Try Being A Vegetarian... (Shadowfang)

[Ximal]

90th spring 512AV

Free, out of the cages at last. Xi took a deep breath as he remembered what he had to do. A full day of planting, it was virtually the end of spring, why not plant in summer? That's right Xi would take a couple days of freedom and then plant in summer. Right now though Xi's arm was feeling healed. Xi'd reclaimed his gear from the guards who still treated him like some sort of criminal. Xi took note of what was happening...He'd made a mistake and now he was paying for it. Being some what shunned. That or his punishment still remained in complete...The planting...Petch it all. Xi's conscience forced him to get it over and done with. Sliding on his vambraces having already secured his grieves. Xi marched hard and fast to where he was told to go to get the planting done. Marching through the cam with a sense of purpose he headed straight out into the open. His head was set and he wasn't going to change...He would get his punishment done. You seem to be coping some what...Better now that you've spent all that time in the 'cells'...I wouldn't expect any less of the person who through he was smart enough to try and use his energy without fully understanding it... Xi ignored liro as he pounded down through the camp, his giant figure moving with formidable speed and intimidation. His eyes burning with determination, he hated the feeling of being hated for a mistake. Leaving the camp a little ways behind him he stepped out into the open. Looking for the person whom he'd have to speak too to get this planting done and get the 'monkeys' off his back...Standing in the open...It was quiet, too quiet...

[Shadowfang]

Shadowfang sat under the shade of a large tree, wings folded, playing with the grass around him. Today he did not feel like doing anything. That is, doing anything but eating. His stomach rumbled and he clutched his gut with his hands. He was so hungry. It had been so long since he had eaten fresh meat. The rules of the Spires had forced him to resort to eating the vegetables that they served in he mess hall. Zith may have been omnivorous, but he hated eating plants. The experience of those dry, tasteless leaves slithering down his throat made him retch almost every time he tried. He needed to distract himself with something. He brushed his now much longer hair away from his face and lifted his right hand.

He opened it and kept it there, as if he were balancing some large object on his fingertips, and focused. Distracted by hunger, it took a good chime of concentration before anything happened. Even as the small black portal began to expand and grow, it seemed weak and wobbly. He quickly closed it, afraid of what could happen. He was far to hungry to be able to focus on making a stable portal into the Void, so he decided not to attempt the magic again from fear of anything that could go wrong. He dropped his hand and leaned against the trunk of the tree, still clutching at his belly. His stomach growled at him again and he let out a small groan. He needed real meat. Fast.

A smell that wafted into his nose seemed to answer his prayers. Someone was walking into the nearby clearing. He peered through the trees and the leaves to see who exactly the unfamiliar scent belonged to. His eyes widened when he saw the monster of a man making his way into the clearing. For a moment, his rational mind told him to stay where he was, to avoid having to talk to him, but his hunger and his instinct swiftly took over his mind. He blanked out and his body began to move. That man looked like he had a lot of meat on him. Not only that, he looked lean, tender, and smelled so tasty. Shadowfang licked his lips involuntarily. Petch the spires and it's laws! He was about to get a real meal.

He crouched low, and began sneaking towards the giant. As he weaved through the trees, he walked by rolling his feet from the outside of his heels to the inside of the balls of his feet to reduce the noise he made. I one were to look in Shadowfang's eyes, they would find almost no trace of his former intelligence. For this hunt, he was working fully on instinct, working only to kill and devour his prey. He was not thinking straight. When he neared the edge of the clearing, he immediately broke into a run and spread his wings, lifting himself into the air. With two flaps of the powerful appendages, he was up to speed and zooming towards the man with arms outstretched, claws ready to rip at his throat. However, the man was bigger than he at first thought. His aim was too low, and he had ended up pointing his claws directly at the giant human's shoulder.

[Ximal]

Silence. Something was wrong...Some thing was very wrong. Xi slowed his breathing and listened. Nothing not the sound of animals not the sound of anything...then te crunching of grass underfoot...But Xi wasn't moving. What could have cause the crunching? then silence again tintill his shilder was greeted with a searing pain like blades being dragged across it. Looking a this shoulder whatever had gotten him had sheared through two layers of cloth and taken him completely unaware. Then he saw him the creature that had caught his shoulder. The cuts weren't that deep but they stung. Xi watched blood drip from the creatures claws, his blood drip. Something a bout those claws reminded Xi about liros form in his mind. Xi couldn't quite place it right now thought he wouldn't have too. He had a target before him, his right shoulder bled into his cloak. Xi now glowered down at his opponent. Xi rise his arms into a defensive retaliation position. He wouldn't have enough time to put his gauntlets on before this creatures next attack. So he'd have to counter strike and block with his forearms. Xi waited for this creature to make his attack. Xi gritted his teeth as liro began roaring him his mind. KILL HIM! KILL HIM NOW! He tried to kill us, kill him. Decapitate him, break every bone in his body. Crush him turn his insides to soup. KILL HIM!

[Shadowfang]

Shadowfang brought his hand to his face and licked the blood from his claws. It had such a sweet, salty taste; one that was made ever the more delicious by the fact that he had not tasted fresh blood in days. He wanted more, needed more. More of the sweet, life giving liquid thatdripped from his prey. His eyes, usually dull and almost lifeless, now shined crimson with bloodlust. He stood in a ready stance and prepared to strike again. His mind was completely gone, overtaken by instinct. So overtaken, in fact, that he never acknowledged the daggers on his waist and subconsciously refused to use them.  In his mindless hunger there were no other weapons but claw and fang. 

He jumped at the hulking man again, swinging his hands wildly to attempt to claw at the Human's face. Only two words flashed through his mind just before he made contact. Food... KILL!

[Ximal]

Xi 's shoulder still bled, dripping slowly, not deep but deep enough to scar. Xi knew that, now he was cold. Frozen watching the feral thing before him. Xi's mind slowed his heart rate lessened. Now he was in full combat mode. The creatures eyes shone with bloodlust , crimson, crazy...But not insane. Xi glowered back into the creatures eyes with his own black blue pits of liquid fire. Right now though it was less liquid fire and more frozen fire. Xi took a slow breath. Should he put the creature down? Or just put him out? Thats when liro blasted back into Xi's mind at full volume. KILL HIM. DO IT NOW. Xi pushed liros voice from his mind and focused on the task at hand. As the creature lunged at him in furious flurry. Xi shot his right forearm up to block the creatures left hand and then again with the creatures right hand. Xi brought both his hands in one down into a pounding fist blow to the beasts chest. The other would be raised and brought to the creatures jaw. If either of those blows hit they would stun the beast long enough for Xi to send it reeling with a knee thrust to the stomach. More than likely with enough force to cause the creature to loose his lunch. And Give Xi a moment to plan out his next steps in avoiding being killed by this beast.

[Shadowfang]

His claws glanced off the metal of the man's vambraces, and his arms here pushed to the side. A heavy blow hit his gut, knocking the wind out of him and forcing nasty, sour stomach fluid up his throat. Another fist impacted the area where his jaw met his throat, not hard enough to cause any major damage, but still hard enough to send him flying backwards; the clear, sour, vile fluid trailing out from his open mouth. He rolled backwards as he hit the ground to avoid bending his wings awkwardly and to get himself away from the human. As he glared at his intended prey, he was able to think a bit more clearly for an instant, but only just long enough to remember the daggers at his side. 

He grabbed one of them, drew it, and flung it at the man. Even at his close range and with the man's sheer size, the dagger still missed wide, flying to the far left. He quickly threw his other two throwing daggers in quick succession, but they only bounced uselessly off the ground in front of him. He snarled and began sprinting, running around the hulking man in a circle. He kept this up for almost two chimes, trying to confuse him, before suddenly changing direction and charging towards the human. As he neared, he bounced to the side of of one leg, then the other, crouched low, and jumped upward at the man's chin, aiming to slash at his chest and face with his claws. 

[Ximal]

Sliding back and away from the creature before him Xi watched the beast. Readying himself for round two he switched which foot he held most of his weight on. He was readying a responsive kick. Some thing flew past him, wide. Throwing knives? Son of a...Two more were thrown but both sank harmlessly into the ground. So this was not a creature driven by insanity but instinct. Letting the beast draw closer it circled him. Dodgeing back left and right. Xi closed his eyes to listen to the footsteps. The creature was trying to confuse him but Xi had a lock on this creature. Xi's mind was calm even in the face of liros consistent screaming for death. Left, right, right, left...There! Xi's eyes snapped open as the beast ran towards him attempting to take of Xi's head. Pushing back off of his left leg he slid back just out of range even as he felt the claws sink through his shirt and cleave through hi's left pectoral he avoided the cut of his throat. Leaning back he snapped his shin bone around wicked fast and hard. Xi was not fighting for his life harder than before. If the kick connected xi would follow it up with a rolling kick. Running his weight up the creature before him and driving it's face into the ground with the full force of xi's body weight coupled with the full snapping strength of his quads and the initial pair of kicks forces pushing him off balance. If this worked xi would catch himself on his hands and then spring board back up to a standing position. Armor. Xi had a huge respect for it now. Breathing slowly he needed a back up plan should his initial one fail. If his kick should miss he would spring his left leg up off of the ground, and drive it into the creatures ribcage. That would either break a rib or send the beast flying. Xi had no room to reach for his gauntlets nor his axes. He was acting purely off of his own reactionary instincts. He hadn't even thought to use his flux yet. Now Xi had his opponent. Xi still had most of his energy, whilst with the amount of movement his adversary, was doing would be draining his energy much faster.

[Shadowfang]

He fully expected to rip into the brute of a man this time but again, he was rejected. A kick hit him on his side, right in the space in between his rips and his hip. It did not make him go down, but it hurt a lot. The next blow was the one that stopped him. A foot fell on his shoulder and sent him face first into the ground. His body slammed into the dirt and completely stunned the Zith. He lay there with his face in the grass, coughing and breathing short, quick breaths. He could not move. He felt weak. But he was still so hungry. He really wanted to eat something and the only prey around was beating him into the ground. He had to keep trying.

He pushed himself up, arms wobbly and shaking, until he was on his feet, stumbling backwards. He managed to distance himself from the human before his senses came back to him. However, the only thing his rationality told him was that using his daggers would be the best method to take down the powerful man. Perhaps with a cut or two to the right place the man would soon be nothing more than a pile of bloody meat lying in the grass. Without hesitation, he drew his assassin's dagger, but it was clear that he was weakening. His dagger was shaking in his hand, his vision was darkening around the edges, and his movements were slow and sluggish, but still he fought.

He took a few big steps forward and began wildly swinging his dagger at the human. It was hopeless, though. His swings were slow and weak, easy to block if the right person was trying to block him. His wild, uncoordinated slashes at the man would probably have little effect anyway even if he did manage to cut him. It would be easy for the human to subdue the hunger-crazed Zith. His mind and stomach may have wanted to keep going, but his body had already given up the fight.

[Ximal]

OOCbefore i get yelled at for shadow-playing i got permission from shadowfang to do this. So bleh deal with it.

His blows connected, brilliant Xi took the few moments of stunning to plan his next assault should this not subdue the creature. He had been wanting to try out a something he'd thought up but he'd need to stun his target first. throughout the last couple of days trapped inside the cages he'd learnt about his body thoroughly. The cuts on his shoulder and chest wept their red tears and pulsed with sharp arrow heads of pain. The creature pulled itself up off of the floor albeit sluggishly. The creature was clearly running on empty. Xi almost felt sorry for it. Xi stepped back and away from the creature as it did the same. Now Xi had a good opportunity to knock it out without killing it, or harming it any more than necessary. Xi judged the distance between them to be about fifteen paces. The creature then thought itself equalizing the playing field. The creature drew a dagger with a large wide blade. Right now Xi had to time this perfectly. Even with the creatures wild sluggish swings that blade was razor sharp. Xi had such huge respect for the armour he wore now. Xi watched the creature draw closer to him. Xi stepped forth catching the blow of the dagger with his vambrace and forcing the blade out of his hand, at the same time pulling his left hand down towards the creatures face, impacting lightly for a stun. As the best recoiled Xi lashed out his right hand at the creatures neck. Gripping hard and putting pressure on the two major arteries to the brain cutting off blood flow. And within ten seconds knocking the exhausted beast out. Though all that shot through Xi's mind was the thoughts. That blow was by far too slow, it needs to be faster, i need to be faster without the use of my ability. Looking down at the creature only then did the pain of his injuries really catch upto him. Blood wept lightly from the cuts on him and The beast lie on the floor unconscious. Picking up the unconscious best and slinging him over his uninjured shoulder was fine but the pressure on his chest stung. The blood seeping out of the wound increased in volume lightly. Xi gritted his teeth to endure the pain. How could one beast have caught him this off guard. Xi shook his head, if he wanted to survive in this world no to survive in sun berth alone...he would have to get much stronger much faster. Carrying the unconscious zith over his shoulder he walked them both back to the injury ward, cursing inwardly at the pain all the while.

OOCthread is being continued in, "A couple of stitches and a bed."

[Cinna]

And the forest reveals.... Poor Shadowfang, he always seems to get beaten to a pulp. Let the poor guy eat! lol Ximal : Skills: Unarmed Combat +2 Observation +2 Lores: Combat: Using quick punches to stun. To Fight For One's Life Combat: Using pressure points to render a foe unconscious Getting Caught Unaware Shadowfang : Skills: Voiding +1 Hunting +1 Stealth +1 Unarmed Combat +2 Lores: The Thrill of the Hunt The Prey Beats the Predator Hunger Does Strange Things If you have any questions or concerns about my grading then don't hesitate to PM me