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Description
[Warning: Violence. There's slight details on the Violence. Also bad medical treatment.]
[Also the picture is more metaphorical here.]

Erb really had just been worried about Stranger. That's all it was.

Going to somewhere dangerous alone wasn't anything out of the ordinary for his sister, far from it, but...

He had heard about the Abyss Infected. Listened over the radio in horror at the warnings to other citizens about what would happen if they went and wandered off during this time.

He couldn't help but worry. What else was he supposed to do?

So he followed Stranger. From a distance, of course, dodging past guards like he had in his youth, silently keeping to the shadows and even closing his 'eyes' so there'd be less of a glow around his face.

It took a while of traveling, only aided by a few carts of citizens (,and Amourim,) all going to the Infected Sharps, all for their own reasons. He had to make up an excuse for going, but it was incredibly easy to get on.

(He ignored how there weren't that many Krenchi going.)

Yet at some point he lost track of his bright pink sister. Wandering aimlessly into the unnatural place, where the ground shot up into dark spires and spikes. Some pools of water dotted the area he wandered into, as he hurriedly searched for anybody else. His footsteps seemed too loud, and it seemed too... quiet.

Erb didn't have fur, and his skin was actually slightly damp most of the time, yet he felt like his scales stood on end, as a loud splash crashed down. He jolted to the side just in time to get out of the way of a gilled krenchi, gems adorning the side of its face, showing off its pure black eyes.

He didn't scream. Screaming never helped him before, so he ran, not caring for if he was heading somewhere deeper into this horrible place, darting side to side in a desperate attempt to find a place he could get up to to get away. The path he chose led him to an even more flooded area, some places shallow enough to let him keep running. The unhinged screeching of what used to be a krenchi echoed behind him, chasing him still.

Erb pressed on, diving behind a wall to catch his breath. "I need to get out of here. I-." He spoke out loud, staring into the water as he paused. A mistake, as something else was staring back.

He still didn't scream when another gilled krenchi, though this one lacked legs, and looked more like a fish, lunged for him, claws tearing into his pants. Thinking quickly, he shoved the krenchi off, his poor pants getting dragged off with it. Yet this too, was a mistake, as he forgot one thing you should never forget.

Everything with a mouth can bite.

And bite the monster did, tearing into his leg. He still didn't scream, instead flailing around desperately, grabbing a hold of a rock and slamming it against the side of the monster's head. It detached with a pained cry, before he hit it again.

And again.

And again.

He lost count of how many times he smashed the rock into the thing that wasn't a krenchi's head, only painting once the adrenaline wore off and he noticed two toned green blood seeping into the water.

Erb stared at what he had done. Quiet for a moment before he started to silently shake. What had he done? Wasn't there a cure for this thing? What had he done???

He gently took his pants from where they had dropped, soaked as they now were, taking a moment to try and stop his own bleeding by washing off the wound and letting it air out.

His pants covered the bite mark as if it wasn't even there, though faint, two tone, green smears dotted them now. It was fine. He had another pair of pants at home. He could even wear a costume or something to cover himself up more?

He latched on to that idea, desperate to get what he had done out of his head, even as his eyes dripped.

It was so easy to find his way back, now that... it seemed so much calmer, in the Infected Sharps. He easily lied to an Amourim about getting a sprain and falling into one of the ponds, and just not feeling great after that in order to get on an early ride home.

It was so easy to sneak past the guards again, waving to them as if he'd just been on a walk to brainstorm on what kind of costume he'd want, only deciding last minute not to wear one after all.

He went back home, and looked at his flowers, breathing in their scent for just a moment before going into the bathroom, tearing his pants off a slowly scabbing wound, and pouring whatever cleaning solution he could find over it. He bit his tongue as whatever it was burned into the wound and the slight scratches around it. Yet he didn't care, letting it linger for a bit before washing it off roughly, making it start to bleed once more. His nose leaked and eyes watered as he considered if he should poor more on, before shrugging and using a bit more for his pants instead.

He moved on bandage the wound. Looking under the sink for anything that could work. Cotton balls and tape seemed good enough for some things, but he was more careful about putting them on too tight. The tape stuck to his skin uncomfortably, in the way that signaled that he did it wrong, somehow, yet Erb couldn't care, scrubbing off his bad pants before swapping them out for his better ones.

The krenchi limped to his bed (a small mattress on the floor, it came with the place) and flopped down, convinced that he couldn't get any infections with how quickly he took care of the problem, only hoping that his sister hadn't had to deal with anything similar.

___
www.deviantart.com/dragoncatso…
___

The day after they (being the rag tag group of two Krenchis, a Smog Imp, and an Amourim) had encountered that bizzare creature, Erb had started feeling... really bad. Sure, the worst month of the year was now practically over, but...

Well, he wouldn't say anything was wrong.

Even when he stared into the mirror and noticed that his eyes and horns were a shade darker than before. Not by much. Hardly noticeable by anybody who didn't memorize his colors exactly. Nothing to worry about, because he was fine.

Yet he decided to go on a walk. Get some fresh air outside of the city, like so many cooped up citizens were doing.

Erb wrote a note to his sister, for when she got home, saying that he'd be gone for a little while, and that he'd be back sometime after she was home.

He just needed to clear his head.

Just needed to pack the rest of their jerky and other dried meat into a small sack for a snack while out there (they needed to buy more anyway, it was fine).

Erb just needed to get as far away from the city as he could for a bit, exploring the area and taking in how pretty everything looked. Ignoring how fast he ate all the meat he had taken.

Now he wasn't as worried about Stranger. She had proven time and time again that she could take care of herself.
Maybe he needed to do the same, as wanderlust took over.
_____________

This picture was done on one layer. As a challenge. The story is just for fun.

Edit: 1,253 words

Cerifikn-Nation

Description
[Warning: Violence. There's slight details on the Violence. Also bad medical treatment.]
[Also the picture is more metaphorical here.]

Erb really had just been worried about Stranger. That's all it was.

Going to somewhere dangerous alone wasn't anything out of the ordinary for his sister, far from it, but...

He had heard about the Abyss Infected. Listened over the radio in horror at the warnings to other citizens about what would happen if they went and wandered off during this time.

He couldn't help but worry. What else was he supposed to do?

So he followed Stranger. From a distance, of course, dodging past guards like he had in his youth, silently keeping to the shadows and even closing his 'eyes' so there'd be less of a glow around his face.

It took a while of traveling, only aided by a few carts of citizens (,and Amourim,) all going to the Infected Sharps, all for their own reasons. He had to make up an excuse for going, but it was incredibly easy to get on.

(He ignored how there weren't that many Krenchi going.)

Yet at some point he lost track of his bright pink sister. Wandering aimlessly into the unnatural place, where the ground shot up into dark spires and spikes. Some pools of water dotted the area he wandered into, as he hurriedly searched for anybody else. His footsteps seemed too loud, and it seemed too... quiet.

Erb didn't have fur, and his skin was actually slightly damp most of the time, yet he felt like his scales stood on end, as a loud splash crashed down. He jolted to the side just in time to get out of the way of a gilled krenchi, gems adorning the side of its face, showing off its pure black eyes.

He didn't scream. Screaming never helped him before, so he ran, not caring for if he was heading somewhere deeper into this horrible place, darting side to side in a desperate attempt to find a place he could get up to to get away. The path he chose led him to an even more flooded area, some places shallow enough to let him keep running. The unhinged screeching of what used to be a krenchi echoed behind him, chasing him still.

Erb pressed on, diving behind a wall to catch his breath. "I need to get out of here. I-." He spoke out loud, staring into the water as he paused. A mistake, as something else was staring back.

He still didn't scream when another gilled krenchi, though this one lacked legs, and looked more like a fish, lunged for him, claws tearing into his pants. Thinking quickly, he shoved the krenchi off, his poor pants getting dragged off with it. Yet this too, was a mistake, as he forgot one thing you should never forget.

Everything with a mouth can bite.

And bite the monster did, tearing into his leg. He still didn't scream, instead flailing around desperately, grabbing a hold of a rock and slamming it against the side of the monster's head. It detached with a pained cry, before he hit it again.

And again.

And again.

He lost count of how many times he smashed the rock into the thing that wasn't a krenchi's head, only painting once the adrenaline wore off and he noticed two toned green blood seeping into the water.

Erb stared at what he had done. Quiet for a moment before he started to silently shake. What had he done? Wasn't there a cure for this thing? What had he done???

He gently took his pants from where they had dropped, soaked as they now were, taking a moment to try and stop his own bleeding by washing off the wound and letting it air out.

His pants covered the bite mark as if it wasn't even there, though faint, two tone, green smears dotted them now. It was fine. He had another pair of pants at home. He could even wear a costume or something to cover himself up more?

He latched on to that idea, desperate to get what he had done out of his head, even as his eyes dripped.

It was so easy to find his way back, now that... it seemed so much calmer, in the Infected Sharps. He easily lied to an Amourim about getting a sprain and falling into one of the ponds, and just not feeling great after that in order to get on an early ride home.

It was so easy to sneak past the guards again, waving to them as if he'd just been on a walk to brainstorm on what kind of costume he'd want, only deciding last minute not to wear one after all.

He went back home, and looked at his flowers, breathing in their scent for just a moment before going into the bathroom, tearing his pants off a slowly scabbing wound, and pouring whatever cleaning solution he could find over it. He bit his tongue as whatever it was burned into the wound and the slight scratches around it. Yet he didn't care, letting it linger for a bit before washing it off roughly, making it start to bleed once more. His nose leaked and eyes watered as he considered if he should poor more on, before shrugging and using a bit more for his pants instead.

He moved on bandage the wound. Looking under the sink for anything that could work. Cotton balls and tape seemed good enough for some things, but he was more careful about putting them on too tight. The tape stuck to his skin uncomfortably, in the way that signaled that he did it wrong, somehow, yet Erb couldn't care, scrubbing off his bad pants before swapping them out for his better ones.

The krenchi limped to his bed (a small mattress on the floor, it came with the place) and flopped down, convinced that he couldn't get any infections with how quickly he took care of the problem, only hoping that his sister hadn't had to deal with anything similar.

___
www.deviantart.com/dragoncatso…
___

The day after they (being the rag tag group of two Krenchis, a Smog Imp, and an Amourim) had encountered that bizzare creature, Erb had started feeling... really bad. Sure, the worst month of the year was now practically over, but...

Well, he wouldn't say anything was wrong.

Even when he stared into the mirror and noticed that his eyes and horns were a shade darker than before. Not by much. Hardly noticeable by anybody who didn't memorize his colors exactly. Nothing to worry about, because he was fine.

Yet he decided to go on a walk. Get some fresh air outside of the city, like so many cooped up citizens were doing.

Erb wrote a note to his sister, for when she got home, saying that he'd be gone for a little while, and that he'd be back sometime after she was home.

He just needed to clear his head.

Just needed to pack the rest of their jerky and other dried meat into a small sack for a snack while out there (they needed to buy more anyway, it was fine).

Erb just needed to get as far away from the city as he could for a bit, exploring the area and taking in how pretty everything looked. Ignoring how fast he ate all the meat he had taken.

Now he wasn't as worried about Stranger. She had proven time and time again that she could take care of herself.
Maybe he needed to do the same, as wanderlust took over.
_____________

This picture was done on one layer. As a challenge. The story is just for fun.

Edit: 1,253 words

Cerifikn-Nation