In the forests of the night. (Wide Open)

[Rei]

Cold, quiet, clear. Pretty much the best night ever to go out and look at the stars. Wintertime was normally good for that anyway but the stiller and clearer it got, the better. Or so Erilena thought anyway. After leaving the infirmary and repeating pretty much the same schedule she always did every afternoon, time with Fey, dinner, bath time, lazing around with R’ven ect. She found she wasn’t able to sleep. Rolling out of bed the greenrider smoothed a hand through her tussled hair and leaned over to kiss the side of the brownrider’s head. Heavy sleeper he was and not an easy person to wake. Sometimes it was a good thing.

Erilena brushed her hand along the side of R’ven’s face as she drew away. Grabbing her riding jacket from the wall and slipping it around her shoulders the weyrling shivered and walked over towards the weyrledge, throwing a glace at the slumbering green and brown as she passed. Flopped and cuddled with each other Fey and Tril looked quite comfortable. It almost made the greenrider want to go back to bed and copy.

Stepping out into the cold night she shivered again and watched the misty cloud her breath made disperse before looking upwards at the night sky. Gorgeous. For a few moments Erilena stood there on the cold stone ledge before stepping back inside. Maybe a little bit of a walk would help her get back to sleep. Perk of which she could look at the stars. Passing the dragon’s again the rider lightly trailed a hand over Feyrianth’s muzzle before finding something more suitable to wear. Donning a pair of dark pants and a long sleeved tunic she slipped on her riding boots and jacket and exited the weyr quietly. No need to leave a note or anything, she wouldn’t be long. The hallways where dim and deserted. It was almost creepy in a way. Nobody was likely to be about this late, besides the few wher handlers the weyr housed.

It didn’t take the greenrider long to exit the weyr proper and start on the well worn path beside the river. Her destination wasn’t really clear at first but Erilena was to focused on the sky above to quite care where her feet led her. Eventually she ended up at the feeding grounds. Leaning against the fence she looked up at the sky and half closed her eyes, listening to the stillness in the air and the occasional noise from a shifting animal. It was peaceful. Very much so. A few moments passed before movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention and the weyrling turned to come face to face with a feline.

Eyes widening the woman held her breath as the creature stared at her, tail flicking almost sedately along the ground as it paused in it’s stalk. Ears swiveling it rumbled in it’s chest, the sound low and threatening. From somewhere to Erilena’s left came the sound of a bawling herdbeast and although she wanted to see what just was going on behind her, taking her eyes off the big cat in front of her wasn’t the smartest thing to do. Time seemed to stand still for a few moments the night going eerily silent again.

From behind the rider the quartet of felines raised their heads over their kill making low sounds to each other. Pickings had been very slim as the cold weather had blown in and the pride had decided a careful steal from the feeding pens and the risks associated where necessary. It had taken weeks of careful sentry work but the few whers that patrolled the area where spread thin. There where cracks in the defense and the pack was stealthy and smart enough to capitalize on it. The appearance of a human this late without a wher wasn’t expected and although initially worried they had allowed the approach upon finding out the little meat bag was alone. Sending off two of the group of six to deal with the minor interruption. Their was no emotion in the decision merely a wrong place at wrong time scenario. The matriarch of the pride rumbled lowly across the field to the young male eyeing Erilena. Kill it. Quickly. They needed to leave.

Baring his fangs the young male sprang forward, claws raking the air and forcing the greenrider back in a stumble and right into his waiting brother. The other cat rumbled in amusement claws striking out and catching the woman by the leg, dragging her backwards and in range of his jaws. Easy. Or would have been had a weight not hit him from the side, tearing him off the screaming female and sending him sprawling in a mess of desperate slashing and snapping jaws.

The tiger stripped wher had gotten there just as the felines had brought down the kill. Originally planning on sounding the alarm the wildling had to negate that option when he noticed the stupid human. Unfortunately she wasn’t expendable, not per the blue’s instructions. The meat bags had to be protected. Kicking off the feline the brown wher snapped again at it as they disentangled, catching it on the flank and tearing before feinting aside and turning to snarl.

The other felines had rallied around the kill growling, two of them abandoning it to approach the wild wher to help their pack mate, while the matriarch and another female fled closer to the forest dragging the carcass. That left the other male to advance on Erilena who was currently stumbling closer to the fence. Leaping for the human he knocked her over, fangs going for her throat, only to find her arm in his mouth instead. Biting down on what she offered one paw pinned her by the hip, tips of his claws holding her down as he snarled from around her arm. Useless attempt.

From down the canyon came a wordless shriek of fury, Feyrianth disentangling herself from Trilaranth as quickly as she was able. Talons extending and dragging across the rock the dragon shrieked again as she flung herself into the sky. Felines! By the feeding grounds. My rider needs help. The broadcast was wide and desperate. Dropping a few feet the four winged dragon leveled out and hastened towards the feeding grounds. Unfortunately she was quite a bit away and time was something hers did not have much of.

[rii]

A shadow slipped across the open ground. The muscles rippled under his dark hide, visible with each powerful, stretching stride. Quintresk touched the mind of the wild brown, very brief and merely informing him of his arrival so the other wher didn't confusing him for an attacking feline. A figure dislodged from his back, rolling haphazardly before coming to a stop – up on a single knee with grass and dirt lodged in his hair. "Are you fucking kidding me? The fuck are they doing so close?"

The thief hunkered close to the ground, fingers curling int he dirt as he made his silhouette blend in with the land. He would only be a another body to protect if he got involved. Beside, Trell was no hero. He'd leave that to the martyrs. "Where the fuck are the others." Here. Close. – was it suppose to be reassuring that the only one Quintresk mentally counted as others, and present, was Dmisk? Quintrell pulled his dark jacket more tightly to his torso, whispering the last words. "Be careful."

Picking out the highest threat (to the human) – and sending out his mark to the other whers – Quintresk came upon the distracted feline on top of the human girl and sank his teeth into the side and back of the creatures neck. When it turned to attempt a retaliation, the large brown pulled the feline clean off Erilena to prevent any further damage to her. Claws caught his shoulder, but with sharp twist the tell-tale crunch sounded the crushing of small vertebrae in the feline's neck. The feline fell limply from Quintresk's jaws..

No unnecessary blooding. Quintresk growled threateningly, lowering his head and tail close to the ground as he shifted to assess, through heat signatures, where the other felines had moved. How did they get so close to the weyr..

_____

Inside his weyr, R'ven jerked his head up from where he had been lying flat on his stomach. Trilaranth woke in a similar, hazy state. R'ven hand patted the empty space next to him. Nothing. He squinted at the dark room faintly lit with glows. "Lena.. ?"

[tarra]

Ar'ren was awake even as he felt Ysaloth's alarm, an instinct honed by turns of discipline and light sleeping habits. He rolled from the blankets and the night air chilled him to the bone as he moved, even as the brown's words appraised him of the situation.

Feyrianth reports felines by the Feeding Grounds, the dragon's tone was terse as he turned and lowered his shoulders towards the weyr entrance, Believe hers has been attacked.

Ar'ren returned with a pulse of assent, not wasting thoughts with words as he flung on the shirt on the chair by his bed and grabbed the twin fighting knives (one long, one short) he always kept near his person. No time for belts or metal-speckled gloves - Ysaloth's tone left no doubt of what might befall if he tarried too long to get these. The brownrider was, quite frankly, not at all interested in saving the Feeding Grounds from felines; that was for the loyal Selenitas riders an wher-handlers to do given the danger which usually came with the big cats, and only if his leaders had ordered him out would he have done what would have come naturally to any Selenitas-born rider.

But knowing there was a human life involved...now, that put a whole new cast on things. And a rider at that. Put it down to plain (stupid) honour, but Ar'ren had never been one to stand by idly whilst another died, and hardly wished to begin now. At any rate, he wasn't even certain he would be in the thick of the fighting until he had assessed the situation. But any fighting, if it came to it, would be Ysaloth's duty - if there weren't too many felines, of course. Action decided, he was out the weyr in four steps and at his dragon's side in another, shinnying up the brown hide. An image of the Hatching Grounds shaped itself in his mind, and he let it flood into his dragon's without preamble.

Take us there, Loft.

The brown launched from the ledge, wings sluggish with cold but still active enough to make one downward sweep before they disappeared into the freeze of between.

They reappeared just above the Feeding Grounds, and the brown pumped his slow wings furiously to stay aloft as Ar'ren made a quick assessment of the situation. It was hard to see clearly, but he counted at least four felines - no, six with those two dragging something off into the undergrowth. Another girl (probably Feyrianth's rider, as Ysaloth had mentioned) was down and bleeding, and two whers were going for the felines that surrounded her. In the dim light the brownrider was, however, unable to see clearly what it was that the matriarch and the other female were dragging away. Afraid that it might be yet another human, he focused his entire attention on them at once. With a shriek of rage Ysaloth dropped on them, his talons slashing out as he sought to knock the beasts away from their kill.

[Requiem]

A small golden body launched into the air above the falls, her large wings buoying her well as she glided, her mindthought following Feyrianth's by no more than 30 seconds. Big fliers stay! No go! No can see many nightbeasts, make mess, hurt friends. No need stupids. The small creature wobbled for a moment, briefly caught by a crosswind, but she managed to correct herself in time and landed roughly on the ledge of the friend-man. Dementia rolled awkwardly, scrambling to her feet and glaring around. No one had seen that spill, nooo. Darting over Trilaranth, her tongue flicked over his snout on her way into the main part of the weyr. Talk flutterbye stupid back, please thank? Her goal, however, was not the dragon but the man, and she moved fearlessly to the top of the large hand, rubbing up against his jaw. Friend-man staaay, trust harperlove, trust nightbeast coldfang. Harperlove say bring stupiddancer back.

Dementia meant the bluepair wasn't far. In fact, they'd been quite far a mere quarter of a candlemark ago, when Dmisk had been tracking a lone feline. They'd been headed back at a lope since then, handler and wher running side-by-side through the jungles. It was a leisurely pace, however. Until a couple minutes ago, when Dmisk scented the felines. He'd been thrown off, though, because familiar whers were also scented. Dementia was sent ahead to evaluate the situation, Dmitri swinging up and draping himself awkwardly over Dmisk. Neither liked the felines being so close - or understood how they could have been at this time of night. They'd already made their initial night sweeps around the close perimeter of the Weyr. Then everything came together in a very powerful image of wrong, what with their adopted wild wher, Feyrianth, scenting Lena intermingling with the blood, Quintresk...and of course Dementia's concern.

Dmisk slowed up near the edge of the trees by the feeding grounds, just enough for Dmitri to slide down onto solid ground. The blue scented the matriarch, the strong musk of dominance that the female gave off. Whatever devilry they'd pulled, she was the source. Cut off the head...And burst through into the four surrounding the dancer, maybe scattering them. His cold mental touch brushed over Quintresk and the striped brown. He was here. Hold on and try to coordinate your efforts. The large blue sprung out of the cover of the trees, ignoring the dragon circling above until it dove. The male launched himself onto the matriarch, pinning her momentarily as he flattened his body as much as he could. But she took advantage of his distracting to sink her jaws into his large shoulder, the male's eyes narrowing dangerously as the other female was knocked away. He snapped at the larger beast, not quite getting her throat but at least forcing her to let go. But she'd gotten her hinds between them by then, and sent the wher flying into the other feline, who had just managed to find her paws again. Dmisk rolled in the hopes of cracking bone beneath his weight while sending a very firm get out of here message to the brown who had messed up his attack.

And, if that wasn't enough, a boot came flying out of the trees, clipping Ar'ren's hip. "Fucking arrogant assholes, stop attacking what you can't see! You're a damned liability!" As was Dmitri, but that was why he notably wasn't foolishly rushing to help his wher. Dmisk could handle himself. Even if he couldn't, Dmitri in the mix would just limit him more, forcing the wher to protect the handler as well as himself. If his mindmate was badly hurt due to the brownpair's stupidity - what dragonpair attacked felines in the dark when there were whers and handlers in the vicinity? - he'd hunt them down.

[Rei]

It all happened so fast it was like a dream to Erilena. The feline in front of her was the clear threat and so heart pounding she had stumbled back. Only to feel a flash of searing pain as claws caught the back of her leg tugging her backwards and causing her to fall forward, arm instinctively going out to catch herself. Hitting the ground was barely noted either because in the next second the greenrider was free from her first attacker. A brief glance behind saw the feline involved with fighting a wher. Which meant the handlers where likely there. Her relief was short lived however because as she scrambled unsteadily to her feet the weyrling caught sight of the first feline again.

Feyrianth was to far away still and her first rescuer was involved. Erilena’s only real clear option was to try and run, which ended in a weight hitting her from behind. Rolling over she threw her arm up in defense. Claws digging into the side of her hip and shoulder where barely noted in favor of the searing pain that shot through her arm as the feline closed his jaws over it. Edges of her vision blackening the greenrider attempted to strike out at her assailant only to find her other arm pinned by his paw to her shoulder. Trapped. Feyrianth’s anger and desperation kept her aware enough to realize that likely she was just about to die…

Except suddenly Erilena felt the feline release her arm. The next moment the claws holding her and weight pinning her to the ground where also forcefully removed and she struggled to make out what was going on. The dead feline hitting the ground beside her was vaguely noted as the greenrider struggled to catch her breath. The metallic scent of blood hung heavy on the air and she tasted it as well, only just realizing she had bitten her tongue at some point. Coughing she struggled to roll to her side, wincing from the pain, only to find she didn’t have the strength. She trembled violently and closed her eyes.

“I’m sorry.” To who Erilena was apologizing she wasn’t sure, but it was getting hard to fight the creeping blackness and she wanted to embrace it. If only to stop the pain. Problem was Feyrianth wasn’t letting her and so she clung to her dragon’s mind like a shipwrecked person would cling to wreckage. It hurts. I know Lenalove. They will help you. Just stay with me. I will not let you go. Try and stay awake. I will be there as soon as I can. Feyrianth’s wings beat in quick succession as she strove to get to the feeding grounds. The desire to protect her bonded overrode all other thoughts that the green had currently. Nothing else really mattered in the end, for if her bonded was lost so to was she.

~~~

The tiger stripped wildling brushed Dmisk’s mind with understanding and backed up towards Quintresk. The other brown was offered a bark as the wild wher dropped his head and squared his stance. They would make a stand here yes? He had a few scratches trickling ichor but they where nothing serious. The three felines remaining snarled and crouched. The male with the torn flank shifting back to let his uninjured female companions take point.

Growling back and forth they advanced on the brown pair, stepping side by side the injured male in the back. Claws raked the air as they strove to push the pair backwards and against the fence behind them, with the intention of giving the brown males less room to maneuver. The bleeding human was ignored. It was obvious that she would not be going anywhere and so she posed no threat. It was the whers that where the real threat. Baring fangs they continued the forward movement. The stripped brown however refused to give any ground, for the moment, jaws snapping at the advancing felines. Tail swinging side to side to protect his flanks.

~~~

The matriarch had time for one shriek of warning and anger before at the descending shadow before she was hit by Dmisk. Immediately she retaliated, powerful jaws sinking into his shoulder as her claws scrabbled for purchase somewhere on his hide. Her daughter would have to fend for herself at the moment. Finally hind legs found a purchase and she shoved with all her might sending the blue off her and unfortunately into the other female. Quickly rising to her feet the large female let a shriek rip through the night, her pack answering with returning calls.

With a quick bound forward the matriarch lunged for Dmisk, front claws slashing in a feint while her jaws sought his neck. Perhaps she would have an opening while he worked to clamber away from her daughter.

The other female had been bowled over by Ysaloth, however she had pivoted enough that the blow he gave her was a glancing one. The damage minimal. Gaining her feet she snarled and lunged forward, only to be knocked off her feet as her mother flung her assailant through the air and into her. A sickening crunch and shriek of pain was the indication that Dmisk’s plan had worked. The female’s left hind leg crumpling underneath her and sending her back to the ground.

Unfortunately she was not without fight and the injured feline lashed out at Dmisk even as her mother did, fore claws seeking a purchase in his flank with the intention of holding the blue in place. All thoughts of their kill where now forgotten in favor of a simple fight for survival. There where five of them remaining and three whers. Odds where still in their favor. Even with the addition of the winged monster. Not much use it would be in the dark where it couldn’t see. If they stayed close to their targets they might be able to make a break for the jungle eventually, if not kill them all outright. The later was obviously preferred.

[Rowana]

Nabrik shivered, tugging his blanked tighter around his small form. Shards, but it was cold! It shouldn't be cold. They lived in the South, for Faranth's sake. Path whimpered and tugged at the blanket. "Don't be a baby," Nabrik scolded. "Night is the best time to sneak away, you know that." Lately they'd been keeping him busy with chores or at least watching him so he couldn't cause trouble. At night, though, no one was watching. It was even easy to sneak out of than home. Tonight, he had something special planned. Herdbeast dung would be nice and cold in this weather and wouldn't start smelling until morning. It was perfect for sticking in those stuffy crechewomen's chairs!

"What the...?" Some voice was invading his mind again. He wished they would stop doing that. He was starting to think they were doing it on purpose just to bug him. Dragon calls help, Alph explained. He glided up and landed on the boy's shoulder. "I can hear that!" Nabrik scowled, he kicked at the ground. "Aren't they supposed to be asleep." Awake now, Alph pointed out. His head was alert and concerned. Path growled low under her breath. Cries and scuffles could now be heard not far away, from the direction of the herdbeast pens.

Nabrik frowned. Could felines really be that dangerous? He'd only seen the little ones at home. They could be mean, but not dangerous. Walking on tip-toe, the boy started towards the noises. Path tugged hard on his pants and Alph hopped up on his head. Not wise! he said urgently. "Shush you too!" Nabrik hissed. "I just wanna see."

Nabrik rounded a tree some distance from Erilena, and came face to face with a group of very large, very dangerous felines. These were definitely not hold felines. Each one looked big enough to swallow Path whole! The boy's eyes went wide with amazement, then terror. For once, he did the smart thing and ducked back behind the tree. Peeking around it, he could just make out the forms battling in the field. "This is so cool," he whispered, as if trying to convince himself that it was cool, and not horrifying. His mind couldn't decide.

[Avu]

Those. Were. Her. Babies.

The wild queen’s eyes slitted dangerously, the slender wher slinking low to the ground, shadows dancing across pale hide. Her pace was quick, silent, restless. There was a very large part of her that wanted to rip the felines to pieces for daring to touch her babies (never mind she hadn’t seen them in quite some time; they still were and would always be her babies, end of story, no arguments allowed), and yet…they were grown. They had a dragon (useless beast) right there. They were protecting humans and she had no use for humans. As long as their pet humans stayed alive, the rest of them could die and that would be perfectly fine.

She coiled silently in the shadows, watching them.

In the first few minutes, they fared well. There was ichor, of course, but there would always be. Pain was part of life, and the situation didn’t seem to be terribly out of control. A little outnumbered, but that was it. The gold wher flicked her tail, raising her muzzle to scent at the wind cautiously for a moment before her attention narrowed on the blue – the one that had Impressed to her human couch. He didn’t seem to be doing that well.

Perhaps that was an understatement. The wild gold rasped no warning growl, touched none of their minds – she simply bolted out of the cover, straight towards Dmisk and the two felines double-teaming him. Her leap carried her full weight directly into the larger of the two felines mid-way through her lunge for her baby’s throat, the wher on her hind legs, the dual-toed forepaws raking down the feline’s ribcage, searching for a grasp, while her teeth snapped for the feline’s jugular. And now she was snarling in cold fury, tail slashing sideways at the feline’s hind legs.

These were her children. There was no way she was going to stand by and watch one of them die because a few idiotic felines thought it’d be a fun idea.

[rii]

Quintresk didn't back down either, holding his ground near the fallen human. As long as she stayed down she wouldn't pose a threat to the felines. More importantly, she became an easier body to protect. The three full-grown feelings were watched intently – until more heat signatures caught his attention. The addition of more whers didn't phase him. It was the two human ones that bothered him. One was Dmisk's human (and far too close and noisy) and the other was a child.

Humans. Were. Stupid.

Mentally urging the striped brown toward the feline on his respective side, Quintresk didn't wait before springing to the opposite side. Don't let them get behind you, brother. His claws slashed the air, pushing back at the felines. His long, whip-like tail curled up in preparation. The large brown was the size of a bronze, not in bulk, but in size – surpassing all the whers in length, even Pidesk and Roisk when including his long tail. If they could herd them toward the other whers then it would just be a matter of systematically picking them off..

_____

Trilaranth shook his head side to side at the tickling sensation left by the gold salamandyr. The 'flutterbye' description let the large brown know who Dementia was mentioning but – it took a moment of listening to the various messages being tossed between dragons before Trilaranth had a full grasp on the situation. Feyrianth, The lack of affection term was a sure sign of Trilaranth's serious mood. He pulled himself up, prowling to the lip of his ledge to try and peer through the darkness. Do not land. Let the whers do their job and we'll get to yours.

R'ven was in the process of rubbing his eyes when the salamandyr attached herself to the moving hand. He blinked a few more times, drawing the limb away from his head to focus on the creature that was definitely not his Salamandyr. He didn't quite make sense of the words, only registering the fact that the little thing was talking to him – marking it as a salamandyr. Gold too. Only knew one of those. "Mm.. Dmitri's here.. ?" He cradled a hand reflexively under Dementia while sliding his legs over the edge of the bed to sit up. "Where's Lena.."

In trouble. R'ven eyes narrowed, his head turning toward the door. Felines at the feeding ground. The whers are taking care of the matter.. The worry was there, certainly, but in his concern mingled the anger. Why is she out there? Pointless question. Answering that will not undo what is already done. Is she hurt? I don't know.. but .. considering the distress of Feyrianth's departure...

[tarra]

Ysaloth might not have been able to see much in the darkness, but he could see well enough that the sudden shock of a blue form beneath his talons nearly caused him to divert his blows altogether. Fortunately (or unfortunately) for Dmisk however, he had still struck clean enough to roll the younger female for a few seconds, preventing an immediate onslaught from both felines that might have been devastating. Ar'ren jerked back instinctively as some flying object grazed his midriff, and his head snapped around towards the source of the angry shouts. How rude. The brownrider was not usually given to retorts - he was too fixed, too trained by circumstances, to ever loose his cool easily. But the days of tension, of uncertainty, of struggling to fit into a Weyr he hardly belonged in, had all taken their toll. Something snapped in him at Dmitri's words, and a hot rush of anger poured words from him in a raging yell.

"You're telling me? Your wher can't see me dive and you're telling me?!"

It was all the attention Dmitri would get - all he deserved, in fact. The fool would be lucky if his yelling and shoe-throwing didn't alert the felines to his position. He hardly even paused to wonder how he'd known the blue wher belonged to the unseen stranger (though, really, who else but a wher-handler would react like that?). Ysaloth snarled as the matriarch moved to attack Dmisk and her daughter sought to hold the blue down. His vision might have been poor in darkness, but it was all happening right under his nose and he could see fairly well what was going on. The brown struck out again even as a golden shape burst from the forest and tackled the matriarch, but it was the wounded younger female that his talons found. His claws raked at her sides and forepaws, seeking to not only break the hold she was attempting on Dmisk but also to wound her severely if possible. Ar'ren signaled him with a mental prompt just then however, and with a lurch of wings he sprang back into the air.

The brownrider was seething inwardly. Part of him would be glad to leave, leaving the fight to those smart-ass whers and their big-mouthed handlers. Outnumbered though they were (he could just pick out their shapes beneath them, telling wher from feline by the contours of their bodies in the starlight), they were putting up a good fight and he knew their chances of winning the field eventually were high. His eyes fell on another form lying still and bloodied at the fringes of the fighting, however, and all thoughts of abandoning the situation left him.

With a growl, Ysaloth pounced from the air and drew back his forelegs at the last moment to land with his hindlegs square and his forepaws suspended between pumping wings. Perhaps it was deliberate and perhaps accidental, but his flapping wings served to swirl a maelstrom of air especially towards where the 3 felines were making their stand, perhaps confusing them further into thinking he was making an all-out attack. He did not do so however - he reached down instead, neck and wings arching protectively over as he curled his forepaws around Erilena as gently as if he were moving one of his own eggs (not that he'd ever had any, but anyhow...). A soft train of thought was extended to the wounded girl as he secured his hold and braced to jump.

Be still, we'll bring you somewhere safe.

The brown made his leap up again, wings smooth against the bare wind, and with a slightly choppy motion through sails and limbs still cold from just waking, he made his way in flight towards the weyrs.

[Requiem]

He was in trouble. Dmisk heard the crunch, shifting his weight again to try to take advantage of it as he moved to roll to his paws...and felt two sets of claws. One grated along his hind, scraping on bone and never snagging, but the other found the meat right in front of the bone of his hip and caught there, dragging him back slightly. No time. The older of the felines was coming for him.

The ghost pains were streaking in lines down his left leg and suddenly throbbing to life in his right shoulder. Where Dmisk hadn't uttered a sound, Dmitri hissed. It was all the concentration focused on the simple need to survive that let the pain begin to seep over, and the handler tugged off his other boot. The game was changing. One shot at coming out of this, in Dmisk's cool calculations. He only needed just enough of a distraction to get his jaws into the matriarch's jugular...always the risk of going for the neck, exposing your own. Dmitri trembled a little as he tugged the belt knife loose, but there was no hesitation. Not even when Dmisk let down all remaining safeguards so there would be no mistake on the timing. He only had one shot, and he was not going to mess it up, or he'd likely lose His before they finished him off.

But Dmitri never did make it more than a step, still back within the cover of the jungles when a gleaming form lunged past him. Eyes wide, his fingers tightened on the handle of the dagger when the wild gold launched at the attacking feline. Not Eikask. Who? Mother, the wher provided, slamming his injured shoulder down on the broken leg of the feline and whipping his tail with the hopes of catching her face and possibly stunning her. The blue's greeting to the gold was silent and calm as ever, though it definitely held traces of gratitude and genuine happiness at seeing his dam at all. The male would never forget that scent. Ever. Perfect timing, mother, perfect timing.

It was then that the ignored brown - ignored in favor of much more pressing issues - suddenly got the full attention of the bluepair.

Worried though she was for Hers and the Nightbeast, Dementia never once entertained the thought that either of them would be in any real trouble. Even with the interference of the brown at the edge of the trees where most dragons of that size wouldn't dive even in broad daylight - much less in poor visibility - the gold had utmost faith in them. She licked lightly at the man-friend's palm. Her instructions were simple; keep R'ven and Trilarath and Feyrianth out of it so they didn't accidentally get hurt. Or killed. Of course, the man-friend seemed to be a bit slow. Not quick to wake, was he? Harperlove with sillydancer, the gold corrected, before the pain hit her in waves and her claws dug into R'ven's palm. A low whine from the salamandyr, barely audible, as her hide greyed at an alarming rate.

Bond still open, he had but a couple seconds to prepare, a couple seconds between Dmisk's realization and the mass of shorn nerve endings screaming at him. The man's leg buckled, collapsing to a knee, cry breaking his throat swiftly muffled by his own arm. He tasted blood on his tongue, used the pain and the taste to keep himself long enough to slam down on the connection between him and Dmisk before he passed out. As all but the pain in his arm abruptly cut off, he swiftly wrapped his mind around his wher's, forcing his way into the bond enough for the blue to feel him there. A cold rage stirred in his guts.

What the fuck did they think they were doing?!

The closed calm had vanished in favor of a rage that battered against all draconid and human minds - possibly feline, too - within a hundred feet of the blue wher, like a dam busting open. His hindquarters and tail were stripped to the bone in places, missing chunks in others, but one thing had come of the dragons claws indiscriminately finding him as they dug deep into the flesh of the feline beneath Dmisk. They'd pulled the wher back toward the head of the feline, just enough to dislodge her claws. He undulated forward, a murderous rage and adrenaline overriding the pain for the moment, clamping down on the broken hind of the young feline. His single uninjured limb came out as he ground his teeth into the bone with malicious ruthlessness, claws slashing at her underbelly, tearing at the intestines there, the sound of splintering bone from her leg barely registering over the pounding of his pulse. Then he tasted the blood as his fangs finally found her femoral artery, and he dragged his teeth over it, laying her leg open in a blast of arterial spray.

All she could do in the seconds before death was strike at his hindquarters and tail with forelimbs and jaws...the which were too alive with pain to recognize any more. Ichor stained the ground in a growing pool, mixing liberally with the blood. Abruptly the strong broadcast of emotion cut out, and Dmitri's other knee hit the dirt, one hand curling against the ground into a trembling fist. Wouldn't go, couldn't go until...he felt Dmisk clinging to his mind for clarity, and Dmitri forced the emotions aside. The blue's flanks heaved, the male not stirring from the feline beneath him. No wounds to the vitals, at least...no severed major arteries. But Dmitri was all that was keeping his body from going into shock, and he was losing too much ichor.

[Rei]

Erilena blinked tears out of her eyes and concentrated on breathing and little else. The sounds of the battle with the felines filtered in dimly but it was as if it was all happening in a dream. Her thoughts where not coming easily nor was really was her vision. It was if everything was happening in a dense fog. Dimly the greenrider was aware of the warmth of her flowing blood, suppose she kind of needed that stuff. Problem was the rider had no way of helping herself. Even lifting her arm slightly took more effort than she currently could, or probably should, expend. Closing her eyes Erilena wrapped her mind with Feyrianth’s trying to fight off the darkness that was slightly gaining ground. No way she was going to die here. Had to trust she’d be okay. Couldn’t panic, even if she wanted to, but it was hard not to panic. Especially since she was getting so sharding cold. The sudden pickup of wind didn’t help matters any. A voice entering in her mind caused her to frown momentarily not comprehending the words until she was jostled. A flare of pain had her crying out before finally her mind finally surrendered to the darkness that promised an end to the pain.

Feyrianth actually stalled midair momentarily when Trilaranth contacted her. His words where accepted for what they where, an order. Her brother spoke sense but it was hard to accept the fact that she couldn’t help. The green hated feeling useless and this was just another example of her being unable to be useful in any way. I understand Trilaranth. She would obey, as long as hers stayed anyway. Banking the green circled high above as she finally got to the feeding grounds. The green using not her sight but sense of her bonded’s location to keep her circling high above the rider’s location. A soft keen left her throat as the green beheld the battle from above, barely making out anything but moving shadows and the smell of blood and ichor. Not good. Phremath. There are attacking felines by the feeding grounds. There are whers and humans badly hurt. Someone should….

Feyrianth trailed off on that last sentence, her eyes whirling in shades of anger and confusion as Ysaloth descended towards hers. What was he /doing/!? You didn’t move the injured until they where stable. Moving them could cause far more damage. A sharp flare of pain from hers was felt before the rider’s mind collapsed into darkness and the four winged dragon shrieked angrily in response. Even as the large brown rose with hers the female banked towards him and angled her body close enough to slash at the air near the brown’s flank. Clearly a threat. You idiot. You never move an injured person until you know their condition. She was better off where she was! Even as a weyrling she knew this. It didn’t matter that her rider had healing training, it should be common sense. If my rider dies due to your ignorance I will drag you and your rider between myself. There was enough cold venom in the words to make it clear that Feyrianth was not bluffing. The normally sweet mild mannered female was stirred up into a rage that was a unfamiliar emotion to her and without her bonded conscious her emotions where wildly uncontrolled. The only reason she did not sink fang or talon into the male’s hide was because he, in fact, had her Erilena but once he released her rider the green would not be responsible for her reaction.

~~~

The trio of felines concentrated on the brown pair until the wind announced the arrival of Ysaloth. With a call to her pack mates one of the females sidestepped Quintresk’s lunge, slashing at him with claws before ducking into the cover the dust cloud provided her. The other two did much the same, each aiming an attack at the wildling before slipping back to mix. Their heat signatures blended nicely in with the massive one coming of the dragon. The pack had been around long enough to know how to fight whers. Especially the large females, seasoned as they where. With soft grunts and growls they kept in silent communication swiftly eating up the ground with long strides. They had an current objective. Get to the matriarch and regroup. All thoughts of feeding where pushed aside in a bid to survive. It was kill of be killed now and damn if they where going down without a fight.

The wildling barked in anger at Ysaloth as he landed even going so far as to snap his jaws in the brown’s direction in a display of irritation. The slashes from the female connected with his shoulder but shallow as they where they did not matter. Part of the brown wanted to pursue the fleeing felines but if he did it likely would not turn out well. Momentarily indecision warred before upon brushing Quintresk’s mind with explanation the wild wher leapt forward after the scent of the felines. If they where allowed to regroup in might end badly. Especially considering where they where heading. The scent of ichor hung heavy on the air which told the wildling that the other group was not faring well at all.

Still as the two females headed for their leader, with snarls and threats, the young male had slunk into the jungle. Nabrik had caught his eye. Perhaps this one was bonded to one of the night beats. If he could kill it the night beast might be vulnerable. In a silent stalk he made for the boy, lips pulled back in a silent snarl.

~~~

Ah yes die. The matriarch had just about completed her objective to end Dmisk when a pale form bowled into her. Immediately she reacted, jaws and talons seeking purchase on her assailant even as she strove to make out what was attacking her. Realization made her yellow eyes slit in pure hate. It was the wild gold who to sought to claim her jungle as her own. Top predators of the jungle, each leader of her own kind. Part of the massive feline was happy for the chance to battle this one. If she could kill the wher her title as queen would be unchallenged.

Squaring her stance the matriarch met the gold’s attack head on. The two toed talons of the female where ignored in favor of the more dangerous bid for her jugular. Ducking her head the feline rammed it into the gold’s chest, fore paws coming up to grip the wher in a wrestling hold. The massive feline’s claws sunk into the pale wher’s hide as she shrieked in fury. For a few moments the two females wrestled like this, each seeking to overpower the other. Until the gold’s tail made contact with one of her hind legs and the feline lost a bit of ground. Pivoting the matriarch immediately threw her shoulder into the wild gold, at the same time releasing her hold to better use her weight and momentum. The move pushed her attacker back and the matriarch leapt to the side slashing out to keep the wher away as she assessed her own injuries.

Sides slashed, not to deep, manageable. Bruised leg. Not worth worrying about. Peeling back her fangs the matriarch shrieked at the wild gold. Her opponent had minimal injuries as well. Which was to be expected. Well matched opponents they where. A scream left her throat. A call for her comrades to group with her if they could. She could take down the wher herself of course but her sisters would make such easier. Answering calls came quickly. Her sisters obviously heading to her location. With a cold snarl the matriarch again lunged towards the gold again. This time she slashed out with claws and dodged back out of range of retaliation. Her goal was simple, to buy time until her sisters arrived to help with an easy take down.

There was little time for the matriarch to mourn her fallen daughter. Grim satisfaction came from the fact that the blue wher who ended her life would likely met his end as well. If not from the injuries the dragon and her daughter had wrought than from herself once the gold was taken care of. Matter of time really. Another battle cry sounded through the night. Her sisters closer the wild brown hot on their heals but in the end it wouldn’t matter. They would all die. Throwing herself forward she lunged for the gold, again this time in a bid for the other’s throat. Her sisters by now where close enough to pick up the slack.

[Rowana]

Nabrik watched events unfold, staring so hard his eyes started to water. It was too hard to see exactly what was happening. He thought he saw some whers and humans, and he was sure two dragons were above them. He couldn't tell how many felines were attacking, though. Someone seemed to be hurt and one of the whers looked like it was about to fall over. Blood and guts were everywhere.

Nabrik covered his nose and resisted the urge to throw up. No one had ever told him battles would stink this much! It was disgusting! He was just started to think that leaving was the best idea, but when he turned his head teeth stared back at him. "SHARDS ABOVE!" Nabrik yelped and fell backwards against the tree. HELP! Alph only had time for one word, as he and Path leaped into action. Even this feline was far bigger than any of them, but that wouldn't stop them from defending themselves. Alph spread his wings and frill to their full, intimidating size and sprang for the felines face. Claws and spikes sought the vulnerable eyes, as Path snapped at it's forelegs. She was trying to get high enough to reach it's throat, but it was hard going.

Nabrik shook his head, trying to clear the haziness. He'd hit the tree a bit harder than was good for him, but he wasn't out yet. No feline was going to get the best of him. Fear and adrenaline were really all that drove him now. He didn't want to die here, he had too much to prove! The small boy snatched the nearest weapon, which happened to be a stick, and swung at the feline's side. "Take that you dung sucker!" he cried, rather foolishly. He was acting purely on instinct now and blind stupidity. Nothing was going to take him down without a fight.

[Avu]

The wild gold’s snarl was bitten off as she snapped at the feline, ignoring the white-hot pain that lanced down her sides from her shoulders where the feline’s claws broke hide. Unimportant, especially with adrenaline rushing through her system. She snarled as she was shoved away, but didn’t try to resist too much, springing back to avoid the slash of claws and deliberately putting herself between the feline and Dmisk, whose mind was brushed with a faint, dryly amused greeting. Spot of trouble, hatchlinghers? She wanted to spare a glance to check his injuries – but that would come later.

The wher bit out another low snarl at the matriarch’s scream. They couldn’t obey her orders if she was dead, could she? The lunge was taken full advantage of, the gold jerking backwards to avoid it and snapping at the foreleg before she actually leapt half onto the feline’s back, one set of talons raking down the opposite ribcage while the other shoved at the feline’s neck to keep her teeth away from the wher’s temporarily unprotected underbelly. Her teeth, meanwhile, bore down on the feline’s back, between her shoulderblades, searching for the spine.

All the dense fur in the way – the reason she hated felines so much. Her eyes slitted, the gold abruptly jerking back and shoving the feline hard away from her, tail snapping out again in an attempt to make the feline lose her footing, but there was no follow-up. Instead, the wher backed away until she could stand directly in front of Dmisk, lowering her head to face the feline again. She knew the call meant more felines were coming. She did. And right now, her baby was the priority. This was the one she’d come in for at all, and this was the one she was going to make sure lived. He was far too vulnerable like this.

At the very least, her presence would make it harder to reach Dmisk. For a while. Her teeth bared in a silent snarl, mind ghosting across the feline’s in a clear taunt. Come and get her, stupid furry – wasn’t she brave enough to try without her kin?

[Ember]

Eikask had set off for the feeding grounds admitedly late. She didn't want to go save some poor little dragon's human. The dragon played their part, she'd give them that. They distracted the others like themselves and normally were no bother to the night dwelling whers. Did that mean a single pair mattered? Not in the gold's self-centered mind. However, she knew her whers would respond to the call. They were all hers, to varying degrees, and though she would never let them know she did care for them. She wanted to believe she didn't have to do anything but not every wher was close enough to help in time and the ones that were might need help.

The pale gold's tail flicked at Hers and he glanced at her. "You're going to help?" He asked in clear surprise. She snorted. Of course she was. The gold left the apartments at a controlled run, forcing herself to pay attention to her footing and not what was ahead. If she was to be any help she had to get there first. Then she'd stomp those stupid felines into the dust and show them which queen's weyr they had invaded. From top to bottom the weyr was hers...or would be once the flying beasts ended their silly fighting. She wasn't going to waste her life leading them into battle and possibly dying because of it.

What the gold saw when she got close enough to see made her furious. That was her Dmisk that was lying there. He wouldn't be idle if he wasn't severely hurt. How dare those felines hurt him so much. No blame was put on the blue for failing to kill all of them. It wasn't his fault he'd been outmatched by the felines, he was just a blue after all. He'd taken one of them out at least. Eikask didn't bother being surprised by the presence of the goldmother. Clearly she was protecting Dmisk and while she didn't like even her mother that close to her blue she was tolerated for that reason. She set her sights on the large female feline. She'd heard the call too. Felines lived and hunted in packs. Battle cry or call for help?

The shimmery gold's question was answered when she caught sight of the two other felines that were headed to help the one her mother was fighting against. Eikask didn't care how skilled her wild mother was. She would not be able to handle three wild felines. The pale gold with the faint feline like markings sprang into action, picking up her pace to intercept at least one of the two felines. Unfortunately, the gold's concentration had slipped and what was meant to be a pounce was turned into a full-body tackle as she tripped and practically fell into one of the felines. Grace, thy name was Eikask.

[rii]

The slashing of air at each other would have grown to more tangible targets if not for the arrival of the dragon. Quintresk sank away from the felines, squinting against the dust and relying on their heat signatures to watch their movements. Blurring together and... retreating toward the other felines. The dragon also took the injured girl out of the playing field (along with himself), so Quintresk didn't protest. It would be futile and change nothing.

The dark wher was on his striped brother's wake. At least until he checked in the direction of the humans, catching the sight of the prowling feline nearing the child-like one. Quintresk's claws dug into the dirt, his weight dipping low and his tail flicking wide around him to help flip his momentum around. He sprang forward in a full on sprint, angling himself in such a way that when he launched himself at the feline from the side, Nabrik would not become part of the tussle.

Fur, blood, ichor – Quintresk didn't take much note where he got hit, reacting on pure instinct to each twist of body and snap of teeth. Their quarrel drove them deeper into the trees, bodies rolling and smacking against trees with each fast-paced exchange. Quintresk not retreating until the feline before him became a confirmed kill. In the back of his mind Quintresk knew something bigger was going on (if Dmisk's radiating ire wasn't a big enough clue) with the two females joining the matriarch – but his priority went to taking off the single straggler. Four would then become three..

_____

Ow.

R'ven's expression twitched, the only reaction he had to the pain of Dementia's claws sinking into his palm. He squinted down at the salamandyr. The darkness made it difficult to tell, but he was certain her hide was shifting in hue. Feyrianth's shriek sounded shortly after. Reflexively R'ven curled his fingers half-way around Dementia and moved out to the ledge where Trilaranth was perched. Tail flicking irritable as a low growl vibrated the very stone of the cave.

Bonnie, stirred by the emotions of both man and dragon, woke from the high nook she curled in during the night. With a questioning chirp she twirled through the air to join her lovely browns. Concern. Anger. It didn't take long before the olive-green blinked between only to reappear at the feeding grounds. Not Erilena there.. but.. she circled around Dmitri. Bonnie lighted on a nearby branch, trilling in worry at the harper.

Such noise!

She took to the air again, looping carefully around the trees until she came upon the brawl of whers and felines. The green shrieked, dive bombing at the head of one (never close enough to be anything more than distracting) hissing hatefully at the creatures before circling around Dmisk fallen form. Oh poor handsome blue..

Feyrianth, what is happening..?