Manhunt

[nightingale]

"It's not bad, but it'll all full of dirt and feline hair."
Saeo muttered darkly in response to Raylin's question, pocketing her kerchief and flicking her attention toward Pepsi's continuing attempts to get them to the Weyr. Get eaten? Still?! Oh for the love of little green dragons, how many hungry felines could there be in one area? The drought had to be drawing them all to the river, where the game was better and there was often a good chance of running across silly, tasty werefolk who didn't think to carry blades with them.

"Fine..."

She murmured, suddenly breathless and trembling.

"Fine, let's get out of here."

She cast her eyes breifly across the treeline, wondering just how much time they had to get back to the Weyr before they felt claws in their backs. Gracelessly, she she pulled her now very bloody stick free of the feline's shattered skull, then trotted quickly back to the rest of the group.

"You got all that, right Raylin? Send Vega for help -any rider in the area just so long as they have a dragon between their thighs."

[Rei]

Raylin nodded “Yeah I got it. Send Vega for a rider” She was a little miffed that Cloar had totally ignored both her and Saeo. Instead he had only seemed interested in what the wild boy had to say. Now he was trying to herd them like sheep? What the heck. She shoved at Cloar’s arm and turned to her little lizard. “Vega can you go get help?” The girl asked her little lizard forcing herself to stay calm. “More felines may be coming. Find a rider, any rider, show them what happened and tell them to hurry.”

The candidate then gathered the little blue flitter in her hands and kissed the top of his head. Desperately hoping she had been clear enough. She had just starting sending Vega on small errands and he occasionally forgot what he was doing before he even got there. The flitter was still young and he tired easily. Still this errand had to do with her directly and she had impressed on him how important it was. No Vega would come through.

Vega gave a small keen and leaped into the air disappearing between. As the cold air washed over her face Raylin trotted to Saeo’s side. “Which way to the weyr?” She queried to the group at large. It was a good question, in all the chaos she had forgotten which way they had come from, and the jungle all looked the same to her.

-----

The little blue lizard reappeared over the beach. There were often riders here. Surely one would help? He turned his little head this way and that, looking for a rider. There was a brown, a bronze and a few greens lying on the sand. The blue flitter made a beeline for a brown that was by himself, his eyes lidded in obvious pleasure as the sun beat down on his dusty brown hide. This brown might be safe that bronze was oh so scary and large.

Vega landed lightly on the shoulder of Sel'n Brown Kaaoloth’s rider. He keened at the man his eyes whirling a nervous yellow as he flooded the rider’s head with images of the candidates, snarling felines, and bloodied ground. The emotions rolling off him were those of terrible fear, anxiousness, and a need to flee. The blue gave another keen and opened his wings in preparation for flight. Wouldn’t the rider please help his? His was in trouble. What would he do without his? The man must help.

[binker]

Pepsi knew this jungle better than he knew himself most of the time; now was such an occasion. "That way, that way!" He pointed, rather frantic now to get away. The smell of blood would be too much for any predator nearby, and he did not want to deal with more felines right now.

He ran forward, hands reaching out to grab both Saeo and Raylin by the upper arm before he ran. Even if they were dead weight Pepsi would drag them; though, he admitted to himself, should the felines show up, he would probably abandon them for the trees. No bunch of candidates was worth the sacrifice of himself, in his feral little mind.

There was no real path way to the Weyr, but Pepsi knew where he was going, releasing the two girls in hopes they would simply follow him to safety. The route was rough and full of holes and roots ready to trip the unwary, but he navigated it quickly despite the danger. Even if he had fallen and twisted his ankle, the wildling would probably get back up and run; wouldn't be the first time, really...

[dragon]

Cloar brought up the rear end of the group, just in case, making sure both girls were ahead of him. Pepsi seemed to know where they were going, so he trusted the lad to lead the way. Though Cloar wasn't exactly comfortable with being tail end charlie, either... He looked over his shoulder every so often, just to make sure, as he ran after the other three.

Unfortunately, this meant he wasn't paying as much attention to where he was going as well as he should. While he didn't outright plow into any trees, he did occassionally hook his boots on vines or roots or sticks, and would occassionally stumble for a few strides.

He wanted to run faster ... but the duty he felt to protect the girls was stronger than his urge to run past them. Which was a really weird feeling. He'd never been put in that postition before.

[nightingale]

Saeo ran, ignoring the fact that the action had been phrased in the form of an order. She might not have been as fast as the others, but she was nimble. Roots and stones that might had tripped the others were no obsticale at all, so she was able to keep up easily enough. She grabbed tight to Raylin's hand when Pepsi released them and pulled ahead. The girl didn't doubt for a second that they were by far the most appealing targets in the group. At least if they stuck close together they were harder to pick off.

Were they being chased, she wondered? She was too frightened to glanced over her shoudler and check -but she did, the few times when Cloar stumbled and scared the life out of her by making it seem that he'd been pounced upon. Oh, where was that flitter? Surely he should be back by now...but how long had they been running? She wasn't quite sure, but the searing pain in her chest and weakness in her legs told her that it had been far longer than she woudl have liked.

[Rei]

Raylin allowed Saeo to drag her along and tried to keep pace with the girl. For a tanner Saeo could run pretty fast. The again when your life is on the line she supposed anyone could be a sprinter. She felt the burning begin in her lungs and was soon gasping for breath. Where was Vega? Suddenly as if her thought had conjured the little flit he appeared ahead of Pepsi his eyes whirling in shades of yellow and orange. There he was but she saw no signs of a dragon, had Vega failed? A sudden trumpet from above made her abruptly stop and her arm was jerked as Saeo continued. “Saeo stop did you hear that?” The candidate looked up as a gust of wind whipped at the branches around them. A large dragon was descending from above! Her flitter had found someone!

Kaaoloth craned his neck to peer below at the trees and the candidates below. Here they are Selmine they seem uninjured. Good came the rider’s short reply. Tell them that a few feet to their left is a clearing. We will pick them up there. Sel'n snorted in irritation. So the flitter was right. There were candidates in the jungle. They appeared uninjured to. They had made it in time then. What in Faranth's name were they doing here in the first place?

Kaaoloth rumbled and a voice sounded in Cloar’s head. Boy to your left is a clearing we will meet you there you need to hurry though I can smell the felines. They are close. With that the beast beat his wings and ascended to circle around and prepare to land.