Inconsoulable
@roseskindlyscattered @nevermoretheravenreturns & @drunkscythmaster
The mission had seemed a simple one, something Summer and Qrow had agreed to wheedle him into taking, though Summer still came along. Tai couldn’t really blame them. Raven leaving had... well... he hadn’t dealt with it well. At times he thought it was fairly hypocritical of Qrow to criticize for his use of alcohol to dull the awfulness of it all but Qrow continued nevertheless.
The mission concerned a number of strange disappearances in several small villages near a central marsh rich in rare plants and good hunting. The mission had been to investigate and see if there was a Grimm responsible for this rise in strange disappearances.
Tai had found a horse wandering as he scouted his portion of the marsh for signs of Grimm activity. It looked far too well bred and groomed to not have run away from some farm where it was well taken care of and he had tried to rig a halter with his belt to lead it to the nearest village since he’d yet to see any sign of Grimm and he might as well contribute this to the unfortunate villagers.
Everything had gone wrong as soon as he laid a hand on its shoulder. His body had leaped up onto its back and the horse galloped directly into the nearest body of water, plunging in and dragging him down as well before he had time for more than a brief shout.
Tai had fought. Of course he had fought. Fought to breathe. Fought to get away. His hands were stuck fast, somehow, and something about the horse dug into him, grabbing ahold of his very soul and dragging it out of him as he screamed and struggled, his desperate fighting showing only as a cascade of bubbles popping on the surface of the churned up and muddy water.
By the time it had taken its first meal from him, he floated passively up to the surface, lungs mostly filled with water and soul consumed. Tai washed ashore on the ripples, unresponsive as sharp teeth dug into him and the Grimm started on its second course.