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Post by dragon on Apr 23, 2009 17:02:31 GMT -5
Crevesk had watched the progress of the swarm of idiot attackers coming her direction. And then realized that they still could not see her. And they were all headed straight for her on the ramp. As they drew nearer, the stench of whatever it was they were carrying grew stronger. Just the fumes of it was burning and singing the delicate tissues of her nasal cavities. Ugh. If it had been just fifty men and thier knives coming at her, she'd have stood her ground and had at them as they could cram themselves onto the ramp to get at her. But weilding jars of unknown caustic viscous fluids?
Noooooo thankeeee... Crevesk slithered down off the ramp onto the dock, slipping silently into the water of the river. Eyeballs sticking up out of it to watch them file up to the tree. Well ... that wasn't good! They were headed up, and her handler was up there!
Rather irritated at things in general, Crevesk crawled back out of the water and followed the men up the ramp.
Inside, Crevenaire hugged the children tight to her chest, not at all minding that they were clinging to her in return, or sucking on her clothes. They were being good, and not fighting her. "Shhh." She soothed, hoping that everything was going to be ok.
"They're ok, I think." She said, after jumping when Savitri came in. The problem was, she had no idea who was local and who wasn't. She just didn't know. Thankfully, the person appearing through the door was someone who she'd seen in the other room. "Everything going as planned out there, so far? We don't have very many people in here, do we? Will the infirmary really hold against an assault like this?" Crevy was scared, yes. Terrified, really, though her voice held steady despite her words.
The pictures she was seeing through Crevesk were terrifying. She did feel better to know that Crevesk was out there, though. She knew that Crevesk loved to fight and kill ... maybe her wher would get her back out of this mess that she had stuffed her into.
Oh, she'd known that she didn't want to be here!!!
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Post by hseru on Apr 23, 2009 18:10:36 GMT -5
S’lain felt the vaguest sense of satisfaction at the pain he knew Z’hin would have felt at having turned their conversation into something physical, even if only for a second. It had been an unnecessary move on the brownrider’s part, though the satisfaction quickly dimmed in the hopes that the man hadn’t re-injured himself with the fool move. S’lain might be annoyed with the two, angry with the situation, and frightened for the people who couldn’t reach the infirmary, but he was still a healer, with the instincts of such. He nodded at the proposal that Lennae would be protected by Jaxith. “He won’t be leaving the landing unnecessarily, so she’ll have him there.”
He nodded at Ka’rys, the bronzerider visibly distraught. “Just me and one other could do the job credibly. You two are among the most seriously injured we have here, thank Faranth for that. Most of the others would be able to walk with assistance.” He didn’t wait for a response, but moved to a different isolation room, going for those with the worst injuries first as he began helping them into the main room.
Jaxith sent an acknowledgement to Jessereth, though he wasn’t sure if he would be free to engage the green should the brown need assistance. He wanted to though, oh how he wanted to. His wings fluttered in an almost nervous jitter, though it was an eagerness to be in the air that sent the ripples through his limbs. He almost jumped to when the green flamed, sending the bright spurt towards the infirmary, though it missed by quite a bit. Meant to draw attention to her. The blue dug his claws into the wood of the ledge. He turned at the sound of another rider joining him and Amith on the dragonledge. Amith’s then. He noted the flamethrower with envy. He wished for nothing more than firestone at that moment, though the cumbersome thing Amith’s was weighed down with seemed far too elaborate to be useful.
Lanthos is seemed, was getting pushed off on another person, but he followed Savitri with mute agreeability, ready to follow directions and orders as soon as they were voiced. He was glad someone had finally come to a decision about who was going where and doing what. He took hold of one of the rods the golderider suggested as clubs, feeling better with the ‘weapon’ than the knife at his belt. This he could use with some skill. Anyone could use a club, really. Knives were just too difficult to hold, and thrust, and cut… he tightened his hold on the rod, and took a jar of numbweed and some bandages as well, tucking both into the small pouch at his waist –a thing he’d automatically grabbed upon leaving the candidate barracks. He intended to keep them with him, maybe they’d come in handy? He jogged back to the main room, helping whoever needed help.
The six bed-ridden injured who’d already been in residence at the infirmary were helped to the back of the main room and laid or sat in the permanent beds already there. A few broken bones, a burn victim, and a feline attack victim were among the list, though all were at least several days into the healing process, and movable. S’lain got the last rider into a bed, noting that her bandaged leg would make it difficult to get her out quickly. It seemed like everything was happening at once then, as alarms rose. The acrid scent of accelerant began to filter through the air, and the bluerider looked around in alarm. They were going to burn the infirmary! He ached to stay by the injured, but his long blade would serve better in trying to keep the large force at bay at one of the entrances where their numbers would be much less detrimental. He heard Z’hin’s call for help, and answered with the serpentine hiss of metal as he pulled his blade free, moving to stand to the left side of the brownrider, leaving his more vulnerable right side with a modicum of protection at least for the first wave of attack. He wished he could take a jar from the greenrider’s chest of goodies, but he just didn’t have the extra arm for it. Instead, he pointed with the blade to several smaller jars. “Those, with the white liquid. Grab those. It’s lye.” He instructed the candidates and anyone else who might need something more potent to use as a weapon. “Throw them if you need to, but be careful not to get it on you. It’ll give every inch of exposed flesh nasty burns.”
Lanthos, having moved up behind everyone at the door, heard these instructions and grabbed several of the small jars, tucking them into his belt and hoping they didn’t get smashed against him in the ensuing fight. He looked like he was now equipped with a small waist bandolier of bottles, one in his hand and ready to throw, while he gripped the thick rod with his other hand.
Jaxith balked as the nasty green actually landed on the dragon ledge, his anger beyond recall for the moment as the green effectively killed or maimed two selenitas people right then and there. He moved to clear the dragonledge of the intruders, his eyes on the humans who’d managed to gain entry as well. Poised to move, he noticed a dark speck out of the corner of his eyes as Jessereth continued to chase his quarry, and the blue moved instead to block the entrance to the infirmary from human entry, growling low at the intruders. The arrival of their dragons wasn’t missed, but he’d already lost his chance to gain the air. He moved in a whiplash, turning quickly so that his serpentine tail made a violent swipe towards the intruders at about waist height. Perhaps he would knock a few off.
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Post by glamourie on Apr 24, 2009 2:17:43 GMT -5
The man running for Lennae was quickly caught off guard by the end of the flamethrower and, almost in a comical display, crumbled down into the water to be washed away. His partner dashed toward the entrance - straight at E’rro. In the darkness, she did not see the blade swipe out quick as a flash; only the searing pain flaring up her leg caught her attention. Her knees went out, and she fell forward with a startled cry, her arms reaching out toward E’rro’s shoulders for balance. Even in her own mind she knew it was a mistake, but survival instinct didn’t kick in until it was too late; her entire body was left open for striking… for better or worse. She only hoped he wouldn’t be able to attack before she regained her balance and could take him down herself. But it was probably much too much to hope for. Uleath lifted her head just in time to see a flash of brown. A voice warned her of Jessereth’s dive - Haelstrath. Instinct took over and the green ducked, crouching her body low against the platform. If he intended to hit her, he was going to collide with the platform to do it, and the speed he was flying would work to her advantage. While she didn’t think that the brown would actually fly into the platform, she wasn’t above giving him little to no advantage. She was also tempted to flame him… but with people inside, that was difficult; still, it would keep him from coming too close. If he got too close, she couldn’t beat him force-on-force. Her strength was in speed. The green flattened her wings onto her body, protecting them. Her eyes whirled, and Risha leaned her body down roughly against Uleath. The pair was almost flat against the ground. At the front of the infirmary, the group rapidly approached. While there was only minimal organization to them, what they did have was numbers. Someone near the middle tossed one of their jars over the group, in the direction of the doorway; it was half-filled with the potent chemicals that were poured into the doors of the infirmary. Their goal was simple: take out the fighters early. The sheer numbers they possessed would be difficult to manage for anyone who wasn’t exceptionally skilled with fighting - and most of the people they spied at the front weren’t. They looked young, at least in the darkness. Four of the Benden riders struck first. Led by a large man who threw himself toward Z’hin, the group moved forward. The second of them was a woman considerably taller than Aliscia, who aimed a fist directly for the woman’s face; face shots were always the best thing to do when it came to other females, as they usually cringed away. As her fist struck, she moved her other hand (armed with a long blade) at Aliscia’s midsection; odds were, she’d be able to dodge one, but not both of the attacks. The man moving toward Z’hin actually sprung as though to tackle. He recognized injuries when he saw them and his aim was simple: he intended to twist and compound the wounded arms with impact. Z’hin wasn’t small, though, so he was running; the tackle would have to be forceful enough to get the job done. The third figure was positively tiny. With long hair tied back in a runner tail, it was hard to say whether or not the person was male or female; androgynous. It was in fact a male greenrider. In the darkness, it would be difficult to determine his age, but he was young - very young. That youth and his size gave him an unnatural speed, and he crouched low before running toward one of the two males readily visible near the entrance of the Infirmary. Two blades rested in his hand and he eyed the man’s lower stomach critically. As he came closer, he slashed wide, aiming for a gut sho. The fourth was another woman… but she didn’t move forward immediately like the rest of the initially attacking group. Instead, she waited. The one with them - she looked injured. A quick glance at the rest of the group gave her an idea, and rather than attack immediately, she ran up to grab Wynmuri’s arms. Her movements were quick enough not to give the woman much chance to twist away. She immediately jerked backwards, pulling her along to the best of her ability. With the rest of the immediate door guards distracted, the group would be able to move inside - inside to deal with the others. Most of the front group launched for the door, as though to creep in. Three, however, stopped to turn around… and a shadow caught their eye. The leader, a small woman, raised her eyebrows and whispered, “Is that a wher?” to her companions. “Do they really intend to defeat us with a wher? Kill it and let’s move on; if it gets inside, it could be a nuisance.” Her two companions nodded their heads, and then the three bolted forward to form a triangle around the wher moving up the ramp. The faster they dealt with the unintelligent beast, the sooner they’d be able to go inside and make quick work of the pathetic ingrates that were the Selenitas riders. The dragons in the air circled around the Infirmary at a very quick pace. Flying in formation, they passed high, giving themselves a tactical advantage; they had the infirmary surrounded. Either side of the gorge that was split down the center of the river was claimed. Haelstrath, however, took a group of greens and blues with him and flew low toward the infirmary. There were too many dragons there. Some of them needed to be dealt with. Uleath’s landing gave him an in, and he silently instructed the other dragons to fly closer - closer to the building they would soon be burning. Then he landed there. Near where RianLove was going. Haelstrath growled low in his throat, his wings flaring. That blue was landing in the way. In the way of his Rian. He would tear him to pieces for that indiscretion. Haelstrath was very possessive and protective of his rider. The greens with him took his cue. One of them swept down and then, in an almost flawless mimicry of Jessereth to Uleath, turned to dive in the direction of Jaxith. She made not a sound as she descended, with all the speed that greens were known for. If he wasn’t paying attention, he’d be hit - and hard - by the full force of her body. And she wanted to knock him into the river. Jaxith’s landing was an adequate distraction for Rian and her group. She came to an abrupt stop as the blue came to land near them and backed up some, her head bowing to hide her face. Quickly, she and those closest to her darted to the wall of the infirmary, but some were too slow; no less than five went tumbling off the dragon landing platform at his tail swipe, hitting the water with an audible splash. Whether or not they managed to climb back up would remain to be seen (for the force of the dragon’s tail was probably enough to break their ribs). She used the distraction her fallen comrades caused to dart toward the back entrance, ready to flood inside… but then, right by the door, she stopped. Rian’s group went on ahead of her, and she pressed her back to the wall before fidgeting in her backpack; her entire body was shrouded by shadows, hiding her from view. She was looking for something…. * * * * * * * * * * And Ka'rys kicked butt because he's awesome. Then he had a drink of fellis to sleep off his awesomeness.There wasn’t any time for right or wrong. That was Ka’rys’s first thought in response to E’rro’s words. He didn’t voice it. E’rro was young - that meant he probably didn’t realize that talking was pointless. He himself kept his mouth shut and listened through the sound of dragons dying and fires burning; he could taste the smoke on his tongue and it was exceedingly unpleasant. His hand curled around the knife when suddenly a weight settled on his head and… Ka’rys squinted. It was quickly joined by another salamandyr climbing up him and privately Ka’rys cursed. There was no time for salamandyr mischief! Didn’t they understand what a dire state the infirmary was in? He refrained from commenting to the two creatures and pressed his body close to the wall, waiting - waiting - Aha! A figure moved into the doorway. Ka’rys didn’t look up, instead slashing the backs of the knees, just as he’d promised. When she tumbled forward, he looked up at E’rro expectantly; he trusted E’rro to keep his side of things, if nothing else. The brown rider was trained for murder, after all… a lifestyle that Ka’rys actually could sympathize with quite a bit. What was Fort childhood aside from being trained for war, after all? If he couldn’t, though, there were also the candidates… though the idea of them actually having to kill anything was alarming. They are in the air and coming. If they draw close enough, I will attack. A warning, rather than an inquiry, were Ciceroth’s words, and he felt the bronze draw closer. Amith falling into the water made Ciceroth growl lowly, and he looked up to see Jessereth fast approaching the offensive green. Jaxith’s arrival also caught his attention, and then -- Jaxith, there is a green coming up behind you, diving the same way that Jessereth was - and she’s coming fast. There were others, too. Without waiting for a response, Ciceroth threw himself onto one of the other greens with Haelstrath, grasping his claws onto the other dragon’s shoulders. That one movement pulled him out into the open, but the sheer force of the jump drew the green away from the Infirmary. It also left the brown (Haelstrath) and the last green with him completely exposed, for one of the other dragons to deal with. While they were outnumbered, if they could pick them off one by one, it would be better in the long run than standing around and waiting to be attacked. Ka’rys glanced toward the door and inhaled sharply. More figures were coming. “Get ready,” he said, very quiet. “We can’t let them get in. If you’ve got any projectiles or anything that can keep them out the door - now’s the time to use it.” [ Locations:
- Rian up against wall outside dragon entrance. - Man running to tackle Z'hin. - Small man slashing at S'lain's lower stomach. - Woman dragging Wynmuri away forcibly. - Woman moving to punch Aliscia. - Trio (2 male, 1 female) moving to attack Crevesk. - One green dragon flying toward Jaxith - Uleath crouching low on the dragon entrance to try and dodge Jessereth. - Ciceroth fighting with a green in the air. - Haelstrath and a green in the air near the infirmary entrance. - Flood of people approaching both entrances to break in.
Feel free to kill off any NPCs attacking you and extras. I only ask that some of them make it in, don't take out too many at once, and if you attack Haelstrath, I'll be replying to have him fight back. Same with Rian, but she's hidden in the dark now.
PM with any questions. Hopefully I got everyone x.x ]
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Requiem
Weyrleader S'rei WM M?ta Rider A'nd Harper/Handler Dmitri Weyrbrat Miguel
Posts: 2,861
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Post by Requiem on Apr 24, 2009 3:59:35 GMT -5
A certain familiar nervous excitement was settling into Z'hin's blood. He knew it was a touch of adrenaline, probably because Jessereth was on the move more than anything else, and this sense of strength was coming from that rather than anything based in reality, but he still caught hold of it. Fear only made things worse. To say he wasn't afraid was ridiculous. Bad enough that they were about to be swarmed by northern riders, but he didn't like how exposed Jessereth was and even if the brown was in a better position, there were far too many dragons in the sky for either rider or brown to feel comfortable.
Fortunately, at least on Z'hin's end, it seemed that people were actually responding to his shout. Good. Because it was going to be difficult enough without making it ridiculously difficult by pitting an injured man and two candidates against a slew of Benden riders. Wynmuri. He nodded to her, flashing a brief smile to hide the concern that welled up. Another injured rider. That wasn't going to be tremendously helpful, as like as not. And she had an injured leg. Little to no mobility was hardly a good thing in a fight. Gina he remembered vaguely. He wasn't sure if she had any experience or not. At Aliscia's voice, however, the brownrider's easy smile broadened to something genuine. Now here was someone who he was certain would increase their odds of survival.
He didn't know Aliscia that well personally, but he knew her background and he'd flown with her in Ka'rys's wing long enough to know that she was an asset. Drifting toward her case to peer in, Z'hin briefly considered then discarded the idea of jars as ammunition. It would work well enough for other people, yes, but he'd have to take up a stationary position by the chest and wing jars, switching off to the dagger...and his arm wasn't great as it was. No, just too difficult for someone who didn't have two fully functional arms. Still, a good idea, and as she pulled her blades Z'hin moved forward on impulse and kissed her briefly. No tongue, but it was definitely more than you'd expect from a relative or a friend who didn't know enough to kiss you on the cheek.
"Welcome then," he uttered, almost too cheerily, stepping back and turning toward the direction an attack would surely come from. S'lain and another candidate. Well, S'lain could fight, he could. Maybe not exceedingly well without his dominant arm, but...it still made Z'hin feel slightly safer. Slightly.
Jessereth snarled as he saw her hunker down. He would either overshoot her entirely, catch her on his claws and probably get himself flipped in the process which...wouldn't be good...or try to land on the platform at this speed. Normal common sense dictated that he should just fly over and come around for another pass. If it was just him and her, that was. He'd need altitude to gain another chance at her, and there was no guarantee those dragons up there would hold their position. He'd be exposed and likely torn apart before he even realized what was happening. So the brown did what he normally wouldn't.
Backwinging furiously, Jessereth strained his wings and angled his body as best he could to change the trajectory of the dive enough that he wasn't coming in quite so steeply. This wasn't going to be easy on his legs, either. Not once since early weyrlinghood had he landed so ungracefully, front legs clawing up the wood as he backpedaled with them, tail end lowered almost enough to scrape the ground as he tried to slow up the slide across the landing platform. Very, very ungraceful. But it carried him right into Uleath at a speed that still made the impact something that shouldn't be trifled with, and Jessereth grappled to get ahold of her as they both tumbled over the edge of the landing platform. He snapped blindly at where he thought her rider must be, hoping to finish it as easily as that.
Z'hin growled a needless warning, if only because the riders and candidates seemed to be rallying around him and it felt like he was doing something. Besides...you never knew if one of those candidates was daydreaming or frozen in terror or something. Just someone speaking could help with that. Something over head. A crash of glass, and Z'hin lifted an arm as the fumes hit him from behind. Oh shards. They wouldn't be setting anything on fire with their riders so close, but that's clearly what the chemicals were for. He blinked away the sting in his eyes just in time to make out the four breaking away from the larger group, the largest of them in the lead...and headed directly for the brownrider at a run.
Great. He'd always wanted to be mowed down by a behemoth.
He might be able to evade, but Z'hin's speed had never been his strength, and anyway, that would just leave someone behind him to take the full force of this man. If he even got so much as clipped, Z'hin would be in just as bad a position, he'd guess. Well then. Since the likelihood that he would be struck was that high, he might as well roll with it. His grip tightened on the dagger, feeling even that small a movement, and his stance widened, the brownrider bracing himself against the impact. His knifehand came up at the last moment.
The stance couldn't stop the inevitable as Z'hin was struck full-force by the large man, but it did serve to drive the dagger in deep into the man's stomach, rather than just dealing a glancing blow while the brownrider went flying. There was the loud thud of one solid body hitting another and pain erupted throughout Z'hin's chest and shoulders. His attacker didn't seem to realize he'd been gutted on a conscious level yet. His arms tightened in their hold. Unfortunately, though that stance had helped drive the knife in, it also served to make the crash to the ground even more forceful than it would have been. The brownrider let out a strangled cry of pain as several of his healing ribs snapped yet again, his one arm that was still mildly useful pinned to his belly by the Bendenite's weight.
Z'hin's vision swam in and out of focus, the man groaning. He wasn't sure if his attacker was moving or not, and couldn't bring himself to care at this stage.
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Rei
Administrator
Rider Cr'oph Rider Er'ani Rider Elysia Rider/Healer Erilena Wherhandler Sydney Holdbrat Emitre Holdbrat Dileina Weyrbrat Elias Weyrbrat Terilyn
Woooo~ I am a fox!
Posts: 3,021
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Post by Rei on Apr 24, 2009 12:44:26 GMT -5
Danar flinched as he saw the man catch fire. Ouch. That had to suck. Then the form of the woman running towards the small group caught his eye. A flash of Ka’rys blade and the woman began to fall towards E’rro. As the brown rider was closer (and also more experienced in killing) the candidate left the man to his work.
Hero chirped from above and flashed Danar a picture of the fighting dragons and the other small groups making their way towards the doorway. “Here they come.” He whispered to his two comrades, as the Bendens drew closer to the threshold.
Ka’rys suggestion caused the lad to pause, projectiles? The candidate quickly took stock of what he had brought with him. A belt knife and a dagger. Well the knife would have to stay, but the dagger? Danar could deal with losing that. Hefting the weapon he waited for a flash of movement and then hurled it as hard as he could. Sure the candidate wasn’t practiced in the throwing of knives, but he put so much force behind the throw that no matter what it impacted it would be likely to do at least some damage.
Danar sent a silent command to Hero and the bronze winged out into the open to do some reconnaissance, staying close to the shadows and flying high enough to avoid being spotted. He relayed the information to his as quickly as he picked it up. The dragons where descending, chemicals where still being poured, and the enemy was still advancing.
A small point of movement caught Hero’s attention. The bronze swung by the area, but missed Rian, as she was quite well hidden. The bronze was high enough to avoid attack and moving quick enough that even if someone did hurl something at him it would more than likely miss.
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(Feel free to take control of candidates Virion and Kaelan and finish them off ^^; They are stationed with Ka'rys, Danar and E'rro.)
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Kisha-Ra
Rider Mo?rya Rider Darya Rider K?fuzzi Rider J?on Handler Vivano Handler Yoalla
Happier'n a pig in mud ABOUT WHERBABIES!
Posts: 1,109
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Post by Kisha-Ra on Apr 24, 2009 16:20:38 GMT -5
Azrath’s tail twitched impatiently as he head snapped this way and that, trying to keep track of the fighting. Whatever reports other dragons were getting weren’t reaching the two hidden blues on the riverbank, mostly because everyone was now too busy fighting. Azrath made a decision, stood up fully, and threw himself, more or less silently into the air.
Ylonth couldn’t believe his eyes, despite the fact that his poor night vision meant he wouldn’t even have seen the darker blue take off if he hadn’t been looking directly at Azrath. What are you doing, you can’t see properly and the sky is full of greens. Are you insane?[/color] Ylonth’s tail lashed once, the normally relaxed blue annoyed by his fellow’s behaviour.
I am fighting. The benden riders are all at the infirmary now, we are no longer needed to watch the river. We can be of far more use distracting and destroying the attackers.[/color] Azrath pointed out reasonably, gaining height. He didn’t intend to fully engage any one dragon now there were so many in the air, he had a plan he thought would work, though he’d need to take out the greens first, because he would be relying on speed to get clear, and a green would probably keep up.
Ylonth hissed and lashed his tail once in frustration. He wanted to help but his pale hide made him a moving target and without his rider to guide him between he wouldn’t be able to get away. He brushed R’fuin’s mind. He was relived to find his rider inside and moderately safe. Mine?[/color] He showed R’fuin images of everything he saw, as well as a mixed packet of ideas, suspicions, and fears. Most prominent were images of Jessereth, then Azrath, flying off into the dark sky. What can I do?[/color] The answer was immediate. DON’T engage those dragons! Get the riders on the ground. Just as effective and without the risk of being torn to shreds. Grateful for having a rider to think for him Ylonth slipped into the river.
Azrath circled, picked out a green as a target and folded his wings in a steep dive. The blue streaked downward, talons outstretched but he didn’t pull the strike and bind move that was favoured by larger dragons. He slammed into his target at high speed, knocking her downward and struck at her wings, before rolling away, diving down further to pick up speed and looping in another upward curve, looking to see what had become of his first encounter with the benden green.
Ylonth left the water with very little fuss and came upon a group of attackers behind the infirmary. He slashed about with one set of talons, grabbed someone by the arm in his jaws and pulled his shaking trick, and whipped his tail around for good measure. He wasn’t doing much damage but he certainly had the bendenites in disarray.
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Post by hseru on Apr 24, 2009 19:13:26 GMT -5
Invaders poured through the door after tossing a jar with more of the accelerant, if the smell was anything to judge by –why hadn’t it been blocked to keep them at bay a little longer!?- then they divided up to take a defender a piece. S’lain’s feet went apart and the rest of his body down just a bit, his blade up to guard crosswise as he rested lightly on the balls of his feet to give him any extra speed. The first man went for Z’hin, a bull of a charge that he hoped the brownrider might be able to avoid taking the brunt of. He almost winced in sympathy when he saw Z’hin take the man full on –he must have had a plan- before his own adversary moved up, two blades flashing openly in the small figure’s hands.
The first wide cut met steel with a clanging hiss as S’lain repelled the swipe just in time, keeping his arm in close and using the length of steel to do the reaching for him. The second blade came up at him serpent swift, and he almost bounced from deflecting the first one into sliding past the second, up and into the boy’s guard as he used his arm to hit the invader’s hand, fouling his second strike on the way. The boy’s knife got his shoulder with the move, but the youth quickly retreated from the blade coming at his own gut, using his free knife to knock S’lain’s longer blade away. He retreated for only a moment before moving in again, closing the short distance in a second. The bluerider dodged to the side, letting the strike hit air as the youth went for his arm. If he’d had the moment to react, he would have been scowling. The kid was trying to disable his remaining limb.
The benden rider pulled back again from his overextension, and a crack of sound heralded the blooming of white liquid from his shoulder, spattering thickly up the side of his face and down his arm. It only took a second for him to react, but then the youth screamed horribly as the lye ate into his skin, reacting violently with the oils and sweat. Droplets of lye flew wide, and S’lain tried to dodge them as he slid in to the youth scrabbling to get the stuff off his face and skin, taking the opportunity to brutally slice the rider’s throat so deeply that it nearly severed the neck completely, effectively ending the screams in a gurgle as the smaller rider slipped to the ground and flopped around for a bit before becoming still. The chemical began bubbling where it had touched him, and S’lain backed up to regain his former position, not needing to glance behind him at Lanthos, the candidate who’d thrown the jar. The boy had good aim, but the bluerider hoped he would keep having good aim. He didn’t want a jar of lye in the back of the head. If not distracting, it was likely lethal in such a high quantity just from the burns alone.
Lanthos pulled another bottle from his waist, pausing as he was unsure where he could throw and have it do the most damage. The other attackers going one on one had closed too fast for him to react, and only the fact that the dragonhealer had managed to make his attacker pull away had given Lanthos enough time to heave mightily his little bottle of fluid. He was surprised when the man started screaming, the sound sending shivers up his back as he realized that he was the cause of it. He almost had to look away at the misting spurt of blood that filled the air when his throat was cut.
Regaining his bravery after a moment, Lanthos took aim, and really threw the next bottle directly at the group coming in the door with some force to try and give it speed. They couldn’t all dodge, and it would have to hit someone. It almost looked like it would do no good as a few invaders did dodge the projectile at the last second, but it smashed against the chest of a man a few people back, splattering all over him and several others around him. It only took a few seconds for the screaming to begin anew, and the candidate was horrified at what he had caused. He was almost at the point of covering his ears with his hands to cut off the terrible sound. Instead, he blindly took another jar and threw it into the massing attackers, this jar falling short of its mark and smashing into the floor, though this caused an upsplash that still caught the legs of a few bendenites.
S’lain glanced to the side at Z’hin and his attacker, noting the too still pair. He used the momentary confusion the lye was causing to lift-kick at the solid mass of dead man atop the brownrider, trying to move him without giving up his sword arm to actually pull the man off. It was like trying to roll a log with your leg, and the big man barely moved, but he was certain that Z’hin had felt the attempt, probably highlighted with pain. The bluerider moved to try and keep further attackers at bay to give the brownrider enough time to get back up, if he was going to. Blood was running down his arm, but he was certain the wound was minor enough to not cause much of a problem. He only then saw that one of the attackers had snagged the injured rider who’d come to help them. He cursed low under his breath, knowing it would do no good to try and go after her. Instead, he moved to face another man, blade at the ready.
Jaxith threw himself after the invaders heading around him for the infirmary, snatching one in his jaws and barreling over another two, satisfied to hear a loud crunch as he stomped the riders. He jerked as Ciceroth’s warning flashed by, and he didn’t even pause to look, but just went. Moving as quick as a dragon could on the ground, he darted into the dragon half of the infirmary, spitting out the halved human in his jaws for another and thrashing his tail this way and that to try and catch more as he passed. The roof would protect him from the green’s direct dive. He turned to face the opening from just inside in a sharp whipping motion, ready to dart out again once the green shot past, or landed. He’d be on her in a second if she did think to land. Jessereth shot past the opening, and it was good that Jaxith had moved out of his way. The big brown would have taken all three of them over the edge otherwise. The blue hoped he’d recover and be back for another helping of green hide.
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Post by dragon on Apr 24, 2009 23:25:17 GMT -5
Crevesk hesitated as she saw three riders turn toward her. And then she snarled, offended. Only three??! Did they not know who she was? What wher she was? She was Crevesk!! And more than ready for them!! She bounded up the last few feet of the ramp between herself and them, hind legs driving like pistons to get her bulk up the ramp quickly. She swung her heavy head at the first one, jaws snapping. She didn't manage a bite, merely knocking the man off the ramp into the water below.
SHARDS
She was more careful the next time, wanting to actually taste them, have thier blood flowing freely over her tongue. She clenched her eyes shut and ducked her head low as the first two knife-swings came at her head. And then she was snapping again. The first one she seized by the arm, wrenching at it with a swift twist of her head, dragging downward. The man screamed in agony, as she pulled him down toward her front feet. Crevesk snarled suddenly as a knife slash from the woman cleft her nose neatly in two from top to bottom. Dropping the man's arm, she shoved forward with her open maw again. A small bounce had the man under her front feet finally, and she grabbed onto him, sinking her talons in. Her jaws snapped on empty air, earning her another cut across the snout, going the other way now. Roaring mad, now, Crevesk shoved her first true kill off the side of the ramp and charged with a full throated roar.
The woman blanched, and then was mowed down. Talons sank into her torso, prior to her head being bitten off. Craning her head back, Crevesk considered the infirmary for a moment. And then she spat. The woman's head went whirling through the air, over the railing, and bounced off of another Benden attacker's back, rebounding into another one's chest.
The wher roared again, challenging. Who dared come to her next?! She shoved the woman's corpse off the ramp, and started forward again. Snarling and growling, Crevesk wanted a challenge. Not a paltry two!
Aonith watched as riders fell plummeting into the river from the infirmary. She slid off the dock into the water, and started swimming. She took up a position under the tree, and considered the bodies falling around her. So far, they all looked like enemies. And striking like a seamonster, she snapped at the riders splashing down around her, maiming and striking as she could. Some were dead already, most weren't. She just made sure they ended up that way. Hopefully, driving dragons out of the fight and into oblivion. It was time the tide turned! Legs thrashing and kicking under the water, Aonith maintained her position under the tree in the flowing water, snout busy in the water. No rider would be reclimbing the tree if she had anything to say about it!
She also liked that most of them were stunned or otherwise out of it, posing little danger to herself... what dragon wouldn't appreciate easy hunting?
Crevy hugged the children tight, at the sounds filtering through the walls. Frightened out of her wits and glaringly aware of the cuts Crevesk had taken, Crevy was oblivious to anything around her. Other than the children. Them, she hugged tight, in an effort to keep them safe. Never realizing that all she was doing was hiding, herself. She was terrified to the point where she probably wouldn't even notice if someone turned up meaning her ill... Everything was a blur...
Crevy did her best to not pass out from sheer terror.
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Rowana
Hive Mind
Handler Roivao Rider G'tor Rider Merridan Rider T'ke Rider N'rik Handler Porita Rider Farryl Rider Kyr'n[/color
Posts: 1,550
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Post by Rowana on Apr 24, 2009 23:36:42 GMT -5
Wynmuri barely had time to get ready before the attack came. Blood loss and pain had slowed her reaction time considerable. In no time, a woman had made it behind her, pinned her arms and started dragging her away from the main battle. Wyn growled in anger and pain. The movement was not helping her leg at all. No doubt the Bendan rider intended to kill her and rejoin the main battle. Wyn still held her knife, but she couldn't move her arms, and her legs were useless. She need the uninjured on to stay standing.
She only had one thing left to attack with. Wyn tucked her head down and drove it back sharply into the woman's chin. The woman's jaw clamped painfully and her grip loosened. Just enough for Wyn to turn her knife and drive it back into her leg. That was enough for the Bendan rider to release her grip entirely and she pulled away with the knife still sticking from her thigh. Wyn was truly riled now. Bendan sure resorted to cowardly tactics! Wyn didn't need a weapon to kill such cowards.
Wynmuri tackled the woman to the ground, her hands finding her slender neck. The woman's eyes went wide and she struggled, but Wyn's knees pinned her arms to the ground. Wyn drove her weight down onto the woman's throat. Her squirms intensified as her lungs strove for air. She scratched at Wyn's injury, but she ignored it. Finally, the woman's struggles ceased. Her lips were blue and her eyes glassy in death. Wyn took a deep breath of her own and eased herself off the body. She had managed to kill one, but there were more coming. And she didn't think she had the strength to stand again without help.
Jarcith had long sense grown tired of waiting. Her Wyn was in pain and in danger and she was not staying here like some poor little weyrling. She was going to fight! Silently, she took flight, rising into the sky with as little movement as possible. Partly because her hide was so green as to be almost black at night, and mostly from luck, she managed to slip past the wings of dragons watching for just such an action. Her path took her straight to the infirmary where Rian's wing was starting it's advance.
Jarcith's eyes blazed with fury and blood lust. I am coming, Wyn! Jarcith called. Jarcith?! Shard it all! What did I say?! You may punish me later. Now I will defend our home! Fine. Just...don't get killed. Same to you, Wyn-mine. Jarcith's eyes fixed on a brown and a green diving for the infirmary entrance. These dragons were strangers to her and therefore they were enemies. Even in anger, Jarcith knew better than to tangle with a brown. She targeted the green and dropped.
Jarcith descending with silent and deadly accuracy. The poor green didn't stand a chance. Jarcith hit her full force in the back, her claws ripping through delicate wings. Then her head came down on the other green's neck, ripping at her throat and snapping through her spine. Jarcith pushed off as the green fell, a mangled ruin, into the river below. Jarcith knew her attack would attract attention. She watched the sky, wary that she was now a prime target for another dragon.
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Post by kysseh on Apr 24, 2009 23:53:48 GMT -5
“I have no idea if we can hold out. We have some good fighters, but if they set this place on fire…” Savitri murmured quietly, watching the wherhandler and the young children the woman held. Sitting still did not sit well with Savitri, and the goldrider felt an almost insatiable need to get up and try to fix it. Rectifying the problem was not an option at the moment, though, as trying to stop the invaders would likely get her throat slit. That thought sent chills down her spine, and the goldrider shivered, idly running a hand down her torso to smooth out her tunic. Since she could nothing else productive perhaps-
Oh, Faranth.
Either preoccupation or denial had forced her to not realize the obvious, and Savitri clutched her club in her dominant hand and used the fingers of the other hand to probe more emphatically at her lower abdomen. It took work to contain her distress, and the inhale of surprise and dismay was completely beyond her control. The motion of her fingers detected an anomaly, and that knowledge combined with a missing few monthly cycles led her to one inevitable conclusion: her slowly-expanding waistline was not just due to overeating.
“Just be ready to move if you need to,” she cautioned the wherhandler, her voice rather thick as she tried to swallow down a hefty dose of shock and fear. Now was not the time to be dealing with such a thought, though she could scarcely deny her fear at the thought of losing something already so precious. Shards, but… if she and Ka’rys survived this… no, no. They would survive. She glanced again at the wherhandler and noted that the girl was practically clinging to the infants, both of whom were clinging back to her. Humph. Well, if they were comforting each other, so be it. She would guard them with her… pitiful weapon.
Aliscia raised an eyebrow at her marginal success in snagging some projectiles. Apparently, the little jars had been a good choice, and she flicked S’lain a humorless smirk. Having a highly-corrosive and very painful substance at their disposal was a plus, though she did hope the candidate in question had a decent sense of aim. If some of that burning stuff got onto her, there would be consequences if they all survived it. The poor boy probably had no idea that she could bend him in half without effort. Men were slow learners, though, so she simply hoped the little brat wouldn’t bean her with one of those.
Any further thought was suddenly cut off by the fact that the brownrider had wandered closer to survey the little jars. Her near-gold eyes were narrowed in suspicion, and she tightened her grip on the knives almost reflexively. Thankfully for Z’hin, though, the greenrider was familiar enough with him that she refrained--if just barely--from perforating him when he pressed a not-so-chaste kiss to her lips. What saved the brownrider was probably the sudden rush of heat that flushed through her body, and Aliscia fairly purred against his lips, mentally aghast at her own reaction. It was the stress of combat, she was sure. Combat always fired her up, and it had been quite awhile. “You’d better make good on that promise later, brownrider,” she growled up at him, her voice husky with unsaid threats. Ohhh, but she’d have to settle that with him later.
Fortunately, the shattering of a jar of something flammable and the arrival of their attackers distracted her from the brownrider, and she hissed lowly, brandishing her knives as a woman far bigger than herself went on the attack. Baaaah, what an idiot! She saw the fist flying toward her face and the sharp, shiny object headed for her gut. On a reflex, she twisted herself to one side, hissing as the blade sliced through her shirt and opened up a shallow gash in her belly. It stung, but Aliscia knew it was far from deep. Her face was still intact, though, and she moved without thinking, using her shorter stature to her advantage to thrust one of her long knives up under the woman’s ribcage in an aim for the heart. Pity the stupid female got in too close before Aliscia could twist away. Aliscia got a wound, and the woman’s momentum took her right into Aliscia’s strike range.
That gurgling was a good sound, and Aliscia removed her knive with one fluid motion as the woman crumpled to the ground, smoothly and swiftly repositioning herself for the next assault. She recognized the handiwork of the candidate in the shattered glass and screams, slightly smug at the realization that a few of the Bendenites were down. Unfortunately, Z’hin appeared to be down, and the injured greenrider was… not in good shape. At least her attacker was dead, and Aliscia gave the wounded greenrider a grim nod. “Stay back. Get behind me. Far back,” she warned her, snarling at the people on the approach. Let them come. She’d had her first taste of blood.
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Post by glamourie on Apr 25, 2009 1:32:49 GMT -5
Uleath let loose with a loud screech as claws caught her shoulders. At that exact moment, Risha rolled off the dragon’s back, onto the platform. The green tumbled down to the water after Jessereth, her own claws latching into his shoulders. The sound of her screech was cut off by the abrupt splash, nearly high enough to reach the landing platform, and Risha’s startled cry; the greenrider half-dashed to the side of the platform after her beast, then stopped abruptly as she realized that she was surrounded. A blue dragon guarded the entrance to the dragon platform, while she was sure there were people in the way of the main human entrance. She did the only thing that she could think of. Risha turned and ran off the platform and into the water underneath the infirmary. If she stayed out where she could be seen, she was in definite danger. She knew that. Risha wasn’t about to give her life up because of a foolish mistake. She just hoped Uleath was able to take on Jessereth. In the water, Uleath was at a distinct disadvantage. The green screamed in rage as a swipe of claws went toward her back and moved as best she could -- unintentionally causing the claws to tear down her shoulder. That one movement, though, put her in good position and she launched forward with her teeth, throwing herself right at Jessereth… and she grabbed his throat with full force. Her claws latched onto his shoulders, holding on as if for dear life. The move was very much a feline killing blow, but given her size, likely the best thing that Uleath could pull off. It left her chest wide open, easy to attack and shred apart with skilled claws -- but that didn’t matter anymore, for at the exact moment that Uleath struck, Aonith below caught Risha. The woman gave a startled screech that mirrored the green’s rage; it didn’t matter anymore if she lived or died, because she was going to kill Jessereth. She wouldn’t go down alone. If nothing else, one of the dragons and likely one of the attackers inside would go down. Her Risha would be avenged by her claws, even if it wasn’t the direct source of the one who hurt Hers. The green that Azrath attacked let loose with a startled shriek. She tumbled downward in surprise and spun about, rapidly falling before her wings spread to catch her. Furious, the female turned and swept back up toward Azrath before turning to let loose with a steady stream of flame right in the blue’s direction. The flames lit up the sky, bright enough to leave no question to what was happening, but none of her companions moved to help her. She didn’t need help to deal with one little blue who couldn’t flame because of a lack of firestone. She’d burn him alive, she would. Some of her sister greens cried out as Theirs were killed, and most of the wing was rapidly cut down - cut down in the face of dragon teeth and fighter blades. The numbers were diminishing rapidly, but Hers was fine, and she intended to eliminate one of the attackers immediately! Haelstrath growled. That was the only word for the noise that the brown made as his green companions were snatched out of the sky. The first was done by a bronze, but they were rapidly falling toward the water. The second was smaller - less of a challenge. He dove. Dark-colored and large, it was little wonder why Haelstrath was in charge when it came to fighting on his wing. He swept underneath Jarcith, his hide mostly blending in with the darkness, and then bellowed up toward her in an almost straight upward ascent. His claws came out and slashed rapidly at her exposed underbelly, his wings carrying him fast enough that even if she’d wanted to, she wouldn’t have been able to dodge - simply because she wouldn’t see him in time. The attack was an intentional killing wound, hard enough to tear open her soft underside, but he didn’t settle for just that. As he blazed past her, he turned and flamed downward - as though to burn her in addition to the slashing. Nuisance needed to be eliminated immediately. No more help for Selenitas. They were already dead. If she was smart, she would’ve stayed wherever she was hidden and waited it out -- but she wasn’t, obviously, and Haelstrath wanted to make sure the little menace was punished adequately. The green diving at Jaxith pulled upward in a show of grace trademark to her color. Twisting in the air, she circled around the infirmary - leaving the blue mostly unguarded. Hers was in the water - something had knocked him there. Growling to herself, the female swept around the infirmary and repeated her dive, darting through the tree branches to fly right at Crevesk in order to pull the wher into the water with her. The little blight had injured hers, and she would kill it for its indiscretion. If she wasn’t killed first. Unfortunately, the green was completely unaware of the other dragon in the water, attacking the people that fell over. If she was, she might have decided to fight the wher up somewhere where she had a better chance of not being teamed up on. The two blues were a problem, Rian decided, pulling out a rather large jar. One of the people passing her by was snatched and she handed it to him before whispering something. He nodded, and then ran… straight at Ylonth. Once he got in range, the man threw the jar with as much force as he could muster, right at the dragon’s face. It was filled with fellis in liquid form - fatal to dragons - and he was aiming for the eyes for contact. If it hit, the added bonus would be that it would stun enough for him to get away. That, at least, was the goal. Rian didn’t wait to see the results of her trick, instead running along the outer boardwalk of the infirmary toward some of the windows they’d sought earlier. Forget using the main entrances. What kind of barricades could they set up in no time? Surely nothing too difficult to break through, and she was quite sick of playing. The group moving toward the entrance launched a second attack. Their numbers were rapidly diminished, by the wher’s attacks, the lye, and the blades of the defenders. Several people were burned from the mixture; some others were simply unfortunate enough to fall off the ramp in surprise. The remaining people were either much more intelligent or lucky. One of them stepped forward and immediately pointed to the skies. “Stop fighting.” It wasn’t a request. It was a demand. The woman raised her eyebrows, standing in place with her group. Her hands were at her sides, holding two small daggers that she knew how to use very well. If they kept on, she would simply kill them all. Plain and simple. Or Rian would. Did they know yet who was leading the wing attacking them? Some of them likely suspected. If they didn’t, then they would soon. The fighting was becoming irritating. “If you keep fighting, you’ll all die. We’re not here to kill everyone. But if you keep fighting us, our dragons will flame. We have orders to burn this place to the ground, and wood is flammable. If you want a chance at survival, you’ll lay down your weapons now. Otherwise, even if you kill all of us, you’ll burn in an inferno like nothing you’ve seen before. The choice is yours. Live or die. You have five seconds.” At the back door, the riders who managed to escape the dragons burst through and actually jumped over Ka’rys’s blade; they’d noticed from the first what was happening. One of the men threw himself at E’rro with force enough to bruise, aiming a dagger at his throat, while two women teamed up on the candidates. Simultaneously they slashed, tearing open the throats of the two candidates with Danar. The entire movements took all of a few seconds, both bodies hitting the floor with an audible thud. Then one of them turned and threw a blade right at Danar’s face; if he managed to dodge it, he’d be a lucky boy, for her aim was very good… but she was moving on impulse, and a lot was happening all around her. The second woman turned and slashed at Ka’rys’s face; however, the bronze rider managed to duck and slash upward at her exposed abdomen. The result was a sickening gurgling noise as she tumbled forward in a bleeding heap, onto her face and unable to sit up. The final killing blow was a knife wound to the back of her neck, ridiculously fast and very hard, leaving a pool of blood on the floor around him. In one of the back infirmary rooms, the wooden pieces covering the window were being tapped by Rian. Tapped and looking for weaknesses. It was evident that someone had closed the shutters, likely designed to prevent rain, and locked them from outside. Hmph. She narrowed her eyes and then took her bag and slammed with all of her force. The wood barely gave way, so instead, Rian climbed onto the windowsill, grasped her fingers over the top and kicked with her full body weight. Though it took two tries, the wood gave way under her and she tumbled in a disheveled heap into the mostly abandoned room of the infirmary. The sound would likely be missed from the chaos happening all around the building - dragons fighting and dying, making a good deal of racket to distract from her destruction. Grasping the hilts of her twin stilettos, the brown rider walked forward, toward the entrance of the door, and was met by none other than the Junior Weyrleader of Selenitas -- who had, evidently, heard the racket. She slashed up his throat in a long line that made him tumble to the ground dead before he could warn anyone, and in the chaos, she sneaked toward the only room without windows. Odds were, everyone would be too busy fighting to see her… * * * * * * * * * * In the air Ciceroth rolled, using sheer force to throw the green down and away from him. She was quicker and more agile, which meant he had to eliminate her quickly in order to prevent her from doing him a great deal of harm. He snarled loudly and circled, slashing at her wings. The female dodged and repeated the motion against him, carrying the pair higher into the air. His eyes whirled scarlet. Her technique, he recognized; she was trying to make him a very visible target for the rest of the dragons, but that didn’t matter. They knew he was there. So Ciceroth followed, but rather than gradually ascend, he circled only to fly hard and fast at her from underneath. The green moved, but he followed, catching her hindquarters with his claws, and then with an alarming amount of force, he turned her. Being so large had some advantages. Growling in his throat, Ciceroth actually forcibly threw the green toward the landing platform, right at the Benden soldiers, in between where Jaxith and Ylonth were. With any luck, the two blues would be fast enough to finish her off. The dragons outside were doing a very good job of keeping the flood of people coming toward them down. Ka’rys decided if he survived to compliment S’lain on that; hopefully it would ease any ill feelings the bluerider had, as it wasn’t really his goal to make enemies of all the healers. The less work they had to do, the better. He didn’t dare glance toward the other end of the infirmary. He didn’t really want to know what was happening over there. Some part of him dreaded turning around - what if he saw something terrible? No, best to focus on what was important: keeping that door defended at all times. The less work the kids had to do, the better. And then it happened. Liette flashed an image to him from wherever she was that made Ka’rys visibly freeze, his face turning pure white. Kalerary, bleeding, being held by someone he didn’t know. Very hurt. The terror he felt was recognizable on his face for a split second before he choked as a sudden feeling of loss passed through him. Liette was gone. Dead, trying to protect Kalerary from the unseen man with the knife hurting his daughter. Shaking, Ka’rys looked up just in time to see one of the attackers turning toward him and he snarled before slashing up at her belly. His anger made the attack more forceful than it needed to be and as she hit the ground next to him, he climbed right to her side and jammed the blade into her neck. She was going to die. All of them were going to die, one by one, until he found the one that was hurting Kalerary and started cutting pieces off of them. One. By. One. In that moment, he’d forgotten all about the candidates, or he might have felt guilty for two being killed. All that mattered was Kalerary, and the fact that she was very far from okay. [ Locations: - Haelstrath attacking Jarcith; killing blow. - Green flaming Azrath (feel free to kill her, Kish) - Green falling toward landing platform (Free game to Jaxith and Ylonth; it’s strong enough to handle her weight) - Green killing Jessereth - Another green carrying Crevesk toward the water. (Free game, Draggy, figured Aonith wants her) - People at the front stand-off. - Blade flying right at Danar’s face. - Man tackling E’rro. (Feel free to go crazy Tashe) - Rian ninja sneaking toward Savitri and Crevy. Wee!
PM with questions. Sorry it’s so damn long. ]
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Post by dragon on Apr 25, 2009 2:12:29 GMT -5
Crevesk saw the dragon coming at her ... and in that moment she actually knew a moment of worry. Men she could take on. She could take a flood of men. But a dragon? Even a green dragon... she hunkered for a moment, hoping to go unnoticed by the dragon. But no ... it definitely saw her. And was definitely coming for her. And in that moment of realization, Crevesk's talons started scrabbling on the ramp as she hurried to get out of the way.
She bowled over a handful more men, stomping and rending in her effort to get past them and away from the dragon. But it was too late, the dragon upon her already and sweeping her off the ramp and toward the water. Crevesk shreiked ... or as close to it as a wher's voice could come, talons scrabbling on the ramp in a last ditch effort to stay with it. Tail and stumpy wings flailing, she did not want to get swept into the river.
As big and bad and mean as Crevesk was, she was terrified of being dropped into deep water. Swimming in it under her own power was one thing. But being dropped into water brought back bad memories from when she'd just been a hatchling and had nearly drowned. Much less going into it tangled with a green dragon bigger than she was. A dragon that wanted her dead.
Snarling as her last few toes left the security of wood, Crevesk turned her attention fully onto the dragon bearing her down. Jaws closing on a wing, she bit down for all she was worth, relishing in the taste of ichor and the feel of delicate bones shattering in her teeth. And then she hit the water and was borne downward into it. Freaking out again, she thrashed wildly, struggling to break free and make it back to the surface. A slash of pain went across her haunches as the dragon's talons struggled to hang onto her through the thrashing. Crevesk screamed, in combination of pain and terror, releasing a flurry of bubbles toward the surface from her open maw.
On the surface of the water, Aonith snapped right, left, fore, right again, two fore, dealing deadly wounds to the living and dead alike. Mostly blind in the darkness, she couldn't tell what was alive and what wasn't. So she left no room for error there. And then a draconic scream and a huge fountain of water startled her into looking back to see what was going on.
She saw the thrashing forms of that strange wher and a dragon as they sank into the river, duking it out like it was the end of the world. Turning, Aonith snarled and dipped into the water, wings flicking breifly to propel her forward swiftly. As she reached the pair, she dropped her own jaw and let fly with her fire... even though she was underwater. It burned to get out. And down here, the infirmary was safe.
Instead of a long stream of orange fire pouring forth, it was a much shorter, white-blue flame, and much much hotter. And it burned her mouth, as well as instantly vaporized all the water it touched. Live steam streaked up out of the river, cooling just barely to visible yet still scalding steam that rolled around the infirmary on it's way up into the sky. Anyone standing too near the outer railing on the decks would get scalded badly from it.
Aonith, meanwhile, decided that was not a good thing to try again ... that hurt, for one. And while it had wounded the dragon greatly, it had also wounded the wher. Who were both still duking it out even as new water rushed in to fill the hole left by the steam.
Moving in closer, Aonith watched carefully as dragon and wher alike took damage from each other. Discerning one from the other was difficult. But they were all three running out of time, sitting under the surface of the river as they were... Finally spotting the right head, Aonith lashed out with her fore talons. Grasping the dragon's face with her claws tightly, she pulled the dragon's neck away from the wher, and then bit down on it with all the strength she could muster.
The warmth of ichor rushing into her burnt mouth felt weird, to say the least. But she held on and crunched down for all she was worth, rather glad for that little wher... the stout creature was taking all the damage from the flailing and expiring dragon even as Aonith held on until she died.
Once the dragon stilled, Aonith let go of that throat, and then quickly swam for the surface, beating her wings to hurry her progress. Breaking surface, she let go of a pent up breath all in a rush and sucked in fresh, cool air. Spotting more riders in the water, she dived for them again, biting down on the first she came across.
Crevesk was in bad shape. Nothing worse than she'd already sustained in her life. But it was still not pretty. Her green, scarred hide was in tatters, torn and ripped by a flailing and thrashing dragon in death throes. Peeling herself free of the dead dragon ... killed by who knew what, she wasn't sure. Too much weirdness had gone on just then. The bits of her that weren't torn and ripped were scalded beyond recognizability. Now that was a new sensation. Crevesk had never been boiled in steam before. Crawling back up onto the dock, the wher gasped a bit and just lay there, resting.
Once her heart rate calmed, she pushed to her feet and hurried up the ramp again. If hers hadn't been in there, she would have not bothered. But there were still enemies there, and they were still threatening hers. She would get hers out of there, if it was the last thing she did!! And thus the nearest half-cooked attacker met her end on Crevesk's pissed off bite.
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Requiem
Weyrleader S'rei WM M?ta Rider A'nd Harper/Handler Dmitri Weyrbrat Miguel
Posts: 2,861
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Post by Requiem on Apr 25, 2009 2:14:36 GMT -5
He should have been grateful...or at least glad that S'lain was still alive enough to kick at the body on top of him. But Z'hin just bit his lip to keep back a groan as the weight shifted on his battered chest. The bite turned harder, blood trickling down his chin as he attempted to lever the body off of him. The brownrider could hardly breathe, between the injuries to his ribs and the heavy weight settling on him. A brief flash of panic went through him, but then he chuckled, drawing on Jessereth. Well, shardit, Zahin. That was a wonderful plan you had. Now what?
The brown should have reacted faster, doubtlessly would have had the distraction of the phantom pain that His couldn't completely mask from him caused his chest to seem to catch ablaze. It slowed his reaction time. He barely saw the lunge, Jessereth twitching back slightly as a clawed leg swung forward. Just a second earlier...one...and it would have batted her away from him before she could latch onto his throat. But her claws dug into his shoulders, her jaws closed on his neck, and his own strike at her chest split her ribcage and tore deep into her vitals. The violence of the move did, indeed, push her back despite the hold on his shoulders, effectively tearing out the brown's throat. They collapsed inward on each other, Jessereth's death almost instantaneous.
One second of adrenaline-laced surprise and fear was all the warning Z'hin got. Then everything seemed to shatter. Some fool had said it was like being torn in half, but that was stupid. No, it was nothing as clean as that. He felt as if he'd been pierced a hundred times over, never in the same spot, what remained shredding apart from there. The man's mind completely fractured, dying with the brown, and all that was left was a terrible, terrible pain that made the question of broken bones seem trivial. A distant sensation that might have been a pinprick or perhaps a tickle. All that was left was that agony and the madness, the rage that demanded something die, someone pay for the suffering...the animal instinct of a fatally wounded feline to take the killers down with him.
The body was thrown clear, sliding across the ramp, Z'hin surging upwards and staggering slightly, the knife still dripping blood as he clutched it. Crazed eyes peered hazily at the woman speaking, heard nothing of her words. Muscles twitched along the line of hunched shoulders, the tone of her voice driving his anger higher, stoking it into an inferno. Silent, since the death of the brownpair, since the loss of anything resembling the spirit of those two. But now he wasn't silent. It took him less than five seconds to fling himself past the dragonhealer who - luckily - Z'hin for some reason didn't attack, and slam into the line of Bendenites, the howl on his lips feral and charged with rage and utter agony.
Put it out. Put it out. Put them out. Take them out. Take them down. Down. All down.
A mantra that wasn't words, but drove him just the same. Oblivious to the knives scoring hits on his body, to the skulls he caved in, the necks he broke, the chests he managed to implode from the sheer force of the berserker frenzy, Z'hin went down under the weight of the enemy. There were still more, and he still swung, but his limbs slowed as more and more blades sheathed in him. The husk that was once Z'hin coughed, blood spattering the ramp, and for one brief, brief moment, a familiar touch.
"Jess-?"
And he was still.
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Tashe
Shiny Hoarder
Weyrwoman Kaegan Dragonhealer E'rro Rider K'thay Woodcrafter E'iah Healer Raylanne Healer Ithanna Harper Zemaren [color=0BDA5
"When the Butterfly emurges, does the caterpillar no longer exist?"
Posts: 1,401
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Post by Tashe on Apr 25, 2009 2:43:29 GMT -5
Waiting quietly as the first of the Bendenites came into view, E'rro shifted from one foot to the other with an almost impatient air. The woman who came running seemed completely unaware of Ka'rys waiting in the darkness, which meant their plan was working so far. It was dark enough out that if they did their parts fast enough, the next person that came might not have seen the demise of their fellow rider. Transfering his knife into his left hand as the woman began to crumple, E'rro let her grab his shoulder. Stepping into the woman's fall, the Brownrider brought the knife up at an angle through the space underneath her ribcage. Supporting the woman's body, E'rro stepped quickly to the side, heaving the lifeless shell out of the visual range of those outside of the infirmary.
Moving back into position, he wiped away the woman's blood onto his pants, before placing the weapon itself into his mouth. He didn't have much in the way of projectiles, he'd have to make the two throwing knives he had brought count for something. Unhooking one from his belt, E'rro shifted his stance so that he was in balance, flipping the knife so that he held it by the blade. It was dark, and his targets were moving. Needless to say, that combination was a dangerous one. Eyes straining to pick out a steadily moving person, the Brownrider lifted his arm before swinging it back and snapping it forward, sending the knife hurdling through the air. E'rro frowned as the person fell with a startled yell, and the question of whether or not his knife had killed the person was left to the darkness as the rest of the group neared. He was torn between saving his second throwing knife and using it now. Deciding to save it for later, the young man readjusted his position back to what it had been before, waiting for the next person to enter the doorway. E'rro dropped the knife into his left hand, leaving the right one free, just incase he changed his mind upon the matter. What happened next happened in a matter of seconds.
The man came hurdling at him with his knife, instinctively the younger rider used his own blade to deflect the weapon, but that left his body free to be tackled by the Bendenite. Grunting forcefully as he was knocked off of his feet, E’rro hit the ground with an audible thud, his own knife sliding away and both of his arms immediately going to work, trying to keep his opponent’s dagger at bay. The man felt incredibly heavy, it probably didn’t help that the man was literally sitting on him. Turning his head to the side as the man’s dagger inched closer to his face, the Brownrider put all of his effort into stalling the man’s progress. This change in pressure made the man lift up onto his knees to get a better angle on what he was doing, leaving a space between them.
Using his own knee as leverage, E’rro shoved it into the space and pushed upward, using the awkward positioning of their hands to shove the man off balance. Springing to his feet, the Brownrider leapt over the man, landing directly on his weapon arm, kicking the dagger away from his hand as he involuntarily loosened his grip on it. The situation he was in now was a catch twenty-two. If he hadn’t disarmed the man, he would have had little chance against him, but now he was open to physical attack. Yelping as the man pulled a foot out from under him with his free hand, E’rro tottered forward, landing on his knees and hands. Swinging his leg so that the momentum would turn him over, he flipped just in time to greet the man once more as he leapt on top of him. Within moments, both males had their hands on the other’s throat, one trying to keep at a distance and the other trying to choke that person.
He could no longer breath, the large hands around his neck were crushing his windpipe and letting no air enter his body. Gasping the Brownrider changed tactics, balancing one hand on the middle of the man’s neck while the other searched for his other knife. Freeing the knife from its sheath, he brought it around and rammed it into the man’s side, the blade sliding into his flesh. The lack of air was making his movements slower, and there was a moments pause between the initial stab and the violent twist he gave it. But the man was still on him… sucking in air as the grip loosened, E’rro expelled it as the man fell onto him. He struggled to push him off. Laying flat against the floor, the Brownrider caught his breath, wincing as he finally felt a nasty flash of pain up his arm. In the scuffle, his opponent had been able to give him a good slash on the arm. Ripping his sleeve further, E’rro wrapped the gash and tied the material to his arm tightly, using his teeth to pull the knot together.
Taking another breath, E’rro rocked to his feet and leapt over the man’s fallen body, this time switching his second knife into his right hand. He needed to get back to the others, now that there was only three of them fighting. Skidding to avoid the knife point of another man, the Brownrider let his knees bend and his body fall backward. Jamming his knife into the back of the man’s leg, E’rro cut his hamstring before inserting his weapon into the man’s spine as he hit the floor. Using the body to help himself get up, he quickly made his way closer to Ka’rys. But he didn’t have much time to process the look on the man’s face before another Bendenite came at him...
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She and the Candidates had been spared from the first wave, each of the attackers choosing to go for a more threatening looking opponent. Sliding backward and away from the fighting so as to give the tussling pairs more room, Gina held her knife before her. She was shaking, although she was trying not to. She had never been one to get into fights when she was younger, in fact, she much preferred knitting than wielding a weapon. How was she going to stand up against trained fighters… not well in any case.
She would try and go purely on the defensive, that was her stronger suit anyways. Not only did she not relish the idea of killing anyone, she wasn’t good enough to notice all but the clearly obvious openings in a person’s attacks. /Hang in there Mine. Do the best you can./ Thank you Dasmonth... Tell Argyle to stay close to you... As of yet, no one had singled her out, which meant so far so good. But fate plays a hand in everything, and Gina didn’t want to count her Flitter eggs before they hatched.
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Rowana
Hive Mind
Handler Roivao Rider G'tor Rider Merridan Rider T'ke Rider N'rik Handler Porita Rider Farryl Rider Kyr'n[/color
Posts: 1,550
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Post by Rowana on Apr 25, 2009 7:03:45 GMT -5
Even though she was watching, the brown came up so fast that Jarcith had no time to dodge. She struck out with her claws, even as Haelstrath's dug into her belly. She wasn't even aware of whether she hit as the pain washed over her. Blood streamed down her rich, green ride in rivers as claws ripped through flesh and vital organs. Jarcith buckled and began to fall. Her vision was dimming red. She knew the wound was fatal.
But it seemed Haelstrath would not simply let her die. His flames consumed her falling body, charring flesh and bone. Jarcith screamed her rage and agony to the sky. Her death cry shrill as it pierced the night. Her wings crumpled and collapsed and she fell. Falling like a stone as tongues of flame continued to lick at her body. Her vision was already black. All she knew was the pain. When the final moment came, she felt an odd sense of peace. She had defended her home. If by this price, they could be safe, then it was enough.
I am sorry, Wyn-mine came her final words. Farewell. Jarcith gave a final shriek and flapped ragged, nearly useless wings. Then she was gone. Vanished into the emptiness of between where the pain would follow her no more.
Wynmuri screamed as her heart was ripped in two. No Jarcith! Don't leave me! It was too late. She was gone. Wyn's body shook from the shock and her nerves exploded with the pain. Red rimmed eyes turn on Bendan riders. They would die! They would all die! She would make them taste every drop of her pain! Even as Z'hin charged forward in his own madness, Wynmuri roared and leaped forward into the fray. She was obvious to pain and fear. Only rage fueled her now.
Clutching her knife she didn't remember retrieving, she tore at her enemies. One man went down as her blade tore open his stomach and ripped his intestines free. The next fell as she whirled and stabbed him through the heart. Wyn was heedless of her wounds as she fought, blood purring from cuts, stabs and slashes. She was blind to everything by the anger. Somewhere she lost her weapon, but she didn't care. She tore at enemies with her nails and literally ripped one woman's throat out with her teeth.
Somehow most of the attackers were decimated by Wyn and Z'hin as they left chaos in their wake. But Wyn was blind to all else and either unaware or uncaring of her surroundings. She tackled another man with a feral cry, clutching for his throat. But the man was ready for her, and his knife drove into her chest to the hilt, piercing her already shattered heart. Then his eyes widened as her momentum kept going and they tumbled off the deck. Wyn's eyes were already glazed, her hands clinging to her prey in a death grip. His eyes filled with fear as he tried to tear her loose to no avail. The plunged into the river below, Wyn's limp body taking them down. The Bendan rider's mouth opened in a voiceless scream as water poured into his lungs, drowning him in agony.
Wyn's face held a strangely peaceful smile as blackness consumed her. The pain was over and her spirit left her mangled body a lifeless husk. Wynmuri and Jarcith would always be together. Even in death.
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