Enter Our "Heroes"

Tanner looked at the wolf and held its gaze, his brows knitted. He could feel that the wolf didn't like him, despite not hearing him say any words. The snarled face and snapping teeth were descriptive enough. He was afraid of the wolf, yes, but more than that, angry. Why does he have beef with me? I haven't done a damn thing. "Maybe I will," he replied to Elias. He grabbed the dice and tossed them hard onto the game board, never dropping eye contact with the wolf. "What did you survive, Elias? What did the wolf stand with you against?"

At Tanner’s terse reply, Elias followed his gaze to the wolf. Using context, Elias figured out that Tanner couldn’t hear the wolf, but body language was more than enough to convey what the wolf was saying. Elias put his hand on the wolf’s snout and pushed it down so he broke eye contact with Tanner. The wolf sat back on his haunches, licked his nose and laid down, grumbling, on the grass next to Elias. He resembled a disheveled dog more than anything in that second if it weren’t for his piercing eyes that were an exact replica of Elias’, an ever present reminder that he was a wild animal.

The dice clacked like loose teeth across the tabletop, spilling out until it landed on a four and a three.

"Lucky seven.” Elias mumbled quietly as a crudely shaped human piece started to edge its way across the board seven spaces. He could feel his anxiety curl its tendrils around his gut, a cold hand squeezing at his stomach. Tanner’s piece stopped its trek on a square with a picture of a tree on it. Next to where they were sitting roots climbed out of the earth, followed by the trunk and finally the branches of a large tree. As leaves started to blossom across its branches crows started to land amongst the foliage, their shrieks getting louder as more joined their number.

Elias, his disquiet growing, turned his attention to Tanner and without making eye contact answered his question.

“I had to endure. It was a puzzle about time and repeating the same scenario again, and again, and again…” He clenched his fists, hidden on his lap, trying to hold back enough so that Tanner couldn’t hear his voice tremble. He lifted his eyes to look squarely at Tanner, “I couldn’t die, I was already dead. It was painful to relive. Cold, or hunger, or thirst each time it was different until time was reset and I’d have to feel the agony again.” The wolf set his head on Elias’ lap and licked his hand. Elias didn’t know how to explain it any better to Tanner. The details besides the lingering misery it left on the back of his memory was all that was left. “I had to get it perfect."

Setting his jaw he picked up the dice. The fear behind his eyes was hard to hide and was discernible next to his queasy pallor. He threw the dice down and watched as they bounced once with a decisive rattle as they landed. Snake eyes. The piece that looked like a carved wolf jumped two spaces and landed on a space that was taken up entirely by two simple curves in the shape of a heart. Elias felt his own heart beat once before fire felt like it was being injected into his cheat. He gripped a hand at the front of his shirt, doubling over in pain with a quiet groan.

'No, not a again.’ Perspiration beading on his forehead, he looked up at Tanner and jabbed a finger at the board.

“Make your move.” He urged with gritted teeth. The wolf glanced up at him and whined softly.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Tanner cried, but the question didn't carry heat. His voice was filled with fear. "Make my move-- Are you okay?" If he wants me to make the move, I'll make the move. "Where did these trees come from?"

He eyed the huge tree warily, looking for any strange creatures ready to pounce on him from around the trunk. The crows' cawing cacophony was rattling his nerves. They sounded like they were mocking him. They sounded like they were laughing at Elias clutching at his chest. Anger flared through Tanner, burning like fire. He snatched up the dice and threw them as quickly as he could at the board. They slammed into it and bounced off, eventually landing on a two and a one. Three.

He gritted his teeth. This was taking so long, they wouldn't get anywhere with these low rolls. And Elias looked like he was in pain.

“It’s making me… re-live the moment... of my... death.” Elias rasped, punctuating every word with labored breathing. A dark mar of a moment in his history rested across his memory. He crushed his eyes shut, trying to block out the flashback as a jolt of pain traveled up through his arm, the pressure on his chest making him grip at his shirt where sweat was starting to build a ring along his collar. He wasn’t sure if the sticky saturation he felt under his fingers was perspiration or death’s chambers playing tricks on his mind, opening up his old scar again to let blood start to seep through his fingers.

Blind to everything but the sound of dice scattering across the board he listened to the sound of them rolling forcefully until they came to a rattling halt. He dizzyingly heard Tanner’s muffled, urgent voice. “Where did … trees…”

He couldn’t focus. He couldn’t transform. He bristled, trying to grab onto the power of the wolf but he felt it slipping along with his concentration.

Of it’s own according the human piece moved to a square on the board with a smoky image of a crown that looked a bit different from the other squares. Less elegant and more crude like another hand had carved it into the wood over another symbol.

An exhale of breath audibly hissed into existence out from under the tree. A figure slinked out from behind the tree’s inky trunk, its shape twisting and converging and changing. At one moment, a king with a noble crown on its brow, the next a general with vaporous stars adorning their shoulders.

“Conquer.” The voice wheezed, its command clear despite its wavering shape. Every crow in the tree had their dark eyes trained on the figure, and in a snap had turned their attention to the field where Elias and Tanner were staked out. The birds quickly made a choice, a clear target, the path with the least resistance.

The tree had also made its quiet acquiescence. Its roots quietly but surely wrapping around Elias’s wrists, pulling him to the ground in a kneeling bow. A hiss escaped through his gritted teeth. Blood pooled from his chest onto the ground in front of him.

“Please…” Elias turned his eyes up to Tanner as best he could, head still bowed.

The birds left their perch, all in a single flurry of claws and wings.

"I don't know what to fucking do!" Tanner snarled, and threw his body over Elias' as the crows descended. He felt needle-sharp claws and pecking beaks attacking his back, his arms, his neck, and he lashed out behind him. His flailing arm connected heavily with feathered bodies, and he heard them fall to the ground, stunned. But there were still more, more, trying to reach his eyes, trying to blind him.

He gave a little roar of frustration and ripped at the trees' roots twining around Elias' wrists. "Leave him alone, you stupid shits!" He tore them in two, but Elias was in no state to move. He glanced back, risking the crows' claws, and saw the crowned figure behind the tree at the edge of the field. Elias has to roll, but what else will come out? Better take care of this first. He looked down at Elias and grimaced at the pain of the crows relentless claws tearing into his skin. His neck felt damp and his arms were scratched and bloody. Well, I can't beat him from over here.

He gritted his teeth and tore away from Elias, leaving him broken on the ground. Thankfully, the crows followed him. With a roar, he charged the figure, swatting away crows as he ran. "Face me yourself, you ugly piece of shit!" He reached the figure, drew back, and punched as hard as he could.

((ugh this icon... I'll get it right one day...))
Elias tried to steady his breathing. He tried to ignore the pain in his chest, ignore the tendrils of vines digging into his flesh, the sharp stab of beak and claws.
It was impossible, "Enudre. It." he hissed to himself through gritted teeth. This is Tanner's trial, only he can make it stop, however, it was starting to become too much for even Elias to handle. He crushed his eyes closed against the slow torture when he suddenly felt a weight on top of him and with it the flurry of blows had ceased to lash at him. Elias's eyes opened wide in surprise to Tanner's shadow casting over him, his arms hugging his shoulders in an attempt at protecting him. Elias didn't know how to react. It was happening too fast and was in slow motion at the same time. Tanner was busy pulling at the roots that grew faster and stronger to replace the one he broke off. Elias turned his head as best as he could to try to face Tanner. Speak to him.

"It's.. not.. going to.." He rasped weakly before being interrupted by another sharp pain that erupted through Elias's chest. He jerked his head quickly to the side to cough up more blood on the dirt before collapsing, the heavy binding of roots still holding him upright.

The wolf, patiently let the roots also take hold of him and was enduring the pain much better than Elias was. He was baring his fangs, but his eyes remained open, surveying everything. It was a shared pain he had with Elias, but the crows had chosen only the boy as their target and it was only the imprisonment that was really unsettling the wolf. Witnessing Elias collapse his bright green eyes snapped open and he turned to look at Elias. It was time to take action. The wolf's corporeal form shifted and disappeared in a fraction of a second, leaving the roots to retreat back into the earth now that they no longer held a prisoner.

The shadow king gave a savage grin, taking Tanner's blow unflinching. A sickening bone crunching nose escaped the king as his entire head snapped backwards, further than humanly possible with the connection of Tanner's fist. The birds abruptly stopped their assault and the silence that hung in the air was stifling, the only sound that could be heard was Elias's cloying gasps for breath.

A wolf's howl echoed in the distance, breaking the calm.

The birds suddenly, all at once in a giant huddle, dived for the game board as one unit, crashing into the wood and splintering it, sending the game pieces flying, while also sending a single animal rolling to a halt in front of Tanner's feet. An elegantly carved tiger on warm, dark red glossy wood smiled up at him.

The birds swirled threw the air where the stump once stood, a tornado of feathers swirled and circled high into the dark sky before solidifying in a flurry of wings into a tall and darkly feathered queen. She surveyed the barren land, casting her cold eyes on Elias for a moment before turning resolutely on Tanner. She scoffed before slowly drawing a long scythe from within her feathered cloak and began taking long, slow strides towards Tanner, determination in her icy gaze.

((should I proof read? NAW))

Tanner reached down to the carved tiger and took it, in more of a compulsion than a choice. He didn't have much time to look at it though, and he held it tightly in his hand, stroking the smooth wood absently as he glared at the figure approaching him. He was terrified. The wolf howl hadn't helped his nerves, this crow bitch was coming at him like a literal demon about to cut him in half, and his emotions hadn't really been secure since he found out he was dead.

But beyond the fear was the incomprehensible rage. He'd done nothing wrong, and here he was fighting not only for himself, but for some guy he barely knew. The pain from the scratches only exacerbated his fury, and when he saw the dismissive scoff cross his opponent's face, he roared back in anger and rose to meet her. He felt urged along, focused, furious, primal. He clenched his fists and surged towards her, with a mind to rip every feather from her.

Elias was swimming. Consciousness was fleeting, it was like a dark haze over his vision. He felt the wolf next to him one moment and immediately felt his presence disappear. It was impossible to keep track of the moments ticking by with his heart barely giving palpitations that were erratic at best. The world tilted, the vertigo swirling through the darkness and then immediately he snapped to attention. The wolf was back and he had completely taken over.

Elias could feel his heart sputter back to life, the blood flowing through his veins with a renewed fire, and with that the vigor of the wolf. He must’ve passed out for the change, missing the sickening sounds of bones popping into place. He was already a monstrous beast, the wolf’s excitement tamping down his own ardent fear.

He ripped free of the roots and vines like they were made of spider’s silk, turning his gaze on the black mass that was honing in on Tanner and the tiger that was languidly making her way up behind him.

Tanner rushed forward, the black feathers filling his vision, and landed a furious punch, his knuckles skidding across her sleek plumage. It had been a much harder hit than he expected, but he didn't feel pain. The crow woman staggered back, surprise flitting across her face. Then, anger. She swept her scythe back and swung at him, fast, faster than he could react -

Something clicked in him and he curved suddenly to the side, away from the sick edge of the scythe. What? Something was different. He felt a warm protection next to him, behind him, and looked back to see stripes. Orange and black pattern stretched behind him, around him. A tiger, in a protective hunch, her eyes bright and glowing, tail whipping back and forth, long curved teeth bared. And he knew she was a part of him, she had saved him. He fell back into her and let go of himself, trusting the tiger.

"Cheats, all of you," the crow witch said, a sneer playing at her mouth. She rushed forward, scythe flashing, and Tanner felt his body leap out of the way. Was he still human? He couldn't tell. He felt the tiger rush into his body, and with shock, watched as stripes raced out over his skin, as his bones elongated and shortened, as his face grew to accommodate ivory scythes of his own. The tiger was calm, a hunter, assessing the situation and readying her next strike. There was anger, too, anger that matched his, but more controlled. The anger of a predator challenged.

He slunk low and gathered his muscles, then lunged to meet his prey, reaching out with dagger claws and hard, curved teeth. They hit with a heavy thud, and he felt the point of the scythe poke into his side, jutting into his ribs like a thorn. He snarled in fury, but the pain only made him hold on harder, his claws digging into the skin of her neck deep, latched on to puncture muscle and connective tissue. His teeth sunk into her throat and blood spurted out around them into his mouth, a salty, coppery taste that felt... well, good. Harder, harder, he bit, crushing her larynx while he dug deep with his claws and pulled, ripping her skin and muscle. She sank to the ground and he still held on until his teeth started to hurt. With one final, hard shake, he felt the skin under him give way and her throat tore out, loose in his mouth, her neck a gaping red wound.

Elias watched the bloodbath with the wolf’s apathetic level-headedness at the sight of gore. Elias’ own practiced consciousness made his stomach turn. He had claws out, his teeth sharp as knives elongated as a growl escaped from his chest, the hair rippling on end down his back. He was ready to step in if she stood back up. The pack mentality of the wolf was a driving force pumping blood through his heart at a cursory pace.

A woman’s voice echoed through the white chamber, “Excellent.” It haughtily clicked the ’t’ on the word before the door materialized again. It was behind them and in front of them all at the same time, direction useless in this place.

A sudden ripple shook the illusion and it was an empty, white room again. Elias was alone with the wolf. Blinking, he looked around frantically. Alone? He couldn't be this wasn't a test for him, surely...

He looked towards the door, sudden realization dawning over his face. The wolf looked to him and immediately started trotting to the door, Elias keeping pace behind him.

He had passed.

Immediately after passing through the gate, the heavy humid air fell upon him again and the door snapped shut with a defiant and final click. The wolf had returned to inhabit the same body once again, but Tanner was laying on the ground a little ways off like he had just been taking a nap at the bottom of a quarry on a dark, summer night.