Wardens Curse. [CREATURES OF SONARIA]

eyes in the swamp

It had been months since Yang had seen a non-infected creature. Maybe it was just his bad luck because he knew there were other creatures, healthy and roaming out there. He HAD to put his mind into it. Perhaps if he tried good enough, he could revert all this to normal. It tore him apart, seeing all of those creatures who relied on the wardens for help, to be utterly worthless in this situation. It was like everyone was doomed, and no one could help. Yang had known another angelic warden, who was similar to him in ways of thinking and planning. She could've been alive if it weren't for that Ouratum, who had mauled her to death on a regular trip to get food. Yang didn't know. He never knew. Until he stumbled upon the crime scene, the vicious, infected creature had left her body to rot next to the food. No creature had dared come close, so the meat was in tact, even though it smelt foul, probably already rotten. The angelic's body was tangled, bloody, and crushed to bits. Bite marks were present, beaming gaps in her throat, wings ripped apart to shreds. It haunted Yang every day, but still, he had to remind himself he could not have done anything to help her.

Yang only knew three other creatures, Algias, the isolated Oxytails, that Yang had befriended in a drought, searching for water. Quickly, they bonded and quickly departed. He also knew a Diesura named Guina. She had originally been a part of a group in oasis before the infection came, and she ran to safer locations, where she met Yang. The third creature was a Phyremia named Eukian. She was a very brave creature, constantly messing around with those infected creatures she loved to.. well, play with her life. Eukian also had a weird trait. When she became an adult, her fur transferred to its firey red and orange colors to completely solid black. It was a very, very rare mutation that was hard to find in creatures living on Sonaria. Yang had planned to meet all of his friends at Flower Cove. He wished that each one of them came in well, healthy, and most importantly, not infected.

Yang laid on the cold floor of the Swamp lands, his wings shivering against him as he tried to control his temperature. The air was beyond freezing, snow drizzled down, and pelted his fur. Ahead of him, the Ardor Warden shrine looked lifeless. It was broken, in fact. Yang didn't know who or why he did it, but he knew it was another clue to this virus. Yang forced himself on his hind legs despite the cold breeze, and that's when he heard a loud splash in the water. He whipped around, the orb he was protecting in his hands spun around defensively, Yang was prepared to fight if he needed to. He waited, but nothing appeared. He couldn't just play it off. He wasn't imagining the splash and the growl.. was he? The trees brushed in the wind, making an eerie whistling sound, almost.

Yang's breath caught in his throat as two pairs of eyes appeared on the water. Lifeless eyes stared right on him. He breathed in, shaking.

"Show yourself."
He spoke, adjusting his posture to better view this creature hiding beneath the depths of the small yet decently deep river.

a Mijusumia suddenly leaped out of the water, Salvia dripping from its jaw as it snapped rapidly in the air. It landed with a thud next to Yang, and he froze.

He couldn't do anything. No matter how much his brain yelled at him to fly away, his muscles did not cooperate. The Mijusumia lunged towards Yang, its jaws and claws extended, ready to kill, or infect Yang.

he watched as it got closer.

and closer.

closer.

....