Closed Snakes in the Grass [Sahassvanikol]

[Tinnok]

OOCApologies for the late response!

Tinnok froze. The precise thing she had been dreading happened. Muscled forms, their progress hidden by the falling rain emerged from the jungle foliage, bodies tensed as they found a lone Myrian, something strange enough to warrant suspicion in itself. Tinnok took a moment to slowly turn to face the patrol, attempting to collect herself.

"I am merely scouting ahead of my fang." She said as smoothly as was possible, realizing instantaneously that this solution would bring up more questions than it solved.

"We are the stationed unit for the Kandukta Basin runs, and got no report of another fang joining the patrols."

Tinnok rubbed her forehead feigning exasperation. "We didn't even know till two bells before dawn this morning, like as not you were out here before they could send news."

She thought, for the barest of moments that it had worked, that she and the Dhani could escape before this fang knew what was what, and it could all be over.

"Wait...Tarryn, look at her arm. You!" It was a stocky male in the back whose voice rose, drawing the dark female interrogator's attention backwards.

"What is it, Jix?"

A muscled finger pointed at her accusingly. "She's that petching half breed, the witch. She aint in no fang, she got hers killed in a Dhani nest."

Tinnok's fingers slipped to her belt, a slow smirk crossing her features. "My my, I didn't realize I was so popular...."

Their weapons were drawn, and so was hers. There would be no getting out of this...not when her own people had just been looking for the excuse to murder her...this was it.

When she screamed, the words were in common. "GO, GET OUT OF HERES!"

The fang looked at each other in confusion at the change of tongue, and Tinnok surged forward, rolling nimbly upon the ground and jumping up amongst them, kicking out at one of their legs, slashing at another with her dagger. She had to distract them long enough for the Dhani to get away, then she could escape, run and lose these fools in her jungle. It was the only way that he would be safe and more hunts wouldn't follow him. Her mouth contorted with anger as a punch sank into her gut, knocking her backwards, sliding through the mud. She was so petched...

[Sahassvanikol]

Nikol was unable to understand what was said throughout most of the interaction between the witch and her fellow Myrians, but judging from the tone of their voices, they did not like her. He knew that running would be a bad idea, if he moved at all he likely would be spotted, but Nikol needed a plan just in case. He realized he left his club behind, and so Nikol formed a new plan. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, and willed his djed down his arms and into the palms of his hands. Nikol kept his breathing steady, trying to ignore what appeared to be an escalating conversation nearby, and focused on his djed, hardening it. He molded it like clay, slowly stretching it and widening it until it was a crude, club shaped, lump of djed. Tinnok shouted something in common, almost distracting him, but he kept working. He willed the djed to stone, transmuting all of it and turning it into a large club-like rock. When he heard the fighting, Nikol realized things had turned dour. He could continue to hide, perhaps, or even slink away while Tinnok distracted them.. but then Tinnok would likely die. Normally Nikol wouldn't think twice about such an eventuality, but this was different. She was touched by Caiyha, just as he was, and whether they liked it or not, they were allies. Perhaps Caiyha had brought them together for exactly this reason, so that they could help one another. Maybe if he had actually paid attention when Tinnok told him to flee he would have, but he hadn't. All he knew was that she was in trouble, and it was his duty to help her. Brandishing his newly created club, the Dhani attempted to move stealthily around the distracted Myrians until he could get close enough to attack. His weapon was even heavier than his actual club, but even in his human form he had twice the strength of a normal person, and the weapon was hardly a problem for him to weild. As soon as he was close enough, Nikol charged from the foliage and smashed the nearest Myrian with his weapon. Bones snapped, flesh was torn, and the rock club shattered even as it crushed the Myrian beneath it, who crumpled to the ground. Nikol's victory was not to be relished, however, for he was now weaponless. He had not expected to shatter the rock that easily, but to be fair, he was still only a novice reimancer. Unfortunately, his actual club was on the other side of the group of Myrians, and he was now left to fight them unarmed.

[Tinnok]

She crashed breathlessly to the ground, feeling mud stick to her back. A grinning face appeared over her with a dirk in its grasp. a dagger was already in Tinnok's hand, ready for what was sure to be the end of her if she didn't get out soon.

Then a cry of pain shot out and the attention of her attackers was monetarily taken to the tall and rather...nude male that had just smashed one of the scouting party with an earthen club.

"Is that a-?!"

Tinnok was torn between a smile and a grimace, which really just left her face in a straight and grim line. "YOU PETCHING TRAITOR."

The mace of a large and brawny male came crashing down toward her torso, but the half breed had had quite enough time to recover. Rolling to the side, and hearing the dull thump and splash of the mace sinking into murky soil, Tinnok jumped up and flipped her dagger into a reverse grip in her hand, throwing it in one fluid motion so that it landed square into his chest, smirking as his body began to fail him.

Her bow was somewhere in the muck and she had only a singular blade left to her, however, she wouldn't be losing this one.

Turning she saw that three of the party were advancing upon the Dhani, whose club was now gone. Of course...that wasn't true.

The thing was quite unwieldy, and not something a MYrian was meant to bear, but Tinnok hefted it up.

"Dhani!" She shouted, before hurling it as far as she could in his direction. It was a poor throw, but it was certainly closer to him than it would have been otherwise.

Just as she was trying to figure out where the fifth member was she heard a tell tell twang from the forest, and gasped in pain as an arrow sank deep into her shoulder. Petching archers.

Golden eyes flicked to the source of the shot. The bowman was already backed into the shrub to create a smaller target of himself. Tinnok, furious, sprinted directly for him, praying to Dira and Caiyha that he wouldn't have enough time to fire in a deadlier spot.

[Sahassvanikol]

The smell and metallic taste of blood filled the air, both Tinnok's and the myrian's who were dead. Nikol had seen Tinnok throw the club, but it still wasn't anywhere that he could reach. It landed behind the myrians, but Nikol failed to react quick enough, and their distraction was so short lived that they were once again advancing with almost no hesitation at all. Tinnok had been shot, which meant there was an archer hiding somewhere in the jungle. Nikol had three Myrians advancing on him, all armed and ready to tear him apart. His magic was too slow to use in the middle of combat. His only options were to run, and likely catch an arrow or spear in the back, or to charge forward and try to take the combatants by surprise. Sadly.. the best option was the one he least wanted to do. Steeling his nerves, the Dhani charged forward, much to the surprise of the three Myrians coming at him. They raised their weapons and Nikol shouldered into one of them, sending the man flying. Another stabbed out with his spear, catching Nikol in the rips, but the Dhani spun with his fist to bat the Myrian away. He missed, but the warrior was smart enough to dodge back, pulling out the spear as he did so. The third warrior was armed with a sword, and attempted to stab Nikol in the back. Nikol dodged just in the knick of time, and instead of being stabbed in the back he was sliced along his side, just above the spear wound to his ribs. Hissing in pain, Nikol kept moving until he reached his club. The Myrian he had shouldered was advancing again, but Nikol spun around, swinging the club in a wide and uncontrolled arc. Again, he caught the Myrian by surprise. Nikol was not a skilled warrior, which meant his techniques were wild and desperate.. and in a way, that was an advantage.. sort of. The club hit the advancing Myrian, the spikes on the end driving into the warrior's chest and taking the life from him. Now there were only two Myrians left that Nikol could see, plus the archer hiding in the jungle. Even so, their chances of survival were still slim.

[Tinnok]

An arrow hissed directly to Tinnok's right, her body tumbling to the ground to avoid the shot. She rolled forward, using the fall to her advantage and leaped up and at her attacker, who threw his bow down and went for his hand axe.

The fight that ensued was not graceful or skilled, but the combat of two people desperate not to die. Tinnok landed upon the Myrian, who had managed to grab his axe, even as he did so, however, Tinnok sank her teeth into his flesh, making him release the weapon.

His retaliation was to through mud into her face, and as the half breed worked to clear away the dirt she felt his fist connect with her jaw, sending her reeling.

The two of them scrambled on the ground for a long while, fingers poking any weak spots, grunting and cursing each other.

Then Tinnok's free hand found her dagger and slid it into his stomach.

Sore, battered, and bruised, the arrow shaft broken from her tumble in the mud, the half breed rose with the fallen Myrian's longbow, drawing it in one surprisingly smooth motion, and aiming it for the back of one of the Dhani's attackers.

She focused. One slight mistake and the arrow could hit her...ally. She grimaced even imagining that thing as Caiyha's chosen...but it seemed the world never did anything neatly.

twang

Nikol would see one of them slump, as Tinnok worked to find another arrow. Though the Myrian wasn't dead, he knelt on the ground in pain, a damp arrow sticking out from his back.

[Sahassvanikol]

There were only two left, but now that Nikol's surprised tactics had run out, there was little chance of defeating the both of them. They began to advance, caution towards the massive club the only thing keeping them from charging in, and Nikol grimaced. Now that he wasn't moving he could feel the full pain of his wounds. It was distracting, and distractions were never good.. ..except for when they were. The distraction came in the form of an arrow in one of the Myrian's back. The healthier one immediately dove to the side, trying to put a tree between himself and the direction the arrow had come from. Nikol reacted just as the Myrian was beginning to rise once more, swinging his club as fast as he could. For his part, the Myrian did his best to get out of the way, but the club still clipped his leg as he fell to the side, easily breaking the bone beneath the skin. The wounded warrior slashed out and Nikol approached, but the dhani had the advantage of longer reach with his weapon, and easily avoided the futile attack. Nikol's club came down without mercy, the spikes on the end piercing flesh even as it was smashed by the weight of the club and the strength behind it. The remaining Myrian took off away from the fight. Even Myrian's knew when it was time to retreat.. or maybe he was just planning to circle around and catch them off guard. Either way, Nikol knew that it was his chance to escape. That Tinnok might not want to leave alive any witnesses did not even cross his mind at that moment.. but he did pause long enough to say his goodbyes. "Thank you. I should go now, I think." The common was rough, and she might not understand every word, but if she wanted his help catching the last Myrian she did have a moment to stop him before he took off. Otherwise, Nikol would vanish into the jungle, fully intending on never coming across Tinnok again. Assuming Caiyha did not have other plans, anyway.

[Tinnok]

oocSorry again! I kept thinking I had made the final post, but that's probably just because I had thought of the ending so many times...anyway...Thanks for the awesome plot device for poor Tinnok, it was fun!

She grimaced as legs slick with blood and mud struggled to stand up from the ground. Yellow eyes widened in disbelief as the petching Dhani...said some words of thanks and disappeared into the soaked undergrowth. She simply couldn't believe it. He was just leaving? After all of that? After she had murdered her....

"I HOPE I NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN YOU PETCHING SHYKE HEAD. CAIYHA TAKE YOU AND YOUR SWAMPS!"

But that...that was not the most important part of this, the most important part was the fleeing feet desperately trying to get to the rest of their fang so they could tell of the treacherous half breed, showing her true colors.

Her arm quaked as she drew the bow, the bow not her own because hers had been lost in the mud, but this strip of jungle so close to the edge of the basin was cleared...at least as clear as the jungle wilds got.

A moan of pain escaped her throat as the half broken arrow in her arm was twisted with the muscles trying to draw the bow taut. One arrow, one last one and this would be the end, but not if she missed, and not if her arm gave out beneath her. Then he would get to his fang and she would be dead, and never get to serve Caiyha again, never hear the whisper of another tree or the quick and flitting images of a wood pecker drumming against the base of a strangler fig...never get scraped by the ivory claws of a tiger who didn't know better and just wanted to play.

The fleeing Myrian's back disappeared behind a giant fern just as her quivering arm loosed the shot, the hiss of the arrow slicing through rain drops sliding into her eardrums. She swore her heart stopped as she started running forward. If she hadn't hit him she would have to charge through the jungle in hopes of throwing her dagger into his back. How fitting the end to her betrayal would be if she silenced her opponent with a blade in the back.

But that gesture was not needed. She found him sprawled face first in the muk, coughing and crawling forward.

And she did not miss his last words as she dragged her dagger along his throat, opening it up and letting the rain water mix with the crimson liquid.

"traaaiiitor." The word had slid from his throat. And Tinnok couldn't argue with him.

She stood for a long moment, staring down at him, then walked almost unknowingly back to the scene of the carnage, swapping her bow out and collecting her arrows. She would have no hope of hiding the bodies in time...her only advantage was that no throat could spill the details of this event...an event sure to be seared into the other half of this fang's memory when they found Myrian fletched arrows in their comrades.

Tinnok made a final rude gesture to the woods in which the Dhani had disappeared before slinking into the wet rainy leaves herself.

Today her world had altered, though she couldn't be sure if it was truly for the worse.

[Praetorian]

Your Diligence Has Been Rewarded! Player 1 Meditation +2 XP Acrobatics +5 XP Weapon: Bow +1 XP Weapon: Dagger +3 XP Brawling +3 XP Observation +2 XP Rhetoric +3 XP Between Me and a Tree The Snake of the Swamps Brawling with a Beast, Fighting Against a Fang Loot! After losing her own bow, Tinnok recovered a standard bow of Myrian make. Nikol Retired. Notes : Good plot, you two! And you even get some combat points out of it. Have any questions, comments, or concerns? Feel free to message me.