A fire raged within him, within them, devouring the fear and loathing until there was nothing left but each other and the raw conviction of two that had long since become one. He took his place beside her without a second thought, as if that was where he had always been meant to be, and raised his axe in preparation for their opponent.
The Zith hissed and unfurled great black wings, launching from its perch atop the pavilion and reaching for the pair with glinting claws. Shahar swung clumsily in its direction, but missed the beast by a wide margin. It was Khida’s weapon that managed to stall the creature, each interrupting the other's attack and concluding with Khida’s javelin torn from her hands.
The Zith came to land between the two of them, turning its attention to the woman who was also a falcon. Khida retreated, the Zith advanced, and Shahar took another swing in an attempt to halt the beast and give his bondmate enough time to recover. He again missed the creature––at least he missed any truly important parts, although the edge of the axe managed to bite at one of the wings. The beast immediately turned its attention on Shahar, who took a step back and brought the axe up and across his body in a guard and bared his teeth with a snarl. Whatever pain Shahar had managed to inflict, coupled with such a direct, primal challenge managed to rile the Zith into an even higher bloodlust, and it let out crow of joy and leaped again, beating the air once and reaching out towards the Drykas.
The Zith collided with Shahar and sent them both reeling into the wall of one of the bordering pavilions, although his guard had prevented the beast from coming too close. He gritted his teeth as claws scored his upper arm, but the Zith was otherwise held back by the shaft of his axe. He shoved the creature roughly, forcing it back, and brought his guard up again.
The Zith hissed again, grinning wickedly. Shahar had managed to rebuff it this time, but he had paid for it in location; he was now solidly trapped between the Zith and the wall of the pavilion, and the Zith was preparing for another attack.
The Zith hissed and unfurled great black wings, launching from its perch atop the pavilion and reaching for the pair with glinting claws. Shahar swung clumsily in its direction, but missed the beast by a wide margin. It was Khida’s weapon that managed to stall the creature, each interrupting the other's attack and concluding with Khida’s javelin torn from her hands.
The Zith came to land between the two of them, turning its attention to the woman who was also a falcon. Khida retreated, the Zith advanced, and Shahar took another swing in an attempt to halt the beast and give his bondmate enough time to recover. He again missed the creature––at least he missed any truly important parts, although the edge of the axe managed to bite at one of the wings. The beast immediately turned its attention on Shahar, who took a step back and brought the axe up and across his body in a guard and bared his teeth with a snarl. Whatever pain Shahar had managed to inflict, coupled with such a direct, primal challenge managed to rile the Zith into an even higher bloodlust, and it let out crow of joy and leaped again, beating the air once and reaching out towards the Drykas.
The Zith collided with Shahar and sent them both reeling into the wall of one of the bordering pavilions, although his guard had prevented the beast from coming too close. He gritted his teeth as claws scored his upper arm, but the Zith was otherwise held back by the shaft of his axe. He shoved the creature roughly, forcing it back, and brought his guard up again.
The Zith hissed again, grinning wickedly. Shahar had managed to rebuff it this time, but he had paid for it in location; he was now solidly trapped between the Zith and the wall of the pavilion, and the Zith was preparing for another attack.
