In battle, things happen quickly. An enemy falls to the floor in mere chimes, and friends and comrades fall to the floor, opened from throat to groin. There was something almost thrilling about the speed in which all things happen when in combat, and Ayatah relished the fast-and-fury of it all. Afterwards, assuming there had been little or not casualties, there was always a sense of reward or accomplishment. Well done, you didn’t die today.
But when the Dhani male had leant so close to her, inhaling that Eypharian scent, everything around Ayatah slowed almost maddeningly. She was absolutely and completely terrified; even after escaping the clutches of her enemy, he had slithered back above her, that disgusting smirk on his reptilian face.
And for once, she had felt utterly hopeless. The half-Eypharian had faced plenty of enemies before. Most recently, she had fought a jungle tiger, accompanying a young Myrian male who had initially been nothing more than a stranger to her - but had ended up meaning so much more. And it was this still-fresh memory that inhabited Ayatah’s mind as the Dhani hovering above her stroked and sniffed at her hair.
The jungle tiger had hung over her, in the same way this Dhani did now, and had dragged it’s huge claws across her stomach, scraping at her skin and opening wounds that had still not healed. The way this snake-shit was touching her was similar, but completely different all at the same time. He was intimidating her, and enjoying every moment of it. It was not physical damage he was hoping to achieve here, it was psychological pain that he wanted to inflict upon Ayatah.
Something made the creature cry out in pain, straightening his back suddenly. For a fuzzy moment, Ayatah was dumbfounded and almost confused. Then something pulled her to feet, and everything fell back into place.
“We need to get to the group.”
Yes, yes we do. But Ayatah did not say anything, just mirrored her friend in beating the earth with her feet as they fled away and back towards the rest of the Myrian patrol team. Another shriek - but it was the name that was called out in mourning that truly shocked Ayatah. Imalla… No…
”We got another one over here!”
Half a dozen dark-skinned faces turning in their direction answered Tinnok’s cry. The two half-breeds might be perceived as less Myrian by the rest of their people, but any differences seemed to dissolve away on the battlefield. The snake creature was the real enemy now, not the half-breeds - not even the half-Dhani. For now, at least, Tinnok and Ayatah would be seen as one of the others. Of course, this acceptance was only temporary, and neither of them would expect any different.
They did not stop running until they reached the centre of the Myrian encampment, and were standing beside the dead fireplace. A new emotion coursed through Ayatah’s veins, and was reflected on her face. Fear and panic had been pushed aside, to give way to a cold and ruthless need to kill and destroy the enemy. Her hands were steady, her eyes cold and narrow. Almost automatically, Ayatah shrugged the longbow off her shoulder and notched an arrow. The lighting was pretty piss poor, but the Dhani was coming ever close, and a half-snake, half-man certainly stood out from the rest of the Myrians.
Focus… She drew back the bowstring, resting her index finger just under her cheekbone. Her thumb reached back, touching the soft feather fletching of the arrow- it was an old habit that Ayatah had done since she was a child. The arrow was released, and it thudded into the Dhani’s trunk, just in the middle of his ribcage. The creature yelled out in pain, stumbling backwards.
”Not a bad shot,” A squat Myrian male stood next to Ayatah, a bemused smile on his face. She recognised him as the pig-ignorant man from earlier that day - or was it yesterday now. ”For an Eypharian, anyway.”
But when the Dhani male had leant so close to her, inhaling that Eypharian scent, everything around Ayatah slowed almost maddeningly. She was absolutely and completely terrified; even after escaping the clutches of her enemy, he had slithered back above her, that disgusting smirk on his reptilian face.
And for once, she had felt utterly hopeless. The half-Eypharian had faced plenty of enemies before. Most recently, she had fought a jungle tiger, accompanying a young Myrian male who had initially been nothing more than a stranger to her - but had ended up meaning so much more. And it was this still-fresh memory that inhabited Ayatah’s mind as the Dhani hovering above her stroked and sniffed at her hair.
The jungle tiger had hung over her, in the same way this Dhani did now, and had dragged it’s huge claws across her stomach, scraping at her skin and opening wounds that had still not healed. The way this snake-shit was touching her was similar, but completely different all at the same time. He was intimidating her, and enjoying every moment of it. It was not physical damage he was hoping to achieve here, it was psychological pain that he wanted to inflict upon Ayatah.
Something made the creature cry out in pain, straightening his back suddenly. For a fuzzy moment, Ayatah was dumbfounded and almost confused. Then something pulled her to feet, and everything fell back into place.
“We need to get to the group.”
Yes, yes we do. But Ayatah did not say anything, just mirrored her friend in beating the earth with her feet as they fled away and back towards the rest of the Myrian patrol team. Another shriek - but it was the name that was called out in mourning that truly shocked Ayatah. Imalla… No…
”We got another one over here!”
Half a dozen dark-skinned faces turning in their direction answered Tinnok’s cry. The two half-breeds might be perceived as less Myrian by the rest of their people, but any differences seemed to dissolve away on the battlefield. The snake creature was the real enemy now, not the half-breeds - not even the half-Dhani. For now, at least, Tinnok and Ayatah would be seen as one of the others. Of course, this acceptance was only temporary, and neither of them would expect any different.
They did not stop running until they reached the centre of the Myrian encampment, and were standing beside the dead fireplace. A new emotion coursed through Ayatah’s veins, and was reflected on her face. Fear and panic had been pushed aside, to give way to a cold and ruthless need to kill and destroy the enemy. Her hands were steady, her eyes cold and narrow. Almost automatically, Ayatah shrugged the longbow off her shoulder and notched an arrow. The lighting was pretty piss poor, but the Dhani was coming ever close, and a half-snake, half-man certainly stood out from the rest of the Myrians.
Focus… She drew back the bowstring, resting her index finger just under her cheekbone. Her thumb reached back, touching the soft feather fletching of the arrow- it was an old habit that Ayatah had done since she was a child. The arrow was released, and it thudded into the Dhani’s trunk, just in the middle of his ribcage. The creature yelled out in pain, stumbling backwards.
”Not a bad shot,” A squat Myrian male stood next to Ayatah, a bemused smile on his face. She recognised him as the pig-ignorant man from earlier that day - or was it yesterday now. ”For an Eypharian, anyway.”
|| Ayatah's speech || Ayatah's thoughts || Others' speech ||
