The cast:
The RAIGAA: Feline leonine-like race, very big in size.
TELKIS: Male NPC guard.
FAEKAWN:
A young gryphoness, standing about 3' tall at the shoulder, leaving her third
winter. Her immature plumage has fallen away, leaving her adult coat of dark
golden and browns gleaming, with striking blacks accenting her secondaries. Her
fur is mostly a dark bronze color, paler along the underside, and darker at her
paws and her tailtip. Her beak is a light shade of yellow/gold, as are the
scales of her forelegs. She's still just a little bit leggy, but is definitely
growing into her adulthood. She has the mark of a gryphon who does a lot of
flying, with strong wings and deep chest.
DENARIS: Female NPC guard.
PAZRAEL: Male NPC guard.
KERYN: Female NPC wingmate to Faekawn.
GAVAN: Female NPC wingmate to Faekawn.
AUBRI:
Aubri is a large, handsome nonmorphic gryphon. His foreclaws are scaled and
yellow like an eagle's below the elbow joint, feathered above it, with four long
talons on each claw. His body is feathered in golden brown back to his wings,
where the feathers fade into fur of the same shade. His neck has a wash of
iridescent golden feathers on it. Aubri's face ends in a fiercely hooked beak,
over which his sharp, brown eyes notice you looking at him.
His wings are broad with rounded ends, hawklike. They are folded neatly to his
back when he is on the ground, but spread for flight his wingspan looks to be
over thirty feet. A noticeable pattern traces down his wings, outlining his
coverts on top in bright gold feathers, each tipped with a black that is almost
blue at the end. The pattern reverses along the front edge of his wings, then
fades into his chest feathers, looking almost natural even though it is indeed
feather paint. His large padded hindpaws have shiny black retractable claws in
them, the tips of which are always showing on his toes. His smooth, tight rump
is thickly muscled and marred only by a long scar running from shoulder to hip,
long healed over.
STORMDANCER:
Patterns of black, dark blue and smokey grey cover this gryphon, over feathers
and fur alike. Both feathers and fur have the glossy sheen of a new coat, having
finished both molting, and loosing the thicker fur of winter. Under his wings,
on the sides of his chest, the feathers are a thinner and not as well formed,
and pair of deep and ugly scars can be seen there.
His forelegs are covered in dark smokey-blue scales from the 'elbow' down,
ending in jet-black talons that are long, and needle sharp. His beak is likewise
a dark blue-grey, fading to black along the edge and tip.
Unexpected Trail - Churnel Mountain Cluster
It seems strange that there would be a trail here, but there is, running north
south and it has had a fair bit of use, too. The trail is rutted with wheel
marks and hoof prints. North the trail descends slowly out of the mountain
cluster to an area where the two rivers split just south of Lake Evarim. The
path continues southwards for a bit, and then curves westward. You can see a
respectable distance to the east, over the forest and across the Tyber river.
The land here is beautiful and green, the air still damp with morning mist,
though the two glowing red suns are slowly burning it away.
A dark shape ... barely visible, a brief glimpse amongst the trees along the side of the path every now and again. Large as a bear, it moves softly, slowly for a few moments, then occasionally in a small burst of speed to vanish once more into shadows... It chooses rocky areas particularly, avoiding soft soil and patches where it might make noise... what noise the creature does make is inaudible over the wind.
Telkis perks his eartufts forward and peers down into the shadows as the sky pales into deep blue, the sunrise glowing slowly behind the treetops. Somthing down there.. the flicker of motion as it crossed a less shadowed area attracted his attention. He stands up and stares at the point, his posture alerting other guards who start to look too..
Faekawn patrols, as she has for days now. Still a bit drowsy from being awake so early, the cold morning air is doing wonders to wake her up. With a quick glance to her wingmates, she can see it's having much the same effect on them. The last week of hard flying has made everyone tired, and very focussed. No playing or dancing today... just strong, fast, professional flight, each watching their assigned area of the ground below, while staying well within view of the posted guards... with frequent glances to them, in case they should spot something first, and raise an alarm.
The dark form far below pauses beneath a tree, and casts a glance upwards, sweeping the sky. Although the first rays of light are only beginning to climb over the horizon, this area is still quite dark - the mountain blocks direct light from the suns, for the time being and only the ambient light is slowly increasing. Glittering eyes study the spiraling shapes above a moment, observing their pattern, and then moving towards deeper cover... searching now to find some abandoned cave to seek solace during the daylight hours.
Denaris remains at her post along the rocky ridge near the path towards the aerie. She glances up at the passing patrols, not noticing the shadow lurking below. her eartufts flicker back and forth to listen to what she might not see yet. A subtle flicking of the wings to resettle them after an errant breeze ruffles them.
Pazrael yawns hard, and gives a solid shake of his head. Ug, too early to be alive, especially with how late the gryphlets kept him up. He sighs, and sweeps his gaze over the lands again, despite drowsy sight. A glance to one guard. Nothing. A glance to the other...Paz perks his eartufts, and tilts his head. Oh oh....Telkis sees something....
Telkis gives a brief chirp to the nearest neighbor -- he's going to investigate. He leaps down from the hilltop and spreads his red-brown wings, gliding downward toward the forest and the source of that movement.
A soft chirp draws Faekawn's attention from her track on the ground... one of her wingmates spotted Telkis's flight from his post. The three scouts bank as one, in perfect, practiced formation, sweeping to better watch from the air what the other seems to be searching for near the ground.
Moving as it is now, the shape has not yet observed a gryphon approaching. Its general tactic is to move from one cover to the next, pausing between to observe the sky. As it reaches some dense undergrowth and peers once more out of the tree canopy, a bit back snarl of irritation as it discovers a winged shadow spiraling downwards. It withdraws a touch further into the underbrush, moving more carefully, intent on melting back into the still dark morning. Enough to get out of sight, some of its tracks although they are deliberately smudged to be hard to distinguish, may be visible and lead towards the creature's hiding place.
Denaris's gaze follows the flight's path over, drawing her own sight down towards the moving gryphon. She scans over the surrounding area looking for what drew his attention. She tenses lightly in case swift movement is needed.
Pazrael stands, gaining a similar posture to what Telkis had just had. Eyes pin, focusing in on the rust colored drake, as he flies down, alerting those a little further on who can't see as easily...
Telkis swings his head slowly back and forth, scanning for noise as he lands at the edge of the deepest shadows, then pushing slowly into the brush in the shadow's wake. Somthing a little darker than a shadow... his eyes strain to see through the gloom.
Faekawn gestures silently with her beak, and the three scouts break apart, spreading out, to get a view of the area from different angles. This is deadly serious business, and they all know it. Faekawn quickly looses sight of Telkis, due to the angle of her flight, but one of the others will watch for him. It could be nothing... just another of dozens of false sightings. Another deer seeking shelter early...
Denaris remembers her post and starts to scan her own area for anything out of the ordinary. Fast moving creatures could already be out of Telkis's area and into her own. Her eartufts flick around listening. She let's no area go unsearched. As yet, nothing.
Pazrael continues to watch after Telkis, being a bit closer in area to him. Occasionally his eyes will scan a little further from the drake's actual position, but for the most part stays locked onto Telkis. There's other guards. They can keep watch of the other areas, just as easily...
Rhenemet goes absolutely still as the gryphon lands, it is partially hidden behind a tree... its eyes are out of view - it isn't watching the gryphon, but listening for the hint of the creature coming closer, waiting patiently. From its position, the creature cannot see that other gryphons are monitoring what is happening below...
The creature goes absolutely still as the gryphon lands, it is partially hidden behind a tree... its eyes are out of view - it isn't watching the gryphon, but listening for the hint of the creature coming closer, waiting patiently. From its position, the creature cannot see that other gryphons are monitoring what is happening below...
Telkis lowers his head almost to the ground, peering at a blurred footprint.. somthing's definitely here, and it's definitely not a deer.. He raises his head and gives a skree, but not one with tones of alarm or prey.. just a signal. He pads slowly onward, pushing past bushes with the rustle of sticks and leaves against his feathers, and the soft pat of his feet on the muddy turf.
Faekawn's eyes simply don't deal very well with the darkness of shadows, and the tangle of brush and trees. If something is hiding, it's sure picked a good place to do it in! Now and then she gets hints of ... something. Her tail twitches slightly in her flight as she hears the skree from below... comforting, to know that the gryphon is still alright. Maybe it is just another deer, after all. Then, a faint glimmer of something... of fur or moss? Ahhh, it's so hard to tell in the gloom! If only the suns would finish rising!
Denaris unfurls her wings lightly after Telkis gives signal that he found something. She is ready to give aid or fetch it at a moment's notice. She does not, however stop searching her own are for fear the something spotted may try to escape while everyone is looking elsewhere.
Pazrael flares his wings, as the call comes out. Telkis is starting to get hard to watch after, which makes it a difficult choice to stay up here. He continues to keep his eyes set on the area right around where Telkis is dissappearing...rrrr, wierd. The shadows look odd, there, today...
The creature doesn't move at that initial skree... inwardly, irritated at the noise, and the attention it may bring. But - perhaps it will go unnoticed if this gryphon simply, vanishes. It waits patiently as he comes closer, listening to his movements, a mental image of the setting, the placement of the gryphon... what it expects the gryphon will do... Then, the moment is right... fighting instincts to roar, a sudden spring, massive body uncoiling all at once - one pounce closes almost all of the distance between the creature and the unwary gryphon, the next second it is airborn again - intent on crushing the gryphon's throat with its jaws before it has a chance to call out for help.
Telkis catches the sound of the leap and jerks his head up as the darker shadow detaches from the dim forest, and starts to screech a warning! The noise is strangled almost immediately as the raigaa's jaws close around his throat, but he continues thrashing.. the distinctive noises of wings flapping wildly and buffeting the ground carry up through the trees after the cut-off cry! He claws and slashes at his attacker, trying desperately to get free from this thing.. far bigger and stronger than himself, a situation a gryphon isn't used to!
Faekawn's pupils pin, and she flares her wings, slowing, hovering right at the very edge of stalling, as she stares intently. Yes... there's something there. She doesn't even need to call to her wingmates, she knows they'll see her attention quickly enough. But she doesn't stoop, she simply watches. If it IS just an oddly colored deer, or a trick of the light, Telkis will find it out soon enough. And then, the flash of silent movement. She freezes, for a moment... skies... it's BIG! And then she skreeees savagely, as her wings snap sharply down and back, flipping her onto her back, and starting her stooping dive. The sound is echoed, almost simultaneously, by her two wingmates, both folding their wings to dive as well... all hoping to be there soon enough to save the life of the gryphon below... and all knowing that's terribly unlikely.
Denaris snaps her head sharply at the sound of struggle and cry. It takes but a second to note Faekawn's wing going down to help, she knows what she must do. As her wings snap down to take her airborne, she issues forth a very loud skree of warning as she aims her flight path directly back to the aerie. After the tensions of the past few days, she hurries with no hesitation to get help.
Pazrael continues to wait, watching carefully. Nnn....Telkis is taking a while. Maybe it is nothing. His eyes catch sight of that odd shadows movement, however, so quick, so deadly. The short lived cry is all he needs, as he's suddenly off his ledge and diving to gain speed. Wings flare out, leveling him out, as he's swiftly moving to the forest's edge....
The creatures jaws surge closed on the gryphons neck - twisting its head to one side in a rough jerk intended to break the creatures neck. It is only in the next moment when it hears the fierce skree from above - blistering suns! the others were close. It releases the gryphon from its jaws without checking if it is dead - the attack was entirely to silence this one scout, and that is now pointless. It makes one quick upward glance, assessing the number of shapes, distance, and speed of approach and then leaps swiftly back into the shadows, not bothering to conceal its path as it ploughs into the deeper forest, following an old stream bed, partially concealed by the trees but there is a narrow corridor which a skilled gryphon could dive through...
Telkis issues a strained cough as the raigaa jerks his head to the side. Flesh tears but bone doesn't quite break, the gryphon's strong neck muscles resisting the twist as the gryphon jerks in his teeth. And suddenly he's released, from one blackness into another, that's much quieter and less painful.
Faekawn has absolutely no idea what she's going to do, five seconds from now, when she hits. She knows, without thinking, that she will hit first, in four seconds, fractionally ahead of her wingmates. Her eyes slit, fighting the impulse to slide the nictitating membrane closed... she has to see exactly what's happening. Three seconds away... the fierce struggle comes into view, Telkis's form thrashing and clawing at the large creature that's ... skies! It's Rhenemet? And then the gryphon is dropped... two seconds... she twists her wings, banking, arcing, twisting to follow the suddenly retreating creature. A second away, and her claws tighten against her chest, poised to strike, her wings flaring, slowing her as she makes tiny, flicking adjustments to her course... uncaring if it's Rhenement, or some other. And then all in one savage instant she is down through the trees, and in full-speed persuit of the Raigaa, leaves swirling in her wake.
Pazrael sees how quickly the airborne hen is in persuit of the creature, and flares his wings hard. The two behind fly in after Faekawn, and Paz lands. He's swiftly over to Telkis' side, looking him over to see what's wrong. If he's still alive...
In her own mind the Raigaa has already determined when the gryphon is likely to to strike... counting on her instincts, and that 'sixth sense' the tingle of her spine to know when the gryphons will come down... deliberately taunting them in a way, by running as their prey would... seeming in headlong flight, but knowing that the path she follows will allow only one after another to dive in, the trees are close enough to the sides to make those angles difficult. At the instant her instincts scream to her, she suddenly -twists-, planting one foreleg, letting momentum torque her body around, weight flinging to her hindlegs and in turn allows her to surge up on them, rearing to face her attacker with enormous paws swinging in like clubs to catch her closest pursuer head on.
Faekawn's nictitating membranes have slid shut of their own accord, protecting her eyes against the slash of leaves and branches. While others may think of this as prey, she knows better... she's seen the bodies, and she saw how it was savaging her clanmate. But even so, it's sudden turn surprises her, as she rockets down the narrow path, only the smallest part of her wings opened, still using her gliding speed to carry her. The sight is blurred by the protective lids, but the motion is clear - rearing up and striking. No thought, only well-honed instincts of one of the top fighters of her year... twisting and rolling, she drops down nearly to the ground itself, rather than high, as a gryphon might be expected to strike. Talons lashing upwards, to catch at chest and belly, if she can, using her speed slide past, raking as deep and hard as she can... if she actually makes the hit.
The Raigaa, for clearly that is what it is, now... Gives a bellowing roar, a low rumble that sounds almost like the crackling boom of a thunderstorm, a blast intended to disorient, and terrorize an opponent. Reared as she is, her ability to dodge is reduced - but her ability to strike is greatly increased. The gryphon is lower than she anticipated, a disadvantage that leaves her chest and flank free to be scored by the gryphoness, but at the same time allows her momentum to bring a huge paw down faster to side swipe the gryphons rump... claws drawing sharply across leonine hide - but it is a swipe, not a maul and its intend is to send the gryphon spinning off into a crash. In her turn, the raigaa earns long, harsh gash through her soft ebony pelt... wounds that although bloody, are not truly threatening.
The Raigaa, staggering from her initial engagement saw that there were at least three gryphons descending on her - and holds her position, reared up now, and all the more ready for the next two unlucky enough to come into range...
Keryn follows her leader's movements in practiced formation, following behind. She sees Fae dive and rtoll low, so she goes for the predictable upper path now that the Raigaa's attention is diverted down. With a quick flick of her wings, she gains more altitude after seeing how high this creature can rear up, but leaves enough room for her foreclaws to rake at the sharp paws waving at her.
Gavan takes a different route than the other two. She flares her wings, and makes it to the ground, the runs into the trees. She flanks a moment, trying to get around behind. Two angles, two areas of attack...
Faekawn may well be one of the best of her year... but it's a young year, and she's inexperienced in a true fight like this... much less against something so utterly alien in the way it moves and fights. The strike slams her rump down into the leafy ground as her claws connect, the combined frictions almost cancelling eachother out, sending her into a sharp spinning roll, crashing through brush and saplings. Oddly, she flashes back on a memory of something so similar, a year earlier, of a hunt against one of the draft-beasts that escaped from the festival. That, too, wound her up on her back, breathless and stunned. She fights her way back up onto her feet, staggering. She drags in a shuddering breath, then charges foreward, skreeeeeing again at the tops of her lungs, hoping to draw the attention of not only the Raigaa, but of the guards who must surely have seen her flight go down after this murderer.
Pazrael growls faintly, as he hears that skree, and raises his head. "Dammit, Telkis...don't you die." He bolts into the trees, to add a little more help to the three hens already fighting. Skies only knows how terrible that beast might actually be, and the more help, the better...
The Raigaa, seeing only one gryphon coming down at her, chooses the next moment to demonstrate another ability - she is a huntress, no passive fighter, and her haunches surge, propelling her up into the air. Winged she is not - but she's muscled enough to make quite a leap, more upwards than forwards, but some of both... Tipping gracefully in mid air, slipping -over- the gryphon that is attacking her and again lashing out with club like paws, claws fully extended to do the most damage she can as she more or less -thwacks- Keryn on the back towards the ground - already twisting again to land and take flight into the trees, she's not sure where the other gryphon from the air went, but it must be near.
Keryn skrees in surprise as this massive feline literally jumps and spikes her like a volleyball into the ground. Only her forward momentum keeps her moving enough to roll out of the 'landing path' of the leaping Raigaa. Breath is knocked out as well as a bone in her wrist from the unexpected grounding. Training kicks in though, and she struggles to her feet quickly, gasping regain her stolen breath. She looks up to see where she landed in proportion to the Raigaa's position.
Gavan is out of the trees...just in time to find she's already been too slow. Damn. She gives a quick glance toward both Keryn and Fae, before leaping forward after the retreating Raigaa...
Faekawn doesn't notice the blood streaming down her hindleg, and only notices the injury to the extent that it makes her running stride somewhat lopsided. She's a bit amazed at how FAR she slid, and leaps skyward, stroking her wings sharply in a brief space between trees, the motion throwing her forewards far faster than a simple run could do. Ah, skies, but it's big... and obviously very skilled, from the way it moves. Faster than she would have thought something that size could be. But she flings herself upwards, toward the canopy, slashing her wings out for a moment just as she crests the leap, changing the angle of her descent in an effort to confuse the Raigaa, hoping to come down on it's back.
The Raigaa gives a feral snarl, lashing out with a hindpaw when she senses movement behind her, Gavan is just out of range, but hopefully the strike will give her pause for thought. She dives for the cover of denser forest - she hadn't anticipated being descended on by so many gryphons at once, and is now in more serious trouble, deciding to attempt to break free of them, there are too many to fight. She heads westwards - hoping to reach the river, diving from one cover to the next, following no rhythmic pattern that would make it easy to pounce her, depending again on her sixth sense to let her know when attack is imminent...
Pazrael can hear the fight, and makes for the cover of the trees. He's already on the ground, and figures it easier than trying to fly through this dense forest. Back, forth, jump, duck, he moves as quickly as possible, flanking by fault of trying to get near but not directly on. His path gets closer and closer to the Raigaa's, without either realizing they're about to make impact real soon....
Keryn can't move really well on the ground with a broken wrist, so she takes to the sky once again, forearm tucking up tight against her sore chest. It's a rough take off after a rougher landing but she makes it within seconds. She heads in the direction the Raigaa ran to help keep an aerial eye on it if possible.
Gavan growls, as she quickly keeps after the Raigaa. Fae's but a few yards ahead in her flight, as Gavan races after, waiting for either the Raigaa to be tackled by Fae, change directions, or Fae to miss. The last of the three will make her take flight, herself...
Faekawn skreeks as the Raigaa leaps into deeper cover, and out from under her. It takes her only a moment to realize where she's heading. "Cut her off!" she screams in Shrilkish, "Don't let her reach the river! They swim!" For her own part, she twists in mid-leap, turning, then leaping again, charging off on an intercept course. The creature may be dodging and weaving, but she's cutting a straighter line. Every dodge lets her catch up closer. Nothing matters to her now but stopping the fleeing Raigaa. Nothing. And it is a single-mindedness that may well be her undoing, as she makes the leap that could well bring her claws into bear on the glossy dark rump.
The Raigaa surges through the trees and brush - leaving a trail a gryphlet could follow, the rough tears made in its tough hide by Faekawn's talons sting, but don't impeded her progress, though the blood makes her even easier to track. She becomes aware of the sounds of brush moving up ahead... at the first hint of feathers, she surges again into a pounce, soaring briefly, a remarkably graceful ark for a beast so huge, snapping her jaws and giving another roar as she passes - but it isn't intended to connect with thhe creature, only give disorient it as she surges past. Her goal is the river now, and she knows any delay may be fatal. But as she passes the gryphon she feels a tearing pain on her powerful rump muscles as Faekawn dives down, clawing her, she twists, kicking hard out with both hindpaws, trying to dislodge the gryphon there... but she almost halts in doing so.
Aubri rises from the aerie some distance off now, finally roused by the scout and heading toward the fight with all speed.. but he's not going to arrive for some time yet, at this rate.
Pazrael awrks! in surprise, as he's suddenly got this massive creature lunging at him. He stumbles a bit in his movements, but turns to now get into persuit. Luck has it, as Faekawn is atop the Raigaa, pulling her down and basically stopping all motion, and Paz himself pounces into the air with a skree, talons stretched out to dig into whatever they can, that he can land on the forehalf before the creature gets away...
Gavan is just as close. Even as she sees Fae take down the Raigaa, as it seems, and as that drake pounces in, she's once more diving over. Keep it from the river. Right. She lands on the opposite side, a slight ways away, and turns, settling to pounce if and when the Raigaa stands...
Faekawn's talons suddenly flex and dig in with their full strength... a power capable of crushing the skull or hip of a lesser creature, of breaking a thigh bone in two, if she had a good angle. But she doesn't... she simply has a clawfull of rump. And then, a tenth of a second later, her other claw slashes violently down and grapples as well. The powerful talons rachet tight, and nothing will remove her now but being physically torn away. She kicks and flails with her hindpaws, unable to get a decent hold, as the powerful Raigaa twists and turns.
The Raigaa roars again, in a combination of pain and rage as the gryphon she had just passed gets the opportunity to pounce on her side, talons grasping at her side... digging painfully into her hide. But she isn't defeated yet - far from it, so far she is only superficially wounded. She twists rapidly, almost spinning like a top, judging from the weight of the gryphon clinging to her back and foreshoulder where it is, her movements are awkward since her kick failed to dislodge the gryphon behind her... but she still manages to slam Pazrael hard off the side of a tree, head twisting to bite hard into his haunch at the same time.
Pazrael's breath is blown out of him, as he's slammed into the tree, and can't even get out the breath to screech in pain. However, he reacts by clenching his talons tight, ending in the same manor as Fae, as he's a bit better held. By one talon. The other barely has anything left of the hold it DID have, and falls off after another twist, leaving the drake dangling by a single talon.
Gavan growls, and moves in quickly. Beak opens, as she moves to dive in and bit into the Raigaa's throat, neck, eyes...whatever she can get...
Aubri closes enough to hear the noise of the confrontation down below and closes his wings, Denaris and Stormdancer in tow as he starts to dive, picking up speed in his descent..
Faekawn is slung almost straight out by the momentum of the Raigaa's fast spin - if her talons weren't physically unable to release without concious effort at this point, she would certainly have been thrown clear! For several long moments she's terribly disoriented, pounded and bruised by impacts against trees, ground, and monster. But she finally gets her bearings, and starts trying to drag herself into a better position, biting savagely at the base of the hips, digging for the spine, if she can find it. But there's so much fur, and fat, and muscle!
The Raigaa roars again shrilly, in increasing pain as the gryphons strike their blows... they are a fair bit smaller than her, but they are powerful creatures, and she is getting swarmed at this point. It is clear she will not survive much longer if they keep her pinned, she releases Pazrael's rump - by jerking her head back and ripping a large bloody chunk of meat off of it, Twisting her blood streaked jaws to grab Gavan by the back of the neck - her beak penetrating somewhat into her own throat, thick muscle enough to protect her from his initial attack... and she is now in the unlucky position of having the back of his neck very exposed to her jaws. She leans down and -chomps- there once, hard, perhaps enough to break the foul creature's spine, but there is no time to be sure of anything, instead she gathers all of her strength for a last ditch attempt to burst free of the bloodied group... Her muscles bunch, and she -explodes- forward and upwards in a surge,, hoping to use sheer muscle and desperation to throw off her attackers. Faekawn she is aware of only as a horrible pain in her hindquarters, other than lashing out with her hindpaws awkwardly there is nothing she can really do about the gryphon back there.
Keryn circles overhead, holding her broken wrist close to her chest and skree-ing to those approaching, guiding them to the point of the conflict... and once it's obvious they see, she twists and dives, slipping down throgh the branches to strike after the suddenly fleeing Raigaa, making a last ditch effort to stop her. She can't do much but simply batter the creature with her wings, slapping them fiercely about the face in an attempt to blind and disorient her.
Pazrael's leg is ripped into pieces as the Raigaa tears meat free. Bone glistens in the light, as the leg basically is made useless. His talon tries to hold on, but rips down the Raigaa's side as she leaps instead, until he's dropped back to the ground again. Paz lays there a moment, stunned and bleeding, before he drags himself to his feet. The one hind leg proves useless, but he still hops after...
Stormdancer's powerful wingbeats batter the air as he surges foreward with Aubri and the others. It sounds like this is finally the real thing, and the murderer... or one of them at least, may well be captured!
Gavan gets her bite in, alright....and bloody hell, if it doesn't do a damned thing. She's suddenly bitten, hard, teeth slicing into her throat and neck. She cries a gurgled cry, right before the Raigaa leaps free. A cough, another...and she realizes she can't move! Breaths come in wheezes, as she tries to order her body to react, but there's nothing....
Faekawn is single-mindedly focussed now, tearing great deep wedges of meat and fat out of the narrow of the Raigaa's hip, trying to get down to where she could actually stand a chance of severing the spine. But it's almost impossibly hard, battered and knocked from side to side as the creature under her runs again. But her beak strikes bone... and she skrees, rears her head, and lashes down again, digging deep...
Aubri steadily approaches, finally picking out the raigaa from the shadows as he plunges earthward.. he watches it fight, trying to analyze its style in the few seconds he has..
The Raigaa manages to burst free of two of her attackers... only to be set upon by yet another from above, one of the thumps of the creature's powerful wings sending her senses ringing... it doesn't slow her, but does disorient and destablize her, throwing off her delicate situational awareness... And the gryphon on her back is digging in further, driving her mad with its ripping until with a shrill cry she feels her hindlegs give out from under her... feels that, because there is little feeling from anything past where the gryphon is tearing of a sudden. In enough pain now she is beyond coherency, she twists, lunging back, trying desperately to grab the attacker on her back with her huge jaws.
Pazrael growls, as he moves past Gavan...not another. Already he's come across two who've taken it by the throat. And skies only knows if they'll survive. He's not too terribly far behind, as he sees the Raigaa's hind falter and fall. Paz flicks his wings open, and takes off, closing the distance far faster than he could on foot...
Aubri throws a claw back at Denaris and shrills, "HEALERS!" as he drops, then closes his wings and nicticating membranes to drop into the fight. He lands square on the struggling creature's back, clawing at it and biting at its neck, trying to kill it, restrain it, keep it from fighting one way or another..
Keryn shrills triumphantly as the beast goes down... but her hovering flight has left her with no momentum to strike, or even attempt to deflect as the Raigaa swings it's head around to strike at her wingmate!
Stormdancer is not the fighter he once was, but he's unquestionably going to give his all in this, if it comes to that. He follows with Aubri, letting the Scout leader take the lead in this, as it's his people down there!
Faekawn skreees as the hips collapse, and she grinds the bone beneath her beak harder... then looks up... just in time to see those immense, bloodied jaws striking toward her. "Oh..." she whispers. This is it. And then there's a crash, as Aubri's body impacts, and she's thrown clear... blood spraying from her shoulder as she arcs upwards, then crashes into the brush.
The Raigaa snarls fiercely, blinded in pain and rage, thrashing as more and more attackers swarm over her... no longer even aware her situation is hopeless - that larger view of the situation is lost in pain and bloodlust. Her jaws snap hard on anything they can reach - Aubri's foreshoulder as he lands on her back, making him a closer target than Faekawn.
Pazrael is right back in it, but a moment after Aubri slams down onto the Raigaa's back. He lands, albeit a bit roughly, and continues in on Faekawn's work as he realizes what she was doing. Head reels back, then slams into the spine, biting down to tug and wrench and destroy, to make sure those hindlegs are made useless...
Aubri snarls as the thing bites his shoulder, the tooth marks that covered the murder victims flashing into his mind.. he bites down harder, his beak slicing into flesh and muscle.. this wound is insignificant compared to what his fellow scouts just suffered! He twists hard, fighting with the resistant bone and muscle and tendons..
The Raigaa bites harder, fighting with desperation... but waning strength, although none of the attacks yet are fatal to the powerful beast... She yanks at Aubri with her jaws, trying to pull him off of her - as he is closest to being in range... and at least at present the one in the best position to tear into something that will kill her more quickly than simply being ripped apart.
Stormdancer joins in the fight as well, mobbing the much larger creature with the others, lashing in with beak and claw, as best he can. No... not the fighter he once was, but if the damage he deals out now is any indication, he must once have been formidible indeed!
Aubri frees his beak and screeches in pain, moving with the pull, pushing his shoulder INTO the raigaa's mouth.. forcing its chin up... "Storm!!" he screeches, muscles trembling with the effort..
Faekawn staggers, gasping heavily for breath, struggling up onto her feet, then falling foreward again. She stares at her bloodied shoulder for a moment, then fights up again, and charges, to finish what she had begun!
The creature still surges - albeit with her forepaws only, thrashing and twisting under the collective talons and beaks of the many gryphons attacking her... she no longer knows how many, it doesn't matter. There is only the chance to inflict as much pain and damage as she can before they finish her.
Stormdancer answers the cry in an instant, surging his powerful form upwards, driving his beak into the expose throat with all of his strength, talons digging in as well... claws pushing foreward and digging in, as his beak twists and tears deeper into the wound already created by one of the scouts before....
Pazrael gives a final wrenching tug, pull a good chunk of spine out with him! There! No more hindlegs, no more running, no more pouncing away. Paz digs his talons in, and pulls forward, getting more to the side opposite Fae, and slams his beak into hide and muscle again. The belly's next...
Faekawn is suprised to find herself falling again, but she drags herself to the hindquarters, and digs in fiercely again, obsessively biting and tearing deep into the now-limp flesh, as the others fight to bring the Raigaa down at last.
The Raigaa's snarls and growls break into a gurgle as thick, rich blood jets all over Stormdancer's beak and face, soaking his feathers in an instant, she still continues to thrash, biting into Aubri as much as she can given an awkward twisted position of her head... The thrashing goes on for perhaps another fifteen or twenty seconds, before her grip eases, and she slows, surging again a moment, and then slowly the creature goes limp, its jaws locked into Aubri's shoulder in death, eyes slowly glazing over.
Aubri pants and hisses softly, knowing the thing's death was far quicker than that it gave the hen they found.. he pants and nods at Storm and Faekawn. "Thank you," he gasps, then nods his head. "I'll be okay--take care of the wounded!"
Stormdancer's eyes are closed anyway, but the sudden gush of hot blood across his face makes them squeeze tighter. Another savage tearing of his beak into the throat, as the taste of blood floods his beak, and another... until he knows the creature couldn't possibly survive. But his talons stay held tight, instinctively trying to crush an esophagus he can't possibly reach... until at last she falls limp. Only then does he look up... and survey just how many wounded there are. Skies... ONE of these things has done so much damage! He nods silently to Aubri, then moves quickly to make sure his daughter isn't in immediate danger. "Faekawn... are you alright?" he pants, touching her beak with his.
Pazrael feels the creatures finish come...and rolls off it's hindquarters, and onto his side. He pants quietly a few moments, before leaning to look at his leg....ohh, skies, he's bleeding so much. Even now he's starting to feel a bit woozy and cold...
Faekawn pants, exhausted, and only nods to her sire's question, too tired to actually speak. She, like Pazrael, simply rolls over onto her side, panting heavily. She works her wounded foreleg slowly, carefully... wincing. Dislocated, from the feel of it.
Aubri slowly starts to pry the raigaa's jaws open, feeling the teeth move within his flesh.. he winces and growls a little, then resorts to trying to break the jaw to get it to release..
Stormdancer nods, padding over to Pazrael... then lifting his head and skreeeing for a healer. He knows they're coming... but never soon enough. He pads along the broken forest trail, following the blood, and comes upon the form of Gavan. Breathing, but otherwise motionless...
Gavan is still awake, and her eyes are wide in fear. Eartufts give a flick, as she hears whatever's moving. Oh, skies...please let it be one of ours. "Hello?" She rasps faintly...
Pazrael raises his head, looking around at the others finally. Good...no one else seriously hurt, like those being. He finally just rests, watching the skies, to scan for the healers. And pray they got to Telkis fast enough...
Keryn limps over to help Aubri break the jaw open, biting through the locked muscles that hold it closed on her flightleader's shoulder.
Stormdancer moves to be in view of the hen, as he closes his approach... a gruesome sight, his forebody absolutely drenched and dripping with blood. "It's dead," he says quietly. "You fought well, and did your aerie great honor. We could not have won, without you."
Aubri nods to Keryn in thanks, the jaw giving a loud crack a moment later as it splits and drops open, freeing his shoulder..
Gavan's breath catches slightly, then releases in a scratchy sigh, relieved. Gruesome or no, seeing a gryphon coming up instead of feeling her neck finished off is a wonderful thing. "I...can't move...I can't move..."
Faekawn lays, panting, and waits... all the pain starting to come to her, every muscle and joint in her body aching. She looks up at the sound of approaching wings... ahh... finally... healers...
Pazrael's world spins a bit, as the loss of blood starts to get to him. Ohh...skies.... He eventually passes out, his body shutting off as it tries to repair itself, leaving the drake still on the ground behind the Raigaa.
Aubri hisses as he sees Pazrael faint, bounding over to try and staunch the wound.. he perks his ear and hisses, good.. this is an emergency!
Stormdancer mhrrs softly. "Healers are coming. They'll be here soon." But he knows... there's nothing they can do. "What's your name, huntress?"
Faekawn lifts her head as she hears Pazrael go still, skreeks... then struggles up onto her legs and staggers to him, standing next to Aubri, watching eagerly for the healers, then skreeeing as she sees one through the trees, calling them to her.
"Gavan K'tay." She swallows faintly, and can just barely feel the pain in her upper throat. Why can't she move? She's not held down. The state of shock is still set in, leaving her unable to think. "Help me get up? Please?"
Stormdancer nods slowly, and touches beaks. "Gavan K'tay," he repeats somberly. "Your neck is broken, huntress." Brutal, but truthful... she's too brave to deserve a lie. "There's nothing to be done. But I can put the flesh of your enemy in your beak for you..."
Pazrael's breath slows to just the point of being asleep. His bleeding has slowed enough that he's not in immediate danger, but he's still loosing blood. However, the healer's arrival is enough to ensure his survival, this time around...
Gavan whimpers faintly. "B-broken?..." Even in her state, she knows well enough what that means. She swallows again, and a faint amount of oil shows over her cere. "...Y-yes...a piece of the raigaa....please..."
Stormdancer nods quietly. "I'll be back in moments," he promises, before turning and moving quickly back to the blood-drenched mound of still-glossy black fur. "Aubri," he says quietly coming close to the scout's leader, "Gavan's neck is broken. Do you want to do ... the honor... or shall I?"
Aubri rumbles softly, padding over to her. "I'll do it.." he replies.
Stormdancer nods, and digs out a good chunk of the Raigaa's flesh, before padding back to Gavan, with Aubri at his side. He carefully puts the meat into the hen's beak. "Your kill," he says quietly... then stands aside, to let Aubri fulfill the final mercy.
Aubri leans down to give Gavan a nuzzle, his throat aching with sorrow. "You fought bravely, Gavan.. We won't forget you." And with that, he commits her soul to the winds.
Gavan tastes the flesh quietly. Bitter, in a way...yet wonderful. She feels the nuzzle, and listens to the voice....and knows. She closes her eyes, right before the mercy kill is given...
Stormdancer hrrrrs, slicking his matted feathers tight. "I'm sorry," he whispers... to Gavan's body, as much as to Aubri. The healers, and the support fighters, are landing in force now... amazed at the carnage just a single creature could have caused, among some of Grylra's finest.
Aubri glances over at Pazrael, being held together by a healer, and Telkis, whose throat was nearly torn out in the first encounter, not to mention a bad case of whiplash..
"AHAHAAAA!!!" Pazrael wakes up, suddenly, as his leg is moved about. "Sonuvah! Yes, its torn upmmm--" A secondary healer clamps his beak shut, rumbling irritably, as the first continues to look at the leg...
Stormdancer can see no others that need tending, and so he touches beaks quietly with Aubri, then goes back to sit with his daughter. To proud to speak of how proud he is of her... but perhaps the simple gesture of his closeness will let her know.
First-sun slides up over the distant, unreachable horizon, adding it's reddish glow to the bloody scene, as Talkis is found by other scouts, and healers fly quickly to tend to that one as well. The forest is oddly quiet, for this early hour, when creatures of all sorts would normally be waking to the day. Instead, the only sound is of wings overhead, and the hushed, urgent chatter of healers at their work.
Keryn quietly moves over toward the spot where Gavan lays. She looks down at the body quietly, watching for a time, ceres oiled over. They've known each other since being gryphlets. Finally, she lays down, nuzzling up to Gavan, and just rests...
Stormdancer pads finally to the immense corpse, and lifts the heavy head upwards with one foreclaw, staring vengefully at the ruined face. "Never again," he hissses. "Nothing... NOTHING hunts gryphons." The words ring in the quiet, savagely snarled, his body tight with anger. He slams the head down onto the ground again, cracks a fisted foreclaw down against it, then arches back and roars. It's a sound very unlike the normal skree of a gryphon... it's almost feral, vicious, unquestionably challenging. A reminder to those around... that though it was costly... they have won this battle.
Aubri rumbles softly and waves off a healer trying to tend to his shoulder. Dispite the blood running down his leg, he's not in any kind of dire straits, as some of the fighters are..
Aubri pads over to Storm and hisses. "Next time we'll be ready. there's two--maybe three more of these.. drop spears and magic. We know what they can do now.
Stormdancer'e eyes are dark and ugly as he turns to Aubri, and nods. "I think we need to fly to Windhaven, and have a talk with Rhenemet." He looks the other drake's shoulder over, and frowns. "Though maybe you'd be best resting for a day or two...."
Pazrael is finally patched up a slight bit, and lead off in flight to the aerie once more. Another takes the time with Fae, another with the sorrowful Keryn. One of the healers looks to Aubri, and quietly asks if they should go ahead and bring the body to the gravesite, or leave it there for a while, so Keryn can have her time?
Aubri hrrrs softly and nods. "I was thinking the same thing," he hisses. "I'm not going to rest, though.. not until we've exterminated these.. THINGS."
Aubri hrrrs and shakes his head. "Give her a few minutes.. but keep an eye on her."
The healer nods gently, and moves away again, to keep an eye on Keryn...
Stormdancer nods slowly, forcing the tension from his shoulders, though his talons remain sunk deep in the loamy soil. "I'm not sssure the face of this will be recognizable, but I want it removed. I may well carry it to Windhaven, to see if Rhenemet recognizes her. The body..." He growls, looking first to the quiet forms of Keryn and Gavan, then at the dead Raigaa. "I think the gryphlets might feed very well on that, for a couple of days."
Keryn can be heard quietly sobbing and cooing, as she nuzzles against Gavan's cheek. Such a burdun of soul this is...Finally, she raises, and moves over toward Aubri and Stormdancer. "I h-have to go tell her Mate." She looks on, as though hoping this is a fit reason for her to leave the body as it is...
Stormdancer nods quietly, and arches to touch his beak to Keryn's. "She fought well, let none ever question that. As did you, huntress. Be proud of what all of you did today. I am." He pauses, and looks over at the still form, and dips his beak sadly. "If they have young, come to me, and special arrangements will be made for their care and feeding."
"She has..." Keryn clenches her beak tight, and slicks her feathers down. "She had one...I can take care of her, along with Gavan's Mate..." She flicks her fings open, and takes one last look at the Raigaa. A snarl ripples throug her, and she slashes a talon into the hide, before she makes the short, yet long flight back to the aerie...
Stormdancer hrrrrs softly to himself, watching Keryn fly. "She is why Grylra prevails," he says quietly.