Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 5, 2012 23:27:15 GMT -6
Veigue's eyes widened quite a bit, as well as slightly dropping his jaw in awe when Nayru literally displayed her strength right in front of him. He knew from the very beginning that she wasn't just an average fighter...but to possess that much strength was simply amazing. He was nearly speechless for a few seconds, until she told him about the plan. Since now wasn't the time to be thrown off guard, he shook his head to gather himself properly.
While he was quick on his feet, he wondered if he could move fast enough to get through and to the archers...without possibly getting shot. However, with all smoke and flames about to cover the area, he was kind of in his own element here. Thanks to the skills passed from his sister...and his father he supposed as well, he learned to fight even if his vision is limited slightly. While he doubted his enemies had that kind of insight, this wasn't the time to get cocky. He had to focus. Otherwise, he'd have arrows pierced in his chest.
Though for some reason, he had a feeling this can be pulled off. Other than seeing a different side of Nayru, their teamwork so far has been flawless. So if he got hit in the process, oh well. No pain, no gain.
Finally ready, Veigue spun the enclosed sword once and held it horizontally in front of him with his arms stretched all the way out. He closed his eyes for a brief few seconds, remembering some words from his sister when she was training him back in Sacae. Then he was reciting them to himself, trying to boost his confidence even more.
"Your movements must be swift as the wind...your attacks should come fast and blinding as lightning...along with the force of a raging inferno..."
Afterwards, he opened his eyes and frowned, taking this as serious as possible. When he had drawn the blade, it was on now. He didn't look to her, but he opened his mouth to Nayru for a last time before it was time to initiate the plan.
"...Seems like a pretty sound plan. I'm ready when you are!" he said, having his voice alone display how serious and ready he was.
|
|
Elly
Pegasus Knight
Rookie Squirrel!
Posts: 101
|
Post by Elly on Oct 6, 2012 23:39:16 GMT -6
Elly ducked her head as Heather flew past a house, the filly's flight dangerously close to the overhanging roof. The crackle of multiple fires echoed in the young Ilian's ears along with her heartbeat, its steady thumping growing louder with every flap of her partner's wings. She risked a quick look behind her; the bandits were falling behind, but still chasing the teenager while laughing and whistling. Hadn't they taken her speech seriously? She swallowed, her fear spiking at their taunts. She couldn't slow down. She shifted her weight, and Heather turned to the left, down a side road. A lump formed in her throat as she saw how narrow the dirt path was, houses and fire surrounding her on either side, but the brave pegasus plunged forward and emerged on the other side unscathed.
Then it happened.
A thunderous roar echoed from somewhere close by, rising over the battlefield, igniting a deep, primal fear within the girl. Her breath caught in her throat as she tried to scream, a soft squeak of sheer terror escaping in its place. She wished she could run and hide, run all the way to Ilia, to the old house where she used to live before her Papa bought the pub. Dreams of heroics fell away in an instant as time slowed down, a second of absolute dread stretching into eternity as all hope fled. The sound of her own heartbeat filled her eardrums until nothing else was left. And, just when the pressure that had seemed to build within her was unbearable, it stopped. The world felt eerily quiet to her ears, terrifying in a different way.
Heather reared up, her own voice filling in the void as the filly screamed out as she never had before. The force of her movement shook the girl off her saddle; for an instant, she desperately struggled to hold onto the reins, but the pegasus was far stronger. Compared to the terror she had felt a few moments earlier, the spike of fear that ran through her body as she fell towards the ground was almost comforting. Her body shook with the impact, yet the pain was washed away by shock as she saw the white filly fly away from her. Heather had never abandoned her like this before. She felt like crying, yet her eyes only grew slightly moist, the teenager's mind too overwhelmed by conflicting emotions.
"Found ya, lil' runt!" The rough voice shook her out of her stupor, and she looked up in panic; a bandit dressed in the barest of rags approached her, his gaunt face and malnourished frame somehow imposing as he approached her with a smirk. A hunting knife glinted in his hand as he raised it high over his head, bringing it down while laughing. "What's wrong? No stinkin' freak horse to save ya now!" Elly screamed shrilly, backpedaling, her eyes casting around for help. The knife slashed through the space where her body had been moments earlier, and she hastily rose to her feet, half-stumbling away as she barely avoided the clumsy followup.
She saw her lance lying on the ground a few feet away, and dove for it swiftly, taking hold of the slim shaft as though it were a lifeline before scrambling to her feet. The man scowled, moving after her swiftly. The knife came for her once more, and she brought the lance up horizontally to parry, closing her eyes in fear, only to open them in surprise a few moments later as a vicious kick lifted her off her feet and past the remains of a doorframe. Air rushed out of her lungs as her back hit the wooden floor harshly, and she struggled to gasp, the lance falling idly from her hands as she held both to her midsection weakly.
"Stay away from me!" She gasped out weakly, unable to scream as she pushed herself back with her feet once more. Her hair stuck to her face wildly, matted by sweat and a hot, trickling, viscous liquid that she suspected might be blood. Intense heat assaulted her back; she looked over her shoulder, past the debris, at the hungering flames that ate away at what had once been a house. The walls had collapsed, the roof having fallen towards the back at some point; even now, tongues of fire licked hungrily at the beams and pieces of wood at her side. "Scared? Cry out some more, and I'll take ya out real easy!" The bandit's eyes shone in the firelight, light dancing madly in them as he approached, towering over her. His thin, raspy voice rang out like the scratch of metal pieces grating together. "Just one deep cut along that pretty little neck, darlin'!"
Elly swallowed, her hands shaking as she picked up the closest piece of fire-lit wood, a board no longer than her forearm, her fingers closing slowly around it. "Scream for yer life!" The man's shout rang out as he reached her, his knife flashing down. She twisted, bringing the piece of wood up into the bandit's midsection. He screamed, the knife falling to the floor as he rolled up in pain. Was this her chance?
She scrambled away, but the bandit threw his body on top of hers, pinning her to the floor. The teenager struggled, but couldn't overcome his weight; the stench of the bandit forced her to turn away her head. Her eyes fell on the discarded knife, and she reached out to it, clumsily taking it in her left hand. Desperately, she shoved it into the man's side, feeling him grow stiff. His hands closed around her throat, and she let out a choked yelp, bringing up the blade once more against him. Overwhelmed by panic, she stabbed him, once, twice, the weapon digging into the man's body over and over again. Steadily, his fingers grew weaker, and he let out a ragged scream, a low, almost silent roar that fell off into a whisper shortly, yet somehow felt just as terrifying as the one she had heard earlier. His body slumped on top of hers, and lay still, unmoving. She struggled, rolling from side to side in panic, managing to wriggle out from under his body; slowly, she rose to her knees. Her breathing was ragged and unsteady, her vision unfocused as the entire scene seemed to spin before her eyes, wood, fire and corpse becoming one.
Her eyes fell towards the knife in her left hand, and the scarlet substance that seemed to cover her entire arm. Slowly, her eyes traveled back towards the man that lay on the floor at her side, the same crimson liquid staining the rags he wore. She had killed him.
The knife fell to the floor with a dull clatter as Elly screamed.
|
|
Aerious
Manakete
The Foul Destroyer
It takes pressure and time to make diamonds.
Posts: 496
|
Post by Aerious on Oct 6, 2012 23:53:33 GMT -6
Aerious was huffing and growling from his power high. For some reason, the power felt...less exhausting then normal. Like he could keep this up, he didn't feel the nagging need to return to equilibrium. He could march through these streets and kill anyone who obstructed him, unrestrained a pure power flowing through his veins.
And then a piercing scream hit his ears. It was accompanied by a whinny as well, and Aerious knew instantly who it had to be. He jumped into action instantly, following the sound of the scream through the cloud he'd just thrown up in his range, still in his hybrid form. Were anyone to see him like this, they'd be likely to think the entire town had been invaded by demons from beyond. He spied the horse flying off into the sky, but she was minus a rider. Not good, had Elly been injured, or had the pegasus just been scared? A second loud cry grabbed his attention, from a side street, along a pair of smoldering buildings. There was no more time to be subtle, as he placed his shoulder to one of the buildings that was in his way, crashing through the weakened wall of stone and wood. His senses picked up Elly no more then fifteen feet from him, but it was obvious she couldn't see him yet. He reached out a hand towards her, but he saw his hand first. Deformed, scaled, clawed...no. He needed to pull in the power, resume his disguise.
It only took a moment before he appeared fully human again, and if Elly had seen anything she'd likely think it was a trick of the heat.
[red]"Elly! Elly are you ok?"[/red] He asked, moving towards her, his eyes looking over her bloodied arm.
|
|
|
Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Oct 20, 2012 2:40:28 GMT -6
"Mmmh," Nayru growled, the odd reverberation in her voice lending the gesture almost tangible force, rolling thunder that mixed with the roaring flames in a primal cacophony. Intoxicating power - but on the verges of her consciousness the shadows were already growing, tendrils of loathing and hatred entwined. She hadn't even transformed. It was a less than subtle reminder to keep her head in the game, to say the least; a bitter, ghostly smile graced her lips as the silver dragoness struggled to retain control for a moment.
She still couldn't tell if it bothered her that Veigue was willing to trust her so readily, or if it felt good, but it was a reminder of what they were fighting to protect, to nurture in humanity; strength, courage, truth... it was nice to feel, sometimes, like that goal was actually in reach. "...Thank you, Veigue."
With those cryptic words, she returned her focus to the action at hand, taking several steps forward to help build momentum before loosing the first support beam like a bolt from a ballista. The massive projectile barely arced as it tore through the smoke-filled air, impacting an investigative archer, instantly obliterating much of his midsection in a cloud of gore.
...Well, that would probably provide Veigue some cover while the remainder attempted to figure out what the hell was happening, she figured. "-And good luck. May Father Sky and Mother Earth watch over you." Sacaen proverbs were a game two could play at!
Now, for the more pressing issue...
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2012 14:20:54 GMT -6
Trying not to get thrown off so easily by Nayru's strength again, Veigue maintained focus. He already had a plan in mind as to how he would start his assault. After the first beam was thrown at one of the visible archers, Veigue was ready to take off until Nayru recited the very familiar saying of all Sacaeans. Normally he'd be surprised, but given how repetitive it gets, it's to be expected for others to know.
"...Thanks. The same goes to you, friend." passing a smile before taking advantage of the confusion and dashing through the smoky air.
Nayru's plan was working so far. By the time he slipped pass the three that approached earlier, they couldn't catch him. He hoped the other archers were distracted by the attack as well. It would make this much more easier. However, the debris from the destroyed homes were becoming a nuisance in his movement. At least it wasn't completely stopping him from moving forward. But he wondered when he'd be relieved from the thick smoke covering him.
Sooner than he thought. He picked up running speed, making a quick dash to see the archers caught off guard from his sudden appearance. They were still a good distance from him. They readied their arrows as the Sacaean closed in. The two of them fired the bolts directly at him, with blinding speed. Veigue was going to find it hard to dodge while sprinting as fast as he was, so he lifted himself off his feet after sheathing his sword and slid himself down in the street to evade the arrows. He took a moment to regain his footing, then locked onto one of the archers, as he was readying another arrow.
He kept a steady pace, actually allowing the archer to fire an arrow which was aimed for his head. He tilted his head to the right to easily evade it, which was his chance to strike. He had to hit him hard and fast, as the other one about to fire his next one as well. The swordsman pulled his slim sword out the scabbard and brought it down with a fierce vertical strike, giving the archer a grievous wound on his firing hand when he raised his arm up out of fear for his life. The Sacaean saw the arrow from the next archer and ducked to the ground to evade it. At least he stopped the other one from attacking for a while. He was considering literally chopping the man's hand off, but he wasn't a monster. It would have permanently put him out of commission though...
After raising again, Veigue confronted the other archer. Being unable to use his bow in close quarters, the man pulled out a knife he had on his side. Looks like this one was prepared for situations like this one. The man had a slightly frightened look on his face before swinging the knife sideways. Veigue dodged to the side and whacked the man hard in the face several times with his scabbard. Before the swordsman kicked him down, the man swung the knife again to cut him on his forearm. The Sacaean was surprised that enemy managed to accurately cut him. The wound wasn't bleeding badly, but over time, it would.
The man recovered from the ground and charged at Veigue like a wild animal, still scared for his life. Veigue realized the desperation of his opponent, deciding to put him out of his misery. Ignoring his wound, he dodged to the side again and used his scabbard to knock the knife out the man's hand. The swordsman decided to finish him by swinging his blade upwards, giving the man a large wound on his body, then he brought the blade down for a final strike, making a crooked-looking cross wound on the man's body. He dropped like a falling tower. Winning that scuffle, he sheathed his weapon. But Veigue forgot about the other one...
As such, the injured archer seemed to forget about his terrible wound on his hand, already having an arrow pointed at Veigue while the Sacaean's back was turned. His aim was a little off from not being able to focus, but he fired to where it pierced the back of Veigue's upper area of his arm.
Feeling the burning sting of the arrow piercing his flesh through his sacaean robe, Veigue lost his balance and fell to one knee. The arrow was deep in there all right. At least he could still move it, as it didn't pierce anything vital. When he turned around to the archer, his eyes burned with rage as he forced himself up and gluing that cold stare on his face. He sprinted as fast as he could, unsheathing his sword and locking onto his attacker.
The man took a few steps back after witnessing this. When Veigue became within range, he held his bow in front of him to protect himself. But the angered swordsman brought his sword down, cutting the bow cleanly into several pieces. Must have been a poorly made bow. But after that, the man left himself wide open out of his surprise. Within a flash, Veigue swung his blade horizontally and slicing him in his midsection as the blood spewed.
After the man dropped dead, Veigue put his weapon away for one last time, then gripped the arrow that was still in the back of his arm. When he tried pulling on it slowly, it only made it worse. To relieve himself from the pain of pulling it out that way, he took a deep breath and yanked it out. He dropped the bloodied bolt to the ground as he held his wound. The small cut on his forearm was nothing compared to the slightly deep hole in his arm. He kept his sheathed sword in the hand of his injured arm regardless. He could still use both arms like he normally could in this condition. He'd have to be more careful though. He felt as though these wounds weren't worth wasting his vulneraries over.
After his battle with the archers were over, he wondered how Nayru was doing, as he could barely see her through the thick smoke. While it was still kind of bad over here, it's still much worse over where she is. There were probably more axemen or archers over where he was, so he stayed sharp and just hoped that she would make her way back to him like she said. He didn't want to get ambushed in this condition.
|
|
Elly
Pegasus Knight
Rookie Squirrel!
Posts: 101
|
Post by Elly on Oct 21, 2012 2:53:21 GMT -6
The world swam before her eyes as her eyes darted between the blood-soaked knife and the man endlessly, rushing back and forth, her entire body shivering as sobs wracked her body. Hysteria filled her, slowly at first, yet steadily growing stronger, a feeling of revulsion so overwhelming that she could not do anything but stand in shock. Her eyes darted to her own arm, covered in blood, and she tried to wipe it away frantically, succeeding only in spreading it further and smearing her clothing. A wail of despair escaped her, and she looked around herself in panic, her rational mind overcome by instinct. A maelstrom of emotion raged within her soul, the loss of something precious echoing in her heart. Feelings of betrayal at Heather's departure mixed with the terror and fear her recent fight had provoked, making her world spin out of control.
Elly's eyes locked into the figure in front of her; recognition flared in her mind as her consciousness remembered the man's features. Aerious. She clung to the memory tightly, a lifeline to her sanity. She trembled, falling silent as she realized she had been screaming the entire time. The entire world around her seemed surreal, somehow, almost as though she were submerged in a dream. Words reached her ears; she could not understand what they meant, but the concern held within them warmed her. Her eyes grew moist as tears rolled down her cheeks and she sobbed, collapsing to her knees, opening her mouth to call out for help, yet incapable of speech as raw emotion flowed out, finally free from the confines of her spirit.
|
|
Aerious
Manakete
The Foul Destroyer
It takes pressure and time to make diamonds.
Posts: 496
|
Post by Aerious on Oct 21, 2012 15:57:50 GMT -6
Aerious took note of the situation before him, and nodded grimly to nobody in particular. [red]"Come with me."[/red] He spoke, not sure if she even heard him, as he easily picked the girl up in his arms. The injury to his chest had mostly healed, but it was still slightly sore, he endured it though. [red]"We're getting you out of here."[/red] He declared, running off towards the end of the buildings and fire. Once they got clear of the town he might be able to calm her down, but here it wasn't going to happen.
He was dimly aware of the body near her, if he guessed right it was someone she had killed. For him, murder wasn't anything new, but for someone like Elly...it might have been too much. It took him a few minutes to clear the edge of the chaos, the endless plains of Sacae before him as he looked back for a moment. Nayru and that human were still in there...well, Nayru could handle herself...he hoped.
He kept moving until they were about a hundred yards or so out of the ruins. A distance to be safe from random brigands, since most would be too concerned with looting the city. He set her down gently on the grass, making sure to support her lest she fall into complete despair. He let his eyes scan over the wreckage, trying to make out anything he could. Nothing of note yet...just fire and destruction.
He decided to not vocalize his thoughts to Elly, she likely had enough going through her mind at the moment, and she would come out of it soon enough.
Hopefully.
|
|
|
Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Oct 21, 2012 18:25:47 GMT -6
Well, Veigue certainly didn't seem to have an issue with following the sundered support beam into the smoke and flames. That was probably a good sign. Or maybe a bad one. Nayru paused for a moment, trying to decide which was which - she would have scolded Elly for doing it, but then again -she- would have done it and Aerious would have yelled at -her- for doing it, so... probably not her place to judge? She snorted at the thought of herself leaping haphazardly into harm's way like Elly did, pointedly ignoring memories of a much younger dragon she had been familiar with, a long time ago, and far, far away.
The hoarse yells of the coming horde - it was only four humans, so not really a horde so much as a squad, she absentmindedly mentally corrected herself - shook Nayru from her budding reverie, reminding her that perhaps the current situation was not the best time to stand around like a starstruck little newt. If Veigue could trust her enough to leap into the fray, following her suggestion, she could not very well let him down.
"Come, then," she said, he voice full of iron confidence she could not quite claim to feel herself. Even as she lowered her stance, picking up the remaining beam with one blood-soaked arm, she had the distinct feeling of playing at real power, rather than embodying it.
While the massive beam felt far more comfortable in her hands than the pitifully puny weaponry humans used, dragons were not generally dedicated weapon users, something Nayru remembered as the group closed in on her. It still felt - strange in her hands, something between her and her foes, rather than an addition to her arsenal. Alien.
-Not that that was entirely a bad thing. A vast sweep of her makeshift weapon was enough to break the loose formation of her opponents, the general desire to avoid being splattered over a nearby wall overcoming their momentary surprise at seeing it swept so effortlessly, and that was all the opening she needed. Less a carefully calculated pinpoint javelin throw so much as an obtusely lopsided flying hazard, she lobbed the beam in the general vicinity of two of her opponents, capitalizing on the distraction with a running leap at one of the other bandits.
Crimson rain splattered the ground as she impaled her victim, the coiled fist a jackhammer of draconic power passing through his unarmored upper chest, flesh and bone pulverized as a mere afterthought. Nayru knew better than anyone there that she could not take all four at once in a fair fight - her reinforcement was still imperfect, flawed; blocking a single blade at once was exponentially easier than two or three, and that was easier still than actually focusing on four distinct entities, not knowing from which direction the next attack might come.
She snarled, jerking her arm to the side in a show of force to launch the gasping bandit from his grisly fate... directly towards the charging bandit approaching her. The dragoness was right behind him, dropping low, supporting herself on an arm as her legs swept around the second bandit's own, hooking him and ripping him off balance in one sweeping, vicious movement.
Unable to bring his weapon to bear in the confines of prone close quarters combat, he was unable to stave off his death; he had barely finished his descent before her hand drove his head into the ground, pulping it like an overripe melon, and in the process propelling Nayru back upright.
-Just in time to be nicked by a maelstrom of spinning steel, something she vaguely placed as a throwing axe of some variety, that rebounded off her, struck the edge of a building, and improbably rebounded directly into the hand that thrown it, a man with an impressively large smile and an even more impressive handlebar mustache. "Too easy," he rumbled, absolute confidence evident in his tone as he casually spun the axe in one hand.
She honestly wasn't sure whether to be impressed or amused.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2012 20:30:51 GMT -6
Veigue heard some pretty fierce fighting over there where Nayru was, as quiet as his side was for some reason...that alone was quite suspicious. No bandits...not a soul. While there are people nearby, he was alone. Maybe another archer was around staring at him? Well, nothing here but the corpses of the two he killed, plus the one he just noticed with the same support beam impaled within him that Nayru chucked earlier...though he was easy to miss. The poor guy's body was quite far away from his companions. But they've all received the punishment they deserved...destroying this village.
While he shouldn't be worried about her, it was just in the Sacaean swordsman's nature to naturally be concerned for a friend. As he moved his body and tried to walk slowly back to the direction he came, the wound from the arrow shot burned liked severely heated steel being smashed upon the wound. He had to fall down to one knee again to tend to it for a bit. He underestimated the wound quite so...it was a taking toll on him more than he expected. At this point, the spot where the wound lies was completely soaked in his own blood. He rolled up the sleeve of his cloak he had over his robe as it was tightened up to where the wound lied. That would stop the bleeding for now.
Now with his injury taken care of temporarily, he readied himself before he was going to get back into the battle. At least the archers were taken care of, so he could fight alongside Nayru again without worry of getting feathered from a distance...until he heard a moderately deep, yet relaxed voice shout out form behind him.
"...Not bad, Sacaean trash. Though I doubt you've caused all of this mess on your own..."
Turning himself around instantly, Veigue saw the man several feet away from him. How did he not notice him approach and got that close? Either way, something was different about him. He didn't dress like a bandit at all. What was more convincing was that he had a pretty nice-looking Steel Sword on his side. That man...he was definitely more skilled than all these chumps here. He had to be a mercenary.
He inched closer and closer, pushing Veigue on the edge as he rested his hand on the hilt of his weapon. He felt a sweat drop on the side of his face...he isn't sure what this man was capable of, but he wouldn't find out until they've exchanged blows...or if they were even enemies in the first place. He still remained on guard for anything.
"Veigue, right? These burning ruins that was once a village will be reduced to a mere cemetery soon..." the man spun his blade once after removing it from it's scabbard, then resting it on his shoulder with a cocky smile. "...and this is where your own grave will reside."
The Sacaean gritted his teeth, both angered and confused. Why was a mercenary fighting alongside bandits? Or perhaps he's just a hired soldier meant to solely kill him? If the latter, then that means the person in front of him was the sole cause of this entire mess!
Clenching the hilt tighter, Veigue retained his stare before opening his mouth to finally speak. "...If you're only after me, then why involve these people?!"
The mercenary simply giggled. "...Oh, I didn't harm a fly. I just let those bandits I'm merely using do whatever the hell they want. We're getting paid for this, man. You do...what ya gotta do. Besides, who cares about a small Sacaean village anyway? Won't be missed."
"...Scum!" That statement enraged Veigue more than ever as he fiercely drew his blade. Not only was this avaricious fool allowing those murderers to run amok, but he was just using them as pawns.
The angered swordsman locked onto his opponent and swung his sword upwardly horizontal, but was parried easily by the enemy's superior weapon in might alone. They exchanged more combat as every time Veigue swung, it was blocked and countered. He was eventually punched hard to the side of his cheek, sliding backwards on his feet in the dirt away from the mercenary after feeling the force of the blow and the added damage from the fingerless fighting gloves the man wore. That was quite a punch, as some blood slid down from his lips to the bottom of his chin.
Veigue knew that other than this man possibly being more skilled that he was, he wasn't in the best condition to keep a fight like this dragged out like it was being now. He had to go for vital points to end this quickly...but the fatigue of battle will make that nearly impossible to pull off. This guy seemed to have quick reaction speed as well...adding more frustration to this. If he lived from this ordeal, the Sacaean knew that he was going to emerge from it with way more injuries than the ones from the knife and arrow shot. Hopefully, they won't kill him afterwards...
|
|
|
Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Oct 22, 2012 15:46:29 GMT -6
Soundtrack"Seems to be blood everywhere I go."The incessant motion of swirling steel was almost hypnotic, even as the insufferable arrogance in his words kept her focused on the presence. Just another bandit. "Yours will soon join it," she rejoined, her brittle riposte weakened by the momentary catch in her voice as she remembered how very tired she was after the little stunt with the arrows earlier. Full-body reinforcement versus ranged attacks, especially when she couldn't accurately gauge exactly where they would strike... Infuriatingly enough, he seemed to catch her momentary indecision, leering at her as the axe sped up its blurred rotation, his tone patronizing to the extreme. "Don't be jealous."-And then it was already in the air, the dusky orange of the ravening flames surrounding them glinting off the polished steel as it slashed through the intervening distance in the blink of an eye. Simply getting one arm up to block it was an accomplishment, the ensuing clash sending a spray of sparks around her - vivid orange and silvery light, all cast in the hues of their surroundings. The axe arced high into the air, gyrating erratically... right back into his waiting grip. His grin widened, another axe already revved up in the other hand, as if he'd been expecting that exact chain of events to play out. His next words came out more slowly, tinged with malice - and given that he was sporting two spinning sawblades and what seemed to be perfect aim, it was certainly more intimidating than any of the bandits so far had managed. "Got axes, need victims."Nayru was already moving towards him, exploding into action from a dead stop in the sudden realization that she needed to close the gap immediately. So too were his weapons, though, a pair of scything blades side by side, coming directly at her too fast to simply dodge. She reinforced much of her upper body and chest while moving to the side, managing to avoid one, but the second axe sapped much of her momentum; surprisingly heavy for how casually he spun the accursed things, it deflected her momentum, sending her reeling. The axe she had intercepted went wide, embedding itself deep in the side of a nearby house, but the other rebounded off of something - it was only a gut feeling that alerted her to its return before the blade slammed into a hurriedly-reinforced forearm, leaving a tiny gouge before going wild. He was already in motion, unexpectedly fast for a bandit, moving to intercept it while already launching another at her. "Yoink," he grinned - if it was possible to make a word sound like a smile, or a smile that made sound, he would have perfected the technique. After pausing to try to understand the strange direction her thoughts had begun to take, she was back into the action, charging at the bloody axe thrower again. He just grinned, a cruel smile that spoke of blood, before tossing one axe into the air - and grasping the remainder with both hands, hurling it with evident force. No big. She could... probably reinforce her body against that. The dragoness's charge continued, picking up speed as she tapped into more of her power, impact nearing. The blade struck with the force of a hurricane, impacting dead on, hard enough to break her out of her charge entirely, even knocking the breath from her body. She may have let out a choked gasp, Nayru wasn't entirely certain, but the dull thud of the offending blade slamming into the dirt below her - holy hell those things were heavy - helped clear the fog from her. Her hand came away from her midsection... red. Blinking, still disoriented by the force of the blow, she glanced down; where it had struck a thin line of crimson had formed. Even through a full reinforcement. Okay. Don't panic, she told herself. You're just tired, and bladed weapons are harder to block than impacts that spread the force. Just a fluke. Hopefully. Maybe. It certainly suggested a change in tactics rather than blindly bullrushing the man, anyways, said individual currently casually strolling towards her with another spinning axe at the ready. "Hear that? Death's knocking."It was - equal parts frustrating and almost frightening to be matched against someone so capable of wounding her, his fighting style diametrically opposed to her own; his confidence ground at her own, slowly gnawing away at what remained. A dragon, on her knees before a common bandit. She could taste blood on her lips, a pounding cacophony of sensation pounding through her body as frustration turned to fury. It was disgraceful to lower herself against this filth - to herself, to Aerious's lessons, to her pride as a dragon, to... Erim. The thought of her mentor seeing her like this filled her veins with fire. Pathetic, weak, worthless; oh, she had done everything but prove her point. It wouldn't be that hard to morph and eat him. Everything. The whole stupid village and all the worthless outlaw scum infesting it. It was more the vicious jerk in her arm, accompanied by a deliciously gruesome wet splattering, that drew her from her fit rather than any semblance of pain; for a moment she had ceased to halt the tide of power, almost welcomed it, and a valve once opened was far more difficult to close. Massive golden scales erupted from her flesh, encasing the sundered arm within a chitinous framework of lumincescent armor, a dazzling framework of auric alloy speckled with dots of crimson. Even with little more than double the mass of a normal human arm, the vast additional weight sent her fist crashing into the ground in a plume of dust, her remaining arm too late to halt its descent. She swore, something coarse in draconic that didn't quite register in her mind, her opponent forgotten entirely in the heat of the moment. Trying to stem the tide of essence, watching in grimacing horror as what remained of her hand twisted and tore, the long, delicate fingers - so much like Erim's, she absentmindedly noted - simply disintegrating in a bloody spray as talons sprang from within. It - might have hurt, Nayru couldn't tell, and that terrified her. She could feel very little of anything at all through the addictive wash of essence, through the emotions starting to flood through her; as the disconnect with her human form became more pronounced, a more primal connection, long surpressed, reminded her of its existence; she could feel the air, the wind, more vividly than she could remember. Gentle caresses of tiny eddies of hot air, wafts of ash and smoke an odious breeze. Sensitive... in her state of confusion, it took an eternity to remember why that would be, to finally recognize that the lock of hair hanging haphazardly across her face was slowly becoming softer and softer, almost effervescent in its downy silkiness. She swore again, barely cognizant of a pulse of power emanating from her body, of the wind dying down as the nearby houses rattled. Not - now. Not with Veigue still somewhere in the vicinity. There might be other people, too, perfectly innocent humans who had survived so much horror already, who didn't deserve to - another crack, her consciousness already fading. Elly.She had - made a promise. That much she could vaguely remember, even through the crimson haze suffusing her existence. She couldn't leave Elly behind, and - she had promised not to leave her. Elly or Nayru or someone, she couldn't even remember anymore, but Elly had promised she would be back, so she had to come back, she wouldn't leave now. Either of them. Not yet. Time would eventually drag them apart, but... not yet. She fought with all she could, her free arm constricting around the partially transformed one in a grip that could shatter a mortal body, but the scales refused to so much as creak under the pressure. Not yet. Elly would come back, and she would be fine, they would both be, and she wouldn't be alone again. Not yet. "Not..." she ground out, attempting and failing to rise to her feet in defiance, her stone shining as bright as the sun as the flow intensified - but she would not give in, not yet, not before she had lived as herself for a little bit longer. Not before Elly came back. "YET!"The earth seemed to simply give way before her, a last-ditch effort to channel as much of her essence as she could through the arm, rather than through her body, granting it power she had not felt in centuries; a spiderweb of cracks split the ground around her as her mailed fist impacted the road, the crater in her wake a telling sign of how much she had managed to restrain herself. -But it was enough, at least for the time being, to... pause the transformation. Exhausted as she was, the silver dragoness didn't even want to consider how to begin reversing it, but she could at least feel her body again, her blood no longer fire that boiled in her veins, and for that she was grateful. Also, it was really nice that the axe guy had stood there watching the entire time instead of beheading her somewhere in the process. It took more effort than she would have liked, but Nayru managed to raise her head and meet his eye, noting with a certain degree of dumbfounded detachement that the entirety of his reaction was summed up in a single raised eye - and his smile having grown even larger. She returned it awkwardly, her expression shifting from feral agony to a hesitant smile, not entirely sure how else to react. There was a moment of mutual silence before he stopped both axes simultaneously, somehow contriving to bring them to a dead halt and sheath them both in one fluid motion, before making an exaggerated bow as his smile grew even larger. "...Draven's making an exit" were his last words before he simply strolled away, still unscathed by the entire fight. She considered being somewhat offended, but was too busy trying not to vomit to consider chasing. Also trying not to laugh at how ridiculous the entire situation was, which was not synchronizing well with her attempts not to loose the comments of her stomach over the nearby ground. Veigue was doing much better, she was sure. Maybe she would check on him. Right after she... rested. For a bit.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2012 22:35:13 GMT -6
After wiping the drop of blood from his mouth, Veigue tried to come up with a strategy as to how he could get around his opponent. With quick reactions this mercenary has, it'll be tough to find an opening and actually land a hit on him. He could use his injuries as an excuse for this poor performance, but even without them, he could tell right off the bat that this guy was definitely a professional. He was in a completely different league than he was. But he's locked in battle with him...he had to win. Otherwise, any remaining survivors would be killed by these murderers.
The man taunted him to come, waving his hand towards himself in a cocky manner. Was he just toying with him? Veigue didn't like that thought. However, getting angry at his taunts were going to do more harm than good. He had to follow what his sister taught him...and that was to stay calm in all situations of battle. Especially if it involved getting taunted. Taking a deep breath, he held his sword beside him and releasing himself from the spot he stood with a sprint forth. Within his opponent's range of his weapon, Veigue purposely swung his sword to distract him. His real attack was aiming for the man's side with the sheath. The skilled mercenary grunted a little from the hit, but smirked after. He seemed to anticipate the Sacaean's next move, as Veigue attempted to knock him off his feet with a quick leg sweep. But the man flipped backwards to dodge the kick. He landed perfectly on his legs, then dashed at Veigue to shoulder ram him.
This didn't seem like the end of the assault when Veigue opened his eyes from the hit and regained his balance. The mercenary brought his blade down on him quickly, forcing him to hold his blade out in front of him to parry. However, the man delivered a powerful blow to the gut while they're swords were locked. Veigue dropped his scabbard and fell to his knees, gripping his stomach out of pain. This fighter was strong...he could only imagine how powerful his sword attacks were. All the more reason NOT to get hit by one. Speaking of which...the blade was coming down on him! He rolled in the dirt, barely avoiding the attack. Any later at reacting and that would have been his head.
While trying to get up as fast as he could, the mercenary charged at him like a bull. He was expecting another sword strike when he raised from the ground, but instead he was grappled by the man and his strong hold. It was impossible how he was doing it with one arm. Unless their difference in physical strength was that significant. Veigue couldn't seem to break free. The man sheathed his sword and placed his hand on the back of the Sacaean's head, gripping very tightly as he was raised slightly in the air.
"This is getting booooring...!" the now-displeased man stated before spinning himself and Veigue around several times. The Sacaean's legs were sliding on the ground with all the constant movement. This was making him really dizzy to where he was slowly closing his eyes. Afterwards, he was sent flying towards a house that was right next to them. His back collided with the broken door, smashing straight through it and breaking inside.
This house was on fire as well, but the flames were almost spreading to the doorway. But the impact of crashing in there caused him to be momentarily stunned. Not good. He was fighting a losing battle to begin with though. He was going to die either from the mercenary...or the flames consuming the house. His strength was escaping him at that very moment. It seemed like his body was telling him to quit as his confidence drifted away. He was really starting to give into the feeling of defeat. But...he couldn't just give up. There had to be a way to win this and survive. He fought his injures with every movement, taking hold of his sword once more and crawling towards the doorway. At that rate, he was going to be stuck in there. He battled against the aching pains again, raising on his two feet and gritted his teeth out of frustration. Soon, words escaped from his lips before he found a boost of power that made him dash faster towards the doorway.
"I...won't lose!" he ran through, but his sword scrapped against the corners of the doorway, which were on fire. The flame slightly covered the blade as he exited and took the approaching mercenary by surprise. Veigue swung his sword fiercely towards his opponent, having the force of the wind extinguished the fire that caught on the sword. The man drew his sword, but dodged to the side for safety of himself and his weapon. Veigue got back in and swung his sword at him several times. The mercenary blocked every one of them, but his counter strike sent the Sacaean's weapon clean out of his hand, having the blade twirl in the air ferociously before stabbing itself into the ground. Veigue, surprised by this, took a few steps back, but had another punch delivered to the side of his face, sending him to the ground and sliding brutally until he stopped next to his sword.
He forced himself up by gripping the handle with both hands, supporting himself with it like a cane. But the sword remained stabbed into the dirt as he fell down on one knee, gasping for air. He saw himself being covered by the shadow of the mercenary.
"It's nothing personal. I'm just doing my job. At least you've put up a 'decent' fight. While being one of those prideful mongrels, you deserve a proper death. Make your peace now..." he had his sword rested on his shoulder again, but he removed it and raised it above his head, preparing to deal the finishing blow. "...Farewell."
Veigue stared at the man and his weapon. He couldn't believe this was going to be the end. But at this moment, he realized that everything here...including his own death that will come, was all his fault. If he didn't take that request like a sucker, this attack on the village wouldn't have happened...the lives lost here were his fault, he thought. If he had just dragged his fight on until Nayru arrived, he wouldn't have lost so easily. But he did it anyway because he believe he could succeed.
But he couldn't just die like this! He couldn't die before taking responsibility for all that's happened. He struggled, still trying to move fast enough to remove his sword from the ground. Though he was still on one knee from his injures. He couldn't let that stop him. It was a true test of speed that was nearly impossible to pass. While he still tried, he lowed his head in disappointment...
"...How shameful. My recklessness...was my downfall. Forgive me, Lena..."
|
|
|
Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Oct 23, 2012 16:48:20 GMT -6
MUSICS!The descending silver arc met a savage golden blaze, metal clashing against scales harder than diamond in a cascading shower of ember and spark. The mercenary's expression barely had time to change before the immovable object became an unstoppable force, his sword and body alike hurled backwards by brute force that drove him into the wall to her right in an explosion of splinters as the wood simply gave way before the impact. Her brutal backhand motion dissolved into nothingness as Nayru swayed, the surge of power exacerbating her injuries and her exhaustion alike; the flow cut out for an instant, sending her suddenly impossibly heavy to the ground in a plume of dust, the arm - and woman - it was attached to following the limb down without further ado. Fire flowed through her, the unrelenting force of backed-up essence singing flesh and boiling blood, her mortal form deteriorating with each pulse. "Not... yet."-But she wasn't done yet. Struggling to keep her emotions in check, her essence calm, Nayru forced her power through her arm once more, dragging herself upright with a stagger as her stomach continued to bleed, splotches of her lifeblood staining the filthy dirt at her feet, her wound only intensified by her insistence on continued activity and the hell she was putting her body through. She knew this, was keenly aware of how little she was doing to help herself, but the fury of vengeance was harder than ever to hold back, and it was controlling her as much as she could control it. For now, she could only hope that her body could hold out long enough to see this macabre play to its finish. Lifting her gaze, her eyes mere windows to something absolutely inhuman behind them, she glared at the stunned bandit through scattered locks of hair, the snarl on her lips slightly more pronounced than a human face had any right to be. Her words tinged with venom, with none of the calm diction she strove to cling to normally but an unearthly force to them that projected a nigh physical force, she continued. "You will not have him."Her legs screamed at her, begging for release, for peace, but she staggered to her feet nonetheless, dragging the transformed arm up with the help of the one that remained human, and slowly began to close the scant few meters between herself and her prey. He was made of sterner stuff than the average bandit, though, and while stunned, he was not yet entirely out of the fight; with an incoherent yell he launched himself from the wreckage, his unsteady hands and blurred vision still enough to bring the blade at his approaching executioner. The blade simply shattered as she extended the arm once more, reaching through it with claws outstretched to impale his shoulder on her talons with a grip that could never have been mistaken for human. "You... slaughter your fellow humans... bring pain and suffering to those merely trying to live... in a broken world." Her grip intensified, eliciting an agonized yelp from the disarmed victim as his shoulder was ground to dust, her tone slowly coalescing into something calmer - but no less deadly, the unbridled loathing in her voice dominating it. "You just went for my head, didn't you. You know, you could've killed me, right? And you knew that, which means you were trying to kill me, right? So no matter what happens to you now, you can't complain, right?"She had to hold herself back from simply swiping, from ending his life on the spot - the squirming wasn't helping - but he seemed... different than the others, more akin to the axe wielder from earlier than the worthless scum they had been eradicating. Reigning her voice in with a shaky breath that spoke volumes to how close to her limit she was, Nayru carefully annunciated her words, trying desperately to keep her emotions in check as long as she could. "...Veigue, are you alright?" A brief pause, then she continued. "If you have any questions for this man, now would be... a good time." With one last look at the bandit, a glimpse of overwhelming hatred polluting the smile she graced him with, she hurled the body in her human companion's direction, relishing the thumping skid as he limply came to a rest before herself dropping to her knees in the wake of her exertions. Coughing over what was either phlegm or blood in her throat, she smiled mirthlessly, looking in a disoriented trance at the golden scales on her arm. "You may find him more... pliable now."
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2012 22:08:34 GMT -6
Before his life flashed before his eyes, the Sacaean witnessed the man blown away with great speed. For that moment, he wondered who or what did it. Finally raising his head, he kept his gaze on his companion who entered the battle. Something was different about her though...he just couldn't put his finger on it. But after a while, he noticed her arm throughout the fight. It wasn't something you'd see every day.
He had no idea what was going on with Nayru. It was a strange power indeed and he really should have expected it, seeing as how strong she was by default. But her power seemed to have a different feeling about it...more natural than anything magical. Of course, he was only judging by appearance only, so he didn't want to guess things. But it seemed apparent that the power was something meant to be hidden, otherwise she would have unleashed it earlier. But that wasn't important. He was just relieved that he's on her side. If it wasn't for her unknown strength, he'd have been in the afterlife by now. At least the mercenary was getting pummeled. He owed her his life big time.
While lost in thought, the battle was over already, witnessing the mercenary landing in front of him, laid out. Veigue was slightly thrown off and startled by the entire event. But he was snapped out of it when Nayru spoke, looking to her briefly before nodding. He battled against his aches and pains once more as he raised from the ground and approached the defeated man. He crouched down slightly before gripping the collar of the mercenary's shirt, pulling him closer.
“Out with it...you know what I want to know.” the Sacaean demanded. The man seemed to struggle with even opening his mouth to speak. He could understand why, but he deserved the near death beating.
“The bandits...? Heh, the idiots...should be gone by now. They should have got their hands on all the loot by now. The lot of them were...in this area of the town anyway--”
“...Don't play dumb!” Veigue interrupted as he slammed the man back down in the dirt. “Who hired you to kill me?”
“Oh, THAT guy...” he paused for a bit, coughing up a bit of blood. “Beat me all you want, man...but I don't know much about the guy...he was quite eerie and mysterious. All I know...is that he desperately wants you dead for some reason...and he wants that pretty nice sword you've got on your side as proof that you're dead. I'm surprised you don't use it...”
Sighing out of frustration, Veigue released his grip and stood up on his feet. He wondered who would hold such a grudge against him like this? He hadn't been in many fights other than random bandit attacks over the years. But other than that, he never met anyone like that in his life that fit the description. Unless he forgot. This was getting too out of control...he needed more information.
“...Do you at least know this person's name?” He had to at least start somewhere.
The man managed to stand, which was surprising considering that he looked like he was about to keel over and die. But as long as his legs worked, he didn't care at the moment. “...Jaquio. If you thought today was rough, here on out is going to be pure hell. He'll hire someone more skilled than I sooner than you--”
The sound of a strong weapon cleaving through the man's back sounded as he began to fall forward. The Sacaean leaped back and next to his sword to gain some distance. After the mercenary fell, Veigue realized it was a lone bandit...it looked like one of them that he or Nayru didn't manage to kill, seeing as blood was rushing from the top of his head and falling down on his face. He must have jumped out from the side of the house.
“Gaaaah! Yer mine, not his...!” the rugged fighter trampled over the dying body of the mercenary and locked on Veigue.
He absolutely had enough enough of this. While he's injured, he still had a bit of energy left to finish this guy off. When the bandit was close enough, Veigue kicked his sword out of the ground easily, since he pulled it out slightly before interrogating the mercenary moments ago. He managed to catch it by the hilt, then delivered a thrust to the bandit's stomach, as hard as he could with everything he had left. He noticed that he almost could have died right there, seeing the axe's edge was an inch away from the side of his neck. Close call...
After forcing the sword out, he allowed the bandit to fall, though he fell on the downed mercenary. It was only a matter of time before they both were doing to pass. But with the battle really over this time, Veigue was lucky to find his scabbard lying on the ground, retrieving it and returning his sword within after swiping it in the air to remove the fresh blood. He walked away from them in a small distance, then fell down on his bum...both out of severe exhaustion and frustration.
“...Jaquio.” He wasn't going to forget that name. Because of this grudge...people are getting caught up in the crossfire. This was his fight...not theirs. That's why he felt he couldn't place all the blame on this person. If he wasn't being hunted and if not for his recklessness, none of this would have happened in the first place. The guilt only made him feel more irritated than he was now. Clenching the dirt tightly with his hand, Veigue didn't know what to do at this point.
“Damn it all...!” He exclaimed in a low tone. He just didn't want to sit there, but he couldn't move. The injures had part in that too.
|
|
|
Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Oct 24, 2012 0:23:24 GMT -6
PRETTY![no seriously listen to the music it's bloody gorgeous and really sets the tone of the post perfectly] Nayru could only watch, her breath coming ragged and torn as she attempted to keep her body under control, to stem the tide of power - and more importantly, the rush of escaping emotion that made that process all the more difficult. Everything burned, molten fire suffusing her entire body; her own power devastating her body, only barely kept in check by the unrelenting concentration she struggled to keep focused through the pain, the exhaustion, the cold horror and morbid fascination of watching the puddle of blood dissolving into the dirt as her wound slowly congealed shut. Of course, technically her left arm was covered in someone else's blood up to the shoulder, and her right arm was both encased in golen scales AND bloody, and she felt dirty and filthy and grimy... She chuckled, stopping before the first quiet peal of laughter had finished in order to concentrate on trying not to hack up a lung, then called it off as a bad idea after the next attempt only produced an awkward choking sound. Veigue was taking it hard, it seemed; she wasn't sure why, but even she could tell that something was bothering him about this. The people they had been too late to save, the wanton savagery of the bandits, even the very fact that human beings could do this to each other. Horrible things, all of them - and yet the same race that produced bandits had also created Elly, Veigue... reminders that no matter how low humanity could fall, so too could it ascend to the greatest heights, that it was within every human being to decide whether they would accept their weakness or strive to rise above, to tame it and turn it into strength. Slowly pushing herself off the ground with evident effort, the creaking in her joints signifying absolutely nothing good and the weight of the transformed also signifying absolutely nothing good, she began a slow trek over to Veigue, more of a dragging hobble than an imposing stride - supporting the gilded arm with her free arm, hunched over to try to minimize the feeling of tearing her stomach open with every step, it was less the victorious march of the conquering heroes they should have been and more a feeble attempt to lend what little comfort she could to the devastated myrimidon who had helped her survive all this. With a wry smile, she allowed herself to fall to the ground near his side, her partially-transformed announcing her arrival with all the subtlety one might expect of a biological battering ram impacting the ground in another plume of dust and ash, dragging her down with it into a crumpled position, her legs splayed out behind and beside her, her bottom barely resting on the ground. Without much more of a plan than trying to be generally helpful, she shared in the welcoming silence for a few moments before awkwardly placing her still-human arm on his good shoulder, trying to think of something wise to say, but settling for rambling whatever came to mind. "The strength... and the weakness of humanity were both on display tonight." Another shuddering breath as she collected her thoughts, attemtping to force the hitch out of her voice, to ascend once more to the perfectly even tone and measured diction she favored, but settling for a less measured pace, her words occasionally broken by pauses to breathe haltingly. "Weakness, greed, hatred... so much meaningless death, so many lives destroyed for nothing." A chuckle that barely made it beyond a more pronounced breath. "-But so too was its strength; the desire to protect others, the willingness to fight for them, to lay down one's life for the defenseless... and eradicate those who would abuse their fellow mortals."Aerious probably wouldn't like that last bit, but sometimes you had to crack a few eggs to make an omelette, and sometimes you had to murder the bejeebus out of a bunch of bandits to make the countryside safe. Nayru cracked a private smile, amused by the thought, before continuing her wandering monologue. "We may not have been able to save these people, but... they live on in us; their story, their very existence, something to be engraved in one's memory as the reason to fight. Not for wealth, for power, or for fame, but to protect those who cannot protect themselves, to..." She searched for the right way to continue her thought, her mind still foggy, but the strained focus of trying to concentrate on her speech oddly calming. A small snort, her smile twisting to the side a bit, as she realized the ridiculousness of her trying to give anyone else advice. Yes, let the crazy dragon lady tell everyone else how to live their lives. Heh. "...In the end, all that matters is that... we are all in this together, Veigue. Wherever we come from, whatever stories we learn along the way, the... wounds we carry inside us, we all live in the same world, under the same stars. I believe that no life is ever wasted if it can help bring us a step closer to a future in which... daughters are not murdered for the blood they inherit from their fathers, in which people no longer need to prey off of each other to survive. If we keep the spirit of this town in our minds, our hearts, then they can help us in that goal, as well - and I believe that one day their spirits will follow us, or perhaps those following in our footsteps, into a world in which they can find peace."
|
|
Elly
Pegasus Knight
Rookie Squirrel!
Posts: 101
|
Post by Elly on Oct 24, 2012 17:42:22 GMT -6
Guilt.
Elly wrapped her arms around Aerious to keep herself steady out of reflex, her eyes desperately avoiding meeting his, fearing what his stare might hold. Would he judge her for the death of the bandit? The very air felt heavy, oppressive, closing in on her, as if the world were silently expressing its disgust, sitting in judgement of the girl who had murdered the man on the floor. She kept her gaze fixed firmly on his clothes, unseeing, lost in thought. She had felt it, as the terror and adrenaline subsided; the crushing weight of guilt. Even now, it tore at her mind, the memory of the man's last scream still echoing between her ears.
She blinked away tears, trying to shake away the illusionary sound, the ghastly wail her imagination had conjured; a jolt forced her to look beyond Aerious for a moment, and a small twinge of surprise ran through her as she noticed they were outside the town. She looked around herself, breathing in sharply and hissing as pain flared from her midsection. She fell back limply into Aerious' arms, swallowing heavily as he placed her down onto the grass; for a moment, she stared up into the Sacaean sky, wishing she could be flying amidst the clouds. The thought sent another wave of distress rushing through her body; Heather had left her. What kind of knight was she if her partner abandoned her like that?
Elly rolled weakly onto her side, struggling to rise to a sitting position; her arms felt as though they were on fire, and her legs protested at the slightest movement. "Aery?" She asked softly, her usual ebullience nowhere in sight. She fell silent, struggling to force out her words."I-I..." The teenager trailed off, trying to push her voice past the knot that seemed to strangle her. "I killed him...right?" Please don't let it be so, she thought to herself quietly, her tone shaking.
|
|