a monster to fight a monster

He hadn't seen the second monster, even if he had smelled it. It had remained further back in the ruins, just outside of his vision.

The serpent had been wheeling around, and as other mages began to show up, he had noted the attacks, the way it moved. It rolled, forming a circle with itself as it spun to chase those that were fleeing its attacks.

The beauty of its tail was lost after the first few novel minutes of seeing it. Even so, it still would dart away far enough and wiggle it, drawing in the mages that were beginning to seep in from all sides, drawn in by the warnings that had gone out.

It hadn't taken long for others to notice they were monsters, and not some sort of ecological disaster that was poisoning the river.

It was strange, watching the bodies roll in, the magic thickening in the air. Abilities of all sorts were firing off now, some from deep in the ruins where the other monster was, others near him, and several times he had to rumble and snarl with three slavering jaws to get mages to back off from him. 

The ever existent woe of being a monster meant that many mistook him for one of the beasts. 

Several times he had snapped his jaws at a few mages that had aimed at him, bristling in a warning. Some had seen him before, had caught sight of him while battling the burning Pyre that had stomped out the far north.

This was a different battle, a different terrain. Certainly if there had been warnings about a monster like him, they would have already come after him. Many, however, hadn't seen him shift into this beastly bastard of a form at the last battle either. Still, coming from the far north, following monsters, it should have been a dead giveaway, and he was beginning to grow tired of having to warn others that he was on their side.

A shake of his body is given, brushing off leaves that had dropped onto his white fur, drifting away on the gusts of wind that carry the scent of that sickly sweet poison. It's almost tempting, as if someone was making sweets somewhere, selling them or handing them out. He knows better, knows how poisons work. At least, some of them. Then again, the smell was so nose-clogging at the river, where plenty of fish and other river denizens were drifting around, belly up, eyes blank, that it was a little more than obvious it was some sort of poison. That, and the fact there had been warnings going out.

Even now, the smell lingers in his nostrils, and he sticks out three tongues with a gagged noise, before glancing up.

The serpent is wheeling around, chasing a mage, and one clawed hand reaches up, rubbing at a wound or two. They're not bleeding anymore, but they're going to keep him limping a little once he shifts back. Age cannot touch him, but monsters certainly can.

A rumble, and he casts a glance to the side, debating on the ruins. Magic still releases into the air there. Sometimes ice, sometimes fire, and sometimes things he cannot name or even begin to comprehend, even at his age. This world will always have new surprises, even for him.

No, the ruins and that monster will be for everyone else. He has a bit of a score to settle with the glistening lizard worm that's scurrying around being a fucking pest to everyone. It isn't even horrifying, not to someone that has blinked in deaths' face. He's seen too much to fear something like a shiny worm. Even the Pyre had been less intimidating. A fiery skeleton, so spooky.

He shakes three heads, pushing the thoughts off. He has to focus -- his thoughts have been trailing too much now. He hasn't made a move since the other mages had shown up after he had first locked his claws onto the Opal Serpent for an attack and broken away. 

He has to be careful, has to tread carefully around the mages that have shown up. The last thing he needs is to be blamed for harming someone that was on 'his' side, even if they had been side-eyeing him the entire time.

Another shimmer, a flicker of flames and light, and he can see the Serpent darting between several dense trees that ring the ruins.

Heavy paws hit the ground, and he pushes forward with an effort, ears swiveling as he gathers up his strength to slog through another attack. 

Are these bastards even worth it? The Pyre had been a bit of fun, these two really aren't so much. Maybe it was the fact there were two, and it took their combined effort to even keep up a fight. He wants something that really gets his adrenaline surging, that gets him lost in the moment. Allows him to release his control, even for a moment.

Roux leans forward, his body tilting, gravity swallowing him a moment until he's moving, legs churning when he does, his upper half falling forward until his paws slam the ground and gouge into the thick mud. He leaves behind sharp gouges that follow him as he picks up speed, drawing in deeper breaths as he does, timing his breathing as he stares the serpent down, chasing the gleaming tail that slips between green foliage. 

His jaws all part open, and as he runs, he digs deeper into the dirt, claws raking into roots as he steals the very life force of the thick vegetation. Black wilts the green, foliage dying around him as he absorbs the very being of the jungle around him. Even as he moves, he's beginning to channel the life force he's swallowing into his being, ribs quivering and shaking as he exhales harder, harder. 

The ground seems to ripple under his paws as he runs, and he's digging deeper, deeper.

Next to him, a form wavers and shifts. First bones hit the ground running with him, heavy and dragging. As they move with him, sinew and flesh appears, becoming a full on beast. Another of his famed dinosaurs, this time one with thick spiked thumbs and speed to keep up with him as he runs. It heaves breaths through new lungs, grunting as it keeps pace, and he glances with one head toward it.

"The worm." It's all he needs to rumble, and it understands, picking up speed as its large body thunders next to him. 

With a bellow, it rises up on hind legs once it's close enough, bringing sharp spiked thumbs down to tear into the monster. He follows suit, using strong back legs to lunge forward, claws gripping slick and shining scales as his jaws part to bring down carnivorous teeth. The taste of corruption is thick on the monster, even on the scales that he's trying to rip apart. It's fine, he'll just spit them out, rather than absorb.