(no subject)

[twibeast]

[ Content Warnings for parental abuse and light body horror ]


[ It had started out as just a persistent headache.

Beast - now Achilles - had gone through this enough times now to have an idea of what was happening. This sort of headache only came when a memory was also onset, and after the last one being as a big a blow to his identity as it was he decided it was better to just stay home at the Executor house and wait for it to happen. He was trying to avoid Avaritia anyway what with Greta knowing his face, so he would just have to find something to do on this side.

The one thing he didn't notice was all the feathers he was molting everywhere.

He had spent the morning looking through his book of Greek monsters again but come afternoon the headache was at its worst. It felt like his head was about to split apart and he could no longer concentrate on reading. It was when he had gotten up to put the book away though that--



He had been asleep for so, so long now. There was no more village to protect, no more companions to love... he had forced himself into isolation, only waking up and moving every so often to make it harder for anyone that might be looking for him to find him. All he wanted was to be left alone, to sleep in peace.

And yet now there are two figures in front of him, rousing him from his slumber. Queen Rotha of Cygnia herself and her 6 year old child, Odile. She seems to think he's the Beast of Demise from their old prophecy, the one said to end the royal line, and is trying to make some sort of appeal to him. But soon the appeal grows dark, as the queen throws her own child before him, telling him to end the royal line now and leave the rest of Cygnia alone.

...Ah. So that's what this is.

Sacrifice.

What follows isn't pretty. A terrified child crying and begging their own mother for an explanation, resulting in a cold hearted woman who could barely be called a mother unleashing six years worth of hatred and bile at the life she brought into the world. And for what? Because his wings wouldn't grow? Because he wasn't the heir she had wanted and was somehow a failure before ever even being allowed to wear the crown?

"I wish you had never been born--!!"

Those words are the last straw for him. In one swift movement he crushes the queen to death with one enormous, furry, black paw, all life snuffed out of her in an instant.

Wait... a paw?

The rest of it is a bit of a blur. He remembers transforming back into the humanoid form he hadn't used in over a century, hoping to not scare the child any more than he already has. He remembers trying to figure out what to do now, how to make sure the newly orphaned Odile would be safe and not thrown into government turmoil, how to even bring him back home safely without being skewered by every soldier on sight. It's while he was deep in thought that the previously too scared to speak Odile finally says something.

"Um.... M-Mister...?"

"Yes?"

"Your... Your horns..."

"Ah, do they frighten you? I can give myself some wings like yours if that would help-- see?"



--the part of his wing below where he had been injured in the Underside suddenly falls off, landing on the floor with a light thud.

He covers his mouth with one hand as more feathers fall off in big, uneven clumps. But they don't hurt, and unlike before when he was injured there's no pneuma. It's like a prop, a part of a costume, just falling apart after wear and tear. But he had already suspected that's what they were, hadn't he? He had suspected for a while now--

No what hurts... is his head, somehow even more than before. The moment it dawns on him why that is, he's bolting out of the house to find a place to be out of sight, passing anyone who might also be home and leaving a trail of feathers behind him as he does. ]


[OOC: I'd like to try and limit the threads of people chasing after Beast/Achilles to two or three, please! There will be another top level on this post after he's found for everyone else to tag if they want to react to this change, thank you! Limit reached! Here's the top level open to everyone! No content warnings for this part unless otherwise stated in a subject line. ]

Comments

AFTER THE HORNENING....

[twibeast]

[ Well... now that the worst of it is over and he's had a chance to calm down and realize that it's... probably okay to let everyone else see? He's back at the house, feeling nervous and skittish. His wings are fully gone and now he's got horns and a snake like tail, as well as a few years of visible de-aging and pointed ears. He's still worried what others will think, particularly of scaring the younger ones (especially Rei. He is really worried about what Rei will think okay) but he's just going to have to accept however they react. Can't exactly keep hiding and worry everyone.

Eventually though, once he's more comfortable he realizes that he... needs new clothes. Or at least new shirts. All the other ones were altered to have an open back on account of his wings, but now that they're gone he doesn't exactly want to show off the scars they left behind to the entire public. So gathering up the feathers still laying around (thank god they didn't just turn to pneuma) he heads for Invidia, shopping for new clothes and also treating himself to some comfort food because man, he could use some good food right now.

At some point he realizes he can finally have that coat with the fluffy fake fur collar he was eyeing up so much back when they first arrived here.

His tail might be wagging a little too fast at that thought.

In the evening he returns again to the house and starts... modifying his pants. Listen the tail needs to go somewhere and at least that kind of small hole is an easier and else weird looking alteration than cutting out the back of a shirt for wings. ]


(ooc: if you'd like to run into him elsewhere, feel free! He'll probably be doing some general roaming. :|b)

[discutio]

[As it was on most days, from the Invidia house's kitchen was the sound of a knife on a cutting board and the warm smell of something suspiciously like fried tofu.]

[are ya hungry, pal?]

[twibeast]

[ yes

oh goddess yes he’s so hungry

he sulks off to the direction of the kitchen peaking his head in. ]

Phoenix?

[ he knows it has to be Phoenix in there even before he gets a look, but saying something is more for the blind man’s benefit than anything. ]

[discutio]

Hello, Achilles.

[He gave a small smile over his shoulder, understandably oblivious to any sudden drastic changes for the moment. Most of his attention was on the current project of stir-fried tofu and miso filled dumplings.]

...You sound a bit tired. Have you been sleeping well?

[twibeast]

Ah... “tired” is a bit of an understatement, I’m afraid. I’ve been nursing a wretched headache all day and...

[ He trails off for a moment. Phoenix can’t see the change and that gives him a lot of comfort. And yet he knows that he should tell him, that it’s not fair to let it come up in casual conversation and blindside him (ha) like it did with his wings.

But maybe not quite yet. Not when just starting a conversation. Give it a few minutes. ]

I... could really use some food... I think.

[phantasmagorial]

... ah...

[ And here's Rei at the open front door of Executorhaus, with a big bag of McDantes clutched to her chest and an expression of absolute befuddlement on her face. There's... feathers?? Everywhere???? ]

Wh–what even happened while I was gone...?

[twibeast]

[ As soon as he realizes she’s home, he instinctively covers his horns with both arms. Fuck... okay there’s no putting this off. ]

Rei... honey? [ he calls to her from the other room ] I... I need to have an... important talk with you, dear...

[phantasmagorial]

[ There's a long, long pause. ]

... Um. What about?

[ He hit her with the 'we need to talk' and she just. froze on the spot. like a startled deer. ]

[twibeast]

[ ...oh god right “we need to talk” could strike fear in anyone’s heart. ]

It’s not about you or anything you did. [ Reassure her, reassure her... ] But there’s something you need to see.

Just... come here for a moment. Please?

[alcahest]

[ there are so many books from the library to comb through for names, and Mona has been using her spare time to read them all in search of one suitable for Ruin; she's in the living room now, absorbed in a collection of Shakespeare's works, when she hears the thud from another room. it's curiosity that gets her to her feet and peering in, at first — nothing about it sounds like a cause for alarm. but then she sees Achilles. she sees the feathers coming loose in ugly handfuls, the same way they had when she touched his wounds after that fight in Indivia's Underside.

before she can so much as squeak, Achilles goes barrelling past her and out the front door. ]

Achilles?!

[ she spins on her heel immediately and sprints after him, not dissuaded by his much longer legs; all of them have a reliable degree of stamina and speed, as Executors, and she remembered being in possession of an unusual endurance when she was alive besides. ]

W-wait, you're hurt! Achilles—!

[ it doesn't matter if she loses him, as long as she keeps looking. not that she knows what she's going to do after that. she doesn't know what's wrong. she just doesn't want him to disappear. not forever, and not even for a few days. Chiron hadn't been gone long, and he had seemed so sad when he came back, a shadow of himself. she doesn't want the same thing to happen to Beast, for him to get lost all alone. she might not be able to help him, she might be useless, but she can't do nothing. not when it's Achilles, who has always been so kind to her. ]

[twibeast]

[ Thankfully he didn't get far. Achilles' running was more akin to that of an injured animal looking for respite than anything else and so the trail eventually leads off into an alley way, one of the many winding paths in Limbo.

His other wing, bone half exposed from all the feathers have already fallen from it lays close to the alley entrance. Huddled up against the wall near the back is a figure that could only be Achilles, his arms over his head and his whole body trembling.

...Did Achilles always have a tail though? Pretty sure he did not. Well there's one here now, one that almost looks like the end of a black snake.

He doesn't seem to have noticed her yet, or be aware that he was even being followed. ]

[alcahest]

[ it's a horrific scene to come upon, but not because of Achilles' changes. the discarded wing that Mona steps over carefully, the sight of him curled up like a frightened child; it runs up against the image Achilles with a dissonance that shakes something in Mona's heart, Achilles who is such a calm and reassuring presence—

Achilles, who is in distress. she sees the dark shape of a tail, of course she does, but what he looks like is of no concern. the only thing that matters in this moment is that he seems like he's in pain, or at least suffering from something she cannot see. that's what scares her about his change, the trail of feathers, the new and unfamiliar parts of the silhouette hunched before her: that it might be a source of pain for him. ]

Achilles...? It's Mona.

[ she doesn't want to startle him, but she doesn't want him to think she's afraid of him either. she enters the alleyway with slow footsteps, the steady click of her heels dispelling any notions of hesitance while still leaving him enough space to breathe. ]

[twibeast]

...Lady Mona?

[ His voice is shaky, but he lifts his head for a moment, still trying desperately to hide what's there. ]

Please... I don't... want to frighten you...

[ Or anyone. But especially not the girls or children. ]

[alcahest]

[ if he had said he simply wanted her to stay away from him, Mona would have waited. it isn't her intention to corner him, or to intrude if he truly wants to be alone. that isn't what he asks for, though. instead, in response to that particular plea, she takes a few measured steps closer, deliberate; defiant, in her own subdued way. she shakes her head. ]

I'm not frightened of you. [ true to her word, there's no fear in her expression, not of him. she's only frightened for his sake. ] It doesn't matter what you look like... It's still you, isn't it? Achilles.

[ she stops short of him, perhaps two arms' lengths away, for Achilles' own comfort, and crouches down to put herself on eye level with him. her hands stay on her knees, as though to reassure him that she isn't going to touch him. ]

I'm just worried. It looks like it hurts.

[schardynfreude]

[Chiron has ghosted along as normal, flitting between grifting about in the new layer, the mansion, and the house. He does not necessarily need to eat or sleep, but they're still nice touches, and sometimes he forgets that he doesn't need it and starts to feel the tiredness seeping in or a spot of hunger nipping at him. Sometimes he simply needs away from the rain and the lights, or needs to be nearer the people he cares about.

Achilles he cares about, certainly. And more and more so for the understanding he'd been shown in the face of his wretched mouth and scrambled memories.

So the lack of Achilles...well, hardly a surprise. Plenty of space to roam around. It's the feathers he'd started to see along the floor, like a trail. Alarming. And then...the...

He notes the lack of pneuma. It helps him rein in the shock of the sight. It means it wasn't cut off or severed in some unsightly manner. No struggle, even? But then, how to explain it? And the only one who could explain had either been taken or had removed himself from the equation.

At least there's a trail to follow. He just has to make sure the trail doesn't get trampled or blown away in a breeze. Nearly without thinking, Chiron shifts into Executor form, finding the boost of speed and endurance comforting in case something has happened...]

Be--damn it all, Achilles!

[Surely there can't be that many large black birds around to leave conspicuous feathers. Come on out of hiding. Or let him join you. Certainly Chiron knows the value of being away when it's all too much, but none of his memories had parts falling off.]

1/2

[twibeast]

[ The trail doesn't go too far. An alley a little ways from the house. It's been long enough now from when he initially ran that some of them have scattered, but it's still easy enough to follow. Chiron will find him there, curled up against the wall... his wings completely gone leaving only scars where they were once attached on his exposed back. In its place he seems to have gain a long, serpentine like tail and--

He uncovers his head and looks behind him when he hears someone approaching this time. ]

2/2

[twibeast]

[ Horns.

He has horns now.

Two pairs, one pointing upwards and the other pointing down, all of them pitch black and caked in sparkly pneuma having just come out of his skull in the messiest way possible.

Well the headache's gone at least.

His voice is a little shaken when he speaks, likely because of the shock. ]

Ch... Chiron...?

[schardynfreude]

[There is something about the look that, for a moment...for just a moment, he thinks he sees someone else. Or is reminded of someone? Someone he can't actually see. He isn't sure if it's real, but the flare of something dark and ugly...

...get stifled under the concern for the person in front of him.

He takes a cautious step or two closer. Doesn't want to crowd him.]

That looks like it hurts.

[twibeast]

[ Achilles manages a very shaky exhale, barely even a sigh, when Chiron says that. ]

A bit of an understatement, I would... say...

...But it hurts less than it did before.

[ Only until the shock wears off anyway. ]

[schardynfreude]

I could give you a hand with that? [He can at least try to ease whatever pain there is. Questions, uh. THOSE CAN COME LATER.] Only if you'd like. I could instead provide company. Or...deflect others who might come looking.

[mementomoritz]

Oh, that's pretty! [When Medic finds the first feather, she smiles happily and picks it up- she's always one to appreciate beauty in the little things, the softness and brightness of a scattered afterthought.]

[She smiles at the second one a little further ahead, too, and blinks curiously at the third. By the time she reaches the end of the trail, scooping up feather after feather as she goes, she's frowning thoughtfully and muttering to herself.]

Even in shedding season, the average bird wouldn't lose more than- is it natural for Purgatorial species, there aren't any seasons here so far-

[And then she spots the wing, about a couple seconds before she spots Achilles booking it out of the room.]

Come back I can try to reattach it! [Just gonna grab that and sprint after him.]

[You can tell she really likes him, because it's the first severed body part she's gotten her gay little hands on since she's arrived here and she's actually offering to give it back.]

OH MY GOD MERCY

[twibeast]

[ An animal is pretty fast when it's scared or just doesn't want to be found and Achilles is no exception even when in this form. But the feathers lead straight to him so it won't take Medic long to find him curled in the little dark corner, his other wing just... laying around.

His newly gained tail is flicking wildly as he realizes Medic followed him. Thankfully there was enough time between when he got here and when she found him that his horns are already out but the pneuma is still very fresh so it wasn't that long. ]

D...Don't...

[ "Come near" he wants to say, but the shock is still hitting him too hard to get it out. ]

[mementomoritz]

Do you... not want it back...? [She's trying.] Because that's fine! Sometimes people just feel the need for a little change, and that's okay. [IS IT???]

But as your doctor, I would really like to make sure you aren't bleeding to another death, okay? [Her tone is even and soothing, as you'd expect from someone talking to a frightened animal or small child- she's no expert in bedside manner, but she knows people like their physician to seem calm about things.]

[twibeast]

[ He doesn't say anything but he does reluctantly lower his hands and look behind his shoulder at her, showing off both sets of horns as he does.

His back is exposed by necessity of having a hard time finding clothes that could accommodate his wings and at least he doesn't seem to be bleeding there (though there are scars where the wings were previously attached). However, with his horns and tail both being blacker than night, it'd be hard to miss the pneuma on both. It's harder to tell without getting closer if he's still bleeding though. ]

[mementomoritz]

[Medic smiles in a way that she intends to be reassuring. It mostly comes off as "enthusiastic", but for what purpose is highly ambiguous.]

I'm going to move a little closer so I can take a look at you, okay? I promise not to touch you unless you say it's all right. [Suiting words to actions, she's going to start to step forward slowly and carefully, telegraphing her movements to avoid giving him any nasty surprises.]