Timestamp: 68th of Fall, 512 AV
The grassland eagle wheeled on the wind. Larik was content. He had a new job, a roost, and his twin sister seemed to be coming out of her shell under the loving care of the denizens of The Sanctuary. He still was unsure of his father, but Vanator was not at all what Dhanya had described to him. Cadra was settling in, growing confident, and he'd even seen her laugh a time or two. She followed Vanator around a lot too, whether the warrior knew it or not, often sprawling under furniture near him or scent marking his things when the Drykas was not looking. And finally, Cadra was gaining weight, both from miceing in her cat form and cooking in the kitchens. The odd thing was, no one made her cook. She did it because she loved it. And the people at the big healers place seemed to like and be grateful for what she prepared.
Larik was thankful. But he was suspicious too. So he kept an eye on things with his sharp gaze and did the job his Aunt had assigned him - patrol. It was an easy job, one he preformed that allowed him to hunt as well. He brought rabbits and sometimes small deer back to Cadra, hoping to please her and add meat to her pot. The twins were close, closer than they had been before their mother vanished and they wound up in slavery. But at least they'd stayed together.
The Grassland Eagle wheeled, caught an updraft, and snapped his wings open to soar towards the west. There was a scuffle there. Larik's vision was sharp even three miles out, and he saw the battle raging. Drawing closer, he beat his wings, let the drafts carry him in to where he could see. A Drykas was fighting a pair of glassbeaks. Big ones, but the battle was nearly over. Larik paused, hovering in the air which was not easy for an eagle of his size, and let his binocular vision refocus. One glassbeak still fought but it was dead already, bleeding out from a hacked off limb. The other one, a smaller female, was enraged and locked in a life or death struggle with the Drykas who was still mounted.
No. No longer. The second glassbeak, the smaller female, unhorsed him with a deadly precision - a swipe to his leg - and Ronan went down. The dagger he had been using to fight with scattered from his grasp. The first glassbeak, the bigger male went down as the blood loss and lack of blood pressure finally caused it to pass out where it would certainly bleed out. The second female, thinking the human a threat and not the horse, went for the downed human and ran right into the back hooves of the Strider who had wheeled and began kicking violently. Tairell screamed, protecting her rider, and managed to rearrange the face of the glassbeak threatening Ronan.
He was still down when the mare had to cow hop forwards after shattering what must have been the glassbeak's lower mandible, and came right into her rider, having no choice and stomping on his leg. She threw herself sideways to avoid the scrambling Drykas just as the glassbeak took a swipe at the mare, and sent her tumbling. She rolled over Ronan, came up and whirled on the predator, standing over her rider. Ronan was still in the grass though, and likely dead, the eagle though. The mare, not willing to leave him for anything, lunged at the glassbeak, seized her featheriy crest in her teeth and twisted violently. With its lower mandible broken, the strider having been raised on the grass and having been dealing with glassbeaks all her life, broke the animals neck cleanly.
Then, when there was no more threat, she whirled, came to sniff Ronan, and neighed sharply in concern. They were all alone and he was laying still.
Larik focused in closer, not moving any nearer to the scene. He was at least two miles up in the sky, but his vision was fantastic. The Drykas he recognized. He was a Sunsinger with Sama'el and the girl who didn't like blood. Larik turned, knowing Kavala would want to know, and flew back to The Sanctuary. Kavala was just getting dinner ready along with Cadra when Larik broke in.
"Aunt. That Drykas. The one that makes you sad? He is all but dead. We must hurry. Get horses. Ride. I will show you. He is hurt badly." The boy said, a gangly youth now instead of a grassland eagle. A short chime later, they were all mounted on striders and riding at breakneck speeds following an eagle who screamed in the sky and urged them northward. Kavala was in a near panic, but tried not to let it get to her. This was it. This was the news she was waiting for - his death. His last stand. And according to Larik he was alone somewhere north, out on the grass, with just his Strider to guard him.
The grassland eagle wheeled on the wind. Larik was content. He had a new job, a roost, and his twin sister seemed to be coming out of her shell under the loving care of the denizens of The Sanctuary. He still was unsure of his father, but Vanator was not at all what Dhanya had described to him. Cadra was settling in, growing confident, and he'd even seen her laugh a time or two. She followed Vanator around a lot too, whether the warrior knew it or not, often sprawling under furniture near him or scent marking his things when the Drykas was not looking. And finally, Cadra was gaining weight, both from miceing in her cat form and cooking in the kitchens. The odd thing was, no one made her cook. She did it because she loved it. And the people at the big healers place seemed to like and be grateful for what she prepared.
Larik was thankful. But he was suspicious too. So he kept an eye on things with his sharp gaze and did the job his Aunt had assigned him - patrol. It was an easy job, one he preformed that allowed him to hunt as well. He brought rabbits and sometimes small deer back to Cadra, hoping to please her and add meat to her pot. The twins were close, closer than they had been before their mother vanished and they wound up in slavery. But at least they'd stayed together.
The Grassland Eagle wheeled, caught an updraft, and snapped his wings open to soar towards the west. There was a scuffle there. Larik's vision was sharp even three miles out, and he saw the battle raging. Drawing closer, he beat his wings, let the drafts carry him in to where he could see. A Drykas was fighting a pair of glassbeaks. Big ones, but the battle was nearly over. Larik paused, hovering in the air which was not easy for an eagle of his size, and let his binocular vision refocus. One glassbeak still fought but it was dead already, bleeding out from a hacked off limb. The other one, a smaller female, was enraged and locked in a life or death struggle with the Drykas who was still mounted.
No. No longer. The second glassbeak, the smaller female, unhorsed him with a deadly precision - a swipe to his leg - and Ronan went down. The dagger he had been using to fight with scattered from his grasp. The first glassbeak, the bigger male went down as the blood loss and lack of blood pressure finally caused it to pass out where it would certainly bleed out. The second female, thinking the human a threat and not the horse, went for the downed human and ran right into the back hooves of the Strider who had wheeled and began kicking violently. Tairell screamed, protecting her rider, and managed to rearrange the face of the glassbeak threatening Ronan.
He was still down when the mare had to cow hop forwards after shattering what must have been the glassbeak's lower mandible, and came right into her rider, having no choice and stomping on his leg. She threw herself sideways to avoid the scrambling Drykas just as the glassbeak took a swipe at the mare, and sent her tumbling. She rolled over Ronan, came up and whirled on the predator, standing over her rider. Ronan was still in the grass though, and likely dead, the eagle though. The mare, not willing to leave him for anything, lunged at the glassbeak, seized her featheriy crest in her teeth and twisted violently. With its lower mandible broken, the strider having been raised on the grass and having been dealing with glassbeaks all her life, broke the animals neck cleanly.
Then, when there was no more threat, she whirled, came to sniff Ronan, and neighed sharply in concern. They were all alone and he was laying still.
Larik focused in closer, not moving any nearer to the scene. He was at least two miles up in the sky, but his vision was fantastic. The Drykas he recognized. He was a Sunsinger with Sama'el and the girl who didn't like blood. Larik turned, knowing Kavala would want to know, and flew back to The Sanctuary. Kavala was just getting dinner ready along with Cadra when Larik broke in.
"Aunt. That Drykas. The one that makes you sad? He is all but dead. We must hurry. Get horses. Ride. I will show you. He is hurt badly." The boy said, a gangly youth now instead of a grassland eagle. A short chime later, they were all mounted on striders and riding at breakneck speeds following an eagle who screamed in the sky and urged them northward. Kavala was in a near panic, but tried not to let it get to her. This was it. This was the news she was waiting for - his death. His last stand. And according to Larik he was alone somewhere north, out on the grass, with just his Strider to guard him.
