A Friendly Spar (Banir, Alea)

[Alea Davenport]

Alea's gut wrenched at the sight of so much blood and violence, but as she watched the fight closely she realized the two were fairly evenly matched. The good news was, that meant they probably weren't going to kill each other. Probably. The bad news, they'd both be pretty badly hurt by the end of it. At least Yuros hadn't shifted yet. That meant he probably didn't feel too threatened, and it also made it less likely that Banir would wind up dead.

Both combatants seemed too preoccupied to notice Alea, and interfering in their fight at this point would be suicidal. So, instead, she crouched low to the ground, built a chest-high wall of snow in front of her, and began stockpiling snowballs, all on the off-chance Banir overpowered Yuros and she had to save the day.

[Yuros]

Turning, the world was no longer as it should be. Weight shifted and the sky inverted as Yuros felt himself being bodily lifted, carried by the man's strength and his own momentum. Cold snow flew up as the Kelvic landed, the force of the impact driving the wind from his longs once more. Dazed and disoriented, Yuros shook his head to clear it, and was able to see Banir's sudden stop and turn just as he was about to leap. Thus, the Kelvic was able to ready himself.

As Banir flew at him, eyes wild and claws bared, Yuros pulled his knees to his chest, bracing his hands on the ground behind his head. Then, just as the man of Rage and Fear was about to impact the Kelvic thrust his feet into the man's chest, the steel like corded muscles creating a force of impact that could cave in a man's sternum, that is any normal man. The added protection of Banir's fur and armor coupled with his dense bone structure may have saved him from the worst of injuries, but the added weight of the Kelvic's boots would assure some damage was felt.

The strength of Yuros' stag muscles created enough force for the Kelvic to leverage and push with his arms, jumping back onto his feet to ready himself for the next round. Blood dripped from his wounds, staining the white snow crimson as Yuros shook out the worked up tension in his shoulders. His mind was slowly beginning to come out of that place of instinct, subtle hints of though began to speckle his reactions. For the first time, Yuros began to think about his actions.

The Kelvic knew he was at a disadvantage. The loss of blood was begining to make his reactions slower, and the Man of Rage and Fear was as strong as any human he had met so far. Blinking slowly, Yuros watched as Banir staggered to his feet, preparing his next charge. I must keep my distance... It was a foreign thought, not one of a true stag of the Trees and Grass, but then... Yuros was no longer just a stag any more. His eyes glanced toward Alea for the briefest moment, though perhaps just long enough for her to notice. Flicking his eyes back just as he heard the crunch of snow, Yuros readied himself. Yes... He was not so wild any longer...

A strategy began to form, if it could be called such. The Kelvic did not think in normal terms, but rather with a mix of senses and random words as he worked out the next stage of the assault. Then Yuros did something he had never done before... He planed his next attack, making a conscious effort to factor in Banir's size, strength and skill level.

Stagger... A sent of anger clouding the mind, Right arm heavy... Cruch of snow, depression deeper to the right. Breath... Breath... Injuries slowing movement... Smell of blood and fear, whose he could not tell. A call, heavy breathing and grunts, His form cannot continue long... Breath... Breath... LIfe... Muscles moving, blood flowing free, weariness creeping in at the edge of vision... Distance... Blood is too heavy... Breath... Then the time had come... React.

A quick intake of breath, a tightening of muscles and Yuros met Banir's next charge with another swift kick in the shoulder, staggering the man and slowing his momentum. Taking his chance Yuros skipped back, hands raised in an almost boxer fashion. Hopping from foot to foot, the Kelvic's next actions would decide the match.

Another charge, and Yuros waited for it. When Banir was close enough the Kelvic swung his form, sending a spinning kick at the man's side. The blow was hard, but the man's arm had come up in time to block and the claw was already swinging in a counter. Without breaking his momentum Yuros spun in the other direction, pulling his knee up and blocking the metal with his shin, adding a few more gashes to his already crimson form. WIth a heave the Kelvic dislodged himself and retreated a few steps, hopping from foot to foot as he watched Banir's every movement. The man was crazed, and Yuros thought he could use that to his advantage.

The next assault followed quickly, and the Kelvic adopted a new strategy. At every swing of the man's claw Yuros would duck under the blow and retreat farther, relying on his greater speed and agility to keep him alive. It did not always work, and The Kelvic received several new gashes in his attempts. At times one of Banir's fists would find his shoulder or his shin, but most were glancing blows that Yuros would either deflect or roll with. All of this was simply to anger the man further, make him loose what little grip on reality he had so that he would become trapped in the Kelvic's ploy.

Glancing back Yuros noticed a tree growing close by, and slowly he began to work his way toward it. Then, just when his back was almost against the bark the Kelvic ducked another blow and rolled away from Banir, leaping to his feet and bounding a few more yards to gain some distance before looking over his shoulder to see what had become of his plan.

[Banir Ironwood]

Within the darkness Banir almost felt the pain his body had ignored, it was like a rumble from that echoed throughout his body. A small fear threaded in his mind 'had things progressed so terribly?' Guilt tore at him as he feared for the safety of others, who was being hurt because of him? The voice of his father entered the darkness, joining his own as the insults rained down on him. Adding to his sorrows and guilt, it was already bad that he had no conrol over his emotions. It was far worse that they sought to harm others, but what was almost unbearable was hearing that voice again. It fueled his rage as more memories came to him, and that image of his father standing over him. Like he was better than him.

The sense of wightlessness once more, the feel of blood flowing past his lips. An internal snap as a few ribs broke. Pain that was ignored as he moved backwards in the fridged air and away from the blood that had freely flowed from his mouth. In the sunlight the blood glinted a lighter red with bits of silver in it. The warm liquid of life landed with a splat above Yuro's head. Banir himself landed with a sickening thud and crunch of the snow smashing into the ground. There was a light roll and his hood almost came off, his head lowered quickly as more blood was coughed into the snow. Standing on snacky but supprisingly sturdy legs he was ready for the next round. His rage driving him ever onward, a relentless force pushing the limits of mortality. No matter his own injury so long as there was rage it seemed like he would fight until death.

The mindless wrath that drove him brought him to the next thunderous charge, feet still moving with the same drive as before. Though slowed they kept up with a swift pace as he prepared his claw and fist for the next barage. With weight and power waiting beind the blood stained iron the murderous intent had yet to fade. Another loud scream of anger, hate, and pain. It was almost like the monster wasn't even seeing the the blood drenched Kelvic but someone else entirely.

His form was battered and beaten once again, but he had not been touched without damaging his oppnent. By now any normal or sane being would have stopped from a beating this bad yet he persisted. It was like it a force of nature rather than a man of mortal body and mind. Even after being beaten and broken he sharply turned on his heel ready once again to face his enemy. With each attack dodged he seemed to grow faster and stronger his anger swelling ever more. The anger practically providing sustanace for him to move on. Swing, slash, punch, beat. It was all that mattered as his limitted sight focused on what was before him. Something of flesh and blood to be destroyed and mutilated in violence and blind wrath.

Shuffling his heavily clad feet through the flays of snow, once white now stained red with blood. The monster kept up the assault refusing to give into exaustion, pain, or anything to slow its victory. But then Yuros was gone, and it was right when the metal fist was ready to sail through the chest of his opponent. It was too late it flew through the air with all the force it could muster. There was a powerful thud and crack as his fist burst past the bark and wood digging deep into the trunk of the tree. The momentum caused splinters and fractsions of wood to fly forth from the impact. A few fingers where protruding out the other end as most of his arm had been eaten by the tree. Thrashing violently in an attempt to free itself, the monster shouted in frustration.

Quickly it turned and saw Yuros, the solid red eyes burning but dimming slowly. Doing all it could to break free. Banir's rage was almost ready to dislocate its shoulder just to get another hands lenght closer to its enemy. Screaming and shouting as eventually the rage began to run out. Murder still shined in his eyes for several chimes before slowly the breaths grew longer. The movements grew slower, weighed down by injury and exaustion. Eventually Banir returned to his normal self the muscles of his form shrinking slightly. With his arm still caught in the tree the sound of a man choking back tears could be heard. Repeatedly he hit his forehead on the bark. With the rage distilled in him for the moment it was fear that coated his scent. The fear that someone had been harmed because of his actions, the fear that someone had lost a limb or worse. If Banir had killed either Alea or Yuros he would never forgive himself.

It hit him hard, all the physical pain his body endured while in its rage. He couldn't rest, not with his arm still stuck. Looking around he saw blood, no bodies. Someone was hurt and badly, looking once more he saw who he had harmed. Yuros was as bloody as could be for someone still walking. It wasn't as bad as he had hoped but it was still chilling to see someone he considered to be a good man harmed by him. He tried to speak but his voice wouldn't come from his throat. He had shamed himself by losing control, he would have to do something to make up for this. Something to apologize for his actions, take responsibility.

[Alea Davenport]

Alea crouched in the snow, covering her head with her hands and squeezing her eyes shut as the sounds of battle raged. She tried not to thing of how badly they were hurting each other, tried not to picture one or both of them ending up dead. After what seemed like far too long, the sounds of battle subsided, and she could here Banir's quiet, choked sobs.

Knowing that the battle was finally over, she jumped over her snow-wall and ran up to Yuros and Banir. Yuros was soaked red with blood gushing from more wounds than she could count, and she wondered how he could possibly still be standing. Banir seemed to have gotten his claw stuck in a tree. On the outside, he seemed to be in much better shape, but then again, he was wearing more clothes, so it was harder to tell his condition.

A tumult of emotions was churning in Alea's heart, and the sight of so much blood was making her feel sick, but she distracted herself from all of that by finally finding something she could do to help. She took off her outer cloak, which already had blood on it, and wrapped it around Yuros' waist, where the worst of the gashes were located. At his protests, she commanded in the sternest voice she'd ever used, "Hold still!" Tears stung her eyes, but she blinked them away, pulling the cloak as tight as she could and tying it off.

She was half-tempted to leave Banir there for what he'd done to Yuros, and come back for him when she'd seen that Yuros was taken care of, but she knew it wasn't really Banir's fault, and it was obvious that he already felt miserable. She inspected the tree his claw was stuck in, and it looked like the only way they were going to get him out was a sufficient amount of force, or maybe a hatchet (which they didn't have).

"Yuros, help me get Banir out of this tree," she said finally, her voice still heavy with emotion. She was angry at both of them for fighting, for making her worry, or maybe she was angry at herself for letting it happen. She should have been able to stop it some how... She should have foreseen the danger and had a plan... She should have...been able to do SOMETHING!

With some effort, the two managed to free Banir from the tree. "Banir," she was about to ask him to talk about what was going on inside his head, but she knew he wouldn't answer and she knew that would just make her mad, so she just sighed with exasperation and said, "Let's get you both cleaned up." The only way to cover up her worry was to do everything she could to make sure they would both be okay, so she led them back to the stables, to an area that was used to treat sick or injured animals.

[Yuros]

Calm... Breath... Breath... Muscles loosen... Breath... Breath... Danger is past...

Glancing over his shoulder Yuros saw the man of Rage and Fear trapped by his prison of bark, struggling in vain. The Kelvic could smell the man's emotions roiling, and slowly beginning to dissipate. Breathing out a sigh, Yuros shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. His body ached, and the loss of blood was beginning to make him light headed.

The Huntress' voice came from close by, and with eyes blurred by weariness Yuros looked down just as she was wrapping her cloak about his waist. It was strange... Her voice almost seemed muffled to his usually sensitive ears...

Blinking slowly the Kelvic noticed something shining in the woman's eyes... Are those... tears...?" Yuros' muddled mind was having trouble piecing together the fragmented thoughts that drifted through his blood deprived brain, however, he was able to collected his thoughts enough to understand that something had upset Alea, "Is there something wrong?" But the Huntress was already moving toward Banir.

The world seemed to tremble as Yuros made his first step, causing the Kelvic to pause a moment to collect himself. Shaking his head once more Yuros followed Alea's lead, moving to aid Banir from his predicament. In an almost detached way Yuros noticed the scars on the man's face, finally exposed to the world, but any thoughts he may have had were quickly lost as another wave of dizziness threatened to overcome him.

Tilting his head Yuros could see that the man's arm was caught within the bark, wedged deep within the trunk of the tree, but the tree itself was not overly large. The Kelvic watched as Alea made a few attempts to pull Banir free, but this approach was in vain. The claw was wedged in too deep, the bark held too fiercely. With a sigh Yuros laid a hand on Alea's shoulder, stepping past her for a better view of the tree. Taking a deep breath the Kelvic whipped his leg hard against the tree, the power of his kick splintering the bark and sending pieces of wood flying. Thus weakening the trees hold on the claw, Alea and Yuros were able to pull Banir's hand free.

The walk was an arduous one for Yuros, each step tilted the world as the Kelvic left a trail of crimson in his wake. Each breath was labored, and he had to concentrate to focus his blurred vision on the Huntress' form before him. It was strange... a sense of weightlessness was beginning to settle upon the Kelvic, and Yuros soon held a hand on Alea's shoulders to steady himself as he walked.

By the time they had reached the stables the cloak about Yuros' waist dripped crimson drops of life, and the Kelvic himself was pale and trembling. The darkness was closing in, taking away the senses, and the ground rose up to meet the Kelvic. WIth a heavy THUD Yruos fell to his knees, using his hands to prop himself up for just a moment before his arms gave out and he crumbled, staining the snow with his own blood.

[Banir Ironwood]

The feel of weight on his chest, the pain in his ribs, the weakness in his legs. With the pain dragging heavily on his mind Banir had forgotten that his face had been revealed. Silently he hid it once again when he was free. His arms, chest, back, all hurt, though he felt like he was perfectly healthy when he looked at Yuros. With blood, cuts, and bruises galore. It was rather surprising that he was still able to keep conscious, it was more surprising that he had done something so terrible. The guilt felt worse than the actual physical pain, as he stumbled about. This had been his fault, he had no control, he had nothing but unbridled rage. All he was, and may ever be is a danger to himself and those around him. In his own mind he was putting himself down, saying he was just a monster. A thing that shouldn't have survived birth, since all he was good was harming things.

He heard his name being called and his eyes where still red, but rimmed with a dull sense of grey. Looking down at his feet as Alea herded the two towards the stables. With hardly a word spoken from either Banir or Yuros the moved through the snow. Though it was a stretch to call it walking, with Banir's footing lost among the path and Yuros barely able to walk at all. Arriving at the stables he leaned against a wall, his grief surrounding him. He wasn't able to focus on his thoughts yet as there was a loud thud. Snapping his head towards the sound, the sight he saw put fear into his heart. Action beat into his heart as he weakly ran towards the collapsed Kelvic.

Sliding onto his knees he pushed Yuros onto his side and looked him over. It was blood loss, he didn't need to be a genius to figure it out. With all the cuts covering his body it couldn't have been much else. Looking up and at Alea his eyes worried as he spoke in a chocked and worried voice barely audio able. He feared speaking to her for what he had done. Not sure if he should even be here.

"W-what, what should we do?" Honestly wanting to help he waited for her reaction. Expecting to be pushed away and told off for what he had done to her friend. Like a criminal sentence, he waited for her to speak.

[Alea Davenport]

"YUROS!" Alea shrieked when he collapsed. "Help me get him inside!" she demanded, any judgment of Banir's part in this deferred until Yuros was safe. Between the two of them, they got Yuros into the warmth of the stables and onto a table that was sometimes used for treating injured animals. For a brief moment after that, she froze up, not being sure what to do. She had no idea how to treat wounds this severe. Then she shook herself. This was no time to be useless, not when Yuros was depending on her.

"Go get help," she ordered Banir urgently. After grabbing some clean towels, she untied the cloak she'd wrapped around Yuros' waist. The cloak was completely drenched with the stag-kelvic's blood. She had to fight back the sick feeling in her stomach again as she pressed the clean towels to his wounds, willing them to somehow stop bleeding. Her every thought was bent toward making Yuros survive. If she thought about anything else for even a moment, the possibility that he might die would be allowed to cross her mind... and she did not have time for grieving while there was still the slightest chance of saving someone she cared about.

[Banir Ironwood]

In an upstart of urgency Banir sprung to his feet, adrenaline fresh and powerful quelled any pain or injury. He moved his feet as fast as he possibly could, trying to find someone who could help. A local, a healer, an Icewatch guard, anyone would do! A friend lay dying and he'd be damned if he would be the cause of it. Leaping over banks of snow, dodging objects. He eventually found someone and explained as quick as he could. Hopes high that they could, and would indeed help fix the mistake he had caused. Guilt and worry constantly hounding in his mind. He prayed to Dira, pleading for her not to take his friend, he still had many things ahead of him. Though it was a foolish notion the thought remained, even as Yuros' precious life drained away. Help was on its way, they just needed the one thing that few have. A little more time.

[Yuros]

OOCPermission was given by Cheshire for the use of Te'Ran Frostfawn

On this day Te'Ran Frostfawn was out walking a couple of the horses from the stables. The man sat confidently atop a speckled bay, and in his hands he held the reins of another of its kind. It had been a pleasant day, one filled with little excitement. There was one horse expecting still at the stables, but Te'Ran knew that it would not be for at least another 4 days. The man absently scratched his head and looked up at the sky, an almost bored look crossed his features as he began to wonder what to prepare for dinner that night...

Then the day's boredom was shook off like a coat of dust, the sound of thudding footsteps and clanking metal spooking the horses, but the sight of a 6 foot tall man with draped in fur sporting a metal claw running at them almost set them to bolting. With soothing words and a few gentle pats Te'Ran manged to calm the two horses, looking up at the running man in surprise just as Banir slowed to a stop before him.

"Woah now friend! What brings you here? You look as if the hounds are after your skin. But the man was quickly overwhelmed by Banir's sudden rushed explanation, only catching the words blood, fight and HELP, "Ok ok, talk later just take me to him."

Clicking his tongue Te'Ran turned the horses in the direction of the stables, listening to Banir's strange talk of an injured stag settled there. Briefly the man wondered why a stag was within the city walls, but his instinct quickly cast this aside as unimportant information.

The stables quickly came into view, and once inside Te'Ran hopped down from his mount, tossing the reins to Banir as he rushed over to where Alea stood over the bleeding man. Slowing to a stop, the man bent down to examine Yuros, "He... Does not look like a Stag..."

**********

Before Banir came back with Te'Ran...

Darkness... The world seemed to.. float... Yuros' mind was muddled, sluggish as he opened his eyes. Dimly the Kelvic noticed that he was no longer outside, the feel of rough wood under his back reminded him that he was, indeed, still of the living. Blinking slowly Yuros opened his eyes fully, gazing up at the ceiling to the stables. At his side he thought he heard the voice of the Huntress, but slowly the world was fading once again. Growing deep in his throat Yuros turned his head in the direction of the voice, his eyes glazed over and not really seeing. Extending one hand the Kelvic glanced around him for a moment before the world was placed in darkness once more. From his lips escaped a single word, "Alea..."

[Alea Davenport]

Not knowing what to do had Alea in a state of almost-panic. Where was Banir with help? She didn't know what to do. All she could do was hold the blood-soaked towels against his side. When he woke for that brief moment, his hand wandering, she grasped it tightly. "I'm here, I'm here Yuros, please don't die, don't die," she murmured over and ever again, tears streaming quietly down her face.

Alea almost collapsed with relief when Banir brought Te'Ran back. She hadn't had much contact with him before, but she'd seen him around the stables, and she knew that he was reliable. "He's a Kelvic," she explained quickly. "Please, the bleeding won't stop, and I don't know what to do!" Her voice broke slightly, but she looked Te'Ran directly in the eyes, ready to do whatever it took to make Yuros well again.