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 Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 7:16 pm
Bodhi cried out in triumph. She was winning! She flapped above the kalona and had him trapped between her and a rocky mountain face. She beat him back a little further with each pulse of her wings. If he didn't land soon he'd crash against the rocks, and if he did land then she would be the one doling out aerial strikes. No matter how it ended, she had the advantage and didn't see any way possible for the kalona to make up for it.
"You should have known better than to come back again after what happened last time!" she trilled with pride. "You're never going to hurt another Padmapani again!" They were so close to the rocks now that she had to be very careful not to lose balance and crash into them herself. Sweating from the effort, she kept herself stable and forced him down a little lower. Though she had taken great care with her beauty through all her years of life, the pride she felt at her looks was nothing compared to knowing that she had helped save her herdmates from pain. She was Bodhisattva, proud student of Hayagriva and Revyra, guardian of the Padmapani herd.
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Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 7:16 pm
Xelloss could taste the dust blowing off the rocks behind and beneath him. His leathery wings beat sharply against the chill air and he drew in breath after labored breath, looking for all purposes exhausted and defeated. The sun shone behind the winged mare and she looked like some sort of divine being, complete with a halo glow around her face where the stray strands of mane caught the light.
"I'm afraid you have it backwards!" He gave a strained chuckle and barely had the breath to speak. One wing tip scraped against the rock behind him. It was the end of their game. "It's not me who should have known better..." Suddenly his wings dipped. He fell the last short distance to the rocks behind him but was prepared for it. As soon as his hooves touched ground he was springing back into the air again, using the base of the rocks to spring into flight suddenly and more powerful than ever before.
At first it seemed he had flown past her entirely, but though he was now above her he was still connected to her with his serpentine tail coiled around her beautiful throat. His violet eyes were glittering slits and no trace of fatigue touched him now. "It's you who should have known better to think you could ever face me alone and live." The mare's mouth opened as his tail tightened and twisted.
A crack echoed through the air.
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Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 7:17 pm
Bodhisattva fell. The kalona let her go, and there was nothing left to keep her in the sky. She collided off the rocks she had been trying to dash Xelloss against just a moment earlier. She rebounded off of them without resistance and went tumbling to the ground below. Her wings uselessly trailed in the air behind her and crumpled entirely when she hit the ground.
She lay on the cold dirt in a heap, unmoving even to draw breath. Her necklace snapped upon impact and now the red beads were scattered like blood around her frozen form. The kalona soared cackling above but she gave him no heed, nor would she ever give anything heed again. There was no moment of fading awareness and reflection, no quick rush through what she had accomplished or endured. All that was Bodhisattva was gone in an instant and had disappeared before she touched earth.
Bodhisattva, the songbird of the Padmapani, would sing no more.
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Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 7:25 pm
Celestia snarled in response to Vivace's order. Why should she let her prey go? It was inconceivable to let go of prey once caught. However the kick that was aimed at her side could be a pretty good deterrent. Celestia twisted her own body to avoid the blow. The result was that her own twisting motion caused her grip to slip a little. The slip would cause her teeth to dig more furrows into Kakumei's leg but loosen her hold at the same time.
But Celestia could not escape the blow in its entirety. The blow glanced off her shoulder and she yelped around Kakumei's leg. It was a passing blow but it didn't stop her shoulder from throbbing as a result.
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Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 12:23 pm
 Auva didn't really understand what was happening... her eyes were wide. Chaos rained supreme around her... and for a mare who had no voice the scream she held rang silently within her chest. She had heard mixed words... "Skinwalker".... "Kalona"..... she could even see what appeared to be a snapped neck..... tears threatened to flood over her eyes as her little heart pounced and fluttered in her chest. WHAT COULD SHE DO? She was small... silent... but far from deadly. She brought her four Angeni wings around herself as if in a hug as she looked up at Amitabha, he seemed to speak to her mind... safety... strength... healing. She liked him, even if she hadn't ever spoken to him, his charms made her feel more at peace. Yet she only permitted herself a moment to look at him before her head turned at the snap of new noises.... she could see swirls of strange colours mingled with blood. Her heart seemed to pound so loud within her chest that she was sure everyone could hear it, that it would spring free of her ribcage at any moment and scurry off never to be seen again. A strange iron-like smell reached her nose.... she wanted her Mummy... or her Grandmother... or even her Great-grandmother! But none where here... none could be found.... Panic showed clearly on her features..... and again she found herself asking... WHAT CAN I DO? She was... useless, and in that moment she felt so out of place among the strong warriors and brave members of her neighbouring herd.... so out of sync. Her breath was short and shallow, as if her chest wouldn't permit enough in to actually allow her time to think and process the carnage around her. Would it never end? ((So sorry everyone for not being able to reply sooner..... ))
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Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 2:44 pm
Revyra had read her opponent well. Right now, Bushkin's only purpose was to hurt. She had her strength and wanted to use it to trample her opponent into dust. She lacked the presence of mind to attack intelligently. Her thoughts were a dull black roar in the cavern of her skull.
She let out a shrieking whinny and charged again. Her teeth began snapping before she was anywhere near Revyra, as if she was biting at invisible enemies all around her. If she could catch the purple winged mare, she would bite and grind the life out of her.
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Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 2:51 pm
Unenlagia swore when Deva took flight. So much for the stallion forgetting he had wings. He ineffectively jumped and snapped when the stallion flew overhead but didn't have a chance of hitting him. By the time he landed the stallion was far out of reach and heading back to the herd. Snarling curses, Unenlagia turned and began the run back to the herd. He had expended a burst of speed chasing the stallion and wasn't quite as fast on the return trip. This was not going as planned...
The two wolves hadn't yet made it back to the herd when they saw Deva flying in their direction. Sensing eyes upon them, they stopped to glare up at him. T'kashi snarled and barked, brandishing his over-sized tusks and slashing them through the air. Ninetails showed her teeth but was silent, staring at Deva with unbridled malice.
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Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 2:59 pm
Xelloss soared, doing corkscrewing turns of delight midair. His laughter rang over the combatants and triumph filled him to the brim. It had been pathetically easy to slaughter the brown mare. Every move she'd taken had played right into his plan. He thought about flying down to claim a trophy or two off his fallen victim but decided it could wait. He'd much rather kill another soquili or two rather than waste time collecting feathers and bone.
As he pondered who his next prey would be, it struck him as especially hilarious that no one had even noticed he'd killed one of their family members yet. They were so busy in their own little fights that he could slaughter another dozen of them before they'd pay attention to him. Bloody euphoria filled him such as couldn't be achieved except by murder. Beneath him was a lone angeni mare. Such a beautiful little filly. She was double the image of grace and purity with her unicorn horn and four angeni wings. She was his next target.
He cupped his wings and dived. He wasn't going to actually hit her this time, killing her without warning would have been too easy. He aimed for right in front of the little filly. She was about to get quite a fright.
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Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 4:04 pm
Revyra didn't figure that the mare was right in the head. Either that or the mare's gnashing of her teeth was meant to be some sort of intimidation technique. Somehow her earlier assessment seemed more likely. The mare was mad.
She had just enough time to come to that conclusion before she needed to move. Revyra danced narrowly out of the way of Bushkin's assault before countering with a slap from her wings. This was no quick way to win a battle and it might not even be a way to win at all. Her stamina would likely fail her before the draft mare's did. It was better than certain defeat at least.
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Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2012 1:30 am
Auva had no idea what happened.... didn't even see the threat before it was too late. The loud purposeful crash before her drew her attention.
Instantly her eyes widened more, her heart quickened.... and fear seemed to seep from every single pour in her body. Before her..... was.... a beast. Blood coated him, his eyes bore into her like pure evil. Her entire body trembled.
She wanted to scream... to cry.... to tell the beast to leave her alone. But such words would be pointless. The only thing to be done? Well, there was only one option.... run.
Auva's fragile body seemed to need coaxing, her motions seemed far to slow to her... as if she could see a still frame of every moment. But she managed to turn, wings clinging close to her body.
Then she made a mistake.... she turned to look at the enermy.
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Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 4:16 pm
So far, Auspicious Adagio had remained sheltered within a group of soquili still gathered near Shrivatsa. Horrible fights were going on all around them but those that stayed in the knot of soquili were too much of a challenge for any of the attackers. She shivered and softly cried in fear. The blood and anger all reminded her of being attacked by Samsara. She almost lost her life that day.
Flying off to safety wasn't even an option with the kalona in the sky. Her sister, Bodhisattva, had been keeping the kalona at bay but they had quickly flapped out of her line of vision. Now the kalona returned, but not her sister. Adagio bit her lip anxiously. Where was Bodhi? She feared leaving the group but was worried for her older sister's safety. She could be hurt and need help! Swallowing tightly, Adagio bolted from the group and through the fray.
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Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 4:21 pm
Kakumei continued to wail in pain and fear with the wolf bitten onto his leg. He couldn't imagine a nightmare more terrifying. His entire body bucked and thrashed which only made the pain stronger as his leg twisted in the wolf's grip. He kicked with his free back leg but in his panic the blows were wild and without aim. "Viva! Viva! Viva!" he screamed. "HELP ME!" No amount of practice sparring with Revyra or his siblings could have prepared him for this.
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Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 4:31 pm
The wolf still hadn't let go but hitting it once had given Vivace some confidence. If he had hit the wolf once without getting Kakumei he could do it again. Spurred on by that knowledge and Kakumei's desperate cries for help Vivace leaped at the wolf and proceeded to apply skills he had learned outside of combat training to use.
He began to do his own violent rendition of a dance. He moved his feet quickly stepping high and stomping them down trying to trample the thing and kicking out at the wolf seemingly at random intervals. It might not be the most intimidating thing in the world but it might be the least expected one.
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Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 4:33 pm
Even with almost the entire herd present, there was no one to protect this little filly. Xelloss stood directly in front of her, wings still poised for flight. No one would help her if he bit her in half now. His breath still blew out in loud puffs from the exertion of flying. This was a special day indeed, one that he had to reign absolutely nothing in. He smiled a cruel trickster's grin at her.
"Why don't you let uncle Xelloss help teach you how to fly?" He edged toward her. His long sinuous tail reached out like a grasping vine. "It'll be fun, I promise!" Splotches of the dead mare's blood were still drying on him in sinister decoration. "I'll just give you a little lift..." If she didn't move he'd have her by the ankle in just a moment. If she did move, he'd have to chase her down himself to give her his "flying lessons."
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Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 4:52 pm
The larger stallion was really getting on her nerves. She wanted to maybe gnaw on the foal's leg a little more and make it really hard for him to get away. But with the adult in such a protective state of the little one Celestia had a decision to make. It was quite a quandary she was in. If only she had her fellow wolves to aid in driving the adult away perhaps this could work. Another hoof struck her paw and she gave another yelp of discomfort. That one had really hurt. Her paw rose off the ground almost automatically.
Fine, they wanted to play that way. Celestia made her decision. Keeping low to the ground she agonizingly dragged the foal's leg out at an angle before giving the limb one more good bite. An eye for an eye. If her paw was broken she'd do her best to break this foal's leg. Celestia released Kakumei's leg and snarled in challenge towards Vivace. It'd be suicidal to fight the larger Soquili. It didn't stop her from having her hackles up though. This stallion had marked her a few times now. She gave Vivace a hard look before trying to limp away to find a new target to terrorize.
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