by Siiri on March 4th, 2010, 9:58 am
That’s one way to do it, Siiri thought in disgust as she watched, with hate-filled eyes, the Dhani carry off the now two-legged boar back to his wretched city. Because she was directly above him, she did not see the snakeman actually sever the animal’s forelegs but she did witness their initial struggle. The boar had put up quite a fight but ultimately it was no match against the strength of its captor. The half-man, half-snake form vanished in the thick vegetation, its prized catch still thrashing feebly in its arms. Siiri hoped it would continue to do so until they reached Zinrah and inflict more wounds on the Dhani.
Bleed to death, snake.
As the sound of the Dhani’s retreat faded into nothingness, Siiri swung down from her hiding place. Only the sound of the pouring rain could be heard once more. The woman paced back and forth in the downpour, cracking her knuckles as she waited impatiently for her fangmates to descend from the trees. A tight knot had formed on her brow, a manifestation of her annoyance from being deprived of action against the Dhani. Eena was a fool to let that one escape. Five against one, it would have been an easy kill for them!
Siiri felt the other woman land softly behind her. She whirled on her, preparing to lash out with a tirade on missed chances. But the words died on her lips as she was met by an equally intense frown on the face of her fang leader.
“Do not even start, Siiri,” Eena hissed, cutting off whatever Siiri had to say with an upraised hand, an unnecessary gesture. “Your impulsiveness could have caused us our lives. What if that Dhani was not alone and there was one or more waiting in the underbrush? Waiting for some bull-headed Myrian warrior to show her ass? Did you ever stop to think about that when you were rearing to jump from the tree?”
Siiri worked her jaw a couple of times as if she wanted to say something but instead just shut her mouth, apparently deciding against speaking against her superior. Eena was right of course. She had been blinded by her desire to slay the Dhani.
“I know your aunt was killed by these snakes,” Eena continued, unrelenting. “But you can’t go charging off to avenge her every time you see one. I will not have you endanger your mates because of some petty notion of revenge. You won’t stay long in this world with that kind of attitude! That’s why you still do not have your own command! Until you learn to curb your temper, you never will!”
Siiri’s cheeks and ears burned from the chastisement. She could feel the eyes of the other three warriors on her as she took their fang leader’s dressing down stoically. The woman delivered her lecture in a whisper but Siiri was sure the others heard every word.
“From now on, I don’t want you doing anything without my explicit say so. Especially in situations like this! Now keep your mouth shut and get in line with the others. We’re moving out!” Eena finally raised her voice a notch as she issued the last order. She gave one last meaningful look at Siiri before jumping up a tree branch.
Once more, one among their numbers issued a cry, a shrill, undulating sound that pierced through the heavy rain, alerting any other Myrian within earshot of their presence, that they were passing through the region and should not be hindered. Then they turned to follow Eena. As Siiri moved to join them, she glanced once more at the direction where the Dhani had disappeared to earlier. She remembered the creature’s green-gray scales and the unique pattern on its back. Despite everything Eena had just said to her, Siiri vowed that next time she ran across that particular Dhani, she would attack it – and kill it! – without hesitation. Even if Eena was there to order her to do otherwise.
Any snake, Dhani or not, deserved no less.
Apologies to everyone I'm threading with, but it's like the Danaides for me right now.==/==
"If it doesn't solve all your problems, maybe you're not using enough of it." - Violence