Zith Hunting: Prey or Predator? [Wrenmae]

[Idue]

18th day of Winter, 511 AV As the sun set below the buildings, Idue wandered as he had been for over a season. He had been in Sunberth since the beginning of Fall, searching for his mother that had left him so long ago. All his snooping, asking questions, and meddling in the lives of everyone he could find did not find his mother. Instead it found him negative thoughts, often appearing at the worst moments. Did she die before he ever get a chance to see her again? Did he waste gold, time, and effort on something that failed. Could he ever return to his homeland with pride? Whenever these thoughts came along, Idue went walking. He never any set destination; he merely wished to walk. And since this day he happened to be near Stumble Alley, he chose it as his maze where he would wander. Most citizens didn't venture into the alley unless they had to, but Idue had grown to it. In Stumble Alley, he had had adventures with friends, all enough to take away his depression from failure. He had fought slavers, visited libraries, and sparred with his friends. Friends that had all left. Eridanus had gone on with his search for his past, taking the short Bob Barton along with him. Even though they had their differences, Idue still considered Bob a friendly rival. Zenai had disappeared. He was alone. But Idue was not going to dwell on that. He was going to take in the sights of Stumble Alley, and find adventure if at all possible. And when two figures jumped above his head across the rooftops, Idue figured he had found his adventure. Now he hoped he didn't lose it. And the Benshira could only question one thing. Did those figures have wings?

[Wrenmae]

These things never begin as planned.

Wrenmae, now Shroud, tore across the rooftop. Each step was a moment of shattered peace, and as the hiss of wings behind him grew louder, he felt almost afraid. Rooftops were poor places to stage fights with a winged opponents. The Zith flew by again as Wrenmae leaped from one roof to another, catching him with its claws and sending the boy hurtling to the roof edge, smashing against the lip and rolling over the edge. His mouth was open, a silent abyss of barely contained agony.

On wings of midnight, the creature descended onto the roof Wrenmae was curled up on, striding toward him as its wings flipped forward and around its shoulders. The young mage was already moving to his feet, agony sending spikes of pain rippling through his body. Gripping the hilt of hi dagger, he pulled it out just as the Zith was upon him. Burly arms reached forward, restraining the motion Wrenmae needed to draw the blade and picking the human off the ground.

Shroud struggled, acutely aware of his limitations in such a thin and frail body. Even untouched by the ravages of disease, Wrenmae was not strong by human standards. The Zith, savagely grinning, stepped over the edge of the Sunberth roof, holding the mage precariously over an almost certainly painful drop.

"Please human," the Zith snarled, thrusting him over the lip, "Tell me again why my race are pests." His feet kicked a lazy beat against the stucco walls, one arm holding onto the Zith's left, Wrenmae's eyes glaring pools of muted darkness.

"No," he gasped, gritting his teeth through the pain, "You misunderstood me...what I meant to say was..." Forcing Djed into his eyes, Wrenmae skewered the personal aura of his opponent, forcing his influence into his mind, spinning down corridors of fear and turmoil, touching little but filling all with fearsome illusion of such sudden clarity it would even cause the strong willed Zith to take pause. "You fear me."

He grinned, the Zith's widening as he stepped away, releasing the human and falling back, wings flapping to free him from what his mind registered as sudden unrelenting terror.

Wrenmae dropped, gripping the lip with his one free arm and hauling himself over the edge again, feet gripping at the wall for surface area. He rolled over with the dagger drawn, turning to the Zith who had fallen to his hands and knees, only now coming to grips with the fact that he had no reason to fear the hypnotist.

A little late.

With grim purpose, the storyteller tore his dagger through one of the Zith's wings, tearing it from bone down through the membrane and leaping back when the monster kicked at him, screaming in primal agony.

The fight was far from over, but at least he's eliminated flight.

His side ached, and he tasted blood on his lips.

Poor move to fight on the rooftop indeed...

[Idue]

Idue was in and out of the alleys, in search of the people on the rooftops, when Wrenmae was knocked over the edge of the roof. The Benshira hadn't been expecting that. But he stood below the man, ready to catch him if he fell. Idue didn't know who he was, so he didn't know if he was a good guy or a bad one. He would find that out if the man fell, but until then, he was ready to help him. Sure it was odd for anyone to travel by rooftop unless they were bad, but Idue wasn't going to judge anybody yet. He was just here to help, and kill after he learned all of the details. His first action was to catch the man when he fell. But he didn't fall, and Idue was left to stand down here until he learned something more. While he waited, he drew both of his axes, ready to use them if danger came down into the alleys. But until it did, he had to wait, and listen. He couldn't see anything, so his ears were his friends at the moment. And the first thing he heard was a primal screech. That was definately not human. But what was it? Whatever it was, it was attacking that man, and it sounded like he had just pissed it off. Idue knew one thing; this man needed help. "Help has arrived! But you need to get off the rooftops. I can't help you from down here, and there can be more enemies up there. Down here, they only have confined space. I suggest to jump. I'll catch you!" He didn't even knew Wrenmae was fighting, but he wished to help. He wished to fight, and spending so long in a peaceful hibernation from fighting. If only Idue wasn't too preoccupied to notice the two Zith that landed to the left of him. In the beginning, it was Wrenmae who needed Idue's help. But now, it was mutual on both men's parts.

[Wrenmae]

Charity was rare in Suberth, rare as finding a diamond proffered from the hands of a miser to some orphan. Really it shouldn't be trusted. Those who survived the streets knew the code. One looked out for oneself, one never got involved in something that did not stand to benefit them, and one was always called to bury a dagger in a back should it be presented. What then was the point in this offer? The Zith took a wild swing at him, still in agony, the claws barely reaching the storyteller as he backed against the edge of the wall. Obviously the monster was too dangerous to approach at this point, every movement was one inspired in contorted agony. Although up here and without the means to fly or easily leap from building top to top, the man below had left little option. He was correct, a fight in the alley would be better suited...constrained environment and difficult to fly in. Sighing, hating himself for it, distrusting every motion of his body, Shroud swung over the edge of the roof and dropped toward Idue. The man caught him roughly, swinging the murderer to the ground where he stumbled only a short distance. The shape of a Zith loomed in the shadows of the two buildings, another one in front of Idue. And an angry Zith on the roof. "I am beginning to think," Shroud growled, brandishing his dagger out and backing toward the warrior who'd helped him, "I had better chances with the wounded Zith on the roof." He glanced back only briefly at Idue, barely fending off the wicked claws of the Zith closing in, "Just who was the subject 'help' defining in your assurance anyways?"

[Idue]

Idue only has to wait a moment before the man leaps off the roof into his arms. Idue catches him, trying to still keep ahold of his axes, and does it with only minor difficulty. Wrenmae lands, and stumbles, but otherwise he looks unharmed. And it was because Idue watched the man stumble did he realize they weren't alone. Standing between two buildings was their enemy. And with a glance to his right, their second enemy. Which meant the third enemy above must be the same. Zith. Idue had only heard of these creatues, never seeing one before. They didn't live in Ekytol, and he hadn't seen any when he traveled across the grasslands. But he had heard they were fighters, using claws or weapons to enslave unsuspecting humans. Wrenmae was one of those unsuspecting humans, he would be flying away for the gods knows what if it weren't for Idue. And if he didn't get enslaved, he probably be dead. Wrenmae and Idue stood back to back, the man wielding two long daggers, while Idue held his axes. He should've wore his armor out here; he had come searching for a fight without being prepared for one. And those claws could easily rip through his clothing. Idue held his axes out in front of him, ready to defend himself. He wasn't going to die this night. Above them, the injured Zith stepped to the edge of the roof. Blood dripped from his injured wing, explaining the blood dripping from Wrenmae's dagger. He looked at them in disgust, and spoke to his fellow hunters in common. He wanted the two men to hear the words he spoke. "Kill the tanned human, but I want the other one alive." And then he crossed his arms, watching. He was sure his friends could handle these two men. And if he spotted trouble, he'd jump in, ambushing them. They were at a disadvantage. And then the two Zith closed in on them. Idue swung his axes out, fending off the claws; one axe, then the other. He needed to keep them off of them until he decided how he'd fight. Wrenmae must've been doing the same, as he had time to speak. He spoke negatively about how he would've had a better chance on the roof, which Idue only chuckled at. And then Wrenmae asked him, in an odd way, what his name was. This was easy, and didn't take much effort. "My name is Idue." And that was when Idue lunged into action, swinging the axe in his right hand at the shoulder of the Zith. Hopefully it would catch tendons, and injure the Zith. And maybe tick it off. Angry opponents made mistakes. And Idue needed them to make mistakes to equal out his own mistakes.

[Wrenmae]

Shroud hissed, torn between looking up, back, and forward. His second dagger went sheathed, golden res slipping from the palm of his hand as he prepared for attack. It wasn't his hope to reveal too much magic here, tonight, but with the Zith above him and the warriors in the alley now, it seemed like Shroud hadn't a better option. Luckily he was backed by another human, one who sported two axes in the filtered moonlight between buildings. Not that Shroud was complaining, of course, humans stood with humans and in battles like this, it was easy to side with the underdog. "Wrenmae," Shroud hissed back at Idue, menacing the Zith with his blade, "Let's hope we both live enough to remember that." Idue leaped forward, his feet cracking against the stone as he charged the Zith. Taking that initiative, the other Zith charged Shroud, claws out and shrieking. The golden res in Shroud's hand hissed in his sudden conversion, and he aimed the blast of wind at the outstretched wings, knocking the Zith off his feet with the sudden unexpected gale. Shroud was on the creature in that instant, bringing up his dagger to lash into unprotected flesh. He was stopped by claws and a foot, raising and dashing his approach with scissored kicks. Backing away from the claws, Shroud hissed and began channeling his Res again. The Zith was getting to his feet, but Shroud aimed another blast of wind at it, following up with a slashing pivot forward, his blade wild. Even wild blades can hit targets when they're cramped. The Zith howled in pain, backing away with its shoulder splattered with blood. Shroud held the blade out and backed toward Idue again, his eyes bright and his body quaking with adrenaline. No chance to run, only to fight. And that's what they'd do.

[Archelon]

Thread Award "..." And the Results!!!!: Wrenmae : SkillName 1-5 How/why? Long Knife 2 hypnotism 1 really need to work on passing things a bit in your setups :\. More detail. rhetoric 2 Insults count. Lores: Caught in a Zith's clutches. Would you like some extra turtle sauce ? : Idue, pm me for a grade if/when you come back otherwise it's a shame this thread had a lot of potential Any questions,comments,or concerns please feel free to send me a nice pm.