Adrift (Open)

[Sassaleverwi]

Adrift 511AV Spring, the 16 day The Sea of Grass, between Claridon and Anhatep The Spring Floods

The rain fell around the duo as they plodded through the lashing stalks of grass. The stalks easily grew above Everwi's head. Portor however was high enough above to keep a look out on the horizon, his flanks slick with sweat and rain. They had ridden hard to reach the region of Cyphrus. All through the night to be met with rain in the grey morning. Both travelers were quite hungry and tired now. But as soon as they could find a somewhat dry spot, rest was sure to come. The trick was finding the dry spot in the grasslands. Everwi could not remember any time before when she had seen so much water fall from the sky for hours on end. Sure floods had come in Ahnatep, but they had been brief and fleeting events. This was a constant downpour. The viper hissed softly as she broke down stalks of grass so that Portor could move more easily through them. They both stood out in this rippling sea of green, though they both tried to hide their foreign origin but hunkering into the grasses. "Portor." Everwi spoke for the first time since she had dismounted. That had been several hours ago when both of them had discovered that the grass was too tough to trod through easily. "Portor, you're a vegetarian. Can't you eat your way to this new place? Surely you are in paradise." Portor stared back at her with dark and heavy lidded eyes, a look that conveyed no end of confusion. Why would this be paradise? He seemed to ask when she turned back to look at him. Portor twitched as the cold rain hit his flanks. Everwi ran a smooth hand over his forehead. She had to reach up high, because she barely stood high enough that her head was level with his hulking shoulder. He bent down to nuzzle his soft nose against her ear. "We'll stop soon, have a great breakfast and a little rest." She rubbed his right flank so that he shook his head back and forth with a pleased chuff and soft whinny.

[Derailey]

Not too far away in a cave, located on the slope of a large hill, Derailey sat relaxing next the fire she had just lit up. This was one of her more common rest stops when she needed a place to sleep or to wait out a storm, much like the one that was going on at this moment. Looking to her left, the wind had caused the heavy rain droplets to cast themselves sideways, thunder coming in as if the gods roared in anger and lightning shot down at the earth in the distance.

Though, she could not explain how, she sensed something was amiss. She was not the only person in this area right now, but she was the only one not attempting to fare this deathtrap. She could feel them, attempting to tread this god forsaken land. She felt a pang of pity for a moment. It must have been an outsider unfamiliar with the way the weather patterns worked in Cyphrus. Derailey had been watching the sky and took cover long ago.

With curious intent and having already turned her attention back to the fire before her, she looked again toward the entrance of the cave. What was she supposed to do? Surely they would last no longer than ten more minutes in that madness, and if they survived the storm the Glassbeaks would most definitely have found them out. Death or death. Decisions. Decisions. Derailey hated her overly involved heart.

She stood, her horse Chel, who had been resting on the other side of the fire with her dog companion, Solo, lifted her head. Derailey held a hand out to the horse, willing her to remain where she was. She made her way to the opening at the front of the cave, where she leaned against it's rocky frame to stare out into the rolling grasses that were steadily starting to flood. Luckily, this location was set on higher ground and would not be affected by flooding for some time to come.

On the link she had to this land, she could feel the struggle of the presence.

[Sassaleverwi]

The sea of grass had become marshy with the surplus of rain. Portor's head drooped now and his hooves squelched through the cloying mud. Everwi stooped to touch the wet dirt with her finger tips. Spongy and so full of water that it spilled over her fingers. She could see nothing over the tale grasses from her vantage point. Resting a calm hand on Portor's flank, she stood up in her stirrups to better view their surroundings. The leather saddle was slick as she scrambled to a kneeling position on the horse's back. He whickered softly in protest as she held the reigns and began to stand. Sheets of grey water enveloped the two travelers. Everwi could barely see anything. With a snort, she slid off the horse and splashed onto the muddy ground. Quickly she shimmied out of her drenched clothes, draping them over Portor and lashing her pack to the saddle. Her boots she also lashed to the saddle because they were easily the hardest commodity in her gear to replace. The rain bit into her flesh like icy spears. She shivered, but set her mind to the task of shifting. She made sure to hold Portor's reigns tightly gripped in her right hand. He never appreciated her Dhani form. She felt her torso elongate slightly and broaden at her neck and shoulders. Nothing hurt, but parts of the change itched like mad. When her hair was replaced with scales, she always had to fight the urge to scratch. The same instinct held true when her armored scales erupted all over her body. The change was languorous, causing a shiver of elate sensation to travel from the tip of her tail to the top of her head, which now displayed a splendid red and gold hood. Her ventral scales were a golden cream color while her dorsal scales were a harsh red gold with black intertwining bands down her whole length. When her body came to rest finally as a fully grown Dhani, Everwi's tongue flicked out to taste the air. It was tasteless, bland as the water falling down around them. She rolled a serpentine eye to gaze at Portor. The horse was unusually calm. Had he finally gotten used to her changing? She gave a soft tug on his reigns and the calm shattered. Portor's eyes rolled so that she could see their glistening whites, and he shrieked as if he had been stung by wasps. The Dhani woman hung her head and just shook it sadly as her tail coiled tightly around in a circle. She hissed and flared her hood as she took a tighter grip on his reigns. "Potor, you idiot, shut up! I'm trying to find shelter for the both of us." Everwi say the waves of heat streaming off her mammalian companion. He was a bright red and orange spot amidst a world of greens and sparse yellow as she inferred the information from the pits just between her eyes and nostrils. She looked for anything around them that put off as much heat as Portor, or at least as much heat as she could. She caught a glimpse of her hand. It barely stood out against the green background. The slightest twitches in the grass caught her attention. Something small and bright red flared in her vision. Unhinging her jaw, she dived for the small creature to snap up the morsel. Her fangs dug into the rodent's flesh, delivering a potent toxin into the creature's bloodstream. The needles of her teeth, retracted back from the creature quickly as they had entered. A deep purr rumbled in her chest as she watched the creature die. It was warm, and barely alive when she moved to swallow it whole. The predator was pleased with itself, now it wanted a warm dry rock to sun upon. The shock of the cold rain sent Everwi back into her present situation. Portor was still screaming uselessly as he dug his hooves deep into the mud, leaving long gaping furrows behind. Everwi pulled hard at the stubborn beast, hoping a fear of drowning in mud would stem his fear of her Dhani form. Struggling with him, she was able to notice the barest hint of orange just past their current position. The snake whipped around to gaze at the tint of warming light that bathed a protruding rock face. The outlet was quite well hidden from eyes. She slithered forward, dragging the horse behind her so that he made protested plopping noises in the mud."Hello?" She called out towards the the entrance in the common speech. Her's was a raspy voice that barely carried over the rain.

[Derailey]

Derailey remained where she was, arms crossed, catching the faintest sound of a voice over the rain. 'Here they come.' She thought to herself, looking up to the sky with deep golden brown eyes. She stared for a moment, before looking back at Chel and Solo. She hoped she was doing the right thing.

Heading back to the fire, she grabbed one of her knives and her handmade Drykas rain cloak. "Watch after Solo, Chel." With that, she departed from the cave. She had only managed to take a few steps out of the entrance when a shrill scream broke her stride. She froze...Glassbeaks.

She ran back into the cave, fetching a large chunk of lit wood. Her horse stood at the ready, but Solo had only just begun to stir. "Stay here!" With that she took off. She quickly made her way toward the direction of the forms she had seen earlier, knife in one hand, torch in the other. "Don't move!" She called to them.

[Sassaleverwi]

The shrieks of the birds drowned out Portor's protests. He reared, almost lifting Everwi from the ground as her body coiled around itself. Her eyes narrowed, and she puffed up defensively. She could not see them yet. The horse was more of a hindrance than a help at the moment. He kept moving, almost trodding on her coils. Everwi caught a glimpse of a humanoid woman dart out of the cave entrance waving a brand and shouting something. The words were hard to catch in the rain, but she thought they were meant for her and Portor. Everwi raked her fingernails along the horse's halter pulling the creature down to look her in the eye. Her gaze was strong enough to mesmerize the frightened beast, temporarily. She purred in the back of her throat trying to further sooth him. Muscles still twitched along his flanks, but the eye rolling and constant whickering had ceased. Everwi broke her eye contact with him to try and relocate the woman or the approaching threat of the avian creatures pressing down upon them. "What is this?" It took her a few minutes to realize she was not speaking in the common tongue. Snake language came more easily in Dhani form. With an exasperated sigh she tried to roll her thin tongue around thicker words. "What are they?"

[Derailey]

Derailey ran as fast as she could through the mud and rain, almost making it seem effortless. She has almost made it to the two forms when she saw something behind them. Squinting her eyes, she made out two large forms behind her, blending into their surroundings. "Run!" She called out to them. She pressed herself harder. She was almost there. Just a little farther.

There large bird let out a blood curling scream from behind the forms, spreading it's wings and straining it's neck, calling to the other's, preparing for the kill.

[Sassaleverwi]

Everwi barely caught sight of the bird as it erupted from the shivering foliage. She threw the reigns over Portor's back, and gave him a sharp smack to the rump to get him on the move toward the cave. The horse needed little encouragement as he bolted away. The snake reared up to her full height. From head to tail in her Dhani form, she measured almost 11feet. She was able to raise over half her body length above the ground. She "stood" at an impressive six feet, almost level with the predatory bird. The remainder of her coils were tightly wrapped beneath her. Her hood flared out as a warning to the glass beak and she hissed. She swayed back and forth in a weave to confuse the bird as she stood her ground. She was fast. Could she intimidate this bird so she would not be forced to bite? She had used her poison before, but not a full dose. It wasn't needed for a small snack like the rodent had been. Everwi kept her eyes on the glass beak, still trying for the intimidation instinct that came to most vipers when threatened. She wanted to avoid confrontation, but this creature could attack her. The snake was ready to bite if she had too, venom building behind her fangs as she weaved back and forth. If the bird did not back off, she would strike hard and fast. The shock would confuse the bird hopefully long enough for her and Portor to get away, and perhaps whoever this humanoid was that was running by with a burning log.

[Derailey]

Derailey dove into the scene fearlessly, standing her ground next to the Dhani. She swayed the log back and forth in front of the Glassbeak, obviously startling it. It flapped it's monsterous wings and screamed loudly at the offending flame.

Without taking her eyes off of the bird she spoke to the Dhani, "Follow your horse!" She moved forward forcing the bird to move back to avoid the flame to give the girl a better chance at getting away. "I can hold it at bay."

[Sassaleverwi]

Everwi sprang into action, a clockwise circle that took her away from the humanoid and the giant bird. While she felt she could have handled herself, the survival instinct drove her to heed the plainswoman's advice. Bruised pride could be dealt with later. Everwi could not see Portor any long as her muscular coils propelled her onward. But she did not miss the two bipedal forms of Glass beaks trying to surround the Dhani and the Drykas. Again, Everwi attempted the intimidation ploy. She rose high into the air and puffed out her hood, spread her arms wide. The display should have been enough for both predators to pause and look to their Alpha with some choice clicks and screeches.

[Derailey]

The Glassbeak before Derailey screamed loudly, tempting the girl to cover her ears, though she refused, and struck at her with inhuman speed. Derailey barely avoided the fatal blow aimed at her chest, by moving quickly to the left. Instead of stabbing the bird, she forcefully hit it with the hilt of her knife, successfully shocking the creature enough to move toward the Dhani.

She moved backwards skillfully, keeping aware of her surrounds. Never did she take her eyes off of the Glassbeak she had just attacked. It was shaking it's head wildly, trying to overcome the sudden pain. She took this time to examin the Dhani's situation, face to face with two more Glassbeaks.

More screams sounded in the distance, and Derailey felt a twinge of excitment in her stomach. Though Derailey believed that all living things were sacred, she couldn't help her lust for battle. It is not beneath her to fight. It was what she was raised to do.

Swallowing her thirst and wants, she continued on until she was next to the Dhani, four more Glassbeaks taking their positions around their recovering alpha. "Almost there." She called to the Dhani over the roar of the rain. She eyed the approching Glassbeaks.