April

Scars (1k)

❝Hurry up, Monty! You're taking too long!❞
The slightly larger, female viscet stood a bit inside of the ruin, looking back as her friend hurried up the steps to catch up with her, the scarf on his tail flailing in the wind. ❝I'm coming!❞ he called, and she turned away as he neared, beginning to walk deeper into the ruin.
April and Montezuma were explorers, and they loved to do what they did. The excitement of discovery, curiosity, and the wonderful mystery that came with every ruin were the best feelings in their opinion, and they'd been doing this for a while. The hype of a new ruin would never cease to get them pumped.
This particular ruin had taken a while to get to. It was hot outside and the path from the nearby town and the ruin was long, and it had taken them a while to get there. They had started to get exhausted, but the sight of the fruits of their labor was more than enough to put the pep back in their step. And there they were, looking into the slightly dark interior. The first room was empty and weathered, holes poking in all of the walls and they looked ready to collapse at any moment. Spanish moss hung from the openings, draping down til they brushed the ground, and a few thin vines hung from the ceiling. April grinned, noticing an opening. A stairway!
Monty had barely caught up before she started towards the opening, hurrying to the steps and starting carefully, testing her weight, before rushing down. It led to a much larger open area inside, illuminated by a huge hole in the top. ❝Monty! Monty, hurry up!❞ she cried in excitement, hurrying to check out the markings on one of the columns that held the ceiling of the huge room up. Signs of weathering were still here, but not as bad as upstairs, and she was utterly excited. Her dark brown eyes flickered over when she heard Monty's footsteps, the young orange viscet checking out the other side. ❝Anything over there?❞
❝Not really. I mean..whoa, this is cool.❞
Her attention was caught by this and she wasted no time crossing the bridge, slowing when one of the carved stones trembled beneath her weight, to check out just exactly what Monty was talking about. ❝Oh...wow. That's...that's really cool,❞ she murmured. On the far side of the wall was a huge mural, depicting humans and viscets alike, standing side-by-side or in battle. The sight was breathtaking and she grinned widely. This is what they did this for. She...she loved this. ❝This is a piece of history! How amazing is that?❞ she murmured, looking over at Monty, who had a similar expression on his face.
They stayed for quite a while. The ruin had its number of discoveries to make along with the mural, and finally, the only reason they began to leave was because the sun would be setting soon and they did not want to be in the area while it was night; it was quite dangerous.
April was on the far side of the bridge, studying the mural for the last time that day, before she raised up and sighed. ❝Aw, man, I'm gonna miss this,❞ she mumbled, looking up to where Monty was waiting near the foot of the stairway. She began to head in that direction, a bit carelessly -- over the bridge. The rock she had stepped on before wobbled again.

Beneath her, she heard a rumble, and then the bridge began to fall away beneath her.

Her reflexes probably saved her life. The tip of her paws caught the edge of the cliff that dropped off into much deeper areas of the ruin, and she heard a crash far beneath her as she held on for dear life. She also heard a cry of her name in a familiar voice, but fear had tied a knot in her throat and closed her muzzle. Her eyes were wide with shock and it took her a moment to register what really happened before she tried to pull herself up some. She felt numb and her vision was slightly blurred.
Monty had already raced over to help her up, pulling her safely away from the fragile edge. ❝Oh god, April, are you okay? April! You're bleeding, and-- and your eye!❞
April looked up numbly at Monty. She still felt numb and could feel her heart frantically beating. She was exhausted, she noticed. She stared blankly at Montezuma for a few moments before her eyes rolled back and she slumped, unconscious.

She woke up in the village infirmary a bit later that night with a bandage over her head. Montezuma was nearby, asleep, and there was a light on a stand next to her. April noticed her left eye was covered, and it stung slightly. Her whole body ached and she felt tired still, but reached over to the stand near her; on it was a mirror.
Picking it up, she gazed at herself as memories returned. She was wearing white bandages, stained rust-colored with dried blood, over the left side of her face. The black viscet knew she shouldn't, but she reached up, pulling at the bandages with her claws to remove it. As they fell away, she noticed she could see from her left eye, but everything was blurred and the light from the lamp hurt. That was most likely because she hadn't adjusted yet, though. What caught her eye (her good one) were the deep cuts, no longer bleeding and stitched, on the side. She didn't know exactly what caused them; after all, even her memories were blurry with the adrenaline that had been coursing through her. It was likely through falling rubble and rocks, though.
April put down the mirror and carefully wrapped the bandage again, but as she did so, she was not frowning -- no, she was smiling. Those scars, to her, were not liabilities. She would wear them... proudly, yes. They were her badges of being an explorer, and they showed what extents she was willing to go to for the sake of discovery.

These were scars she would never hide.

Character permissions: Viscets cannot be traded (except for stubs) or sold. They may be gifted. Markings and colors cannot be changed. Accessories can be changed and are allowed, with the exception of prosthesis. Scars can be added. Viscets may be only officially bred at the viscet nursery.