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Post by jenee on Apr 27, 2009 21:03:55 GMT -5
The acrobat winced, bracing herself as she stumbled backward, feeling her back and head connect with solid ground. The impact knocked the air out of her, causing her sight to blur for a few brief moments. She hardly paid attention to whatever Selia said, her words a light buzz in the back of her mind. She forced herself into an upright sitting position, trying to scramble backwards, but in vain. The blow to her head caused her balance to go off for a few short moments, allowing her to do barely more than claw backward at the ground.
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Post by m!chelle--✗ on Apr 27, 2009 21:15:11 GMT -5
Lia blinked, bloody irises glinting as her focus narrowed in on Cayli's crumpled form. In a barely detectable motion, she lunged forward, almost falling over the acrobat. One hand jabbed toward the human's abdomen in a quick flick of her arm. There was a soft crunching noise as Selia's outstretched fingers hit their target. The vampire flipped her body counterclockwise and caught herself just before she would have landed on top of Cayli. A satisfied grimace flickered across her face. At least two or three ribs were broken, she was sure. She became still all at once, waiting for Cayli's reaction. The whole endeavor had taken less time than it did to recognize the pain.
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Post by jenee on Apr 27, 2009 21:20:38 GMT -5
The action had been all over in a matter of short seconds....maybe even half seconds. Cayli wasn't sure, and she didn't care. All she could focus on them were the moments that followed, and the sharp pain that sparked from various points in her abdomen. She inhaled sharply, blinking back tears as she tried to fight back a startled cry. When she shifted positions, the pain only became worse. Selia's form blurred slightly in her vision. Her sense of balance was now completely off.
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Post by m!chelle--✗ on Apr 27, 2009 21:33:57 GMT -5
"Ooh, poor thing." Selia clicked her tongue regretfully and shook her head, looking positively remorseful. She crouched down beside Cayli, jutting out her lower lip. "Please, don't cry... Here, can I help you?" The vampire stretched one pale arm out to Cayli, grasping her upper arm. Selia's grip tightened gradually- hard enough to turn it red, hard enough to bruise, hard enough to break... Snap. A thin, clean cracking noise reverberated from beneath Lia's slender fingers.
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Post by jenee on Apr 27, 2009 21:39:08 GMT -5
The pain from this seemed to come slower...perhaps the acrobat was still in shock, or perhaps her senses were too numbed to notice it at first. But the noise itself and the moments following rendered her unable to suppress a scream. Her eyes closed tightly as she tried to fight back the pain, dizziness, and the knowledge that there wasn't a way out of it.
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Post by m!chelle--✗ on Apr 27, 2009 21:48:14 GMT -5
"Ohh, shh shh shh. There there, sweetest. Here, let me kiss it and make it better?" Selia's head dipped down, her lips barely brushing the purplish skin. "There, see, much better." Her eyes drifted upward, lingering on a spot just above Cayli's collarbone . "Oh, dearest, you have another little cut right there. Why don't you just... let me..." Selia leaned closer, drawing in a breath of sweet, human-scented air. "Mm..." Her mouth came in contact with Cayli's skin, and gently the vampire's teeth sunk in, burying themselves in the flesh of the human's neck. They widened the cut already there, allowing the precious drops of blood to flow more freely.
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Post by jenee on Apr 27, 2009 21:57:48 GMT -5
The acrobat was barely aware of Selia's presence as she drew closer, feeling herself starting to slip into more numbness...A small part of her mind--a part that was still connected to reality--could hardly believe that all of this could happen in such a short amount of time... Or maybe it was longer... Was her perception of time even right anymore? However long it was, all she knew was that it hurt, and that she was slipping. But all of her senses were jolted back into reality when the teeth sunk into her neck, the pain there more dominant than the previous ones. Her scream came out more as a hoarse whisper, and her eyes shot open.
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Post by m!chelle--✗ on Apr 27, 2009 22:31:34 GMT -5
Selia's jaw muscles tensed as she readied herself for the final blow to Cayli's already battered body. She drew away, licking a droplet of blood from her lower lip. Venom pooled at the back of her mouth, and she swallowed hard, trying to force herself to savor her small victory. Her delicate senses sought out the main vein in Cayli's neck, the lifeline that supplied the most blood to the human's brain. Cut that vein clean through, and there wouldn't be much chance of survival. Lia smiled gleefully as she found her mark, and with one more pause to revel in the glory, she leaned in to deliver her last gentle strike. There was a flicker of dark fur in her peripherals. The next moment Selia found herself flat on her back, sprawled several feet away from Cayli's limp form. A large shape loomed over her, and far above the storm clouds rumbled, threatening another bout of rain. Sage echoed the ominous sound, a growl forming deep in his throat. His lips drew back to reveal formidable canines, and he lurched forward, tearing at Selia's stoney flesh. The massive wolf was heavy on top of the pixie-like vampire, but Selia was still faster than he could ever hope to be. She rolled to one side to avoid his snapping jaws, but there was only so much room where she was trapped between his paws. Sage's fangs just barely nicked her shoulder and she hissed a savage warning. "Watch it." The wolf ignored her and aimed again, this time grabbing at her forearm. He caught hold, and have a hard jerk. Selia gasped as she felt her shoulder dislocate. She squirmed harder, and managed to loose her good arm. She shoved hard at Sage's foreleg, nearly pushing it out from under him. He shifted to keep from falling over, and she took that as a chance to wriggle sideways and out from beneath his wide paws. The vampire was on her feet in an instant. She glared at the wolf, who hovered protectively in front of Cayli. As much as it pained her to give up on this fight, she now knew she was not going to be able to battle this monster. The one arm of Selia's hung limp at her side, and so she had no choice but to abandon her interrupted meal and flee. In the time it would take to blink, she had turned and gone, moving so quickly back toward the north one could barely detect her swiftly retreating form.
Sage watched her go, and then let out a loud huff of air. He turned to Cayli, crouching low beside her small, broken body. 'Cayli?' he whispered, speaking reaching out with his mind to touch her dwindling consciousness.
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Post by jenee on Apr 27, 2009 22:53:57 GMT -5
The dark pressure around her senses had begun to close in again, slowly dampening the feeling of the pain and blotting out her awareness. The sound of Sage's interupption hummed in the back of her head, the noises of snaps and growls blending together in what seemed like some out-of-tune melody. Cayli? She felt her eyes open just slightly, just barely able to make out the shape of the figure that loomed over her against the dark sky. She slowly reached her good arm up toward the figure, fighting past the numbed pain, and felt her hand settle on warm fur. Was she hallucinating?
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Post by m!chelle--✗ on Apr 27, 2009 22:59:09 GMT -5
'Oh, thank the gods you're still alive. I thought I was too late...' A soft whimper escaped his muzzle. 'I have to get you back to safety... but you're too delicate to move. Oh, we need a sorcerer. One of ours, though. Or an elf...' His gaze raised up to search the distant mass of figures, seeking out anyone familiar. Sage's ears flicked about like little radars picking up sounds. He finally thought he saw a pale green shape amongst all the white skin and black clothing of the enemies. Raising his head, the great wolf let out a long, low howl, hoping it would reach a soul able to help them.
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Post by jenee on Apr 28, 2009 20:21:06 GMT -5
Cayli barely heard the thoughts, her mind drifting off elsewhere. The small portion of her mind that was racing to keep up with the present allowed her awareness enough to feel her grip tighten just slightly on a lock of fur. It loosened again as she continued to drift, and the long howl that came moments later became a low, fuzzy noise that swirled in with the other fading noises.
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Post by Mя. Saяah on May 22, 2009 21:43:31 GMT -5
Aleron caught sight of Mirah just in time to see her fall. A quiet gasp escaped his lips--a rarity for Al--and he jerked forwards, eyes narrowing slightly. Licia yelped as he suddenly sped up, grabbing a clump of his hair to keep from falling down. "Mirah!" He shouted across the way, shoving his way to her.
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Post by m!chelle--✗ on Jun 14, 2009 12:38:24 GMT -5
Help came sooner than Sage could have hoped, in the form of an elf who was able to tear himself from the fray and come to Cayli's side. The wolf locked eyes with Shai's older cousin, the second-in-command to the queen. "We have to move her," the elf murmured. "I can use a bit of my magic to ease her pain, but we still must be very careful. Can we ride on your back?" The wolf's head bobbed, and he crouched low. The elf gently scooped up Cayli's limp form, and climbed with weightless grace onto Sage's sturdy form. The wolf stood, and started forward, making his movements as fluid as possible. He picked up speed, sprinting around the edge of the battle, headed for the woods on the far side. They reached the makeshift camp, and the elf hopped down immediately, carrying Cayli into one of the tents. Sage shifted back to his human form, following after while still partly in wolf form.
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Post by jenee on Jun 28, 2009 16:25:40 GMT -5
Cayli blinked, shifting just slightly in the elf's grasp before nodding off into the darkness that was too tempting for her to resist. When they arrived at the camp, the healers instinctively directed the elf to place the acrobat on one of the waiting cots. The tent they were in now appeared to house some of the more critical of cases, with healers that were trying to get their patients into a stable condition. Waiting healers now moved to stop the bleeding from the deepest and most life-threatening wound--the bite on her neck.
The sorcerer looked up at the outburst, releasing the elf's shoulder to face the source of the interupption. A small smirk crossed his face as he watched Aleron shove his way towards them, almost daring him to do something.
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Post by m!chelle--✗ on Aug 7, 2009 14:48:41 GMT -5
Sage was shuffled out of the way as the healers crowded around Cayli. He craned his neck to watch, reluctant to loose sight of her again. "Sage..." The shapeshifter glanced toward the entrance, where one of his closer friends from the circus stood. "She'll be okay, they're taking care of her. You saved her, but there are other still out there. You should return to the battle. Our armies are slowing forcing the enemies back toward Tymore, but fresh troops of vampires and sorcerers stand waiting there. We nee all the help we can get." Slowly, Sage nodded. Casting one last glance back at Cayli, he turned and hurried out of the tent, already transforming into a hawk. He hopped into the air, shooting off toward the battle grounds again.
Azera was caught in the middle of a throng of vampires. She lashed out, burning those nearest to her, and was rewarded with a bit more elbow room as the vampires withdrew. Again she swung around, one foot arcing above their heads. The nearest ones leaned away, and she used the momentum to propel herself into the already unbalanced creatures. They tumbled to the ground, Azera instinctively balling flames into her fists as she hit the ground. She scrambled up, and one vampire tried to grab her leg. She hurled the fire at it, and was released. Now her breath was coming heavy and she backed away from the group, who moved to follow her. She couldn't keep this up much longer...
The cry of a hawk claimed Azera's attention, and Sage swooped down, taking the form of a gryphon. She scrambled onto his back without further question, and he hurled himself into the air. 'Tymore?' he asked. "Tymore," came her grim reply. They gazed down on the battlefield as they flew north, the damaged and struggling forms beneath them blurring into a dark smear on the earth. They neared the edge of the ranks of enemies, where their own comrades pressed against the wall of sorcerers and vampires blocking their way to Tymore. Sage swooped down without even pausing to ask. Azera did not need to ask either- she knew his purpose. She focused in on the dark line of cloaked figures, who seemed barely hampered by the perseverant attacks of the elves and circus creatures. Flames licked at her fingers, and streamed from her hands as they glided down on top of the enemies, raining fire upon their heads. Some fell, others scattered, and the rebellious army roared in triumph as they burst through the enemies' defenses.
Alice and Aaron both were near the front of the line, surging forward to Tymore. They left the plains behind, the only ones remaining there either dead or injured. Their healers came swarming onto the field, taking care of those they could. Enemy bodies were left untouched, One battle was over, but the worst was yet to come.
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