quiet as a mother's prayer \\ o, joining

[merged stuff]

track for now bc holy shi-

[THE OSSUARY.]

i'm out of my head

text

OOC // Thank you!!!


xxHenry indeed had not smelled the border. It wasn't that his sniffer didn't work - at least, that's what he thought was the case - in fact, it was because he could only smell chemicals. It annoyed him to no end and occasionally encouraged his suspicion that he was dreaming. He could picture himself in the studio's infirmary, the mechanisms of the structure still pounding away, forcing ink through the leaking pipes. But this dream, if that was what it truly was, was still all too surreal. He shifted where he lay, legs being pulled closer to his body as his brows furrowed. He'd been tired all this time and now that he finally laid down he could only feel a rising sense of discomfort. It was in his skeleton again, rolling like waves against the inner walls of his bones.

xxThe coyote's mind now seemed to fight sleep, much to his disappointment. Thoughts swarmed his cranium, pressing against his skull. If someone had been watching him carefully, they'd see the sections of the skin on his head shift, as if something was lurking beneath. "Are my thoughts now tangible?" He thought as the pressure in his skull grew. He then chuckled at himself, "What are you mad, Henry? You're just getting a migrane." The pressure remained but its strangeness only grew. It was like the pressure wasn't exactly in his skull but somewhere beyond.

xxThe entirety of Henry's body jolted when he heard the sound of claws scraping against wood. His eyes flew open, pupils dilating as they found a panther standing not three feet from him. He immediately scrambled to his feet, ears flattening as his tail primitively went between his legs. Just as he was looking for an escape, the panther spoke, "You're tresspassing," they said. He had yet to encounter another talking animal, so this was a surprise.

xxIt took him a moment, but he eventually processed what the panther had said. He was... tresspassing? This shouldn't have been a surprise considering that he's known for years that animals claimed sections of land to secure resources, just as humans did. His heart was still racing as he took another quick glance around. His options of escape were limited. He contemplated apologizing... but that wouldn't really do much except waste time and breath. "I didn't mean to trespass," he began, swallowing just after he finished his sentence. A faint look of realization sparked in his eyes. Animals obviously mark their turf to tell others what's theirs; he must've skipped over the boundaries without knowing since he couldn't smell. He might survive this encounter if he explained his dilemma. After a short moment of silence passed of which he had used to process his thoughts, he spoke again. "I didn't know I had crossed the boundary seeing as my sense of smell is impaired." He could've added "forgive me" at the end... but he'd only sound like a suck up at that point.

xx"Introduce yourself, Henry," he silently told himself, "Who knows, maybe you can finally get to knowin' what on Earth is going on around here," he thought. "I don't know if you need my name or if you people even have names out here but... I'm Henry," he paused again, but only for a breath this time. "Accidental tresspassin' isn't punishable by death around here, is it?" he inquired jokingly, offering a small smile to try to ease up the tension in the air. Or, maybe, he was only trying to relieve his own tension.

❝little boy inside my chest, breathe some life into my bones. i've been lost and wandering, down and out and missing home. 'cause you and i we dreamed a dream, on the road in '93, to tell him it's not over yet. i still got some fight in me. lying awake in my hotel bed, down in the valley, down in my love. darling i pray something picks me up.❞ TAGS ✦

[KISHI]

[table]

[THE OSSUARY.]

i'm out of my head

text

xxHonestly, Henry missed being human - what, with his opposable thumbs and less confusing surroundings. Well, more so a better understanding of the world that once stood about him than the one that surrounded him now. When he thought about it, he probably had as many or maybe even less questions about this world than the previous. However, there was no point in dawdling on the past now. He needed to focus on the present.

xx"We don't kill for that." His smile faded at their answer, "Alright, so jokes fly over their head." He thought. Judging from the stranger's behavior, they seemed a bit stale - for lack of better word - from his perspective. Then again, they could just be guarded, which he found completely acceptable if you're being faced with some guy who waltzed beyond your boarders claiming he couldn't smell. At this point, Henry appeared a bit more relaxed. However, he still glanced over their form now and again. "Man... what a massive animal. I sure am glad I don't have to fight her." The thought slipped across his mind shortly before they spoke again.

xx"We have names; you’re at occultatum village right now." Henry listened to them carefully, quirking a brow at the name and glancing away for but a moment. He mouthed the word, almost whispering it as if to test how it felt upon his tongue. "What an odd name," he thought.

"Any other reason you’re here?" His head lifted at the question and he stared at the panther for a moment, caught up in his thoughts. Due to the way the panther acted, he likely would only get an odd look or two as a response to the plethora of questions he had. He wondered if this supposed "village" of animals were accepting members and, if he joined, that would increase the chances of his inquires getting answered. "Might be worth a shot," He thought before his mouth suddenly parted, "Uhh, well," He began as he slowly wormed his way out from under the roots, "you people wouldn't happen to be lettin' outsiders join would you?" The coyote's head was still lowered somewhat as he looked up at stranger. His brows were pushed upward somewhat, a cautious look playing in his eyes as he stood a short distance from them. "Let's hope the plan is a good one this time." He silently told himself.

❝little boy inside my chest, breathe some life into my bones. i've been lost and wandering, down and out and missing home. 'cause you and i we dreamed a dream, on the road in '93, to tell him it's not over yet. i still got some fight in me. lying awake in my hotel bed, down in the valley, down in my love. darling i pray something picks me up.❞ TAGS ✦

[KISHI]

[table]

[THE OSSUARY.]

i'm out of my head

text

OOC // you do not have to match whatsoever nor do you have to read everything if you don't have the time (my writing is eh today, anyway). just know that henry is trying to fall asleep underneath some roots just past the border, and that he has an extremely noticeable wound on the right side of his neck.

xxThe sun hovered high in the sky, bearing down on the deadened land beneath. The few clouds that floated in the blue world above were small and sparse. When Henry took a quick glance up at the sky, he thought of the animals whose hope at the coming of the white puffs was pulled under as said clouds dissipated soon thereafter. His olive gaze drifted back down to Earth. The ground was dry and cracked everywhere he tread, and the slightest flick of his paw stirred up dust. In the distance the ground seemed to tremble and anything that stood erect appeared to float. He couldn't imagine the heat. "It must in the nineties, hundreds? Ah, whatever the temperature, I'm glad I can't feel it." He thought. For a moment, he was also thankful that he didn't seem capable of becoming parched; then again, maybe he was, he couldn't hardly feel a thing anyway.

xxHenry had been traveling the barren landscape for days. He trekked through areas reminiscent to Death Valley to landscapes that resembled Texas. In either case, everything appeared dead and hardly any life was to be found. He had stumbled across a few abandoned buildings but they were just as still as the rest of the land. He tried to stay on the highway, but he soon found himself unable to bear the sight of the abandoned structures and vehicles so he took off to the east. He strayed from the road, "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by..." The coyote recited under his breath, "And let's hope that it makes a good difference," he added.

xxBefore Henry had left the city, he had seen some life other than birds. There were a few mangled looking canines and domestic animals, all mad from this apocalyptic age - and he couldn't blame them. Though, what had struck fear into his heart were the mutated beasts, all glowing and pulsating like ticking bombs. Of course, not all of them glowed, some just appeared to be mutilated messes, with aged skin like old men, missing parts, and sometimes organs hanging out of their bodies. He felt sorry for the lot of them and thought that they all must've been pretty good animals before, perhaps, if they had been sentient the way he is now. But, in any case, they were all just beasts scrounging around for their next meal, right? Wasn't everyone just looking to survive another day in the end? Maybe. Then again, there might be creatures like him out there who don't have to eat or drink... but felt tired as Hell all the time.

xxHenry forced his thoughts from his skull so that he could focus on where he was going. If he didn't, that would be the moment where another one of those mutants would show up and get the jump on him. His head swiveled to the right just in time to spot an animal skull in the dying light. He chuckled at it, feeling as if he were in a mere western in that moment. Where do those skulls even come from anyway? Where is its body? How did the head get so far from the body? Ahh, what meaningless but blissful thoughts. If only he could have them more often. Henry sighed, laying his eyes on the path ahead of him again as he continued trotting forth towards the mountains. He had set a newfound goal in hopes of finally breaking away from this dead land. Who knows, paradise may linger on the other side.

xxRoughly a week later, he arrived at the mountains. It was a long way up for climbing the mountains was no easy feat. From a human standpoint, it was often a slow going process where one could only hope to cover a little land at a time. However, he had made it to the mountains quick enough and the distance he was traveling surprised him. He supposed it was all thanks to this body of his for it was one of which meant for this sort of undertaking.

xxWhen Henry finally surmounted it, he could only marvel at the view before him. It surprised him how just the division of a mountain range could mean an entirely different world on the other side. A long sigh escaped him as he wavered at the peak of the mountain, paws pressed firmly into the rock he stood upon. "I miss this." He uttered breathlessly. He observed the green of the trees from afar for a long while before he finally decided that he should press on. He carefully made his way down, leaping across rocks and skidding down the precarious soil and grass patches. He had gotten so focused on not slipping and falling that when his paws touched the base of the mountain and he looked up, he had almost gotten confused by the new landscape. "I really thought it was going to be a long-" Henry cut himself off as he turned and looked back up the mountain which stretched an almost inconceivable height up towards the heavens. Once again, the speed at which this new body of his could travel surprised him. Albeit, it wasn't a supernatural speed, but it was definitely faster than a human's.

xxUpon the wind picking up and ruffling the fur on his back, he turned back towards the trees. His nose twitched, trying to pick up anything, but he could still only smell chemicals. He shook himself then and began to trot onward. However, just as he did so, an overwhelming sense of exhaustion came over him. He thought it strange to be unable to starve to death become parched, but be able to become tired deep down to his bones. In truth, he felt tired all the time; but, in previous cases, where he would have a bout of extreme exhaustion, he tried to ignore the feeling and had managed to not fall asleep. He did so for fear of what may become of him if he slept. Besides, he'd made it this far without sleep; therefore, whose to say he couldn't keep going, right? "Right," He whispered affirmatively to himself as he weaved through the trees. "But even just an hour or two sounds pleasant," Henry's pace began to slow at the thought. His olive irises flickered one way and then another as he scanned for what may be a good place to sleep. "Just a quick nap is all it will be. It won't hurt nothin'." His own thoughts continued to encourage him as he slid past a bush to find a tree with quite a few exposed roots. Without a second thought, he squeezed himself between the roots and curled up as far back under the tree as he could - which wasn't very far. He closed his eyes then to try to get an hour or two of sleep.

❝little boy inside my chest, breathe some life into my bones. i've been lost and wandering, down and out and missing home. 'cause you and i we dreamed a dream, on the road in '93, to tell him it's not over yet. i still got some fight in me. lying awake in my hotel bed, down in the valley, down in my love. darling i pray something picks me up.❞ TAGS ✦

[KISHI]

[table]