Zombie Bird Man Doctor

[doctoral_bird]

WHO:doctoral_bird, makesowndestiny , and trustedhisheart[Closed]
WHAT:A DEADLY and BLOODTHIRSTY plague doctor runs into a familiar and unfamiliar face
WHEN:Backdated to Thursday evening

The past two days have been absolutely horrible for Malkus. He's never known how it felt to become inflicted with such a ghastly plague and now that he's fallen victim, he basically went insane before the

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[trustedhisheart]

They'd come across a number of injured, blood-stained people during their patrols, and had been quick to learn that it didn't always mean that someone was a zombie. It was very much a sign to be cautious, however, so when Tus heard the cries and spotted who they were coming from, he slowed his pace a bit.

He held an arm out behind him automatically, his hand pressing lightly against Dastan's chest both as a warning and to get his attention. He nodded towards the slightly bloody figure. No need to attack unnecessarily if it was another false alarm, but they had to check to be sure. Tus started forward, sword gripped firmly in his hand but tip pointed downwards for the moment.

[makesowndestiny]

Dastan pauses as Tus's hand meets his chest. He had already seen the bloodied Malkus, however, and frowns as his shoulders sad at seeing a familiar face. He looked injured--hurt. He didn't seem like the other enraged demons Tus and he had met with their swords.

Still, Dastan didn't like seeing his brother near someone so obviously bloodied. There were other ways to solve this.

The infected didn't tend to talk.

"Malkus. Do you remember me?" He throws his words out at the man with the mask, purposefully grabbing Malkus's attention. Dastan's feet were already braced apart, hand on his sword, but he would quickly relax once the other called out to him.

[doctoral_bird]

The doctor clutches his hat, throwing it roughly to the side as he grabs the sides of his head. There's a headache that's filling his entire skull, blinding him with a growing sense of rage and sorrow. His eyes hurt, his growls crack and wobble, and the blood he's coughing up drips down the bottom of his mask. He twitches his head, slowly turning to face the two men. He hunches his back, wheezing faster as he takes a step forward. Malkus was his name, and despite the disease clouding his brain, he turns his attention to the one calling him. If Dastan glances into the lenses of the birdman's mask, he'll catch a brief glimpse of a horrified and confused Malkus.

Only for a moment until Malkus lunges forward, throwing his arms out in front of him as he lets out a loud rage filled yell that almost sounds like the man's name. His feet occasionally slip on his robe, giving the doctor a strange stumbling charge.

[trustedhisheart]

Tus paused as Dastan called out to the man, noting the name Dastan used and recalling seeing his brother speaking to him at the bonfire party. He would hope this Malkus was merely injured, then.

Unfortunately, that did not seem to be the case. He was clearly not acting as a man possessing of all of his senses.

"I don't believe he is entirely himself at the moment, brother," Tus informed him, bringing up his sword.

Still, he did not immediately attack. He waited, both giving Malkus time to come to his senses, if he was going to, and if not, to use the other man's momentum to his own advantage.

[makesowndestiny]

Dastan had been hopeful for a moment there, but that hope dwindled the longer Malkus took to respond. The wrathful yell had Dastan gripping more tightly to the hilts of his two swords as he quickly draws them in response, stepping forward once, twice, to meet the infected individual dutifully.

"I am sorry, Malkus..."

It Malkus was still somewhere inside. Frowning deeply, Dastan braces himself for contact, swords ready to crisscross outward in an arching, double-handed blow that would be both defensive and offensive.

[doctoral_bird]

The closer he got to Dastan, the angrier his breathing became. Malkus lunged forward, making a grab for the man's shoulders with absolutely no regard for any weapons the two of them may be wielding against him. If you let him get close enough, the doctor will strike his head out, slamming his masked face against his foe in an absolutely failed attempt to bite.

He leaves himself completely open for an attack, only focusing on gripping Dastan's shoulders and bashing his mask against him. He's also close enough that either of them may be able to see a bloodshot, horrified look in the birdmans eyes. He's clearly not in control of his own actions, though you may take comfort in knowing that any shred of the sensible Malkus has faded out.

[trustedhisheart]

When Malkus charged straight for Dastan, attempting to grab his shoulders and attack him, Tus ignored the stab of panic. Dastan was perfectly capable of defending himself, excelled in combat, and Tus knew that worrying about him would accomplish nothing.

Instead, he used Malkus's preoccupation with Dastan to dart in swinging his sword in to try and stab Malkus in the side. The blade was blunted, but there was enough force behind it that it would hopefully do at least some damage.

[makesowndestiny]

The fact that Malkus ignored their weapons might be a good thing--so long as they can get enough room between themselves and the enraged zombie before them to actually do some good. Dastan was quick to draw his arm out as

[doctoral_bird]

The doctor lets out a very human sounding yelp of pain as Tus' blade rams hard into his side. It may be blunt, but it rips through a seam in his robe and cuts hard across the doctors lower back. This causes him to jerk his head forward, turning it to the side to see Tus already there. That involuntary reaction of his causes the point of Dastan's weapon to skim the side of his mask, cutting right along the edge of it into his hood. If he had any sense left, he'd be thankful that the sword currently slashing across his front wasn't as sharp as it normally is

[trustedhisheart]

Tus wasn't at all put off by the yelp of pain. It was something he's quit used to, and it only meant that his blade had been at least moderately successful. Later he would spent a moment in sorrow that they had to take the life of someone who was attacking them through no fault of his own, but right then he was only focused on the battle.

This time, when Malkus stumbled back, Tus didn't stand there and wait for him to move forward. While Malkus lunged for Dastan once more, Tus moved around behind him, pulling out his dagger and slashing down hard, aiming for the back of his neck and hoping Malkus was too distracted with Dastan to notice.

[makesowndestiny]

Dastan awkwardly attempted to fend Malkus off. As much of an expert fighter as he was, his heart was not in this battle. While he knew this needed to be done--protecting others and saving Malkus from himself was first and foremost on his mind--Dastan found that while looking into the face of someone he had chatted with was really getting to him

[doctoral_bird]

He tried his best to shove through, but couldn't. The yells lowered into a low, sickly growl as he grasped the arm that was holding him back. His eyes were fixed on the sword long enough for him to completely miss the dagger from both of them. Tus' blade slams straight into the back of the doctors neck, through the hood and near the spine as Dastan's dagger plunges through his robe, flesh and lung, stopping just short of his heart. Any added strength given by his infected state fades as the doctor weakly slides his hand towards his newest wound. The blade in his back sent a numbing pulse through his entire body. He knees buckle and his legs start to give out, and unless Dastan supports his weight the doctor will be slinking lower and lower until he stumbles to the side and falls back onto his rear

[trustedhisheart]

There was a tiny amount of satisfaction as the blade hit its mark - but it was muted by the knowledge that this hadn't been a true fight. This wasn't a warrior he'd bested in battle, this was one who'd lost himself completely to a virus that Tus didn't entirely understand. And, apparently, one who his brother had known.

When Malkus's legs began to give out, Tus pulled his dagger out, stepping back. There he paused, waiting to make sure Malkus was actually dead, and then looking to Dastan to make sure he hadn't been injured.

[makesowndestiny]

As Malkus weakens further, legs giving out beneath him, Dastan can't help but quickly remove his dagger and grab the thin man, helping slow his progress toward the ground. He felt the blood oozing from so many different wounds, and found he did not feel victorious at all in this moment.

"Rest in peace, Malkus."

He carefully lowered the doctor's head to the ground once he stopped breathing. Sighing, he stood, sharing a glance with his brother before wiping his dagger and re-sheathing it, purposefully moving to where he threw his sword and gathering it up as well.

"Malkus and I talked during the party. He knew about magic, Tus. Even offered to help me." Re-sheathing both swords, Dastan moves to the torches hanging on the wall. He moves back to his brother and Malkus, tossing one of the torches to his brother. Malkus seemed to be wearing enough clothing that the flames would keep.

[trustedhisheart]

"Then the circumstances of his death are an even greater tragedy," Tus said, looking down at the body of the strange man in sorrow. It was unfortunate enough, that it had been this disease that had cause the man's death, but that it had been someone that his brother had known?

A quick glance over Dastan temporarily assured Tus that he had no injuries, so he turned his attention to cleaning his own sword and dagger. Once that was done and the weapons sheathed once more, Tus caught the torch thrown to him and knelt beside the body.

He touched the flame to the clothes covering the body in several places, lingering to be sure the fire took. Then he stood back, so as not to breathe in the smoke from the body burning. After a moment, he glanced at Dastan.

"You are uninjured?"

[makesowndestiny]

Lifting a hand to his throat, Dastan checks for injury.

"A little rumpled--nothing of concern. Wise move, as always."

Dastan steps neared to his brother, watching as Malkus's clothing caught fire and burned. He still wasn't certain how he felt about having taken part in his death. Unsettled, mostly.

Clasping a hand on Tus's shoulder, Dastan turns away from the body so they might move elsewhere. "Come, brother. As you've said before, it's best we don't stay idle."