The days passed as more and more of the pack fell under the influence of the puppet master – those who were at first neutral, at least. They were either loyal to Rravka or disillusioned by Guy – there was no middle ground. Rravka felt powerless – because in fact, he was – as the priestess and Rynn could only helplessly look on. An altercation would soon be unavoidable, and the winner had already been chosen.
“We must strike first,” Rynn pleaded. “If he is allowed the element of surprise and the favor of time, we will not have the time to escape.” She paced back and forth within the makeshift tent that she shared with the priestess.
“That is already known,” the grey-clad woman retorted. “The balance of power has shifted to a human within a circle of wolves. It is unbelievable that the two of us still breathe; it is a phenomenon that he leads.”
The open flap made way and allowed entrance to a grizzled old wolf, aged in wisdom beyond his years. “If we can isolate the beast, Ryn,, will you be able to deliver a lethal strike?” The wolf’s desperation was apparent on his tired face.
“I can at least try, but I can promise nothing.” The assassin wielded her claws and swung at imaginary foes, getting a feel for their new weight. Her friend had cast a spell of light-weighted enchantment, giving the blades almost no weight at all. They were no longer weapons to be wielded, but only the dangerous extension of an arm. “Just give me the signal.”
~~~~~~~~~~
The sun still sat high in the sky late that afternoon, breaking through the storm clouds passing overhead. They rained not their punishment there on that day for fear of interfering with destiny and fate. They quietly passed with an occasional breaking of thunder in rebellion of their passivity.
The sounds of padded wolves were not heard as they stalked their prey on the path, underneath the shade of the trees. They kept sight of one another on opposite sides of the path, the four of the creating a box to hold their quarry. They slowly closed in, knowing that if they heard not even themselves, then there would be no one to hear them.
Further down the path, Rynn flattened up to the bridge that lay above her, with the water rushing below her. The wooden bridge would not give much room for the movement of armor and the swinging of a sword, but ample room for the thrusting of two claws and the acrobatics of a cat.
On both sides of the bridge, there were more wolves waiting in ambush. They lay tense in their dark coverings, anticipating the next few moments with great anxiety. It was life or death, and they knew it. They would either kill this beast or they would die trying. They would not run away, they would not beg for mercy.
The two wolves ahead of their victim sprang from the underbrush and fixed their sights upon the target. The man drew his sword and slashed, but did so at thin air. The wolves were back on the ground, and the man instinctively turned around and faced two other wolves. These were not under his spell, he knew, and so he took up a defensive stance with his shield in behind him and his sword taunting those in front of him.
“What, do you want to kill me?” the man asked. At these words, two of the wolves turned their tail and ran as the other two from behind, the ones farthest from the bridge, feigned an attack on the man and broke up after nipping at his heels towards the bridge.
“You shall not get away so easily!” The overconfident man began pursuit of the would-be predators now turned prey. He soon began to cross the bridge and suddenly stopped. Why had he done as such a stupid thing as chase wolves in the forest, with no one to watch his back?
The trap was sprung.
Wolves everywhere came out of hiding, but did not attack. Their ruffled fur and bared fangs were the only signs needed by the human to know which side they were on. “Rravka, dear Rravka,” he called. “There is much we need to talk about, my friend. It shall be for the benefit of both of us…”
The wolf bounded down a nearby slope and stood on the opposite end of the bridge. The man was many lengths away, as this bridge spanned a fair-sized river. The wolf sat calmly on his rump and gave the man an expression akin to a smile, or however a wolf does indeed smile. “You shall release your hold upon my kin, you fiend. I know not what dark magic this is, but if you do not, I can assure you of the dire consequences that lie ahead.” The wolf smiled again at the end of his sentence and gazed down the bridge at the clearly disturbed man.
“Well then, it is too bad.” The man dashed toward the wolf while producing a high-pitched sound from his lips.
The trap was sprung.
Wolves exploded into motion around the insurrectionists, wolves under the leadership of the human. They attacked their brothers, unrelenting even though they were family. The victims, caught unawares, were slaughtered for the most part with a few small victories here and there. Fur flew everywhere and the blood of the animals dyed the ground red, along with the trees, trunks, leaves, and grass around them.
Two wolves jumped upon another and knocked it unconscious as two others joined and grabbed a leg. The two there first followed suit and each grabbed different legs as they foursome pulled violently at the limbs of the wolf. It was drawn and quartered as it howled in a furious agony, dead before it hit the ground as its innards lay spread across the ground beneath it. Another wolf caught one by surprise and snapped its neck in two, only before ripping the head completely and cleanly from the base at its neck. The wolves under the leadership of Rravka, knowing not what to do, took the punishment as more and more of them fell into death. Rravka himself immediately sprung into action, injuring all those who dared approached him. Soon, no wolves dared approach him as he spun on his heels and witnessed a blur of motion swing from beneath the bridge and land two heels on the side of the charging man’s head. Rravka howled in glory, returning to the battle as he spun around yet again and broke the legs of one of his former pack.
The man fell off the bridge but managed to hang on with the shield arm as he swung himself up and back onto the bridge, gaining solid footing. He managed to catch another flying foot and swung the body in circles to gain momentum before he threw it onto the opposite bank.
“Rynn, how nice to see you,” the man gleamed. He was standing a few feet from Rynn’s thrown body, awaiting her recovery.
“Stop the chatter,” Rynn spoke as she spat some blood onto the ground from her mouth. “I don’t know what the hell you managed to do, but it ends today.” She placed one foot in front of her and the other behind, a katar raised above her head and the other extended towards her adversary. “You can’t hope to win”
“It seems that is not the case,” Guy mocked. He turned back to the battle across the river, counting out loud the wolves that were not his. “One… Two… I can count them on my two hands.” He grinned evilly, turning around at the same time. Rynn had disappeared.
A confused and mumbled question escaped his lips as he flew a few feet into the dirt, kicking right back up and onto his feet, now on his guard. He rolled ahead and missed a foot from above as Rynn had come from the limbs and had hoped to knock the man out cold. He stood back up and became bored of this little dance they were doing. He sidestepped and bashed Rynn with the shield as she flew past, knocking her onto her back.
Before she had the time to rise, Guy was already charging towards her. Rynn managed to get on one knee and blocked the extended sword with her left and stabbed forward with her right. He raised his own shield and deflected the blow and sliced high to bring Rynn’s left arm up above her stomach. The feint worked as Rynn’s arm went high to parry the sword, but was stopped short by a shield to her midsection.
Rynn flew back a few feet and managed to deftly land on her toes with a flip in mid-air. She took two steps and swung both katars high, aimed at Guy’s head. Guy managed to avoid by stepping back on his heels, but was caught off balance as Rynn swung both katars again, but this time low, aimed at his waist and groin. She was in an angry fury in this battle, and Guy had a look of calm on his face.
Guy brought his foot up after Rynn had missed her attack and landed a weak kick to her stomach as he staggered backward, but knocked Rynn onto one foot. He quickly regained his footing and started forward as Rynn almost tripped over a root. An arm’s length away, Guy sliced from left to right as his shield went from right to left, one following the other as if it were a single motion from a single arm.
Rynn managed to parry the sword and had barely enough time to bring up her other arm in an attempt to block the shield with both katars, and successfully stopped the attack as she hopped backward and attempted a roundhouse kick to Guy’s left side. It was too bad for her his shield was already there.
Guy stabbed forward with his sword as Rynn deflected the blow as she staggered backwards, attempting to regain her footing in the process. Guy managed to give her a slight shove onto her back as he flew into the air and brought his sword into a flying stab into Rynn’s guts.
Rolling over, Rynn kicked Guy’s side as he managed to stab the earth, falling onto his stomach. Rynn herself was on the ground, but on her back. Guy rolled over, his shield at ready to bash his prey, but Rynn was agile enough to roll out of the way, flip, and even crouch on the ground once more.
Guy used his momentum from his missed attack to flip himself, and swung his sword as he sword through the air at Rynn’s knee. In her crouched position, she used her spring-like legs to flip over the flying target and lands behind her enemy, only greeted with a shield to her face.
She kicked out as she fell back, managing to catch Guy’s chin with her boots. She fell into a sitting position as Guy regained his balance from the weak blow to his chin. He smiled. He was still on his feet, and she was on the ground, dazed. As she stood, he came to charge. Rynn somehow managed to block the charge with both claws and attewpted to block his slice with her left claw.
With the numbing force of the blow ringing through her arm, she dropped her weapon. Guy smashed her right hand as her katar took flight and landed many lenghts away. He was still smiling as he flipped into the air, knocking Rynn onto her back. When he landed, he replaced his sword in its sheath and placed his shield upon his back. Still he smiled as he walked to where she lay.
"This is it, Rynn." He procured a dagger from his belt and held its gleaming blade in the air. "This is where you shall lay dying, struggling to breathe air with every last breath you take." Rynn tried to stand, but Guy kicked her behind the knees, driving her knees into the ground. He grabbed the back of her head and turned her face towards the heavens, only to glance once more upon his face.
"Good night," he whispered. The blade tore effortlessly through her skin and into her throat, leaving a gaping hole as she began to gasp for air, falling to the ground. She clutched tightly her neck as she rolled on the ground, the life sweeping out of her with each breath not taken. In but a few moments, she lay still, as Guy replaced the dagger on his belt after wiping the blood from it using Rynn's garb.
A shuffling of feet from behind caught his momentary attention as he turned to match his intruder, but he saw only the heel of some foot as it slammed hard into his jaw and sent him flying backwards. He immediatley knew who it was, even before he had caught a glimpse of his assailant. "Loraiel," he thought, "how nice to meet you again." But he said not a word ao he hopped over her sweep, right into another kick.
The Priestess immedaitely regained her footing; she rebalanced even before she could think about it. She looked up to see a grin.
"What, surprised at my knowledge of you?" Guy held an easy stance, relaxed, with all of his weight on one foot.
"Truthfully? Very much so." She tensed her legs, seeing Guy move his arms to his sword and shield. "Do I seem to care? Because if it looks as if I do care, I can fix your eyes for you." She launched herself into the air and feigned a kick at his stomach, only to swing out with her left arm. Guy raised his shield to block the punch meant for his face, but a feigned feign left him with a foot in his stomach. The other leg came shortly after, sending him far back and up into the air.
Loraiel the Priestess chaged forward hoping to find Guy still unprepared, but she knew better. She should not have continued her assault from his front, but she had too much momentum built up to stop in the distance between the two combatants. Guy took a step forward and swung his sword diagonally, aiming for her raised hand as his shield arm followed in suit. His spinning motion put him face to face with his partner as she flew over him and continued his spin attack, slicing down and smiting up, bringing the sword back down as he turned around with the shield following. His next spin he brought his sword up and his shield flew horizontally, but the awkward movement of the previous motions left him unbalanced as he tripped over his own feet, dropping his sword in an effort to not fall over.
Loraiel saw an opening, and lashed out with her foot. Her advesary foresaw this, and his free hand was in place to grab her foot, using his other hand to grab her leg as he began to spin around once more. Building momentum, he locked eyes with the Priestess as he smiled. "I hope you like flying, woman!" He released his grip and up flew the girl into the air, like some unwanted ragdoll thrown by some pompous child. The Priestess continued rolling down a hill, struggling to regain her footing atop a rock that stopped her falling, bracing herself for the inevitable charge, but found no attack to prepare for.
She looked up at Guy farther up the hill and saw him looking past the Priestess, high above her.
She followed his gaze, not knowing whether to think that this was a deception or in fact held some truth.
The glimmering twilight caught the movement of a ragged cloak as is floated in the breeze that held it aloft. The fabric was so torn that the last rays of light shown clearly through it, shining in Loraiel's eyes. A flame escaped from his body as it rose towards the heavens and crashed down upon the dead body of Rynn, the life no longer within her, sucked out by Guy's blade. Loraiel heard movement from her body as she began her way towards her fallen body.
The flame consumed the corpse as it began to twitch here and there, causing faint movements within the dead body. The flame began to die and disappear as it gave Rynn more and more life. When the fire died, a faint glow could be seen from Rynn, a fiery, soft glow that even the being so far away whose cloak was fluttering, ragged and torn, could see. The Priestess reached Rynn as she took her head in her arms, Rynn's eyes alive with fire, her breathing labored with pain.
Rynn was alive; though badly hurt, Rynn was alive. She looked up once again at the shadow so far away, and immediately recognized who this person was.
He had returned.