Completed The Cold Jungle (Kaie)

[Inoadar]

'Now we're getting somewhere.' he gloated to himself. He plainly let himself be seen replacing the bolt in his quiver and slipping the crossbow back in its harness on his saddlebag. It was really only a couple of leather loops that slipped over the limbs to hook on a hardened leather peg protruding behind the saddle.

He wasn't sure about her, she seemed very high-spirited and strong minded. He suppressed a smirk as the word "bitch" flashed across his mind. He thought she might be up to something. Her choice of words were almost consistent with a surrender. It didn't sit well. "Look, I'm not taking you prisoner, alright? I just want to see this place of yours. I trust you'll tell me if there's anyone there that's going to try to ambush me." Of course he believed no such thing. If she was a member of an outpost of Syliras sympathizers, she wouldn't warn him about anything. But he thought it might be worthwhile to let her think he would not be on his guard.

When she offered to lead, he spun through a variety of scenarios, all with different levels of advantage depending on who was in front. In the lead position, she would see things first and could plan some move based on upcoming landscape. But most situations worked his way by him being in the rear. "I would appreciate that, yes." He responded. He didn't want to come right and say that he recognized her as a serious potential adversary, but the fact was, he did. "You might remember some sign of them and be able to avoid them. Maybe you'll be able to leave them intact after checking them that way." He didn't know if their scents would linger and ruin them just by stopping near them, but it spared his pride not to admit that it was really because she made him nervous.

He didn't think she was aware of his mail shirt. He took a moment to reset the springs and reposition the spikes flat against the metal brace at his neck and cuffs. He took hold of his horse, Handy's, reins and started towards her. "Lead on, sister."

[Kaie]

Kaie's brow shot up in innocent questioning, eyes wide as if she suddenly found realization in his reply. Her words were light, her tone mocking innocence. "Are you sure? You don't want to tie my hands behind my back where you can see them? Frisk me?" She inquired beginning to walk backward with her wrists together and extended, almost like a criminal awaiting cuffs. The woman couldn't help herself toward the end, letting a sinister yet teasingly crooked smile slip up her features. Granted his precautions were merited but she simply couldn't help herself. Kaie was far too headstrong for her own good. And he was easily startled.

The Myrian woman fearlessly bit her lip and let the false innocent dissipate from her features, a single arched brow replacing her dangerous coyness. She stepped back a few paces eyeing him in that way, gauging his reaction before turning back around. Back to business."Traps first. "Settlement" later. We shouldn't be far from the snares anyway. And I wouldn't worry so much about them," She began, voice steady and matter of fact like a militant relaying intel. "That is unless you're afraid of getting your boot caught," A final jest, but one that did not slip from her newly adopted tone.

She turned back around with her eyes sweeping the landscape for trouble. And for signs. What she hadn't admitted was she was searching for the traps when she had stumbled upon his location. Plenty of chimes had been wasted in the effort. Focus reminded her that there was no way she was off course. Kaie had been counting. Within a few more careful paces, the traps should be easily detected. Truthfully, her efforts were half-assed the first time around. The trap had been set up correctly but her work at camouflaging it wasn't quite up to par. When the sun sets, though, one knows enough not to dabble in the forest alone.

"Over there," The Myrian said suddenly, pausing in her advance to point between the trees. Her extended index finger perfectly aligned with what appeared to be one of her traps. Sadly, that one in particular yielded no prey. Perhaps she had chosen a poor spot there or simply should've done a better job with the concealment. "The other is only a short walk away. Stay here if you do not trust. Follow if you want. Does not matter," Kaie said, turning back to him with a nonchalant shrug. And then without further hesitation she stalked forward only a few more paces in search of the second.

[Inoadar]

Her mockery earned her a snide leer and a suggestive tone. "Why? Did you want me to frisk you? If you'd like to strip for me, I'll try to accommodate you." he motioned with his forehead and crossbow for her for her to go on ahead. She stressed that they would check out the traps first. This was what he expected anyway, but he sighed heavily anyway, figuring it might pacify her somewhat to feel as if she'd forced some concession from him.

Her remark about catching his boot brought a smirk to his face. 'I'll get it caught on your ass if you don't get moving.' he felt like saying. She moved on ahead, looking like she was searching for something. inoadar didn't know for sure if it was traps or snares for animals that she was looking for, or some sort of trap for him.

Before long, she sighted one and they made their way toward it. He was immediately on his guard, his eyes staring in an attempt to gather in the entire forestscape instead of just the specific spot she indicated. Also, he listened past her voice and the slight rustling of her search in case there were the sounds of stealthy approach. He heard nothing threatening as she checked the empty loop snare.

She said that the next one was not far away and acted unconcerned about his presence, shrugging as she moved off further into the woods. He scowled, but looked around in the opposite direction, thinking he'd heard something.

[Kaie]

Kaie could do nothing but roll her eyes with her back turned, teasing grin still on her face. A heartless laugh escaped her once at his own return and gesture to accompany it. Then it was back to business. Back to the snares.

There was little need to check a track that was so obviously fruitless. Instead she moved to actively search for the second, which if the Fates were with her, would yield something to show for her efforts. It seemed Tyrell wouldn't be accompanying her which was fine. In fact it gave her a little bit of peace. Their air had been tainted with expected distrust and tension. Escaping it had been rather nice like a weight from her shoulders, leaving her only with herself and the forest. Was it so terrible she was starting to enjoy Caiyha's realm devoid of disturbance than human interaction?

Kaie wasn't gone too long but while she was, the world was relatively silent. Her foot falls had been practiced, trying to remain quiet. The distance between herself and Tyrell would bring him no sound to be alarmed by her movements. All her follies were relatively quiet though they did occur and often. Overall, so far so good.

And that's when she reappeared in his view, scampering with quick and moderately quit steps back his way. She knew he'd more than likely be alarmed. In the grand scheme of things she didn't know if she could afford to care. Brow pulled together as soon as she neared his position, she glanced his with with a finger to her lips. One of her hands was extended his way to show no harm was intended for him. The other, however, had a firm grasp on her gladius.

The Myrian paused, keeping her lips sealed. Glancing his way, she lifted her free hand toward her face. She made a V with her fingers and pointed at her eyes. Her stare was meaningful, willing him to pay close attention to her signals. And then she extended her digits out, extended the V toward the forest beyond them. Right toward the direction of her second snare. Exactly where the sound of something feasting merrily on her kill laid.

[Inoadar]

When Inoadar turned back around, the woman who called herself "Kaie" was nowhere to be seen. He almost shouted out for her to step back into the open when several unpleasant possibilities occurred to him, all of them being made worse by his shouting.

She could be about to attack him from the nearby foliage. If he shouted, she could sneak closer, unheard, for an even more efficient sneak attack...She could be running for this alleged homestead. If he shouted, he would not hear sign of her passage...She could be joining some cohorts in the woods. If he shouted, they would also have a better gauge of his position...Something might have snatched her. If he shouted, well, then it was far more likely to get him as well.

No, all things considered, he was best off hiding himself and seeing what there was to see. He heard no sign of an approaching ambush, but remained where he was for several chimes. He heard her returning now. He felt a bit insulted that she seemed to be allowing herself to be heard now, as though he was going to be startled and fire blind at the first noise.

She must have seen his intake of breath and the set of his face, because she suddenly put a finger to her lips. Ordinarily, he'd have been put off even more than he already was, but there was something about this gesture that seemed to have nothing to do with him directly. She made a series of gestures he was not familiar with. It irked him to think it was probably something so fundamental to military training that she assumed he knew it.

It was as if she saying she was going to cast her eyes into the woods like a pair of dice. Then a surge of self-recrimination almost made him blush...Duhhh!...She was obviously saying she was going to go take a look at something over in the woods where she was pointing. Almost at the same instant he realized it, he heard it too. The sound of an animal tearing flesh and chewing. If not for his adventure with Ariella, he might not have made the connection. His own encounters with wolves had been too noisy to have logged this sound in his memory...'Big, damned, noisy, furry, over sized rats!...' His loathing of wolves surged unconsciously.

Inoadar pointed at himself and nodded, figuring she would know that he was including himself in this reconnaissance. He didn't step into the woods alongside Kaie, he moved to come at a side angle. He knew that she was probably already in position to see what was there by the time he even started to get close. But he knew enough to be careful and make as little noise as possible.

But it was not little enough. His apprehension might have been more severe if not for his profound curiosity. 'What in Dira's Dungeons IS that?' He thought to himself as he raised his crossbow, realizing too late that he had unloaded it.

Still, it saved his life for the moment. A sinuous body, fronted by what seemed like a ludicrously exaggerated number of teeth, leaped at him with a hissing shriek and the canvas slapping beat of wings. As he dove to the side, he swung the crossbow like a club, only to feel it snag on something right in mid swing and get jerked from his hand.

A tearing pain assaulted his leg, where he had no mail, and he cursed himself for that oversight. He had meant to buy mail leggings to go with his shirt for two damned seasons! This thought was forgotten with the sound of an odd harsh cough and he continued his roll to come to his feet and see the handle of his crossbow protruding from the creature's mouth as it shook its reptilian head like a dog, trying to rid itself of the nuisance.

The metal limb of the crossbow was stuck in its teeth like a brace holding its jaws apart. Inoadar was fascinated for a moment. This was like a giant, winged lizard. No, he corrected himself, it IS a giant, winged lizard. And when it finally dislodged the impromptu wedge from its mouth, with the help of the same front claw that had slashed Inoadar's leg, it turned a baleful, unforgiving look at him, its tongue licking its teeth.

'Crap! I hope this "Kaie" feels like helping out here,' he groused to himself, taking note of where the crossbow had landed and hoping it wasn't ruined. In the meantime, his horse, Handy, was making no end of noise and Inoadar hoped he'd live long enough to cut its tether.

[Kaie]

Much to the Myrian woman's relief, Tyrell eventually seemed to comprehend her basic hand signals. Without words she had managed to alert him of one very important presence.

Threat.

Then Tyrell began to do something unfathomable. He moved toward it and Kaie suddenly realized the grave error in their communication. What he had perceived as a something to be approached, Kaie only wanted to inform. When he pointed at himself, she had thought it was a signal he understood. She had seen the beast and knew what horror awaited him just a few paces away. As soon as she comprehended his intentions, she raced her flattened hand across her throat several times.

No, stop! Cut it out![/b]

But Tyrell was already on the hunt with his empty crossbow to see the abomination that had stolen her kill. It was too late to explain their need to abandon the investigation and move out. And there was no way to alert Tyrell without catching the attention of the monster, too. She could do nothing but groan inaudibly and see what she could do to stop him. Even then was she too late and the damage was already done.

[i]Gods dammit, Tyrell![/b]

The Myrian woman tore free her gladius brutally and rushed forward, trying to keep her feet moderately silent to hide the presence of a second attacker. The monster of a Balicani was quite preoccupied with Tyrell, its crossbow in its jaws like a child chewing on the wrong sort of toy. It was enough to form a pit in the Myrian woman's stomach, but not one that would distract her from her task. Kaie knew the urgency she needed to incorporate into her speedy actions when blood has been drawn. Yet how does one deal with an ungodly beast far bigger and more fatal than she?

And just as the winged lizard swung its furry neck toward her forced ally, she hurled a large stone with her free hand at it to compromise the distance. The stone hit off its body with a dull thud. Two more rocks followed quickly to pelt the creature, forcing its attention toward the new threat. It let out a screech of immense irritation and began to tilt its body in her direction. Likewise, Kaie changed her own angle of confrontation. She side stepped toward her left and away from Tyrell's horse, her eyes flickering toward his for a moment, teeth gritted. She made a single jerk of her head toward where his horse stomped. Like a proper predator, the Balicani was mirroring her. With each side step it turn its body and began to slowly approach her. Soon enough Tyrell would have a small window of opportunity to dart past it and to his horse. He only needed to time it right.

[i]As for me? No petching idea what I'm doing.

Its massive tail swung behind it, its body swaying in a reptilian prowl her direction. As it neared, it straightened up on its forelegs and flapped its wings threateningly at her. Another screech escaped its foul jaws in unison with the thwap of its appendages. Kaie studied its body language. Her eyes wandered over its muscles, their tension and the wild look in its eyes. Ferocious. And that's when it hit her. It was all a display.



"Territorial bastard," She accused in her native tongue, words harsh and brutalized by nature.

The Balicani lunged at her with surprisingly quick speed. Its ridiculous jaws widened and snapped her way, which the Myrian only evaded last moment with a diving roll to the side. It hissed dissatisfied and rotated its body back her way, preparing to attack once again. In Kaie's mind one thing was certain: She needed to make a decision. Fight the impossible battle or get the petch out of the way.

[Inoadar]

Inoadar saw something...several somethings hit off the side of the creature to no effect. No, it did have an effect after all. It turned its head towards the same direction where Kaie was yelling something. All he could understand was the feral sound of it. It appeared the beast did as well for it suddenly lunged in her direction.

Inoadar jumped to his feet, nearly falling again as the pain in his leg cause him to swoon momentarily. But he shook it off and rummaged through the brush to get his crossbow. It had been chewed badly but still looked functional. He hooked his foot in the cocking stirrup and pulled for his life. And Kaie's as well, he feared. As glad as he was that she had chosen to help him, he was not sure that he would have done the same. Not that he had especially wronged her with his suspicions, but that he had blundered into this beast entirely on his own. She owed him nothing, but had now risked her life to give him a chance to survive. He owed HER.

He slipped a poisoned bolt into the channel and swung the weapon up to fire. He saw it crashing through the brush to reach Kaie as she acrobatically weaved and darted around and away. He lead its movements confidently. He put pressure just short of firing on the trigger as he set his feet. His path was clear of debris, the creatures movement was precisely what he anticipated, and it was coming right in line with his current trajectory. He couldn't miss.

And he didn't...But the bolt didn't penetrate. It hit dead center on a scale, cracking it and pushing it in. But the bolt then slid up to wedge under an adjacent scale. Perhaps, if he got close enough to hammer it in he could still poison the damned thing. Handy was still having fits, and to Inoadar's horror, the lizard-thing, apparently decided that a big tethered chunk of game was better than rifling through this underbrush after a human.

Inoadar realized that they actually had an advantage of sorts with all this forest growth. Airborne, it would be a nightmare to try to fight off this creature's swooping attacks. A very short nightmare. But he was damned if he was going to let this thing take his horse unchallenged. He knew he needed a head shot. He grabbed an acid bulb arrow and ripped his way through the foliage to come back out into the clearing.

Handy, his horse, had by now, broken the tether in a panic and started to bolt down the path, only to have the monster leap into his path. Inoadar screamed "NOOOOO!" and shoved the crossbow stirrup into packed dirt. "EAT ME, YOU FILTHY, SCALY, PETCHING BUZZARD!" he roared as he gave the cable a final tug...

...Only to fall helplessly on his ass as the weapon's chewed up stock broke under the pressure...

"...petch!..."

[Kaie]

Much to her relief, Tyrell did yank himself to his feet and get moving. Thankfully he had the sense to make his crossbow handy, too. Kaie on the other hand remained just as she was, dancing with the overgrown, spiked reptile. As soon as she evaded the massive jaws, her eyes flashed to Tyrell, watching him curiously. She had given him a clear shot for his horse. Petch, she basically spurred him off merrily into the sunset. Yet he was still there. Still losing the dance to escape the monstrosity neither had a hope of defeating. And...Was he aiming that little bolt at its thick skin?

Before the sound of the released bolt could tease her ears, the bolt had already smacked into the creature. Kaie's eyes lit up, a grin spreading across her face expecting to hear the creature react in some kind of pain. She heard nothing but a deep, resonant exhale. The beast began to turn itself back around in search of the source that disturbed it. It was during that rotation Kaie saw the meager impact of the bolt. And sadly, it was the vulnerable horse that caught the beast's attention before Tyrell had. At least the poor animal managed to break the tether. It might've been much harder to watch had it still been linked and without a prayer, which it still didn't.

Tyrell let out a cry, screamed, and taunted the monster in hopes of capturing its attention. Kaie tried to do the same, but there were no stones near enough for her to hurl in time. Yelling apparently did nothing beneficial. The Myrian was left only with the notion of charging the thing with her gladius, but not even she would risk her life so recklessly for someone else's horse. It simply wasn't worth the risk. That's what her instincts told her anyway.

Snap!

Kaie yanked her head toward Tyrell with her eyes wide, fearing something worse coming from their situation. Another Balicani, for example. She was greeted only with the sight of her forced ally sitting in the dirt with a broken weapon.

Goddess...

Kaie ran toward Tyrell and skid to a stop beside him. She gestured wildly in he other direction around the monster, one hand flicking a wrist at his shoulder. Urging him back to his feet so they could make a run for it.

"It's guarding its territory. We need to get out of it! Let's go!"

[Inoadar]

Inoadar struggled to his feet, not even aware of the woman beside him, trying to get through to him. Nothing could have accomplished that, however, as the Balicani bore down on his horse. Inoadar was beyond realizing how out of character it was for him to care so much about a "dumb animal". But there it was, and it could not be reasoned with.

This horse had served him well. It had remained faithful in the face of wolves and Yukmen, despite its fear. Inoadar had always been able to keep the main threat focused on him, instead of his horse. And he'd have been able to do so now, if not for the crossbow breaking. But this time, he could do nothing more than scream and wave his hands in futility. This time, the threat ignored him, in anticipation on a feast of horseflesh. This time, he would fail the loyal beast that trusted him to protect him. This time, for what he would later recall as the first time in his life, tears streamed down his face in hopeless despair. He shoved Kaie aside, screaming in anguish as the monster's teeth closed on Handy's neck, turning its shrieking neighs into a sickening wet gurgle, punctuated by popping bones.

Inoadar stood in a void of understanding. How could this be? The familiar red haze began to fill his vision and the tearing and smacking sounds of the grisly spectacle turned to a low hum, a precursor of manic violence. But the voice of the woman kept him grounded, aware of the true nature of the situation. Her words were a jumble that he made no attempt to comprehend, but the realization that there was another, to help him get his revenge, set his mind on calculating paths.

He turned in a flash to the woman, speaking in tones that did not account for the possibility of dispute. He whipped his backpack off and pulled the slipknot on the leather straps, growling instructions as he rifled through the pack for a number of vials and tiny bagged bundles. "Okay, listen to me! This is what I want you to do! It feels victorious now and will be careless. Take these things. Do NOT open them until its time! I will distract the petching thing, and when it chases me, you dump this stuff in the spot where its...eating." His voice cracked on the last word and the red haze began to color the world again.

He shook it off with a snarled curse and pulled his hammer from his bag. Just the plain, handyman's tool, not some grand bludgeon of war. He looked at Kaie as she stared at him as if he'd gone completely mad. He didn't care. He knew that what he was doing WAS madness, but if it served to kill this monstrosity, he would call it a fair trade. His voice turned raw with fury, "What are you waiting for? GO!!"

He did not wait to see if she complied. He stalked toward the creature, fearless with suicidal grief and lethal intent. The Balicani growled, but remained at its feast, confident that these scrawny city-things were of no concern. Inoadar pulled his dagger and squatted by the tail, which twitched in warning along with the growl. On the third try, he got the dagger lined up, mid twitch, and hammered the dagger into the tail, dislodging a single scale.

The monster snarled in surprise and whipped the tail into Inoadar, staggering him back to fall on his butt. The creature turned its body to face him, but stayed near the horse carcass, baring its fangs in a display beyond mere show. Inoadar lost what sliver of reason he still possessed as he saw Handy's bit and reins caught in its teeth. "RHYSOL TAKE YOU, YOU PETCHING, VAYT-CURSED BASTARD!!" he roared as he rose and hurled the hammer, fueled by hate and adrenaline.

Perhaps, the Dark God's influence extended beyond the city itself. Perhaps the Woman's goddess respected the battle fury embodied in this madman. Perhaps, Kel-Wyn, the twin sibling gods of lost causes decided to send a single miracle his way. Perhaps even Yahal, normally a god that would disdain Inoadar's leanings into evil, was impressed by his loyalty to his mount and sent a spike of Ennervism. For whatever reason, or no reason at all, the claw half of the hammer caught the creature right in the eye, and it roared in hissing pain and rage as blood spouted from the ruined orb.

For Inoadar's part, he crowed in mocking triumph and ran with shouted taunts into the woods.

[Kaie]

He was a madman, this Tyrell. Screaming, waving his hands, tears leaking from his eyes all to rescue a hooved beast beyond rescue. Rationality was far over his head. As soon as he laid his hands on her again, thrusting her forcefully from his side, Kaie was unsure whether to voice her insult of just leave the crazy bastard. The moment her feet were solid again, the Myrian's expression hardened. That mask was cracked only slightly with the notion of understand, sympathy almost, for the momentarily broken man. Had she not been used to the bone crunching, blood sputtering noise of a dying creature, she might've cringed at the sight. That did not make it any easier to watch. She would remain for another moment with the grieving man. If he would not unfreeze, she would be on her way.

His sudden return to the harsh reality caught Kaie a bit off guard. His voice was hard, stern, and indisputably vengeful. He had a plan and he would be sure the Myrian woman would hear of it.

Goddess, don't tell me you want me to start wielding whatever the petch you've got going in there...

His words were quick, almost undecipherable to the foreigner who knew little of the objects he was thrusting at her. All the vials and small bundles of things she could not name. He could've claimed they were the blood of the Goddess Queen for petch's sake and she probably wouldn't have been able to argue with him. The very notion of poison in her hands was not something she was enjoyed. Just the wrong move and she could spill it upon her skin. Something told her she wouldn't have an interest in that aftermath.

Dump this in the horse carcass? Okay. That's easy enough. No we just have to figure out how...A petching hammer? That little petching hammer against a Balicani? Really?

There was little she could do but stare at him rather bewildered. From where she was standing it looked like he was suicidal. She had half a mind to flat out tell him he was insane and not thinking clearly. At all. She might've had he not shouted at her with the anger of Rhysol had she decided to burn down the lake city.

Kaie stared down at the vials and then at Tyrell a moment longer, witnessing his maddened advance toward eminent death. All for a horse. It wasn't until she watched the insanity fueled dislodging of a scale Kaie decided she might want to move. Like a ghost into the shadows she moved, feet trying to remain moderately quiet. With all Tyrell's screaming, she decided that was hardly needed. Kaie was just crouched a few meters from the bloodied carcass when she watched from the creature's back, the hammer thrown at its face. From afar it was the stupidest act of anything she'd ever seen. Until the hateful cry and whipping around of the beasts head allowed the savage a glimpse of the damage done. Perhaps he was right about one thing. Rhysol, or whatever deity took interest in him, certainly had some kind of investment.

The Balicani continued its roaring, tail flicking furiously behind it. It waved its head to and fro as if trying to rid itself of the injury. When revenge seemed its only option, it finally spurred forward with the hostility of a fang of warlike Myrians. Right for the man who dared mock the Syliras beast.

"Petching fool," She hissed to herself the moment she eased in beside the horse carcass. The body was still warm, its appendages still splayed in a futile escape from the ground.

The Myrian did not question which vial and bundle was what. She uncapped what needed to be uncapped, and untied what needed to be untied. The end result was a wide variety of poisons added to the pool of blood created in the carcass's midsection. "Thank you for your sacrifice, brother. But petch did your rider really love you," She whispered in her native tongue with a shake of her head just before careening back into the forest. Deep into the darkness of Syna deprived plants and shadows cast by towering trees.


OOCSorry for the delay! Let's get back to it, shall we?