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 Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 2:04 pm
Flash Black felt strange. Her whole life she had enjoyed a bit of an obsession with death. She had never feared it because she felt such a fascination. Of course, she had never actually been close to death until now. All of her dancing on hilltops in storms, thinking she was daring a lightning strike... how foolish and naive it all seemed now. Did she fear death now?
She looked to her companions. They certainly did. She didn't want them to die, even though she barely knew them. What about herself? She didn't know that she feared death, exactly... but neither was she ready to die. Not now. Not like this.
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 2:29 pm
Oakley hadn't intended to come out of this with companions. As soon as she'd been released she'd run off in a direction she hoped would take her home. They'd just sort of crossed paths with each other. Now she was grateful for them, she could hear the hunters hot on their trail, if they got caught her odds of slipping away were much greater if they were focusing on the unicorn and kelpi. Oakley didn't want to die. It was as simple as that, and it wasn't like she was the friend of the two she was running with. Every mare for herself.
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 2:37 pm
Zenoskelis gave chase. He was near the front of the pack of kalona. He wouldn't ordinarily have volunteered for such a position, but he knew Xelloss was watching. Every once in a while he saw a shadow pass overhead. He was almost positive that Xelloss was watching them, and knew Xelloss would expect to see him put in this level of effort. Grimly, he focused on the hunt. They followed their prey based on sound now, they were so close.
Tythoss still hurt from his battering. He had hoped they would find the angeni again and finally tear her to pieces, but they had no such luck. They were instead on the trail of three lesser soquili. They would be fun to kill, but wouldn't hold the same weight as destroying an angeni. Every jarring step hurt his wounds, but he kept going. Soquili needed to die still.
Xellra would rather have been flying, but he knew the importance of staying within the group. Xelloss had apparently chewed out Zelcion and Zenoskelis about just that. Xellra kept looking around them, to the sides and occasional glances behind. The mazoku had been ambushed before, and he wasn't keen to walk into another one.
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 2:42 pm
Xelloss circled the participants, high overhead. It was hard to see anyone down in the dense jungle, but he was able to catch enough glimpses to have an idea of where people were. He was happy to see that all of the mazoku children had gathered into one herd. There, much better. They were starting to figure out the game.
He could see that they were growing close to the ones that they pursued. Those soquili didn't have exceptional fighting skills, but there were three of them. He wondered, how many could they kill without escape?
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 3:40 pm
Zelcion followed after the others with no particular enthusiasm. He would play along with whatever his father was up to if only to figure out exactly what that was. If in the end it turned out that this really all had been arranged to make them look foolish he was going to be furious. But while that certainly seemed like something Xelloss personally might do Zelcion doubted Lord Ruby-eyes would have anything to do with it. He glanced up, Xelloss was up there somewhere. Every now and then he'd catch a glimpse of his father above the canopy. Once this was done maybe he'd clue them all in.
Liliel was thrilled. Her chest ached in the dull way that bruises did and every time she landed a bit too roughly she wheezed slightly. She could rest later. They were chasing some pray as one now and it was exhilarating. Better yet, one of her old friends was in the group of fleeing soquili. A beautiful little blonde mare that escaped her once before. She wouldn't be so lucky this time and neither would her little friends.
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 3:49 pm
The water was growing closer! Caspian felt a glimmer of hope bud within him. There was an odd quality to the sound of it, but he could tell they weren't far. He surged ahead with a burst of speed, came out from under the cover of the jungle, and skidded to a stop. There was certainly a river, but it was at the bottom of of rather precipitous drop. It was a cliff, and the river below was rocky enough that Caspian didn't dare leap.
His dismay was so great that he stood there frozen. What were they going to do now?
Flash Black bounded to a stop beside him, looking down the precipice and giving a low whistle. "That's bad luck," she said between panting. Bad luck indeed. Maybe there was nothing left but to accept her fate.
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 3:53 pm
"You led us straight to a drop off!" Oakley shouted at the fishy stallion as though it was his fault that all of this was happening. She could see the kalona through the trees. They would be there in a matter of seconds. "Well I'm not waiting for them to push me off a cliff, even a short one!" She snapped before heading back toward the trees hoping to slip away unnoticed before they got too close.
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 3:57 pm
Zenoskelis emerged into the open. There their quarry stood, at the edge of what looked like a steep drop-off. Only... there were three instead of two. One of them must have split off earlier in the pursuit. It was a smart tactic and probably had saved their life.
"Here they are!" he snapped, slowing briefly to let the rest catch up before rushing forward. This was it.
Xellra didn't waste time. He flapped into the air as soon as he had open sky above him. If he could get the angle just right, he'd be able to knock one of them right off the cliff and send them to their death on the rocks below.
Tythoss had a much more direct strategy. He charged forward, elongated mouth gaping.
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 4:07 pm
Liliel's jaw dropped. "How?" She bellowed. That blonde mare had somehow slipped away from her again. How could she possibly keep doing that? It didn't seem possible for her to be that lucky, and yet she was. She didn't get a chance to rant about her misfortune, her brother and uncles were already leading the charge.
She followed right after aiming for the black mare. She couldn't kill that last angeni, she couldn't find the other one at all, and her blonde had vanished without a trace. She could certainly get this one unicorn, they were almost as annoying as angeni and would surely be worth something.
Zelcion 'charged' with the others, except with his plodding pace it would be more accurate to call it an speedy stroll. He moved off to one side where the others weren't focusing their efforts. The ones they were hunting had their backs to a sheer drop. They really just had to block off escape and drive them over it. Splat. Dead soquili, next mission. He shook his head, so pointless.
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 4:14 pm
Flash Black snorted. If she was going to die, she'd die on her own terms. "Run away!" she hissed at the frozen kelpi, seeing that his eyes were rolled back in shock. "Run and save yourself!" He wasn't moving. Frustrated, Flash smacked him in the face with her tail. "I said RUN!"
She followed her own advice, but didn't go away from the kalona. Instead, she aimed her horn at the heart of the one looking to run her down. She had never been in a fight. The part of her that was always amused appreciated the irony that the last thing she did would be her first time doing something.
Her hooves hit the ground like the crack of thunder, and she lunged forward. She hoped the kelpi would make it out, even if she didn't.
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 4:17 pm
Flash Black's slap was enough to get Caspian moving. He very well knew it might be too late, but he bolted anyways. He thought he could feel his skin cracking from the exertion and dryness, but he didn't let that slow him. The blonde mare had escaped, maybe he could too. Maybe...
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 4:25 pm
Liliel purred when the mare charged, it was nice to have a little bit of a fight before a killing. At least that was what she was telling herself. Her bruises were telling different story. She smiled as the mare came closer and then jumped off to the side at the last moment using her wings to give her added height. She kicked at the mare as she landed just a foot off to the side on her clawed feet. She had her dad and brother around now, it would be nice to make this a show for them.
Zelcion was less pleased by his daughter's antics. "Quit clowning around." He snapped at her. This wasn't the time for that. "Just kill her and make it quick."
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 4:30 pm
Tythoss and Zenoskelis were neck in neck running for the fleeing kelpi. They were faster than the kelpi was now. It wouldn't be long before they caught it. Zenos flicked a glance sideways at his more experienced uncle. "Let me have him!" he shouted. He needed this. He needed to show everyone that he wasn't useless. This could be his chance to redeem himself. To his utter surprise, Tythoss nodded back to him.
"As you wish!" said Tythoss with a sideways smirk. He slowed down and let Zenoskelis shoot ahead of him. This would be fun. He'd let the brat give it a try against the kelpi, and then he'd sweep in and finish the kelpi off once Zenos had shown himself incapable.
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 4:33 pm
He wasn't going to make it! With despair, Caspian considered flinging himself off the side of the cliff anyways. He might make it to the water and not get dashed to death on the rocks. It would be faster and less painful than getting devoured by kalonas. Just as he was starting to edge his galloping path towards the brink, he was caught. Teeth sank into his tail and he was suddenly off balance, rolling into a disorderly heap on the ground.
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 4:37 pm
Flash Black yelped as she was clawed at, but the yell turned into a strained and hysterical laugh. This was it! She was doing it! Flash Black versus the kalona. She couldn't have made up a story this good!
"Do you know how you're going to die?" she asked Liliel, almost bouncing as she danced to one side. "Do you? Do you?" There was something of a jester-like quality in the way she taunted and pranced. "I know how I will, but do you?" One of her dancing movements changed direction mid-stride. Instead of moving sideways she struck forward, trying to stab Liliel in the side with her pointed horn.
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