Rubble and Rainstorms
Balamel undergoes a massive transformation whilst caged in the basement of Seethe and Velius' laboratory, and wants out by any means necessary. Getting out of the situation in one piece and gathering information on the cause is unlikely, but Velius is determined to find a way to do both.
Chapter 1: Of Damage, Brick and Bone
Balamel
[Wanderer]
It hadn't been very long since Seethe had brought home a stray giant -- and, in his typical fashion, immediately experimented on them. Maybe two weeks, at most. Things had just started to calm down and at least somewhat resemble their odd version of 'normal,' though. Why today? The lab was utterly trashed. Broken glass from various beakers and ampules was everywhere, there were smashed specimens on the floor, and that crumpled heap of metal a few feet away might have been a microscope at one point in its existence. The culprit -- said stray, now-mutated giant -- had just been squeezing through the front door somehow as Velius entered the lab proper to witness the destruction left in his wake. Upon further inspection, he hadn't gotten through it at all, but instead wedged his shoulders in the frame and pushed it out of the wall with him before it fell apart and away from him once he was free. ...at this point it was honestly a miracle the whole place hadn't come down around them.
Velius
[Toxicologist]
Velius had to stop in his tracks to process everything that was happening in front of him. He had just finished filling up a bag of his own blood and set it to be transferred when he heard the crashing. He didn't have much time, as the blink he did to gain a moment of clarity felt like twenty, thirty seconds to Velius. Not even Lazria, Velius' Daemon, wanted to deal with the chaos that was ensuing. She simply backed out of the doorway and phased through the wall, disappearing elsewhere into the lab. The biggest problem was the currently rampaging creature that was tearing apart the lab. Velius had honestly never seen whatever this creature was, not in this form at least. In the couple of seconds he had to process, his mind clicked that it had to be Balamel. Nothing else that Seethe had gotten his hands on could be that big And that fluffy. While it was a shame to waste perfectly good blood, Velius hoped that it would at least help him steer Balam out of the way. Bad case scenario, Balam would think that Velius would be worth the snack at a later date. Holding the bag of blood in his hand, Velius placed one of his fangs against the plastic and popped a small hole in it. He squeezed it so a little would spew outwards, whistling sharply to get Balam's attention. He had a plan. Sort of. Once he got Balam's attention, if the big boy decided to charge him, Velius had a mind to move throughout the lab and lead Balam to seclusion. Bag and all in hand as bait, of course.
Balamel
[Wanderer]
Balam paused just outside the most recently smashed doorway to try and get his bearings, but... he'd only ever come through here once, and it'd been confusing even then. Right now, with his mind a bit clouded, it was impossible to tell where he was or where Outside was. A low growl that seemed to shake what was left of the building rumbled out in response to the whistle and the smell of blood, and it didn't take long for him to lock onto the source of it. He'd...seen this human before? He thought? Head ducked low to avoid the ceiling and the lights mounted to it, he took a few steps in that direction. It'd been a while since Seethe had brought anything down, and this was more than tempting. He cleared his nose with a whuff of air -- his nostrils were on top of his snout, like some tolka -- and then got a better idea of the scent he was following as he moved closer.
Velius
[Toxicologist]
Steps towards him were better in Velius' mind as opposed to being charged by Balamel in this form. In any form, really. Balamel was a bit more fear-inducing than Iphae, though of course he'd never admit it where anyone who knew Iphae might let word reach the leyr. As Balam approached, Velius stepped backwards. He had to lead Balam out of the lab before more damage was incurred. "There you go... nice and easy." He attempted to speak to Balam, backing away. Without squeezing the bag, only a small amount dribbled out thanks to the small size of the hole. If Balam started to lose interest, Velius would have to squeeze it more. Velius did his best to try and lead Balam to a more... secluded exit. Having a beast form Ptheran, and one so large and intimidating looking as Balam did waltzing the streets of Ichorrai following a doctor leading said beastial ptheran with a bag of blood would not bode well for civilians or for velius' reputation. A secret way in and out of the lab could maybe be their saving grace.
Balamel
[Wanderer]
Long ears rose immediately as Velius spoke, the monstrous thing seeming almost...reassured? by it. He continued to move forward at the same pace, not necessarily relaxed but not frantic. It wasn't clear if some sort of predatory urge drove him to follow, or simple curiosity -- but he did follow, until a doorway presented itself yet again. Despite his uncaring treatment of the others that'd been in his way -- or perhaps because of it -- this one gave him pause. He nudged at one side with the end of his nose, as if that'd somehow help. But just as Velius was thinking he might have to double back and get his attention again, the ptheran pushed through -- the tip of his snout just above the ground, leaving the back of his head a bit above the human's eye level. His head and neck fit through fine, but his shoulders...
Velius
[Toxicologist]
Balam getting stuck in the doorframe gave him pause. There didn't seem to be a likely way to get him through without that one crumbling to dust much like the others before it. However, he wasn't sure how much coaxing he could do before Balam grew angry again. "Come on.. you can do it." Velius urged gently, speaking to the Ptheran so as not to upset him. Velius was no architect, but he knew that the structure of this building couldn't keep up for long. Iphae would definitely have to come out and fix it. The sound of thunder outside rippled through the building, a considerable strike of lightning must have made landfall not too far from the city. Velius wasn't looking forward to going out in the rain, but hopefully that meant not as many people would be outdoors.
Balamel
[Wanderer]
There were several thuds as Balam tried to adjust his footing to get one leg and shoulder through the doorway at a time -- but even then it was destined to fail. He'd pulled himself about halfway through when thunder rolled overhead and he let out an equally-thunderous snarl and yanked himself the rest of the way through. This set off a chain-reaction of sorts -- the building's very foundations seemed to shudder and groan, Balam rumbling warily in response, and then the creature launched forward in a flurry of motion, knocking Velius flat as he heard what could only have been a portion of the building collapsing entirely. If he looked up in that moment, he'd see the bestial ptheran standing over him with his wings out, rubble and rain cascading off his form.
Velius
[Toxicologist]
Velius had made a noise of surprise as he was knocked flat, having raised an arm to protect his head as he had been taken to the ground. The crumbling and crashing noises around him had Velius holding his breath, hesitating before cautiously opening his eyes. Seeing Balam with his wings out was definitely not what he'd expected in the least. He was grateful, of course. He was still alive because of Balam now in this moment. Struggling to a sitting up position while still feeling the ricochet of hitting the floor in his side and leg, Velius coughed as he tried to squint through the dust that was still settling. More creaks and groans in the building were bound to happen, and Velius would be honestly surprised if rain wasn't pouring in from the ceiling, if there was a ceiling left over their heads currently.
Balamel
[Wanderer]
The rain mixing with the dust in his fur felt terrible -- but with the rubble still settling over his back, he couldn't shake it off just yet. He looked down as he heard Velius cough, not sure exactly what had possessed him to shield the much-smaller human -- but it was done, and there was still the whole partially-collapsed building to worry about. He felt his hind legs starting to buckle under the weight and halfway let them, hearing the rubble clattering and breaking as it slid off his back... ...right onto his tail. There was a moment of silence and then a horrible, metal-on-metal screech as he lurched and tried to pull his tail free of the wreckage. The shifting got the rest of the rubble off of them, and just past the fluff covering one shoulder Velius could see the gray of storm clouds up above. This section of the roof, at least, was gone.
Velius
[Toxicologist]
After the screeching had stopped, Velius still felt his ears ringing from being beneath it. Disoriented and dizzy, Velius could do nothing in that moment aside from hold the bag of blood against his chest and squint upwards as the rain pattered down around the large Ptheran. Attempting to get up to his feet proved unsteady, as he nearly fell to one side as his ears still rang. That wasn't good. Another crack of thunder roared out, Balam able to see the strike this time due to being exposed to the air. Despite the dust and rubble and rain, Balam could see that not far from the shambles of the lab was a dock. It was out of the way enough that it was unlikely any passer-by would see the two of them, and just used enough that the wood didn't seem like it would collapse under Balam's weight or splinter into his body.
Balamel
[Wanderer]
He watched the human stumbling around for a moment, an odd look in his eyes -- normally somewhat like a tolka's in this form, lacking much by way of expression, they were almost glowing with interest. After a moment, however, the thunder seemed to snap him out of his semi-daze, drawing his attention outside. He saw the docks nearby and grumbled wordlessly, but after a moment one of his wings dipped down and claws wrapped around Velius, hooking under his arms to pick him up.