Closed Defining the Different

[Aidara]

“As long as you only club it gently. We wouldn’t want to hurt its feelings either, so maybe we should ask it if it’s alright we capture it before we do so?” A smile dimpled her cheeks and Addy passed Vaas a wink that she belatedly realized he couldn’t see. Instead, she added a little giggle as she tossed the joke back at him, just to make sure he realized she appreciated his effort to lighten the mood.

Addy was busy tallying their combined inventory in her head when the first noises made by the creature reached the groups ears. The other three were instantly on alert while Addy stood there with her eyes closed, checking things off by counting on her fingers.

“Traps…Nets…Flint…” It wasn’t until about half way through that the uneasy sounds from her companions registered. Opening her eyes, Addy flickered her gaze from one face to another, brows rising immediately at the shocked and somewhat scared looks on their faces. “What? What is it? What’s wrong?”

As if to answer her question, the shrill shriek echoed around them only ticks after she had finished speaking. The sound made Addy jump, the way the cry echoed around their little clearing making it sound closer than it really was. Even knowing this, Addy shot a glance over her shoulder as she spoke. “I think it’s just a Wind Eagle nothing to be worried about. The fledgling sometimes like to play pranks on the lower castes.” Despite her reassurances, something about the familiar sound didn’t sit right with the woman.

It wasn’t until the next cry, this one closer than the last, that the discrepancy registered. The sound was too low. Eagles made that sound when they were hunting. In the air. And this sound was clearly coming from ground level.

“Scratch that. I think we should hide.” Luckily, Krysanthe was on the ball with a suggestion and Addy readily agreed. Normally, hiding in a tree from a creature that could fly wasn’t a very good idea, but something in the pits of her stomach told Addy that this was the right idea.

Casting her gaze around, Addy spotted an old, sturdy pine tree not far from where they gathered. “There!” Trying to keep her voice calm and her composure collected, Addy helped Aela gather the net before heading off towards the tree at a brisk walk. Half way there, the little healers feet once again got caught in the rope and was sent stumbling.

“Leave the net. Just leave it.” Dropping her end, Addy made sure that Aela was clear before she started off again. Vaas and Krys were right behind, but there was a loud sound from back where they came, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin with a little yelp.

“Screw it! Run!” Without thinking, Addy grabbed ahold of Vaas's wrist and tugged the blind man along with her, picking her path so that they sprinted across even ground, slowing when he needed more of her support. When they reached the tree, Addy went up first, scampering up a few branches before holding down her hand.

"Quick, one of you, put his hand in mine and help push him up."

[Alori Sai]

"A Wind Eagle? Are you sure?" It was a surprise to hear, and she couldn't remember ever hearing a sound like it. Of course the mighty birds had a powerful cry, but there was something wrong with what she heard. It sounded angry, twisted and even somewhat sad. The smell that followed, heavy, burned, molten glass carried by the wind. It reminded her of the hot shop, though her craft wasn't on her mind at the moment. "Hide?" Aela asked, still looking about the clearing. It was a perfect spot for a predator, with them all huddled together in the opening. The surrounding trees made for a decent hiding place, and the sounds that followed made it impossible to know what direction the creature was coming from. She turned back to look at Krysanthe when she suggested that they all hide in a tree, then to Aidara who agreed with her. "Wait...What?" Everything was moving fast, and Aela barely had any time to think. However, if what Aidara had said was true, and it was a Wind Eagle, why were they hiding? The Wind Eagles were the protectors of the city, they wouldn't harm the people. It had to be something else...something viscous and possible from another land. "Addy?..Are you sure that's a Wind Eagle?" She asked as she hurried to help her collect the net. Hurring along, Aela paced her steps with Aidara, moving quickly across the ground. When the healer tripped, she slowed to a stop, caught with an arm full of net suddenly tumbling away. "Oooh..this net!" She complained as she reached down to gather it again, only to stand when Aidara said to leave it. Free to move faster, she hustled towards the tree again. The loud sound that came from behind them, sent a chill up her spine and caused her to jump. "Hurry!" She squeaked, taking Aidara's advice. Reaching back, she grabbed Krysanthe's wrist and pulled her along quickly. Aela raced towards the tree, reaching it just as Aidara and Vaas did. Climbing trees wasn't something that she was good at nor used to doing. Aidara seemed a lot better at it, which gave the young Avora hope that she could also. Taking Vaas's hand she tried to guide him towards Aidara, but he was so much taller than she was, and even standing on the tips of her toes didn't help. "Come on Vaas, Reach!"

[Sphinx]

The monster was within ten paces of the group when they made their choice to drop what they held and bolt. The creature heard them and understood enough to realise the folly of alerting such intelligent prey to its arrival. It lurched into action again, the wings spread wide as it forced its legs to chase after its prey. The glass edged feathers ground against the hard earth, leaving gouges where they had brushed. The body upon her back moved as though it were alive, its arms bracing itself and hunkering down to allow the giant eagle to gain more speed. It wasn't truly alive though, that poor huddled heap of melted flesh and feathered hair. It was but another part of the whole, supporting the larger organism and existing as merely another victim of the sensless calamaty that had birthed the monster in the first place. The features of the body were blurred as though smudged by the heat of the djed, but what remained was enough for an Endal to recognise. She had been one too, not long ago, even though not of the same caliber as Sairque or other Flightleaders.

The sunken green eyes burned with the same ferocity as the eagle's below. There was a lopsided sneer across her face, a red line that bisected just above her chin, both toothless and fanged by.. something. More glass? The feathers that made up most of her red hair were patterned in such a way that it could only be familiar to those who liked such fashions as braiding the painted feathers of eagles into their hair. There was no glass, however. The eagle suffered for that fashion enough.

Together, they made a fearsome couple when the Inarta managed to turn and look back. Heavy wings raised, a huddled Inarta body tucked to the back of her partner... To those not Endal, it seemed that Aidara may have been right in her assumption that it was an Eagle playing pranks on the helpless Avora and Chiet, but with an Endal in on the fun. However, once they stepped into the sunlit clearing and the ground turned mottled shades of brown, gold, red and crème, they knew something was different. The glass did that. Aela knew this. She had seen the designs her craft left on the ground of the Courtyard of the Sky on those slow days selling her wares.

They didn't have much time to think on the matter, as the bird managed to move surprisingly fast for its deformity. Before a few chimes had passed, it was practically breathing down the back of Aela'a neck, having snapped its head forward in an attempt to remove the Avora's head from her shoulders. The hooked beak barely disturbed the Avora's hair, but that didn't dissuade it from pursuing. It laughed now in that same, horrible voice that was neither truly bird nor truly human.

The eagle raced Aela to the tree, hoping to use her distraction with Vaas to get either her or the blind man. It shrieked that hunting cry again and moved forth to snap at them.

A moment too late, it met with the hard bark of the tree as the two managed to clamber out of the way. The tree shook, hard, with the force of the strike, but stood resolute against that assault. The Inarta in the branches felt it too, for it shook those boughs violently and without a firm grasp of the limbs, one could fall.

As it was, the bird backed up, retreating to a distance where it could see its prey and they could see it. The glint of four eyes focused upon them all, the ruthless instincts that urged it to feed on them glittered in those unfeeling eyes. The bird snarled something in unmistakable Nari to all those in the trees, rasping the syllables breathlessly.

"Fall down," it said before it ran forward, slamming its mass into the tree and kicking at it. Birds couldn't climb trees, but it didn't stop this one from trying and marking the tree up in consequence. The tree shook again when the body made contact with it, groaning in complaint at the abuse. The four Inarta in the tree could feel the complaint through their fingertips as the branches shook hard. What they did about it was up to them.

[Krysanthe]

Krysanthe hardly had time to breathe. The shrill sound of the demented hunter’s cry echoed in the empty regions of her mind as all thought slipped away. She wasn’t thinking now. She only acted. Her feet moved mechanically to follow Aidara, slowing as they released their net, keeping their balance as Aela tugged her along. She didn’t dare look over her shoulder. She didn’t dare say a word. It was almost as though she feared taking the time to speak would delay them to be victim of whatever it was that chased them. The Endal’s prior comment of this incident only being a prank offered Krysanthe little comfort, for her paranoid (and logic-driven) mind refused to believe it. Before she felt she could even breathe, they were at the tree. She didn’t remember the path they took to get there, only that they were there now, moving with no change in speed. There was no time to linger. Aidara climbed up the tree and reached for Vaas’s hand. They were only a few inches short. If Krysanthe had been thinking clearly, she would have simply bent down and forced a foot into her hands to give the blind man a boost, but for whatever reason (call it instinct or call it blind thinking) Krysanthe clambered up the tree to Aidara’s side. Krysanthe was taller than Addy. Not by much, stretching a mere four inches further, but it was enough. She managed to clasp on to Vaas’s hand and tug him up to a height where she and Aidara could get him to a safe branch. Now they just needed Aela. But she was… Petch. Aela was considerably shorter than Vaas. Krys mumbled incoherently, clearly angry that she should have stayed down there. It was unwise to send the shortest person up last. It was too late to problem solve and do things the easy way. They had to do things quickly. With the understanding that Vaas was blind and that he would be unable to reach, she barked out an order close in confidence to one coming from one of a higher caste. “Hold on to me!” The moment Vaas had a firm grip on her waist so she wouldn’t fall down, Krys bent down to grab Aela’s arms. It was close, but she managed to get her. She clenched her teeth as she pulled the woman up, greatful the moment that Aidara was able to help. The two of them (with of course the assistance of Vaas) managed to get her into the tree, just barely onto one of the thick branches, when wham! The tree shook as the bird’s beak met its trunk. Krys, who was still holding one of Aela’s arms, tightened her grip instinctually. Her hands were wringing her arm so tightly that if she didn’t let go, Aela would have lost feeling. Luckily for the huntress, when the animal backed up, Krys released the vice grip on the arm and moved it to her branch, holding on firmly, looking out to get a clear view of the creature for the first time. This beast was a demon from the depths of Krysanthe’s worst nightmares. She held her breath, her eyes locked, and her grip on the branch tightened. Two sets of eyes stared back at her. Two sets of eyes that thirsted blood. One set of eyes was the eagle’s. They were closed off, yet at the same time infinitely expansive. They were so dark in feeling that Krysanthe felt as though staring at them would cast her away into some unspeakable void. They were the eyes of a predator, and never before had she been in such a position to call herself prey. Is this how an animal felt as the hunter tracked its trail? How cruel! How horrible! Krysanthe vowed to herself that if she made it out of this alive, she’d never eat meat again. She didn’t want to think about the terror of being prey. This thought barely had a chance to flicker in her mind before she realized what bore the other set of eyes. The green eyes that were alive, but not really alive. What rode the once mighty eagle was not a deranged Endal as she found herself expecting. No, it was worse than that. It was an ashen mass of flesh, hair and feathers, not inartan at all. Whoever it once was clearly was no longer living, yet at the same time, those eyes were so very much real. They shone with the same hunger that the eagle’s eyes so clearly bore. Yes, its other features frightened her. The burnt, dead wings. The glass feathers leaving gouges in the ground. The sight, the smell, all of it chilled her, but none more than that of the eyes. The four, cold, dead eyes that were at the same time horribly alive. Fall down. The words forced Krysanthe to release the breath she had been holding, shuddering an exhale. She tightened her grip on the tree as best as she could as the beast once again slammed its body against its trunk. Without letting up, without turning to the others, without removing her eyes from the creature below, the woman whimpered “What do we do?”

[Alori Sai]

Aela gave a short sigh of relief once she was finally in the tree with the others. She hadn't been thinking at all about herself, but of Vaas who couldn't see. Once he was in the tree she suddenly found herself alone at the trunk with the massage creature breathing down her neck. Luckily Krysanthe was quick to think and found away to get her up before she became a meal for the savage beast that hunted them. Breathing deeply, she held tightly to whatever or whoever was closest to her. Adrenaline rushed through her body numbing her senses to the very uncomfortable position that she sat in, as well as the bruise that was forming on her arm from Krysanthe's vice grip. She moved closer to the thick build of the tree and held onto it as the beast slammed against it, the force of it's power sending trembles through the tree and the little huntress felt every bit of it. The serge of force shook her small limbs and made her perch unsteady, even as she clasped her arms about the tree. Aela was in a bad way, and her uncertainty of being able to stay up in the tree made the situation that much more frightening. If she slipped and fell, she knew that it would be over for her, as whatever it was below would devour her instantly. Fall down The voice, hungry and creepy crept into her mind and sent another eerie chill through her bones and almost froze her blood solid. Aela did all she could not to panic, but even then she could see the looks on the others faces and heard Krysanthe's plea. Taking a deep breath, Aela mustered up all of her strength and pushed herself to sit up where she had some form of balance. She remembered that she still had her bow and arrows, and was probably the only one in the group that had brought any type of weapons. Reaching over her shoulder, she lifted her bow into her lap before reaching back again to take an arrow from the quiver. Pushing her body forward, Aela raised her bow just a bit with the arrow ready, and aimed it down at the creature. Her green eyes widen as she stared down upon the creature, seeing it fully for the first time. Aidara had been right, it was in fact a Wind Eagle, but there was something very wrong. It was deformed, grotesque, and even the Endal at it's back appeared sickly. A sharp gasp escaped her lips as she looked closer at the two. The deformed eagle and the Endal on it's back, they looked like corpses. Burned mounts of flesh and feathers held together by glass and rock. It was a horrid sight, and the smell that was now at their feet made the girl's head dizzy and she felt as if she would throw up. "Oooh I'm going to be sick!" The little Inartan cried out as she lowered her bow to cover her mouth. Another hard slam by the fearsome beast almost knocked her completely out of the tree. "Ahhhh..Petch!" She cried out as she fell back against the tree, arms waving wildly as she tried to catch her bow and hold herself up on the branch at the same time. Pulling herself back up, her adrenaline at an all new high, Aela pushed her body against the tree and raised her bow at the beast again ready to fire. The arrow rested tightly just above the handle of the bow, an unsteady shake causing it to lightly tap against the wood. The little huntress was choking...

[Aidara]

There was a handful of chimes where, while Aela and Vaas struggled to get into the tree, Addy wasn’t able to breathe. Krysanthe was closer than she, the little healer stuck on a higher-up branch and totally out of reach. It wasn’t until they had both been yanked up into safety that Addy let the air she had been holding out with a large whooshing sigh. They had to be safe up here, there was no way that thing could climb or fly.

Turning to her fellow trapped companions, Addy ran her hands vigorously over her face as she tried to decide what they should do; it wasn’t as if the three of them were staring at her hopelessly looking for direction or anything, for they had handled themselves quite well in the face of danger. No, rather Addy felt it her duty as an Endal to make sure that they all made it out of this safe and sound. A quick check on the mental connection between she and Sira turned up nothing; her lover was probably out hunting or patrolling the untamed forests, far out of Addy’s range of contact. Sira would be of no help for them today.

With the knowledge that her bondmate would not once again save the day, Addy realized how vulnerable she felt, how much she relied on Sira on a day-to-day basis. Attemping to push such thoughts to the back of her mind and concentrate on the problem at hand, Addy leaned over to look at the beast blow at the same moment that it growled it’s command for them to fall and rammed into the tree.

Barely catching a glimpse of the rider on it’s back, just as badly mutated as the Wind Eagle, Addy couldn’t help but scream as the tree shook and the precarious perch she had taken to peer down sent her toppling as the tree swayed. One second, the solid security of the branch was beneath her and the next there was only air. It seemed like bells that she hung there on the brink of falling, but it wasn’t until Addy started to grasp wildly at whatever was near by to keep herself from falling to her potential death that time sped back up, working overtime to make up for the pause.

Trying not to scream like a little girl, Addy flailed and fell, branches slapping her in the face as she tried to slow her decent lest she land on or near the creature below that was clearly intent on harming them.

[Sphinx]

There was a snarl, a throaty rasp of complaint and misery and hate, as the body of a rather petite Endal slammed down onto the corrupt mass of the monster. It buckled, unable to support the additional hundred or so pounds that abruptly landed on it, and screamed obscenities at Aidara.

Touching the monster, Aidara got a glimpse into it. She couldn't see what had happened to create such a horror, as if she didn't already know, but she could feel the faint thrum of thought beneath the broiling surface of instinct and self preservation. There was a Wind Eagle there, and an Endal, living beings with needs and loves and joys all to themselves, crushed like hopeless butterflies beneath djed and forced changes. The duo felt Aidara as well and as Aidara struggled on the monster's back, they plead and cried and wept for release. They wanted the nightmare to end.

Finally, Aidara was free, and the creature was regaining its footing with its rage building as the ticks walked by, prolonging its meal...

Aela may have been choking, but as the creature straightened and the ragdoll body on its back turned to focus eyes on her, her resolve wavered further. The Endal-creature opened wide its mouth and howled at her but the uselessness of her own limbs and body prevented her from climbing up there and tearing the Avora apart. Aela got the clear impression that the creature really did intend to do that in some way or another, whether it had to beat the girl and her friends out of the tree or figure out something else.

The bird portion had turned from Aela and soon enough, she was spared the glare of the Endal portion as it followed the eyes of the bird. They focused on Aidara and Aela could feel a sickening disappointment as her friend became the sole source of available food for the creature...

Krysanthe, clutching the branch of the tree for stability, was left in relative peace. She was unarmed and unlike Aidara had not fallen into harms way. Beside her, Vaas was breathing heavily and clutching the same branch as she, his old wooden staff in white-knuckled fingers. Krysanthe might realise then that she didn't have to be the only one without a weapon. Vaas didn't need his. He was safe in the tree so long as the bird didn't knock it over. If she just grabbed the staff, she could help. She couldn't miss the danger Aidara was in or the hesitation Aela was showing.

If she was going to help, now was the time.

OOCVaas hasn't responded to a PM I sent him. I've decided to write him out of the adventure, for now, but if he returns I will allow him back in.

[Krysanthe]

Krysanthe gave Aela a desperate gaze as she drew an arrow, aiming at the creature. End it. She thought. The thought that the bird would actually have to die didn’t exactly cross her mind, but it wasn’t death that she was after. She wasn’t thirsty for blood or hungry for vengeance of her ruined day. She was just scared and wanted to wake up from this nightmare. She didn’t know what she thought would happen when Aela shot the bird, but she figured whatever would happen couldn’t make this situation any worse. So get on with it! But no. What was going on? Aela looked strange. She looked sick. She looked scared. She looked like she couldn’t do this. But she had to. She was only one who really could, for there was no way that Krysanthe was going to be able to attack such a creature. She didn’t have the weapons. She didn’t have the heart. She didn’t have the gall. Aela was an avora huntress with a bow and arrow. If she couldn’t bring herself to take down this beast, then they were all going to die. Of course, somewhere inside Krysanthe was the simple understanding of living from a day to day basis that they couldn’t die here. Sure, people say ‘It was so bad I almost died’ or ‘I am totally going to die’ when referring to negative situations, but never before had Krys been in a situation where she really felt that her life was in danger. Not like this. There was a genuine possibility of a member of their hunting party not making it home. There was a chance that one of them, any of them, all of them could wind up being a feast for a heartless creature hopelessly altered by the unforgiving Djed storm. There was a chance she herself could die. There was a chance she’d be bird food. What would the others say? Who would they tell? Sure, a few might miss her. Reila might miss pestering her. Her customers might miss her artwork. But people would move on. People would get over it. It wasn’t as though she had very many connections in Wind Reach. She’d be just another whisper on the breeze, another causality of the Inartan dare devil life. It didn’t even cross her mind that the one to die would be Aidara. Aidara couldn’t die. She was an Endal. She had a family. She had friends. She had a life. She had a purpose. She had everything that Krysanthe was so jealous of. She had the love of everyone. No one could really have any sort of long lasting distaste towards the perhaps too friendly, blunt, free spirited woman who had never really adjusted to becoming an Endal. She was forgiving and understanding. Krys was certainly intimidated by the woman, but not so much because of her Caste. To compare it to Earth terms, she felt like the geeky girl sitting alone at the lunch table trying to talk to the head cheerleader who was just too nice. Being around Aidara terrified her because Krysanthe knew and understood how much love the woman had, and how Krys herself would probably never amount to that. Aidara had everything. She had the most to lose. There was no way that she’d be the one not to make it home. She didn’t deserve to die. This isn’t to say that Krys thought any of the group deserved to die, just perhaps Addy was the one who deserved to live the most. And suddenly there was screaming, and all other thoughts were gone. She didn’t have a chance to react. She still clung to the branch as Addy fell to certain demise, falling square on the creature. So the bird got what it wanted. Someone fell down. But why did it have to be Addy? She observed in silent horror as the creature thrashed about until Aidara was free. Krysanthe felt like she couldn’t breathe. The bird turned it’s attention to Aela, and Krysanthe forced herself to look in the huntress’s direction. Aela looked like she had dissolved completely. All strength and confidence withered away like a flower cut from its stem and placed on a black stone to bake in the summer sun. What were they going to do? Aidara was in danger! Aela, get down there! Help her! But she couldn’t. Krys knew this from one look. Aela wouldn’t be able to do anything. Vaas couldn’t do anything. He was blind, for heaven’s sake! He was so helpless up in this tree anyways. He was helpless anywhere unfamiliar. Krys gave him a look, for he was on the same branch as she. He clung desperately to the trunk, probably too scared for words. The item in his hand caught her eye. The staff. They were in a tree and he had the staff. He hadn’t dropped it. He hadn’t left it he had managed to carry it into the tree. And he was blind. And Aela couldn’t help. And he had a weapon. The realization struck her like an earthquake. She could do it. She could take the staff. She could go down there. She could help Aidara. She could save her, or at least try. But if she tried, she could die. Aidara was practically a stranger to her. They had barely had a single conversation beyond today’s. Was it worth it? How could Krys risk giving up her own life for Aidara? How could anyone be expected to weigh someone’s life like that? Who was the more important? To Krys, the answer was simple. She didn’t need a single moment to even think about it. The moment it clicked that Aidara could be spared this creatures wrath, Krysanthe pried her own hand away from the tree bark to which she so desperately clung, and she placed her hand just above Vaas’s. She wasn’t gentle in her motion as she yanked the staff from his vice grip. She left no room for comment, for the next moment, she had leapt from the branch, landing square on the warm, grassy earth. Jumping probably wasn’t her best option, for her landing was a little sloppy. She fell foreward on her hands and knees. The fall wasn’t bad enough to do any permanent damage, but it certainly caught her off guard. She didn’t expect to stumble so simply, so the grass stains on her hands and legs struck her as odd. Knowing the gravity of the situation, she quickly hopped to her feet, ignoring the burns and aches that resulted from the scrapes from her fall. She drew the staff back over her shoulder, getting as close to the bird as she could as fast as she could. A moment before she acted, a conversation popped into her mind. “Aidara? What if we club the purple horned bunny over the head with my staff.. lightly of course. It might make easier transport back to Wind Reach that way.” “As long as you only club it gently. We wouldn’t want to hurt its feelings either, so maybe we should ask it if it’s alright we capture it before we do so?” Club it gently. Ha. Krys drew the bat back as far as she could, aiming for the bird’s disfigured, horrible, terrifying skull. Just as she swung, she muttered only a few words. "I hope you don't mind." With that, she swung as hard as her strength would allow and prayed it would be enough. For what? Krysanthe didn't really know. She didn't think about that. She didn't care about that. She just prayed that she was doing the right thing.

[Alori Sai]

"Addy!!" Aela screamed, as she dropped her archer's stance and moved to look over the protruding branches and down below. Aidara had fallen, tumbling down the branches that she had just used to climb into the tree. The thud that followed, as the little healer landed on the back of the deformed eagle was silenced by the cry of the beast as it fell forward. "No, no, no!" Aela squeaked as she stepped across the branch, arms waving to either side of her as she tried to hold her balance. Her thoughts were clouded, mind rushing between ideas with dreadful out-comes, that rendered them all useless. But she had to act, she had to do something. Her previous thoughts, emotions about harming an eagle had been passed over for her need to protect her mentor. She had to do something, she had to be strong. She gazed fearfully from the tree top as Aidara rolled off the wild beast. Again, she raised her bow just as the creature stared up at her, as if in anticipation of her movements. A cold chill raced through her bones as the Endal-creature screamed at her, seemingly freezing her in time itself. A horrific vibe reached into her and stretched out and into her nerves. The glare of the beast, staring, haunting her, as if to say that after it had finished Aidara that she would be next. "Addy! Run Addy!" she finally called out after finding her voice again. Aela moved around again, searching to find a lower branch that would give her better aim. If she was going to do this, if she was going to shoot a wind eagle, then she needed to make it count. That's when she noticed that Vaas was sitting alone in the tree and Krysanthe was no where in sight. "Where..?" she said softly, her words trailing off as her gaze did. Looking back from the tree, she noticed the woman just as she climbed down and headed towards the beast. "Hold on, I'll cover you!" Aela called out to the woman, reaching for another arrow and slipping it against the bow, while aiming it at the eagle. There was no hesitation this time, she fired. Taking another breath, she pulled out yet another arrow, slipped it into the bow and fired again. It didn't matter if she injured the beast, or even hit it, she was attempting to distract it, and hoping that the two could escape in time.

[Aidara]

A sickening crunch accompanied Addy’s landing, the beast below her softening her fall only slightly. Some detached part of the little healers mind commented that it would have been preferable to land upon the hard ground and suffer whatever injuries would have resulted. The distracted musings only lasted for a moment or two, however, before the entirety of her world changed.

None of the images were clear, but Addy was suddenly consumed by visual and emotional memories, the twisted forms that were once Endal and Eagle plaguing her with their past upon the instant of their contact. The sensation was sickening, twisting her stomach until it tried to leap free of her body, the heaves nearly incapacitating the little healer.

She could feel the connection between them that their contact had initiated, exposed to enough of the world of telepathy thanks to Sira and her empathetic bond with her sister, Addy had some idea what was going on. The only problem was the hope, longing, anger, and dozens of other emotions that rolled over her hardly left her with any space to think straight, waved after wave crushing her down as if she were trapped on a shore with the whole force of the sea holding her down.

That same part of her mind that was able to idly comment on the proceedings told her that if she were able to pull herself away from the mutant beast, she would be free, if not yet safe. Such a simple task had never seen so impossible, for every movement seemed to be hindered by the pain that she shared with the creatures; gods only knew what they were feeling from her end. For all it’s effort to get at the women in the tree, the creature hadn’t killed her yet.

That was something, at least.

It was pure luck that separated the healer from the beast, the front foreleg of the mutant collapsing under the combined weight of its own deformed body as well as the Inartan woman. Up became down and the sky spun as Addy rolled from the creature, landing to sprawl dazed on the ground, her head striking hard against the firm soil and knocking her senseless for a tick or two. Normally, a little bump would hardly be an issue, but at this moment in time it was practically life or death.

It was Krysanthe that saved Addy’s life, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, swinging wildly with Vaas’s staff as she struck at any part of the creature she could reach. The shock of the quiet, timid woman practically screaming a warcry as she laid into the beast quickly wore off and Addy scampered backwards, pulling herself away from the flailing battle even though she couldn’t quite stand.

That choice further saved her life as Aela’s arrow skidded into the ground where she had been only moments before, the sharp head kicking up a line of dirt before thunking harmlessly into the earth. One, two, three arrows followed in rapid succession, all of them finding their mark in the beast.

Between Aela and Kry’s efforts, by the time Addy regained her feet, the creature was staggering from side to side, roaring eerily and tossing its head back and forth. Though its cry still sent shivers down her spine, the little woman felt no need to flee now, something about the sound registering in her mind as pain and sorrow. Perhaps it was the connection she had just shared with it, but Addy knew that it was dying. That had succeeded.

Trying to ignore the irrational pang of regret, Addy stepped forward and raised her hand, waving at Krys and Aela both. “Enough! Enough!” Waiting for the huntress to lower her bow and for Krys to drop her staff, Addy wiped a hand across her brow and sighed, looking at the still flailing beats with a sad look in her eyes. “It wont hurt us now.”