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 Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2011 1:20 am
Kaia (Pollack), Syn (Epee), Tut (Epee), Persy (Epee)
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Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2011 1:32 am
The Kawani Province.
It was just as bad as Divinity had warned her - the creatures that graced the soils with their unholy presence were as fickle, weak and insignificant as she had anticipated. Such were her observations as she lay beneath the trees, hidden by the long grasses with only the faintest hint of blue available. Only the tallest of soquili would see her, those blue tips and tell tale sign of her existence. She had yet to be scouted and as a consequence the feline remained undetected - to the wandering eye she did not exist but unfortunately for the those who lived within this particular province, she was very real.
She had arrived just before dawn, and, well aware that the sunlight would hinder her she had chosen to 'retire' for a short while. It would have been more accurate to assume that this bestial female had merely retreated to the shade. The shadows kept many secrets and she was one of them - it wasn't that the sun hurt her, but she would be interrupted far more frequently in the open. Consequently she had settled for the forest - she could observe the plains from her vantage point and yet she attracted no attention. However, should an unfortunate soul enter her realms, then she would simply have to purify them...such was her duty.
At present, none had crossed that threshold and Syntyche had already made the assumption that few would. These gangly creatures liked the plains, they frolicked, laughed and entertained themselves in more questionable ways in that area. It sickened her, but it did provide her with the perfect opportunity to scout the vulnerable and take note of where they might live.
Divide and conquer as they said.
She gave her claws a flex and tilted her head briefly to the right. Only when it had released a small pop did she straighten it again, the tension in her back now dissipating. It was to be a long day, particularly given that the sun had only truly risen, but she was a creature who prided herself in being patient.
After all, she was made in the image of Divinity himself and she would not disappoint him.
She would be rewarded for her patience.
...She always was.
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Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2011 2:53 am
To Kaia these lands were new and almost begging for one such as her to uncover it's secrets. Strange seeing how in her short life she had been living in the same lands. But it had was only now that she could truly get a feel for them, without the gentle claw of her mother holding her back. It had only been a few days since her and Kaia's quick tempered sister had run away from the home they held so dear. They had a hard time at first living without the shelter of the tight sisterhood. None the less with the brains of Kaia, and the raw power and fierce warrior nature of Nakita made them a mighty pair though. The duo had started quickly learning as they traveled, and so far they were doing okay on their own. Still the sisters knew not of the dangers that were hidden in this new world. It would prove to be a mistake that Kaia was about to learn the hard way.
The young harpini's body twisted and turned gracefully as she walked. She had sneaked away from her dearly loved sister when they had token a break from their travels to nap. They both had agreed on their first day alone that sleeping in the day time would be safer then night. But she could not rest. There were calls of knowledge and mystery that made her mind race. She wanted to learn all that she could now that she was free and no longer held back. In the flock she was looked down upon by the others for her looks and calm nature. This lack of respect made her never get any real alone time with any of the elders without other harpy children interjecting themselves in the lesson. After some time she had given up in one on one lessons. Desperate to learn she had resorted to sneaking a listen into the lessons of others. It was by this matter she had learned how to dance the way she did. She had started dancing most of her steps, a love of the way the feeling of her body being so nimble and full of grace bloomed inside her. She was not built for speed and hunting, she was built for entertaining others with her controlled steps mixed with her quick witted mind. And...well she was okay with that.
She was not bugged by the fact that she had started to make her way into grass nearly as tall as her. In fact she let out a cheerful giggle as the blades of the dead grass tickled her dancing body. Naive to the danger that she was putting herself in by not being able to see all around her. Kaia halted her movements when she heard a small flock of blue birds fly off at her sudden outburst of noise. As she watched the birds fade off into the sky she wiggled her own rainbow colored mini wings that sat upon her head, mimicking the flapping the birds made when they flew. Kaia had often wondered what it was like being able to fly. The young filly could say she felt a jealous spark in her light it's ugly head up at the thought. It didn't seem fair to her that her sister got not only one set of wings but two. All Kaia had was the small useless wings on her head.
With a deep sigh she tore herself out of her dark thoughts. No...this was not the time to be dwelling on such worries! This was a time of joy and to learn at least one new thing before she headed back to meet her sibling. A soft but excited grin appeared on the cream muzzle of the young harpini at the thought. With a new mindset in hoof her body began to sway side to side as she kicked up her search again. All she had to do was patient with her walking and she would be rewarded with something interesting.
Or...at least she hoped.
(So others don't get confused Icly this all happens after Kaia and Nakita leave from the flock. So they are not tied by the rules of the flock and may travel how ever they please. 83)
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Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2011 5:03 am
Blessed was the Maker in all his wisdom, for he had made her in his vision and granted her such patience. Blessed was the Maker, for he granted her purpose and duty – she had been born into this life to remake the world in his image. At present it was no more than a horrid mess, spattered with senseless chaos and colour – in time it would find order and become a true supremacy. The failed creations of this world needed to be purified and generous as Divinity was, he had granted her the necessary tools to ensure her success.
She was a beast, unmistakably so, and was equipped with every weapon a hunter required. With claws and steeled jaws she could assault her prey and guarantee a deadly blow. With keen senses, tempered to detect the slightest shifts, she could ensure that no creature escaped her detection. Of course, the vast majority of the weapons in her arsenal were in place to tackle the most powerful of foes – not small children.
...Small children that made it blatantly obvious they existed.
Her ears twitched as the blades of grass were disturbed, the telltale ‘swish’ of fur against grass tips bridging the distance between herself and the unidentified individual. Her nostrils flared; the familiar scent a further indication that one of the corrupt had crossed her borders. Consequently her head lifted a touch and surveyed her immediate surroundings – from her vantage point she couldn’t see the creature but she knew it was there. She soon lowered her head again and fixed her gaze on the ever shifting blades of grass in front of her. Her golden eyes grew still and she fixed her attention solely on what should have been before her. She was rewarded and soon she saw the ‘flicker’ of colour that would have come from the filly’s head wings.
Her lips parted in a silent ‘ah ha’ of appreciation and her eyes narrowed to mere slits. No sooner had she confirmed the filly’s existence than she was on the move, shifting silently into her more ‘animalistic’ form to pursue the tiny Harpini. There were benefits to this, the feline form ensuring that she was difficult to detect based on her soft and padded steps...but she’d also noticed very quickly, that the spring in her back legs was incredible in comparison to her natural, equine shape. In short – this particular form was absolutely perfect for pouncing on the unsuspecting and had the ability to silence them immediately which was always an added benefit when one was attempting to pay homage to Divinity.
You see, he didn’t much like screaming.
It was a sign of weakness.
She lowered her head further and opted to rely more on scent and sound to track her prey for the time being. She wasn’t in the right position to pounce just yet and before purifying this little one, had to make absolutely certain that her ritual wouldn’t be interrupted. For that to happen, the unfortunate filly had to be completely isolated. For that to happen, Syn was going to have to shepherd her next convert into the forests and away from view!
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Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2011 10:54 am
A flash. A flash of blue was all she saw of the beast stalking her before it vanished back into the yellow grass. Kaia brushed it off at first thought that it was simply a trick her own eyes were playing on her. The filly only took a couple of steps forward before her mind started screaming at her that no she did not make that up! There was something else with them in the dry grassy plains. Icy blue eyes scanned the limited range of sight she had in the tall grass. For once she felt quite alone, a fear was bubbling in the pit of her stomach. Her mouth opened, ready to yell at whatever was with her in the tall grass to go away, when she remembered something. Nakita had blue. In fact she was mostly blue. It clicked inside her head who the blue figure in the grass was. A annoyed sigh passed through the filly's lips. Nakita must have woken up from her nap, and was just messing with her again. Kaia had been through these hunting games before. She would be the prey till her oh so great hunter sister pounced from her. They would battle till one of them over powered the other and the game was done. Though Kaia would not say it most of the time it was Nakita who won this game. Simply because of the power she held her in muscles. It was always easier for her to hold down her weaker sister till she gave in. Her head shook softly as she started her nimble steps forward once again.
Two could play this game of cat and mouse. And this time Kaia knew now her sister was coming, she now was ready for what was coming...
Or so she thought so foolishly.
Kaia ignored the creepy feeling of being watched. She did not want to give her sister the feeling of victory from being able to take her away from her studies. She drove her mind onto more important matters at hand, such as noticing that coming up shortly there was a grove of large trees coming up. They all were in a tight group, some of their branches in fact twisted and had to grow around it's neighbors. You could see that littered in the cluster were dead hollow shells of once proud standing trees. Kaia could only guess that they had been killed from a lack of water and food. The whole grove set the tone for the forest that lay behind them, a clear warning that these woods were not to be messed with. And that those who dare enter them will be faced with becoming like the dead trees, dead hollowed out shells of their former selves. A morbid thought that would send most normal soquili turning on their heels.
But being the curious little thing she was Kaia felt a strong urge to go inside the forest. Did she noticed that once it was hidden from view once you got inside? Yes. It only made her rainbow tail wag with glee. With the forest's insides being so hidden from view she could outsmart her sister, Kaia for once could turn their cat and mouse game upside down in the darkness of the forest.
She could feel her maroon red hooves quicken in their fury of tight dance steps, shooting her small body forward. When she got to the edge of the grove Kaia could only grin wildly at the sight. Maybe she will just have to settle with learning how to hunt today. Just to see the look on her sister's face when she pounced on her....it was worth it to her. Kaia stepped inside the dark forest, not knowing that she was setting her own trap for a certain bright blue cat walker stalking the harpini.
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 1:49 am
It would have been unrealistic for the Catwalker to have assumed she was impossible to detect. Her luscious coat, both pristine and exotic in colour was one to be admired, but certainly not one that could camouflage and mask her presence. However, she was well versed in the hunt and as a consequence what she lacked in camouflage, she made up for through other forms of stealth. For example, she could slink and make herself significantly smaller than most, stalking through regions in such a manner that she didn’t appear above the grass, bushes or whatever object happened to shroud her from view. Of course, there was always room for error and if these objects moved in any manner then it was highly likely that a glimpse would occur.
It was unfortunate, but she had always managed to adapt accordingly.
However, it became quickly apparent to the mare that the Maker had blessed her this afternoon. The prey she had sighted and now pursued was ripe for the picking and aware or not, she was setting herself up for her own purification. At first, the feline almost allowed herself to assume that this one wanted to be saved, but with further consideration she quickly amended her assumption. The corrupt never wanted to be saved; they struggled violently to ensure that they weren’t saved which in part, explained a great deal about their pitiful existence. The Maker had every right to be disgusted by these things, he had every right to desire they be purified so that he might rebuild. Whatever deity had graced this particular region with life, had done so poorly.
Thus it should have come at no surprise that the mare was required to exercise minimal effort when shepherding this little filly into the forest. She waited until the petite female had crossed over the threshold, slipping into the depths and then she struck. The muscles in her hind legs tensed and she came to a halt, sliding one of them back she prepared herself to spring and then did so. Consequently, her feline form soared through the air in a wide arch, momentarily overshadowing the Harpini from above – a short lived moment to be sure, as gravity took hold and the predator began to descend.
If the Harpini didn’t move soon she was going to find herself beneath the claws of a rather vicious beast indeed!
*********
A short distance away from the unfortunate events that were unfolding for the Harpini, another individual lurked. Accustomed to the deadwoods, which were a common feature on the outskirts of his home, this location didn’t really hold an ominous feel for this particular stallion. On the contrary, there was almost a sense of familiarity as he navigated through it, slowing his pace here and there as he ducked underneath low lying branches or fallen tree trunks that now balanced precariously against one of their kin. Granted he would have been a fool to hold this location as a comparison to home as this forest really was dead but he wasn’t spooked by it – a useful quirk to have as an idle wanderer.
What brought him to this forest was purely fluke, it had proven to be an obstacle towards where he was going and as a result, he’d elected to walk through it. Certainly, the Harpini had been correct that many would turn and run at the mere aura the forest emanated, but Tut wasn’t often one to conform to the standards society had set. Thus he had crossed the threshold, set his nose in a straight line and had proceeded to walk. His destination was straight through this forest, he had no reason to deviate from this ‘track’ and unsurprisingly, he was making good time.
Unfortunately for the teenager, his travels were fated to be interrupted. He didn’t know it yet, but, as he closed the gap between himself, predator and prey it would become quickly apparent. It would be then that he’d have to decide if he would play the hero, or adopt his usual indifferent stance...
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 10:56 pm
It was becoming apparent quickly to the filly that maybe this plan she had of coming into this forest was not the best one. Her normally flapping happily wings on her head now lay flat against her face. The young harpini was not enjoying being around the malevolent feeling that hit her with such force as soon as she stepped into the dead forest Kaia had thought about turning back right then and there.
Whether it was her being stubborn or stupid she could not say. But Kaia had kept her body moving into the forest. A choice she would soon regret.
Kaia would have been lying if she said that she was not scared. Her fear was only fueled more at her not being able to see much from the canopy above blocking most light from hitting the forest floor. Kaia's eyes were not built nor use to traveling in such dim lighting, making her stumble a few times as she walked. She no longer had the the cheerful songs of the birds feeling her ears to calm her. They all were too scared themselves to make a sound.
Kaia stopped suddenly for a moment. Her cream ears dancing around, hoping to hear any kind of noise of her sister she thought was still stalking her. She still felt like she was being watched. She could not be certain if it was her sister or something darker watching her anymore. Her dark hooves shifted beneath her. Though they moved not in their normal dancing way, at this moment it was more of a nervous shuffle. Kaia could feel her mind racing for a quick moment. Should she just back out and go back the way she came? Stay and try to face her fears? Or just keep moving forward, hoping that something better was ahead? She sighed heavily, she was still just as confused as her body moved on it's own backwards. Maybe it would be best just to go back to the grass lands, at least there she felt somewhat safe.
Her question was answered for her by the sharp claws belonging to the blue monster that had been stalking her since the long grass lands. A pained scream echoed from the young filly. It was partly out of the scorching wounds that ran down her back and sides, but it was also from the shock and raw terror she felt from seeing the rich blue feline hanging onto her own body. Kaia only stared back at the cat weighing her down before she sprang into action. A warrior she was not, that was made clear to her at the sudden feeling like her body was ready to buckle under the weight of the large cat on her back. But at this moment she was going into flight or fight. Her body shook horribly when she started pushing herself forward. She was pushing her body past limits she had never hit before. Kaia slammed herself against the closest tree she could see. Even with her fogged mind Kaia knew she had to get this cat off of her. The only way she could think how was to knock her off. Then...well the only thing she knew to do was run.
Though she had no idea if her body could out run the cat, she would try to with all her strength. If not she'd die trying at least.
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Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 1:22 am
If there was one thing the feline had not anticipated, it was the Angeni blood that coursed through the filly's veins. This was an oversight on her part, particularly given the tell tale sign of the headwings upon her head. As a consequence, despite all the odds the filly had the advantage despite the Skinwalker gaining initiative. Oh, it wasn't that the Skinwalker couldn't overpower her, rest assured she could tear her limb from limb in the right circumctances. However, the shock of the sharp jab of pain that leapt through the Skinwalker's paws was enough to make her 'drop' her prey as she was momentarily stunned.
Enough for the petite filly to run as quickly as her legs could carry her.
Unsurprisingly, Syn was taken aback and with both spitting and hissing she backed away briefly. Her paws padding lightly against the soil as she tried to regain feeling. Her attention directed towards her own limbs, her hatred visible on her face, she was momentarily distracted and this would buy the child valuable time...
The Harpini was also blessed in another way - not by blood, but by pure chance. As mentioned before, the child was not alone in the forest and as her shrill cry leapt through the still air it was impossible to miss. Admittedly the response time left much to be desired as the individual in question was about as much a hero as a passing snail. His head had lifted, his ears had twitched and then he had proceeded to stare blankly in the direction that the sound had come from. It was only after a few seconds had passed that his thought processes seemed to drift on to what he had heard and it was a further few seconds delay before he finally conceded that he should probably go and see what it was.
After all, the scream had come from the direction he was heading and if it was a problem he would encounter then it was better to get a pre-emptive strike. At no point did it really cross the stallion's mind that he should save whoever was screaming, it was more for his benefit than anything. This in mind, he puttered off with only a slight increase to his speed but given his height and stride, he covered the distance in a reasonable amount of time. Alas, there are very few soquili in the world that immediately anticipate they're about to walk in on a Skinwalker and consequently...
"Oh mother-fing son of a monkey whore," he uttered, as he breached the immediate borders of the 'grove' that the Skinwalker. It wasn't the most eloquent or dramatic of entrances, but it seemed to cover the situation fairly well. He hadn't yet sighted the little filly, a possibility that she had already darted out of sight. Nevertheless, with this in mind he was quick to back away ever so slightly to distance himself from the feline. "You are not something I wanted to see," he added, apprently deeming it necessary to state the obvious.
It was in moments like these, when he was reminded why he preferred to just stay out of it. Particularly when the creature in question had now recovered her composure and had her gaze had fixed itself firmly on him.
Bad news for him, decent news for the Harpini, right?
...Well, so long as he didn't die before she could get out of there!
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Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 2:19 pm
The child gave not a second thought before she bolted away from the distracted feline laying in front of her. She pushed past the mind numbing pain, Kaia could nurse her wounds later. If she did not get out she would not have the chance to! Kaia did not see, nor hear the stallion come upon the skin walker. Even if she did her body would have pushed her forward. She could now hear the roars of a battle happening, and for a moment she regret her actions later. She had left her issue in the hooves with another... Kaia shook her head quickly. No! Not right now all that mattered was being able to say she could regret her actions tomorrow!
Kaia did not pause in her running, she let her body weave her body through the twisted grove of trees. Some of the sharp bark was starting to cut up her cream skin at the force of her brushing past them. Did she notice? Ah...no not really. She was a bit blinded right now by her drive to leave this place.
Oh gods. Where was she!? What way had she even gone? The filly could no longer be 100% sure with anything at this moment. Well everything cept that she was running, there was an angry cat back there that wanted to hurt her, and she was not turning around for all the riches in the world. To her the world seemed like a blurred whirl wind of dim colors. She could hardly focus like she had to. Staying calm? No that had just been thrown out the window long ago.
It was why her thoughts were racing at such a fast pace Kaia's left hoof struck it's self inside a deep hole in the ground. She was flung forward from the suddenly pulling at her leg front leg. Her back legs and body tumbled in the air. Oh gods, she felt sick. Really sick all the sudden from all these twists and spins. A short yelp came from the young filly as she landed on one of her front legs, the weight of her body making bending it in a way it wasn't meant to be bent. There was an intense pressure on her leg for a few split seconds. And then..a sicking crack echoed throughout the air. The rest of her body dead on the forest floor making her slid in the loose dirt for a few inches.
She cried out, no longer being able to hold back her burning tears. No. No! No!! Kaia lifted her head to her leg, glancing at the damage that she had made on herself. You could clearly see the miss-placed bone push against her skin. She could feel her stomach do twists inside her of dread. Oh yes, this leg was broken. There would be no more running on that leg for this child. There was a cold swift flash of terror through out her body. She could hear someone fighting the cat a distance away but...would they be able to last? And if they did would the feline be coming for her next? Kaia frankly did not want to take the chance. She liked living thank you very much.
A whimper shook through her lips as her tiny body crawled it's way forward. The pain almost made her body for some reason want to puke. Maybe it would have helped? Or maybe it would just get her dirty. She wanted to go with the latter one, it seemed more sense to her at the time. She pressed on, determined that one way or another, she would be getting out of this forest!
She had to dammit...she still had so much to do after all!
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Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 5:09 am
Run.
Just run!
His mind practically shrieked at him as he backed away a little more. He was no reckless child and despite his youth, had reasonably intelligence to recognise whenever he was in a dire position. What he faced now was a hunter, and unlike a Kalona this one didn't appear to feel any pain. Add her rapidly declining 'mood' to proceedings and he was in quite a tight spot - if he didn't act now then he really would die. However, he had made an unfortunate error whenever he had entered this encounter, boxing himself in from behind. If he hadn't been the new target of a predator then this position wouldn't have been a bad one - but turning his back on this beast would spell immediate defeat.
Wonderful.
His lower jaw tightened considerably and his temple's throbbed as he wracked his brain for any advice his father had given him. Sylph had always made certain that both son and daughter were well equipped for self defence, but that didn't mean that Tut had ever really listened properly. Frankly, he'd been of the opinion that he'd never have to use it, funny how things worked out when you tempted the fates - eh? This in mind, it took him a brief few miliseconds to recall at least a fragment of advice that proved to be very timely indeed. When boxed in you never ran away from a target, you ran at them. It would stun her briefly, literally catching her on the back paw and would buy him a few valuable seconds to run like hell. A bit of a long shot, but what other choice did he have?
Gathering his wits, he sucked in a breath and feinted his direction - indicating that he was going to bolt to the right, the feline immediately responded with a shift in the direction. It was then that he ran forward, plunging directly at the Skinwalker who, in the face of a charging soquili had no choice other than to roll out of the way or to be stamped on by his hooves. Unsurprisingly she opted to 'dodge' his assault, rolling to the right as he ran at her. Of course this barely delayed her but it did place distance between the stallion and the skinwalker - fortunately (or unfortunately as might have been the case) he was running in the opposite direction of Kaia for the time being!
Weaving in and out of the trees, Tut was surprised by how agile he could be when in flight. Where some might trip up, it appeared that years in the mountains had secured his footing and he wasn't liable to trip. Tree trunk after tree trunk passed by, but the stallion was not deaf to the feline that was hot on his heels - her claws crashed against the trees as she bounced from trunk to trunk, propelling herself closer to his form. It should have been no surprise that she eventually caught up, launching herself forward to clamp her claws into his flank - if that hadn't been painful enough, her jaws soon sank in next. The stallion let out a roar of pain, but like Kaia, his survival instincts kicked in and he kept running, deliberately altering his route so that his turns became tighter and would continually smack the Skinwalker's sides against the passing trees.
This paid off and she eventually let go, allowing the stallion to increase his pace again despite the large gashes on his body. When she had led go, it appeared she had lost her grip and both claws and jaw had torn brutally into skin.
It was complete agony.
However, the skinwalker was relentless and no sooner had she lost her grip than she was hot on his pursuit again. This time she came from another angle, his eyes widened and with a sickening crunch she slammed into his side. He stumbled, rolled and skidded along the forest floor as she recovered, then promptly leapt after him again. Now in a prone position he was incredibly vulnerable and panic threatened to rise in his chest. He could be thankful for small favours though, clearly someone didn't want him to die yet and his father's voice crept into his head again - a mere flashback of when he'd been knocked to the ground and, with teeth bared, his father had advised him on how to live.
Never let a predator grab hold of what's vital. The voice intoned.
"Struggle, kick, bite - your teeth aren't sharp but they are a weapon..." It whispered again.
Sincere, but silent thanks were cast towards his absent father as he did exactly what he was told. As the Skinwalker approach the stallion braced and then flailed, all four limbs flaring out to smack at the mare and keep her from him. His timing was off and she managed to slash at his legs, but he did manage to clip her and as his hoof clipped her legs she did lose her balance. Stumbling away, the feline teetered precariously to one side as she fought for her balance. Sylph then spoke again, apparently, the constant and repetitive lectures did work - tut made a mental note not to question his father's wisdom again!
Get up. Get up now!
There was a sense of urgency to his tone, almost as if the voice was now a part of Tut and no longer a memory. With the skinwalker stunned once more and getting decidedly more agitated, he painfully swung his legs back into position and forced himself up. Initially unsteady, he stumbled briefly, took one glance at the feline who had finally regained her balance and then bolted off again. Unfortunately, with the blood loss mounting up he was losing energy quickly and it wouldn't be long before he did tire completely. At a loss, all he could do was pray for just one more tip, just one more! Oh he knew his father would stand and fight like the devil he was, but Tut wasn't built like his father, but what was it his father had said...?
And if all else fails, make as much noise as you can... In a crash it all came back to him, the memory of the day when his father had acted as a predator and stalked him around the forest. Had taught him how to survive, how to run, how to raise your chances of success - predators didn't often like to be disturbed and more importantly, they hated being outnumbered... Or at least, Kalona did.
Couldn't speak for Skinwalkers though.
Sucking in a breath, Tut once again did as he was told and bellowed at the top of his lungs, "Skinwalker!" he yelled, pushing himself on as he caught sight of the sunlight through the canopy. "Skinwalker!" he repeated, deliberately cracking branches beneath his hooves and causing a general nuisance. Miraculously it was exactly what he needed to do, as the more noise he made and the closer he drew to the edge of the forest, the slower the Skinwalker ran and eventually she seemed to stop. He too came to a halt on the edge of the forest, stallion and mare then regarded each other.
It was with a disgusted hiss that she then backed away a little, and, eventually ran off towards the western edge of the forest and away from the scene. He would never fight out, but his behaviour had been enough to force the mare to 'change bases' to avoid disruption in her duties to her divinity. It left the forest clear to traverse but he wasn't exactly thrilled by this prospect, afterall, he had no idea if she was simply biding her time. Unfortunately for him he did have to walk back through as it was the only way to his destination without adding over a week to his travel time.
Initially, his thoughts didn't fall towards the skinwalkers initial target, but as he finally began to stumble back to his original spot (so that he could trace his steps) he became aware of the faintest whimpers.
His gaze flicked up, his eyes narrowed and despite the state of his own body he limped in the direction of the sound. If her initial target had been hit then he really couldn't leave her could he - he couldn't help but snort at his own timing - of all the moments to gain some morals, it had to be now, didn't it?
Well, least his karma would be good!
"Hello?" he murmured hoarsely, his voice strained as his teeth gritted down hard against each other... it was the only way he could cope with the pain.
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Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2011 10:25 pm
Kaia tried for some time to crawl her way to safety. The terrible burn in her back legs finally made her concede in her battle out of the forest. There was no way the young harpini could go on any longer, her body too abused and weak to be able to pull out of the danger she was in. At the knowledge that she may not live through this whole ordeal made her shudder. And because of the dark realization wave after wave of different emoticons washed over her all at once, each holding it's own reasons, and each seemed to only make her cry harder.
Pain, fear, anger, sadness, then lastly regret.
Pain came first, it enveloped her whole body and within a short amount of time it toke over her mind for what seemed like minutes when it was just a couple of seconds. She whimpered softly, giving away her away to anyone that would happen to be in ear shot. It was a stupid move, but one she could not focus on as the pain subsided and a new emotions came over her.
This time it was fear, a cold fear that made her heart go cold. There was a million questions running through her mind, all of them swimming around one main thing - fear. Was the skin walker coming back? If not what was to become of her? She knew she couldn't make it out of the forest on her own. From her studies Kaia could only guess that by night fall other predators would sniff out her scent and she would be helpless to stop them. Death was a sure thing with all the predators around here if you were wounded.
There was a sudden rush of anger filling caused from the morbid thought, this was all that cat's fault! What had she done to it? Nothing. Nothing but walk inside unclaimed grasslands, then she had taken her travels into a dark forest. A far cry of a good reason to attack for the child. Yet she could also feel a pang of anger at herself, she should have listened to her teachers back when they tried to show her how to fight. If she had maybe she wouldn't be in the mess she was in now. Kaia let out a frustrated cry in her mind. Why!? What had she done to anger the gods so much that they would cast a curse like a skin walker attack on her? Was it truly something so sinister that she was made to lose everything?
The raging storm that was her anger calmed, and in it's place there was a sadness swelling within her. She realized that if she was to die here in this forest she would be losing everything. All of the work she had done in her short life would be worthless in one snap of time. The goal she had set for herself and that she had been studying hard to get to would never be met. And..by the gods she would be leaving her sister alone! That alone seemed like a crime to her, since the two sisters ever since coming out of their wicker wombs had been a balance to each other. She was no longer able to hold back the sobs that had been begging to come out of her body. The young harpini could only hope that her sister would find safety with their father, even though she knew Nakita would dislike the thought of having to live with a male it was the only place that she could go. In less by the graces of the gods the flock would let her back in now that she was alone, But Kaia would but her bets on hell freezing over before that would happen.
Regret was the last thing to hit. She now knew what a mistake it was to have sneaked away from her sister. She was not ready to be alone without the comfort and safe feeling of being in with someone in her travels. Normally she would be smarter then this, but yet the call of knowledge and being able to explore had been too much to ignore for her naive mind. That mistake she feared could end up costing her more then the young harpini was willing to give.
She didn't know that her sobs had hit the ears of someone, but it was not the predator that she had thought would hear her, no it was the white stallion that had just saved both of their lives. A deep hoarse voice mumbled a short distance away from her, it only said one word but it was a word that proved at least he was not just some wild animal. Kaia's ears twitched at the hello as for a moment she paused in her crying. Did...she really hear that? Was there really someone out there besides her?! Or was her mind just playing a trick on her to cope? Her mouth opened and then closed quickly again. Should she answer back and if there was a person there risk them knowing her hiding spot? After pondering for a short while Kaia made the choice that yes the risk would be worth it if this person could help her.
"I-is someone th-there?" Her voice was shaky and weak but if anyone who was close enough should have been able to hear her.
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Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2011 3:24 pm
The closer the teenager came to the filly, the more apparent it became that she was hurt. He was fairly certain she hadn't been hit to begin with, so he assumed that something had happened while he was thoroughly distracted. A small part of him cast a disapproving thought towards her, she'd had the chance to escape and she'd screwed it all up? He'd been beaten up for that? If he had been able to get rid of these horrible morals he would have left her there to wallow in her own misery but unfortunately his conscience had tweaked.
...He could only surmise that it sucked to have one.
And knights wanted these why?
Nevertheless he limped on, slowly bridging the gap between himself and the fallen harpini until he was finally in her immediate vicinity. At first, he didn't see anything wrong with her. She was lying on the ground, she was crying and with the half-assed glance he had given her he had assumed she had stumbled and fallen. This wasn't far from the truth, she had stumbled, but the graized knee he thought she had sustained was significantly worse. It was only when he had come to a halt and turned his black eyes on her that he examined her more closely and realised -
"Oh s**t," he muttered. It wasn't the most eloquent of statements and definitely not the most reassuring but he had never really been one for tact, unfortunately, he wasn't going to develop that for a few more years yet! Frankly, in his books there was no other way to express himself when he was presented with the tiny filly and her particularly bad injury - she had completely shattered that leg of hers.
"No wonder you're crying," he murmured through gritted teeth and hobbled closer. He inspected the area around her for a few moments, taking into account her position, which limb was broken and his own height. He'd never been one for heroics, but he did have a creative mind and quickly surmised that while they were both injured, he still had the appropriate means of assisting her. However, said means relied heavily on whether or not she was even prepared to humour him with the idea.
After all, said idea would involve an excruciating amount of pain to reposition her on his back and then there was the ride back for help...
"You hurt anywhere else other than that leg of yours?" he croaked. He might as well check, if she was hurt elsewhere, his idea may not even work at all.
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Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 7:57 pm
Kaia could honestly say that she had never been more happy in her life when she finally saw the white teenager. Oh for all the love of the gods! It wasn't some wild animal looking to make a meal out of the young filly, it was a person! Yes at that moment it was quite naive to put her trust in the stranger that was hobbling towards her, but the child had no knowledge that was coming to mind that this stranger could easily hurt her even worse then she was now. She wouldn't learn the life lesson of dangers in her own breed for a few years, as of right now her age shined through.
She didn't notice just how beat up he was till he was in her vicinity, her sobs quieted down to a soft whimper as she eyed him as well. Whatever that thing was that attack her - and now this stallion too was quite the beast. The stranger before her even though he seemed large to Kaia had deep gashes on him, much like the ones on her own side. In all rights he looked like he had lost the battle with the beast not the other way around, which most likely meant that he had just drove it off for a short time, but it would be back to restart the hunt all over again. Kaia just hoped that she would not still be here when the skinwalker did finally come back.
Him speaking up with the oh so elegant choice of words made her head wings drop down, trying to hide her tear ridden face under the colorful feathers. She wasn't use to this feeling of letting other people see her this helpless, and the harpini was learning quickly that she did not like it. Her pride was just as badly crushed right now as her leg. And it didn't help that because her head wings were still tiny they barely came to her eyes, making her face her unwilling hero.
"Y-yes... my side g-got cut." She spattered out her words, making her stutter and at some parts go too fast for anyone to understand. She lifted her head slowly, turning it so that she could point out the three deep gashes that ran from her left rump down her sides till it stopped mid-belly. Kaia frowned deeply and lifted her head again to look at the white stranger. She had to wonder what was the reason he needed to know if she was hurt anywhere else. Was to see if she was even worth the trouble of taking out of this forest? Or maybe did he have something that could heal? She had heard of stories at the flock of strange beings with horns coming out of their forehead that had magic powers of healing, though this stallion did not have that...maybe he knew someone close by with such powers?
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 6:51 am
Just her side? He pulled a face and glanced at his own flank, all things considered, she'd come off unscathed in that department in comparison to him. If she hadn't fallen, broken her leg and therefore crippled herself then she would have been the picture of health - almost. Still, he wasn't one for bitterness in that respect and his features soon relaxed into a more neutral expression - when presented with a set of circumstances like this one he really was left with no other choice than to act. Not only could he not live with himself if he ignored it, but he would get the dressing down of his life if his father got wind of it.
...If there was one thing to be said for Sylph, he left no one behind. Damn hero complex.
"All right, here's the deal," Tut sucked in a breath and unclenched his jaw as he spoke. If he spoke in any sort of stiff tone it could frighten the kid and he really wasn't great with tears. In fact, Tut sucked when it came to tears and would have paid someone to deal with it for him if he could. "This is gonna really freaking hurt, but I'ma push you up against that tree behind you and edge you up it until you can touch my back with yer hooves," he furrowed his brow, in theory this worked out however he wasn't sure the filly would be able to function through the pain when he applied pressure to her sides.
"When it gets to that point you're gonna loop your back legs over one side and keep your front legs on the other so you're resting on my back, kk?" he finished his explanation and let it sink in. It made sense, but even then he needed permission from her, manners and all that jazz. Honestly, in situations like this he failed to see why they were even necessary!
"Then we're gonna get the hell out of here - find a doctor and like...a cat hunter or somethin'" he murmured vaguely.
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Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 3:10 pm
All the young harpini could do was watch as her hero eyed her gashes for a moment before tilting his head back to look at his own wounds on his flank. It couldn't be argued that if you put the two side by side Kaia was in a far better shape then Tut, without the broken leg she could have easily trotted off from this whole mess with only a few new scars and her world quite shaken up. Not the normal level of injuries one gets when dealing with a pure skinwalker!
The breath Kaia hadn't realized she had been holding in was let go when the features on the white stallion's face relaxed. Anyone with half a brain could tell that the face he was pulling just a moment ago was one of distaste - a distaste for something Kaia could not put her hoof quite on since there was a number of things about this situation he could have been distasteful about, some so serious that he could leave her here because of them. But thank the gods it had seemed she found a logical person who wouldn't at least give her an earful till after they got out of this!
Her ears moved up to their full up-right pose, even if Tut was trying to speak without stiffness in his tone the pain he was in made his voice harsh and hard to understand unless you listened closely to the words. She paused when the explanation was finished, thinking over the idea and if she could indeed do it with her leg. It would bring a world of pain to both of them, that was a given, but in Kaia's mind the pain was better than slowly laying here dying! "O-okay." There was a hint of a smile that formed on her face as she caught his last mutter. A cat hunter? Sounds good, that and a whole pack of dogs to keep around at all times!
Kaia lifted her head, looking up at Tut with a drive and will to make the plan that he had cooked up work. No matter what she was going to live through this, and she was gonna keep moving forward! "Lets do this, hero!"
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