[VIKING] Three Versus Two (Lots)

[SilverLutz]

To say Vidar was pumped was a massive understatement. He had been waiting for this day his entire life and now it was finally here. A Captain was taking him out on a real Viking, with a group and everything! Well, a tiny group. Just him and one other Reaver, really. But that didn't matter - Vidar wanted to be able to prove himself worth to Ulfric, who he knew was a pretty tough Captain to impress. You had to be strong, you had to be smart, and you had to not do stupid things. Vidar was strong, he thought he was pretty smart, and stupid things didn't happen to him, so he was good!

He trotted along side the other Reaver, a female named Sebor. Vidar had thought girls were stupid when he was little, but now that he was an adult he knew they were actually pretty smart. Would he admit it? Not for a while. He had learned not to always say what was on his mind, though, so any comments he felt like making about a female being a Reaver were silenced long before he had the urge to say them.

"Thanks again, Ulfric!" he said as he walked along. "I can't wait to fight something!"

Sebor rolled her eyes a bit at the enthusiasm of the male beside her. She knew what it was like to be out on one's first Viking, but she hadn't had this sort of boundless energy he seemed to posses. Then again, he was young and had grown up with the mindset of becoming a Reaver his whole life.

"Vikings aren't always about fighting," she reminded him as they went. "Sometimes they're simply to explore, to find treasure and bring it back." Yes, fighting was a pretty big part of Vikings, but it didn't always happen. Just...oh...nine times out of ten. Still, she couldn't help but try to burst his bubble in the nicest way possible. Her own cubs were getting to be the age where they'd go out on Vikings and they were just as excited as Vidar, but she had brought them up to be realistic and grounded. He seemed like he was going to float off the ground at any moment.

Lithiasaur

Kolina

 

[Lithiasaur]

SilverLutz

Kolina

Ulfric was eager to see what his new station held. Being granted the rank of Captain was important to him, and now he had even more things to do. Among them, helping those that would follow him, making them stronger, and continuing his raids in the rogue lands.

"I hope you do yourself honor on this hunt," he said to the excitable younger male beside him, nodding his head. He glanced at Sebor, who he was actually glad to have out and about with him. She was one of his favorite allies and companions, so far, and someone he might actually call a friend, if he knew what that word meant. He certainly did not act like he did, treating her as he did all his other compatriots, but at least that was well and with no small amount of respect.

"Well said. We will see what the rogue lands, or some pride we end up near, have to offer for us." He had a feeling it would be something grand. For better or worse, though, he did not know.

He really had no idea.

Afriti was flying toward the viking lands, or at least to where she had last seen the two vikings that attacked her. She was bringing with her the God that had promised to help her take her revenge. With Baku flying with her, she forgot how tired and battered she was, and focused only on the upcoming encounter. She felt in her bones that they were close, that this was going to happen.

Revenge would be hers.  

[Kolina]

Baku followed behind Afriti. He made a mental note that they were headed into an area he hadn't bothered to explore yet. He never felt any rush to explore everything. It wasn't like he didn't have the time to do it at his leisure but now his curiosity was peaked. If this area was breeding such obstinate mortals he'd need to pay it, and them, a visit.

As they flew, Baku found his attention being pulled from his surroundings to Afriti. The brazen brush against him before they had taken off for their prey baffled him but also excited him. Baku had never been a flirtatious God. In fact, he had never shown interest in another Deity or had any interest shown in him but Baku found himself admiring Afriti. She had a strong desire for revenge which was something he could appreciate, she was strong and determined, and she was the first Goddess that Baku had met that he didn't want to either strangle or just completely forget they existed.

Oh yes, Afriti was an interesting creature and Baku was finding himself drawn to her.

Lithiasaur

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Vidar grinned as Ulfric wished him well on their Viking, his tail flicking back and forth with delight. He was going to prove himself, return a Reaver, and maybe then Asla would make him more trinkets and he could impress her with his stories. She seemed to only be interested in gods, but he was positive he could win her over.

"Oh, I hope we find something awesome to take back," he said, practically prancing beside the older lions. "I promised a few lions I'd bring them something from my first Viking. My mother, a good friend of mine, and of course the War Lord," he said with a little nod, not wanting to forget their current ruler.

Sebor was trying not to reach out and swat Vidar for his bounciness and chit-chat. Had this been one of her own children they certainly would have felt her irritation. Then again, if they were one of her own children, they wouldn't be bouncing around and talking. They'd be walking quietly and with purpose.

"Let's not count our spoils before they're won," she cautioned. "There are plenty of dangers out here that could return with your pretty pelt as a prize rather than you with one of your own." She was certainly a realist, and Vidar clearly needed a good dollop of it himself. It seemed to be a common occurrence with the younger lions going out on their Viking - they didn't know the ways of the world, and they certainly weren't invincible.

Lithiasaur

Kolina

 

[Lithiasaur]

SilverLutz

Kolina

Ulfric nodded his head at Sebor's warning, looking at her with a surprising amount of affection, though he was sure to do it only when no one was looking at him directly. Sebor and Vidar were talking to each other, so he was able to regard them both in whatever manner he saw fit.

Usually, with females, he treated them with respect and they returned the favor in their way. He was all too happy to extend his family line if he could, and keep his blood strong in the pride, but it was never about attachment or care. He was not capable of such things, as he was only a warrior, and knew nothing else. Still, his attachment to Sebor was deeper than a fleeting connection. She was his ally, and he found her competence admirable, so her use extended beyond what he might have imagined. He liked having her around.

He could even say he trusted her.

A roar from above drew his attention, and he turned his eyes skyward. He saw not one but two winged lions circling above, and knew this was not going to be as easy as their first encounter was. He braced himself, growling and lowering his body in readiness.

"Everyone! On your guard!"

Afriti, above, roared as she spotted them below, letting Baku know that their prey had been found in the most straight forward of ways.

"There they are! They've got an extra with them, but it doesn't matter! I will have my revenge!" She was taken by the idea of it, her blood boiling with her anger and embarrassment at the memories of being beaten by these mere mortals. She tucked her wings against her and dove down, claws stretched forward as she plummeted down at them. Sebor was closest to her line of sight, so she aimed for the female.  

[Kolina]

Baku watched as Afriti roared announcing to him their prey had been spotted but also letting their prey know that they were there. He sighed. He himself was more into subtle approaches but Afriti was so hot blooded for revenge at this point that subtle was probably not in her vocabulary. Ah well, he may still knew how to throw his weight around.

Baku watched for a moment to admire Afriti's dive before following her. His wings were flush against his side as he plummeted to the ground, taking note of the one who Afriti had attacked and angling himself toward the male Vidar. With his own bellowing roar Baku snapped open his wings as he neared the mortal, claws out and ready to strike any flesh he could rend.

He was determined to get Afriti her revenge, even if it wasn't in a style he much cared for. After all, he needed to prove himself to her.

Now that was a strange thought.

Lithiasaur

SilverLutz

Which of your lions again is going to piss of Baku enough to make him use his power on them later? I can't remember. Wanna make sure we set that up. smile

 

[SilverLutz]

Before Vidar even had a chance to say anything, Ulfric was barking orders. He glanced up - up? - as he heard a roar coming from the sky and stared in awe at the two beasts barreling towards them. Flying lions! Gods! Wow, Asla would be so impressed!

"They're huge!" he said with a laugh, lowering his head as the male dove towards him, claws extended and mouth wide open. This was going to be a battle for the ages and it was only his first viking! He waited for the god to close in and, at the last moment, dove to the side to avoid the strike. He was excited and young, but he wasn't about to leap into a battle head-first. He wanted to see if the flying lion had enough agility to not plow into the ground now that he wasn't there.

Sebor was ready for a fight as well as the goddess she had seen before picked her out to attack. She hadn't even made her trinkets into tokens yet, and here she was ready to fight again. This time there was another god, targeting Vidar. Good, maybe that would get him to realize just how things could switch from calm and delightful to dangerous in a moment. Ulfric was unattended and could help out whoever needed it most.

Like Vidar, she stepped out of the way of the dive, but not as far as the male had. She reached out with one paw, claws extended, to slash at the goddess as she swooped by. She wasn't sure if she'd make contact, but she hoped to leave a nice scour mark along her side.

Lithiasaur

Kolina

That would be Vidar, the one Baku is attacking XD Works out perfectly!

 

[Lithiasaur]

SilverLutz

Kolina

They were big, and Ulfric was not anticipating two of them. It seemed the Goddess he and Sebor had fought before got some back up, and they both looked very dangerous. This might have been too much of a challenge for a new Reaver and the crew he had assembled, but the Captain was certain they could handle themselves.

Ulfric moved to help Sebor, his instincts telling him to do so without him giving it much thought. He probably should have gone to help the more brash and less capable Vidar, but his decision was made in a split second.

Afriti was ready for their attacks this time, and would prove a much more difficult foe than they had faced when they had her by surprise. She coiled her wings and span away from her dive, landing in a huge cloud of dust and dirt, digging up the earth with her claws as she suddenly slowed and then surged forward in a raw display of pure anger and power, huge chunks of dirt flying beneath her as she tore the ground up in the ferocity of her charge.

She leaped at Sebor, but Ulfric slammed into her from the side to engage in the first claws out fight. Afriti turned on him immediately, roaring and slashing at him with enough force to send him flying backwards. She was not messing around now: she was thirsty for this revenge, and she was going to have it.  

[Kolina]

Baku may not be the most adept at physical fighting but he knew how to handle himself well enough. The last thing he would have done was expect his prey to wait him out and not dodge. So snapping his wings to the full extent he slowed his plummet just enough to make the landing less jarring. Like Afriti, dust and dirt flew around him as his claws dug into the dry earth. Baku paid no mind the gouges in the earth as he took in everything. Seemed Afriti was getting two foes. He paused for a moment when she was hit from teh side, but seeing her drive the male back he grinned. He'd aid her if he thought she needed it.

On the ground, it was easy to tell that Baku was most certainly the larger and bulkier of the two Gods. Afriti had a much more lithe frame than he did. Baku was very much the bulky muscular male and he intended to use his size to his advantage. After all, fighting with brawn had never been his strong suit. In fact, he remembered a time he scoffed at another God for it. How the times have changed.

With a growl he dug his claws into the ground and used them to get as much speed as he could as he charged Vidar. His wings were tight against his side, teeth flashing white as he barreled towards the younger male. He whipped out with a paw to swipe at Vidar's face.

Lithisaur

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

The display the goddess put on was intimidating, but Sebor wouldn't back down. They were here, they wanted to fight, and she knew the goddess had more than the right to do so. They had pounced on her last time, and it was her turn to do the same. Even though they were greater in number, she had her doubts about them coming out of his without some lasting wounds, at the very least.

When the goddess charged her, she held her ground. Ulfric came in at the last moment to distract her, for which she was thankful, even though he took a pretty serious blow. While Afriti had her focus on him, she made her move, darting in to latch on to her exposed neck with her teeth. There would be no pulled punches in this exchange, and she knew they had to hit hard and hit fast. Teeth sank into the warm skin and she tasted and felt blood gushing from the wound, and all she did was clamp harder. She knew a return attack wouldn't be long in coming, but if she could hang on and weigh the larger lioness down for just a few moments, Ulfric could land an attack of his own.

Vidar, on the other hand, was facing down the massive god one on one. He wasn't small by any means, but he certainly wasn't the largest lion in the Stormborn, so having the beast looking at him made him feel about as big as a cub. Thankfully for him, he certainly didn't feel that way mentally. He surveyed the speed at which the god corrected himself and made a little note that, while he had good reflexes, he bet he was a bit quicker on his feet. Something that large couldn't be very quick out of the gate, as elephants could attest to. Give them a long, straightaway space and they could get up to speed, but in small spaces they could do nothing but turn in circles.

The god did just that, charging head-on at Vidar like a rhino blind with rage. Vidar again waited, a little grin on his face, and at the last moment darted away. He wasn't a fool, and he knew he'd never best the god in a fight of physical strength, but maybe he could keep him occupied so the other two more experienced fighters could get one god off their backs.

He found himself near the gouged earth where Baku had landed and dug his claws into the dusty earth. He waited until the last possible moment to dig his paw in and fling a huge clod of dirt, directly into Baku's eyes. He might be a god, but Vidar bet that getting dirt and sand directly in his eyes wouldn't feel very nice, nor let him see for a few moments, at least.

Lithiasaur

Kolina

 

[Lithiasaur]

SilverLutz

Kolina

Afriti roared but this time she was not surprised by the attack Sebor launched. She was not going to let herself be taken down a second time, not when she had started the fight, and was looking to do nothing more than hurt or kill them. She used her wings to her advantage, beating them with ferocious power to haul herself from a dead stop up into the air enough to spin herself around and throw Sebor off of her, the bite not deep enough to risk her seriously damaging herself with the action.

Now in the air again, Afriti flew herself upwards, swinging around in the sky to dive back down toward Sebor and Ulfric, who had come to join her side and help her back to her feet.

They had no chance against a Goddess in the sky, Afriti felt, and she dive bombed them with her claws raked forward, slashing at them both with all four of her massively clawed paws. They were sharp like talons, as her flying and climbing honed her use of her four feet very specifically.

She smashed her two back feet into Ulfric's face, slashing him across the muzzle and hitting him with enough force from the dive bomb to knock the senses out of him. Her front claws were aimed for Sebor, who she felt deserved to be taught a very good lesson about what sort of enemies she made.  

[Kolina]

Baku flinched away from the dirt and sand sent flying in his direction. "Playing dirty are we?" He didn't give Vidar too much of an opening for attack though as he leapt straight up, his wings beating downward, creating his own whirlwind of dust and debris. "Two can play that game mortal." He barked out as he continued to blink his eyes to clear it of the dirt.

Once sure he had gotten it all out Baku landed back on the ground and just stood there, eyeing Vidar up. Now, Baku wasn't much of a physical fighter. That he knew. His strengths landed more on the mind than the brawn and his mind was running constantly, evaluating everything going on. With a smirk he stood there and raised a brow at the small mortal. "I think I'll wait here for you to come to me since if I were you, I'd use my smaller size and speed against someone like me. Am I right?" He chuckled.

If the little runt wouldn't come to him and just sat there, maybe he could coerce him to just take a nap. That was always a plan.

Lithiasaur

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Sebor felt her feet lift the ground...and not touch back down again. She held on as tightly as she could, but the sudden movements from Afriti shook her loose and she fell a good ways back to the ground. She twisted in the air to land on her feet, but having fallen from such a height it still slammed her into the ground. Grimacing, she stood on shaky legs that barely held her weight. Something was sprained or broken, she was sure, but she wasn't about to let the pain distract her. Not right now.

As Ulfric moved to stand beside her, Sebor lifted her head to the attack. Afriti's paws were easily larger than her head, and she knew it would be trouble to get hit by one. Ulfric had proven that the last time they had faced her. Still, there wasn't much she could do other than stand her ground and wait, trying to save her energy for attacks that she could land when the goddess was close enough.

Not far away, Vidar was waiting for Baku to make another move. To his surprise, the god took off into the air and returned his little attack tenfold, blowing up the dust and dirt around him. Vidar quickly lowered his head and covered his eyes with a paw, laughing once the fierce winds settled down and the god landed. He was covered in dirt now, his blue markings gone and his mane a hot mess.

"Oh, that was great!" he said as he lifted his head, grinning at the god. Having not been here before he couldn't understand why the other two Stormborn and the goddess were attacking each other so ferociously, but he was actually having a good time with the god that had decided to attack him. He listened to the little deduction and, realizing the god preferred to use his mind over his might, he quickly changed his plan of attack.

"You are very right, my friend," Vidar said with a grin. "Got me figured out. Well, since you're not gonna fight, I think I'll go help my friends out since they seem to be in a tight spot."

As he finished speaking he began to move, darting in the direction of Sebor and Ulfric. Afriti was in the process of her dive bomb so there wasn't much he could do other than roar as loud as he could, trying to distract the goddess. He ran as quickly as he could to the other two lions who were simply standing there grimly. Perhaps his roar would rally them to do more than sit and wait for the goddess to reach them.

Lithiasaur

Kolina

 

[Lithiasaur]

SilverLutz

Kolina

Afriti was enjoying herself, though she knew better than to take the mortals for chumps. They were very strong in their own right, and while any other day they should be proud of their fighting, today they were fighting Gods. Angry, vengeful Gods, to boot, though only one had a reason to be. The other was simply helping her, and for that she was very thankful.

Baku was an invaluable ally, and she was glad to have met him, even at her worst. It was pathetic to need help, that was true, but being able to form an alliance with him made it tolerable.

Though, she would still feel a lot better once they taught all these mortals a lesson they would not soon forget.

Ulfric was not simply waiting for the goddess to attack them. He was waiting for his opening to attack. He was not about to let Sebor be hurt, and he wanted to make sure that he did not miss his chance. Vidar's roar as he ran toward them certainly drew attention, from the Goddess and the Captain, but it was the Goddess that recovered first and she tucked her wings, launching herself at him instead of her previous targets.

What did she care about which mortal was first to fall?  

[Kolina]

His attempt at blinding Vidar with dust and dirt did not go quite as planned but it was alright. Baku growled when it chosen prey ran away from him and to Afriti. Perfect. He wanted to get all three of the mortals together so that he and Afriti could really work together to take care of the annoying mortal whelps.

Baku waited a moment or two to let Vidar get close to the fray before giving chase. The God had taken to the air and flew low to the ground. His paws could easily touch the earth if he extended them downward. Baku made a point to come up from behind Vidar and as silently as his leathered wings allowed him and lashed outward with claws. He tucked his wings inward in the same motion to create a powered sort of pounce. Even if Vidar managed to dodge out of the way the other two lions would not be spared being pushed aside and attacked by the bulky God.

Once disetangled from his prey Baku moved quickly to Afriti's side. He did not interfere with her current chosen prey. He knew she needed this. She needed to feel powerful and better than the mortals. Which was very much was! But now with them together and the mortals bunched together the massacre could be done much more effectively.

Lithiasaur

SilverLutz