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 Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2009 8:01 am
 Her energy was flagging after running so far, but the ache in her heart remained, and so she continued at least at a walk. She wasn't sure where she was, she hadn't really been paying attention as she went. Kitsyn had just hoped that she could tire herself out too much to feel the hurt for a while.
It just kept playing over in her mind... when he shut the door on her. Was it just this once? Or was it a more permanent thing? She didn't know what to think, what to feel. She just tried to outrun the pain and hoped tomorrow things would be better.
There was always a chance tomorrow would be better. Knowing that was all she'd ever really had for herself... usually what she did was done for the sake of her friends. There was only one thing she'd ever really wanted just for herself... if nothing else she would content herself with having had him even for a moment.
It still hurt, though. Especially not knowing what was going to happen... even if she could at least guess at why things had taken this turn. But what was she supposed to do if he really decided to...
Kitsyn stopped then, mind and body both, and simply stared blankly down at her reflection in the flow of water in the narrow ravine she'd been walking by, her strange silvery hair taking on an almost white glow in the bright moonlight of this late eve. The air was chill from winter's cold in spite of the slightly warm streak the weather had been taking the last couple of days, and that made most of her fur poof out to try and keep her warm. But aside from her hair and the edge of her face there was hardly anything to be seen but shadows. Shadows and a slight glitter of the eyes...
And the glitter of silent tears rolling down her cheek, unbidden and unheeded as the numbness of exhaustion finally settled over her. In all honesty she should probably have turned around and started trudging her way back, but "back" was not a place she wanted to be right now. She knew it probably wasn't good for her to just stand out in the cold like this but neither exposure nor the possibility of danger was enough to penetrate the fog she'd put herself into. She just stood and watched the water.
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Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2009 8:51 am
 He didn't feel the cold of the night that threatened to seep through the restraining leather confines. The razor-sharp tips of his blunted claws tore through the chilled earth, oblivious to twigs, rocks, or anything that threatened to cut the pads of his feet. The Nemesis would never, ever be able to understand or suffer through the mental anguish Kitsyn did now--he couldn't even sense the elements unless he chose to. For all his considerable bulk, the Nightmare was silent as he moved, following the rules of the hunt as always. It was all he lived for--all he had been created for.
He had specific guidelines for his prey, of course. And those whom he'd encountered so far had yet to meet them. So, for now, he had remained placid, only lashing out at those who lacked the common sense to flee whenever he approached. The long, oozing appendages that jutted from his spine waved softly as he made his way towards the smell of water, a milky eye rolling sightlessly in his skull.
A heavy crunch of something breaking underfoot was the only warning the female would get. The Nemesis loomed behind her, snake-like tongue flickering to better catch her scent as he slowly analyzed her presence. The saltwater streaming from her face... and even the attire covering her body was enough to attract the big beast's attention.
And his attention was never a good thing.
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Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2009 11:20 am
It seemed for a while as though time passed while the world stood still. Or perhaps that the world passed while time stood still. For many long, silent moments Kitsyn neither knew nor cared which it was, if either. Even the crunch touched dimly on her muted senses. It was that feeling that woke her more anything.
The part of her that recognized the other-worlders triggered a semblance of cognition in her tired mind and she turned, albeit more slowly than she should have. Whatever else her scent carried at this point fatigue was probably a prominent part of the mixture. Even after looking at Nemesis, somehow knowing him for what he was, if not exactly remembering anything about him from her jumbled dreams of other realities, she could not bring herself to spring away and run as she probably should have.
It was the miracle of instinct that got her moving at all where her numbed mind could not seem to find the proper reaction. Her legs shifted and her body followed, scrambling along the edge of the little ravine. It was a little too wide to just jump across, and a little too deep to jump down without likely hurting herself, and in this instance it was better to just try and move away. But luck was not with her today as a stubborn bush snagged her scarf, momentarily choking her before momentum and exhaustion turned her feet clumsy and she half spun around, half fell.
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Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2009 5:20 pm
Movement. Sudden, frantic, fast.
His thick head swung instinctively to follow the mad scramble, accepting the chase as any good-natured predator might and immediately beginning his pursuit. Unfortunately, the female's path was cut short--he recognized the red scarf and the angry hiss of shrubbery before she was practically tumbling at his feet. His jaws parted in a low, rasping sound of satisfaction before one paw lifted to brutally swipe at her body.
In reality, the Nightmare was only hoping to pull her closer, all meanings of gentleness unknown concepts to him. The impact would be cruel, if those claws didn't accidentally slice through her fur and flesh. Eventually, he settled for simply pinning her down with a flexing foot and dropped his head down better to investigate. Hot, rotten breath washed forth from a mouth with too many teeth, and the beast was clearly debating what to do now that the prey had been 'caught'.
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Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2009 8:45 pm
The spin had caused her to turn too fast on both of her front paws and she was sure she'd at least sprained both of them. One had twisted at an incredibly painful angle and then she'd landed on it... so it was at least sprained and likely broken. She had little enough time to really think that fact through as she tucked the limb close to her body before the brutal blow struck it and part of her side. Pain exploded down the limp and she yelped, some detached section of her mind noting that even if her wrist wasn't broken, the arm now was.
She was incredibly fortunate that Nemesis' claws only cut and snagged in her clothing and not her flesh as he dragged her closer. The weight of the limb pressing down on her made it difficult to breath, and the concentrated pressure likely finished the job of cracking several ribs. She whimpered and tried feebly to push herself away with her usable limbs before coughing and nearly gagging at the stench of his breath. The coughing almost immediately made her gasp in pain because of her ribs and the world swam a little bit. The pain was starting to make her dizzy.
It suddenly occured to her that for all Caim knew she loved him... she'd never said it. And now she'd probably never get to. ...Damn it, she'd forgotten to put the rest of the milk up too. She had presense of mind enough to be a bit suprised at the incongruity of the two thoughts. It was suprising what sort of things you thought about right before you were going to die.
But she couldn't just... lie here. Putting up a fight wasn't likely to get her out of this but just waiting for the blow that killed her had no chance of anything other than death. She had one shot... while he had his face in close. Attacking the blind eye wasn't exactly going to handicap him, but she knew from personal experience that getting hit in the eye was by no means pleasant. And so she lashed out with the front paw that still had room to move.
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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 8:26 pm
High-pitching squeals, the sour stench of fear, a fallen body and writhing protests. Every bit of his predatory mind was stimulated, unconsciously snapping his jaws as though his will alone could cause her to freeze in place. Roughly angling his horns, the Nightmare lowered his head to deliver a brutal blow against her side. Was it to encourage her to get up again, or simply make sure she knew she was caught? Even the beast wasn't sure, his breath hot and rasping as though debating whether or not to close his jaws over her head.
Even as his eye was swiveling slowly in his head, a sudden sound of movement was only enough to make him jerk with surprise--and then a lance of raw agony ripped through the delicate organ, almost made him stumble with the unexpected sensitivity. And the shock turned to rage, to a raw fury that this little prey-beast had the spirit to fight back. Still, it was a challenge, was enough to boost her threat just high enough that elimination presented itself as the first option.
A rough, rattling bellow was exhaled from a set of powerful lungs, and the Nemesis struck her head hard with a set of curving claws. They then dug under her body, ruthlessly biting into flesh before he lifted and tossed. There was enough power in the move to accidentally send her hurtling towards the gaping chasm. It would serve as a useful escape, assuming she survived both the blow and the fall.
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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 9:50 pm
Kitsyn was made of sterner stuff than perhaps even she realized, with a strength and a constitution often hidden by her unremarkable size and generally friendly demeanor. This did not, however, mean she was any more likely to escape a situation like with this less severe injuries than another kitsusagi of similar stature; she was just more likely to survive them.
In a case like this that particular tendency might call the alignment of her luck into question. Pain exploded on both sides of her head, the impact from the blow causing her head to bounce off the hard earth. She remained conscious long enough only to register the sensation of flying through the air and the screaming of the various pained areas of her body before the world spun one last time and fell into blackness.
Not being conscious enough for instinct to cause her to brace for impact probably saved her from worse injury than the impact alone would have caused, but it did nothing for her chances in the river. The water seemed to pause in suprise for a moment as she struck the wall and rolled into its domain, but the moment passed. It began tugging her, a bit slugishly at first but with increasing insistence, and finally she began to float down the narrow channel. By what Fate either kind or cruel her head stayed bouyant enough to remain above water could only be guessed at, but there was little chance of whatever luck she held this night remaining so faithful for much longer.
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