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As yet another Mara was destroyed by the Kiandri female's brutal magical attacks Eyphah was once more chuckling to himself. She really was an impressive specimen, wasn't she? Able to destroy things in such a messy, if impressive, manner. Really it just made him want to cheer her on and stand back so that she could destroy all the rest of them, so long as she did it a manner that was just as messy and just as impressive as she'd killed the other ones. It was tempting, very tempting, but he wasn't one that could just sit still, not when there were still five Mara skulking about, making a nuisance of themselves. No, he wanted to get back in there... and get back in there he did.

Diving down he grabbed hold of one of the Rock Mara, getting a really good hold on it, before he used it as the equivalent to blunt weapon, using it to beat another one of them senseless. Pieces were flying in all directions from the pair of Rock Mara that he was bashing into one another, a sight that he couldn't help but to celebrate over. This really was far too much fun! It made him want to go rushing off straight away so that he could take down that many more of those silly creatures. There really couldn't be anything better then hunting Mara... well, save for hunting dragons. If one did it just right it was far more fun, messy, and tasty! The sound of the two Mara crashing together stopped only when the souls of the pair fled their earthen bodies, something that made it so that it was no longer any fun for him to beat them against each other.

Turning to face the remaining three his maw pulled back into a big grin, "Oh, I am going to have a lot of fun destroying the rest of you!" He purred at them, his tail swishing behind him, his eyes glowing with delight. Oh he couldn't wait, he would leave them in pieces as well, wanting there to be nothing left of them but their heads which he meant to toss into his ever growing pile of Mara heads. Giving a quick glance around though he checked on everyone else, having to remind himself that he wasn't alone, that there were others to worry about, some that were weaker then others such as Tallulah's little whelp, Nehelini. He was quick to make sure of where they were, what they were doing, and that they were all alright, Tallulah and Grrel included, before his attention was once more on the trio of remaining Rock Mara.

(( Word Count: 1658/2400 ))

(( Mara Killed 5/8 ))

At the words of his current caretaker the small Dovaa smiled brightly before making his way to scale the wall to a small ledge above. He sized up the rock wall. Its sandy coloring was speckled with red clay. For hand held grips he spotted dead grass clumps. He smiled as he saw them, his mind made up. Calling back to Tallulah the child attempted to reassure the elder male, “As long as you and Eyphah are around I'm sure I'll be fine...”

Nehelini looked around and remembering his lesson's tree climbing with his Uncles found a few good holds. Hoisting himself up and over the first stone ledge he rolled keeping low. Peeking back out he was pleased that the three remaining Rock Mara seemed to be utterly distracted by the three adults. Nehelini backed up to look around for a way to get to a higher place. Preferably one with more room to hide... 

With his back pressed to the rock wall. The child looked around then up. Spotting a ledge which looked larger than his current perch the child let out a happy little chirp before making his way to the wall again. Making a face he wished he was bigger so he could scale this wall faster. Mentally sighing he started his trek upwards small pants escaping as his little body exerted itself. Upon reaching a higher ledge the small Dovaa looked around. The ledge was in deed larger than the previous one. Instead of it being large enough for the child to lay flat on his belly, this ledge seemed capable of having Epyhah flat on his belly; tail included. A old nearly dead tree stood twisting itself around a large boulder. Nehelini made a mental note that it seemed as if the tree would be used as a lever of some kind as he saw the base of the plant sprouting from under the boulder itself. The aforementioned boulder was something else entierly. A masterpiece of nature as most rocks tended to be the child, after making sure he had stepped out of sight, marveled at the grand stone. Nehelini edged his way back to the edge and let out a small gasp. 

Unknown to him when he started his little adventure one of the Mara had spotted the child's small form skittering on the wall. The lumbering brute's eyes narrowed as it made to move after the child. After all the fleshy beings were to be wiped out. Nehelini's only warning that something had indeed spotted him was a odd sort of whistling sound. The child paused as he looked around for a quick hiding place before letting out a shriek as a very familiar ax embedded itself by him. He lost his footing falling on his rear end and turned to watched the Mara...the very same sort of creature who parted him from his family advance. 

Now, Nehelini wasn't a violent child by nature but he was faced with the very thing which put him in the view of a mean female and two rather intimidating males. He really didn't like fighting others or encouraging it in general. Though he was raised with a peaceful mindset right now was one of those things. As much as he was starting to really trust Tallulah and respect Epyhah there were some things one just couldn't really forgive.... 

After all...he was in the middle of lunch when he was parted from his Uncle and beloved elder brother. 

"Grrr....you are in so much trouble!" the child squeaked out before scrambling up onto his feet. Nehelini looked around and as the Mara ascended the child darted over to the grand boulder. With the help of the very tree which twisted its way around the stone. Nehelini put all his little body into it and with a satisfying crunch heard the tell-tale sounds of a rock starting to move. And move...and move...and...roll...

Slipping to fall back onto his rear, Nehelini watched as the Mara was smacked by the boulder. Letting out a cheer as his small body bounced up onto his feet, he blinked as it just kept going. Watching the boulder slam into another one of the remaining Mara the child let out in a clear voice, "WATCH OUT YOU TWO!!!!!!!!!!" in warning to the two adults currently fighting below. Nehelini cringed as the boulder had loosened a great many other rocks effectively burying all three Mara under a rock slide. After not a few moments of stillness Nehelini started to turn to climb back down back towards Tallulah. Only to really loose his footing due to the lack of strength as his adrenaline rush zapped his small body.

Letting out a small cry of shock Nehelini felt himself fall back towards the valley floor below.

(( 1605 // 2400 ---- well their all dead, and i got like two ta three more posts left to get all word count lol ))

To say that Eyphah was a bit startled by what happened next was a bit surprising was a bit of an understatement as he heard the little Dovaa whelp calling out for them to 'watch out'. Jerking his head to one side he found himself starring at the various boulders and sliding earth that was heading their way. Giving a great flap of his red glowing wings he moved himself out of the way of the danger, landing a short distance away where he was able to watch the rather chaotic destruction of the remaining Mara. The way that they were crushed under a rock slide of sorts he found himself a bit torn about how he felt about it all. He was half disappointed, mostly because the battle was over and he hadn't gotten his fill yet, but at the same time he was rather amused. There was something all together amusing about seeing Rock Mara getting crushed to death by the very thing that they were made of. In fact after a moment of wide eyed starring he started burst into peels laughter, finding it to be rather funny in a morbid sort of way, "Oh man, that was good... stupid Mara are just far too pathetic for their own good."

At least until he heard the pathetic little cry that the whelp gave off before he stumbled and fell, falling down toward where they were standing. He starred a moment, sighed, then lunged up into the air so that he could snag Nehelini out of the air. He gave another flap of his wings before he came down, landing easily on the ground with the little one in his arms. He then turned, spotting Tallulah coming racing over toward him with a rather worried look on his face before the big Diabi said, "Relax Tallulah, your little whelp is fine." He said, giving him a little toss so that he would land in the arms of the concerned Merkorian before he turned his attention back to Grrel.

After looking around for a moment he spotted the Kiandri and called out to her, "Are you alright?" He rather liked her as a hunting partner, finding her methods of defeating her enemies to be rather interesting and amusing, as such he would be more then happy to hunt more Mara with her and, once the mess with the strange creatures was done, perhaps some dragons as well. The more the merrier when it came to hunting if you asked him, maybe they could bring Tallulah along as well to be their back up as well as their healer, allowing them to continue on with their hunts for some time to come. It would be a messy and amazing amount of violent fun if you asked him.

So long as the female wanted to continue on with them at least, she didn't seem to be that big a fan of the little whelp that Tallulah had found and all but claimed. Maybe after Tallulah finally gave him back to... well, whoever it was that he belonged to then she would be more willing to hunt with them? Once he'd reached Grrel's side he gave her a once over then gave a nod, "Good to see that you didn't get too scuffed up in the battle or that messy rock slide." He murmured, his tail swishing from side to side. It would have been a rather huge waste were she hurt and unable to continue battling if you asked him. As such he was glad that she appeared to be alright, "Shall we continue with hunting more Mara?" He decided to ask though he was a little iffy if she might want to given the manner in which she was growling.

"Only if you want to, of course." He added before he turned to look over at Tallulah and his little whelp, calling over to them, "Is your whelp alright? Will you need to take a break from the hunt to heal him?" He was awfully small so he wouldn't be surprised if he had been hurt in the midst of the rock slide or the fall. Little whelps, be them khehora or two-legs, seemed to be rather delicate at a young age meaning they were a little more high maintenance from he had noticed. As such if Tallulah and his little friend needed a break he would understand, even if it would be a bit of a shame since Eyphah himself was always up for another good fight.

(( Word Count: 2414 ))

The sensation of falling was a terrifying feeling to a child. Normally that fear was countered by the fact that a elder would catch them. With normal children this would be the case, but Nehelini wasn't a child in their normal environment. He was displaced. In the moment that Nehelini experienced that sensation his reality hit him dead on. There were no elders here for him...his family wasn't there at that moment. At the sound of wings the child's mind shot back to their first moments in those woods. He had already been scared since it was the first time he was away from the Planes. He wasn't fully aware then that he would never get to see his elder siblings. The plan had been to let Baruin find his own way. But all that changed. All that changed with the simple act. The sound of a sudden broken branch. The flap of a wing, the sound of a sudden battle cry and suddenly----red.

“Gah!” he let out a small cry of shock as Eyphah snagged him. Sadly his mind whirled to when he felt claws dig in and part him from his brother. Nehelini looked up, his eyes wide, not seeing Eyphah there but another dark Khehorian male. One who's eyes were cold as they looked down upon him. Blinking Nehelini saw more of the dark male he knew as Eyphah. Then he felt that weightlessness he was quickly coming to fear, only this time...he was caught. The child let out a soft nearly soundless “Oomph”

Hearing Tallulah he calmed dramatically, something about the Merkorian eased the child's mind as he let the other look him over. A sort of owlish blinking at the elder male as everything started to sink in. Being still just a child the hugs started to spark that instinct to cry as he was distressed. The tears were slow at first then Nehelini burrowed his way into the other chest muttering, “I-I'm sorry! D-don't let them take me away again! Tallulah...please!”

The child was scared. Pure. Plain and Simple. Scared. All those nights of not wanting to wake his elders as his own nightmares woke him. All those moments of seeking his elder brother if the other was out of sight for mere seconds. All those thoughts of what if those monsters came back to finish off him and his brother. Everything. It all came back at the worst moment for the small child when he couldn't risk showing any weakness. He didn't let out a great sound, but small whimpers and tears. Nehelini wasn't a particularly loud child which showed in this moment.

“I won't...-hic- Be that foolish again -hic-....promise.” his small voice was broken by the occasional hiccup. Tears streaming down his face as his nose started to run. He sniffled before wiping his nose on his sleeve. Nehelini was certain of one thing, whatever Grrel had to say didn't matter to him at this point. All that mattered was that Tallulah was there. Eyphah was nearby, which might be worse than he would like to think. There were no more Mara for how long the child had no idea. There was no more danger for now. He was...sorta safe. His mind was in a panic, but calming since Tallulah was there.

It was odd, if the child would look back on it. On how quickly he had come to rely on the two males. Eyphah was similar to many of the males in his family. His young mind recalling bits and pieces of pranks. Words and stories that were meant to frighten. Which met their goals most of the time with the child. Tallulah, wasn't exactly like a mother figure. But most assuredly nurturing to the whelp. The aquatic male was one the child looked forward to getting to know better. After all, Tallulah said something about teaching him to swim. Nehelini really didn't feel like sputtering water the next time he went to a Oasis. He wanted to enjoy it in its fullest. The child was already growing to adore the two males, their family which had quickly taken in the whelp. Nehelini was learning that not everyone was as closed minded as he was led to believe. Now Grrel, she was a different story. With the few words he heard the female utter he knew that she wasn't too keen on him even breathing. As much as he wanted to get to know her, he figured at this point it was a lost cause. Maybe when he got older he could show her that he meant no harm and wanted a peaceful co-existence. Maybe change her mind, about him at least. He would try, but for right now he just wanted to leave this place and sleep. Sleep sounded good.


((2411 // 2400 ----- SO DONE!!!! ))