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Ashierra was stuck in place by the narrow gaze. She refused to let go, as did the hidden male. She barely noticed as the wolftaur pulled up and challenged Jade, though flames still rolled along her arms, showing minimal conciousness to everyone else around her. She snarled as she saw the shimmer of pointed teeth revealed from a wicked grin.

"Oh, so you like whips, huh girly?" A shaggy wolftaur took a step forward, pulling a long rope from his back. It was a long and vicious looking thing, its head split five ways, a lump on each tip. "Care to dance then love?"

"Oops." Tuula grumbled as she jumped from the log to catch Alek's arm. "Speed will get newbies every time." She said apologeticly. "Hurry up and straighten yourself. We're almost there." She looked up at the village gate as she held his arm, waiting for him to stop wobbling about.

"Oh, you don't have to..." The male said, tongue flicking out to give his chops an eager lick. "You could just be good little girls and let us have our way." His own arm swung, the five ends of the whip fanning out and nearly tangling with Jade's as it blocked her threat.

Ashierra blinked. Did that guy just call her a 'little girl?!' That got her attention. Growling, she stepped next to Jade and placed her hand on the other female's catform back. "No one calls me 'girl.' Nor 'little.' And they won't be addressing my friends that way either." She hissed as the flames from her arm shot along Jade's back without harming her, and coiling around the whip while giving it a double end. "Have fun with this one." She said, taking her hand back as she glared at the wolftaur while suprise registered on his face. The male's whip still had five ends compared to Jade's whip's two, but the fire...

"Hey, it got you down here. We'd still be way up there if I hadn't. Count yer blessings." She watched him take off and gave her head one shake, almost like a neck twitch. 'Reckless. But which fair maiden has him so worried?' She wondered briefly to herself before chasing after him, trying to sense exactly where her magic reach died.
"To the right!" She shouted up to Alek, pointing him past the buildings lining the road next to them. The dead zone was over there.

Ashierra was too irritated to notice Jade's emotions. She knew Jade wasn't weak, but she hated being called such a thing. If she hadn't been made so jittery by the eyes in the shadows, she probably would have let Jade go for a bit longer and focused on one of the other idiots around them. Figuring she had put her two cents in with the wolftaur, she unconciously turned right back to the shadow and gasped. He was gone? Her head flashed back and forth, looking through the clan before them. Where had that guy gone?
She barely noticed when a cervitaur stepped toward her. Without giving it much thought, she shot a ball of fire at his face, which made him cringe away with smoking horns and raised a laugh from most of his mates.
Her skin crawled. Where had he gone?

The wolf yelped when the firewhip kissed his arm, leaving a burning cut through his fur and skin. Growling, he raised his hand, aiming his whip at Jade's feet before looking back at the cattaur in his group, the one that had been watching the females in the pub. "You know, you could lend a bit of magic to my whip too!"

Tuula's eyes widened when they reached the wall, instantly recognizing the barrier. She followed at top speed after Alek, not wasting breath to ask what he was doing. Would the wall really let them pass?

Ashierra couldn't focus on looking for the bearer of the disembodied voice much longer. Too many of the bandits were advancing. A centaur stepped up with a large knife, stabbing repeatedly. Ashierra rolled her eyes and made the metal blade red hot. The centaur dropped it instantly and leapt forward. Dodging his kick, she brought up her fist and shoved him away, taking along the cervitaur that had tried her before.
Suddenly, she felt a boney hand on her shoulder. Her head whipped around, looking straight at a naga's narrow chest. Another hand clamped over her mouth before she could yell to Jade.

"Too slow, my pet."

Her golden eyes crept up a long arm with encantations either cut or burned into it. The vest covered torso lead to a head crowned with lank hair that was yellow-white like old paper, only with red ink-stained tips. Tiny black eyes stared into hers when they connected. Ashierra struggled, engulfing her body in flames. The naga mearly smirked as the skin on his hands burned, though not as bad as they should have. Suddenly, the cattaur felt herself go weak. It felt like her strength was draining out of her. When her legs began to buckle underneath herself, the naga removed his hand from her mouth, held it up and made a ball of fire hover above it. She realized that as her strength dissipated, the ball grew in brightness. "Ja..." Her voice was a meer breath, the naga's power working quickly.

"Such power will be useful to me." He whispered, almost like he was thanking her. His eyes flicked up, planning to go after Jade when he'd finished.

Tuula skidded to a halt when Alek reached the wall. A shiver crawled up her spine when she touched her hand to the wall. This didn't feel like that cattaur... Or any cattaur. "Damn it!" She made a fist and hit the wall, he fur along her spine and tail fluffing in fear and anger. "Alek." Her voice croaked. "He's here. The- the naga." Why did those three have to come today of all days and attract his attention?
Then she backed up and took another spot, throwing her water and plant magic full-force in one spot. Unless they were the two most powerful cattaurs in the world, those girls had no chance on their own....

Ashierra's legs collapsed under her, dropped her to her knees. Her eyes refused to focus, her arms felt like heavy weights, and a sharp pain had started thrumming in her middle. Her magic was her strength. It being forced from her was leaving her as defenseless and weak as a child. She was leaning her hands againt the ground now. She tried a last ditch effort and bit the naga's arm as hard as she could, wincing at the taste of his sour blood.

The naga canted his head, lifting a finger from Ashierra's shoulder and wiggling it back and forth at Jade. "It's not your turn yet, my dear." His voice rasped, eyes slidding down to look at the weakened female, smirking as she continued trying to fight back, his arm twitching only slightly as it was punctured. "Soon though, so don't worry. This one is nearly done." He looked up and inclined his head at Jade, telling the others to keep after her.

"'No worries'? OF COURSE THERE ARE WORRIES!!" She snapped, turning to yell at him some more. Her magic instantly stopped it's attack when she spotted the extra cattaur. She quickly felt around with her magic for more of them, but he seemed to be the only one. In a couple steps she leapt over Alek to get between him and the other male. "Keep going." She whispered to Alek, probably unneccessarily, baring her teeth and growling, glaring as she stood ground.

Head dropping from the arm, Ashierra spat out the bits of skin caught on her teeth, her hair hanging in sweaty strings around her face. Now her elbows were shaking under the weight of her own torso.

The naga blinked. "It's not what I did. It's what I am doing. Hush now, it is up to her. She will remain alive after I'm done. If she is strong enough." He emphasized the last sentence, mouth smirking as if to taunt the green female.
"Well well. Perhaps I should have gone for you first? Such wind magic! Though, I already have a bit of that. Oddly enough, that also came from a green cattaur, though it certainly wasn't you." He grinned and held out his hand to Jade, his other hand tightening on Ashierra's shoulder to make her cry out. "Come to me, child."
Suddenly, he felt the wall he had made begin to shift, begin to break. His grin broadened. He was tempted to just let the wall fall right then, but it would crumble soon enough. Let whoever was on the other side wait a moment longer...

Tuula pulled her stance a complete one-eighty, putting a finger innocently to her cheek, her body appearing relaxed. "Me? Cause trouble? I have no idea what you're talking about?" Though she grinned, her eyes continued to flash dangerously.

Ashierra heard the wall collapse, breifly wondering who was on the other side. She toyed with the idea of it being Alek, come to save the day. A corner of her mouth turned ever so slightly as a picture of the male took form in her head. Funny... She thought she would cry if she'd had the strength to.

"Dirty?" The naga questioned, cocking his head slightly with a grin. "Whatever do you mean? You yourself used magic a moment ago in defense. Those morons may have started a pointless fight, but because you faught back, I had to help. Besides-" He looked down at Ashierra, who's arms had finally proven to weak to support herself and was hanging by the hand that gripped her shoulder, feeling her shallow breathing. "I do not do this out of spite. It is a learning process. It's not my fault if they can't handle that process. I'll admit, I'm still working on it, seperating the magic without taking their strength as well. It's very difficult." He looked back up. "We all have to make sacrifices for the sake of survival and knowledge. I could do great things with this fire magic which is- or was- strong in this one. And I'll enjoy learning from you as well. Be glad that you both will be helping to make me stronger, so that I can teach future generations."

"They were out of hand the moment this wall got put up." She growled. She sensed the wall crumbling at her side, but ignored it as she rushed at the male, her wind magic whipping her hair around her head. She even used Jade's wind that she could feel to her advantage, making her wind force even faster as she battered the male with it.