the dimly lit sky. Clouds shrouded the stars and moon, the only source of light during the darkest hours, giving off an eerie, foreboding feeling. The forest was deafeningly quiet; the silence itself borderline suffocating. There was nothing, yet there was everything at the same time. There was the scenery, complete with the dark silhouettes of the foliage, the rough terrain of the ground, the wetness of the dew. However, there was only one person, no others, no animals. Just one, solitary person. Him.
He squirmed in his, making weird noises as he slept on. Judal's face contorted in confusion and anxiety, with a tad bit of panic. Isolation.
He sat in a clearing, arms wrapped around his legs as they were drawn to his chest. The chilled air caused him to shiver, a body wracking shiver that left him wanting nothing more to curl up under a blanket. It was pathetic, he deemed, how easily the weather was getting to him. He shouldn't be like this, rather, he should've been trying to get home. But he wasn't and he didn't know why.
He shivered in his sleep, subconsciously hugging the blankets closer.
There was a howl, one, single howl that echoed throughout. He looked up and around, trying to discern the source. The darkness was absolute, though, and the sound itself coming from all directions. Then, there was light. It shown upon his face, blinding him for a second as it slowly came out from behind the cloud. He blinked a few moments; the full moon, it was serene and.. well, beautiful. Another howl brought him back to reality as he almost frantically tried to find out where it was coming from.
A whine came from the back of his throat, a sound that he would deny forevermore if he was ever questioned. Well, he wouldn't have known anyways.
A breeze played with his hair as he traversed through the forest blindly, hands scrabbling at the rough bark of trees to keep himself from tripping over the already strewn brush that his eyes were too blind to see. Thorns cut at his feet, his sides, his face, too; they stung horribly, causing him to wince. He cursed under his breath, rubbing at the cuts. Soon his hands were bloodied; the cuts had been deeper than he thought.
Judal groaned quietly in his sleep, hands rubbing against the sheets as if to rid themselves of the unseen blood.
There was the dark shape of another person, and he almost gasped aloud from elation. Almost. "Who's there?" he called out, mustering up enough courage to do so, but to fill his voice as well. No one else needed to know whether or not he could get frightened. There was no answer. Frowning, he stepped a little closer, determined to find out who was there. The silhouette familiarized and he nearly kicked himself for ever being worried. He should've recognize the ribbons on the headpiece sooner, really. "Oi, Hakuryuu, what are you doing out here?" he inquired, the cockiness already returning to his voice and body language. He stepped forward, but stopped in confusion. It sounded as though the prince has breathing heavily, as if he went through some sort of physical exertion. Not only that, but had Hakuryuu always been that, well, large?
A growl resounded throughout the forest, vibrating in his bones as crimson eyes widened at the thing before him. That was not Hakuryuu, that was a beast. A beast that turned its head to see what was bothering it. He turned to run, but it was already upon him, knocking him down to the ground quickly. He cried out in pain, certain that at the very least his spine had snapped. His breathe came out in short, ragged breaths as the beast lowered itself down upon him, bringing itself closer to his face. Again, he recognized the headpiece, but not only that. There were scraps of clothing on the beast's body that were Hakuryuu's too. A snout found his face, sniffing at it first before a low growl resounded from the back of the throat. A desperate whine escaped from himself as he tried in vain to get away. His limbs lashed about, only to be snapped by the large, paw-like things of the beast, pain shooting throughout his body cried out, unable to keep the demeaning sound back. Another growl was enough to tell him to not try again. That was when he knew that he was not going to get out of this alive.
The beast leaned down, the snout brushing against the side of his neck. It was ticklish, really, but he knew better than to laugh. He did, however, cough, despite desperate attempts to keep quiet. Suddenly, he was flying through the air, pain spreading across the fresh bite wounds in his arm. He smacked against a tree, falling back down to the ground face first with a 'thud'. The beast had flung him, for a simple cough at that! Such audacity.. If it were any other situation, he would've fought back or had made a snide comment, but he knew those would only make the situation worse.
He didn't attempt to move or sit up, simply allowing the beast to approach him. Even if his legs could work, there was no way he could outrun such a thing. Soon the beast was on him, tired of its play as it clasped its jaw full of sharp teeth upon his shoulder. He cried out pathetically, his face full of dirt and grime. Soon he could feel a chunk of his flesh ripped away with no sign of remorse, just hunger. Tears, of all things, leaked from the corners of his kohl-smudged eyes as he wailed. That earned himself a low growl by his ear, but it didn't stop his noises. Air stung his mutilated flesh, already crawling with bacteria. The beast continued to rip away at him, piece after bloody piece, until his back was completely unrecognizable as ever being the back it had been. Yet he was alive, albeit sobbing, but alive. The beast descended onto his arm, ripping the limb from it's socket with one twist of its head. Blood was already pooling around him, his life's essence finally giving him the warmth he had been craving what seemed ages ago. The irony was short lived though, as the beast continued feasting upon his body, leaving the head and heart for last, allowing him to suffer being eaten alive brutally.
Judal shot up with a yelp, a complete mess. Tears had been streaming down his face as he slept, and now he could do nothing about them. Silent sobs wracked his body as he curled up, legs drawn to his chest. He breathed in gasps, attempting to remain quiet.
No one else needed to know.