"You... again..."
He thought it must be a pain hallucination; the loss of blood combined with Tylor's burning fingertip driving his mind into some kind of trance where all his dreams and nightmares were given form. What other explanation could there be for a white wolf the size of a small horse suddenly appearing in their midst, offering help and safety.
Interesting way to die. Seeing Ama-
Then that alabaster snout swung his way and the creature snorted an impatient breath across his face like a minor hurricane. The Myrian had no doubt, then, that he was not just dreaming. Especially when Tylor was heaved onto the wolf's back as she growled testily, claws flexing and scraping at the bare stone, eager to get moving.
"Don't be worried, she's an ally. Come on, let's get you to her back, she will take you back to Syliras post-haste."
"I know... her..." Razkar managed to mumble, weakly, but no more than that. Between his lover and the bulky Ayden, he was hauled to his feat with surprising speed and Tylor gritted his teeth, lifting and straining to get the savage onto the dire wolf. "She is... forest... soul..."
Ayden frowned, wondering if he'd ever heard it put that way before. He knew of Ama, of course; all the squires had heard the stories of the etheral figure blessed by Priskil who safeguarded the Bronze Woods against threats without and within. But now he saw her with his own eyes; vast, formidable, crackling with a predator's instincts... but those were not the eyes of an animal.
"I will be... fine," Razkar managed to mutter, smiling around gritted teeth and managing a wink at Edreina that was much more like a long blink, "Take me to... to..."
"Yes, the healers!" Tylor finished for him, wounded nearly as badly as Razkar but far less willing to wait round and bleed to death. He kicked Ama's sides lightly, ignoring her warning growl. "Let's go, Ama! Devour the distance and deliver us hoSHYKE!"
A quick blink: that was all the time she needed. In that fragment of Tanroa's realm that inscrutable deity seemed to allow her so much freedom. Ama bounded off from her spot and was already sprinting down the craggy path they'd come by, heading for the hidden spread of Syliras beyond the mountains. A days fast ride... perhaps more.
But Ayden's jaw was still dropping as he watched the Kelvic bound away like horizontal lightning, grunting under the weight of two passengers (one of them armored), but still determined to get them both to the safety they had earned.
Caravans and travelers were not the only prey those bandits had butchered, and the beasts of the Bronze Woods had lived in fear for long enough. She would see them returned to safety if it took her last breath.
"Gods... female..." Razkar grunted as he held on around Tylor's waist, bucking lupine spine hammering into his crotch whenever she landed. "Be... lil' more... careful...!"
He thought it must be a pain hallucination; the loss of blood combined with Tylor's burning fingertip driving his mind into some kind of trance where all his dreams and nightmares were given form. What other explanation could there be for a white wolf the size of a small horse suddenly appearing in their midst, offering help and safety.
Interesting way to die. Seeing Ama-
Then that alabaster snout swung his way and the creature snorted an impatient breath across his face like a minor hurricane. The Myrian had no doubt, then, that he was not just dreaming. Especially when Tylor was heaved onto the wolf's back as she growled testily, claws flexing and scraping at the bare stone, eager to get moving.
"Don't be worried, she's an ally. Come on, let's get you to her back, she will take you back to Syliras post-haste."
"I know... her..." Razkar managed to mumble, weakly, but no more than that. Between his lover and the bulky Ayden, he was hauled to his feat with surprising speed and Tylor gritted his teeth, lifting and straining to get the savage onto the dire wolf. "She is... forest... soul..."
Ayden frowned, wondering if he'd ever heard it put that way before. He knew of Ama, of course; all the squires had heard the stories of the etheral figure blessed by Priskil who safeguarded the Bronze Woods against threats without and within. But now he saw her with his own eyes; vast, formidable, crackling with a predator's instincts... but those were not the eyes of an animal.
"I will be... fine," Razkar managed to mutter, smiling around gritted teeth and managing a wink at Edreina that was much more like a long blink, "Take me to... to..."
"Yes, the healers!" Tylor finished for him, wounded nearly as badly as Razkar but far less willing to wait round and bleed to death. He kicked Ama's sides lightly, ignoring her warning growl. "Let's go, Ama! Devour the distance and deliver us hoSHYKE!"
A quick blink: that was all the time she needed. In that fragment of Tanroa's realm that inscrutable deity seemed to allow her so much freedom. Ama bounded off from her spot and was already sprinting down the craggy path they'd come by, heading for the hidden spread of Syliras beyond the mountains. A days fast ride... perhaps more.
But Ayden's jaw was still dropping as he watched the Kelvic bound away like horizontal lightning, grunting under the weight of two passengers (one of them armored), but still determined to get them both to the safety they had earned.
Caravans and travelers were not the only prey those bandits had butchered, and the beasts of the Bronze Woods had lived in fear for long enough. She would see them returned to safety if it took her last breath.
"Gods... female..." Razkar grunted as he held on around Tylor's waist, bucking lupine spine hammering into his crotch whenever she landed. "Be... lil' more... careful...!"
