[PRP] The Color of Fury (Cetra, Seethe & Shishio Gen)

[Kyaishi]

The wind whipped past her flattened ears as all but the sound of pounding hooves filtered through her narrowed mind, dismissing scenario after scenario in the hopes of finding a way out of this mess with her vital organs intact. Short on breath as the sounds of snarling grew ever closer despite her speed, Cetra abruptly skidded to a halt as she came upon a cliff face that blocked her only means of escape. One glance at a tattered, ebony-feathered wing hanging loosely at her side told her that flight was out of the question... and as the sounds of pursuit grew closer, her options narrowed down into only one.

Fight.

A shaky breath escaped her wind-sore lungs as she turned, golden hues closing in an attempt to gain clarity- though the young mare was admittedly grossly unqualified to attempt any sort of meditation. Especially here, and especially now. This had all started out as simple curiosity- she had been venturing to the outskirts of the herd's borders in pursuit of greener fields... knowing one's own territory was vital to being able to defend it, if necessary, her grandfather always said- and she had stumbled upon some strange tracks that she could not identify. No sooner had she begun to track the unknown creature's path that she had stumbled upon it- or rather, it had stumbled upon her.

Skinwalker. Oh, she had heard the stories, seen the carnage of the aftermath, but she had never met one in person. Few had... at least, few that were still around to share the story. The little that she had heard about them was predictably vague, but accurate. Vicious. Feral. Deadly.

Initially, she had stood her ground, attempted to fight the beast off... she could not let him near the herdlands, no matter the cost. When it became obvious that she was losing the fight, however, she turned to plan B... lead him away. With an injured wing and a few deep gashes from claws and teeth, she was not fatally wounded, but certainly slowed down. It was a wonder she had evaded him this long- and the further she ran, the faster her options dwindled down into nothing. Normally, Cetra could think on the run quite easily... but this time, well... it seemed her wits had failed her.  

[Celeanor]

This, this was what he lived for.

The thrill.

The chase.

The heady scent of his prey, in the full bloom of their youth, as they ran from him.

Perhaps this one lacked some of the fear he cherished as a seasoning, but he was in quite the mood following his ... 'expulsion' from his last hunting ground. That his current target was also a wind, and a young mare at that, aided his bloodlust. He had so much that he wanted to do to a certain white wind mare, but with that chance taken from him (for now, he assured himself) this one would just have to be a surrogate. Nostrils flared as he followed her scent, a wicked smile curved along the beasts vicious features. Bright green eyes glittering as he gained ground, and then finally reached her, the purewalker paused in his headlong dash long enough to take note of her existing injuries, and the sudden change in her posture. A fight was it? Regrettable, but he would oblige.

Ghosting in the shadow of the treeline just beyond the cliff edge, Seethe turned his low snarling into a merciless laughter. He was not above taunting, especially of the foolish and easily riled youth, and this mare looked ripe for it.

Long canines flashing in the dying light, the tawny coated predator finally broke cover and approached, his claws digging furrows in the soft ground, and then later into the sheer rock of the cliff-ledge, hinting at his anticipation of the kill.

"Hello again, my dear."  

[Kyaishi]

Although she knew she was likely to lose, as this creature was most certainly far out of her league, Cetra did not cower, she did not turn, and she did not lower her eyes. His low laughter raised the fine hairs just below her mane, the feathers of her wings flattening themselves to a sleek shine. She was cornered, but she did not intend to give up.

Perhaps he thought her young and foolish, perhaps simply stupid. It did not matter... whether she could prove him wrong or not, it was unlikely that both of them would leave here alive. Her mind frantically darted from one possibility to the next about the tactics she could use against him, discarding one after another. Obviously he was cocky, arrogant, sure of himself. It was unsurprising, as he most likely decimated what he considered to be his prey at any other time, but Cetra was not prey, and she would not be someone's trophy-kill.

"Give me your best, monster," she snarled, her good wing flaring out threateningly before she darted forward.

Narrowly avoiding the sharp teeth that grazed her hide, a loud bray pierced the air as Cetra slammed all her weight into the beast's side, knocking him into the cliff wall with all her might. As she had hoped, the commotion drew a small rockslide from the ledge above them, and shielding her own head with her good wing, she darted away from the falling rocks and rising dust to collapse on her side only a few feet away. The impact had hurt her shoulder, badly- perhaps she could walk, but she could no longer run. The move had been foolhardy, but if nothing else, it had bought her a few precious seconds.

Heaving herself to her feet as quickly as she was able- though it took a few more tries than it should have- she stumbled away from the commotion, golden eyes darting back and forth in anticipation. He was alive- that small a rockslide wouldn't have killed a frail mare- but was he injured enough that she could fight him off? At least if she died here, she would die knowing that she had done him some damage first.  

[Celeanor]

His best? How sweet of her to beg for such things. He would oblige, of course, and his answering expression promised all manner of nightmares. Perhaps he would take his time flaying her hide while she still struggled to draw breath... or perhaps he would step aside and allow her to run herself into a froth. Maybe he would defeather her, quill by single quill, and let her live long enough to regret this, and to fully appreciate fear as he came for her again. That she still showed a fair bit more spirit then was usually to his liking was a problem, however...

Engrossed in his planning, his attempt to dodge her body slam only served to aid it as his own body felt the double concussion of her initial impact, then the second one into the stone cliff-face. Growling, he began to rebound... intending to rend her eartip to hooftip... when the small rock slide engulfed him.

Silence reigned for a long moment as the dust settled and the last stone rolled to its final resting place, until a low rumble reverberated along the stone wall and echoed across the clearing. It was a menacing sound, matched only by the enraged look in the stallions eyes as he emerged from the rubble. Without preamble, he stalked back across the small clear along the edge towards the trees. Her blood-scent was heavy in the air, and led him towards her location with minimal fuss. His own wounds were light, but she had finally managed to blood him... and that insult would be repaid. Oh yes, it would be repaid hundred-fold.

Pausing to sniff the air, the skinwalker's feral green eyes darted from side to side for a moment, then he broke into a trot... his wicked smile replaced with murderous fury the moment his eyes found the target.  

[Celeanor]

The destruction of the Elderwillow Camp was not a memory meant to be forgotten. To let those burning images fade would be akin to letting the happier moments fade, to forget the training he'd had beneath the Angeni of Chivalry, or to let the loving warmth of his mother's love drift away with the mists of time.

Things like those terror-stricken nights needed remembering, so the mistakes of the past would not be revisited. Never again would Gen allow himself to stand there helpless while his mother and her family fought the Beast, be it through an intervention of his own strength, or as a beast of burden while the protective Night Walls were constructed in their new herdlands. He had much to atone for, despite Seresai's repeated assurances, both for the life she gave back to him... and the time he almost took hers.

Thankfully, he had come a long way since then. Following his graduation from Sirian's tutelage, he'd faced the combined might of the Elderwillow warriors... their intent to push him to the brink and either put him down if he broke... or welcome him if he didn't.

That he was flying now was proof enough that he had passed, but he still felt a pressing need to do more.

So he patrolled the very edge of their new territory, looking for something... looking (truth be told) for a rematch. His mother had shared her fear with him that she believed Seethe lurked at the fringes of their territory yet, but while she admonished him for even attempting to take on the skinwalker on his own, he fully intended to do it anyway. Fighting was what he was good at, the kalona blood in him fairly sang with anticipation as his sensitive nose caught the scent of fresh blood, soquili blood, on the winds. The thought that he may just come upon an accident victim was acknowledged, but he felt another sort of thrill when a more familiar scent joined that iron tang of blood.

Skinwalker.

Seethe.

He would know that scent anywhere, and along with those memories of destruction, it would remain in the forefront of his thoughts. Angling his wide wings, the big unikalona stallion swept over the treetops directly above Cetra' position, his red markings glowing fiercely in anticipation of the fight. Finally his eyes honed in on his target, and without care for subtlety, the inky black son of the Elderwillow pinned his wings to his side and dove straight through the trees, careening straight into the skinwalker just as he reached the young wind mare.

 

[Kyaishi]

The low growl that rumbled through the air seemed to darken the atmosphere around them, and Cetra could not suppress the small shudder that wracked her form, evoked by primal fear. It seemed that even her intensive training could not break the instinctive desire to flee, to live, and the winged mare cursed herself for the small show of weakness. If she was to die here, at least she could take solace in the knowledge that the beast appeared to have no idea he had stumbled upon the outskirts of her family's home. She would die defiant and proud, and her younger brother would rise to take her place.

Grandfather would be proud.

Letting her own lip curl back as the pelted stallion emerged from the fray, the winged mare arched her neck and flared her wings, forcing the injured one into cooperation as she turned to meet her fate.

Her death.

So focused was she on meeting the skinwalker with dignity that the shadow passing over her failed to catch her attention- until a black and glowing red blur shot past her, a frenzy of teeth, wings and claws. Startled out of her wits, Cetra stumbled back, cursing when her bad leg gave out beneath her. Well, this was unexpected. It seemed she had a savior... one she would owe a debt to, if they both came out of this alive. At the moment, there were doubts about if that was possible.

It was then that she caught sight of exactly what had just saved her. Leathery wings. Sharp teeth. Feral stature.

Kalona.

Cetra would have stomped her hoof in fury if she were able, instead only able to express her absolute loathing of the situation with an angry curse. Saved, indeed... saved from the skinwalker, only to be preyed upon by a kalona. Spirits above, she would rather be devoured by the skinwalker than become a kalona's meal! Still... what was it Uncle had once said? 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend'. She refused to even consider the notion of allying with a kalona, but she might stand a better chance of beating him than the skinwalker.

Not allowing herself to think through the possibility- she knew she would refuse if she dwelled upon it any further- the mare stumbled back to her feet in time to see the skinwalker stumble her way, undoubtedly after being knocked back by the ebony kalona. Snorting her own challenge, she eyed her position, taking a few steps back and turning just so... and when Seethe stumbled clumsily into her carefully prepared area, he was met with a vicious kick from Cetra's back hooves.

She was not helping him- this was strictly in the interest of self-preservation.  

[Celeanor]

Time was of the essence, of that Gen was certain as he leveled his strongest attacks against the old skinwalker male. He had surprise on his side now, but how long that lasted was purely up to the skinwalker's recovery time. It was painfully obvious that even with his current advantage, his decision to take on The Beast all by himself was a foolish one. He was already bleeding from a shoulder wound suffered from the initial collision, and while he had missed seeing the mare kick the skinwalker, he hadn't missed the result as Seethe backed off them both for a moment.

Long fangs bared and bloody, Gen hardly spared a thought for the latest victim of the Beast. If she lived and ran, he would also take his leave, and if she died... he would see to it that her remains were properly cared for if he lived. Either way, he would be dealt with later provided he was able. The notion that he would be taken as an enemy of lesser threat didn't occur to him (this was his territory after all!) so he didn't bother to avoid putting her into his blind spot while he battled the skinwalker.

Spinning neatly on his hind quarters, Gen reared back and struck out at Seethe's face with his sharp hooves when the predator lunged at him again, succeeding in marking him before Seethe jumped back with a hateful snarl. Flaring his leathery black wings, Gen bugled a battle challenge and reared back again, goading the skinwalker forward into another attack.  

[Celeanor]

This was not what Seethe had in mind when it came to his prey.

Ignoring the young kalona halfbreed and his ridiculous trumpeting, Seethe cast his hateful gaze beyond the black stallion to the smaller wind mare, lips curling back into a sneer. It was pretty clear that he found the situation laughable... a dark knight arriving to save the pretty damsel in distress? What now of her strong words, relying on a male to save her? The game was spent if that was the case, though he had in his younger years taken a great deal of pleasure ripping apart the defenders in front of their loved ones before setting the helpless running right into the rest of his trap. Fear and hopelessness were intoxicating spices in the flesh, but the strain of taking down fully mature males then chasing down their females and young was a little much for him in his old age. Better to just avoid the defenders altogether, sooner or later the weak ones would be alone... and he could weave a different sort of web for them to walk into.

Such small minds in this pair, though... and while it never did fail to surprise him when the lesser creatures banded together against those of his kind, it still angered him. Which was in it's own way well and truly infuriating, since he couldn't just ignore those sparks of rebellion when they appeared.

Like that herd he had targeted recently, the one with that hell-horse unicorn who had escaped him in the City of Thieves.

Yellow-green eyes suddenly brightening with recognition as he stared at the kalona half-breed, Seethe released a low grating laugh. Shifting seamlessly into his wolf form, he circled the stallion, noting as the youngster shifted and kept him well in sight... and away from the female.

"Clever boy. Clever clever clever." The skinwalker lied, coming to rest directly in front of Gen, eyes switching from the halfbreed to the wind and back. "Thinking to finish what others have started? I commend your strategy, though your tactics..." He drifted off for a moment, though his expression was hardly absent minded. He was focused intently on Cetra, hatred burning in those eyes at the mention of tactics, before he once again affected casual disinterest in the situation. "Your tactics have gone the way of most well laid plans." The wolf finished smoothly... until his expression morphed into something entirely wicked.

"Still, do give my regards to your leader." Seethe said, chuckling as the comment sent Gen into an enraged charge. "So hasty!" Then, as quickly as the last time, Seethe shifted again, coming at the young kalona with his full weight of his horse form behind his attack. "Haste will kill you, boy!" The skinwalker fairly sang before his fangs sank into Gen's flank. The black stallion's bugle of rage turned sharply into a grunt of pain then a snarl as he dislodged himself from the skinwalker and sent a kick in the retreating creatures direction.

Too late he realized he'd fallen right for the Beasts ploy... as the skinwalker shifted again and went for the mare in that damnably fast wolf form...  

[Kyaishi]

Cetra panted with the effort of the hard kick, though it seemed it had winded her more than the beast, and the kalona seemed not to have noticed it at all.

She had expected this to be her end. The way the wolf's eyes passed over the dark kalona to focus unerringly, furiously on her gave her a strange thrill of satisfaction, knowing that she had at least pissed him off enough to garner his attention over that of the more prominent threat. It was respect, a grudging one, but an acknowledgement none the less. She stared back, defiant and ready, until a wall of black obscured her vision, and she suppressed the urge to snarl. She wasn't some scrap of food to be fought over, or some damsel that needed protecting- she knew that wasn't the intention, but it chafed all the same.

When it was not her that the beast spoke to, but her unexpected savior, Cetra abruptly stopped to consider this new tidbit of information. The Wolf knew the Kalona; more than he cared to, it seemed. And he had eluded him before. She supposed this might be useful, if she lived long enough to put it to use- although that was in question at this moment, as her eyes registered the lunge before the Wolf's teeth sank into the Kalona's hide a fraction of a second later. Her muscles twitched with the desire to join the fight, but her mind was her best weapon... and right now, it was telling her to let them have at it and worry about what was left when the dust cleared.

Unfortunately, it seemed that opportunity was about to pass her by as well, as the Wolf shifted into his creature form and darted away. Disregarding her injuries and letting out a fierce snarl of her own, the winged mare leapt at the smaller Wolf, hoping at least to hinder his escape. If she was lucky, she could wound him enough for the Kalona to catch and finish him off, and she could exploit the Kalona's wounds and distraction long enough to take him down as well. It seemed her hooves missed by the stretch of meters, however, and the clicking of talons on stone faded into the distance before being carried away by the wind entirely, and the small silhouette vanished into the darkness. It wouldn't be the last of the Wolf she saw, Cetra was sure... but right now, there were more pressing matters to be dealt with.

As the hulking black form began to turn in her direction, wings dropping, she scarcely waited a moment before her full weight barreled into his unprotected side, knocking him over. He had clearly underestimated his prey, she thought with a visible curl to her lip, but she would take full advantage of his distraction.

The impact jarred her injured shoulder, and the damaged tendon all but screamed at the harsh use, but Cetra was in motion again before the larger soquili had even hit the ground, one light-colored hoof coming down harshly on the bone between shoulder and neck to hold him in place.

"Don't move, beast!"  

[Celeanor]

Blessedly, the wolf took off rather than tear into the mare as he had feared.

... Which was a minor miracle really, but Gen wasn't prone to over thinking things, especially a reprieve when it was very much needed. He'd have to report this to Seresai, of course, and he should probably get this mares name and see to her wounds... though he hadn't actually seen any, there would have to be some given it was Seethe she'd been up against...


Turning towards the mare, he had intended to just ask if she was alright... maybe offer assistance in getting home or to one of the Cerezo healers. Whatever it was, he wasn't expecting to be body slammed and sent to the ground with one of her hooves pressing painfully into his withers. Stunned, the big stallion could do little more then stare up at her with completely genuine bewilderment and hurt. Why....?

Unintentionally, it turned out he was emulating quite the kicked puppy expression, especially given the shaking in his body as his natural healing abilities kicked in and took quite a bit of his remaining energy to do so.  

[Kyaishi]

Despite appearing to have the kalona stallion at her mercy, Cetra was very much aware that she was still in a very precarious, very dangerous position at this point. There was no killing blow that she could strike, nothing that would immediately incapacitate him without first making herself vulnerable to attack- she could only pray that he did not see it. Bringing her hoof down upon his throat as it was might break a bone and cause him pain, but the amount of force it would take to put him out of commission would require a full rear to put her weight into it... which would mean she would have to let up and bare her belly to him. It was out of the question. Likewise, any kind of blunt force damage to any other part of him would require leverage that she didn't have, and with her shoulder injured as it was, she was even less likely to inflict anything lasting before he could get a hit in- and just one of those could be the end.

So they were in a stalemate. Cetra knew this before she lunged, before she had brought the barest of her weight down upon him, she knew it as she met his gaze and saw... hurt?

'What the hell?'

The expression that he was directing at her was not that of a predator, of a fierce opponent, or even that of one with a lasting grudge. It was an expression she had glimpsed upon her younger brother when he used to beg her for apples, or an hour more before bedtime. She had likened it to an injured puppy... the description seemed even more apt now. And this... on the face of a kalona? Of a monster? No, this was a ploy, an attempt to catch her off-guard. In response, she only increased the pressure upon his withers, golden eyes narrowing into glowing slits, taking personal offense at the appeal to her compassion. Monsters like him would receive none, as they gave none.

"No words, monster? No frustration that your prey has turned the tables on you?" she barked, ears laying flat against her skull.  

[Celeanor]

Green eyes blinked once, twice, three times before Gen closed them for a long moment. Unexpected, this was quite unexpected... did she honestly think he would fight her? After helping her? The lunacy of the concept left him as baffled as her attacking him in the first place. This was not how things went, of that he was certain.

"No." He answered her slowly, keeping his body as still as possible as he reopened his eyes to stare up at her. "Confusion. Not frustration. You are not prey." He went on, shifting uncomfortably when his innate abilities went to work on the shoulder wound she was currently aggravating with her hoof. Now that was worth concern, he needed foreign objects removed from his injuries in order for them to heal properly... and he was not exactly in charge of his abilities to the point where he could simply 'pause' the process in order to wait for her to regain her senses.

"Remove foot." He asked after another pause, eyes sharpening slightly as the pain increased the longer she kept it there. He did not want to fight her, but he would not let her hurt him further with her ignorance. Seresai would assume the worst, and there would be uncomfortable questions. For starters, she would not believe him that a silly mare had just refused to let his wound heal properly on it's own.

Oh right, manners. Perhaps that would help?

"Please?"  

[Kyaishi]

For a moment, Cetra could only stare.

Despite the manipulative pull she knew that some kalona employed to lure their victims, she had never heard such a ploy before- it was either pure naivete or blatant stupidity, in her own opinion. She had seen, firsthand, some of the poor souls that had fallen into snares that the devious monsters had erected with carefully placed words and pleading stares. This was either a very poorly devised improvisation, or he simply did not know the first thing about how to manipulate. 'Please'? As if the beseechment alone could garner pity, despite what he was- no doubt despite the countless lives he had taken. What had he expected? That she would simply lay down and die?

Golden eyes narrowed into slits as her head lowered to glare more intently into his eyes, careful not to shift the weight onto or away from the hoof on his withers, though she was tempted towards the former. "What do you take me for?" she growled in his ear, onyx-feathered wings bristling in indignance. He was a poor actor, if this was meant to pull at her conscience. The green eyes that stared back up at her, while not malicious- at least, not on the surface- were flat, his tone bemused rather than imploring. The polite entreaty he used was laughable in its application- did he really think she would simply let him up with nothing but his word that she was not his intended prey?

"You are kalona. Monster. Predator. You chase prey. First, skinwalker, now me." The stilted sentences were meant to be mocking, insulting, as he clearly was not one for pretty words. "Why should I believe otherwise?"  

[Celeanor]

While it would be untrue if it was said Gen did not know how to lie, the black kalona was not exactly practiced in the art of cunning. He had never seen much use for it, and he was nothing if not exceedingly practical. Mind tricks always seemed like too much work for too little gain.

Which lead to his next turn of phrase.

"Why waste time saving. Easier to only kill one. Skinwalker. Let him kill you, then kill him. Two corpses. Work only for one. Instead I save you, lose intended target. Bad day for me, good day for you." The green eyes were not pleading so much as they were attempting to understand her alien sentiment. "Your conclusion illogical. Mine is not. You mistake me for enemy, I do not mistake you for prey. Error is yours. Belief unnecessary." He shifted, flexing his muscles in a shallow stretch.

"Please, remove foot." He asked again, though he made no move to force the issue, intending to rely on what he assumed was her better nature.  

[Kyaishi]

Although she was loathe to believe anything that the beast currently at her mercy offered as justification, Cetra was forced to acknowledge that there was some logic in what he stated. While he may have simply happened upon the Wolf in coincidence and decided to involve himself for the sake of an easy meal, there was no rhyme or reason to the way he had interfered. Had he simply waited until the skinwalker had finished his kill, there would have been little effort involved in swooping in to claim the prey and fell a weakened enemy.

Of course, he could simply have been stupid and impatient, choosing to leap into the fray far too early and not considering the consequences, but that sort of reckless foolishness was not something that she saw in his eyes. Detached, uninterested perhaps, but not unintelligent. She also doubted that someone that simple would have been able to appeal to her with rational thought and reasoning- at least, not under duress. Still... what guarantee did she have that he would not seize the opportunity to attack once she let him up- especially now that she had forced him into submission? This was a stalemate, and to give up her dominant position now meant that she would place her very life in his grasp- in a kalona's grasp, and simply trust that he would not turn around and rip her throat out.

In spite of this... her lip curled as her own sense of fairness, of right forced her to reevaluate. If he was innocent, as he said, did she not owe him her life? If he had involved himself in this deadly fight simply to pull her from danger, what right did she have to deny him? She would owe him a life-debt, no matter what prejudices were involved- no matter what residual intentions remained. A deep sigh, part rage, part aggravation and reticence escaped her, and her eyes narrowed as her voice lowered to an absolute snarl.

"If you make one move to attack, kalona, you will be dead before you hit the ground you've already tasted."

It was an idle threat, she was sure they both knew- she was in no condition to be winning any fights, especially not against a beast of his size. She had resigned herself to having little choice in the matter, though, as slowly, her hoof was lifted, and she stood on all four hooves above him.