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 Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2015 2:43 pm
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Cygnus sighed in relief when he saw the flowers. He knew Parthenos would never crush them, though, not on purpose. Maybe he truly was in danger. "Yes. Let's follow them," he suggested, already leading the way down the path, the flutter and hummingbird following close behind. He realized then he hadn't introduced himself, not really; they didn't even know his name and yet still they were willing to help. There would be time to exchange names later -- right now they just had to find his bonded. The sounds of a scuffle began to draw near, where the flowers hadn't been trampled on, and Cygnus feared the worst. Parthenos wasn't a fighter, and if he was found by a Kalona or worse -- a skinwalker -- it may be too late. "Parthenos!" he shouted loudly, hoping to distract the attacker as he, Tarashikomi, and Yamato-e burst through the bushes to find the lost pixie. He wasn't alone. |
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Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2015 10:30 pm
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Oh, thank the spirits -- he was saved! Cygnus had found him and he brought help! Parthenos' body was bloody and bruised from his fight with the skinwalker, but at least he'd been able to put up a good fight. The skinwalker foal may have fangs and claws and a vicious nature, but she was still new at hunting. At every turn, he'd been able to throw the filly off him. But he was getting tired, and from the looks of it, the foal was still full of violet energy. He tried to side-step her and bolt away to the flutter mare, but Hellhound was hot on his trail, snapping sharp teeth at his ankles. Parthenos tripped and fell again in his efforts to avoid her jaws, but at least when he kicked out with his hooves he felt one collide with soft flesh and an answering yelp of pain. No sooner than he'd gotten back on his feet and the skinwalker was on his back again already, clawing at his flesh in a frenzy. There was pain, and then, suddenly, there wasn't, and the weight of the foal was no longer on him. He blinked and turned to see the larger mare who had come to his rescue, now standing firmly between himself and the skinwalker. |
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Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2015 10:41 pm
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Tarashikomi had expected to find a much, much larger threat than what she saw here. She was relieved, yet, but it was unexpected. The skinwalker foal was a fast little thing, all snapping teeth and thrashing claws, but she'd certainly be no match against both her and the pixie. She wasted no time, scraping a hoof against the ground before she rushed forward, knocking the skinwalker off Parthenos and situating herself between the pixie and the threat to give him time to catch his breath and get back onto his feet. "Beast, what right do you have to take this soquili's life?" she shouted in anger, stomping at the ground with her hooves to try and intimidate the small monster. "You're a scourge, skinwalker, you have no place in this world!" Tarashikomi could see the way the filly's ears flicked this way and that, listening to her words, but... there was, otherwise, no reaction. Maybe it didn't care what she was saying, or -- or maybe it didn't understand. That made her hesitate. Did it even know what it was doing? How could she kill something that couldn't understand her words?
No. She had to stop that train of thought right where it was. This was a skinwalker -- a pure skinwalker, for that matter -- and she knew well that these beasts could not be reasoned with, or even cured. It didn't matter that this one was just a foal; it was still the embodiment of pure evil. Nothing would ever change that.
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Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2015 10:49 pm
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Hellhound snarled. She was in pain, her entire body sore from her fight with the small meat, and now this other, larger meat was here to get in her way. She would love to eat both of them, gut them and pick the meat off their bones until that was all that was left, but Hellhound had scuffled with these larger meats before. She hadn't managed to kill one yet, and she often came away with more injuries than it was worth. Now the large meat was talking -- she didn't understand why meat did that so much, most of their words were lost on her, anyway -- and Hellhound's stomach growled. She was so hungry... and the small animals that were easier to catch and kill never seemed to be enough to slake that hunger. She wanted more, something bigger. She wanted THESE meats. Hellhound ran towards the larger meat, salivating at the thought of sinking her fangs into it's flesh, but all she managed to do was nick a leg before she was shoved away again. She licked her lips, catching the faint taste of blood left there. No, she couldn't give up. She wouldn't. Not this time. Hellhound jumped back up to her paws and snarled as she went in for another attack.
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Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2015 11:01 pm
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It... it was just too easy. Tarashikomi tried to squash the guilt she was feeling each time she shoved and kicked the skinwalker away. She'd get out of this with a few cuts, maybe, a few bruises too, but that would be all. She was bigger and stronger than the foal. She was fighting a child, and she knew she was going to have to kill it. If she left the skinwalker alive, it would only grow bigger, its hunting skills more refined... it would kill so many innocents. She could hear Yamato-e yelling at her to finish this, to kill the monster, but each time Tarashikomi felt ready to kill the beast, she hesitated. In one moment, all she would see is the bloodthirsty beast the skinwalker was, know deep in her heart the right thing to do was to take it's life -- but in the next, she could only see an orphaned filly, young, under-educated, bordering on malnourished. It didn't even stand a real fighting chance to defend itself... and she had to kill it.
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Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2015 11:15 pm
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The meat was toying with her, she knew it! It was barely fighting back, knocking her over every time Hellhound went in for the kill. She was infuriated, hot red anger rushing through her veins like adrenaline, seeing red at the edges of her vision. Meat had never played with her like this before, like the hunt was just some sort of game. Sometimes it fought back, but it always ran, in the end. Except this one. Hellhound knew now that going for a direct attack wasn't going to work, no matter how fast she was. The large meat always seemed ready to push her away and knock her back down. She had to try a new tactic. Her eyes scanned the area quickly, breathing heavily as Hellhound tried to figure out what to do next, and -- yes.
Hellhound faked running foward, watching the way the large meat's body tensed in anticipation to knock her away again, but then she twisted her body and ran toward her new target. The small, blue, fluttery meat off to the large meat's side. It seemed to realize what was happening too late, Hellhound's teeth catching on it's long feathery tail and yanking it down to the ground.
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Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 12:57 am
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The meat wasn't running. Hellhound swallowed thickly, fear coursing through her veins in a rush. The meat raised up on her hind legs again and Hellhound turned her head away, eyes shut tight; she felt the air rush by when the hooves hit the ground with a thud. She yelped at the noise, skittering further backwards to look at the meat in alarm from a safer distance. It... didn't kill her. Why hadn't it killed her? Was this a trick? Was there someone else waiting to pounce her from behind? Hellhound sniffed at the air, but all she could smell was her own blood and the meat -- they were alone, and all the meat was doing now was staring. Hellhound stood up a little straighter on her trembling legs, staring right back into the meat's eyes. This was... new. All the other meat she'd met were relentless in their attempts to kill her, but this one was different. She took a cautious, slow step forward now, leaning closer to sniff at the meat. It certainly didn't smell that much different than all the other meat she's encountered in the past; they all had their own unique scents, but there was always an underlying similarity. This one had it, too -- and it clearly had wanted to kill her -- but why had it stopped?
Another step closer. This time the meat's eyes flashed dangerously and Hellhound immediately backed up again. She wanted to investigate, to see if it would let her close enough for just a taste... maybe the meat would let her eat it... Hellhound salivated at the thought; she's always had to work so hard for her food before. Having it just stand there for once would be a nice treat.
Despite the meat's body language, the look in her eyes hadn't changed, though. Hellhound could see the hatred in it's eyes; a look she was very familiar with. Given the size and the strength the meat has already displayed, she knew she couldn't win against it in a fight, and Hellhound wasn't so sure she wanted to test it's limits. As hungry as she was, she wasn't willing to die for a meal. One day she would be big enough to fight back, though. Then she'd never be hungry. Hellhound gave the meat a wide, fang-filled grin, imagining the day she'd be able to bring down meat as large as it was. How full her belly would be! She wondered if she'd even be able to eat it all. Right now, though, they were at an impasse; the meat didn't want to attack, but it wouldn't let Hellhound eat it without a fight, and she wanted to live to see another day. To get bigger and stronger.
Hellhound turned tail and ran.
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Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 10:09 pm
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It ran. It ran away, and she let it. A skinwalker, but just a foal. A killer, but so young. Tarashikomi's mind warred with itself; should she go after it? Would she be able to kill it even if she did? She already let it run once; why would anything change now? She had to focus; the skinwalker was gone now, and they were safe -- but injured. Especially Yamato-e. She could concern herself with what she'd done later. Turning around, she followed the path they took here back to the field, spotting the small stallion and their familiars huddled close together. She smiled wearily as she approached. "We're safe now," she assured, but somehow those words felt like a lie. "How is everyone? Yamato-e?" she asked, bending her head down to get a closer look at her envoy.
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Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 10:18 pm
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"Tara," Yamato-e chirped weakly, relief clear on his face as he looked up at his friend. "I'm glad you're okay. We're all a little worse for wear, but we'll live," he said, offering up a strained grin. He winced when he tried to move his broken wing, falling back to lay flat on the ground with a sigh. "Alright, maybe a little worse than a little worse for wear. My head hurts, and my wing's busted. I'd really like to go home now." He wasn't sure how quickly Ukiyo-e would be able to heal him up, but as long as she could stop the pain? He could settle for that until everything else was fixed.
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Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 10:30 pm
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Parthenos had been fretting over the little hummingbird ever since they settled in the field, wishing he could do something to help. But... what could he do? He was just a pixie. He didn't have any healing powers like the minicorns. This familiar and the mare saved his life, and he couldn't even do anything helpful to repay them! What good was growing pretty flowers? Ugh. As soon as the mare came out of the woods to join them, he immediately perked up, glancing her over with wide eyes for any injuries. He was relieved to see there wasn't anything serious, and watched her reunite with the little familiar feeling guilty. "I -- I'm sorry! It's my fault. I get distracted and -- and I wander, and if I hadn't then I wouldn't have run into that monster and your familiar wouldn't be so hurt, and I'm... I'm just, I'm sorry." Parthenos hung his head low in shame, wishing he wasn't so scatterbrained. Then none of this would have happened. |
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