When the Grass Slumbers [Agony, Perish, Senre]

[Ruin]

Time Stamp: Day 58 of Summer, AV 510

Ruin sat silently in the grass, he had heard it. Whatever it was, he wasn't particularly sure, but it was approaching, steady pace, fairly loudly, probably wasn't trying to conceal its presence, or simply was no good at it. Ruin's lips slowly curled into a cruel grin as various wicked thoughts flashed through his head, mostly things of violence and devouring, nothing too inconceivable.

The blades of grass did their part, and thankfully the Sea of Grass lived up to its name, being almost as large as an actual sea of glistening blade of grass. Ruin was almost completely concealed by the grass alone, being a sky lit up only by moonlight only reinforced his hiding. This target would be simple to take down.

The hunt was on.

Ruin gave out a shrill screeching sound, it would be so high pitched that it wouldn't be but hardly recognized by the standard ears of a human, or most humanoid races, but for Zith, it would be heard, and for Ruin and his brothers, it was their cue that it was time to strike. Ruin leaped out of this hiding place within the concealing grass and lifted himself up into the air with the assistance of two large gruesome wings covered mostly with brown colored fur. The Zith was as visible now as he would be during the night. His body blackened by the moon shining down behind him, his body was almost human, and appeared so, but the wings and tail made it painfully clear what he really was. A stalker of the night, a man-eater, a Zith. Ruin, once climbing a suitable distance in the sky, would scan the area below where he head the sound, and thanks to his vision be more adapted for the dark than daylight, there was very little hindering him from find his target, who may or may not be aware of his presence by now. He couldn't expect his brothers to go unnoticed of course, they were (according to Ruin) clumsy and stupid, yet he had some kind of undying love for them, they were family and Zith do not hesitate to fight until death for their family.

[Agony]

Agony's ears pricked up, as he heard the screeching, blunt call of his brother, Ruin. Lack of subtlety notwithstanding, the sound told him that his brother had gotten wind of prey. It was big, noisy, and easily tracked. To pinpoint an exact location, Agony arose into the sky, attempting a visual confirmation. In the darkness and relative silence of the night, Zith sight and hearing was better than normal, and he quickly identified what his brother had gotten wind of. "A girl, on a horse. Delicious." A long Zith tongue licked his lips as Agony almost literally drooled at the thought of eating them both. Human boiled in it's own blood was his favorite dish, and an order of horse wouldn't be a bad side dish, either. Releasing a sound similar, yet much more nuanced and subtle than his brother's, Agony informed not just Ruin, but Perish as well, of the exact location, rate of movement and direction of the steed and it's rider. This was the brothers' hunting ground, and whoever had wandered into it certainly didn't have luck on their side today.

[Perish]

The high pitched sound had reached his ears and he simply sighed. He found it boring at times to hunt for humans in this old fashion, he wanted to experiment with the magic he was taught. Always excited to use it with caution as his father's slave use to say. Perish loved to experiment but was never allowed to, his brothers wouldn't allow it. If only I could place one human in there just one, he thought to himself, enough, they are waiting and we are hungry. He was sitting on the floor with his wings folded around him so that it almost looked like he was wearing a cloak. His dark hair matched the color of his fur that was hidden beneath his wings, black just like the night. He stood, unfolding his wings, and listened intently. He could hear the trod of the horse, he knew he was the closest one to the girl. It sounded to him like he was the closest according to Agony, but Ruin was best at hiding. Perish had his black fur to thank for masking him in the night. He didn't move nor make a sound, fearing he might scare the animal that accompanied the girl. He knew he wouldn't but there has been times when they annoyingly bolt and try to escape with whoever was riding them. He stood stationary behind a large bush in the tall grass, waiting and watching for the girl to be in sight. She would be caught soon, they are always caught especially for riding a dumb animal such as the horse. The horses always led the humans to them. Tonight it was her unlucky night, as well as the horses'.

[Senre]

Senre wasn't holding onto Aleksander as he trudged along, she trusted him to follow the path and not get them lost. She was turned around on the horse, lying on her back. One leg crossed over her knee, her cloak opened to exposed her ripped shorts and body frame, the loose ends hanging off the sides of Aleksander. Her shoulders and head leaning against Aleksander's neck, while he held his head high as he normally did. She was consumed with examining a flower she held in her hand, she had recently picked it so it had yet to whither. She turned the flower around and around in her hand, taking in the detail of it, she was curious as to what type of medicine it would produce. Aleksander trudging stopped short, causing her to shift awkardly a top of him. She slipped the flower into the book which rested in her lap, then quickly guided it into the safety of her large cloak pocket. "Alek, What is it?" She didn't know why he stopped, he didn't seem to know either but his ears twitched nervously. Her form rose and turned, untying the longbow from the saddlebag, retrieving a few arrows. She pulled the hood of her cloak up over her head, clamping her teeth around the middle of a arrow, she strings another into the bow itself, stretching it out amongst the frame. Her boot pressed into Aleksander's side, and he jerked to attention moving himself forward. "Don't be so easily spooked, It's probably just some sort of animal for supper." Her deep green eyes glimmered from beneath the hood, her red hair now hidden from sight. She was waiting for something to rustle the bushes, but as a few moments passed she sighed. Retying her bow to settling her arrows her body turns back to rest against Aleksander's form. Once she is settled, he yet again stops, this time his feet stomped at the ground before him, a gesture that he would go no more. Senre sighed, dropping off the side of Aleksander, she goes around to his front, stroking his nose. "Are you afraid of the dark now?" She asked in a teasing tone, taking his riens and guiding him forward. " Come on, Silly horse. " Aleksander fought her, tossing his head back and taking steps backwards.

[Ruin]

Ruin's lips slowly coiled into a fierce grin as Agony explain just who was their victim. How pleasant. In Ruin's experiences, the females of most races were weaker, easier to take down, and screamed so much more violently when to ran your claws through their skin. He glanced down at Agony, who he did know wher he was, Perish on the other hand was somewhere around, he could hear him, but he neither worried about nor cared exactly where he was. He knew his job, they all did, it was a simple tactic, surround, overwhelm, return home with the spoils. Quick and easy. Ruin, being suspended in air by the powerful muscular wings sprouted from his back, was itching to attack. The girl, he imaged, was probably one of the local humans, Drykas. They were typically strong, muscular, tough to chew on, but they were plenty of fun.

It was time.

Ruin was still no longer as he did a quick nose dive. His body soared towards teh ground, wings folded downwards to avoid air resistance, and slowly he turned his trajectory, became parallel with the ground, now only about ten feet from the solid surface below, and was speeding directly towards Senre and Aleksander, his aim was the girl though. He had imaged it to be smooth, him flying by, snatching the girl right off the horse and taking her down into the tall grass nearby, somewhere around there was Perish. It would be up to the other two to decide on what to go for, they could help restrain the girl, or take down the horse, he hoped the latter, since that would mean they would have a meal for an extra day or two.

As Ruin neared his target, he replayed the planned event once more in his head. The take down, unraveling the rope that was snuggly coiled around his waist, binding the woman, taking her to the Brothers' cave. It was flawless, he thought. Of course, he didn't consider that a woman could be armed with a weapon, much less be dangerous with it.

[Agony]

Or the fact that the girl wasn't even ON the horse anymore. There were a lot of things Ruin didn't consider, which is why Agony always thought of him as a bit of a reckless fool. He was big and strong, and sometimes it seemed his brother thought that this was all one needed to be in life. Sometimes... you had to be fast and smart, too. Seeing Ruin's idiocy, Agony was forced to diverge from the plan. At the speed his brother was diving, trying to warn him that he was off target would be almost certainly a waste of breath, so he was going to have to take matters into his own hands, especially since you couldn't count on Perish to do a damn thing. If their prey spotted him, and she was any good with that bow, she might be able to pluck Ruin right out of the sky. Agony was simply not going to allow this. He had a different angle of sight to the girl, and he might have been close enough to do something, but if she saw him coming, she could feather him just as easily. At least he wouldn't be caught by surprise, which is more than he could say of Ruin, and so Agony would rather she take the shot at him than his brother. Channeling Djed into his wings as fast as he was able, the smaller Zith dove down in a manner similar to his larger kin, though he wasn't quite as vertical, as the distance to be covered was not as great. Unsheathing one of his bone needles, Agony prepared to strike the woman down if she made any sort of threatening gesture with that bow. He liked fresh meat as much as any Zith, but he wasn't prepared to sacrifice the life of one of his brothers for a better meal. Hopefully, either him or Ruin could reach her before she noticed anything was amiss, making such wasteful action unnecessary.

[Perish]

He could hear the whistling of the air, as if someone was diving towards the floor. Ah yes the reckless planning, it gets the job done. He cocked his head a little trying not to shift his body, he knew the horse could sense him. The bow that the girl had raised, had she let the arrow fly Perish would have been hit. He was lucky the girl was foolish and didn't take well to caution. He took advantage of this and considered performing a distraction. He did not want his brother to get hurt, the girl did not seem completely foolish. He knew at times he might seem useless to Agony, but the silent portal distracted some of their prey at times. It was something to marvel at, even Perish would often find himself marveling at it in the small time he gave himself to open it just for training. He started with a few gestures, moving his fingers slightly beneath him to help him channeled his Djed to a spot in front of him. Slowly emptying the matter with concentration. To the point that there was nothing left and a small swirly vortex appeared. Perish breathed in slowly and allowed the vortex to grow in size. He had practiced alot and since then his portal had grown to a good size. It use to take him half a minute to open the portal but it seemed as if he got a second better. He let it expand until it was the height of his chest, a little below the waist. He adjusted his position behind the large bush so that the girl did not catch him off guard. He didn't add the pull to the portal as it could be taxing at times to control, he simply let it stay to catch the girls attention. He allowed his Djed to continue to be channeled into the portal so that it stayed open. He wasn't going to keep it open for long, just enough to keep the girl distracted from Ruins' dive. He hoped it would work if not then he would just close the portal. Until then he was happy he got it open again. Well this one is for you brother, hoping you get her.

[Senre]

Senre's form tensed, she thought it was becoming much to quiet around here, the bugs we no longer chirping and making their noises, they all have fled. She stopped pulling at Aleksander, but he stepped forward anyway, dropping his large head over her body, as if wanting to make himself a shield. Her eyes slowly blinked. "Okay.. I understand." Her body moved to the side of him, digging out her bow and arrows, but as she started this a swishing sound came into her range of hearing.. What the hell..? She turned her head to see the form, of god knows what diving down her way. Slowly panic began to rise in her, as yet another being leaped out on the other side of her. Her hands fiddled with the cloth that tied down her bow, she had only seconds to respond to what was happening. Luckily, she pulls her bow free, stringing an arrow into her. Her first arrow would be aimed towards Agony , feeling as if he was closer, then the other. Just as she released the first arrow she drew up another anymore, this one aimed at Ruin's left side. She wouldn't stop to see if either of them would hit, her boot pressed against Aleksander's front leg, using it to hoist herself up onto his back. Her right hand landed a hard smack against his rump, giving the order for him to go. And he did, Aleksander took off, but jerked to a stop almost instantly, he was starring at something odd. She hadn't cared to noticed, she was stringing an arrow into her bow, another clamped between her teeth. She glanced up, reaching for Aleksander's reins before the odd shape caught her attention, she didn't know what it was, or what it could be. She starred only for a short while, shaking her head, she snapped Aleksander's reins and he started up again. She shifted to sit backwards on his back, an arrow strung into her bow, waiting for what may pop out next.

[Ruin]

For Ruin's sake, it was lucky that Senre fired first an arrow towards his more sadistic brother, since that told him two things, one, she was armed with a damned bow and arrow, two, she fired first at Agony which gave him a few moments to prepare, such as changing direction to avoid the arrow, the second however was not aimed at him, but where she assumed him to be, and it was pretty close too, except he was smarter than he seemed to act at times. Not only did Ruin dive to the left, but he also dove towards the ground, stopping his flight altogether as he hit the earth and tumbled several times, scattering a thick cloud of dust. He was safe though, a little disoriented from the fall and various rolls, but within moments, Ruin was crawling hastily through the tall grass again. This time, his wings were folded around him. With the excitement all around her, it would be very difficult to pinpoint his location. Ruin's new goal was to come up behind the girl and to simply drag her off the horse from there, dominate, and bind her. He assumed, with fairly decent skills with the bow, that she probably depended on it for everything, which was an incredibly tough thing to do when you were wrestling with a clawed monstrous Zith. Ruin, secretly, was concerned for his brothers. He of course saw that Agony was the first target of the arrows, and though he should have seen it and been able to avoid it, just the thought that he couldn't have, or perhaps didn't scared him. Even Perish, who Ruin still hadn't seen any sign of (he somehow missed the display of voiding magic), was a worried thought in the back of his mind. Perish was different from Agony and Ruin, well, he was more like Agony since they both valued magic were Ruin was more traditional and animalistic, but Perish was almost passionate about some humanoids. Ruin would like to excuse that for intrigue and curiosity, but for years he had tried to break such feelings that Perish had for people. If he found that either of his brothers were dead from this woman, Ruin swore he would force the true essence of pain on her. Perhaps skin peeled off, breaking her bones, anything he could think of...

[Agony]

Agony was all too aware that this could, but there was simply not much he could do when the girl decided to point her bow at him and shoot at an arrow in his general direction. Of course, he tried to get the hell out of the way, but the flying projectile struck the Zith nonetheless. On hindsight, Agony realized he should have really hit the deck, instead of trying to cut a horizontal swath out of the path of the arrow. Because of his mistake, the projectile had pierced his arm, but it had fortunately lodged right between the radius and ulna, without seemingly damaging them. Touching the bones, Agony could feel they were intact, and the only thing this attack had caused was pain and annoyance. And, this was nothing compared to what they were going to do to their attacker once they got their hands on her, and her little horse too. Not even bothering to remove the arrow from his arm, as it would simply bleed and cause more trouble, Agony's keen senses zeroed in on his assailant. He also noticed that Ruin had landed nearby and didn't seem to be any worse for wear, and so, with a ravenous shriek, he called his brother to join him in a two pronged attack. Doubting their prey would be able to shoot them both at the same time, Agony thought it would be best to press their advantage here. Perish was probably going to be around here too, but not usually able to help, nor generally inclined to, he couldn't really be counted on for any heavy lifting. Literal, or otherwise.