Chapter 9: Mercy On My Soul...
The four brothers drudged through mud, staining their footwear with stained grass and soaked earth, growing more and more slipper as the rain slathered the ground, and the stars above were smothered by cloud, invisible thanks to the darkness. At some point they were forced to pull out flashlights to help guide themselves with trotting throughout the dark, with the covered moonlight helping them as they moved along through the forest.
The storm came out of nowhere, fast, and made itself know with a blast as one of the trees near them was struck by a bolt of lightning, jolting them as they watched the burning bark was culled by the rain that ensued. After that that encounter with a brush of death, the brothers of Disown kept on marching, with Russel, Dove, and Sky having donned some ponchos of their own. Despite being of a lower quality than Cardin's own poncho, they were still suitable for protecting them from the moderate rainfall.
"This is such fucking shit- screw you, Cardin!"
"What? What the hell did I do?!" Cardin inquired, speaking with a loud tone, just so he can be heard by Sky over the roaring wind and the bellowing of branches, while the four brothers kept on forcing themselves through the storm.
"You were born as a fucking freak, Cardin! If you weren't born with that fucking semblance of yours, we wouldn't be out here to begin with!"
"Okay, Sky, first of all, it's not a semblance you dumbass! It's my blessings! And second, shut the fuck up! You're calling me a freak?! Look at yourself Sky! You're a fucking mess of a human being- Hell, you're not even human anymore, are ya? You're just a sick pervert who enjoys getting his balls kicked by women!"
Sky shoved Cardin in response for chastising him, watching as Cardin stumbled forward a bit, watching him as he slipped and fell face-first into the mud. Lark would continue on with laughing while Cardin pushed himself up, grabbing his flashlight and wiped the grimy ground off of his face, after which he soon turned around to strike his brother's face with the butt of his flashlight, breaking something- Cardin could tell what it was until he flipped his light to point at a now fallen Lark, seeing that he had managed to break his left orbital and knock his left eye out of its socket; it was enough to make Cardin cringe, though he knew there was no need to panic.
"Ohhhh f-fuck! Come one you son of a-"
Russel came in to interrupt the injured Lark, scolding him when he said, "-Sky, shut up! Just put it back in let your semblance deal with it. We need to get where Cardin does his shit before the storm gets any worst!" Sky of course did not take to kindly to being deprived of any pleasure he may have gotten. He went and shoved his eye back into his socket, slightly moaning as he did so. The bluenette kept his hand on his injury while grabbing his flashlight, resuming to catch up with his brothers soon after.
The four students remained silent for three or four minutes to pass by, more than enough time for Sky's wound to heal. CRDL found it becoming more and more of a chore just to raise their feet up to take up from the weak forest floor just to take a step. As it became as such, the wind grew more in a blast of howling, filling their ears while the rain- much to their chagrin- worsen in ferocity, but thankfully barely.
Occasionally, the four brother would bare witness to a bright, silent flash in the sky, creating an immense wave of shadows down onto the surface, before being met with the distant rolling of thunder, none of which being as loud as the first strike that ignited the tree.
"... So, who are you guys going to ask out for that prom?"
"What?!" Cardin shouted, finding it now being more difficult to hear anyone's voice.
"I said: are any of you guys asking anybody for that prom shit? You know, for the Vytal Festival?"
"Shit, I don't know, it doesn't that fun to start with, ya know, having to fucking dance and all. I don't wanna fucking dance all night."
"Cardin you imbecile," Russel started, "you don't have to dance there all night! You can just go there and hang out if you want. They'll have food there and drinks for the students."
"And how the hell do you know that? We were all fucking home schooled, remembered?" Thrush's leader shot inquired, crunching a branch beneath his foot right after asking the question.
"I asked Yang about it." Russel got an "Oh" from Cardin, nodding his hooded head, the rain pelting the black leather and rolling down his poncho.
"... So none of you are asking anyone out?"
"Dove, I don't fucking know- we don't even have any fancy clothes to wear to it. I may have a fucking turtle neck, but that's about it."
Sky replied to Cardin, loudly doing so, saying, "We have a fucking ton of lien, Cardin! We can probably get some swanky-looking suits to wear."
"Yeah, well... then if we buy some suits, then who the hell is gonna go with us to that dance?" Silence was all that the Winchester got from his brothers, prompting him to continue on. "The last time I checked, we're still hated by everyone at Beacon. There isn't a fucking day that goes by where we go through without being the victim of a microaggression."
"Fuckin' microaggressions." Sky repeated, spitting saliva onto the mud to show hatred for microaggressions. Everyone knew he did not care about microaggressions though, just like the rest of them; the brothers just enjoyed treated the whole concept as a joke. Though they could not deny that they themselves do suffer from microaggressions everyday in Beacon. It even happens when they just go into Vale, though it is usually due to their appearances in general.
"... I'd as Blake out."
"What?" Russel shouted, hearing the Dove's voice to be deafened by a sudden, powerful gust of wind.
"I said that I'd ask Blake out!"
Immediately, the statement was met with criticism, coming from Cardin. "Are you mental? Blake? That arrogant little bitch? Why do you want to ask her out?"
"Oh, I don't know, why does any man ask a woman out?" Another flash came, another boom followed.
"What? Yeah, I'll admit that she looks nice for a faunus, hell she's pretty enough for me to hate-fuck, and she's smart, I guess, but that's about it. But you? First of all, I'd like to remind you that she's really not a friend, or even a fucking acquaintance of ours. Blake probably is the only one from RWBY that hates us the most, so why the hell do you think she'll want to got anywhere with you in general?"
"Cardin, why would she hate me?! You're the one who terrorized faunus here for some time now! You're the one who'll attack a person just for looking at you funny! It's YOU who she hates Cardin! It's-"
"-That's fucking whore shit, Dove! God you're fucking retarded, aren't you?! Don't you know how society works today? Don't you know that it doesn't matter if you're the one who doesn't bully people, who doesn't make fun of people for their flaws, who doesn't have radical beliefs." They left the dense thicket, exposing themselves out in a small field, with the side of a cliff not to far from them. "Dove, you're my brother. Those degenerates at Beacon may not know that, but they fucking know you associate with me a lot. Because of that, Dove, people like Blake are gonna see you as having the same attitude as mine. They assume you share my beliefs, my values, my feelings, and they'll keep on believing that through out their whole life without ever talking to you!"
Dove stayed quiet as they kept on walking, nearing towards the cliff's wall with every step, a process that was severely slowed, a curse thanks to the ever growing storm.
"... I'd probably ask Weiss out for the dance, honestly."
Now it was Russel's turn for ridicule, starting with Cardin responding, "Are you fucking kidding me? Didn't you hear a word I said?! She'd fucking reject you in a heartbeat! Why the hell would you even ask her to go to the dance with her?"
"... Heh- well, she is the heiress of that dust company, isn't she? If I can manage to to steal her heart, Cardin, then I can get access to unlimited dust."
"... Fair enough. See, Dove, Russ knows where it is at." The sky flashed again, booming as it set a lit to the scene before them: a gargantuan, gaping cave entrance in the wall of the cliff, about as tall as five or six-story building, and sitting in wait, up against the cliff side, were the familiar shapes of Grimm, crawling among one another, and their red eyes all directed in CRDL's direction.
But yet, none were scared, none of them started to fret. Instead, Russel continued on talking. "Yeah... well, Cardin, what you said earlier... I get it. You are right about that shit, and there's definitely people in Beacon who are like that. But not all of them imprint your beliefs and actions onto us, Cardin. You're not giving people enough credit for not being sheep, okay? Not every student thinks that way."
"Yeah, well," the wall of the cliff was only a few meters away now, and the grim, silent, all started to swarm towards Cardin; he always saw them as a black wave with red and white fish, "... Shit, I don't know, whatever. This is where I go to bless."
The first cracking of thunder in the sky was what pulled Velvet out of her unconscious state, stirring as her eyelids flutters and rabbit ears twitched with the cold pelts of droplets hitting her. She groaned when a throb started to beat within her head, bringing up her hand to feel a welt swelling, poking it and pulling away immediately when it retaliated with pain.
Just as soon as she pulled away, Velvet realized how soaked she had become ever since Cardin knocked her out. She quickly got up while curing, examining herself to find her entire figure to be drenched. The faunus, not bothering to look around to see with CRDL was nearly, made for a beeline towards the amphitheater, ignoring the throbbing getting worse with every step as she ran for shelter from the sudden storm.
Once having reached her destination, Velvet practically slammed her body into the doors to open them, finding the corridor to be empty while she gently panted, shivering from her damp, cold uniform, holding her arms to her side and rubbing herself for warmth.
She moaned, "Fucking Cardin," as she traversed the halls of the empty building, feeling the pang in her head soften just as she started to move at a snail's pace. "I'm going to... gah- damnit, screw that jackass." She clenched her teeth in ire, wishing Cardin was near her vicinity for the faunus to punish. Even though she realized that this was a part of her own fault; had Velvet not decide to go and follow CRDL, then she would in her own dorm room right now, finding warmth and comfort under her own blankets.
But no, she just had to follow them, and Cardin just somehow, beyond Velvet's comprehension, caught sight of her, and managed to get the jump on her. That fact probably bother her the most, that Cardin was able to catch her by surprise. It damaged her pride a bit, seeing herself being pathetic for letting a scumbag like Cardin dispose of her so easily. Even though she never took pride in her own capabilities over others, the feeling of being bested by a bigot like him just made Velvet broil.
However, she felt more fury towards the fact that Cardin and his ghouls left her there outside at the mercy of the elements, rather than taking her inside; she absolutely loathed the rain. Albeit Velvet did not expect anyone from CRDL would care about her own well-being to begin with.
Eventually, the bunny faunus came upon the amphitheater's exit, clenching her fists in spite, wishing she had at least a newspaper of sort to hold over her head. velvet would again take Cardin's name in vein before pushing the doors open, going out in another sprint into the empty, puddle-filled streets of Beacon campus, feeling the blowing winds blast her face and the rain soak her already drenched uniform, her grit helping with tolerating the throbbing growing worst the longer she ran. The occasional flash in the sky would light up the Gothic nature of Beacon's architecture before her eyes, casting down sharp and menacing shadows down on the pavement her feet stepped on.
It took about two or three minutes for her to reach the building home to her team's dorm room, gently smiling as she rammed the doors open with her shoulder, against being met with the lacking presence of individuals. Her clothing dripped water onto the white, smooth floor of the building, their sound only being muffled by the panting of the faunus, along with another boom of thunder off in the distance, which itself was deafened thanks to Velvet taking time to catch her breath within the comforts of the dorm building.
She would soon resume her journey back to her room, her teeth chattering to create echoes to travel through the corridors, her drenched, long brown hair reflecting the lights as it waved with every step she took, squeaking while she did as so. She climbed the stairway until she reached the third floor, still dripping a bit when she finally approached the door to CFVY's room. Velvet would proceed to unlock the door, entering to be immediately confronted by a concerned Coco, pouncing on her like a mother who had just found their missing child.
"Oh my God, Velvet! Where the hell were you? It's already 11:30 and- what is that?" Her leader stopped herself to point out the bump on Velvet's forehead, who only gave Coco a deadpan look, obviously not wanting to deal with her as of this moment.
"... Coco, can you just let me get my pajamas on first?" The faunus asked, exasperated as she lifted her arm up to show how soaked she was.
Her leader, taking a second, would reply with, "Yes," while nodding her head. Velvet would walk pass her, seeing Yatsuhashi and Fox were sitting on their beds while she retrieved a red and pink-striped pair of soft pajamas and a plain white t-shirt. Velvet would go one with entering the room's bathroom, changing in there and coming out in her sleep-wear, proceeding to go and fall onto her bed, falling face-first into her pillow.
"... Velvet?"
"What, Fox?"
"Are you gonna tell us what happened?"
"Gah... yeah... Cardin happened." Her teammates stayed quiet, letting the rain pounding on the window glass fill volume for the room while Coco, staring at Velvet, grimaced a bit, clenching her hands from hearing his name.
She would ask, "What did he do?" in a stern tone, trying her best not to stutter.
And Velvet would answer with, "He... well, I was following him and his team, trying to stay behind as far as I could from them, but-"
"-Why were you following them?" The hulking Yatsuhashi would cut her off, finding it peculiar to hear that his own teammate was following CRDL.
"... At first... at first I just noticed his teammates, they were all carrying camping gear, like as if they were heading into the forest. Of course that dangerous, and even though I may not like them a bit, I still didn't want to see them go out there in such a dangerous environment. But... I just wanted to make sure that they were definitely going into Emerald, so I... stalked them, for a bit, until they stopped in front of the amphitheater, meeting up with Cardin while I hid behind one of those pillars out there. But..."
"..."
"... I guess... I don't know how, but... they must have noticed me following them, or maybe somehow Cardin actually saw me, because he would... he just managed to sneak-up on me, actually, and just knock me out. They then, I guess, left me out there, until I woke up from the thunder..."
"..."
"... So you didn't see where they went, exactly?"
Velvet replied to her leader with a, "No, I didn't. I know I didn't search around, because I didn't want stay out in the storm, but... it was around dinner time when I started following them. So if it's already eleven, then they would have definitely gone to where they were going..."
"I see..." Coco trailed off, quietly blowing air out of her nostrils while Fox asked Velvet if she was alright, which she answered with a "yes." Their leader's mind would just go off into an irate, yet confused train-of-thoughts, sitting herself down as her teammates went on with conversing with one another...
"Goddamn, it's all going to fucking shit!" Dove shouted at the top of his lungs, sitting on top of his sleeping bag at the mouth of the cave, alongside Sky and Russel as they watched the forest weave and ho from the monstrous wind, seemingly about to fall from an overwhelming force, while the rain took an immense turn for the worst, striking the ground with a mighty wave of droplets that were capable of knocking off leafs. The thunder was however the strongest of all of it, always clapping and breaking sound right over where CRDL were currently residing at the time, sounding like weapons of mass destruction going off right over their heads.
"Yeah! I don't fucking think I can sleep with all this fucking noise!" Sky commented, with an average creep coming from behind and walking pass him, eyes now golden. It shared a look before him, staring at him for a bit until he asked, "What are you looking at?" It wouldn't say a word for a few seconds either, it just stared at him until it went outside into the storm and ran off into the forest, disappearing within the thicket.
"Great job Sky, you scared it away. It probably wanted to sleep here with us."
"Dove, they've all been fucking leaving and going into the forest, so I'm pretty sure they have homes of their own in the forest."
Dove, who had been looking at Lark, brought his gaze down to the cave floor, then back to the outside, watching as the storm attacked all before them. "... You never told us who you would take to the dance, Sky."
"What?!"
"Gah- you never told us who you would take to the dance, Sky!"
"Oh, well, Idon't know," the twisted halberdier bit his bottom lip as he stared out into the soaked canopy of Emerald, "... fuck it, Yang."
Russel would simply ask, "Really?"
"Yeah, I'd... I'd go with Yang."
"Why?"
Sky blew a bored raspberry, thinking up his response for Dove, "... Hell, she's got rockin' tits, that's why." In response, Russel clapped, happy to here that Sky was still a man who only cared for looks. "Fuck off, Jerky boy, you said you would take Weiss to the dance just so you can try to get a connection to free dust!"
"Pfft, Sky, that was a fucking joke... I mean it'd be a positive in having a relationship with her, but there's... still other things Weiss that I like."
"Like how she's a fucking mega-bitch?"
"... That's actually kind of turn for me, really."
"Oh." Three little boarbatusks, no longer than two feet, eyes glowing in gold, scurried pass the three brothers, off into the storm.
"... Well, what about you? Do you only want to take Yang to the dance because of her voluptuous tits? That seems like a waste of time to be honest."
A flash and a booms later, Sky would answer Dove. "... Honestly? Well... it's not that Yang is my only choice, actually, it's more that... I feel like I, or any of us, have more of a chance of going to the dance with anyone from RWBY in general, because... I don't know, it just seems like Cardin, despite what he thinks, actually managed to get a few people to see that he's trying to control himself. He hasn't bullied anyone... well, he has scuffled with a few people still- but he hasn't wronged anyone from RWBY or JNPR for awhile now. Along with him tutoring Yang, and Ruby talking with him a bit now too, I just feel like RWBY are seeing his behavior improve, so..." Sky dropped off, thinking, "... yeah, I choose Yang because I think anyone from RWBY are the only ones who we have a chance at taking to the dance."
"..."
"... Hm, that's good reasoning, coming from you at least." Dove shook his head in agreement with Russel, but Lark took offense to that, becoming agitated that one of the most honest responses he had ever given in his life is seen as a joke from Russel. "I mean, it's a little far-fetched, but-"
"-You told Cardin to give people a little credit for when it comes to seeing the good in others or some shit like that! So why the hell do you think my reasoning is a little far-fetched?" Russel looked back at Dove, whom in turn looked back at him, and both would only snicker at Sky's outrage. The Lark would end up frothing at the mouth as a beowolf came from within the cave's interior, walking pass while staring over at the three with gold orbs, before going out into the rain.
"All right guys! I'm all fuck-ing done!" Just as it had left, Cardin followed it from behind, stretching his shoulders and lumbering towards the free sleeping bag next to Dove, sitting his rump down on it, groaning. "You three been taking care well?"
"Yeah," Dove started, "we've been fine. Just talking about stupid shit, that's all."
"Yeah, I was able to hear you guys from back there. Sky, your reasoning is shit, even if it is true, you're a fucking lunatic to think Yang would want to go to the dance with a scarred mongrel like you."
"Fuck off, you fat cunt! You think it'd be any easier for you to get a fuck date yourself?!"
"Well," Cardin's lips curled into a smug little expression, shrugging his shoulders before continuing on, "I mean, no offense to any of you guys, but... I'm pretty sure I'm the most desired out of any of us. I'm tall, I got muscles, and, unlike you guys, my face is... is pretty good. It's at least smoother than yours, Sky."
"Yeah? Smoother? Sure, whatever. But muscles? The fuck are you talking about? You're a fat bastard, Cardin."
"Sky, just because my... abs aren't well defined, doesn't mean I'm fat."
"Keep on denying that, meat planet.
"... What?" The chaotic storm washed over the victimized-forest with light, and bellowed once more, creating a sense of vibration within the four brothers; for a second, Cardin thought he had seen someone watching them from within the brush.
"Hey, who'd you take to the dance, Cardin?"
The Winchester looked at Dove for a second, before his eyes slowly started to shift over to the outside, beholding a dead stare as he pondered, the image of Coco popping up in his head. "... Well, fuck what I said earlier then, I guess..."
"..."
"... I don't know, there isn't anyone I can... think of anyone to take."
"What about... Ruby?"
"Ruby?" Cardin glanced over at Dove. "Why Ruby?"
"I mean... I'm only suggesting that because apparently each of us would take Blake, Weiss and Yang, so why not have our leaders go with each other?"
Cardin started nodding his head, "Ah, I get it, we could make it like a team... date, thing. All each of us go to the dance with a girl from RWBY, I can see it now."
"Yeah, it'll be a quadruple date!"
"... Yeah, but in all seriousness..."
"...What?" Cardin stared out into the forest, pondering about the idea of taking Ruby to the dance. Did he even want to go to the dance? Not really, he would rather just come back here that night and keep on doing what he's been doing. But if he were to go, should he take Ruby? What about Coco? He knows now that CFVY's leader has developed some sort of twisted feelings for him, she would- in his mind- be the only girl who would go to the dance with him. but Cardin did not want to dismiss Ruby entirely. Cardin has noticed her warming up to him, despite what him kidnapping her at one point, but even then, he has not really interacted with her enough to confidently believe she would say yes to him.
In a moment, he was snapped out of his mind to hear, once more, the bright flash of thunder and bellowing, brightening the forest to the point that Cardin, again, caught sight of the figure he saw earlier, now closer to confirm their presence.
He growled in irritation, quickly getting up on his feet, grabbing his flashlight and pulling his hood up. "There's someone out there."
"What? Are you sure?" Cardin walked out of the cave, not too far from its mouth, lighting up his torch to blast away the dark, reflecting off each droplet to create a white, moving wall of rain before him as it attacked his poncho.
"Yes, I'm positive," he brought his beam to his left, "it was there. They definitely had the body of a person, standing behind the brush." The flashlight was unable to reach the desired area, prompting him to move closer to move closer to the forest, pulling his muddied greaves up one at a time. His brothers would end up pulling their hoods up and grabbing their own flashlights before going out follow to Cardin, their beams of light following his beam as the storm's rage grew worst somehow, getting to the point where the wind was strong enough to make Cardin waver as he walked.
The four ruffians eventually reached the point where their flashlights started to touch the trees, moaning, the leafs, rustling, and the bushes, shivering. Each one started to spread, Cardin staying where he was, Russel going further down the right, Sky going left of his leader, and Dove following him as well. Their hearts knocked their ribs, one becoming more and more hard than the last, as the lights shone upon the forest revealed no one in sight as they searched, building anxiety, their breathing grew heavy, their grips around their flashlights loosened, barely from the rain as the muddled their way through the grass.
"Come on you fucker." Cardin grumbled as his flashlight pierced deep into Emerald's interior, slowly straying his hand, his teeth clenching as he waited to see a face, an arm, a leg, anything to confirm someone is watching them. Curse God if they had ran away already, for it would have all sorts of consequences for him and his brothers. He prayed for it to just be one person, for in his mind, they would have a difficult time trying to convince anyone about their gathering here with the word of a single person.
But then again, if they were to confront Ozpin about this, then things would be different. Ozpin could end up tightening security on campus at night, just to catch Cardin himself as he'd sneak away into the forest,
"CARDIN! I ain't finding anything!" He heard Russel, shouting at the top of his lungs from where he stood.
"OKAY! Let's just..." Russel watched Cardin as he stopped in his tracks, his flashlight beam piercing into the forest, shining upon, "...Coco?!" Just as her name left his lips, she turned and ran, heading deep into Emerald.
"WAIT!"
"Shit- CARDIN!" Russel broke into a pathetic attempt of a sprint through the thick, slimy mud, nearly pissing himself into a rage as he watched Cardin run into the forest, just as Sky and Dove turned around to see him do as such.
"Oh shit!"
"CARDIN, WAIT UP!"
Could it be her? Why is Coco here? Cardin mind entered into an unstoppable stream of thought while he managed his pace throughout the woods, panting from the exertion in his knees, feeling the cold wind clam his face with rain, meanwhile, he barely kept a line of sight on Coco's figure. Her outline falling victim to the splashing, reflecting what little light from the moon was able to pierce through the small, changing spaces between each leaf.
"COCO! HOLD ON!" How could she know they were in the forest? Was it possible that Velvet had waken up and told her leader of what she saw? And whatever the answer was, then how was Coco able to track him down to the cave? It all seemed impossible; this should not be happening at all.
"It can't be happening- COCO!" He kept running, forcing his legs tear themselves up, each step blasting out of the muddled forest floor just to only find himself still lacking behind her silhouette.
Her silhouette.
"What the fuck?" The top of her head far surpassed Cardin's height. He stopped himself when he noticed this discrepancy, planting his metal boots into the mud, squishing as he watched the shadowy frame leave him behind, disappearing right as another flash came, lightening up what was ahead to show it had vanish; another boom would follow. "Not this time." Cardin spoke, glad he was able to see the hallucination for what it truly was before he could end up running deeper into Emerald.
"... Cardin." Yet, he heard her voice come from behind him, but he was not startled. Cardin, slowly as ever, turned around, his steps squishing in the grime of dirt, water, and leafs, to see the hallucination of Coco, only a few feet away from him, her back being the only sight for him to see. "Cardin...
He responded, "Hey, fuck off, you're not real. Scram already," and in turn, wind and rain blasted in his face, as is to be expected. What was not to be anticipated though, was the sound of bones violently cracking beneath her skin, as the hallucination spasmed. It grew two feet higher, and Cardin backed two feet away. The vision's arms, veins popping, extended a foot longer, becoming thin while Cardin backed another foot away. Her legs, bending in all the wrong places, extended two feet in length, and Cardin struck a tree with his back, leaving him to watch as the clothes rapidly decayed in disgusting scraps, and its hair fall out, leaving it with but a few strands on its dirtied scalp.
Soon it was naked, its pitch-black skin reflecting off from the thunderstorm's light. The cracking of bone stopped, leaving there to only be the yowling of the storm. as it turned around, its own lips seemingly torn off, to show off its gums. Its whole body was that of a severer case of anorexia, with Cardin being able to see its internal organs pressing up against the skin while visibly lacking and genitalia, and a bright, white triangle, perfect and equal, rested on its chest. Cardin, albeit now a tad on edge, was overall disgusted by it.
"... Absolutely disgusting. I told you to leave already-" It rushed him, gripping his thick neck with long, papery fingers, wrapping around tightly as it quickly brought him up to stare it right in its pupil-lacking eyes of white. "GAH- GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!" Cardin's first reaction followed with the muscles of his right arm tensing up as he slammed a hard fist into the figure's face, actually hitting flesh and bone with enough force to knock the towering abomination a good six or seven feet.
Its grip was, of course, released, letting Cardin fall onto his feet as it staggered and groaned in a woman's voice, covering its face. The Winchester's heart was pounding through out all of this, coming closer and closer to believing that this was no vision, but rather an actual beast, a demon, some foul creation of God, that must be disposed of.
Seeing his flashlight resting on the muddied earth, Cardin rushed for it, grabbing the filthy handle of it to bring up the light at the face of the creature. Only, he found it to have circled him, having noticed him going for his light and deciding to take advantage. It to hold of his leather hood, pulling him up by it. Cardin would only swear vilely before being swung about by the foul cretin with surprising strength, smashing Cardin against mud and trees, while all he could do was use his aura while thinking of how to escape its grasp.
He would not have to ponder for long, for he would soon be thrown incidentally from his hood finally giving in and ripping off. As such, the momentum built up from the thrashing would contribute to Cardin flying into one of the Emerald trees, pulverizing the wood with his shoulder as he broke through and slid against the grime to a halt, leaving him to groan while quickly, and clumsily, pushing himself up to see the freak, still covering the part of its face that he struck, still clutching the torn-off, black, red-lined hood of Cardin's poncho.
The sight of which negated all possible presence of fear for the creature within him, to be replace by unrelenting rage. The straw would break when the creature took the hood in both of its hands to rip it to shreds, falling into the forest floor to be buried by rain and mud.
Cardin roared, feeling his throat scratch and vibrate in protest as he charged, managing to catch the creature off-guard and body slam its lanky frame into the ground using his momentum and aura; on queue, a flash would light them up as Cardin struck the creature, with both of their eardrums almost breaking from the goliath-like boom. With haste, Cardin rushed towards aiming for its head, managing to bust further into its skull with a flurry of elbows, seething with aura.
It was during his blind rage, however, that the monster, in a desperate attempt, took its own stride for survival, and clocked the side of Cardin's head, its knuckled burying into his cranium for only a moment before he flew straight off from the beast, yet being another show of strength. The Winchester would end up yet colliding with the trunk of another tree, this time with his back, leading to immense whiplash.
Both moaned, Cardin rubbing the back of his neck while the beast struggled to its feet. To CRDL's leader, it sounded almost like weeping, as he pushed himself on his feet yet again, albeit taking more time to do so. A huff, and puff, would escape his lips, while he watch it stagger about, clutching the worsened state of its head, further crying as it fell on its own, curling up into an egg shape, sulking as the rain pelted its black body, and mud smudged into the pores.
Cardin came to the conclusion that it was in too much pain to keep on fighting, and as such, his chest became looser in tension, yet he still took his own pace, walking on eggshells as he inched ever so slowly towards his flashlight, which was currently shining upon the broken creature. He could barely hear it anymore as the warring storm went restless over their heads, drowning out the sobbing with its gusts and thunder.
The Winchester, much to his glee, reached his light, bending down to pick it up while maintaining eye contact on the weeping horror, intent on keeping it within sight. But yet, all that it took was another flash from the sky, and the beast before him would disappear, utterly leaving Cardin still as he stared at the emptiness before him, perfectly content with his burnt-orange hair being seeped with water, and lying down- almost falling really- onto the muddy forest floor, feeling every muscle relax within a mere exasperated release of air from his lips.
His gloves rubbed against his face, pulling his bottom eyelids down. Cardin just stared into the blank space, brightened by his flashlight, steadily breathing through his mouth. The storm continued on still, having ignored what took place beneath it, within Emerald, and kept on flooding the forest with its might. Cardin came to accept this to fall onto his back, resting the back of his head on his hands, closing his eyes, and letting the rain smack his exposed face.
"Cardin?! Cardin! Where are you?!" The screaming Thrush only added to the calm within Cardin, cracking a small smile before being lit up by the storm.
