Feline Attack!

[paryal]

It was a perfectly lovely day. Earlier on, Paryal had gathered up a few meatrolls and a skin of water to bring out beside one of the natural pools formed by the river. At first glance, it looked almost as if she was packing food for two or three people, though the casual observer would have noted no one was with her. Once you looked closer, however, there was a brown tail dangling from the Weyrling’s hair, while a green shape circled far overhead. Misrah was only a few days old, and required constant feeding, while Fairamay had regressed to a stage where she demanded all her rider’s attention, constantly trying to drag Paryal way from the new brown flitter. The animosity was completely one sided- Misrah didn’t seem bothered with Fairamay at all. In fact, nothing much seemed to phase the brown fire lizard, as long as he had Paryal’s hair to return to when all was said and done. While Fairamay’s aggression bothered Paryal, it wasn’t completely unexpected. Even when new to the world, the green had shown her dislike for every single form of male possible, except when she rose in Flight. Now her beloved had a new flitter to dote on, one of that gender the green hated so much. Fairamay wouldn’t actually harm Misrah, knowing that Paryal would be angry, but she could grow quite rough with the tiny male.

Charging ahead of the Weyrling was a gold colored dragonet. Her hide was extremely pale- almost silver, but her legs were a splash of goldenrod vivid and wonderful to behold. The same bright gold was echoed on the dragon’s face. Aezanth was exceedingly proud of her coloring, and knew full well that she was a beautiful little Queen. Though she was not quite aware of what males and females did together, Aezanth knew that it was important that all male dragons found her attractive and paid attention to her. The gold commanded the spotlight, and grew quite testy if she didn’t have it.

Setting her things down on the bank, Paryal soon plopped into the soft sand herself. Later on, perhaps, she would splash about with Aezanth, but for now her dragon was perfectly safe. The water was so shallow that the dragon could stand in it at all times, though she tucked up her limbs primly in an attempt to float. You will not join me then mine? Looking back at her rider, Aezanth snorted balefully. Not right now love. I think I just want to get some sun first. Well, Paryal was extremely pale, almost pasty. Again Aezanth snorted, plunging into the water until only her head was visible, though she popped back up as quickly as she went under.

With all completely relaxing (a fire lizard lay on each side of Paryal’s body), the Weyrling found herself closing her eyes, and drifting off ever so slowly… Only to be awakened by a sudden pressure on her back and the loud screaming of what sounded like her two fire lizards. Now what was that all about? Waking slowly, the goldrider blinked once or twice, starting to become aware of some pain and pressure, though it didn’t seem like too much to worry about. Paryalmine! Wake up! There is something on your back. Concern for her dragon woke Paryal fully up, to the point where she rose quickly and become fully aware that there was indeed something digging into her flesh. Aezanth was frozen in fear, not willing to move lest the beast on her rider’s back do something further. With infinite slowness, Paryal grabbed a rock in her hand, before twisting it backwards to connect with the solid fur and muscle of a large feline, who dropped from his prey in shock. The marks he had left were somewhat deep, but tiny- they had more been to cling to Paryal than anything else. But how had he snuck up on her? Clearly he had moved slowly, silently, taking advantage of the sleeping girl and the carefree dragon. Now he faced her, spitting and yowling, while Paryal’s eyes continued to widen. The pain was suddenly extremely intense and keen, and the warm trickle of blood going down her back alerted her to the fact she would need medical attention. But how to get out of this situation? Aezanth! Call Jessereth’s and Phremath’s. Please. Hurry. The Queen did so, rapidly calling out to the two dragons and describing the situation, before running to Paryal’s side, mantling her wings and hissing gently.

((Anyone can join. Not just those two. xD))

[Requiem]

He kicked his bare feet in the water, sending up splashes, while a deep blue firelizard evaded the flying droplets joyously. Hrorek was still such a tiny thing. Strong, though, given how much time he spent in the air.

Jessereth lay along the bank, directly beside Z'hin. The two had raced up the riverbank, Hrorek flitting along between them, and both dragon and rider were now thoroughly worn out after running through the clinging mud for a good few miles. Leaning back on his hands for support as the brownweyrling continued to kick gently, he smiled at his bonded. "Those bronzes are going to have to watch out. You're faster and stronger." Although the brown wasn't entirely sure why they'd have to 'watch out,' he responded smugly, Don't forget smarter, too.

Z'hin laughed. "Of course. Smarter. And ever so humble." His smile faltered at the sense he suddenly got from Jessereth, eyes narrowing. "Who?" Aezanth. A Feline. There may be more...they hunt in packs. Hrorek settled on Z'hin's shoulder without any prompting, a questioning stab at the brownweyrling's mind. The young man pictured Aezanth, Paryal, Misrah and Fairamay in his head. In a moment the flitter had vanished Between, popping back not long thereafter, the brownpair ready and waiting. The image came into his mind's eye, clear as day. Downriver. About ten minutes' jog.

"Then we'll make it six at a sprint," he replied grimly.

***

She wiped the blood from her hands on her trousers, sighing slightly as she straightened and blew the hair from her eyes. He'd lose the leg. Although, in all honesty, that seemed small in the face of the fact that the limb had crushed his lower thigh, splintering the bone such that the femoral artery had ruptured. The man was lucky to be alive.

Phremath's distress drew Kalierre from the infirmary, the woman frowning as she approached her bonded, who looked quite agitated. The green was shifting from clawed foot to clawed foot. "What is it?" A shadow passed across her face at the harried answer. Firmly, the woman commanded, "Stay here." She strode off at a near-run. Something had to be done. And - the dragonriders might need to be mustered. If that feline emerged as part of a pride, they may already be too late.

***

The time it took to reach them - it needled at Z'hin. He couldn't remember ever having run so fast, and yet, not far from where he knew he would soon be able to see everything, the brownweyrling slowed to a stop, Jessereth halting beside him. A lot could have happened between the time Aezanth first called and they reached the goldpair.

Hrorek appeared just above Paryal, revealing himself for the first time as he acquired the images he'd need to get to His before Z'hin and Jessereth could make their move. They were here. Hopefully she would recognize the firelizard. The blue popped back Between after a few brief seconds, settling on Z'hin's shoulder and sending him the most recent barrage of images...

[glamourie]

Paryal, one of the Weyrlings (in particular, the Weyrling Goldrider [!]) was in need of a Healer. Kalierre was off to find some of the wingriders for help, and Rawign grabbed a bag of supplies before taking off in a mad dash toward the river. The only explanation he received was felines which was all he really needed; he'd seen the kind of wounds wild felines could do at their worst and he was not sure how bad the injuries were. As a result, his bag was quite full if only to make sure he had everything he would need. (Rawign, ever pessimistic, actually expected things to be worse than he was used to dealing with and brought extra supplies, though, really, he'd grabbed everything in sight and threw it into the bag, so it wasn't entirely his fault.) He made for what was likely a comical sight as he ran down along the side of the river at his fastest speed which, given his height and build, was actually decently impressive. Rawign was a being built for speed, if not strength and stamina. All that running away from people paid off, apparently.

He was not alone as he ran along the river banks, actually throwing himself over one of the rocks in his way. Beggar flew at his side, chittering quietly, while Roxie dashed off ahead to make sure everything was okay. For all her flaws, the little green certainly was daring. Beggar was comforting, and Li, the bronze of the group, was right on Roxie's tail, flying at his fastest speed. He couldn't keep up with her, but he was definitely pushing speeds that were impressive for a bronze flitter hatchling. Unlike Roxie, who just wanted to make sure she was the first to see whatever they were going to find, Li was determinedly in search of the person they were looking for. He didn't really know who that was, but his person had said gold, so he was looking for a gold. He didn't need to know the difference between dragons and firelizards to recognize what a gold was.

The group of four came to an abrupt halt behind Jessereth, the brown dragon's form managing to block his way most successfully. Rawign actually skidded, narrowly avoiding falling down or running into the pair. Beggar and Roxie both perched at either side, while Li flitted down to the rocks nearby to find the goldrider. His eyes whirled as he came up behind Z'hin's blue firelizard, though he lingered for only a moment before darting off in the direction away from the Weyr.

"Z'hin," he whispered, recognizing the brownrider. "Kalierre sent me. Is it safe enough for us to get closer to her, do you know?" He didn't want to go down to help if he was guaranteed to be mauled, and Li did not think to let him know of anything. Roxie and Beggar were contentedly sitting on their rocks, though the whirl of their eyes made it clear they were nervous. If there was hope, though, in going down to where Paryal was, then Rawign was willing to risk getting mauled. But since the brownrider arrived first, he thought it safe to assume that he'd know whether or not they could approach. After all, his brown could talk to Paryal's gold and find out how many felines were nearby, if any. He still didn't know how many of them were there, or how bad of injuries that Paryal sustained. It didn't matter, though. The only thing stopping him from barreling forward was the fact that he knew such recklessness could get himself, the brownrider (though he hardly knew him and didn't care to remedy that, really) and the goldrider who he'd actually never met all hurt worse. He wouldn't be stupid if he could help it...


[ I apologize for the utter crap. o.o ]

[paryal]

It had been five long minutes since Aezanth had sent out her distress call. Why had no one come? Surely some riders must have heard. They could have easily gone on dragonback to try and make it over as quickly as possible. Mine… I didn’t know how to show them where we are! I did not know how to show the entire Weyr our location. Clearly distressed, the little Queenling pressed her body against her rider, wishing so badly that the situation be done and over with. Paryal could hardly fault her dragon, though it did show how much more work they had left to do. It had been easy enough for her to tell Jessereth and Phremath where they were, but Aezanth lacked the mind voice capabilities to visualize for the benefit of any dragons and riders that would come to save them. Misrah and Fairamay could have done so, had the green not vanished, and the brown done the opposite- he refused to leave the safety of Paryal’s hair, trying to shield his eyes from the felines.

In the time that elapsed between the dragon’s call and the arrival of the first Weyrling, Paryal had managed to slowly and hesitantly back up until she stood thigh deep in water. The feline showed an obvious hesitance to follow into the liquid, though the guttural noises it made deep in it’s throat showed that the hesitance would not last for too long. But why was it continuing that call? With the knowledge that certain doom was coming, Paryal watched as two more lithe, tawny forms emerged from the bushes. With only a large rock and a dragon not even half grown, there was little the Weyrling could do. The only reason the felines had not braved the water to get their prey was obviously Aezanth. They couldn’t recognize color in the same fashion that a human could, and she was a rather large dragon. Perhaps they learned that dragons her size could produce fire from their mouths, or perhaps the large teeth and claws of the gold warned them off for the time being. Either way, Paryal knew that that too would pass. There was so much in her life that she had not done, and would regret never doing. No sex, for one thing. In fact, not much of a romance at all. That was unfortunate. Far sadder was the fact she would never fly with Aezanth, if she did not survive the encounter.

The smell of blood drove the beasts onward, one hesitant step at a time. Though Z’hin, Kalierre, and the Candidate Paryal did not know had arrived, they hesitated for good reason. She wished that she could feel they were more justified, but it was her and Aezanth’s life at sake. What could be done? Just as Paryal was about to descend into despair (and quite possibly pass out from blood loss), Misrah seemed to gather what bravery he had, launching himself from his bonded’s shoulders and diving straight at the feelings. Shocked at his display at bravery, Paryal stood wordless, though one fist slowly made its way into her mouth, where she bit down hard. What was he doing? But the brown flitter was hardly suicidal. Instead, he pulled himself out of the dive just as the felines reached out hesitant paws. Now this was a far more interesting game! Like all cats, the felines swiftly lost attention in things that were not so lively.

Though the feral creatures were slowly leaving to follow the dancing form of the brown fire lizard, the original one retained. This creature had hit him with a rock! She would suffer for this, suffer for it sorely. Without the hesitation his companions had shown, the feline jumped forward, hitting the water where Paryal sat with a resounding splash. Fighting would be useless at this point. One single rock would do little against the claws and teeth of a big cat. Instead, Paryal did what any sensible person would do- she ran, though she made sure that Aezanth went first with a sizable head start, and she did not run in the direction of those gathered on the banks. Though she had the lead, the feline had a greater speed, and was swiftly gaining. Once his claws managed to rake on the back of her calves, enough to start small sprinkles of blood from the shallow but long wounds. What could be done now? Could she be saved? A large amount was left to the three watchers, all against this one beast effectively made for killing.

[Requiem]

((Ummm...there would be no point in sending Hrorek and Li on ahead if Z'hin, Jessereth and Rawign were within sight of Paryal, now would there? And Kalierre is not there. She is currently bringing the only hope of salvation. *le sigh))

The images popped in his head, one after the other, Z'hin's face paling. Deadglows! Every last one of them! He drew up Kali's image in his mind, quickly, then the one of the clearing the felines were in. Hrorek disappeared with a quiet pop, taking the location's image to the healer who was even now bringing together the dragonriders who might have a chance in perdition at rectifying this situation. They'd need more than just a couple.

Three felines. The brownweyrling had grown up wandering the wilds of the south. One feline - that could be a loner. But three meant a pride, and if there were three chasing, there were probably twice as many lying in wait. A seven hundred pound bundle of speed and deadly precision was more than a landbound hatchling could handle. But a doublefist of them? Anyone out there was not coming back.

Yet, even as the thoughts flew through his mind, taking only a matter of seconds, Z'hin found himself searching for something, anything, with which to arm himself. He plucked up a stout branch, hefting it in his hands with a grim expression as his gaze fell on Rawign. "If we don't stop this before the cats drive them to where the rest of the pride is waiting..." He said no more. They couldn't very well do nothing. The fact that Paryal and Aezanth weren't dead yet meant the felines were toying with them.

Jessereth readjusted himself, bracing as Z'hin swept onto his back, the brownweyrling extending his hand to Rawign. The brown may not yet be able to fly, but he certainly could support this small bit of weight. Letting out another stream of curses, the brownpair burst through the foliage, cutting across the field at an angle. Kasraith. The bronze was there, trying to fight a feline! Those creatures were far too agile for the hatchlings. And did Kasraith truly think the other two cats wouldn't get involved? Jessereth shifted course, trying to close in on the small battle before the other felines did.

"Paryal! Stop running! Tell Aezanth to turn around! By the egg, stop running!" Then he had little time to think. With a quick flick of his wrist, the branch whirled in a circle before Z'hin lashed out, Jessereth's momentum carrying them past the feline he'd just brained. A lucky blow. The other two cats backed off, hissing. For a brief moment, he thought they'd been lucky. These didn't want the risk of taking on what was turning into three young dragons. Especially with one of theirs already dead. Only...they didn't leave.

That thought registered, but too late, Z'hin stiffening as the clearing came alive with tan bodies pouring from the nearby brush. They'd been too late. Already, the ambush was sprung, and now the brownpair had gotten themselves and Rawign right into the middle of it. The young man roared, his cry echoed by Jessereth. No time to think. Only react. Preserve life, for another few seconds. Fangs. Claws. Pain and blood. He fell from Jessereth. Scrambled, bringing up the branch he'd managed to hold onto. Weight before him. Something at his back. Firm. Lucky, that.

Jessereth writhed and flailed, reacting on instinct as he tried to get closer to his. It hurt! He didn't have time enough to wonder why, though, fury making the brown a formidable opponent. Yet, despite the fortune that had gifted the two up to this point, they were outnumbered. Overwhelmed. Tiring and weakening. There was nothing left to do but fight and hope that help would come in time...

***

His pacing came to an abrupt halt. "Everyone, mount. We've wasted too much time as it is." There were only a handful gathered so far, and he had no working knowledge of how many felines they were dealing with, but even a handful of dragonriders was better than nothing. S'rei paused, instructing Kali, "As others come, have Hrorek broadcast the location. They're to jump as soon as they can." The Weyrleader waited only long enough to settle his goggles on his face, before he swung up onto Salenth's back. The bronze rose with a commanding bugle, his small following taking to the air soon after. With a brusque signal, the Weyrleader brought his dragonriders Between. Hopefully they wouldn't be too late.

[glamourie]

Li followed Hrorek between in a snap, as Rawign turned to look at Z'hin. His face paled but he took Z'hin's offered hand without hesitation - something that, under any other circumstances, he likely would have refused to do, given the fact that Jessereth was a dragon. There were more pressing threats at hand, though, in the form of felines. He knew what the brownrider was implying. Rawign was no expert on felines, but he generally knew where there was two, there were a lot more hidden away. The thought did not appeal to him. More felines, and all they had were two - no, three! - weyrlings to deal with them. Weyrlings. They didn't have a chance, and Rawign did not have much in the way of weapons, save for half a dozen medical supplies. What he wouldn't have done for some kind of fire, something to try and frighten the great beasts! Most animals were spooked by sudden fire, instinct made them run, right? Sharding --!

They were going to be killed. That was Rawign's only thought as they charged into the middle of the fight. Later, he would perhaps regard how fast Jessereth was able to move over land, especially holding two boys, but that was for another time. His thoughts were only on the bronze that attacked one of the felines as Paryal took to running. Running? RUNNING? Why in Faranth's name was she running? Running from a predator got their attention. Running was never good. Especially not in a group attack - she was bound to be led right to the rest of the group! Mad; the entire situation was mad. They'd be lucky if they didn't all get killed within a matter of moments. They weren't trained to fight felines, none of them. The adult dragons could do it but not three weyrlings and a sharding candidate who was unarmed!

The thought frightened Rawign slightly as they came skidding near one of the felines. He had only a moment to respect the force Z'hin used against one of them when ... the rest arrived. He, like the brownrider, was thrown down to the ground, but his stun lasted only momentarily before he dug around in his bag for a supply, something, anything to use against the cats. As one of them moved past him, actually swiping down over his stomach with claws sharp enough to tear through tunic and the flesh of his chest, Rawign managed to retrieve the jar of numbweed from the bag... and he promptly smashed it right into the feline's face. His terror was actually visible as he scrambled away in the creature's momentary shock, pain still registering through his mind along with the horror of his firelizards, who had appeared from between in mass, all three flying around frantically. The feline recoiled from the force and the shock of having the jar shattered over its face and actually backpedaled before howling and dashing away from the group. Whether it was the numbweed itself or the shattered jar that frightened the feline was irrelevant - it was gone. That got rid of two of them but there were plenty more.

They were going to need help, desperately, and his chest was bleeding. Any other time he would have addressed his injuries immediately, but his eyes fell away from the two they'd come to help. Jessereth and Z'hin had his primary concern, with the brown fighting to the best of his ability but it wouldn't be enough, they were far too outnumbered. Rawign started in his direction, noticing for the first time that one of the swipes (probably the one that had knocked him down) had actually dug over his side and up his back. He was bleeding enough that he was nervous, and there were at least eight cats left that he could count. And he was fresh out of jars to be smashing onto the head of any more felines.

The bag itself was still relatively heavy, though. Undoubtedly the jar had been the heaviest thing in it, and the weight was lessened, but it would hopefully be enough. His hands settled around the straps before Rawign actually swung the bag at the head of one of the felines attacking Jessereth, with all the force he could put behind it, though it was merely enough to knock the cat off balance, no where near as rough as the jar itself had been. And that drew the creature's attention to him. Shards, shards, shards! The pain in his side, back and chest set in just in time for him to see the feline become distracted by three rapidly flying forms, all circling in a whirl of color - his firelizards. There was little they could do except try to distract, and it took all three of them to focus the attention of one of the cats. The group was aiming for the injured, and Rawign was only one of many so far. Li led the trio with animated shrieks and chattering, clearly trying to be distracting both in sight and sound, if only until help arrived -- but he wasn't sure it would be soon enough, if the amount of blood that he kept seeing was anything to judge by. But he couldn't tell what belonged to what.

[paryal]

((… Disregard mentions that she saw them. And Thia, the felines got Paryal’s calf, not Aezanth’s. Sorry if that wasn’t clear.))

At the sound of a familiar voice, someone that Paryal liked very much, the Weyrling stopped her running, though with the feline hot on her trail it didn’t seem like the best idea. Aezanth, stop! Skidding to a halt, Aezanth paused to look back to her rider, fear very much evident in her eyes. Why were they stopped? Why was her bonded taking this risk? They would die! But they did not die. Neither were they mauled. At the last possible moment, Z’hin and Jessereth ran ahead, a branch in head, successfully hitting the feline on the head. If it wasn’t dead, it was certainly stunned enough to easily slit its throat. For now it was no longer a threat, but the other two were. And there was more. So many more. Although they didn’t focus on Paryal anymore, they had not finished with the humans. Now they surrounded Z’hin and Jessereth.

Without even thinking, Aezanth leapt forward, her dark gold legs scrambling as she launched her body into that of a feline. “Aezanth!” What was her dragon doing? Concern struck deep at Paryal, as she scrambled forward. A branch was in one hand. It was sturdy, and could probably deal sufficient damage to at least stave the cats off. Two of them focused on the spitting, hissing Queen dragon now, their fur bristling in anger. How dare this creature attack them? They launched forward just as Paryal swung her branch, managing to hit one square across the middle. The wounded feline lay on the ground, eyes slightly unfocused. It would be at least a few minutes until the creature could rise to attack again, and he was probably sufficiently frightened to run off. That still left many, many more though.

The movements of a frightened Candidate registered in Paryal’s mind, but she couldn’t think about that. Aezanth was in danger! The gold was flaring her wings, trying to appear as big and threatening as possible, but it seemed to be to no avail. Her quick movements helped her body escape the brunt of the claws, though they scraped along her side, creating narrow and shallow welts that began to drip the strange green ichor characteristic of all dragons. “Aezanth, hold still!” With a ferocity in her eyes not equaled by anything else ever demonstrated in Paryal before, she swung her branch again, hitting the creature across the head. It hit the ground hard, though the gentle movements of its sides indicated that it was indeed still alive.

At that moment, Paryal’s body seemed to give out. Too much blood had been lost, and too much of her energy had been used. Like a marionette with the strings cut, her body dropped, collapsing onto the ground. As hard as she tried, she could not stand up. What was wrong? She was so tired, and going to sleep would feel so good… Don’t go to sleep mine. Stay awake. I am here. I hurt. The pair felt double the pain they should have, as it flowed through their connection. Aezanth’s side ached, while Paryal felt a keen pain in her back and her calves. It was so bad, but she wanted to sleep so badly. Was no one else going to come to help them? They were all going to die like this. At least she could die with someone she admired very much. But there were still felines between herself and Z’hin, and T’ren was no longer visible. What of the Candidate? He was injured too. They were all injured, weren’t they? Even if they survived the scratches, the chance of infection would be extremely high. Recovery would be long in coming.

[Requiem]

His wings held tight to his body, to prevent the cats from catching hold of the membrane in their claws, Jessereth launched himself toward those mobbing Aezanth, ignoring the creatures that lashed out at him as he passed. Z'hin moved in the young dragon's shadow. In their distraction, they hadn't noticed Rawign as he drew one of the many felines off the brown's tail. For one brief moment, he'd been forgotten, and he used that to his advantage. His initial intent was to add his strength to Paryal's; Rawign was doing well-enough for himself, though he and Kas had been lost somewhere in the fighting. Z'hin shoved aside the worry and concentrated on the two he knew about. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he knew that if he could keep them together they'd have a better chance of surviving long enough for help to arrive.

Just as they drew up on the one remaining cat just as Paryal collapsed. Jessereth turned to square off against Aezanth's remaining nuisance. He may not care overly much about other dragons, but that did not change the fact that she was his sister, and a gold. Instinctively he moved to protect her. Z'hin, too, held no thought in his head for the fallen girl than he would have for anyone. The situation was crazy. Too crazy for much beyond instinct and reaction to filter through his mind. One of the cats that had followed Jessereth was circling around Z'hin, moving toward her unmoving body.

The man let out a growl, echoed by Jessereth's deep rumble. As one, the two surged forward in subconscious mimicry of one another, the brown's foreleg lashing out at the cat focused on Aezanth, even as Z'hin's branch whipped forward, catching the cat beneath the chin. Neither were overtly successful, though they managed to divert the creatures' attention. The brown growled at the snarling cat that had evaded his swipe, the two entering into a deadly dance. He reared up, away from the cat's snapping jaws that would have closed on his throat, his forelegs lashing out as he came back down. The feline was too fast.

Z'hin maneuvered himself between Paryal and his own opponent, wincing. No time to locate the origin of the pain. The feline sprung, the brownweyrling stepping back into a crouch, but before it reached him, Jessereth's battle brought the brown's tail whipping through the air, catching the feline in the chest and throwing it bodily back into the ground, where it skidded for several feet and lay stunned. Z'hin swiftly turned, lashing Paryal's hands with one of the thongs he always carried that he might throw her across his back while leaving his hands free. Lying there like that...she was an obvious target, and just as likely to be trampled by Jessereth as to find herself one of the feline's prey.

This vantage suddenly brought Rawign back within Z'hin's line of vision. There were three cats down or dead, six surrounding Aezanth and Jessereth in a loose ring, and, outside that ring, Z'hin and Paryal, and Rawign with the only feline not concentrated on the dragons. It seemed as if his firedragons were putting up an effective screen, but for how long? The brownweyrling stumbled into a run, readjusting Paryal on his back with one hand. He leapt, landing on the feline's back in its distraction, one hand swinging the branch around as his other caught the opposite end. Z'hin applied his not inconsiderable strength against the feline's neck, the creature thrashing desperately. Time passed all too slowly. Then, with a wrench, Z'hin crushed the creature's windpipe.

He climbed off the corpse, just as Jessereth let out a feral scream, the brown staggering underneath the weight of a feline who'd managed to latch onto his flank. Z'hin visibly blanched. His eyes refocused on Rawign. Tossing the healer the branch, he then lowered Paryal to the ground. "Protect her." He looked to the two beleaguered dragons. Soon the cats would likely notice that easier prey lay not far off. But he couldn't leave Jess to die alone. The man moved at a fast clip, visibly limping, toward the heart of the struggle, breaking into a run at the last moment.

Z'hin caught one by surprise before disappearing amidst the scrambling bodies. A moment passed, and Jessereth, streaming green ichor from upwards of a dozen wounds, released a bellow. His jaws closed on the cat who had managed to pin His to the ground, severing the spine. Another down. But still far too many to contend with. Roars suddenly split the air, dragons pouring from Between, led by a massive bronze that swooped to a landing, his wings flaring as he screamed his rage.

Dragons swooped down, plucking the felines from the earth and rising again. Three bodies tumbled through the air and hit the ground, dead on impact. All of the remaining felines scattered. The odds were suddenly much against their favor.

S'rei slid from Salenth, his expression grim. Had they arrived in time? It looked like - a few he couldn't tell whether they were dead or alive...and of the ones who still stood...the wounds...

[glamourie]

They were all going to die. No matter what else he tried to think of, Rawign was fairly sure that the simple fact was that they were all going to lose their lives. He could see the dragons were all injured, and Z'hin clearly was too, never mind the queenrider -- there wasn't enough time for them to get away. His own particular feline darted about, still distracted by the firelizards flying to and fro, and Rawign made a loose swing with his bag, only to miss. The cat turned and snapped at Roxie, who shrieked between in terror, leaving her clutchbrother and Beggar to fend for themselves. He was just about to make another swing when Z'hin seemed to reappear out of no where. What happened next was too fast for Rawign to fully comprehend, for his eyes were on Paryal and not the feline, perhaps one of the biggest mistakes he could have made. But the cat hit the ground and the brown dragon made one of the most hideous sounds the seventeen-turn-old had ever heard; his stomach clenched into knots and he had to resist the urge to run to his death just to stop that horrible sound from coming again.

The thrown branch caught Rawign's eye and he fell on it before nodding to Z'hin. He wanted to argue that he had the bag and the brownrider needed the branch more than him, but he didn't get a chance because Z'hin was hobbling off. His heart beat rapidly in his throat and he looked down at Paryal's unconscious form, his two remaining firelizards (the green was gone in fear) flying rapidly around her and screeching their terror. For the moment all the cats appeared to be occupied by the dragons but he didn't know how long that would last. If it would be the last thing he'd ever do, he'd follow Z'hin's instructions and protect the unconscious goldrider. He didn't know her, he didn't know her dragon, but she was in no state to be protecting herself.

Don't die. Please don't die.

That one desperate thought lingered in Rawign's mind as he knelt down and dug out several bandages from his bag. Normally he'd take the time to address all of Paryal's wounds and clean them individually, but unconscious as she was, with such chaos around them, he settled for what he thought was more important: the most severe of her bleeding injuries. Silently, Rawign pressed the bandages against the wound, making less effort to close it off than to slow the bleeding, then he snapped at Beggar and Li. "Both of you, hold this with as much strength as you can." The two firelizards landed obediently on the bandages, Li trying to press his body against them, unfortunately in the process getting blood on himself. But hopefully it would slow her bleeding enough that she wouldn't bleed out before help arrived. He wasn't in the proper state to help her himself beyond that.

Roaring. Roaring caught his attention and Rawign glanced over his shoulder toward the cats instinctively before his chin tilted up just slightly. The adult dragons had arrived and not a moment too soon. He couldn't see Z'hin anymore to make out whether he was okay or not, the bronze weyrling was lost to his sight - all he could see was Paryal's unconscious form, an outline of Jessereth and of Aezanth, as well as the massive forms of the adults landing. He recognized Salenth distantly and a wave of relief washed over him before he turned to Paryal, still clutching the branch as if he expected a feline to pop out of the ground and try to attack them both - which he deemed a very real danger, despite the presence of the adult dragons chasing them off, which was undeniable given the sounds of bodies hitting the ground.

"Don't worry," he whispered, though she surely couldn't hear him. The words were meant more for him than Paryal. "We're all going to be okay... I hope..."

The last of the felines scattered away and Rawign shuddered before stumbling to the ground next to Paryal, his hands still tightly wound around the branch. His chest and side were bleeding badly enough that the pain flashed through his mind, creating more of a haze than he was capable of dealing with. The threat was gone, but he couldn't bring himself to let go of the branch; the gold dragon was not near them and she was hurt... he had to protect Paryal... no matter what... and the cats might come back. Shaking, Rawign bowed his head, breathing rapidly. He was trembling in terror, even though the threat had fled. And he flat out refused to let go of the branch on his own accord...


[ I didn't know whether or not I should end the thread with my post or not, but I figured I'd leave it open for Aezanth reaction and for the riders to haul them off. ^^; ]

[paryal]

Although the felines were off of Aezanth's back, she no longer saw Paryal. Where was her rider? Panic filled the young dragon, but her senses took over. Her rider was still there, though she was a faint presence. Clearly this brownrider her bonded liked had moved Paryal, but where to? Still clearly upset, Aezanth struggled to move away from the corpses of the felines. There were less of the beasts about now, making it somewhat safer. Torn between wanting to fight against these attackers and finding her rider, Aezanth chose the second, dashing as she anxiously crooned in her attempt to get Paryal to wake up. Why didn’t her rider wake up? Not the type to despair, Aezanth was never the less getting quite close to that point, feeling as helpless as she did.

Paryalmine? You should wake up now. Finally having fought her way over to her rider, Aezanth stared down the collapsed Rawign, before finally deciding he wasn’t much of a threat. The felines were leaving now… finally leaving. At the sight of the full-grown dragons, most if not all of the creatures had fled. While that immediate danger was gone, they were all far from out of the woods yet. The brave fighters were all bleeding- dragons and humans alike. Aezanth had only light scratches that would probably only need minimum tending. Paryal’s injuries were far more serious, though they were as of yet not life-threatening.

Paryalmine! Please wake up. Please, please. I am here now, you should wake up now. Most of the bad felines are gone. Wake up! I command you! Tone growing increasingly frenzied, the gold lashed outward to nose her rider hard, shifting Paryal as she lay in a spreading pool of blood. Much to Aezanth’s surprise, Paryal responded by groaning loudly, her eyes opening to a small slit. I’m here love… Voice weak, Paryal reached out to comfort her dragon. It was the only thing she could do right now. She wanted to fall back into sleep so badly, but she couldn’t once Aezanth was here. Not while her dragon needed comfort. Even if she couldn’t move one bit, she could still let out her tendrils of thought.

Now that she knew her rider was alive, Aezanth realized there were other dragons here, presumably to rescue those who had gotten trapped in this awful situation. Salenth, you must help my Paryal and Jessereth and his rider and this boy who helped my Paryal. I can wait. I do not think they can. While she was commanding, Aezanth recognized the bronze as her superior. Now was no time for formalities though. Now was a time for action. If nothing was done soon… Aezanth wanted to go to sleep with Paryal. Her hide was pale, paler than it normally was. Even her bright golden legs were pale, and as for her almost silver hide… It looked white, like it lacked any life entirely.

Please. Please help mine Salenth.

[Requiem]

Jessereth was frantic. Even as Salenth landed and the cats scattered, his eyes whirled a vibrant orange-red, the brown standing protectively over his rider's broken form and hissing and snapping at feline and dragon alike. The mind of His was absent, quieter even than it was when the man slept, and - worse still - that small presence was fading with every passing moment. He did not understand death or dying consciously. But he understood this - His was leaving him. Get back! Get away! The brown's broadcast was universal.

Salenth's voice crashed through, also broadcasting, for the private response had gone unheeded. Jessereth. You have to let someone get near him. He will die if you don't. Do you understand? You're not protecting him. You're hurting him! A moment passed, though the brown remained unmoving. Then, ever so slowly, he withdrew, his eyes never leaving His. Lauranna was the first to reach the brownweyrling. It was...appalling. His left arm seemed to have been mangled, slashes marred his chest, and he was bleeding heavily from a wound in his lower body, though there was too much blood to locate it at a glance.

Only after he withdrew did the full extent of his own injuries hit Jessereth. The brown had taken the bulk of the fighting force of the felines, desperately trying to protect the gold Aezanth and His. Though none of his wounds could match his rider's, there were far more of them, and shock was beginning to overtake the young dragon. He wavered where he stood, wings flaring out for balance.

Salenth heard Aezanth's command, but he'd already begun relaying his own orders, as they entered both his and S'rei's head. Greenriders were swiftly seeing to the young people, attempting first aid before they took them back to the weyr. A healer had been called to see to those who could not be moved. The bronze himself offered to ferry the gold to the weyr, whilst Laurie trailed behind with Paryal.

Reysalth's rider even now closed on Rawign and Paryal, crouching as she laid a hand on the boy's shoulder. He, alone of the people in this fiasco, seemed to be conscious. She remembered him as the boy from the gather she'd so enjoyed teasing. This...this pained her, to see him so. "It's over now," she murmured softly, her hand tightening on his shoulder in reassurance. "They're gone. You're safe. Everyone's safe. Now, please let go of that, Rawign." She tugged gently at the stick, only moving on and leaving him to another greenrider once he relinquished it. Laurie swiftly cut through the thong tying Paryal's hands, using the remains to forge a makeshift tourniquet to stop the bleeding in her calf - or at least slow it.

Be still, Aezanth. We are doing what we can. Let me carry you back to Selenitas. Paryal will be brought by Mine's clutchmate.

[glamourie]

Something was coming. A shadow. Eyes widening, Rawign actually looked up, ready to swing, when he caught the tell-tale glitter of goldenrod legs, if nothing else. The girl's queen. His eyes flicked rapidly between the dragon and the girl, as if he had to actually remind himself that the dragon was not an enemy. His heartbeat thudded in his chest and he glanced around before turning back to where his firelizards were applying pressure to the make-shift bandages. Hopefully she'd be okay. Hopefully they would all be okay. His fingers tightened on the branch, but he was losing track of time, enough that he did not even see the dragons swooping around anymore. It wasn't until he felt pressure on his shoulder that he was jolted back to reality, and Rawign actually flinched, jumping in surprise.

Safe...? Everyone was safe? His eyes flicked from the branch to the greenrider and back again before he started to turn toward where he'd seen Jessereth and Z'hin heading. Were they safe, too? They'd helped him; they had to be. Rawign did not realize it, but he was shaking like a leaf as he grasped the branch firmly, only to be told to let it go. He didn't want to. The branch would keep him safe, right? But after a moment, his fingers loosened, more from lack of energy to continue holding it than actual desire to relinquish his grasp. He wanted to badly to ask how everyone was doing, but words failed him. The seventeen-turn-old wound his arms tightly around his stomach and dropped his head to stare at the ground near his legs, casually oblivious to most of what was going on around him. He could vaguely see blood dripping down his chest, but he wasn't sure anymore how much of it was his. Unfortunately for him, all of it was. He wasn't hurt that bad, but the blood made deep stains down his front so that it looked as though he was.

Another hand rested on his shoulder and Rawign rolled his head back to look up, though his vision was blurring. His gaze caught on amber eyes and blood red hair tied back firmly. She looked... familiar. However, rational thought and recognition failed him, and the dark haired boy allowed himself to be pulled to his feet and hauled onto the spring-green dragon's back without any protest. The woman in question, Salira, frowned as the boy's firelizard fair took to chattering incessantly. Her green soothed them as she settled herself and Rawign. She did not ask after the goldrider; for the moment, Salira couldn't bring herself to ask after anyone. She'd find out how they were all doing once they got back to the Weyr. Unfortunately, the boy in front of her slumped back against her and lost consciousness only a moment after he was situated, most likely from blood loss himself.

[ And that's Glamsy out xD;; ]