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Post by Dawby on Feb 16, 2006 22:50:40 GMT -5
Rastko tensed as Mikhael's tone turned accusing. "I think we're going to need a plan right now. I have the bad feeling things are about to get out of control. Can we distract him? Make him so angry at one of us that he attacks and we have the chance to take him down before he hurts her?"
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Post by Xenon on Feb 16, 2006 23:11:58 GMT -5
Havrani looks almost hurt by her mate's accusation, and a slight shiver of fear coarses through her. "Mikhael, how could you accuse me of something like that..? He is someone who I found to help you." she rubs against his neck again, beginning to panic. Her words are truth, but she senses that his madness will not permit him to hear her. "You know my heart is yours only, Mikhael." she purrs his name soothingly, trying desperately to keep calm.
Aniol has a pretty good idea of what is going on between the two. He flicks his ears back, glancing at Rastko. "It would appear that if we just wait, something interesting might happen. He has likely determined that I must be a love interest for Havrani because I had chosen to accompany her." He turns to the healer. "If she keeps him calm, we might be able to move closer without fear. The situation could turn ugly, however, so I may require your talents in another way."
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Post by Dawby on Feb 16, 2006 23:18:37 GMT -5
The antlered male flicked his ears back and forth in perturbment. "Something interesting could happen, to be sure. Well, if he thinks you are a rival in love for the lady, wouldn't it be wiser to draw his attention to you?"
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Post by sera on Feb 16, 2006 23:24:21 GMT -5
The large male shudders again, red hide twitching as his ears flatten. She said. . . but that's not wot he heard. Not in her tone, not in her voice. A lip curls upwards slightly as he begins to shake harder and harder. "Then why did you leave me?" Claws massaged deep into the earth, ripping a tread into the soil. "WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME?!"
Mahu started at the sudden shout, and she was moving towards the pair before she even thought. The Trance Warriour leapt upwards, knocking Havrani over and down, pinning her with his superiour weight as he bared his fangs.
"Release her!" The Fire growled, stopping because Mikhael looked ready to rip into the other Trance. She didn't want to be the cause of Havrani's death. Mikhael hissed dangerously, head turning and tail curling around his body as he crouched over his mate. Claws slipped unnoticed into the blue hide, just enough to cause her to bleed.
"She's -mine-!" he growled at Mahu-ike, attention on the Fire for only a moment, before slipping past to the Scholar beyond. "You. . . . " his body tensed further. He didn't move from his mate, however. Everything flattened along his body, giving him a sleek look. He still trembled, torn between keeping Her or attacking his rival.
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Post by Dawby on Feb 17, 2006 13:23:42 GMT -5
"Let her go!" barked Rastko, bristling from neck to tail. Stiff-legged, he began to slowly approach the entangled mated pair.
He calmed his voice with effort, and said reasonably, "She came to you of her own volition, warrior. She is not leaving. Look at your claws. You are hurting her. You don't want to hurt her. You love her. Let her up."
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Post by Xenon on Feb 17, 2006 16:13:13 GMT -5
"Mikhael, please..!" Havrani yelps and whimpers as her mate's claws press into her flesh, whining in pain as she is forced to roll onto her already damaged wings. "D-don't! Our pups.. Your pups.."
She is crying now, trying to move away from the bite of his nails. Aniol looks shocked by her words, obviously she hadn't told him that she was carrying Mikhael's offspring. "Please, Mikhael." He says evenly. "I have made no move towards your mate. We Gryvern mate for life. I only offered her aid in finding a comfortable place in this new land."
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Post by sera on Feb 17, 2006 20:03:16 GMT -5
Mikhael's attention shifts back to his mate, and he gently extends his nose to softly whiff and bump along her throat, the careful nuzzle a hard comparison to the claws still sunk into her body. "We have to stay together," he whispers softly into her slightly ragged ear. "They're trying to separate us, but we can't let them." For the moment he seems to have forgotten his hostility towards Aniol. "We can't let them separate us ever again." He bared his teeth along her throat, resting the teeth there for a long, long moment.
"Oh, Light," Natalya whispered. "Is he going to kill her?"
Mahu-ike stared in sick horror as well, desperately trying to think of something that would take his attention away from the Trance female, but not frighten or surprise him into taking out her throat. After hesitating, she tried something incredibly innocuous, at least she hoped. The Fire gryvern sneezed.
Mikhael's ears twitched and he released Havrani's neck to turn and stare at the other female.
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Post by Xenon on Feb 17, 2006 20:09:36 GMT -5
"Michael, I'm carrying your pups." Havrani whimpers again, flinching under the teeth. "If you kill me, you kill them.. please, Mikhael, please, my love.. Don't.."
The female relaxes noticeably when the teeth pull away, but her heart is still thudding dully in her chest. The whites of her eyes are showing with her fear, her tail entwining itself without her knowlegde around her mate's hind legs. She has no idea how he will react to the news of the pups, but.. she can hope.
Aniol starts at the sneeze, then stares blankly at Mahu. "I suppose that could constitute a plan," he mutters dryly, then glances back at Mikhael. What happens next, he has no idea.
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Post by sera on Feb 17, 2006 20:45:08 GMT -5
Mahu's ears flicked back and she sent Aniol a brief, dark look. "It was the only thing I could think of. You come up with something better." Her multi-coloured tail twitched in anxiety. This was supposed to be a simple quest to find Mozer and now there was a crazy Warriour who might or might not attempt to slaughter them all. Wot a fabulous day.
The sneeze had managed wot Mahu hoped; the male Trance's concentration was thoroughly broken and now red eyes stared down at his mate with a hint of confusion. "We're having pups?" the question/statement seemed to reel him inwardly, though physically he didn't move. "We can't have pups. . . . we never had them before. . . " Suspicion was beginning to light within his eyes again.
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Post by Dawby on Feb 17, 2006 23:48:49 GMT -5
"Congratulations," ventured Rastko, leaving the word open to be accepted by either Mikhael or Havrani, or even both.
He took another soft step forward. He knew how to stealthily move up behind a creature and make a kill before his prey even knew he was there. He could run down animals without tiring and make his fatal move at their first misstep. Mikhael was like a dumb beast, unpredictable, unreasonable, and dangerous when cornered. Rastko knew how to handle an ordinary dumb beast, but no quarry he'd ever pursued had the life of another gyvern so literally in his claws. This was new.
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Post by Xenon on Feb 19, 2006 2:10:02 GMT -5
Aniol says nothing to the female, instead flicking his ears back and lowering his head, floppy hair drifting over his narrowed eyes. No, not good. He blames himself, partially, for not paying more attention. He also blames himself for deciding to act as a guide for Havrani, to a certain degree. Now it was, in fact, his problem.
Havrani yelps softly, terrified. "Not before.. But we're going to have them soon, my love.. Our pups. Don't you want that..?" her voice is hoarse with fear, and she meets his eyes after a moment. "Please, Mikhael.. you're hurting me."
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Post by sera on Feb 19, 2006 2:28:49 GMT -5
"Maybe you're having pups," the Trance male growled, thrusting his nose into her face. "You ran away from me. . . you've been gone for a long time." It seemed like an eternity in his mind. He couldn't really remember the last time he had seen her, couldn't remember wot had happened that horrible night so long ago when his insanity had come to a head. "Was it with that one?" His tail lashed towards the group indiscriminately, and his body shook with barely controlled rage and passion.
Neither of the pair seemed aware of Rastko just yet, and Natalya ducked her head uneasily as the Earth male moved closer to the mates. The Hunter seemed capable himself, but. . . Mikhael was a Warriour. . . from the looks of his body a good one. He had, at least, survived this long, even while not entirely in his own head. Her eyes flicked to the Scholar and slipped on by the Air to Mahu-ike. An Explorer. They seemed entirely unsuited for this threat. She desperately wished that Mozer, or, even better, Casimir, was here. A Warriour or an Assassin, even a well-taught Mage would be exceedingly useful just about now.
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Post by Dawby on Feb 20, 2006 19:54:06 GMT -5
Experience had taught the hunter that the last thing a creature under attack was likely to do was lash out at someone who was not an immediate threat. Common sense, therefore, suggested that were Mikhael to suddenly be charged, odds were that he would drop Havrani and face his antagonizers head on.
Rastko could understand calm, reasonable talk preceeding action in a situation like this one. He could understand hesitance to make a move that might further endanger one of their own. What the tall Earth male didn't understand was clinging to inaction when it was obvious to him that the greater danger was in not taking a risk. Mahu-ike had bought them time, but Mikhael was growing angrier again, his madness spiraling closer to what Rastko feared would be a true display of violence.
He looked intently at Natalya. He was through with standing by and watching this horror. Someone had to do something, and it might as well be he. He cast the Healer another long look. Please understand that, he thought dryly.
Rastko's muscles bunched as he tensed himself to leap.
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Post by Xenon on Feb 21, 2006 21:40:53 GMT -5
"No, Mikhael," Havrani says urgently, sensign the same violence rising in the Warriour that was present in him the night he ripped off her wing. "Don't you remember.. being with me? It's been 10 months, Mikhael, which is a long time.. I've been with pups the whole time." she nuzzles her mate's neck, her eyes closed tightly. She assumes that her words will have no effect on her mate, unfortunately, as he is so deep in his madness. She wants him to remember at least some of her affection, should he end her life.
At Rastko's movements, Aniol starts, ears erect. "What in the name of all that is good is the fool doing?" he whispers, tail lashing with agitation. "There might be little other choice, but acting like that will get him killed!" he moves towards the other male quickly, but most likely not quickly enough.
Elsewhere, a sleek red-and-black form weaves through the trees, sliding through the air with an uncommon grace. He has heard the cries, and a curious interest is drawing him to investigate their origins.
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Post by sera on Feb 21, 2006 21:59:29 GMT -5
(( WARNING! ^^ gorey. and violent. ))
Mahu-ike turned at Aniol's anxiety, deep blue eyes skimming the Air to the Earth male. "Oh, sweet star," she cursed softly. She didn't know if the Hunter's choice was correct or the Scholar's, but she was fairly certain one or both actions would set off the Warriour.
Mikhael seemed oblivious to the potential attack at first, but his Caste was violence and his madness bred paranoia. A low growl rumbled through his chest for a moment, then he leapt off of Havrani, moving in a blur of speed to meet Rastko mid-air. The Hunter was hardly unexperienced in a fight and even in his ability to kill, but Mikhael, for all of his insanity, was still a Warriour. The antler gouging up the side of his throat meant nothing even as long, already blood-stained claws bit suddenly and deeply into Rastko's right shoulder. Mikhael scooped into the flesh in a practiced motion, ripping a long chunk of muscle free from the bone. The antlers came around again, catching briefly on the already disfigured ears, but the now slim membrane slipped easily free. Not that the Trance was even aware of the threat.
(( Rastko currently cannot use his right foreleg due to injury. ))
Natalya gave a low gasp as the two males attacked each other, but the Fire wasn't going to just stand around. She quickly skirted the fighting pair to Havrani's side. "Can you stand?" she hissed uneasily, eyes dancing to the nearness of the savage battle. She really didn't want to remain this close.
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