[Flashback] The start of a beautiful friendship (Massacre)

[Scratch]

Scratch tensed reflexively when he held her amulet. She managed not to snatch it back immediately, but she was ready to fight if he tried to damage or steal it. She relaxed when he released it, and accepted his hand, pulling herself up next to him. She decided that if he wasn't going to ask, there was no reason to bring up the story behind the amulet.

At his suggestion that they go eat...somebody... several conflicting thoughts warred in Scratch's brain, and she hesitated. Her first instinct was Mmm, people are delicious. But then she heard her mother's voice, and imagined all the ways that hunting other sentient beings could go horribly wrong. Akalak hunting parties would not be stupid enough to sleep without having a watch, and even if she did manage to kill and eat one, would she ever be able to return to Riverfall? All those "rules" Massacre so detested were what could get her killed, even if she somehow could defeat a grown Akalak in single combat.

On the other hand, she did not want to disappoint her new...was "friend" the right word? He was the first and only Zith she'd ever met, and he stirred feelings within her which had long been suppressed. For so long, she'd kept her more powerful feelings in check, for her own safety, to avoid giving the residents of Riverfall reason to kill her. (Her mother's voice again: Survive. Above all else, you must survive!) But she had tasted freedom. Massacre let her be who she was. Right now, she did not want to worry about danger or consider consequences.

After several long moments, Scratch finally raised her head to meet Massacre's eyes with a feral grin. "Petch it. I'm hungry."

[Massacre]

The Zith licked his lips in anticipation when Scratch finally agreed, and he closed the distance between them in a heartbeat. His arms slid around her waist and firmly pressed her mid-section into his thighs as he lowered his head and gave her a quick and passionate kiss. Massacre spread his wings, stretching them to the sky as they tingled from the strain of reaching so high before he let them relax and tightened his grip around the woman. He knew there were Akalak not far away that they could hunt, but he also knew they would be alert.. and of course they had Scratch's brother, so they weren't really an option. If he was lucky there would be another group nearby, or possibly some Drykas, and he wouldn't have to fly too far while holding Scratch. A few beats of the wing later Massacre and Scratch were up in the air soaring out over the plains. Massacre's eyes were on the ground below, though he could help but glance at the girl in his arms every so often, watching her hair whip about in the wind. She reminded him of Arri, his old mate who had been brutally taken from him in the events that led him to becoming eldest of his tribe. Fiery and passionate yet smart, smarter than Massacre anyway. Arri had come from Xy, the closest thing the Zith had to a city. It was a place Massacre had never ventured, though he always intended to visit the castle one day. His travels had simply never led him there. Arri had different ideas than Massacre and the rest of his tribe. The Zith of Xy interacted with the other races and, like Scratch, Arri knew many things that Massacre did not. She was a mystery, a bottomless box of wonders that Massacre regretted not exploring deeper. But Scratch was like Arri, she came from a different world, and Massacre hoped that they would have more than just one night together. Those were thoughts for later, however, and Massacre quickly returned his focus to the task at hand. Gripping Scratch securely in his arms, Massacre headed north. He recalled seeing a group of riders in that direction earlier, before he found Scratch and her brother, and perhaps they were still in the area. It was a long shot, but he didn't really have any other leads to go on. Even so, it was a risk. Drykas were smart, and would have watch. The flight was long and Massacre was beginning to tire, but just when he was about to give up he spotted the fire in the distance. It was burning low, a good sign, because it meant nobody was awake to tend to it, but there would still be a watch. Luckily Massacre and Scratch were both dark enough that they wouldn't be easily spotted in the sky, and once they landed and were concealed by the tall grasses they would be even harder to detect. Massacre landed a considerable distance away, that way they could converse and figure out a plan, and quickly folded his wings down around his body so they wouldn't be spotted poking out over the grass. "Okay," Massacre whispered, "Looks like a small hunting party. They'll be on watch for glassbeak, but we might be able to sneak up and take one of them out without anybody noticing. The grass is tall here so it will cover us good. If they wake up, run. We can't fly because they'll just shoot us down. Loose yourself in the grass and I'll find you later." Massacre was excited. Usually when he attacked a hunting party he had the full support of his tribe behind him, and they took out everyone in the party. This time it was just himself and Scratch, and they were going to covertly take down a single sentry. It was different, and it was exciting, it was risky, and Massacre couldn't wait. It reminded him of his younger days, when the hunt was just as much about survival as it was the thrill of the kill. Massacre loved it, back then, watching the life fade from the eyes of his victims. It never occurred to him that this was why the Zith were hated, that they enjoyed killing and enslaving just as much as they needed to do it to survive. In Massacre's mind, however, all his killings no matter how cruel or brutal had always been for a purpose. Nothing was wasted, not even the bones which could be fashioned into tools. In his mind, no matter how much he enjoyed it, he was still better than the Akalaks who hunted him for sport.

[Scratch]

Scratch was unbelievably excited for her first real hunt. She was also secretly glad that her first hunt did not have to be spoiled by such dilemmas as whether an Akalak would spot her and make it impossible for her to return home. Though, she did feel a pang of disappointment, since Akalaks were the tastiest. But still, her first hunt; it was making her fur tingle with excitement.

In order to focus on the task at hand, she peered above the tops of the grass and tried to get a better look at their target. The sentry looked fairly alert, his back facing the camp. There were horses gathered at the opposite side of the camp, so it would probably be unwise to get close. Their target was a bit removed from the camp, presumably to prevent the light of the fire from ruining his night-vision, but he was still well within shouting range. Unfortunately, there was no way to get close enough to silence him without being seen. Unless...

"One of us needs to make a distraction," she murmured. "Get him to turn away so that the other can kill him from behind. Before he has time to raise the alarm." Massacre's contingency plan sounded pretty good, but a little sparse, so she added the suggestion, "You might also quickly teach me a few useful phrases in our language, in case we need to change the plan partway through."

[Massacre]

It was a good enough plan. There was a lot that could go wrong, but then again there was always a lot that could to wrong any time you attacked an intelligent target. They would have to be quick, and most importantly, they would have to be silent. One slip up and the whole tribe could be after them in an instant. If Massacre tried to fly them out they would simply be shot down by thr Drykas arrows. On foot they could loose themselves in the grass, in theory, but if they were spotted and it came to an all out chase there would be no hope against the horsemen. What phrases could he teach her that would be of use, especially considering silence was of the utmost importance. If they were caught Scratch already knew the plan, but perhaps she just wanted to learn some more of her native language. "Well... run would be useful." Massacre proceeded to say the Zith equivalent of the word "run" in his own language, waiting as Scratch repeated it. Massacre taught her a few other simple words, like "now" and "wait" and things like that, and once Scratch was pronouncing them all correctly he stopped, daring a peek over the grass to make sure they had not been overheard. Luckily, the sentry was still standing there looking as bored as ever. "Was there anything else you wanted to learn? Otherwise let's get started. Do you want to distract, or attack?" OOCSorry for the short post. And maybe its just because I'm sleepy, but I couldn't really think of what to teach her.

[Scratch]

Scratch also insisted on adding "kill" and "don't kill" to her repertoire before she would let the plan go forward. She wasn't certain whether these would be necessary in this particular case, but they might be useful in the future and she wanted to learn them while she had the chance. She wasn't sure why Massacre was so concerned about being overheard. Their voices did not sound all that different from the natural sounds of wildlife on the plains, and Scratch doubted an untrained ear would be able to tell the difference.

"I have not been able to...kill anything since," she frowned, biting her lip, "ever. I want to make a thing die."

After the particular of the plan were finalized, Scratch and Massacre separated, and Scratch began creeping toward the semi-alert sentry. She had to be close enough that when Massacre's distraction happened, she'd be able to resolve this quickly, but far enough away that she wouldn't give herself away too soon. She was not exactly sure what the right distance would be, and given the choice between rushing and taking her time, she tended to react with the option that required less patience.

At least she was taking care to stay below the level of the tall grass, navigating mostly by sound. She could hear the rhythmic breathing of the sleeping Drykas, and the slightly less regular pattern of the sentry. She just wished she knew how to move through the grass without it making that rustling sound that seemed so loud to her ears. Maybe the sentry would think it was just the wind. With luck, the plan would work and they would be eating tonight without the other Drykas warriors being any the wiser.

[Massacre]

Just as they were preparing to move into position and attack the sentry a shout went up from somewhere in the camp, sounding the alarm. Massacre's froze, thinking they had been spotted, but then more and more screams came from the direction of the camp. Daring a look over the grass, Massacre stood to his full height. His eyes widened in surprise and fear when when he saw what was happening. The sentry was gone from his post, now within the camp, and fighting desperately to protect his fellow drykas from the threat that had arrived. Glassbeak.. an entire flock. Massacre turned to Scratch and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her close to him. "We have to get out of here!" Spreading his wings he quickly took to the sky, knowing now that there was no fear of arrows. He had to get high up, as quickly as possible, because he knew all too well how high the glassbeak could jump. The pair flew away, and though he tired Massacre pushed on for as long as he could until finally he decided it was safe to land. "You should get back to your city. Perhaps we will meet again." Massacre was abandoning her. From experience, he knew that glassbeak would pursue if they had spotted him flying away, and Massacre had no intention of being around when they caught up. Scratch was slowing him down though.. she had to go. Self preservation came first, now that he had no tribe to protect. Maybe she would live, maybe she would make it home in time. But Massacre had to go. With not so much as a kiss goodbye, the Zith turned and flew away. A kiss.. and he might have stayed. He had to go. End OOCUnfortunately Scratch has to retire her character, so I had to cut this thread short. Too bad, it was really fun.

[Lariat]

Massacre

Experience:

Longbow: 1 xp
Unarmed: 1 xp
Rhetoric: 2 xp
Tactics: 1 xp
Hunting: 1 xp

Lores:

The Value of Mizas
The Reasoning for Laws

Comments

A shame this thread had to be cut short. You play a zith perfectly, and really set a standard I think. I look forward to reading more posts by you.