[color=#ffff66][center][h3][b] Lynx [/b][/h3] 

+ [color=dde0c7][h3][b] Octavio [/b][/h3][/color][/center][/color][hr]Octavio stared at the falling drops of rain in silence, awaiting any kind of response. At hearing Chres' words, a chill colder than the air around them ran down his spine. The urge to joke about the situation came and was snuffed out. He knew that something had gone terribly wrong. 

[hr]
In a short span of time that Lynx was unable to perceive, the endless loop of garbled sensations lessened, yet persisted. It was a blaring all around him that seemed to overpower his entire being, as if the wavering spots the noises rang from were threatening to drag him back to the state of nothingness and overload he was only just beginning to scrape away from. 

Even in his state of being unable to form coherent thoughts he knew he had to hurry. He didn't quite grasp time yet, but it was something distant and alarming and definitely there. Some of the noises wanted him to leave and escape. He didn't want to trust any of them. 

A shaky memory lit up in his mind. Being carried away by the current of a furious river, long long ago, the only help coming from the outstretched arms of a man in a nobleman's robes. Was he reminded of the past because it was repeating? Or was it because a part of him that had been laid bare knew the way out? 

Wheezing, he dragged his trembling body up to the best of his ability and dashed to a dark corner in the movements of a wounded animal. At last, when the sharp noises got sharper and he understood their instructions better, he escaped. 

[hr]
[color=dde0c7]"I don't believe we have many options right now,"[/color] sighed Octavio, eyes scanning the tower. Their current distance from it allowed Octavio to detect faint traces of his familiar, although it was nowhere near enough to put him at ease. On the contrary, the lack of activity worried him further. 

After what seemed like an eternity under the rain, Lynx's gray form could be seen dashing towards them. But something was different. Gone were the familiar's graceful movements, replaced instead by limping.

[color=dde0c7]"Lynx!"[/color] His cry tore through the air. The illusion of himself dissolved as any sense of concentration Octavio possessed disappeared.