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 Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 10:05 am
In the meantime, Xellra wasn't going to give up so easily. Even with Tythoss gone, it was still two kalona against two enemies. The stallion wasn't about to get up and he thought Lilel would keep the angeni occupied. That left him and the furious, but inexperienced Ijn.
He took a kick but it was only battering, not crippling. He trusted his teeth as weapons more so than his tail so he snapped back at her, attacking anything within reach.
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 10:15 am
There were two sounds. The first was the solid thudding of hooves against Liliel's chest. The second was the sound of Liliel landing on her flank off to the side of the angeni. She wheezed and coughed as she tried to take in breath. It hurt. Not in a way that felt like death was upon her but it hurt all the same. It would certainly bruise.
This was why Tythoss had fled.
Liliel managed to get her feet under her. She looked murder at the mare and hissed, "I'll get you next time." And there would be a next time. Liliel would make sure of it. For now there was a second angeni out in the trees. An old friend of Liliel's, one that didn't know to fight so well. It was high time Liliel went to find her.
Without a word to Xellra she disappeared into the trees. With any luck the two mares would do them all a favor and kill him.
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 10:20 am
Ijn could feel teeth scrap against her leg, it hadn't been deep but she knew that if she bothered to look there would be blood. She couldn't stop though. She had to keep fighting for her father's sake. "Go away! Go away! Go away!" Ijn continued shouting as she kept twisting and turning and flailing out with her legs as much as possible. She didn't know if she was doing any good but there would be no end until the kalona were gone.
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 10:24 am
Two of the three kalona were gone now, chased off by Verity. One still remained, the demon that had impaled the stallion and who was now harassing the poor fellow's daughter. Though her injury slowed and weakened her, Verity's ferocity was in no way diminished. She charged at the final enemy.
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 10:26 am
Xellra was pleased at the way his fight was going but didn't have long to bask. Liliel ran off while he was distracted and now... now the damn angeni was making her way straight for him. Xellra managed to stagger out of the way for her initial attack but knew she was about to wheel about for more. Angry, but knowing that he didn't stand much of a chance against her if she had already defeated the others, he turned and ran.
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 10:41 am
The angeni had come to help which meant... Ijn looked around the surrounding area now blissfully free of kalona. They could help her dad now. Ijn skidded over to where her father lay and eased herself to the ground to avoid accidentally crushing him when she dropped. He had stopped moving his legs but his eyes were still clamped shut. His chest was shaking every time he took a breath and there were thick trails of blood running down his side and seeping into the ground where he had been pierced.
"Dad..." Ijn said softly nosing his neck. "They're gone now... we can get you help now." She tried to smile reassuringly but the expression kept wavering. It was bad, she could tell it was bad. Maybe too bad to fix. "You can help him right?" She asked turning bright eyes to the angeni.
Xantir opened his eyes when he felt Ijn gently stroking his neck. Somehow the action made the pain worse. It was like squeezing them had been blocking out the pain, or perhaps seeing the look in his daughter's eyes was making it worse. "Ijn..." He choked out before gasping for more air. "You're alright..?"
"Yeah... yeah I'm alright. You will be too. She's going to help. Right?" Ijn looked to the angeni imploringly. "Right?"
Xantir shuddered. He felt cold but it wasn't so bad. The pain in his side wasn't hurting so much now. "Ijn... we have to... to get you home safe..." He said. Her face was starting to blur and he dimly registered that there were tears falling from his eyes. "Cause you're... my little girl... no matter... no matter... what happened... you're my... baby... my..."
"Dad... come on dad. Just... she'll help. She can help!" Ijn nudged her father's neck. His eyes were still open but he didn't seem to be looking at her anymore. He was just looking blankly ahead. "Dad, please. You can take me home... please. Dad!" He wasn't answering. Xantir was gone.
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 10:48 am
Verity mutely watched the two before her. She wanted to say something while Ijn was begging her, but what could she possibly say? She realized Ijn's mistake, of course. Others had made that mistake before, but never in such heartbreaking circumstances. The horn on her helmet was merely decorative. She could no more close his wounds than she could heal her own destroyed wing. So she was silent as he died, silent as shame, fatigue, and pain began to wash over her. He had died because they came to help her.
"I'm sorry," she murmured at last. She wanted to say more, but her throat closed. Without the fight her adrenaline was already leaving her. Already she could feel her body growing heavier and slower. Her wing bled steadily, draining away her strength. She was exhausted, wounded, and now heartsick. If the kalona returned, she didn't know that she could chase them off a second time.
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 10:54 am
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 11:00 am
Meanwhile.
Xelloss couldn't say he was exactly pleased. He'd received various reports from the wolves and wasn't amazed by what he'd heard. There had only been one real skirmish so far and that had resulted in one dead elderly stallion. That was fine, but the angeni had apparently run off three of the kalona in her counterattack, and that he couldn't tolerate. Three kalona should have been more than enough to kill one angeni. The only explanation he could think of was that they had been idiots and not used their superior numbers properly. Soured by the achievement of his trainees, he had flapped out over the jungle arena to take a more personal look at what was going on.
What he spotted pleased him even less.
He saw Zenoskelis and his father Zelcion meandering around looking less like they were hunting and more like they were taking a pleasant stroll. Xelloss grimaced in irritation. It was time for some coaching. He landed nearby them, and beckoned them over with a call.
"You two," he said. "I think we need to chat."
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 11:02 am
Zenoskelis blanched, knowing he had been caught. It was true that he hadn't been thrilled at the idea of having to run around trying to kill or be killed. It was dangerous, intimidating, and he was just a little bit frightened by the whole situation. He looked to his father for support, but slunk over to his grandfather, knowing that a tongue-lashing was due.
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 11:11 am
Zelcion didn't move. His expression was just as sour as the one on his own father's face. "Then why aren't you talking?" He countered flicking his tail irritably. He'd already killed once for this silly little punishment disguised as an exercise and it had been the opposite of thrilling. He didn't have any growing desire to go skulking after more of the group that had been brought in for them to slaughter. Liliel and the others would be more than happy to take down the rest of them. He and Zenoskelis could continue treating the day like a normal one if he had any say in it.
Of course from the looks of things he didn't get a say. He just wanted to be difficult.
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 11:20 am
Xelloss' tail flicked. So Zelcion was being difficult and Zenoskelis was being cowardly. Both those observations were unsurprising. "I can't help but notice that as a group, your performance is... underwhelming." He spoke of all of the participants in that, though he was certain that the two of them knew they contributed to that mediocrity.
"I hope you two realize that it's entirely possible that the lovingly harvested targets in this game might end up killing most or all of you. Some are rather dangerous and so far, you and your brothers are less than that." He could see Zenoskelis swallow. That was enough to make him nervous, apparently.
"If you don't want to get ambushed by angeni and whatever else is out there, I rather advise that you start working in a group, and I mean more than just the two of you." He gave an unimpressed look between the pair. "If I had wanted you to learn how to hunt individually I would have just told you to find some random soquili in the jungle to kill."
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 11:29 am
Zelcion rolled his eyes with as much exaggeration as he could manage. He knew exactly what his father was getting at. He didn't think he was particularly right, their captives were likely more interested in getting away than in getting revenge. He wasn't stupid enough to not notice the almost threats coming into play. Xelloss wanted them to hunt as a group since they were terrible at it. He was using their familial bonds against them. It seemed to be working more on Zenos than on Zelcion.
Still, he did have a daughter and a brother he vaguely cared about in the sense that it would suck to be left alone with Xellra. "Fine. We'll play your silly little games." He looked Xelloss over. He couldn't quite figure out what but there was something going on. Something beyond a simple hunt to make them work together. "Zenos, try to find your sister. She'll likely be in the thick of it by now."
He gave Xelloss another long look. "What are we really doing here?" He asked not actually expect an answer. Xelloss didn't give answers unless it suited him.
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 11:35 am
"You're hopefully doing what I tell you," said Xelloss, eyes crinkled with amusement but tone suggesting something far more ominous. Loyalty was just as important as ability, especially during a time like this with so much subterfuge and shadows.
"Now get along. The big wolfish one is especially dangerous. If you see him without a group, I'd suggest you run." With this last bit of advice, Xelloss flapped off again. Now he'd see if they couldn't spice things up a little. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 2:01 pm
Caspian ran. His lungs were dry enough that every breath hurt, but he couldn't afford to slow. He could hear the pack of kalonas behind them and every moment it sounded like they grew closer.
He had two companions in this horror, a unicorn with macabre markings and a regular with a blonde mane and almost human-ish garb. He had been glad to find the unicorn, thinking she could heal them if something went wrong. Now he understood that if something did happen, it would be over fast enough for her healing to make a difference.
He thought he could hear water ahead. Could he be so lucky? If he could just make it to water he might be able to survive...
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