[WSV] Gunnar | The Weight of Red

@The-Windswept-Valley

<<Previous || Next>>

(I meant to post this over the weekend but stuff distracted me - whoops!)

This is probably one of my favorite pieces I've done for Gunnar so far. I'm especially happy with the expression!

btw, I highly recommend reading Morgan's reaction to Act II of the event! It includes a small exchange between her and Gunnar that'd happen immediately after this one!

[Washed Away]

Featuring:

Gunnar

At first, Gunnar could only stare.

His body refused to listen, muscles freezing, lungs forgetting their rhythm, as the barrier crumbled like brittle ice and the beast beyond it revealed. The sounds were overwhelming: crystals crashing on stone, fangs raking the air, and chaos erupting before his eyes. It was too much. The churning panic rose like a tide he couldn't fight.

Then it lunged.

Gunnar's breath hitched—and his legs finally remembered how to move. He pushed himself sideways, just avoiding the monster's teeth, which clamped shut just shy of his tail. A single inch and he would’ve been gone. The world became a swirl of movement and noise, and his heart thrashed even harder, trying to beat its way out of his chest.

The ground ripped his balance from him. The fall wasn't that far, but it was enough. His head collided with the sharp edge of a crystal, and for an instant, the universe split apart. Sounds warped. Motion stretched thin. His thoughts scattered like dust in a gale.

And suddenly, through the storm, he saw her. A crimson flash in the midst of the commotion. Morgan. Small, stubborn, and terribly exposed.

Something primordial snapped within him. His heartbeat didn't slow; it surged. This time, it wasn't panic, but something heavier. More dangerous. He needed to reach her. He needed to protect her. It wasn't a choice, nor a thought; it was instinct pushing its way out of him, raw, urgent, and terrifying.

And this terrified him.

Because, for the first time in his life, Gunnar recognized his body was moving not for his own survival, but for the sake of another. His claws begged to sink into the stone and propel him forward. His mind screamed at him to put himself between Morgan and the beast, no matter what. That wasn't him. That wasn't who he was supposed to be.

Then Ezra did what he nearly did.

The young Marshal flung himself forward. The beast welcomed him with a bite. The effortless snap of bone and the horrible shred of flesh echoed through the cavern, leaving Gunnar motionless as life drained from Ezra's eyes.

It happened so fast.

That's what caring too much could cost. That's what love would have done to him.

And that thought… that truth… was more terrifying than the creature that had just torn a warrior apart like nothing. The world continued to move without him. Water rushed into the cavern. Stone slipped under his paws. Screams turned into gasps as the torrent swallowed them whole. But Gunnar barely felt it. Ezra’s death replayed in his mind in a merciless loop, over and over, until the water forced him back into reality with a violent shove.

He came up with a gasp, writhing against the current, and saw Morgan flailing and sinking beneath the blue water. There was no choice at that moment. No weighing of risk. There was no greater fear than this.

He lunged.

His jaws clamped on her scruff, long canines piercing her skin as he dragged her to the nearest surface. It didn't matter if it hurt her. It didn't matter if she yelled at him for it later.

All that mattered was that she survived.

And that terrified him the most.

WC: 543

Gunnar @BluetheARPG

@The-Windswept-Valley