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Goddamnit! Rem looked away from the scene for about five minutes to get Laura to safety and all Hell broke lose! Couldn’t it have waited until after he was finished comforting Laura?! Then again, Hell hadn’t finished breaking loose yet, as they watched what happened to poor Leolin… all thoughts of Mal and Aeron left Rem’s mind. Nyhali! Was she ok?!

He was both relieved and impressed to see that Nyhali was still standing. There was something to be said for a woman who could hold her own in battle… some Paralenians would take issue with that idea, but, eh, Rem wasn’t them. Still, he couldn’t help but be just a tad disappointed as Nyhali used Laura for a support instead of him.

Quashing his own disappointment, he went reluctantly over to Leolin, hoping that the gryphon wouldn’t attack him. At least the brown beast was breathing. That was a good sign. And Nyhali’s words were comforting, although they were probably more Laura’s benefit and not Rem’s.

“I think Laura and I could handle it. You should probably sit down and rest, Nyhali,” he said, looking up from the gryphon to Nyhali. Even when she was limping, she was still beautiful. There were some forms of beauty that were only multiplied by troubles, and hers seemed to be one of them. Still, he looked away quickly; he knew that if he stared too long at a woman he usually started blushing. It was so damn embarrassing…

Besides, there were more important things to worry about, like Leolin. Hmm… maybe Mal could help. Nah, he had his own troubles. Then again, so did Nyhali and Laura, as the black beast came back once more, this time bearing a rider on its back.

Round two? Oh s**t… this wasn’t good…

Pressing the jacket to Aeron’s wound, Mal spared just a moment to watch as Varun walked away. There was never a situation dire enough for him to stop looking at men. “Now that’s a qweer bit of talent,” he murmured, mostly to himself. Noticing a slight tensing in Sekhmet’s muscles, he snatched his fingers away, narrowly avoiding that beak of hers.

“Vicious little girl, you are, Sekhmet,” he said, not sounding annoyed at her mood at all. It really was sort of cute, the way she was trying to protect Aeron. As the Black Beast returned once more---in Mal’s mind, the capitals were fully justified---Mal spun around once more. Damnit… there was someone on his back. He could see that much, but the features of the man were obscured and the words were faint, as Aeron and Sekhmet kept cooing and kreeling at one another.

The creature was gone soon enough, bearing away his rider. Mal kept watching in a cold sort of way, wondering how this would play out. This wasn’t the last of that gryphon, he knew that for sure… just what were they doing here anyway?

“Aeron’s gonna be alright, Sekhmet. He’s gonna need rest though,” he muttered, not really expecting her to understand the words. It was the tone that was important, right? Just keep the voice low and soothing, just like you were talking to a drunk at a bar fight.

Speaking of such things, where was Iris? Where was Deste?

Aeron looked up at his food-provider with his fierce golden eyes, wishing he would go away. The muscles in his shoulder hurt! Well, that was a vast understatement… every single movement and touched sent radians of pain from the muscles, like ripples on the water. At least Sekhmet’s presence helped… the male gryphon preened her feathers a little, hoping that the beast would stay away. And, more importantly, his rider.

While he wasn’t the most intelligent gryphon around, even Aeron could understand that the rider was more dangerous than the gryphon, if only barely. After all, the rider was the one on the Black Beast’s back. That meant something…

She wasn't sure what to make of the return of the Black Beast with his rider, but the words that exited the man's lips were foreboding enough to make her blood chill. Fah. She supposed they'd have to be more ready next time then...

Turning to Laura and Rem, Nyhali smiled at both of them and put a hand on Rem's shoulder. "Ah... thank you, perhaps you're right. I could use a sit right now."

She moved a few paces away and hooked an arm around her agitated griffon's neck, forcing Kedri to sit when she did. "He'll be all right, little one, don't worry. Just need to fix him up right quick before he wakes up." She spoke calmly, knowing Kedri couldn't really understand what she was saying, but the tone seemed to help.

~~~~~

Kedri allowed herself to be pulled down, as much because it had been made obvious that she couldn't do anything to help right now as the fact that she was beginning to realize how much her foreclaw hurt and how much she ached all over after the little tumble she'd taken during that last attack on the Black Beast. She kept making little concerned noises in the back of her throat and tried to hid her head under Nyhali's arm.