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This wasn't right. Xelloss had stopped flying and had tightened his grip. The razor like teeth digging into his ankle were drawing rivers and blood and the dead weight of the kalona's form was slowly dragging him down. Vivace struggled to keep aloft but it was becoming clear that such a thing wasn't even his best choice. He was losing blood slowly but steadily. If Vivace went too long without treatment it could kill him. Across the way he noticed two of Xelloss's kin fleeing. Aside from Xelloss there was only one combatant left on the side of the kalona. There were many still helping his side but they mostly fought better on the ground.

Vivace stopped fighting to stay up in the air. He let them sink to the ground at a rate that was almost dangerous feigning exhaustion but not needing to fake the pain. If he could get the others to his side it would be a death kiss. He let out a few warbling notes that meant trouble. He needed help. Xelloss was a bit to crafty for Vivace to handle alone even with his skill in flying.

The twins gathered around Lorenna as the kalona ran off feeling nothing but relief and gratitude for the help the others had provided. Fletcher softly bumped against Thatcher's uninjured shoulder just to reassure him that he was alright. Thatcher returned the motion with one of his own before looking to Lorenna. "Did we win?" He asked softly not sure what else had transpired around them.

Vivace's cry rang out loud and clear throughout the area. Lorenna turned quickly to see what was going on. She had not forgotten about Vivace but it seemed as though his circumstances had changed since she had last checked on him. Xelloss had his ankle in his mouth and was dragging the child of the lotus down to the ground. "Not yet we haven't." Lorenna said cursing Xelloss silently. It would be him that managed to do the most damage. "Everyone to the field!" She ordered loud enough for those around her to hear but not so loud that the sound might reach Xelloss. There were only two left. Zamyr seemed to be fighting Othelia off well enough but it would be good for him to get help.

"Fletcher, Thatcher, you two help Zamyr. Othelia can't fly at all. The rest of you, our target is Xelloss." She said quickly and firmly as she lead the way down the safe path towards Xelloss. This would be the final push against them. This would teach them exactly what she and her people were capable of. It would make them think twice about attacking them ever again.

The others were coming but it was still just Xelloss alone with his prey. He remembered killing the Padmapani mare, remembered her neck snapping and her life draining away. That was what he wanted now, that beautiful moment of destruction and clarity... but he had lost that ease of purpose.

Xelloss' grip loosened as he watched Zelcion and Zenoskelis running away. It wasn't just him fighting alone for himself anymore. What was he now? He had his family and various servants that he tried to lead to fiendish pursuits... and he had his superiors that more increasingly pushed him into danger and abandoned him there. There was Rezo sending him into the jaws of the elder skinwalker, and now Phibrizzo abandoned him and his descendents to chaos and defeat. He would always hold respect for Lord Beastmaster, but she grew distant and uninvolved. Who was he fighting for now?

Xelloss then did something that he knew was utterly contrary to his nature, pulling away from a fight he knew he could win. He knew that he could do a lot of damage to Vivace before the others arrived to stop him but now he just couldn't be bothered to do so. He let go entirely and flapped apart from the other stallion, beating the air in wide sweeps that pulled him aloft and away.

The pressure around Vivace's ankle suddenly vanished as did the extra weight. Grey eyes watched in puzzlement as Xelloss flew off. Why? Help was still a way off from them. Why had he suddenly let go? Vivace watched Xelloss go as he continued his descent to the ground waiting for him to turn around and come back. He never did. On the ground Vivace kept his weight off of his torn ankle not wanting to strain it anymore. All the kalona were gone now. They had run off. He watched as Lorenna and the others approached with a quizzical look on his face. "What happened?" He asked when he was certain someone was within earshot.

"They all ran off with their tails between their legs!" Thatcher declared proudly as though he had not just had his life threatened by a large kalona. For Thatcher the enemy was gone, which meant the danger was gone. Fletcher shook his head at his brother. He was not so quick to dismiss what had just happened. They had just gotten their first real taste of battle and Thatcher was acting like it was just a playful sparring session. "But not before they left their marks." He said pointedly looking at his brother's shoulder. It had stopped bleeding but it was still red from clotted blood. Thatcher shrugged. "The girls will love it." Fletcher rolled his eyes, it was painful to listen to his brother speak sometimes. "They'll love yours too, Viva." He said nodding at Vivace's ankle before noticing that it was still bleeding sluggishly. Thatcher wrinkled his nose. "We'll get you looked after." Fletcher added hoping the wound wasn't as bad as it looked.

Lorenna made a point to cuff Thatcher with her wing on her way past to Vivace. It wouldn't be enough to hurt him but it would hopefully get her point across that he needed to stop talking for a moment. There was a time for joking and this wasn't it. The kalona had gone but that didn't mean they were finished or in the clear. There was still work to be done and healing was just the first order of business. She marched over to Vivace and looked over his ankle. Xelloss hadn't lost his touch for destruction. "Lapointe, do you know much about healing?" She asked the fluttercorn. Anything would be better than letting Vivace bleed out after fighting so valiantly.

Othelia's retreat did not come to a surprise to Zamyr. It was more of a relief than anything. Her departure meant he wouldn't have to resort to drastic, violent, and more permanent actions.They had beaten back the enemy again. He slowly made his way over to the others and came to a stop by Devmani who seemed to be content to just listen for now. Zamyr was happy enough to join him in listening.

Lorenna nodded her head at Lapointe before looking to Vivace. "Please allow him to help you. Once he's done what he can you must find another healer to finish the job. Do not worry over the rest of us." She fixed Vivace with a stony look daring him to protest her orders. He didn't really seem the kind to deny help but it never hurt to ensure cooperation. "Lapointe, kindly do not push yourself too hard with this task. We're all tired and it helps no one if you collapse from your efforts." Lorenna took a breath. She had intended to address each of the others next but something was stopping her. It was her time with Fletcher and Thatcher. She had come to learn that yelling and ordering them about usually just led to hurt feelings and tears. Everyone here was an adult but that didn't make her rigid way of handling everything any easier to hear.

"And...thank you. For your help." Lorenna smiled slightly at the two, an expression that lasted barely a second before she turned to get back to business. That would have to do for now.

"Fletcher, Beryl, Zamyr, and Devmani, if you are uninjured kindly help dismantle the last of the traps. The last thing we want is for someone innocent to end up springing one of them." She nodded her head in what she hoped was a grateful movement before turning to the youngest member of the team. "Thatcher, let me look at your shoulder." She said stepping closer to the young buck. It wasn't bleeding but it was still worth checking. Once she was sure that the injury wouldn't reopen she would go seek out Khaa and a few other birds. She needed eyes on the kalona again to make certain that they were not just regrouping for another assault.

Even though his healing skills were limited, Lapointe was still exhausted by the time he finished tending to the last soquili. He'd never had to use his healing powers for so long and didn't realize it would take that much out of him. He almost wanted to collapse where he was to sleep, but the idea of lingering where the kalona knew them to be made him uneasy. They had won and that was great... but that didn't make them invincible.

Beryl declined healing herself, knowing that there were others in more pain. She wasn't at risk from infection from a little crushing, she just wouldn't be terribly perky for a while.

It was a little strange watching Lorenna with her twins. She wasn't quite tender with them, but it was close enough to contradict Beryl's internal image of her. She still didn't understand why Lorenna had adopted the two of them to begin with, though they had apparently grown up into decent stallions. Turning her head from them, Beryl wondered if they had finally seen the last of Xelloss. Somehow, she didn't think so...

Lorenna stood with Khaa surveying the field. It had been torn up, trampled, and splattered with blood. It was always this way. It would likely be this way forever more. Khaa had confirmed that they had all fled. Fled to come back another day once their wounds had healed. Lorenna sighed. She had been thinking that this would be an end to a chapter but it wasn't. It was just part of a long endeavor. An endeavor that she would not give up.

If today's victory had shown one thing it was that proper planning could lead to the defeat of vicious threats. Some of her team had been injured but the others had gotten it much worse. Her birds could be used to give everyone the chance to prepare in such a way just as they had in the Padmapani. Perhaps they would never be able to cast out evil for good but if they could beat it away each and every time then that was a great step forward.

"Khaa, I want you to spread the word about what transpired today. Tell everyone about the fall of the kalona at the hands of untrained warriors. Tell them how we did it. Make sure that everyone knows that there is always hope of victory. Tell them how a flutter took down a kalona with a needle. Let them know about the valiant aerial efforts of a simple wind who spends his days singing. Let them know of the snags that saved lives. Tell everyone on our side that we can fight against this. Tell them that we can win." Stories could be powerful things. If birds made as good of story tellers as they did messengers then in a few months time people up and down the network that thought to listen to the birds would know of the strength of the common folk.

"Go Khaa, get all your friends and local gossips to help you."

They could do this. They could keep fighting for an eternity. They could crush the evil each and every time so long as everyone believed they could. Lorenna smiled and marched over to the twins. "Fletcher, Thatcher, we're going to go have a meeting with our friends at the hot springs. The kalona won't be coming back here anytime soon." Lorenna wanted to learn more about these traps.