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 Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 12:43 pm
Alazne drank down the rest of her cider, loving the warmth that it caused in comparison to the cold of the outside. To be totally honest, she wouldn't have minded staying in the tavern if it weren't for the uncomfortable atmosphere that the place provided. It was warm and had a fire, unlike the caves that she sought out shelter in on a regular basis. Sometimes she'd be able to stoke up a fire, but her attempts were usually fruitless. Amber eyes blinked a few times as the soup was pushed back toward her, and her eyes followed Triston's movements. At the suggestion of leaving, she nodded quickly, eating the last couple spoonfuls of soup before getting to her feet and taking a few steps toward the door.
If only leaving such a spooky place could have been so easy. Of course, there had to be a reason for the disturbing atmosphere, right? It couldn't have just felt like that for no reason. "Where d'ya think you're goin'?" asked a gruff voice, a rugged-looking wolftaur taking a few steps in front of the pair, tail held high. As if an automatic response, Alazne stepped back, tucking her tail between her legs and pressing her ears back against her head. "We don't want any trouble. Just let us pass," she stated clearly, somehow thinking that the submissive posture would help the two to actually leave the place. That was until she noticed another wolftaur who stepped up behind the first one. She growled gently; coming in here hadn't been the wisest idea...
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Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 12:59 pm
Triston's icy glare rose to meet with the wolftaur who seemed to be the leader of the rest. "Move." The one word wasn't full of emotion but it held quite a bit of strength and threat behind it. The cattaur took a step forward never letting any thing out of his sight while allowing Alazne to get behind him.
His tail twitched irritably as he looked at the wolftaurs. They seemed like the type who wouldn't back down easily, but Triston wasn't scared. Maybe it was something about the way that the foxtaur had raised him or maybe he had more guts than anything else because he surely wasn't going to let them have their way with anything especially with Alazne with him. His braodsword rested heavily on his back and though Triston knew it was there, the cattaur made no move to draw out the weapon.
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Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 1:11 pm
Both the 'taur just laughed at the statements from both of the teenagers, obviously nonplussed by the smaller ones. "Oh, isn't this jus' precious! The li'l kitty cat and his wolfie friend think they're gon'na stand up ta us," he taunted, taking another look at Alazne, who was growling angrily at this point, easily riled-up, which could be good or bad, depending on the situation. Currently, the one thought that kept her on her paws, tail swishing low-to-the-ground behind her was the strength of the cattaur standing beside her. She took a few steps closer to Triston, wondering if these thugs would be stupid enough to counter-circle them, which would lead to an easy out. Though the one in the back seemed to go for it, the leader seemed to know what the girl was trying to do.
"Tricks like that aren't gonna work on us, li'l lady," he growled, one of his rough hands reaching out to hook in the barely-loose collar around her neck. Alazne growled at the contact, not hesitating to bite into the arm that had her, surprising the other enough that she was able to slip back, taking a few steps back until she was out of harm's way. Well, more-or-less. "Looks like this li'l wolf's got fangs," the wolftaur growled in a way that sent shivers up Alazne's spine. This wasn't anything, though, right? She'd escaped all the others, after all... by running.
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Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 1:27 pm
Dark instinct took over as the leader touched Alazne. Though she had been able to slip back by biting him that one action from that dirty wolftaur was enough to make Triston react. The air inside the once warm tavern suddenly exploded into a winter storm as the cold overtook anything even forcing the fire to die. "The 'ell?" Murmured several of them though they still stood their ground.
Already his hand was around the thick neck of the wolftaurs leader and the gloves that usually protected one from the ice of Triston's touch held no aid for this one. "Move." Triston repeated as the leader's face grew purplish and pale as flecks of ice gathered around his throat and up towards his face.
The wolftaur attempted to growl but that turned into a twisted whimper as Triston's hold got deadlier by the second. Then suddenly as if feeling this was a waste the cattaur pushed the wolftaur backwards. Triston's tail flicked behind him as his cold eyes gazed at each wolftaur forcing the heavy feeling of ice even more on them.
"Ya, demon. Go back to 'ell! " Recovering for their leader one of the wolftaurs rushed Triston with two deadly daggers in his hands. But Triston moved quickly only allowing a scratch to appear on his arm before punching that wolftaur in the gut. It went on with a cycle of dodge, cut, dodge before Triston got a good hold on the wolftaur's hands and shattered the daggers with ice.
"Alazne...trust me." Triston stated simply as he nodded towards the door. Hopefully she could make her way safely outside now. He however had some more wolftaurs to handle. But he still refused to pull his sword free for the cattaur found these guys so far as a waste of his blade.
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Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 1:38 pm
Alazne watched the fight with wide eyes, shivering at the change in temperature. As soon as she heard Triston's voice, however, she nodded firmly and jumped through the fray, hand taking hold of the door's handle. Amber eyed glanced back at the off-balanced fight; she trust Triston, yes, but would it be right to just leave him to a mass of so many wolftaur, so easily riled up, much in the same manner as herself.
That was when she caught sight of one of the leader's cronies, the stupider one that had hidden behind the burly wolftaur, armed with a bow-and-arrow. No wonder he'd taken the backseat- he was the one who would stab people in the back, given the chance. A classic duo of villains. Baring sharpened fangs, Alazne dove right back into the fight, strengthened hind legs propelling her body onto the archer, knocking him off balance and forcing him to attempt to grapple against the smaller wolftaur- she may have had less technique, less finesse, but she was certain that her physical strength was equal, if not stronger.
"No chance in hell I'm leaving without you," she growled back to the cattaur who'd accompanied her, sharply twisting the archer's wrist, forcing the bow from his hands, only to earn her a sharp punch from the hand she hadn't been focused on. Eyes sharpening, she snapped his arm back, though he knew better than to allow that, shoving the girl off and sparing his arm from being broken. Alazne's tail swayed behind her, a smirk crossing her face. This fight had quickly gone frightening to fun for her, even though she knew that she shouldn't start thinking like her brethren. It was hard to break away from instinct, after all.
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Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 1:59 pm
Throwing another attacker off from the right, Triston felt a mix of pure relief and some annoyance at Alazne's save. After all he was trying to keep her from danger but instead she had plunged back in just because he had nearly allowed a wolftaur a good hit. But now the cattaur had another surge of energy since Alazne had made it obvious that she wasn't' going to leave without him.
Triston didn't get the chance to help Alazne from the wolftaur who shoved her from him though because another one came at him with fists raised. After a small struggle in which the cattaur had to throw the wolftaur off of him to save himself from losing his neck, Triston broke free and using a rum bottle knocked the wolftaur out.
Suddenly an idea hit him and Triston moved to grab Alazne's wrist. "Follow me!" He shouted above the noise and made a break for the open door. A trail of pure slick ice followed them as a gift for anyone who followed.
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Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 2:10 pm
The attacks of the larger male wolftaur were predictably weak given his position; he continually tried to hit the teen, as well as trying to stab her with an arrow, which was broken as soon as it got close to her. He was just too slow, even compared to Alazne, who had never been known for her speed. Her eyes widened slightly as she felt Triston's hand around her wrist and she made sure to give the archer a rough kick in the chest with her hind legs before she darted off, making sure to keep up with the cattaur.
It was a while before Alazne trusted that they weren't being followed, slowing every few miles to sniff the air, looking for the scent of their followers. For the most part, the air was still, neither aiding them nor their enemies. Finally, quite a few miles off from the tavern, Alazne could no longer smell the scent of the revolting wolftaur they'd run in with. Alazne grinned brightly and spun where she stood, tail wagging happily behind her. "It's been a while since I had a fight like that," she said, probably sounding happier than she should after what could have easily been a close call.
"Exhilarating," she murmured to herself, the front part of her body bending down so she could sniff at the ground, for no real reason other than to see what had been there, and if following something may have gotten them a place to stay. Or more food, which would have also been good. Her enthusiasm was the one thing that kept her from sensing the change in the wind current, which was blowing steadily harsher every minute, dragging foreboding winter storm clouds across the sky.
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Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 2:23 pm
Stretching his arms out behind him, Triston just looked at Alazne and nodded slowly. He wasn't going to disagree or agree with that because truthfully he didn't know if getting into a fight with a gang of teenage taurs in the last autumn festival counted as a while ago or not.
Triston now watched Alazne as she sniffed around. It was interesting to watch because he'd never seen a wolftaur before and their habits were definitely different from most of the other taurs he'd ever met. But then again he didn't really know that many taur except for a couple centaurs, cattaurs, and of course Rees, his father.
Pausing Triston felt the wind brushing against his face and for a minute didn't think much about it for the cold had barely any effect on him. But then his gaze swerved towards his companion, "Alazne..." He pointed at the approaching clouds allowing them to fill in his meaning.
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Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 2:37 pm
The teen glanced up curiously upon hearing her name, a little too full of adrenaline to consciously grasp any thought process beyond being so childish. The cool wind made the small piece of chain on her collar rings softly as her eyes followed where Triston was pointing. She watched the clouds for a few moments, her tail slowing in its happy wagging before ceasing movement all together. "Oh... right," she replied, one of her ears twitching softly as she looked back at the cattaur. The storm wouldn't take too long to be right on top of them, and it probably wouldn't be very merciful; it was the middle of winter, after all.
Alazne sniffed the air, letting her eyes fall shut, eyebrows knitted in concentration as she sorted out the different smells that were quickly blown away by the wind. Finally, she caught the whiff of a fire that had been snuffed out. That would mean an area that had been abandoned; even if it was a shallow cave, it would be better than nothing. If it was any less than that, however, they would already be stuck in the storm. "C'mon," she commented, gesturing in the direction of the storm clouds before starting to jump through the snowdrifts, trying to make sure that she wasn't going to bury herself in the snow as she'd done previously.
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Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 5:17 pm
Triston secretly glared at the clouds as he noticed Alazne's reaction to the change of weather. His attention went back to Alazne though as she started moving. A small grin twitched at Triston's lips as he watched the wolftaur jumping through the snow while he just took casual steps to easily keep up.
The wind was whipping stronger now and Triston saw flecks of snow starting to fly around them and the cattaur really hoped that they were close to some sort of shelter. He glanced over at Alazne with worry reflected in his icy eyes, what would she do if the storm caught them out in the open like this?
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Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 6:10 pm
Alazne tried to ignore the weather's slow turns for the worst and trudged on, hoping that they would get to whatever the opening-cave-thing she'd sensed earlier would be enough to shelter them from the storm. Ice crystals stuck to the tips of her fur and her eyelashes, her ears turned back as she jumped slowly through the snowdrifts, a lumpy pile of rocks finally coming into view. Breathing a heavy sigh of relief, she jumped up the bit of hill there was, paws slipping a bit in the muddy terrain. The high she got, however, the more obvious that it wasn't so much a pile of rocks as a cliff ledge.
The shelter she found was less than what she was expecting. Part of it was a piece of rock jutting out from the wall, the other part snow and ice that had build up from the billowing wind. It had created a hidden pocket that would protect from the cold for the most part. Frowning softly, she gestured for Triston to follow her behind the small shelter. Her eyes scanned the ground, trying to find something she'd missed. That's when she caught sight of the little crack, hidden with snow and ice that had formed near it. She grinned slightly, too cold to really care if there was anyone else in it, and pressed her body low to the ground, sneaking through the wider part of the crack and finally emerging on the other side, shaking her fur free of bits of ice and other things.
She sniffed the air; it had mixed scents, from various different 'taur, so it didn't seem like it belonged to any group in specific. It was just a little hideaway. Though it wasn't all that 'homey', it was simply a tucked away cave, with a little nest-type bed made of straw in the corner that looked like it had been used by hundreds of different taur, though it looked inviting with all the fur that had been matted into it. She smiled softly; it wasn't as warm as the tavern, of course, but it was better than outside. It would keep them sheltered for the night, at the very least, especially if she could get a fire going...
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Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 6:35 pm
Entering the shelter Triston looked about disapprovingly sure it would work for him, but the cattaur decided that the ice wall would need some improvement by magic...but then he noticed Alazne's gaze. So there was more than what they had just entered!
Triston studied the cave and nodded with approval for the shelter. But just one thing was missing and the cattaur noted that there definitely wasn't enough kindling or anything of the sort to keep a warm fire going. "Fire?" He asked Alazne softly before moving towards the entrance. "Do you want more wood?" He asked tilting his head curiously as he waited for her answer. After all he didn't mind going out into this for something important.
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Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2009 2:46 pm
Alazne had come across the dilemma as well, after having piled up a very, very small collection of mostly-burnt wood, which wouldn't burn for more than ten minutes on its own. At the cattaur's suggestion, she glanced over her shoulder and blinked at him a few times, before nodding. "But only if it wouldn't be a problem," she added on, reminded herself of how bad the storm was outside. "If it's too much trouble to find any, I can survive without it, and I'm pretty sure you can, too." She nodded a couple of times to herself, waving her tail to either side before settling herself down by the little pile of ashen wood, tail curling around her, though it didn't warm her much.
So, now they would be stuck waiting out the weather in this strange little shelter. It didn't seem like the most interesting thing to do after the strange little 'adventure' that they'd just been through, though she wasn't sure if the fear was worth the enjoyment she'd had in the fight. She rested her elbows on her front paws, and her head in her hands, eyelids drooping slightly as she watched the ground. This wait was going to be an interesting one. At least, she certainly hoped so. If she didn't fall asleep first.
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Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 6:20 am
“Trouble?” Repeated Triston softly as he looked at Alazne. Humor softly flickered across his features before he answered her with a smirk. ‘Winter…will never give me trouble.’ He silently mused before turning away and heading out of the cave. He paused at the entrance though and looked outside to the storm. 'Maybe another solid wall will help keep in heat.' He pondered over it before allowing a strand of glowing magic to flow from him and to settle over the entrance causing a wall of ice. It was then that he headed outside into the raging storm.
An icy wind immediately whipped around the cattaur, but it felt more like a comforting touch than a deadly omen to him. Like a silent shadow Triston blended in with the snow and with the harsh winter weather he found several broken pieces of trees and twigs. Loading himself up, the cattaur headed back towards their shelter.
The ice momentarily stopped him for he had almost forgotten his hany work. Flicking his tail, Triston entered through a hole and listened as the ice quickly covered the hole back up as he stepped inside. Entering the actual cave he dropped the wood and twigs by the other pile causing a loud thump. “Enough?” Triston asked before actually looking over at Alazne.
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Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2009 1:57 pm
Alazne watched the other for a moment, his smirk causing her to chuckle softly. Okay, so he probably wouldn't be having any trouble in the outside weather, would he? After all, he was a master of ice, wasn't he? At least, as far as she could tell. But having never really been around cattaur, she didn't know the extent of which they were in-tune to their elements, especially the ones that they had mastery of. Her ears flicked a bit, and she waved him off as he left, before curling up next to the not-fire. Amber eyes slipped to half-mast, before they finally slipped shut. Just a quick nap. She was always alert, so everything would be perfectly fine while Triston was gone...
The teenager didn't actually wake up again until the wood was dropped, causing her to jump to her feet and take an immediate defensive position, growling at the boy who'd finally returned. Upon realizing her error, her eyes widened a bit and she stood straight up, flashing the cattaur a sheepishly smile. "Sorry about that. Always on guard, you know?" she commented, nodding a couple times before dipping down to inspect the wood. It was a bit wet, but otherwise would work. She glanced up at Triston curiously, tail swishing back and forth.
"Do you know how to lift water out of wood, by any chance?" she questioned, blinking a couple times. If he did, that would be useful. If not... well, they could wait a bit for it to dry off. She held up one finger for a sort of 'pause', before she went over to the little bed, digging out little dry pieces of wood, as well as some papery bark, and a few bits of fur, even though those wouldn't smell the best; at least they would burn, right? In her search, she also came across two little pieces of what she hoped were flint, a bright smile coming to her face. She trotted back over, laying out her findings for inspection. "Think this should help?"
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