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Post by Kayla on Jul 29, 2007 9:04:16 GMT -5
Sentinel heard the elf leave. Wasn't his business if he didn't want to stay. He had no desire to stop him. After hearing the door shut, he rolled over, curling up again next to the ashes of the fire. Strange, he mused, she did not cry out in the night. He'd probably better check on her. With steathy, reptilian grace, he silently walked down the hall to her room. Poking his silver snout through the door, he looked in. She seemed alright. Sliding the rest of his sinuous body inside the room, he curled up beside her bed, looking like a small silver orb, and drifted into the place between sleep and wakefulness.
She slept soundly, more soundly than she had in years. The blackness, instead of consuming and terrifying her, enveloped her welcomingly and let her stay blissfully unaware. Until now. The darkness began to lighten as she slipped into a dream. A dream that was more of a memory than anything. Unfortunately, it was not a good one.
The door hung off the hinges.....what was wrong? She stepped inside, her feet touching something sticky. blood where did it come from? where were her parents? searching....searching......the rooms stretched on and on......a heartbeat. her own. more blood. a knife! her mother, dead...........no, murdered.........red, then black. now her father was dead too. who did this? no, no, all alone. no one else. stickiness....why was it on her? a cut, dripping, dripping........it was me! Noooooo!!!!
The screams became reality as the sun tinged the horizon red, red as the blood she dreamed of.
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Post by Christian on Jul 29, 2007 15:13:43 GMT -5
Cristin had not been able to make too far from Kayla’s home before he was once again pursued and aggressed by his constant attackers. The fight had gone, as they all had, Cristin some mounting enough resistance to defeat them. However, the toll taken on Cristin was still and like usual, grave. The interesting thing about Cristin was that his armor, not only preventing conventional weapons from hurting him, but somehow healed him enough so he would not die. Cristin never understood what all it did for him, but he thankful for what it did do. Now of course, it would not sustain his life if he were killed. Of course, the only way to do that would be to cut of his head or to strike him somewhere in that area. Perhaps cutting off all his limbs or something would works as well. No one ever got that far.
In any case, Cristin, after fighting needed a rest, his right shoulder was bleeding profusely and he had put some moss on it to slow it. It was only working so well. Cristin’s sword, like always, was at his side. It was sticking out of the ground to his left. He had his head against a elm tree where he seemed to be sleeping. At that point in time, he didn’t really care what else attacked him. He could probably beat it in a fight.
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Post by Kayla on Jul 29, 2007 18:14:28 GMT -5
Kayla paced the room, Sentinel's gaze following her. She reviewed the strange night out loud. "Well, I came in here, you were by the fireplace, and I finally fell asleep. But no nightmares. Until that one at dawn. I haven't had a peaceful night's sleep since, since, while I've never had a peaceful night that I can remember." Something nagged at the back of her mind, trying to push through the fog. What was it? Something was missing, something she had forgotten......her gray blue eyes widened in realization as she stopped dead in her tracks. "Cristin! The elf!" Whirling around, her dark curls tousled, she sprang at the door and flung it open. She ran down the hall and skidded to a stop in front of his room. Looking around, she saw no sign of him, except for the few bloody spots on the bed. Sentinel then told her what she had just realized.
'He's gone.' He looked up as she burst back into the room, his eyes dancing with fiendish amusement.
"WHAT?!" she shrieked, "He left and you didn't think it important enough to tell me? Not even just a side mention, 'Oh, by the way, your guest left in the middle of the night' What kind of a friend are you?!" Finished with her rant, she glared at the small dragon on her bed, nostrils flaring and eyes hard as granite.
Pretending to examine the minute point of a silver claw, he replied cooly, 'Well, it's not like you asked about him. But yes, he left about an hour before dawn. Seemed in a bit of a hurry, he did. Told you he was strange.'
Sitting on the edge of the bed, she looked down at him. "Well, there is certainly more here than would first seem evident. I have been plauged by these dreams almost all my life, then he shows up and I don't have any nightmares until he leaves. Most peculiar....." Standing up so suddenly that the bed rocked, she dashed into the main room and began packing. "Well, Sentinel, I think it's time we do a little traveling. I know you've been bugging me to go on a journey, and now I think it's time." By the time the sun reached its zenith, the house was locked up and the two companions were gone.
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Post by Christian on Jul 29, 2007 18:37:58 GMT -5
Cristin finished his rest and he was beginning to move again. He had a long walk wherever the heck he was going. He walked through the forest, using the sun to guide him. He probably needed to get back to his home, wherever that was. The thing about Cristin was that he was always looking for his home, but he had never found it. He could never remember where it was. In any case, he was walking alone. Where his tiger was, he wasn’t sure. He knew that she was show up somewhere. Usually it was when he was in a trouble that she helped him. She seemed to know that she could handle himself rather well without anyone’s help.
Cristin kept thinking about Kayla. He didn’t really know why, but all of his thoughts kept running to her. It wasn’t a bad place to run to either. Of course, this sort of thing had never happened before. He had never been concerned with anyone really before.
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Post by Kayla on Jul 31, 2007 9:32:57 GMT -5
Dappled light shone down on the solitary figure in the woods. The hood of her cloak pushed back, she walked on, leather-clad feet stepping in a monotonous rhythm. Her hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, though a few wayward strands dared to encircle her ears. Tucking these strands back once again, she shifted the light pack on her slender frame. Coming to a gap in the thick canopy, she scanned the sky. Sentinel was nowhere to be seen, but she knew he was there somewhere, enjoying this rare chance to stretch his wings. Noting the location of the sun, she made sure she was still headed south. If she remembered correctly, she would eventually cross the Old Forest Road that ran through Mirkwood. Hopefully she could make it before night consumed the forest.
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Post by Christian on Jul 31, 2007 9:40:15 GMT -5
Now, there was about a half-mile difference between the two wanderers. Cristin wasn’t in a hurry. He didn’t need to be because he didn’t really have anywhere to be at a certain time. He had the freedom of choice, which he loved. No, commitments, no one telling him to do something he didn’t desire to do. Cristin walked calmly, his frame bearing the sun and its heat as it bore down on him. He could see a road up ahead and he smiled. Ah yes, the Old Forest Road. Been a while since he traveled on it. Of course, he didn’t know whether to follow it, or simply cross it. Decisions, decisions. Cristin traveled through and large open field that was on the left side of the road. The tall grass came to about his shoulder. He was halfway through the field when he heard something.
Cristin ducked down, easily hidden in the tall grass. He listened again and drew his sword very quietly. They were footsteps, but not from an animal. A person. Great, another person. Why was everyone following him? Did they know something about him that he didn’t? I mean seriously, what the heck happened in his past to condone such stalking? Cristin kept low in the grass and moved ever closer to the sound, keeping his feet light and his breathing low. He intended to not make the mistake of being heard. A mistake this person, male or female had already made.
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Post by Kayla on Jul 31, 2007 9:59:04 GMT -5
The scare clouds in the sky provided little shade as the trees began to thin. Thick, tall grass began to replace the forest as she trekked on. She must be getting close to the road. Stopping for a moment, she looked around her, eyes scanning the horizon. The dim outline of mountains loomed to one side. She supposed that was a good of a place to go as any. There was really no reason or planning to her wandering. Sponteanity was one of the benefits of not being attatched to anyone or anything. A half-smile on her sun-kissed face, she continued on, towards the road.
Ahhh flying! One of the most joyous things in the world! Letting the air currents carry him, Senitnel glided gracefully, eyes closed in bliss. The wind flowed smoothly over his glistening scales, cooling his skin and refreshing him. Lazily circling, he peered down at the world below, locating Kayla in a few seconds. Her traveling cloak blended almost seemlessly with the forest edge, but his remarkable vision easily distinguished her form. She had almost reached the road. No one appeared to be around...but wait, what was that? His dragon eyes, attracted to anything shiny, caught a glint of something. Swooping a bit closer, he realized that it was that elf, that Cristin, that had left earlier.
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Post by Christian on Jul 31, 2007 17:54:29 GMT -5
Wings? What? What two-legged creature has wings? Cristin fell backwards onto the ground and as he did so, his drawn sword turned into a bow with a flash of blue. There wasn’t even any thought; it was reaction when the arrow notched in the bow fired up towards Sentinel. Cristin only realized and recognized the dragon after he shot the bow. The bad thing was, he was an elf, he wasn’t going to miss.
( Sorry it is short, there wasn't too much more i could do )
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Post by Kayla on Jul 31, 2007 18:34:59 GMT -5
'Hey, your handsome stranger is here, Kayla,' Sentinel teased. Looking back towards the earth, he saw the elf look up. Time seemed to slow as, with movement almost too fast to follow, the elf somehow had a bow in his hands and shot an arrow. And now it was headed directly towards him. There was no way he could get out of this one. He felt no pain, only pressure. Then the darkness took over his mind.
She heard him, then saw a flash of blue near her. Faster than a thought, an arrow was in the air headed directly towards her only friend. Her eyes widened in horror as she realized what just happened. As if in a dream, she saw the arrow strike, knocking her dragon out of the air. His silvery wings folded around him as he plummeted limply to the earth. For a second, she stood in the road, motionless and numb. Then, her vision was clouded with black, then red, as the madness overtook her. Her animalistic instinct took over as she ran in a pure rage at the elf, determined to make him pay for what he did. She was not aware of the raw scream issuing from her throat, nor the dirk in her hand, just the raw energy that flowed through her pounding veins.
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Post by Christian on Jul 31, 2007 19:05:01 GMT -5
Cristin had been then stood his feet and moved backwards. He had started to run a bit to where the dragon had landed. He hoped that he had not killed the creature. That would be unfortunate. He did not want to kill this elf’s only companion. He had almost reached the dragon when he heard a scream. He turned, his bow in hand, an arrow notched and ready. Like the first shot, he had reloaded immediately on impulse. Cristin looked as the woman. Crap, this wasn’t going to end well. Cristin knew he had two options. He looked back at the dragon, it wasn’t dead yet. He could help it. He looked back at the elf that had covered quite a bit of distance very quickly.
Cristin’s two choices were to one, fight her in combat, surely for his very life and waste the precious time that the dragon had to live. Not to mention that would risk his life, for he had no way of knowing how well this woman could fight. His second option was to take down this woman before she reached him, giving him enough time to tend to the dragon. She was gaining. Cristin knew that with her in rage mode, it would be hard to take her down with one arrow. He loaded two. She was still running and screaming. She probably wouldn’t try to dodge the arrows, not that she could too well. That was nearly impossible. Cristin fired. He took the second option. The first arrow was directed at her left leg, to put her on the ground, and other was aimed at her right shoulder, to keep her down. Neither was fatal, but they should get the job done.
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Post by Kayla on Jul 31, 2007 19:16:39 GMT -5
She saw him look at her, then raise his bow. In her maddened state, this didn't deter her, only made her more angry. Raising her arm, she flung her dirk as hard as she could towards his left arm. Her knife flew through the air, aimed with years of practice. The first arrow struck her calf, passing through her skin. As she fell forward, the second arrow hit her shoulder. Hitting the packed earth hard on her left arm, she pitched forward almost on her face. One benefit of these fits of madness was that she felt no pain for now. Pushing herself up on uninjured limbs, she powered on with manic strength, her mind not reasoning correctly.
Pain. Oh the pain! He was not dead yet. Stuck in that foggy state of consciousness, Sentinel could only realize himself right now. He felt the blood pooling from his side. And his wing! His wing wouldn't move. He snarled as he began to regain consciousness, snout wrinkling with the effort of movement. Blinking his eyes, he slowly began to register his surroundings. Kayla! She'd probably kill that elf, or at least try. He'd only seen her go mad once, and that was enough for him. He tried to reach her, but her mind was locked down, focused only on the rage within her.
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Post by Christian on Jul 31, 2007 19:27:43 GMT -5
The dirk struck his chest. Of course it did. She, like him, was an elf and wasn’t going to miss. Well the problem with her theory was the fact that his armor wasn’t going to be penetrated. Ever. No weapons or magic could do that. Or, at least none that Cristin had ever encountered. The dirk fell to the ground, only scratching his armor. She was still moving. Dang, she was persistent. He shook his head. He needed something else. He reached into his pouch. He had some time, she was crawling, and at least he had slowed her down. Cristin took out a single leaf, and loaded his bow again. He broke the leaf, and rubbed its fluid like substance on the edge of the arrow. This would put her to sleep, but he had to put it somewhere that the blood would carry it through her body quickly. He looked at her crawling. It was something he did not wish to see, but it was necessary. He fired, his arrow aimed at her left arm where he knew a primary vein was.
He didn’t even stop to see if his shot struck her. He turned and moved to where the dragon laid, his bow turning into a sword and sheathed it. He reached into his pouch and withdrew another couple of leaves, sticking them into his mouth and chewing them until he reached Sentinel. He saw it moving and he held down Sentinel a bit by his neck, just in case he didn’t try to bite. He removed the arrow and threw it aside. He placed the leaves from his mouth to the wound. It would dull the pain. He then placed some moss on the wound. It would stop the bleeding. Now, to wait. Where was Kayla? He turned to look at her.
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Post by Kayla on Jul 31, 2007 19:44:58 GMT -5
Sentinel saw a dark shape, a hand, reaching for him. Showing his needle-like teeth, he attempted to move away. Grrr! He didn't like being touched! Now that arrogant being was grabbing him around the neck, of all things. Indignantly, he tried to scratch him, but he still couldn't move. He felt a new wetness on his side, then the sharp pains receeded, throbbing sullenly. At least the stupid elf tried to save him. Course, if Kayla was still overtaken by her madness, he would probably need saving himself. Her mind was still blocked to him, though he could feel the anger in her, almost like a real beast, present and attacking.
Her normally dark blue eyes were now hard as granite, gray and unyeilding, the pupils contracted to mere pinpoints of rage. She was now up on both legs, limping heavily, but still moving at a considerable pace towards that elf. Her hair had fallen out of the ponytail when she had begun running, and now it fell in tangled curls about her face, the strands in her eyes only adding to the crazed look behind her eyes. She saw him fire another arrow, and saw it strike her arm, blood dripping from the tip. The only sound she could hear was her own pounding heart. She could feel the madness, like fire in her veins, driving her. The small voice of reason she normally carried was gone, forced into retreat once again. With a snarl of frustration, she ripped out the arrows, blood now flowing stickily from almost all her limbs, staining the dirt. Flinging them to the side, she now stood only a score of feet from the elf, who was now bending over her dragon. Her eyes flickered, for a second her pupils returned to their normal size, and she almost stopped. Then another wave of insanity hit her and she kept on, her vision a conflicting cloud of black and red. She was only ten feet away. Stumbling, her vision darkening, she began to hear her own gasps for breath, her lungs screaming for oxygen. Raising her head, she looked him in the eyes. With one last effort, she lashed out towards his face as hard as she could, nails outstretched. Then, she slumped to the ground and knew no more.
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Post by Christian on Jul 31, 2007 19:55:30 GMT -5
Isn’t that a lovely thing to turn to? Kayla struck him the face and he winced and turned around and looked back at the dragon. He whispered in a soothing tone, “ Hold on, you’ll alright, don’t move.” He whispered and then turned to Kayla, who also was now lying before him. He took a deep breath and crawled over to her. He didn’t like the fact of being in the middle of a field. It was too exposed in case someone trying to attack. He turned back to Sentinel. Kayla was not critical; her wounds were not fatal yet. Cristin picked up the dragon and rushed him into the underbrush of the forest and came back for Kayla, doing the same.
By the time this was done, Kayla had lost a considerable amount of blood, yet Sentinel was stable and had a good pulse. Wow, one life for the other. Cristin moved over to Kayla after laying her onto the ground as gently as he could. He removed the two remaining arrows from her body, cautious about the one in her leg. He didn’t know how close that was to her artery. He then placed moss over the wound and the bleeding stopped a bit. He sighed and leaned against his arms, watching her for a moment. He took her weapons off of her and threw them a few yards away. She didn’t need those when she woke up. Not immediately anyway.
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Post by Kayla on Jul 31, 2007 20:03:25 GMT -5
Growling weakly, Sentinel tried to struggle out of the elf's iron grip. Finally, he sighed and laid still. He almost snorted when the elf tried to calm him. Move? he thought cynically, you just shot me, stupid one, how can I move? And now the genius had shot Kayla not only once, but thrice! Still, he mused, really wasn't much else he could have done. Drugging her like that was pretty much the only way to stop her madness short of killing her. Sentinel remembered the last time she was like this. Boy, that guy would never bother her, or anyone else, ever again. Wincing at the memory, he decided not to dwell on it. Ah, Cristin was back. Now he carried Kayla in his arms. As he laid her down next to Sentinel and began to remove the arrows, the dragon noticed the careful, gentle movements of the stranger. Hmmm, so he was not so rough as he would seem. Trying again to reach her mind, he only contacted darkness, and a few cloudy memories. She looked rather rough right now, though, what with the blood still seeping from her leg and arms. She would recover quickly, though. She always did. For now, he would just keep a watchful eye on this elf.
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