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 Posted: Tue May 24, 2011 6:21 pm
Haya staggered backward from the heavy mass of the tiger launching into him. The mass of the monstrosity in that form was astonishing. Though he felt the claws dig into him the pain dwindled into the distance as mere pinpricks. He'd have time enough to feel pain later. Right now, his body was focusing on surviving.
He heard sounds of pain to one side. Inexplicably, even with the skinwalker around his neck he found he had time to glance to one side to see Phala struggling with the purewalker. He was covered in blood and looked outmatched. Bari and Samsara were nowhere to be seen but Bari's fox companion was undoubtedly dead on the ground. He was spending so much time finding this skinwalker that members of the herd he was charged to protect might be dying.
That thought sent a fire through him and a single prayer. Om mani padme hum. Though normally a prayer of peace and compassion, today it was his internal chant of strength. With a fierce cry he wrenched back his neck, heedless of the tears he received from the claws that he sought to dislodge. Then, with all the pride of the Padmapani herd blazing in him, he bared his sharpened half-kalona teeth, lunged for the scruff of the skinwalker's neck, and heaved.
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Posted: Tue May 24, 2011 6:57 pm
When the weight lessened Phala thought that he'd successfully dislodged his assailant. So why then did he still feel needles in his shoulders and neck? She was still there, he knew it, only now she was smaller. He grinned a grin that no one in his position had any right having on their face. If she was smaller that meant he outweighed her by a lot more now. His options had just opened wide up.
Without pausing to consider much of anything he hurled himself onto the ground again not caring to dislodge her anymore. At the moment he wanted nothing more than to crush the fiends bones and leave her in a broken lump. He didn't care how the impact jolted him as well or how the earth stung in his wounds. That didn't matter now. This was his first chance to do some real damage and he was taking it.
Suddenly things were beginning to make sense. It wasn't that the cat had gone mad, it was that it had been mad from the very beginning. "A skinwalker, huh?" She asked herself as the creature took on it's equine form. It looked as though it had once been some sort of flutter. That was good, weaker bones and smaller. She could do this.
"You already said that." She called out coolly before beating her wings out in front of her to issue a challenge. It was a monster now but she doubted it was right in the head and thinking straight. "If you want to kill me come and get me kitty!" She snarled bending her head to guard her vitals and glare at the creature all at once. This day was going to be far more interesting than she had expected.
Revyra was going to do the world a favor and kill a skinwalker.
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Posted: Tue May 24, 2011 7:21 pm
The elder's teeth caught Zulian firmly and his eyes widened with surprise at what happened next. One moment he was about to rip the stallion's throat out. The next he was being flung an impossible distance. No soquili had that sort of strength! No soquili but an elder, it seemed. He didn't have the time to right himself midair so he hit into the tree against his back instead of against his side. He yowled with pain and collapsed to the ground in shaken confusion.
The elder blurred in and out of his spinning vision. With his back sending sharp pain to him every moment, Zulian clambered heavily to his feet. His growl wasn't nearly so full-throated or confident as before. Where was Samsara? She was their leader. In Zulian's hazy mind, it was a leader's job to figure out what to do in situations like this.
The stallion was very very strong. Though Zulian had been fighting him all this time and not doing poorly, something had changed. There was a fierce look in his eyes that Zulian found he didn't want to face again. With slight awe he realized, he was somewhat afraid of this stallion. He took one slow step backwards and away..
Samsara's plots and plans were flying out of her head and being replaced with animal anger. She couldn't have known that in the other group, one of her allies was already reaching his limit. As far as she was concerned, the battle still raged. "I'll rip those feathers right off your head!" she snarled as she ran for the mare.
Her attack was a bounding one that worked well with her usual prey. She sought to bite her opponent anywhere she could, disregarding the fact that she could easily be injured in the process. Her wings drifted along side her, forgotten in her series of transformations. They were no better than decorations now.
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Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 2:24 pm
Felise was no fool, she knew at this size a roll would crush her and she was nothing if not a survivor. She gave up her hold on the stallion as he started to fall to the side and jumped. Heading straight up she landed next to him, favouring her 3 good legs, hissing at the stallion as he rolled.
Growing again back to her larger form, she took swipes at his sides and belly as they were exposed, eyeing his neck wanting to rip it out, but the sight she caught in the corner of her eye made her pause in that. The elder had thrown the tiger, and that either meant she was on her own or he was in but hurt... Either way she didn't like those odds, even less as the fearless leader that had gotten them into this had taken the weakling and vanished. Bearing her fangs at the bloodied stallion, swiping viciously with a paw again, taking her anger out on him. Stupid cursed mare fool, she should have known better than to take a target so weak that all it could do was freeze, shriek and run. She would have been better helping the tiger kill the elder, after all thats what the mare had wanted.
It was going to be time to get out of here, and so she took one last evil swipe at the stallion, she needed him to stay down even if he didn't have the sense to die. Turning to see the great tiger step back, retreating from the elder, this was not good she really was alone. She shifted again and bounded into the tree again. Launching out of it she took a swipe at the elder as she flew past, her claws catching his face... With any luck she had blinded him in one eye or at least left him a scar to remember her by. Looking at the tiger, so much larger than her in their cat forms she gave him a glare. "Move it fool or we will both get our tails stomped, and that deserting poser is not worth either of our lives." Taking a swipe at his rear to get him moving before she vanished into the undergrowth, only going far enough to get out of sight and finding a branch to it on and wait, much as it went against her common sense she wasn't going to leave the tiger to die, he had fought well and deserved to keep his life.
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Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 2:37 pm
Haya could tell by the look in the tiger skinwalker's eyes that he wouldn't be causing any more problems. If he had time he would have liked to chase him off to be sure he was retreating, but he had a purewalker to deal with. Phala was badly hurt and Haya didn't want to waste any time in getting to him. Just as he started toward him though, the purewalker was leaping away into the trees. With a start he realized that she was coming his way.
His ears were flat against his head and he pulled back but not fast enough. Her claws raked over his face but not deeply. He had managed to jerk himself out of the way fast enough to avoid any permanent damage. He ran quickly to Phala's side but turned to watch the skinwalkers and make sure that they weren't going to attack again.
"Phala! Are you all right?" he asked urgently once he had arrived. "Where is your mother? What happened to the last skinwalker?" Phala was losing a lot of blood. Haya hoped that they could get back to the herd and the unicorns before he lost more.
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Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 2:59 pm
All Phala really managed to think upon seeing the skinwalker above him was that he was, in short, screwed. He hadn't managed to get all the way over and it didn't look as though he would be managing it anytime soon. The damn cat wasn't going to let him. He did what he could to block her blows with his own kicks to keep from being disemboweled. Then suddenly, with one last wound dug into his side, it was all over. The cat had run off.
Why?
Slowly he managed to roll back over so that his legs rested beneath him. He didn't think to stand, he was in shock. The white feline had vanished into the woods and Hayagriva was heading towards him. Had they somehow won? He'd been pretty sure that they were losing what with his mom running off and him getting his rear handed to him monster blood or not. For a few moments he just took in deep breaths and processed what was going on. Once he had half a grip on things he began to stand.
"I'm...fine..." It was an obvious lie. "Mom's in trouble...the last one was chasing her..." He hurt. Maybe standing up hadn't been such a good idea after all. It just seemed to be making everything feel worse.
Revyra didn't even flinch at the cursed mare's threat. There was no way she would let that thing anywhere near her feathers. Taking up a firmer stance she watched the mare bound forward before picking her moment. She beat her wings forward with an audible snap to hit the creature mid-attack before back stepping several times to get out of immediate striking range. This was exactly the sort of thing she had been trained for. It was good to know that it was paying off.
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Posted: Tue May 31, 2011 1:04 pm
The purewalker ran. It was the swipe of her claws that reminded him to get moving as well. He remained in his tiger form and turned to flee into the underbrush and away from the elder stallion. The shame of defeat churned within him and his teeth were still bared in a frozen grimace. He ran in a separate direction from the purewalker, he didn't want to be in anyone's company in this mood.
Inwardly he cursed himself and his cowardice. He was still capable of fighting, he just didn't want to anymore. He told himself over and over that he should have remained and seen the fight through to its bitter end, and yet he didn't stop his flight. Samsara would die if she tried to fight her father alone. He knew that. She would be very angry at them for abandoning her. He knew that too. All these things ran through his head as he left the scene of battle far behind.
Meanwhile, Samsara was still locked in combat. The flapping wings of the purple mare served its purpose in breaking her charge. She snapped at them, confused, but without enough focus to hope to do any real damage. She staggered backwards as they buffeted her and growled with agitation. She wasn't really hurt, but she didn't have any experience in fighting a winged foe.
"Stop hiding behind your wings and fight me!" she snarled in frustration. She had no way of knowing yet that soon she would have even more to worry about.
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Posted: Tue May 31, 2011 10:22 pm
Breathing shallow, that stallion had landed one good kick in those last moments, though she didn't think anything was broken he had gotten her in the chest and now it was hard to breathe, though she had faired much better than that stallion, she wasn't bleeding. Getting down from the tree when she was sure the tiger was gone, she had seen a brief flash of him heading off in another direction, not sure why, but she could guess he didn't like to loose. Then again who did... And now here she was injured and hungry from her exertions today. Sighing she started to make her way slowly through the brush, nursing her leg and not taxing her breathing.
She glanced back just once, wondering what had or would become of the mare that had lead them into this mess. But that was not really her concern, she had not stuck around for the fight and so if the mare had found trouble, and she would find trouble when she came back to this place... Then it was nothing to do with Felise, she had shredded that stallion good, though had not managed to kill him outright... Her mood dark as she limped away covered in anothers blood, looking like a poor little cat that had been mauled, she could use this to her advantage.
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Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 8:09 am
Two of the three skinwalkers had disappeared. Now the last one left was Samsara, his daughter who might at this very moment be killing Bari. The last thing that Haya wanted to do was to leave Phala injured and alone with skinwalkers on the prowl but he saw little choice. Phala was hurt but wasn't likely to fall over dead anytime soon. Bari, on the other hand, might be dead or dying already.
"Phala, I'll be back!" he called as he started away. "Shout for me if the skinwalkers return! I'll go find your mother!" He galloped in the direction he had glimpsed Bari fleeing in. His wounds from the other skinwalkers still stung and bled but his duty would not wait. He had to stop Samsara.
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Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 8:26 am
Hayagriva was leaving? Sure Phala knew the elder had to check on his mother but it would be a lie for Phala to say it didn't make him a little nervous. "Sure." He muttered easing himself back on to the ground to rest. Happy about being alone? Not a chance. Was he going to wait anyway? Yes. Yes he was. It wasn't like he could exactly bound off with Hayagriva to help. At best he would limp into battle and help a little. At worst, and far more likely, he'd just hinder everyone.
"Some monster..." He huffed unhappily at himself as the elder vanished into the woods.
Revyra flinched slightly as the mare managed to pull some of her feathers out. Certainly not the worst thing that could have happened but it still hurt all the same. Either way the attack had worked and the skinwalker had backed off for a moment to avoid getting hit more. "Only if you stop hiding behind your fangs and claws!" She countered "These wings are my weapons and had you a brain you would know that!" As she spoke she suddenly charged forward only to come to a sudden halt, rear back and kick at the mare wings stretched high a moment later.
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Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 8:41 am
Samsara once more dodged backwards snarling. Those wings gave the mare an extra two weapons with incredible reach. She didn't know how to get past them! She seethed in thwarted anger and snapped her teeth several times in the direction of the mare in a gesture that was a display rather than an attack. She couldn't have predicted this outcome but cursed herself for not having practiced attacking winds before.
It might have been better after all if she had stayed in her panther form and was lower to the ground. Then those wings wouldn't be able to reach her as easily and she would have been able to attack. She thought about transforming back but refrained. Switching from form to form too quickly would just wear her out and she needed all her strength. Though she burned at the mare's taunts she didn't respond. She was too busy calculating and planning. She had an idea, and it just might help her tear those pretty little wings off.
It wasn't too difficult for Haya to follow Bari's trail once he spotted it. She had left a wide path of broken branches and thrown up leaves. He ran by a bush and thought he glimpsed something red splattered on the leaves. He tried not to think of what that could mean. Ahead of him he saw the last dim rays of sunlight glinting on the river. Had he taken the wrong turn? Just then he heard raised voices. A moment later he suddenly came upon fighting once more. He saw his daughter covered in blood that mostly seemed not to be her own. Ahead of her was a feathered mare that he didn't recognize and didn't have time to contemplate.
"Samsara!" he bellowed, coming to a thunderous halt. "Stop this now and leave! Your allies are gone!"
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Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 8:59 am
It was pretty clear to Revyra that this mare knew next to nothing about actually fighting. That didn't bother her remotely. She didn't play fair with demons. In fact she was planning to attempt to get into the air, where it would be hard to stop her, just for a moment to get at the mare's back and head with her hooves when something came thundering onto the scene.
The noise startled her and she beat her wings straight downward to hop back away from both the mare she was fighting and whatever had just arrived. Her golden eyes darted to him for a moment and making a note of his spaded tail she mistook him for an enemy. Or at least she did until he spoke. Samsara? That was either a foreign word meaning something like "fiend" or else it was a name. It didn't really matter since she had brought no allies with her so it was more or less clear that he wasn't talking to her.
She kept a close eye on both of them from her little place not daring to move against the mare in case she was wrong. The stallion was pretty big, she wouldn't stand a chance against him and the skinwalker both. "So...you're this Samsara, right?" She asked pawing at the ground as though she were going to charge again.
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Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 12:50 pm
Revyra wasn't the only one surprised when Haya charged into their midst. Samsara instinctively bounded a few paces away at his appearance before turning around to shoot him loathing glares. It was him! Her father! He was torn and bleeding but still standing and strong. She didn't hear any sounds of pursuit either. She wondered where Zulian was, or the purewalker. She was certain that they had been fighting and doing well when she had last seen them. Could they really be gone like her father said?
"I am Samsara!" she spat at the mare while looking at her father. "I am Samsara and always have been! I have changed but am still myself, it is you that deny me!" The last part she shouted at Haya. "I'll kill you for humiliating me like you have all my life." Her head swayed slightly side to side like a snake eying its prey. "I'll kill you!" she yelled.
"Be careful," Haya said to the mare. "Too many people have already been hurt today." He thought of Phala and his mother, one left behind and one missing. They deserved nothing of what had befallen them that evening.
His breath still huffed in and out through his nostrils but the look he gave Samsara was as steady as a mountain face. "Samsara." His voice was more calm now. "Leave. Go away from Padmapani herd and never show your face here again." There was a coldness inside him that was icing over the love that he had once felt for her. He loved his daughter but she was dead. He couldn't allow himself to feel sympathy or mercy toward this demon. There was no choice to him but to accept this monstrous empty fate.
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Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 1:05 pm
Any doubt in her mind about who was friend vanished from her mind the instant the skinwalker started shrieking death threats at the elder. Perhaps he may be dangerous to her under different circumstances but for now a common enemy would be their bond.
However...
She could feel her brain clouding over a little bit as he started talking to the mare. He sounded like the authority in these parts. It was obvious that he was respectable but was this really the best time to be talking? She had no idea what was going on between the two, clearly they had some history, but whatever it was she was still a skinwalker. There was no point in reasoning with something that had lost it's mind to shadow. It meant there was nothing reasonable left.
She chose not to speak but beat her wings hard a few times to remind the mare that she was still. She hadn't left and she could and would still fight if the skinwalker didn't turn tail and run.
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Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 7:35 pm
Samsara began to look wildly between her father and the feathered mare. She was trapped between the two of them. She heard no fall of quiet footsteps, no bloodthirsty growls. She was truly alone and without allies. She couldn't possibly take down them both without getting severely injured, and if Zulian couldn't kill her father then she didn't stand a chance.
"I'll kill you," she repeated in a hoarse whisper.
The moment she looked into her father's eyes was the moment that she decided that it would be worth dying to have a chance to end his life. Without a sound she launched herself at him, fangs bared and body low to the ground.
Haya was suffused with resignation to see Samsara attacking him. It was so similar to the first time she had attacked him when he had found her transformed. How could she expect it to work this time? It was almost comical how similar it was. She wasn't flying this time but her simple and straightforward charge led Haya to use the same tactic. He sidestepped her easily, then brought his tail whipping down.
Samsara went crashing to the ground.
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