Loaz has no way of moving. They couldn't force their feet to quit being stubborn if they tried; it was like the concrete had swallowed their boots. It took all of its strength to draw in the next breath.
All it could do was stare. Loaz never thought they'd be so afraid of a triangle.
Even in their petrified state, amidst nearly nothing but pure terror, there was the tiniest flicker of one other thing they couldn't help: fascination. All their panicked "what"s and "how"s were followed by curious ones, near silent, largely drowned out, but Loaz couldn't deny they still felt them. They almost didn't want to move. Just to see...
NO. Those are stupid thoughts. They need to move, they have to unroot themself, pry their fingers from the wall.
~Breathe. BREATHE GO***AMN IT.~
It had been a good while. Stoatpaw hoped Ivystar wouldn’t get too upset with the pair’s absence. It was for a good reason, she’d understand when Jaywing explained.
What felt like moons later, the bird was safely disposes of.
Stoatpaw failed to stifle a snort. “Yeah, fou-“ it clamped its jaw shut. Stoatpaw spun around, tail sweeping with instant hostility. “Who-!”
Loaz was practically flat against the wall, gripping to the brick for all it was worth.
"WHAT?" They scream. With how sharp it was and how dry their throat felt, they worried for a moment that the shout had ripped a hole in their neck.
Ink stared back for a moment, up at a face that was not its own, a mockery or a flattering imitation, it couldn't say.
It was nice to be so revered.
It was disturbing to not know why.
It was lovely to be welcome, horrible to be kept.
Ink supposed there was nothing more it could do here. Time to test the waters.
"Is this everything? Can I go?" it asked with as much softened politeness as it could croak out.
That brought some solace at least. "Good-" Stoatpaw bushed up at the sound of rustling, claws unsheathed and tail swishing.
It was just a spider.
Stoatpaw instantly felt foolish.
It grunted. "Just bury the bird Stoatpaw~" it grumbled under its breath as it got back to pawing at the earth.
There were few processes, Stoatpaw found, where missing a limb made it any less efficient. Unfortunately, digging was one of that few. It discovered this during the plague and was yet to find a way around it. Having to sit up on its hind legs meant it couldn't walk and dig at the same time, and it was tough to balance and lean over. Made finding a proper place take way longer and leave its paws way sorer. On top of it all, Stoatpaw hated the way dirt got into its claws.
It wasn't sure whether or not to be relieved when it found a patch where its claws scraped through with ease. "Over here looks good." It announced, trying to shake the dirt from its paw.
