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 Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2013 10:09 pm
"I'm fine, really-" Tariel tried to protest, but Turin insisted on inspecting her. At first, she felt silly, just floating in the middle of the sea, while he looked her over for non-existent injuries. But when he moved behind her, she suddenly felt very exposed and vulnerable, and a flash of shyness washed over her, so she crossed her arms over her chest and tried to turn around to face Turin. But his touches stopped that plan fast. The gentle pokes -- gentle compared to the pokes she delivered to him when she inspected his shoulder -- did something unexpected. She recoiled and giggled, as he hit a few of her more ticklish spots.
He kept going. This was killing her. She laughed and squirmed a bit, feeling tension rising once again. She bit her lip and tried to think of anything else (boats, sea monsters, winged teenagers) to distract her mind but before she could give it another thought, he was in front of her. Any other male in the world, and she would have already given in to temptation and seduction. But she couldn't do that to Turin. Not if she didn't want things to get complicated. Her luck with boyfriends wasn't exactly stellar, and she refused to use Turin as mere self gratification. She respected him.
But this was too much to handle. Her resistance was only so strong. She took notice that he was just looking at her, not actually examining her eyes. At least that's what she interpreted (and what she wanted) the case to be. She slowly closed her eyes and moved towards him, pursing her lips ever so slightly.
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Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2013 10:38 pm
He really did start with the intention of solely checking to verify that her pupils looked okay, no signs of head injury, but as soon as he looked into those eyes...
Logic, reason, even concern took a backseat for other feelings, much less complex and more so all at the same time. It was like he'd forgotten how to breathe, and for some reason, he didn't care. Not if the last thing he got to see were those beautiful, hypnotizing eyes.
The spell seemed to release him when she closed her eyes, but he still didn't pull away. Was she...leaning closer? Without thinking, he started to mirror her, eyes drifting closed...
A flash of alarm at the back of his mind, so jarring that he twitched involuntarily, shattered the moment and Turin's eyes flew open instantly. Danger! Threat! Move! His heart was hammering twice the speed it was a moment ago, his eyes darting back and forth, seeking out the immediate threat. He had mere seconds to find it and--THERE!
Making a split-second decision that momentary discomfort was worth sparing much more serious injury, he latched onto Tari's arms with a vice-like grip and pulled her close, kicking his tail sharply to spin and switch their positions as he did so. Focused on action, he didn't have time to even shout a warning before something hit his back solidly, causing the Naiad Captain to grunt from the force of the impact. For the second time today, he found himself curled protectively around the Queen, taking hits for her.
Where else would he be?
Behind Turin, a face like one that crept out of a nightmare recoiled, shaking briefly to recover from the impact. Luckily, it was built to take such collisions. It was all teeth from this angle, though a long, serpentine form coiled and writhed in the water behind that face. Its mouth opened, overlapping fangs separating to create the gaping black hole that was the viperfish's mouth.
Taking a deep breath and looking over Tariel as he released his death grip on her arms, Turin had to satisfy himself with a quick check that she was alright before he turned on their attacker. His eyes widened, wondering if he hadn't hit his head earlier. That was a bit...big, for a viperfish, wasn't it? It looked to be at least three feet long...not as long as an adult Naiad, but certainly longer than the normal small predators that fed on much smaller little fish down here.
And him without his spear. Wonderful.
"Tari...swim. Now," he ordered, no time for chain of command at the moment. They were both unarmed, but he looked to remedy that soon if he could. And that thing was going to have to get through him first before it got anywhere near Tari.
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Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2013 10:57 pm
The sound of her heart beating and the anticipation of what was to come consumed her. Live for the moment, deal with the consequences later.
The grip, the jerking, the collision; it all happened so fast, she couldn't catch up to the situation fast enough to even begin to know what was going on. Was her kissing him that horrible-
Then she seen it. Teeth. Nothing but teeth. And a light. A light? Did that vortex shrink us?
No time for silly thoughts. "...swim. Now." she heard it, and didn't hesitate to listen, but she instinctively reached out for Turin's arm. She knew he didn't have his spear, and he was no match for a viperfish that big in his condition. Can we outswim one that big? "To one of those caves?" she pointed to the holes in the submerged chunk of island.
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Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2013 11:19 pm
'Dammit, woman, couldn't you just follow orders for once in your life?'
Though, she had a point. Swim where? They needed somewhere to retreat TO. He kept his eyes on the recovering beast, the dull throb in his back his own memento from their first meeting. He didn't like it...but they had few options out here in the open like this if they couldn't out-swim it. Though...it was still smaller than they were. There was nothing to stop it following them into one of the holes, even if they found a safe one. They'd have to lose it first, or else, Turin needed to 'disable' or dissuade it somehow.
Without turning to break his stare down with the viperfish, Turin nodded. "It's our only option. Find a safe place to hide for now. You pick one and lead the way; I'll be right behind you," he fibbed. He'd follow after, but only after he was sure they weren't just backing themselves into a corner for easier feeding. He gestured up with a quick nod of his head to Tari to lead the way, then he turned back to the viperfish. Before it could prep for another charge, he made one of his own, straight towards the beast without warning, being sure to cheekily smack the predator in the face with his tail fin as he passed. What better way to attract its attention? He winced at the pain that followed, earning a new tear in his fin membrane for the effort. Must have raked his tail over one of those teeth in passing.
"Hey, ugly! Gonna' just laze about all day, or you gonna' move your fat fins?!?" It sounded more like a taunt Sadron would have used, but hey, if anyone knew how to get a rise out of a foe by being irritating... He put on a cocky smirk, waggling his fin at the hunter before darting straight for a rock shelf below. He'd spotted a few loose pieces of coral and stone below. Nothing fancy, but he'd take what he could get at this point.
The viperfish was close behind. It wasn't used to prey rushing it, so it had been momentarily startled, but now it was furious and intent on its target: the bright pink and orange Naiad ahead. Who had dipped towards the rock shelf and back up again for whatever reason. It darted in for a strike, the Naiad mirroring its movements again. Well, it was ready to dodge any tail strike this time. Its mouth opened, the long teeth separating and spreading wide...
...in time for the Naiad Captain's outstretched arm to jam a rock between the beast's jaws. He received a few new scratches for his efforts, but the viperfish passed by him, rock currently trapped between the massive overlapping teeth and its hinged jaw. It gave Turin a moment's reprieve to check that Tariel had listened and fled to (relative) safety among the tunnels overhead.
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Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 3:14 pm
Tariel was going to do as Turin said, until something snapped in her head. She wasn't a damsel needing saving. She never was. The "damsel" was her seduction act, and this was not one of her secret games. Her feelings for Turin had clouded her judgments and now there was a real threat. Not that anything else hadn't been, but this was the first they were actively being attacked. By something abnormally large, making it even more dangerous.
He told her to run and hide, but was staying to fight. No, they either both hide, or they both fight, she thought. She's not helpless. Despite being female, she had a size advantage on Turin with her larger tail. She also had experience in the field, unlike most Naiads who live a fairly simple and relaxed life in the lake. But fighting a supersized Viperfish was still far out of her skill and knowledge set.
It did not escape Tariel's attention that Turin had been knicked a few times by that thing's teeth.
"Turin, try to cover your earfins!" she called out, before using her first defense. Tariel started singing a very slow and melodic lullaby, attempting to soothe the savage fish without affecting Turin. She didn't know if the viperfish would be susceptible to it, but she couldn't let Turin get lulled into a calm, relaxed state if the viperfish wouldn't be still attacking him. It took a great deal of concentration to direct the song towards a predator. She focused her intentions towards it falling asleep, praying to the Waters it'd work. And praying that this wasn't a magical beast because then it would be even harder to subdue.
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Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 6:50 pm
Tari's voice reached him before he could even turn, but he caught on quickly and nodded. Good idea. He knew the power that she held in her voice; he also knew he wasn't immune, of course, but if he could at least move out of the way. Give her a direct line on the target. Maybe she could finish it off; cause the creature to flee at least.
Turin hadn't noticed that the viperfish had rid itself of the coral impediment and turned its eyes back on the brightly-colored Naiad with fury.
Hands on either side of his head, Turin did his best to muffle his hearing as Tari started singing. It was difficult for a number of reasons. It impeded his swimming, yes, but...her voice...it carried promise of peace and rest, calming, soothing tones...
No, Turin, focus. He tried to concentrate on the adrenaline rushing through his system, dulling the pain from his injuries, but giving him something to lock onto. Something not so relaxing and calming.
He never saw the beast coming 'til it struck. Blinding pain exploded from his torso as the viperfish sank its teeth in and shook its head viciously. Instinct and training combined as the Captain reacted by bringing his elbow down sharply between the creature's eyes. Its skull was hard and its determination sound, but so was the Naiad Captain. The pain gave him something to focus on in order to try and keep from being lulled by Tari's song, but he knew he had to get this thing to release him soon; he was losing blood again...they were going to draw more predators. They were having enough trouble with this one.
Turin let a feral growl slip from his gritted teeth, the pain doing more than distract him from Tari's song at this point. "Damnable...overgrown...eel," he snarled, in an awkward position for a counter-attack or even a way to squirm loose without making his injuries so much worse. He had to get the beast to let him go and it seemed pretty determined not to do so. He'd have to convince it otherwise...even as it tried to shake him like a chew toy. Even in these depths...many creatures had the same weak point. Something that could produce an instant reaction. Turning a vengeful glare on the beast, Turin made a rushed jab at the beast's eyes with his thumbs to see if he could get it to let go.
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Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 7:39 pm
Tariel did her best to maintain a song she knew was supposed to be effective at soothing enraged beasts. It wasn't working, so she tried something more powerful. It'd likely knock Turin out as well, but it just might work. But the scene unfolding in front of her eyes completely terrified her and she lost her voice out of the fear overwhelming her. Turin was in the jaws of that thing and there was so much blood.
"TURIN!" she screamed his name and darted towards him, swimming faster than she had ever-- no! This is not happening again! Her determination fired up, and she propelled herself, wishing she had her trident with her. She'd shred that thing if she--
A golden glow surrounded her hand, and she felt a weight without seeing anything at first. The gold glow grew bright, and flashed revealing her trident in her hand. How did I? No time to think further, she was going to take advantage of this freak occurrence and stab that viperfish so hard.
With tears and fury in her eyes, she swam fullspeed at the viperfish with her trident pointing the way. It didn't even dawn on her that Turin's own flailing might put him in the way of her trident. Her eyes only focused on removing the fish's head.
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Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 8:11 pm
While he'd been trying to block out Tariel's voice before, when her song stopped, so did his focus on ignoring it. Turin had other issues to consider at the moment. He ground his thumbs viciously into the beast's eyes, but it only seemed to feed the monster's rage, increasing the vigor with which it shook the Naiad Captain.
Suddenly, Tariel's voice cut through his struggles, but she wasn't singing now. She was screaming his name. He tried to turn to look at her, but the growing red cloud in the water was starting to spread. Almost as if in response to his search for her, a brilliant glow seemed to fill the area, originating from...Tariel? Blood loss and pain were making him hazy. Maybe he was seeing things. It seemed fitting that she'd glow, for some reason.
Turin shook his head, trying to regain his wits. This was no time to drift off and give in. He may not be a hunter, but he was a fighter. He wasn't about to give in while there was still life in his body. Not when Tariel still needed him.
Though it looked more like he was the one who needed help at the moment.
His struggles began anew, thrashing his tail and trying to twist, striking at whatever part of the viperfish's head he could reach, repeatedly and with his own adrenaline-fueled fury. Catching the flash of the trident in Tari's hands, his eyes widened and he gave a swift spin, cringing at the ensuing pain from the fangs digging in deeper...but positioning the viperfish directly in the path of the trident's tines.
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Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 8:48 pm
So much red in the water. It was hard to see exactly where Turin ended and the fish began, but she charged forward, trusting in the Waters to guide her as she always had. Turin moved at the last second and it was enough to stop her, throw her trajectory off. She worried she'd hit him so she veered to the right, slicing through the top part of the viperfish behind his head, not quite severing it like she'd planned. At least she injured it.
She turned and jammed the trident hard into the top of the viperfish's head, spewing it's blood further. She resisted the urge to jerk the trident to make the pain worse, because she knew it'd make Turin's pain worse. Leaving the trident sticking out of the viperfish's head, she quickly moved to pry the jaws open to remove it from Turin. She cut her own fingers on the razor sharp teeth a few times, but adrenaline was rushing so furiously through her veins, she didn't notice. She one goal, and one goal only: Save Turin.
"Turin! Turin!" She kept saying his name, hoping he'd not pass out, or worse, die from the blood loss. At this point, there was so much blood in the water, it was hard to tell from who. "We really have to get out of here." she said, her voice panicked. They really were screwed now, because Tariel didn't know how to tend wounds this deep with only sea water and coral at her disposal. The surface was so far away considering they'd have to go at an angle to get out from under the island.
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Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 10:08 pm
"Tari...? Tari!" Unaware that she was so close, he thought she couldn't find him...it was hard to see, tinges of red in his vision. Or was that in the water? Hard to say.
The viperfish hadn't expected the second one to join in the attack, nor so furiously. The beast had gone still now, though it's jaws were still locked in a death grip around Turin's torso.
The Naiad squirmed a bit, feeling the pressure lessen if only slightly on his chest. "Nng...Tari?" He reached out, groping with a shaky hand to grab her shoulder. Then, realizing how close she was, and what she was trying to do...wait, when had this thing sprouted a trident from its head? Ugh, it was like he was watching things from a distance, down some long tunnel...stay focused, Turin. Instinctively, on some deeper level, he realized he was in trouble. Blacking out would be bad.
First things first. He tried to help Tari pry the thing's jaws apart. As the fangs were pulled from his flesh, he hissed through gritted teeth at the pain, but at least they were out. Much easier now that the thing was dead. Or close enough at this point. He didn't care much on semantics right now. It was shoved away and he tried to inhale deeply...bad idea. The pain the shot through his chest would keep him from trying that again. His gills were torn in a couple places, but looked like they would heal. Eventually. The deep puncture wounds from its teeth were the main problem. He was bleeding badly, though at least no one of them looked instantly fatal. It'd missed his heart at least. Small favors.
Light-headed, he looked through clouded vision to Tari. She'd...just saved him. He frowned, taking one of her hands, staring at her fingers vacantly for a moment.
"You're hurt."
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Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 10:22 pm
Panic set in as the adrenaline faded. As soon as that fish's head was off Turin, she tossed it aside, the trident be damned. She knew he was damaged, but she just needed to make sure he was okay, and even a small piece of comfort for herself. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she feared the worst for Turin, because they were so far from home, with days ahead of them to even get there. And they had nothing by means of supplies to survive the trip. And danger was everywhere.
Turin was bleeding everywhere, and that wasn't even a slight exaggeration. "We have to stop this bleeding," she said weakly, ignoring his claim that she's hurt too. Her injury was nothing. Just some cuts on her fingers, nothing serious. She didn't have punctured gills. She'd left her ripped cloak back where they'd landed out of the vortex, not thinking she'd need half of a cloak for anything after Turin was bandaged up. She knew the waters were dangerous, but not as much for the top of the food chain. Except closer to the surface where the sharks lingered, but at this depth, the predators were supposed to be small. Supposed to be.
"I ... I don't know what to do," she admitted, holding her hand over one of the bigger holes to prevent blood from seeping out. She was crying, but in the salty ocean, it was hard to tell. "Turin..."
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Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 10:35 pm
Groaning slightly, Turin shook his head, trying to focus. He could hear the worry in her voice, though he may have been more concerned about her at the moment...something told him this blood in the water was important. And bad.
Normally, he relished her gentle touch, but as she pressed against the wound to slow the bleeding, he took a sharp intake of breath. Ow. "Yeah, bleeding...bad..." he agreed, trying to pull something useful from the haze that had replaced his brain.
"...Tari?" he blinked a bit, then sought her face. "Need some things. Might need help," he admitted, in too much pain to worry about pride. "Seaweed. Long pieces. Mud. Wrap, pack, wrap again. Stop bleeding. Then, hide. Not safe here anymore," his heart pounding from the effort, he tried to slow his breathing, stay calm. Getting worked up was only going to pump the blood out of his body faster than it already was.
Swallowing hard, he grasped for her hand once more, giving it a squeeze. He seemed relatively calm, considering, but there was worry in his eyes. "Tari? Hurry." Was he scared? Maybe a bit.
He was in no shape to protect her anymore like this.
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Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 10:56 pm
Tariel nodded, and she went to swim away to get the seaweed and mud, but only got a few feet before turning back. She grabbed her trident and gave it a twist and a jerk, and some extra effort, she released it from the head of the viperfish. "Here, hold this. I shouldn't take long." Without even second guessing herself, her motives or anything, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Please be careful." she whispered and then swam off towards the seabed to gather up some mud.
She felt like this was the stupidest idea yet. Leaving him alone, floating there in a cloud of blood. Yeah, it was stupid. But it was better to not leave a trail of blood that led predators to them, right? She used that to make sure she gathered as quickly as she could. She got some seaweed and wrapped it around her wrists before gathering up some mud. She hoped two handfuls would be enough. At first she tried to hold her hand against her tummy and pile the mud in, but she swam too slow, so she ended up dropping half and only bringing with her what fit in her two small hands. She felt like an idiot.
She'd been gone only a few minutes, but it felt like a forever. "Turin, Turin!" she called for him, to make sure he was still conscious. "I couldn't get much mud..."
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Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 11:18 pm
Turin would have objected, but he was a bit slower in thought and action right now than he would be normally. So he only opened his mouth...and she was gone again. Sighing softly, he gripped the trident warily, wishing that she'd taken it with her instead. He looked through the lingering cloud at the body of the viperfish, floating nearby. At least it would prove to be a distraction after they left here, as long as he wasn't leaving a second blood trail behind them when they did.
b*****d.
He let his eyes drift shut after a couple minutes. So tired...but couldn't sleep...still hurt...but felt dull, like it was someone else...
He jolted awake as Tariel's voice broke through the fog, blinking his eyes open 'til they rested on her lovely face. He smiled, not seeming concerned by her worries, only her concern. "'S okay. Just a filler. For cracks. Keep the blood from seeping out between seaweed. Just tie it tight," he advised, already realizing he'd just asked for more pain with that. Ah well.
He watched her, realizing that they needed to hurry, but...he couldn't seem to let himself get worked up right now. He just watched her in concern, frowning slightly. "Tari? ...you okay? Right?"
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Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 11:49 pm
He was okay. He was speaking. Tariel was relieved. She started smearing the mud over his open wounds, likely wincing harder than he was because it had to sting. She didn't have enough mud, but she hoped what she did have would work. She started wrapping the seaweed around, cussing each time a piece would tear or break. "Stupid seaweed is fragile," she grumbled.
She smoothed the seaweed (best she could) over the mud, and as much as she wanted to pull it tight, she didn't have long enough pieces to do that. "I think we'll have to get moving. Hope some sturdier seaweed is ahead because the stuff around here is like paper." She knew moving wasn't going to be easy. And Turin needed rest above anything else. His endurance was going to be zero after this and there's no way he was going to be able to start healing until he had some energy.
She started humming, hoping to ease his nerves, maybe some of the pain so he'd be able to move. She hated doing this to him, because pain is important to healing, but it was also important that they get going. She wrapped an arm around him, under his to try and support some of his weight with her own. It'd be slow, but they had to get moving. She tried to move his other arm so it was around her, but she was so scared of hurting him further, she let him just drape it where ever.
Her humming turned into a song. She was hoping to have him sleep, even if for a few minutes. She could support him, and protect him. She had her own weapon back. I hope you'll forgive me, Turin.
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