[color=silver]
[center][color=white][sub]___________________________________________________________________________________________[/sub][/color][/center]
[sub][h1][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/MTNbUrP.png[/img][/center][center][color=black][b]A K A I A[/b][/color][/center][url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5333243][center][color=bca346][b]A K A I A [/b][/color][/center][/url][/h1][/sub]

[center][sub]The Ruined City   ·   Morning   ·   Mentions [@DreamingFlowers][/sub]

[color=white][sub]___________________________________________________________________________________________[/sub][/color][/center]
A thrall struggled under its own weight, crawling along with limbs lethargic as a beige mist was drawn into its lungs. Every rotted breath became heavier than the last until, with a final exhale, it pulled its body forward one last time and stopped. Pitch black eyes stared longingly at its prey: A gathering of revenants and humans who were licking their wounds in the aftermath of a plan turned sour. A faraway meal it desired to sate a thirst it could no longer quench. However, the overwhelming desire to sleep was impossible for it to resist and as the world around it began to slip into an eternal dark, the unseeable was there to comfort it.

[color=bca346]"Stay."[/color] Akaia whispered at it softly, pointing the end of her staff at its back. With a thrust, the tip perforated blackened flesh and slipped entirely through to the chest and into the ground. Ignoring its mournful wail, she breathed into the golden flower on the cane and the other end sprouted, pushing a knot of thick roots into dense earth and anchoring the creature where it lay. Then, with a forceful yank, she snapped the staff in two, leaving a large section behind to keep the thrall pinned and sealed to its fate... at least for a while. Behind her, a zigzagging path of similar spikes and ensnaring vines ensured that most of the Lost Poppy had put to sleep would remain here, unable to harm and, more importantly, unable to die only to reconstitute stronger than before.

With another breath, the broken end of her staff was quickly restored. New wood sprouted from the remaining half and thread into itself forming a point. As it returned to its original length, Akaia took the opportunity to check the levels of her oxygen tank. Peeking from behind her hip was a gauge housing a small red needle that at present was pointed firmly at the green. For now at least, she was in no danger of running out of clean air. And so, with her cane restored, the Lost taken care of and her gear checked, Akaia resigned to join the others. At least she would have, had it not been for a sudden onset of dizziness.

Shifting weight was steadied against a renewed staff as Akaia's balance was robbed from her along with her sight. While she struggled to keep her feet, so too did she struggle to make sense of a world that was becoming increasingly blurry around the edges. To compound the issue, there was a dull ache blooming around the back of her head. Curiosity drove her to investigate the pain, but when she reached for and gingerly pressed the area with her fingers, [color=lightcoral]a drooping red flower[/color] flashed before her mind's eye.

[center][i][color=bca346]...Pa-pee?...[/color][/i][/center]
A very loud metallic thud snapped Akaia out of her stupor and she turned to see a familiar crow standing in a rather pronounced dent on a nearby car. It shrilled at her worryingly.

[color=bca346]"Not me."[/color] She replied shakily. [color=bca346]"Pa-..Pa-pee."[/color] Shrugging off symptoms she did not want and forcing some semblance of balance into her legs, she clung to a determination brought on by a foreign need and pushed on toward the others. [color=bca346]"She is hurting!"[/color][/color]