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 Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 10:39 am
(( RP between Privet, Unenlagia, and Delacroix)) 
Unenlagia was a brown and purple blur. Atop him sat his rider, the human Yazhi. Her face was painted to match the stripes on her steed and in her hands she held a bow. Today they were hunting.
They had gone out without a particular target in mind but the delicate little flutter had come around at just the right moment. It wasn't the best terrain for a chase, but it wasn't the worst they could have chosen either. There were no trees in the area but plenty of bushes popped out of the ground with scrubby grass in between. For a regular soquili they would not have given much cover, but for a flutter they could hide her entirely.
"Come on out!" called Unenlagia with a cruel lilt to his voice. He loved nothing more than this, hunting with his beloved Yazhi. He looked around and there for signs of the little flutter as he ran. He'd find her soon enough and then Yazhi would shoot her down.
Delacroix, on the other hand, had no real purpose in his wanderings that day. He didn't usually. The chill n** of autumn was in the air and filled Delacroix's lungs. It felt good. Summer had lasted too long for the unicorn stallion. He was glad for the change of weather and the change of seasons.
For now he was unaware of the combat that went on so close to where he wandered.... but he wouldn't be for long.
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Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 4:28 pm
 Her heart slamming against her rib cage, Privet cowered within the sanctuary of the flowered shrub she'd dove into in her panicked haste to get away from the hunters that had found her worth pursuing. She wasn't sure why they'd singled out her, of all the soquili in the area, but that didn't really seem all that important, all things considered.
The sound of the stallion's voice calling over the plain made her cringe, pale lip curling as she peered out between twigs and branches. As if. She wasn't about to give up her refuge that easily. If she'd be any bigger the wild bush wouldn't have been enough to hide her from them, but she was dainty. A delicate mare of the flutter, and she'd taken cover the second she could get away with it. Butterfly wings folded down and pressed tightly against the sides of her body.
It would work, for now, but the hunters were moving, searching the field, and eventually they would find her. There was no way she would simply lay there and wait for them to find her, but if she darted out from the shrub now she'd be an easy target. She had to wait, watching for the stallion and his rider to draw closer for before making a break for the line of trees.
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Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 5:16 pm
There was still no sign of his prey but this only filled Lagia with elation. Inside him he knew this is what he was born to do. He was a predator. He had no sharp teeth or ripping claws but the human on his back served as such. Every arrow shot from Yazhi's bow was a mark of his strength as well. The blood she spilled was the blood that he spilled. He had been born with the slit-pupiled eyes of a cat. He had been fated to be something beyond a blank-eyed grazer.
He slowed down from his sprinting and took the time to more carefully examine his surroundings. Atop him Yazhi patted his neck and murmured encouragement. He thought he had heard something. Movement? Or just leaves rustling in the light breeze? With a flutter it would be almost impossible to tell.
He slowed completely to a walk now. He prowled forward, watching. All of his instincts said she was close.
Delacroix caught a flash of color in the expanse before him. He squinted against the sunlight and could barely make out the form of another soquili. The soquili had a rider atop his back, a human woman. That was unusual to see but not unheard of. He had heard of soquili who either worked with humans willingly or who were enslaved to them.
He paused in his walking to watch the stranger. He saw the other soquili running then slowing to a walk. It looked like he was enjoying some time out with his human companion.
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Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 6:16 pm
He was most assuredly coming closer now, and though no longer sprinting, the feeling of impending doom that over took the petite flutter was almost palatable. Her muscles twitched with the need to run, pulse in her throat. She'd meant to wait them out, but her fight or flight response seemed to be on a hair trigger, and the snap of a branch sent her running.
She probably should of taken flight, changed size, anything but simply run blindly, but her brain wasn't working quite that well. She ran, earth tearing beneath her hooves, the trees her only target. At least until she saw the Uni stallion across the field.
She didn't know him, didn't know if he was strong or weak. Brave or yellow as the day is long, but in that moment she was over joyed to see him. She stumbled once in her turn, legs scrambling for purchase before regaining her balance and pelting full out towards the scarred Uni. "Help! Please help!" her voice was tight with fear.
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Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2010 6:37 pm
Both the unicorn and Lagia pinpointed the flutter mare at the same moment but Lagia responded first. "There you are!" he cried out in predatory delight. He surged forward in instant pursuit. Yazhi had also noticed the flutter mare's reappearance and had an arrow readied at the moment that her mount leaped into motion. The suddenness of the movement caused her shot to go astray. An arrow whizzed through the air to be caught in the shrub that had so recently housed Privet.
Lagia saw the misspent arrow and swore inwardly to himself. He knew his rider was an excellent shot. It was his fault for not waiting for her signal. He paid more attention to the feet and legs that pressed against his side. He would take direction from her for now.
Delacroix had hesitated because finding a flutter mare in distress was the last thing he expected today. His eyes scanned over the scene and he instinctively processed it faster than his conscious thoughts could keep up with. She was being pursued by the other soquili, the one with the rider. Flutters weren't built for speed. She had little hope of outrunning him.
Adrenaline coursed through Delacroix and he could almost hear his heart beat increasing. He had left behind his old herd but apparently not the responses they had drilled into him. Some would call it the fight or flight response, but Delacroix had been only taught to fight.
... Not that he didn't have misgivings. Not that behind the layers of training didn't lurk something tense, dark, and fearful. For now though, that part of him was dormant. His moment of consideration was done. Powerful hooves slammed against the ground and Delacroix charged toward the stallion and his rider. For now his head was high and his eyes alight. He would wait to lower his horn until he was almost there....
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Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2010 6:58 pm
The thunk of the arrow behind her only fueled her on faster. Though speed was not her forte, and while she had so far kept ahead of the stallion and his rider, in open ground, they were gaining. Tissue thin wings flicked once in her haste, but she was rushing too quickly, and she feared the delicate wings would tear if she forced them open now. No, she kept them tight to her side as she streaked for the Unicorn male.
He had started to move, however. Charging forward in response to her cries for help. Facing the other stallion and his armed rider. It was only then that she truly considered the repercussions of her actions. Sure, she wanted safe, but if he got himself hurt, or worse, killed because of her.. Well she'd feel just awful. Skidding to a halt, she spun around to watch him dart across the field at the hunters. Breath catching in her throat with a high gasp.
Hooves stamped over the weed covered earth in a nervous little dance as she watched on, now worried over him as well as herself. Pale ears pressed back into the waves of her bi-colored mane.
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Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 8:31 pm
Lagia blinked in astonishment to see the unicorn charging out of nowhere. He had found unicorns to be an insipid breed in general but every once in a while one surprised him... like now. He and his rider both froze for a moment and Yazhi was the first to react. She kneed him sharply and with a shout began to urge him perpendicularly away from the charging unicorn. Lagia obeyed with a burst of speed and was soon arcing around in a circular path to his new foe.
Delacroix had assumed the other stallion would meet him head on. Instead he had to recalculate as the stallion started taking more evasive actions. He looked quickly over to where the flutter stood fearfully. Instead of chasing after the other soquili he aimed himself at her. "Are you all right?" he yelled as he drew closer and his gallop slowed into a swift trot. "Are you hurt? There aren't any more of them, are there?"
The stranger was still keeping his distance but Delacroix assumed it wouldn't be for long. Though he wanted to examine the mare for injuries he knew better than to take his eye off his opponent.
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Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2010 7:33 pm
The nervous little fidgeting only seemed to worsen as the hunters darted around to circle the new stallion, thin wings twitching anxiously. It was bad enough that she herself was in danger, but now he was, and that seemed very unacceptable! You weren't supposed to drag strangers into danger. It seemed.. rude. Not that Privet generally sweated all the usual social niceties, but she wasn't a heathen.
Even in the midst of drama he was still concerned for her well being. It made her ears twitch up momentarily before darting back once again. "No, I'm alright." His second question made her pause to chew her lower lip thoughtfully. Had there been more? "I don't think so. I didn't see anymore." Granted, she was a little distracted with fleeing for her life, but had there been more she'd have surely noticed them, right?
A couple more stamps at the weeds had her inching closer to the uni male until she noticed what she was doing and stopped herself. "Please be careful!"
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Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2010 10:20 am
"Heh. Well, I'll try not to get any blood on you," joked Delacroix dryly. He spared her another glance. With her small size he had initially assumed her to be a filly on the cusp of adulthood. That obviously wasn't the case. She was a full adult flutter. He didn't know a lot of flutters so it wasn't surprising that-
He didn't have time to think it through. The other stallion was charging forward with amazing speed. Had Delacroix ever met another soquili so fast?
"We'll talk more later, yeah?" He left the mare with those final words. In an instant he was also going forward at a gallop. He wanted to engage the enemy at enough of a distance that there would be less chance of the mare getting hurt. He just didn't know what he could do to match that speed...
The thundering of his own hooves resonated within Lagia's heaving chest. It would be dangerous to let the unicorn get too close, but he didn't intend on getting within range. He had Yazhi. With her help he could stay as far away as he liked.
He felt himself in perfect sync with his rider. They went forward, closer and closer toward the enemy. He felt Yazhi's signal the same instant as he made the same decision. He turned sharply, streaking away from the unicorn... and leaving Yazhi clear to fire. Already she had an arrow on the string. All she had to do was let go, and she did. The arrow streaked toward the purple and white unicorn.
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Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 10:10 pm
Under better circumstances Privet might have smiled at the Uni's joke, but as it was he managed to pull barely more then a weak giggle from the dainty mare as she shuffled in place. Teal gaze glued on the hunters as they galloped around the open field.
She watched them change direction, but barly had time to register it before the purple and white stallion had sprinted forward in an answering charge. For the second time in less then five minutes her heart was in her throat and she was having to struggle to breath around her hammering pulse. She'd put this male in danger, if he got hurt it would be all her fault. Nothing had happened yet and already she felt insanely guilty.
The sound of the bow string made the flutter jump, ducking on instinct even as she watched the arrow fly towards a different target. "Watch out!" No! She couldn't help it. She darted forward towards the Uni, despite knowing full well that she could do absolutely nothing for him whether he got hit or not. it was a stupid idea, but logic had been annoyingly quiet since the start of the chase.
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 8:33 pm
Delacroix stared in shock. Was the flutter mare making a run at him? He skidded to a stop in preparation to run toward her to give her some cover. It was this sudden stop that saved him from the arrow. As the dust flew up in plumes around his hooves the arrow shot by in front of him. The arrow flew harmlessly off into empty space and now Delacroix turned his shocked stare after it.
That was close. Delacroix had experience in fighting other soquili and dangerous animals... but humans were something else. Humans didn't normally attack soquili so his herd had never had to train themselves against them. Delacroix had never actually been shot at before and it was a disturbing experience... but he had no time to think about that.
"What are you doing?" He shouted at the mare. His moment of inaction was over and now he was running again, back toward her. "Get out of the way! You'll get killed!"
Unenlagia heard a burst of human speech from his back. Yazhi sounded angry. He was angry too. It had been a perfect shot. Yazhi excelled at shooting targets in motion. It was when they behaved oddly that things sometimes didn't work out. He rumbled deep in his throat. It was as close to a growl as could be uttered by a horse. He wanted to see the stallion and his little girlfriend bleed.
Yazhi turned him and he was running around for another pass. He still didn't engage the other stallion directly. He kept himself at a distance so Yazhi could work her magic. He was the wind that carried her and she was his claws. He could feel it. He could feel his inner self, something bristling with fangs and bloodlust. She was the only way that part of him could be released.
To his surprise, Yazhi was steering them much closer to the pair than usual. What did she have in mind?
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Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 9:38 am
The dainty mare slid to a stop as the Uni rounded and darted back in her direction. And.. What he shouting at her!? She gaped at him, she couldn't help it. Hadn't she just saved his life? "What am I doing?" She huffed back as he reached her, pale ears snapping back against the vibrant violet of her mane. "Looks to me as I'm saving your life." She scowled up at him, but it was a very short lived glare.
The hunters were rounding, and it looked to Priv that they were getting closer. That wasn't good. Really, she was having a hard time thinking of a way that had the Uni and her self escaping with their lives, let alone unscathed.
Nimble little hooves danced nervously against the trampled weeds. Silken wings twitching, fluttering twice before folding neatly again. The righteous indignation she'd flung at the Uni stallion had evaporated, and now she pressed in against his side, not -quite- cowering. "What do we do?"
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Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2010 2:39 pm
Delacroix thought quickly. He wanted to just tell her to make a run for cover, but that could go horribly wrong. There was a lot of open space between them and the treeline. The other stallion could easily dodge him and go to attack her if she exposed herself like that. Running wasn't an option.
If they couldn't run... that meant fighting.
"Just... stay under cover." He was running out of time to think and plan. The other stallion was getting far too close for comfort. "Don't get shot at, ok?" Perhaps that wasn't the most useful advice he could have given, but it was the best he could come up with on such short notice. Without another word he charged back at the running stallion. He ran straight at the stallion and his rider. In some part of his mind he thought that he would make less of a target if he didn't allow himself to be flanked.
Unenlagia kept running at the unicorn. Yazhi wasn't steering him away. He didn't understand why she would want them to get so close. Didn't she see the long pointed horn on the unicorn? Lagia had no delusions of all unicorns being dainty flakes who just liked to skip through the clover. He didn't want to think of the damage that horn could do in short range.
Yazhi readied her bow but Lagia had had enough. He saw the charging uni and suddenly steered his path to one that would take him further away. To his shock, Yazhi gave him a sharp kick and tried to guide him back toward the unicorn. What was she thinking? Lagia hated to disobey her but he also had a great amount of self-preservation. He was overcome by a moment of confusion... a moment which stalled him while the unicorn charged closer....
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Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2011 7:57 pm
Pale ears flattened back against the soft waves of her no doubt tousled mane as her "cover" decided to go for another straight charge at their formidable opponents. The sudden lack of warmth at her side leaving her feeling terribly exposed and vulnerable. "Right," she managed to croak out as he darted forward, front hooves fidgeting nervously before she backed up a few paces to stand beside a lone bush. There really wasn't all that much to hide within or behind in the field.
And frankly, at this point she was more concerned for the uni then for herself. Not that she'd lost her sense of self-preservation, but it seemed to her now that his fate was directly tied with her own. If he fell, so too would she. There was also the matter of guilt that was now tying her stomach into painful knots.
"Don't die.." Even to her that sounded weak, and with a startled blink she pulled herself up a little straighter. Standing more or less tall as she watched the racing stallions. She wouldn't cower. If he was willing to risk his life for her, the least she could so was show a little bravery. Besides, cowardliness wasn't really her 'thing'.
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Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 3:08 pm
What was the stallion doing? He had been running straight at Delacroix but at the last moment he balked and stalled. In the brief moment he had to consider it, Delacroix had a flashing impression that the stallion and his rider were having a miscommunication. Whatever the reason, he had stopped long enough for Delacroix to go smashing into him.
Suddenly the world was a whir of flailing limbs, both human and soquili. The stallion stumbled and toppled over but his hooves were wildly kicking in Delacroix's direction. One knocked him in the snout and his head was jerked back from the force of impact. He was momentarily dizzied and staggered sideways himself. Where was the human? An arrow shot wide past him and spun uselessly into the bushes. Cries of pain from both the stallion and his rider filled the air.
In the confusion Delacroix stepped back. If he was away then he couldn't get his own legs knocked out from under him. If they tried to get up he could easily kick them to the ground again. Would he have to kill them? He didn't want to, but he readied himself for the possibility.
At the last moment Unenlagia had tried to leap out of the way, but it had been too late. His springing movement left him off balance when the unicorn hit him and the world spun dizzily as he toppled to the ground. Enraged, he kicked out at his attacker. That was when he heard the cry of pain from Yazhi.
Aghast, he realized that he lay partially atop her. Was she crushed already? He rolled off of her in a wide movement that left him easily open to attack, but the unicorn kept his distance. Through his own haze of pain he heard Yazhi's yelps more clearly than his own. There was blood on her face but she was still moving. How injured could a human be and survive?
"Yazhi?! Yazhi?!" he cried out her name, knowing that she could not understand him and not caring.
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