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 Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 2:50 pm
Diving into the bushes and quickly followed by Althea, Bracken could only watch as the others went for shelter. Not only that, but Shire was headed for the exact same spot that he and his Owsla guard was in. "Althea!" he shouted, although knowing that she likely already saw the diseased rabbit coming their way.
With the rabbits scattering like so many cockroaches, the one streak of white and orange that seemed to branch off away from the others caught the raptor's attention. The large female bird swooped for the tattered rabbit that was literally running in a blind panic. The moment that she stumbled was the elil's one chance to catch her. Talons gripped into Dewberry's hindquarters just as she fell halfway into the hole.
"KEE KEE KEE KEE!" the hawk shrieked repeatedly, its wings flapping wildly as it began to pull the blind doe the rest of the way out.
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Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 7:37 pm
Noting the new danger headed their way, her claws dug into the dirt as she skidded, turning quickly to block Shire's entrance. Teeth bared and her ears pressed against her skull, there would be no greeting for him here.
"You'll have a better chance of survival with that hawk. I suggest you turn around and run. Quickly."
Her golden eyes were fierce as she stared at the smaller buck. If he didn't move out soon, she'd remove him by force. An ear twitched as she heard the bird's screeching, but her gaze didn't follow. She didn't need to see to know what was going on.
"Faster, if you want to save your companion."
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Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 8:33 pm
Bramblebur felt as though his heart was going to leap into his throat as he watched a disoriented and frightened Dewberry head in a different direction than was intended. A fleeting moment of relief washed over him as she fell into the scrape, a shallow one, but a scrape none the less. His relief was short lived as the hawk zeroed in on the blind doe and used its piercing talons to grip her hindquarters. He felt his fur bristle as it tried to tug her out of her shallow hiding place.
His eyes grew wide before narrowing, with his ears pinning flat against his skull. Dewberry had already been through more than enough and she didn't deserve to die as some elil's meal. The large buck sprang out of hiding, sprinting at the distracted hawk. Bramblebur, once he was within close enough range, pushed off the ground hard to broadside the hawk with claws swiping at the bird. Dewberry wasn't going anywhere as long as he could help it.
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Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 12:17 am
Dewberry let out a primeval shriek of sheer fear and panic as sharp talons found themselves dug into her legs. She clutched onto the earth of the scrape with all the strength she could muster. There was many a mention that she would be the easiest prize for a hawk, especially the way she stood up at any little noise. She couldn't let them be right. Not without a fight.
To her, there wasn't such a thing as pain anymore. Numb with fear and Adreniline, she refused to be beaten so easily, even if she was so certain that the rabbit would claim her soon enough. She'd rather walk than be dragged.
She kicked out her hind legs, useless to try and kick the raptor, but hoped the struggling would help, before attempting to pull herself back into the burrow by tearing into the soil digging up soil and rocks to fling at the hawk above.
All may be a useless plight, but with the heavy beating wings and shrill shrieking by the elil, she was unaware that someone had jumped to her aid, now had she expected them to. It was a dangerous creature, after all.
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Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 1:14 am
Ears instinctually laid flat as the Owsla reprimanded him, blocking his path to safety. "Begging your pardon." He said, almost reflexively. He had to remember that he could tainted, even if it made him irritated that this doe would rather offer him to the hawk than give him an inch of protection. He wouldn't breathe on her precious chief. As the hawk cried out behind him, Shire turned his head to look.
He was a coward, plain and simple. When Amita was there, he was brave, but now he couldn't even so much as pretend. So he streaked past the scene of the tussle and into the shrubs where Ninebark had hidden. When he managed to worm his way into the thickest part he could find, he was trembling so hard he imagined his bones would rattle free of his skin. He was full of shame for himself, but made himself turn to watch the scene where their leader had fearlessly thrown himself at the elil. He sincerely hoped Bramblebur was successful, that they could keep dear Dewberry alive another day yet. But he forced himself to watch through the leaves, for if she was carried away he would blame himself. He could have done something.
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Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2009 7:30 pm
Bracken instantly felt sorry for Shire, but there was nothing to be done about it. It was an unfortunate set of circumstances and his priority was to his own warren, which could not do without both him and their Captain. However, the chief watched in horror as the hawk grabbed at Dewberry, only to have Bramblebur run at it.
"The fool!" Bracken cried in dismay as he watched the events unfold.
The hawk shrieked as Bramblebur's weight slammed into her at full force. However, the raptor's grip didn't release. Instead, its talons were torn from Dewberry, taking her flesh along with. However, the striped buck had now made himself vulnerable and as he and elil sailed through the air, the aerial master now grasped her talons at his chest and belly.
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Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2009 8:20 pm
The large, crimson furred lop shrank deeper into the thick protection of the shrubbery and quaked violently as his pink eyes drank in the frightening scene that was unfolding before him.
As if her fate wasn't already dim and unclear, now Dewberry certainly had a much slimmer chance at life. She was blind, battered, and now torn. Life would of been much better for her, had the hawk taken her off into the skies and finished her. Regardless, death most likely followed her and would be at her paws shortly.
"Ooooh." He moaned quietly as he shook against his new guest, the forlorn Shire, who had recently lost his poor, tired sister, Amita.
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Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 12:16 am
Thoughts were rushing through the striped buck’s head as he sailed through the air. He had dislodged Dewberry from the hawk’s grasp but not without causing the doe further damage. If he lived, he would have to remember to go apologize. The hawk had been disengaged from the doe and was free to turn its attention to him. Frith. Somewhere in the back of his preoccupied mind his sensible self chimed, “Hm. Perhaps I shouldn't have pushed off of the ground so hard.”
Ah, hindsight, a wonderful thing.
He had no time to get frustrated with himself. Not with the devilish bird training her talons at his chest and belly. Bramblebur was a fighter and a protector, and, Frith help him, he was certainly not going down without a serious fight if he had anything to do with it. He was trained for it and would do his best to make it out alive. He had come too far to be a meal for some damned elil. Of course, the buck was at a disadvantage in the air, but the ground was coming up fast. If he managed to make it to the ground alive, he could dive into a burrow or sprint under a dense shrubbery to hide until the hawk went away.
“One thing at a time,” his inner sensible self reminded. There were more pressing things to deal with. Avoiding the hawk’s reaching talons was the obvious priority. The buck bared his teeth to the bird, arching his back to draw his vulnerable chest and belly away from the slicing talons before they claimed him. If the bird closed its grasping claws around him, Bramblebur was prepared to bite the elil if it meant the chance for freedom and to go on living. The buck had planned on finding a mate and starting a family some day. Should he survive this encounter, he would make a point to quit putting off his search for a mate as well.
A quick glance at the ground prompted the buck to angle himself in such a way that two paws along the same side would hit the ground before the rest of him. It would do him no good to sprawled on his back, displaying his pale belly to the vicious elil that had set herself to him. He didn't fully turn away. He knew all she needed to do would be to get her talons into his back and there wouldn't be much more to him than that. Bramblebur's two paws met the earth, followed quickly by their opposite counterparts. The buck didn't sit still, darting away from his landing place. There was thick, low shrub several paces away, and one of the scrapes a little ways past that. In his days out at the scrapes, the captain had learned the lay of their area and took it to heart. It wouldn't do any good if he didn't know where everyone was staying.
He was in his element now, his familiar space. He was strong and swift, but could he outrun the elil? Bramblebur prayed wildly in his mind to the great Frith as he raced for the shrub that would hopefully save his hide. The buck dived under the low branches and practically curled around the trunk of the bush. His heart was hammering his blood through his ears causing them to seem to both ring and roar like thunder. He was shaking all over, a side effect of the adrenaline coursing wildly through his veins. It was also briefly numbing him to the fact that he had a set of raw, bloody scratches along both sides of his chest.
Was he truly safe? Had he fled the hawk and hidden sufficiently hidden from the beast? The buck was pressing himself low to the ground and around the center of the thick bush, he certainly hoped his ordeal was over.
[[I do hope this was an alright reaction. Let me know if I need to tweak.]]
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Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 1:10 am
The sheer pain and fear that racked through the smaller female was not enough to end her just yet. She couldn't even yelp in shock or pain as her hinds were dropped back onto the safety of the earth, allowing her legs to subconsciously bolt her forward as her front arms continued to dig furiously, seeming to ignore everything around her as she dug out the shallow scrape to make it deeper, wider, safer.
All she could hear were the agitated shrieks of the elil mixed with a pounding of earth as Bramblebur presumably escaped to what one would hope would be his safety, though she couldn't recognize this as it was from her burrow. The noise only aided to terrify her more as her aching, adrenaline filled limbs slowly came to a creaking halt. Everything was becoming a blur as once again her ears picked up only strange, frightful sounds and her nose was filled with the thick, choking scent of her own blood which she had painted the new burrow walls with.
It was unsure if she'd be able to drag herself back out've this hole, or if she'd dare leave. It would most certainly be troublesome getting her out, as her fear and Trauma began to make her aggressive and reckless. She'd protect this hole from the black rabbit, if she had to. No one was dragging her back out anytime soon. She would not die without a means of a fight, even if there was no more strength within her to do so.
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Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 1:25 am
Although it seemed like an eternity, the collision with Bramblur only lasted a second or two. A few feathers went flying and deep groves were left on the striped buck as the powerful talons managed to scratch but not grasp. The hawk landed on her feet, not bothering to pursue the fleeing buck. No... there was easier prey to be had. The rabbit she almost had before he intervened.
Having landed on her feet the great bird of prey lept for the bleeding rabbit that was scrabbling desperatey at the dirt. She was fast and one talon managed to grab hold of her again before Dewberry could completely disappear. The hawk chirruped in a foreign language that the rabbits may be able to only partially comprehend. "Fast not so? Mine you are." The taunting ring in her voice was clear.
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Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 1:47 am
It hadn't been as deep as she had initially thought as those talons gripped back into her hind, close to where the open wounds already lay, tearing a little as she had attempted to bolt away. Luckily, if that was so the word, with a chunk of her flesh already missing, to sacrifice a little more for her safety wouldn't be quite so hard. All it would take is a firm yank and she could be free once again to run, but at what cost?
Dewberry snorted, she knew it was over for her. Either way she was going to die, she could feel her strength draining from her back as she was pinned to the floor. But no, she had prepared herself to fight for this moment, she wouldn't be some easy meal for the elil like everyone had expected of her from the moment she lost her sight.
For a brief moment, she could see clearly, and no doubt, there he was. The Black rabbit himself was there waiting for her. She may just have been hallucinating, or she truly was dying, yet at this moment he was not calling for her. Just watching, perhaps waiting to see her last move. There was no chance for her to still be alive by the time the hawk tore the flesh from her bones back in her burrow.
She trembled before growling almost ferally between heavily gritted teeth, using a last, remaining boost of energy from adrenaline and sheer madness to twist, tearing her own flesh from the claws before she bolted as if possessed in the direction of Bramblebur. It was unknown if she would make it, but if she did, she'd crash down against the other bleeding male, unconscious and incredibly wounded. But not quite yet a meal.
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Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 7:42 am
Most rabbits tended to give up and accept their fate at this point. To just die quietly and swiftly. However, the hawk was surprised as the doe ran at the expense of her own pain and suffering. The initial shock gave Dewberry a few precious moments before the hawk went in pursuit, but she dove into the bushes before the talons could grasp her again.
Shrieking angrily the bird hovered around the bushes, unable to penetrate the tangled branches and eventually just giving up. So close! All that energy wasted for naught! Such was the life of a predator. The hawk flew up to perch on a nearby limb and preen at her feathers indignantly before finally taking off and leaving the down.
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Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 7:56 am
Ninebark didn't dare budge until he was sure, completely sure, that the dreadful Elil had left the vicinity. His large, crimson body was still shaking and his fur was bristled as he cautiously exited the shrubbery that had encased him during the event. Dewberry and Bramblebur, both attacked! He hoped that at least Bramblebur made it through. Without him, he was unsure their little group would remain together. He was the glue that had been holding them thus far and without him.... Well, perhaps there would be no one to stand against Cocklebur, if the Captain decided he did want to chase them out.
"Blood..."
"Blood..."
He muttered under his breath as he made the quick journey to the shelter that Bramblebur and Dewberry both took. There was blood mingling with the earth, below him, but there seemed to be so much of it, much more than Dewberry and Bramblebur had lost in the area. He felt as though he were swimming in it, drowning in it. The Black Rabbit was making himself known, Ninebark felt it in his bones and saw it in his mind.
"Bramblebur?"
"Dewberry?"
He called softly, in his hauntingly low voice as he entered the protective bushes, surveying the scene.
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Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 12:29 pm
The struggle was great and terrible. First the claws tore through that delicate body, and his ears laid back as he could imagine he heard the flesh shred. Then onto Bramblebur, and Shire's heart sank into his stomach as he imagined their leader being carried off by the beast. It would have happened that fast.
More and more, the mangled body of Dewberry continued to move and the buck kept asking himself why? He had never seen anything like it in his life, so strong a will to survive. What drove her? What did she feel she had to go back to- the life of a hlessi? And outcast? A plagued thing? Why? By the time it was over, he was trembling just as hard against Ninebark, unaware he was supposed to be afraid of the crimson buck.
Horribly, he waited until it seemed clear for Ninebark before he went out himself, proceeding soon to hop grimly, and eager, behind. He had to see the aftermath. Was there anything he could do? Anything, anything to make up for being a coward. Shire ducked into the bushes and he was silent as he looked for the others.
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Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 3:07 pm
His shaking was easing as his stillness let the adrenaline in his blood settle. The buck half turned to peek out toward the scrape that Dewberry was furiously digging in. His breath caught in his throat when he saw the hawk land and make another go for the already wounded doe. Bramblebur so wanted to go chase the awful thing away, but his legs wouldn't cooperate, leaving him crouched in his hiding place. His fur was bristled. He remained silent, praying for her safety.
To say that he wasn't incredibly shocked and surprised when Dewberry tore herself free of the elil's grasp would be an outright lie. Bramblebur's rushing thoughts screamed to a halt and only kick started again when the wildly fleeing, dreadfully wounded doe ran into him. He had jumped slightly, or at least a twitch of his muscles at the collision snapped him from his shocked stupor. Bramblebur lightly pressed his nose to her bloodied fur and felt the light, rapid beating beneath. She was alive, at least for the time being, and was in need of tending to. He had yet to realize his own wounds along his chest, but the first stinging pang of ache was beginning to grow in his attention.
A familiar haunting voice drew the striped buck's attention from the unconscious Dewberry. It was Ninebark. He felt the smile form in his mind, but was too shaken to form a proper one just yet. "Yes, Ninebark. We're here. I'm okay, but Dewberry is in serious condition. Is everyone else alright? Was anyone taken?" It was then he hissed softly as the bloom of pain dawned on him. Bramblebur half stood, pressing his back against some of the lower branches, and lifted one of his forepaws to get a look at the damage done. There was a matching set of three scratches on either side of his chest, bleeding freely and stinging like a swarm of hornets. He hadn't realized that it had been so close, but was glad that he had achieved the desired result.
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