Welcome to Gaia! ::

Suluksati had decided, since she was on Eowyn and in need of a pick-me-up, she would see if she could find Samael's clan. He had said she was welcome to stay there, and even if the invitation was revoked in light of her peculiar life quest - when and if he found out what she did with her life - she still wanted to see him again. Talk. Be among her own kind... That sort of thing.

She could smell Khehora - Gaili, she thought - nearby, and she perked up, tired after her long and unproductive journey in the desert. Samael was Gaili, and though being in the same magic clan did not necessarily mean that they were in the same family clan, they still might know where to find him.

She tracked the scent, following it eagerly until she caught another scent on the air. Blood. Dragon blood. She felt her heart sink into her belly, her wings drooping to drag across the sand. Dead dragons meant dragon hunters – nothing else killed them. She hoped - she fervently hoped - that the khehora she sought and the killers of the dragons were not the same people. She scented the living, electric smell of live Kiandri dragons at the same time as she heard their desert-rattling, crackling roar. Her feelings crystallized into resolve. If they were hunters, then same clan as Samael or not, she would stop them. She likely wouldn't be able to show them the error of their ways - nobody, after all, wanted to acknowledge that it was an error at all. After all these years, she had lost any real hope of converting adults to her cause. They would never change, and the only thing she could do here was stop the madness, even a little.

She took to the wing, flapping hard to gain altitude in the warm, oppressive air, using her wings to cut through the sky. It didn't take much flying to find the dragons and their hunters - they had already caused a storm in the desert, the magic hanging thick in the air as earth and lightning clashed and stirred the sands around them in a deadly dance. There were three each of dragons and khehora, though she could see several soul orbs glittering in the sand - the remains of other dragons.

She had come too late for those dragons - these hunters were clearly powerful. But she hadn't come too late for those that remained. With a shriek she dove towards the battle, summoning a shield of light to block one of the Khehora's attacks - a blast of cutting sand that slashed like water against her spell and spilled harmlessly back to the ground. Suluksati swooped in, clawing at the nearest khehora until he backed off. She landed, wings flared. "Cease this fighting!" she snarled, her wings shimmering with light, "Leave the dragons be, or you will answer to me." she bared her teeth, "And I am not a force to be trifled with." Suluksati crouched, growling. The khehora looked at her as if she was insane. She knew she was. She didn't care. ”I am asking you to stop your fighting and walk away.” The dragons had fanned out and were pacing, assessing the situation. Suluksati ignored them for now, her focus on the hunters. ”You will do this.” she said, her crest raised in pride, Because it is right ”Because if you persist, I will protect them.”

”Why in Abronaxus's name would you do that?1” snarled one of the khehora, watching the dragons warily, ”These are dragons, not... two-legger pets.” one of the dragons hissed with static-charged laughter. ”They are dangerous creatures. We are proving our worth by killing them. Don't get in our way, Aedaun.” continued the khehora, summoning magic to his talons as he followed the dragons with his eyes. He lashed out with his magic, a rock summoned from the ground itself hurtling of its own accord at one of the dragons, the Khehora following behind the stone. As if that was a signal, the other khehora leapt at the dragon. Suluksati scrambled to pull up the spell, her hasty shield barely managing to protect the dragon from the assault before it broke. The dragon glared at her ”I do not need your protection, Khehora worm!” it howled, ”Do not presume to protect my kind!” it made a sound like nails on a chalkboard, sending a lightning bolt her way, searing the ends of her feathers and turning the ground beside her into glass. It clawed at the khehora that harried it as its fellow dragons joined in. One broke from the fray and leapt at Suluksati, trying to pin her with its claws, which shimmered with its terrible electricity. She met the dragon head on, blasting him with holy light magic and following up with her sharp, raking claws. She clawed through an artery, and it fell, bleeding, fading away into orbs and dust as she turned her attention to the other two dragons.

The hunters were strong, but the dragons had been lucky. The khehora were stunned, spasming in the wake of a lightning blast As one of the dragons prepared to finish off the khehora, she took action. Hunters they may be, but she was not going to let them perish.

She roared, a brilliant beam of light striking the dragon. It reeled back, howling, as its hide glowed with angry light. She rushed in to headbutt it, and it fell to the ground, a spear of sandy glass piercing its skull as one of the khehora managed to summon it through their pain. Suluksati threw up a shield as the other dragon sent a great ball of lightning at the group, and, without thinking about it, ran in. She clawed the dragon down and, as they recovered, the other khehora joined her. It was not long before the dragon, overpowered, died.

Suluksati shifted her ruffled feathers and looked down at the disintegrating form and the soul orbs sadly. She had failed. Yet again, she had failed.