[PRP] Adding insult to injury (Xelloss and Deneb)

[Revolutionary Roniel]

Note to self: Taking on one soquili is fine. Taking on nearly the entire herd... not so good.

Xelloss lay in an exhausted heap at the base of a large oak tree. He had wanted to find somewhere a little more secluded but he didn't trust himself to fly right now. With all the times he had been hit in the head his balance was still a little off... not to mention the myriad cuts, slashes, bumps, and other injuries he had sustained.

My mistress will not be pleased with this, he thought to himself while drawing his wings closer in. He wouldn't be returning to her for some time and when he did he would still be hardly in his peak condition. That is... if he returned at all.

Xelloss was altogether too aware of the vulnerable position he was in. He was too pained and tired to walk right now, let alone fight off an aggressor. Kalonas like himself were rare and skinwalkers were even rarer... but there were plenty of lesser soquili around that would love a chance to take out an injured kalona and enjoy the bragging rights after. Could he even hunt in his current state? Perhaps an unlucky rabbit would hop by right in front of his face. Short of that sort of intervention, he doubted he'd be eating for the next couple of days.  

[Lady Argentum Draconis]

Deneb picked her way through the under brush her thoughts mostly wrapped up around herself. She was having another one of those days where she brooded and lamented upon her life, not that this was a common thing for her, but she found that it often helped put things in perspective.

She was so distracted that it didn't dawn on her that the birds in her surrounding area had gone silent. Even the insects had gone still. It wasn't until she nearly tripped over the injured Kalona's tail that she noticed him at all.

"What the!?" she pranced and backed away her entire body going stiff. It wasn't until then she noticed that he was injured. "Are you...alright?" she asked the words tumbling out of her mouth out of habit than concern at the moment.  

[Revolutionary Roniel]

Like the kirin, Xelloss didn't notice the other until she was practically on top of him. He had been dozing a little, though his eyes snapped immediately open again when he heard the hoof beats so nearby. His head lifted swiftly but with false energy. He couldn't get the rest of himself up so quickly.

A kirin. Good. Kirins were pacifistic, he'd found and it was a mare to boot. Very unlikely to cause him any harm. Could tell someone else about him, which could lead to problems... but by herself, not a problem.

"Oh yes, I'm perfectly fine," he quipped sarcastically through a false smile. "So why don't you go on your way?"  

[Lady Argentum Draconis]

While her first instinct had been to run Deneb was surprised to hear the sarcasm from the stallion. She'd expected teeth and hooves and not the verbal kind.

"Oh really?" she said feeling dangerous and edging closer. "Perhaps you'd like to prove it?" she challenged taking in his many injuries. "Although I think you'd end up doing yourself more harm than good in the end." her eyes flicking from one gash to another. "What did you do?" she asked not really expecting an answer. "Get to close to someone else's mare?" she asked needling him.  

[Revolutionary Roniel]

"My, how unusual," he said with the same sarcastic tone and smile. "Food that thinks it's clever." He was in no mood for company, especially company that was going to intentionally annoy him. Didn't anyone have the sense to let sleeping kalonas lie?

"Why don't you come over a little closer? I think that a snack would do wonders for my mood." He showed off his sharp teeth for emphasis. At times like this he wished he was a more traditional fearsome kalona instead of the more subtle conniving one he was. If he could work up a good roar right now it would help him out a lot more than all his wordplay.  

[Lady Argentum Draconis]

Deneb snorted. "And I suppose that with your dashing good looks and clever turn of phrase that I'll just jump into your mouth? How dumb do you think I am?" she quipped back at him. "Besides in your current condition, you'd probably break your jaw."

Deneb considered her options for dealing with the stallion, and she had to admit there weren't many that she liked. She could either leave him here to rot, but that was unappealing as his rotting carcass would ruin this sector of her roaming area for months, but knowing her luck and him being a Kalona it would stretch into years.

She grimaced inwardly, and admitted that the only thing to do was to get him out of here. She wouldn't let him eat her of course if she could help it, and she'd put of a fight if he tried anyway...but she'd maybe find him a snack and being a Kirin perhaps attempt a little healing on the more serious wounds.

"Look we could stand here all year and trade barbs, but I don't think you'd last that long...So...maybe...you can shut up, let me find you a squirrel or a rabbit or something, let me heal you a bit so you can get the hell out of here?"  

[Revolutionary Roniel]

The snarkiness didn't suprise Xelloss, it was the offer that did. He hardly believed his ears. Had a kirin... the gentlest of soquili breeds, except perhaps the angeni, just offered to catch him a living creature to eat? He blinked and looked a little more confused than he would have liked. She could be offering so he would let down his guard while she went and found the rest of her herd to stomp him into oblivion... but she didn't need to make an excuse to do that. He was obviously quite immobile and if she wanted to find someone to kill him she could tell him outright.

Though he was very confused, he didn't want to give the mare the satisfaction of having confused him. He composed himself quickly, adopting once more his cocky smirk.

"Weeeell. If you want to go end some poor animal's life to extend mine, go right ahead."  

[Lady Argentum Draconis]

Deneb sighed. "Well, its not my first choice, but leaving you to rot, no matter how tempting, would ruin this part of my range for ages, and I like it around here."

She stamped her foot and turned flicking her tail. "Its not that I want to help you, its that I don't see a better option, and just think about it as a trade, I feed you something else so you don't feel the need to take a chunk out of me. Its win-win...except for whatever I manage to scare up." she said with a bit of a shudder. "And this way..." she shook her head. "Never mind!"

And with that she stormed off through the under brush to find something to satisfy the male's hunger.  

[Revolutionary Roniel]

Xelloss watched after the kirin's retreating form. She was irritating, though that was hardly a surprise. Kirins and unicorns as a rule existed to make life irritating for kalonas. They healed where kalonas hurt. They represented hope, joy, and beauty, all things that Xelloss loathed.

But now he was dependent on the help of one.

Not dependent, merely accepting, he mentally corrected himself. He wasn't going to die if she didn't assist him. Probably. He would have just spent a few painful days lying around feeling hungry and then been on his way.

The tip of his tail twitched. She was irritating, though. Maybe he'd take a bite out of her as repayment for all her gracious assistance. It was the least he could do.  

[Lady Argentum Draconis]

What the hell am I doing? Deneb thought to herself. Common sense told her to leave the Kalona to wallow in his misery, or worse...find someone to help put him out of his misery, permanently. Everything told her that the latter was the thing to do. There had to be a stallion somewhere around here...or a particularly nasty tempered mare that would be more than happy to have one less flesh eater in the world.

Deneb sighed. No matter how much she knew she shouldn't help...the more she wanted too. Perhaps it was the morals her dam had instilled in her. Everything deserved its place in the world...even the flesh eaters, they were just doing what their nature told them to do...no matter how disgusting she found it herself.

It wasn't long after that she came upon a small group of rabbits. Deneb felt an extreme pang of conscious as she positioned herself to run as many as she could toward the stallion. "I'm sorry..." she whispered before she came charging out making as fierce a noise as she could manage driving them back towards the oak tree.  

[Revolutionary Roniel]

Xelloss' ears perked at the sound of hooves and small feet heading towards him. What was she doing? Was she trying to kill one by trampling it? The mare's plan became more evident as she came into view. She was chasing rabbits towards him! He had to appreciate the tactic. The kirin had come up with a way to assuage her conscience regarding both him and killing the rabbits. She could feed the poor hurt kalona without having to do any of the killing herself. Very clever indeed.

A few of them were running in his direction and Xelloss made his best efforts to lie limply on the ground so that they would continue to. He lay there waiting and silent as a snake until one of them sprinted too close past his head. With a flash and a snapping of teeth one rabbit was limp in his jaws. He didn't have the energy to move... but the stupid animal had nearly run into his mouth.

Another one circled around his hindquarters. It made the mistake of passing between a back hoof and a tree. With a quick movement Xelloss kicked out one back leg and there was a sickening crunch. No other rabbits passed close enough for him to catch, but he didn't need more than two.

He let the first rabbit drop out of his jaws long enough to give a bloody-lipped smile to the kirin. "Why, thank you. Now, notice that rabbit near my back legs? I can't reach it. Would you be a dear and bring it to where I can?"  

[Lady Argentum Draconis]

Deneb froze as she watched him snap and kick at the poor rabbits. She broke into a cold sweat as the sudden realization that under different circumstances that could have been her. She almost didn't hear him as he asked her to move the second rabbit. She shuddered and finally blinked her yellow eyes realizing what he wanted her to do. "You...what? You want me too..." she nearly gagged at the thought of having to pick up the still warm little body.

She huffed and mentally kicked herself. "Fine." she said begrudgingly having to remind herself that the faster her fed him the faster he'd be out of her life. Deneb stiffened herself and picked her way daintily and as imperiously as she could, trying to send him the message of how beneath her this was. The effect would have probably worked...had she not tripped on a hidden root in the loam.

Deneb stumbled and quickly regained her balance, a hot embarrassed blush spreading through her whole body. She quickly picked up the dead rabbit and dropped it in front of him before backing away, her tongue flicking over her lips her entire mouth feeling disgusting.  

[Revolutionary Roniel]

One corner of Xelloss' mouth twitched upwards when the kirin stumbled. "I've been told that kirins are supposed to be graceful and respect life... but I think that you have succeeding in proving both those statements incorrect."

Xelloss smirked and dipped his head in mock gratefulness. "Why, thank you for not only bringing me food but enlightening me on the nature of your most intriguing race."

He then lowered his head to the rabbits before him. He licked the blood almost daintily off the first. He did enjoy savoring things... and he thought that it might disturb the kirin further.  

[Lady Argentum Draconis]

Deneb was to busy trying to get the disgusting feeling of still warm dead rabbit out of her mouth. She rushed over and cropped at a bush under a tree hoping the taste of the plant matter would cleanse her palate.

When she felt a little better she looked over at the stallion. "When I was little my dam taught me that everything has a place in this world." she snorted and flicked her tail dismissively. "Even Kalona." she said. "So in a way I am respecting life." she looked over her shoulder at him. "Unless you want me to go find someone to crush your windpipe. I'm sure I can manage that if you really want."

She turned fully to watch him letting her expression stay impassive. Yes she was disgusted, but if this was a battle of wits she planned to at least get a good score at the end.  

[Revolutionary Roniel]

Xelloss stopped his licking to give the mare a mock piteous look this time. "Oh? You're saying you wouldn't crush my windpipe yourself? You'd leave me here suffering for so long while you found someone else to do the job? How unfortunate."

He did enjoy to tease. Xelloss would be hard pressed to decide which he enjoyed more, teasing or torturing. He certainly did more teasing, but torturing was always a rare treat. Being as he couldn't torture this irritating mare however, he had no choice but to tease.

How long would she be able to tolerate it? It might not be the best of ideas to intentionally aggravate a caregiver, but a combination of deep dislike for being so vulnerable and dislike for kirins in general made it more than worth it.