It started with just the feline, the one that the wolf lunged for. The response was unsurprising--a slash back, and though there wasn't enough contact to draw blood the wolf still felt further justification from the swat of claws against her fur.
Then the humans joined in.
The wolf yelped as one human swung a stick and metal hard into her side, claws digging into the soft soil as her body was shoved a small distance from the impact. That strike hurt the most, and dazed the wolf slightly--enough that she couldn't jump away when something was shot through the air and hit her shoulder, and another human got in somewhat close to lash her with a vine-looking thing. Snarling, she managed to turn a bit and hop away a few paces to keep herself well away from the next projectile that got sent out before turning back towards the growing group.
More humans. The wolf's heart was hammering away in her chest, contorting with fear of being pinned again. Humans hurt her, caused her pain. Why wouldn't she expect any different from these humans? Their scent did not match the ones from before, but they were still human.
She looked like she might lunge for the cat again as she charged in, but at the last moment swung over to jump up at the human that had struck her with the stick. Her aim was to knock the human down, but if that failed, she at least hoped to bite the human...
[Tara HP: 41/60 DMG: 12 Target: Izzy]
Yekaterin
ShortGreen
grasshopper pie
Sage of Chaos
Lissesul
Character Name:Tara O'Connell Brief description of character: An always smiling, cheerful sort, Tara wears her heart on her sleeve. A keen eye makes her a valued photographer, and an improving shot with a bow, but her temper makes her surprisingly stubborn and too willing to dig her heels in when she feels it's needed.
Tara's attack sent Izzy to the ground and the girl shrieked in both surprise and pain. Without thinking, Misha threw herself between the two - one her friend and the other someone she barely recognized. Golden eyes locked with wild blue. Misha drew back her lips to reveal fangs and hissed warningly. She really, really did not want to hurt Tara but, at the same time, she would not let her friend hurt anyone else.
She knew Tara would hate herself if she injured someone.
When Tara made no move to retreat in the face of an angry, threatening cat, Misha lowered her head and her slim shoulders came up in a motion that clearly indicated tension and seriousness. Please, she thought, get your mind back. Taking a breath, she launched herself at Tara. Instead of slashing out with teeth and claws, she used her body weight as a battering ram. Nonetheless, she did instinctively flail a bit with the hit and her claws came out to catch in thick fur.
Sage of Chaos rolled 1 6-sided dice:
4Total: 4 (1-6)
Sage of Chaos
Offline
Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2016 8:46 pm
The force of the cat's attack was enough to throw the wolf off-balance. Izzy tore at the earth with her hands, twisted, and pulled herself out from under the snarling canine. She scrambled backwards in a rushed crab-walk, and managed to grab her dropped spear as she retreated back towards the other three fighters.
Izzy's heart nearly pounded out of her chest, and she pat over her body furiously, like to make sure nothing was missing. Her hair fell out of its ponytail, her jacket was ripped across the front, and for sure her entire backside was going to be bruised in the morning. But besides the scare and the concussive force of the attack, she was alive.
She had to help out the cat. The Artemis Chosen wasn't steady enough to get on her feet, but Izzy got up on one knee, and launched her spear at the wolf. It grazed the wolf's side, not perfect, but satisfying enough to count as revenge.
"Eat that!" she yelled out, the paragon of grace in battle.
Izzy's HP: 35 Damage: 6 Tara's HP: 27
Yekaterin
ShortGreen
grasshopper pie
Kaefaux
Lissesul
bobaTJ rolled 1 6-sided dice:
6Total: 6 (1-6)
Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2016 6:54 pm
Someone else had joined in. Brian turned to regard her briefly as if to make sure she wasn't actually Circe human skin. He didn't recognize her from any events earlier, but that didn't mean that she hadn't been there. There were many more Chosen than he had imagined.
He drew back his bow then and let it fly. Perhaps it was the fact that Misha had thrown herself into danger but, whatever it was, it caused the old sort of adrenaline-fueled aim to kick in. The arrow struck home hard, and thought it was a good shot, he winced.
"The sooner you come back, the sooner this'll be over," Brian mumbled. The others might not hear him (and he wasn't sure even the Tara-wolf would) but he felt like he needed to say it. Affection had worked with Misha, but he wasn't really willing to be mauled by an enormous wolf, nor to watch anyone else do so.
He eyed the new girl again and skipped a bit back and to the side to allow her to better attack. Nobody else needed to get hurt.
"The cat's ours," he said casually to her. Well, not theirs, just one of them. A cat and a dog fighting, though... if he had wandered upon it, he might not have known who was whose. it was best to not leave anything to question. (722)
b]HP: 47/47 DMG: 12 TARA: 15/60
Yekaterin
ShortGreen
Kaefaux
Sage of Chaos
Lissesul
bobaTJ
Offline
Yekaterin rolled 1 6-sided dice:
2Total: 2 (1-6)
Yekaterin
Offline
Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2016 7:03 pm
Beth winced and turned her head at Brian's strike, unwilling to see the arrow pierce flesh. Though she was getting more used to the idea of using force, it was still hard to compel her arm to follow the movement of attack.
The sight of Tara's teeth and the viciousness with which she lunged at Misha and Izzy almost changed her mind. It rattled her, somewhere in the primal brain, seeing those white fangs flash and chomp. They were not so removed from their animal natures, it seemed, especially when there was an enchantment reverting them back. She had never held to the belief that hiding behind ties and wedding rings there might be some savage beast, waiting to be unleashed. But this latest venture into the bayou was beginning to convert her.
She tried to strike true, and strike hard, but fear stayed her hand. Though she managed to hit her target, there was very little conviction behind it, as if hoping she would not draw attention to herself yet still contribute to the cause.
Character Name:Beth Almasy Brief description of character: A sweet but skittish beauty who's lived in the lap of luxury her whole life, Beth doesn't quite know what she's doing. She's always willing to support and cheer on her friends, mostly so she doesn't actually have to lift a finger.
Deity: Hera WC: 176, Total: 612
Lissesul rolled 1 6-sided dice:
6Total: 6 (1-6)
Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2016 7:12 pm
Briiva acknowledged Brian with a curt nod, frowning as she tried to place the wolf. The flash of the pendant and band of silver gave her sudden realization however. "Tara!"
Fighting to bring senses back to a chosen was one thing; fighting for a friend was another entirely. Tara looked confused and frightened, attacking more out of survival and desperation than intent. Briiva figured that it wouldn't be long before she either fled or something worse happened, which Briiva definitely didn't want. Alcohol or not, she knew that she couldn't miss; this was too important.
Pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose with her fingers, Briiva pulled back on her bow and straightened her stance. She heard the chosen who had noticed her mention how Misha was with them, but it sounded distant and hazy, her focuses entirely on making sure her shot would be enough to take her friend out of the fight, but also make for a quick recovery.
When she was confident that she was lined up perfectly, Briiva released the string. She had already dropped her bow in favor of rushing to the injured girl, working to get out her emergency kit from her bag as the arrow bit deeply into her currently furry friend. She wasn't sure if her shot had been enough, and frankly, she didn't much care.
"Tara! It'll be okay!" Briiva could only hope that it would. Ever since they had traveled through the hearth here, nothing had been okay. Her mind was racing, she noticed Beth (looking rather stressed out: Understandable given the situation) and grabbed her hand, doing her best to drag her along should she need a second pair of hands. "Sorry, but I might need your help!"
In quick succession, the moment the wolf managed to knock the human to the ground, the cat jumped in first. To the feline's credit, the wolf did flinch in response to the hiss and bared fangs, but hackles raised, the wolf responded with a snarl of her own in retaliation. She wasn't in the wrong here. She was fighting to protect herself. She wasn't in the wrong.
The ram of the small body was effective to knock her off the human, the small tug of claws in her fur making her grunt. Before she could go after either of them however, the human she'd knocked down launched the stick at her. The wolf yelped when the stick and point grazed her side, sparks of pain rising from the contact. Sparks that only grew when a projectile hit her right shoulder, and the wolf howled and yipped in pain from the force of the impact. Stumbling back, the wolf snarled, ears pinned back against her skull, right paw lifted as she kept her weight off the leg. Again the wolf stepped back when something else, the vine-like thing, struck her back.
The final strike that brought the wolf down, in a fashion, was the heavy hit of another projectile. It hit the same shoulder as the first, and a second howl ripped from the wolf's throat as she stumbled from the impact, this time accentuated by the arrow piercing her fur and flesh. Mistakenly putting weight again on her front right leg, the wolf toppled over, though did manage to keep from falling on to the arrow.
Snarls, growls and whimpers merged between her curled lips and bared fangs as the wolf half-lay on the ground, watching the approaching humans with wide, fearful blue eyes. The sounds they shouted out pressed against the wolf's mind, and she began to pant from the growing fright and confusion. Humans hurt. So why did something nudge in her mind and mumble not to bite them when they got close? Certainly made no sense to the wolf.
[Tara HP: 3/60]
Yekaterin
ShortGreen
grasshopper pie
Sage of Chaos
Lissesul
Character Name:Tara O'Connell Brief description of character: An always smiling, cheerful sort, Tara wears her heart on her sleeve. A keen eye makes her a valued photographer, and an improving shot with a bow, but her temper makes her surprisingly stubborn and too willing to dig her heels in when she feels it's needed.
While Tara continued to growl and show teeth, Misha recognized the inherent recession of the animal instincts. She had felt it. She had seen it in Tom. Relief washed through her and, without pausing to think about it, she padded towards the still scared wolf. Once she reached Tara's side, she bent her head and nuzzled against the uninjured shoulder. A little kitty head-butt of consolation and love seemed appropriate at the moment.
When she did not pay for her cheek by getting shredded by teeth, tension left Misha's narrow feline shoulders. Her reading of the situation had been spot-on. Tara was once more Tara and in the mood for a much more relaxed sort of rescue. With a low chirrup, she lowered herself to lay beside Tara on the ground. A wiggle put her even closer until they were side by side and she could feel the other Chosen's new fur against her own. It tickled a little bit. She glanced around at the others with one of her now common feline smiles. Then she tipped her head to one side and rested it against Tara's shoulder. The body language was clear. We are here. We want to help. Tara, get your head straight again, girl.
She resisted the urge to turn her head more and deliver an affectionate lick. That was one behavior that she really could do without. Licking poor Tom had been bad enough without her going around and licking everyone else... Though the faces afterwards would be hilarious, she thought impishly.
Kaefaux
Yekaterin
grasshopper pie
Sage of Chaos
Lissesul
WC: 731
Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2016 8:27 pm
Izzy watched the cat cuddle up to the wolf, and felt suddenly a bit unsure of herself. Something in her, maybe the part of her that made her a Chosen of Artemis, understood that the animal before them didn’t have any more fight left. But the cat really had exposed itself to a lot of danger just now, by cozying so close to the wolf’s fangs. Against Izzy’s cautious judgment, she really couldn’t do anything that might re-alarm Tara, and make her strike out in fear.
So, she didn’t attempt to recover her spear. Izzy lifted her hands up, palms towards Tara, indicating that she was now unarmed. “I’m cool. Everything’s cool now. Right, uh, Beth? Briiva?”
(wc: 905)
Kaefaux
Yekaterin
grasshopper pie
ShortGreen
Lissesul
Sage of Chaos
Offline
bobaTJ
Offline
Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2016 2:55 pm
Even the new girl seemed to know that this was Tara. He hadn't noticed her emblem the first time, but everyone seemed sure. So it was Tara.
His arrow struck hard and, rather than attack again, the wolf seemed to give in and relax. She also looked rather unhappy. Brian furrowed his brow briefly in concern, and then went to Tara and crouched before her. He smiled and touched her shoulder. "It's okay." She was forgiven, hopefully they were forgiven, and everything would hopefully be alright. "Besides, you still owe me some pictures."
That being said, he stood and started to collect his blunted arrows. It was better to leave the girls to Tara, he thought. They seemed to know Tara better than he did, and he doubted he was much comfort. (860)
Yekaterin
ShortGreen
Kaefaux
Sage of Chaos
Lissesul
Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2016 4:03 pm
Beth found herself pulled toward the whining, prostrate wolf. Briiva, her yoga buddy who had seemed to go AWOL, was there, yanking on her empty hand for her to kneel next to the wolf--no, Tara. She had to remind herself that there was a person behind the bared fangs, in the impossible blue of its eyes. This was another Chosen, half-mad and terrified. If she was so concerned about Misha and the other animals who had been people, what made her any different?
As much as she tried, she couldn't stop staring at the teeth.
Briiva yanking a better stocked emergency kit from her bag brought Beth back from the brink of fear. She watched in curiosity, and though part of her rebelled at the assumption that she was going to be any help (oh, so just because I abhor violence and don't want to fight means that I have any interest in healing?), she was relieved to do something that wasn't flailing a whip around. "Tell me what you need me to do," She said, taking any offered ointment and gently spreading it across the wound. She pulled out bandages and wrapped them around the places Briiva instructed, being very careful not to cause Tara too much pain. Though she felt as inexperienced with first aid as she might have been with a hammer, the Alps had certainly let her practice the art of winding gauze around wounds.
At least she could feel secure in the knowledge that one more of their number was not going to spend the rest of their life a wild animal. She hoped.
Character Name:Beth Almasy Brief description of character: A sweet but skittish beauty who's lived in the lap of luxury her whole life, Beth doesn't quite know what she's doing. She's always willing to support and cheer on her friends, mostly so she doesn't actually have to lift a finger.
Briiva patted Brian on the back as she and Beth approached the Tara-Wolf, kneeling down beside her and very slowly holding up her hand. She did her best to appear submissive to the still rather intimidating predator, reaching under-and-over to stroke gently down Tara's neck. "Shh, it's going to be okay. We're not here to hurt you, we're here to help." Briiva kept her voice low and soft, hoping not to get her hand bitten off. Trust was a two way street though, and she felt that Tara needed to see that Briiva trusted her before she would really start to feel comfortable.
She looked up at Izzy and nodded . "I'm just going to check Tara over before we try to get her to move. I've ah, had experience with this sort of thing." She was too embarrassed to elaborate on why she was familiar with first aid, however.
Briiva turned her attention back to her kit, opening it up and handing bandages and antiseptic to her friend who had graciously not fought again being tugged to what might have been still feral beast.
"If you could tend to any small cuts, just make sure we sanitize them and bandage them up. Thanks." She smiled at Beth, glad for the help. Moving her hand from the back of Tar's neck to her front right leg. The arrow would have to come out, but it wasn't going to be a pleasant sensation. Luckily, it seemed to have missed anything that would have been life threatening, and it had gone all the way through.
Briiva focused on carefully removing the arrowheads from the shafts of the arrow themselves before turning to look up at Tara. "I'm going to have to pull these out, okay? I know that it's going to hurt, but we need to be able to bandage up your leg. can you understand me at all?" She didn't notice, but her hand had reflexively gone to pet Misha's head.
While Briiva's face was mostly filled with concern, Arthur managed to poke his head out from the her bag, looking curiously at the pair of animals before him. He wasn't the only one!
