Of Serpents And Savages [Tinnok and Alva]

[Tinnok]

To their credit, despite the incessant bickering, the infighting, and the prejiduce's that ran rampant within Ioxera's fang...nothing needed to be said once the hunt began. Ioxera claimed one side, Chinra the other, with Tinnok taking point.

She felt the mud cool and dry against her skin as they paced through the trees like vicious shadows, each footfall carefully laying itself down upon the ground. She felt a warped sense of pride knowing she set the pace for their fang, and thus the mission, but the half breed was not one to take much to her head, especially when she knew that no matter how well she executed her end, it would not be acknowledged. Instead she simply focused upon her feet, the stance of her body, and keeping her arms close in, but searching left and right for any large branches that could snap and crack, giving their position away.

She smiled, unable to hear her fang mates beside her, yet knowing they were all there in precise position, waiting, searching.

She knew why darkness was so important, and in her mind she preferred it this way, enhancing their stealth...yet it would make it harder as well, when the fighting began, one misplaced shot of a bow or toss of a dagger could impale an ally, and the fighting was sure to be hectic....if of course, they found their prey.

A thin sliver of Leth's light occasionally broke through the thick canopy, creating an eerie mood for which the small army to make their way through the voracious jungle. Tinnok's ears were pricked for any sounds out of the ordinary, but all was peaceful. Nightjars perched silently upon the ground, bugs and frogs chittered and chirped upon their branches, and nothing about the area they traversed spoke of ill will or the evil inherent to the Ancient Enemy.

Until all of them smelled blood. No Myrian could mistake that metallic tang in the air, and a rotten scent that meant something had been left more than a few days. They couldn't be more than two miles from the village now, but Tinnok was getting a sinking feeling inside her gut.

It was Ioxera that paused the movement of the fangs, Tinnok and Chinra who moved forward silently to investigate what lay ahead, stances wary. She heard Chinra's intake of breath when they came upon the Myrian corpse, an elderly woman missing a leg, and of course...her head.

Tinnok's gaze drifted back towards the village in their wake, wondering how this could have come to pass, how this elder would not have been found...and her body shuddered.

The two returned to Ioxera, Tinnok's mouth opened. "I am not sure that the nest is in the jungle."

A sliver of an eyebrow raised in question. Chinra broke in, voice whispered. "She's right. the woman...she was trying to run, was running from the village."

Ioxera's face opened with realization just as a very important question tugged at Tinnok's mind. "But why would they leave the body out in the open?"

A question that was answered quite succinctly as the Dhani scouts leaped down from the forest canopy, half human, half snake bodies coiled and waiting their attackers.

[Razkar]

Don't need to be marked by Caiyha to know this place is tainted...

As a baker's dozen of Myrian moved swiftly and near-silently through the darkened jungle, that sense of foreboding pressed down harder on Razkar's mind. A year later, he would find evidence of that sense of... corruption, yet again. But in the darkness, unable to see the leaves and trees but from where Leth touched them, all he knew was that there was something wrong here.

Fang Rehkuna had marched for a bell, moving fast and listening intently. Many times they had stopped, a single bird call enough to bring them all still as statues while the lead scout sniffed and peered. Razkar felt his ribs rattle as his heart raced... but every time, it came to nothing.

Razkar's jaw would tighten in mingled relief and frustration. Waiting, not knowing, mocked by the darkness he knew contained his enemy... that was worse than fear or the horror of battle.

The male would learn shortly that one should be careful what they wish for.

Another series of bird calls, the last making his heart skip a beat. Halt. Stand ready. Yes, that was all-

Close in.

Razkar frowned and started moving, hearing the whispers of his comrades feet as they eschewed such careful stealth for speed. The order to close either meant contact or some emergency, and since there were no screams...

With that nagging thought in mind, he drew an arrow and notched it into the string on his bow. He prayed silently for just a trace of light, wherever they were going.

"Goddess...!"

Something whirled towards that choked whisper as the Myrians broke into the small clearing, ghostly Leth-light bathing it in ghastly silver. Blood shone slick and fresh on eight feet of scaly flesh, topped by a massive head that was caked with gore. Ten more feet of muscled tail snaked behind it, but Razkar only just noticed that.

He saw the eyes. Yellow lanterns that narrowed in outrage that its meal had been disturbed, sibilant hiss that seemed to shake the leaves revealing a mouth lined with fangs, two prominent ones almost as long as his forearm.

The child...

Ten. Maybe eleven. Staring at nothing with dead eyes, still reaching in death to the bisected corpse lying next to it... that was probably its father. Razkar couldn't tell; so much blood and so much was... missing, that he could not tell the gender.

"Shoot the fucking thing!"

Razkar raised his bow and loosed. He missed, but fortunately, he was not the only one.

A volley of arrows and darts ripped forth from the treeline, Fang Rehkuna opening fire. The Dhani shrieked more in outrage than pain as a several hit home, smacking into stinking, gory flesh-

"Again!"

They didn't need telling, and Razkar finally snapped to reality, dropping to one knee and notching a fresh arrow as he did so, bringing the bow up and drawing it at the same time-

-resting the arrow on the Dhani's broad chest just as its tail bunched up-

-firing at the same moment it leaped.

Something so huge should not have been able to move so fast. It actually seemed to outpace the arrows, so quick did its muscles propel it through the air. Arms flung wider, mouth even wider, it shrieked out its hatred and within a moment was among the Myrians.

Chaos. Flashing metal and screams and blood and horror in the darkness. Razkar felt that terror gripping him but forced it away, buried it and his feet rushed forwards despite his mind screaming for him to run, run-

-as he drew his gladius and ax, tossing his bow aside-

You'll die, you have to run!

-leaping into the mass of flailing scales, somewhere that seemed like its back. He hacked down as he landed, ax and gladius biting deep into flesh, and those eyes seemed to illuminate his face when they flashed to him.

Razkar froze. He wanted to move, but he couldn't. His limbs screamed at him, every primal urged tried to tug his muscles into action but-

The fangs. The maw. Reeking of death and-

"Fucker!"

-the head of Oxil's club, thirty pounds and encrusted with nails, slammed into the side of the Dhani's head and the sickening crunch that came with it was like a thunderclap in the desert. The Dhani screeched in absolute agony now, half its skull crushed, eye bleeding, but thrashing madly and rage quickly numbing it.

Razkar hacked madly, all form and training forgotten, seeking only to draw blood, slash flesh until there was nothing left to sash-

-until a sweeping arm knocked him away, crashing onto the jungle floor.

The world swam into his eyes through bursts of pain and horror. Every blink... there was a new frozen moment peering through shadows...

The Dhani rearing back and lashing out with its tail, sweeping two warriors off their feet even as another arrow buried in its neck.

Oxil swinging again, coming low, under the monster's ribs, but it was batted away-

-only for Erama to sink both her gladii into its other side-

-and Rehkuna herself, in the last flash, leaped from the front of the Dhani, impaling it through the chest, force of her impact knocking it back.

"Die now!" He heard her snarl as his ears finally started working. "Die now and burn forever...!"

The Dhani hissed and every Myrian still on their feet slashed and hacked and clubbed and stabbed until it was utterly and irrevocably deceased. By the time Oxil lifted Razkar back to his feet, the dead beast looked as ravaged as the Myrians he had killed.

Razkar would have enjoyed the fitting justice of that, but his ribs were far to bruised for any thought but pain.

"They were running."

He blinked and saw his fang-mates gather around the corpses, Rehkuna kneeling close, frowning at the father and daughter.

"They were fleeing." She said again, shaking her head. "From the village?"

Light... Why is there light? Am I... seeing things...?

Razkar shook his head as he saw pinpricks beyond the treeline. At first he thought they were fireflies, or perhaps just his spotty vision... but no... they remained. When his breathing was steady and his vision restored... there were still lights. Torches. A perimeter.

"Mistress?" He rasped urgently, gesturing to them. "The village!"

Fang Rehkuna peered in his direction, sharp eyes picking out the shadows of long houses now. But... where were the people? Why were the lights not stronger, not to mention more numerous?

Then they saw the shape of the figures that still moved in the main square... and they understood...

Just as the screaming started from the south.

[Tinnok]

She remembered her bow snapping to, an arrow already in place. Panic gripped her throat, but not for the Dhani there. She took her time. A single second longer to aim was better than a missed arrow. Her muscles strained against the longbow nearly her own height. She recalled vaguely her sisters taunting her that she would never be strong enough to wield such a bow...it was why she had refused to touch their shorter counterparts.

Thwuck. The sound of her arrow head sinking into the torso of a lithe green Dhani form sounded well, and the oiled rope was slung over her shoulder, long dagger in hand as her body charged forward.

There were two of the beasts lying in wait, and even as her fang circled round, she heard Ioxera give a whistle for Alva's new fang to get themselves some blood.

Goddess...they were so massive. A single swipe of the tail knocked six of them over, including Tinnok, Ioxera nimble enough to leap over the appendage. Rolling her weight onto her back and shoulders Tinnok lunged upward with a forward kick to get to her feet without the use of her hands, eyes bright in Leth's dim light.

War cries mingled with hisses, and somewhere Tinnok thought she heard a tiger's roar. There were two of them, hulking beasts that slid back to back, the better to face their foes on all sides.

A sharp whistle signalled another hail of arrows to give glancing wounds to the creatures, all feet backing up away from the deadly tails. Tinnok's eyes glanced to the new blood's mingled in with their trackers. Eyes were almost too eager, arms quivering with anticipation. But not yet fear...These young soldiers thought themselves immortal it would seem...well, they would be tended to right enough.

Tinnok drew back again, this time it was harder, one of her arms complaining from taking the brunt of her fall. Her arm quaked for a moment but she refused to let go of her hold. The arrow was higher than her intended target of the chest, sweeping upward and over. She grimaced, but didn't have time to notch another, for both snakes refused to become pincushions.

Charging forward, tails lashing behind them to prevent a Myrian digging their blades down their spines, the snakes decided to play at bowling.

One was holding two whips, the other a giant club. Tinnok could hear the cracking skull of a new recruit even as their body flew yards into the dark jungle. Their eagerness dimmed then, she noticed.

More worried about the whips for catching, knocking over and debilitating, the half breed ran forward toward the brown Dhani that held them. She arced over a tail, leaping and landing on the other side, then tumbling forward out of the way of another swipe. It was like a deadly game, and suddenly her quick footwork had the attention of the predator. A whip came cracking towards her with blinding speed, wrapping around her daggerless hand. TInnok Swiped at it with her blade, but the chord was much too thick to submit to a simple dagger.

So instead she began to walk toward the snake, wrapping the chord continuously against her arm. Slitted eyes widened in confusion, then a maw filled with razor teeth widened. Tinnok's breath caught in her throat, but she kept forward. The snake merely wrenched up its arm, taking the half breed with it, dangling her like a hind of meat set out to dry.

That was when she threw her dagger, flipping it at point blank range into the Dhani's chest.

She doubted she was so lucky as to puncture a lung, but the creature howled with pain and flung her with its whip to the ground.

By the time TInnok had recovered about a fang's worth of individuals were crawling on both snakes like minuscule ants, stabbing, hacking and slicing away. It wasn't an elegant end...but it certainly was the most effective.

Bloodied, bruised, and counting a couple dead, two of the new fang, the survivors combined with Rekhuna's flank. Tinnok caught the fire light, but not the shadows, her worry before tugged at her, and she saw the pain in Chinra's eyes...knowing what had happened to her clan at the hands of Dhani. If they fought the Dhani head on...it would be near suicide. A few volley of arrows would help, but even if they won...what of the survivors.

When she heard the first scream her body started and her foot stepped forward out of formation. An arm was put out in front of her neck, and she recognized the wiry form beneath it: Trill. A silent brooding type who preferred barbarian swords to traditional weapons. He wore strange hook swords across his back and liked to fight up close with spiked gloves.

If they all died...what good what it have come to?

Ioxera and Rekhuna traded harsh whispers. TInnok was close enough to hear, but the sounds still felt muffled within her ears, part of her didn't want to know....

[Razkar]

"We can't just leave them!"

"Yes, we can, and we must! We are two under-strength fangs against Goddess-knows how many Dhani, they would slaughter us in moments-"

"You have so little faith in your own warriors? In mine? In our-"

There was a flash of steel in the darkness as Rehkuna's gladius was suddenly slashed between the two arguing fang leaders. Even in the gloom and shadow Razkar could see her snarling teeth and fierce eyes, words spat out, low and venomous, even as a nest of Dhani stirred a few hundred yards away.

"Finish that sentence and I will seek satisfaction in the Arena!" That low, angry whisper made Razkar frown... and then his eyes shot up in realization. Ah, so it was not just the young bucks that selectively ignored the old mandate about fighting in the Arena of Ancients. "This is not the time! If you wish to lead half-a-dozen against that nest, fine, go ahead, I cannot stop you... but you will do naught but die-"

"We are the War Goddess's chosen!" Ioxera hissed, the fire of zealotry burning in her grey eyes. "To die in battle is our destiny!"

"If it achieves victory!" Rehkuna snapped back, and Razkar knew her patience would not last much longer. Those shadows from the village were massing, half-a-dozen at least, hissing cant slithering from their lips as they communicated making Razkar's skin crawl. "I will not debate this, Ioxera! We are leaving to find Lidara's fang! I have heard no sounds of fighting from them, perhaps they are still fresh. With two-dozen warriors, ready and organized, we stand a chance of purging this nest..."

Razkar could see the conflict roiling across Ioxera's face. The steely logic of Rehkuna's clashing with her own eagerness to shed blood, to prove herself and, of course, her aversion to admitting that anything the dreadlocked female said was right. Razkar himself was mildly surprised... but not greatly. Rehkuna was a ruthless leader, and tried to see the larger victory behind the smaller battles. They could die gloriously right now, a dozen Myrians, wounded and surprised, without a plan or strategy. Oh, yes... a noble end. And a useless one.

The village, or what is left of it, will die... but we will succeed in our mission. The Dhani will be purged, and will not killed again.

"We will wait here." Ioxera said between clenched teeth, and Razkar swore he saw relief on Rehkuna's face. "If they approach any closer, we will give warning, and... pull back. Or buy what time we can for you."

"Thank y-"

"Finish that sentence," Ioxera suddenly all but barked, not deigning to look at Rehkuna, eyes already narrowed to slits and focused on the occupied village, "And you will not be seeking satisfaction alone. Go."

Silence. The remnants of two fangs eyeing each other up and exchanging glances in equal measure. Rehkuna did not say anymore; she did not need to. Her eyes swept around and she saw her fang looking back at her expectantly.

"We go. Find Lidara's fang and bring them here. From what we can see, the Dhani nest is right there, in... in the village of the Dagger Mouth."

The shock was... palpable. No, more than that... Razkar could taste it. The idea of a Dhani nest not just raiding but... surfacing, in the middle of a Myrian village? He could see the native fear and shock on the faces of those around him; even Rehkuna's voice had catch.

If they could tunnel out this far... what would stop them from surfacing in Taloba?

He shook the thought from his head and caught a flash of gold eyes staring at him. Razkar felt his guts twist and hands fly to his weapons-

-Tinnok blinked, surprised, and he relaxed. A little. She was so... calm. How did she manage it? Her bow wad ready, her daggers wet with blood but sheathed, her face calm and aside from the crimson splatters, there was no sign she'd even been in battle.

Despite their enemy, despite the moment and his fear, Razkar nodded to her, and took strength from her composure. The night was but yet young...

"As we are, we are too few to swarm them," Rehkuna continued, "Superior numbers have always been our advantage against the Dhani; we need more bodies, and Lidara will supply them." Her eyes flashed briefly to Tinnok. "We will not leave you for long."

Razkar blinked and wondered if that was a promise to a fellow warrior, or a warning to a potential traitor.

"Move out."

Fang Rehkuna marched again, out of formation but moving for speed, not parade ground appearances. Razkar knew despite the darkness that at least three of them were wounded, too, straining to keep up... but never even thinking of stopping or turning back. They would rather die than disappoint their comrades out here, where the true test of their worth was staged.

"You do not agree?"

The words stabbed out at him from the darkness, and it was only after a moment that Razkar realized they were coming from Rehkuna. Sharp, dark eyes pinned his own in a stare that waited calmly, even as her body continued her quick march over the shadowy ground.

"I follow your lead, Mistress."

"Don't kiss arse, male. Doesn't could for shit in Falyndar."

"I wasn't aware I was kissing anything, Mistress."

"Don't avoid the question."

Razkar did not pause, which surprised him. "This is not the plan. The plan was good, and used all our fangs to their full advantage, but now-"

"Now battle is joined," Rehkuna said bruquely, but Razkar caught the softer edge of someone trying to impart a lesson, not just verbally batter an underling into line, "One thing you will learn, male. Plans are all well and good... but once the battle starts, most of them are worth shyke. To shift your assets, redeploy your forces, to adapt and change as the battle does, that is how you win a battle..."

Razkar didn't answer. The lesson did not require one... and as they jogged deeper into the darkness, heading south-west, searching for Lidara's fang and their extra bodies, he found himself wondering if this battle could end in victory.

They slaughter us, so we slaughter them. When does it end?

Then he remembered that child. That father who died, probably with his last conscious sight being that of his own offspring butchered and screaming in front of him.

It ends when they are dead. All of them. That is victory... and this is but a part of it.

[Tinnok]

Tinnok stiffened with her fang as Ioxera and the Tigress fought. Though she did not agree on much with her fang leader, she knew every member of their group would stand behind her. She could feel the tension in all, the willingness to throw themselves at a potentially insurmountable enemy at the chance to save the people...trapped, tortured...Goddess knew what.

Tinnok wasn't sure which opinion was in the right. Which one was wrong. Perhaps there was no option that was right. All she knew was that her stomach twisted as Rekhuna's fang sprinted off into the jungle, and they sat their, tense and wary.

Tinnok stretched her bow arm, and all of them were silent as the grave. Ioxera signaled with circling of a shadowed finger for them to form a circle, facing outwards in order to keep from any more surprise attacks. Tinnok glowered, for she was facing away from the line of snakes bordering the village, but her eyes cast about her surroundings.

She heard whispered mutters from two males, and a cursed insult from someone that silenced them. The chillest breeze Falyndar could muster rolled through the trees, sliding down the half breed's spine.

Then she saw Chinra start sprinting towards the clearing.

It took five of them to down her, Tinnok on top. Though she was clearly infuriated, she had the decency to keep her screams the sound of whispers.

"Get off of me maggots, let me kill em, lemme rip our their throats one by one and make em know what those people have suffered, what we all have suffered."

Tinnok saw her flinch when she caught sight of her comrade's slitted eyes. She saw Ioxera fighting with the want to agree with her subordinate and chastise her for the blatant breach of command. Tinnok beat her to it.

"You die for nothing, scum, if you go out there now."

"Shut the petch up Skurak, you know nothing of what I am feeling."

The four others cleared away, and Tinnok found her clawed fingers around Chinra's throat, lips practically brushing against her ear.

"You don't think I enjoy piercing the flesh of the creatures that made me the monster I am today? You don't think that every time I see their handiwork, I'm not reminded of exactly what lies inside me? I'll happily let you die, shyke for brains, if I didn't know that it would come to naught."

She leaned back and leapt up, curling her fingers into fists. She could see the wrathful shame lingering in Chinra's movements, even more so that it had been enacted by an abomination such as Tinnok. Ioxera gave the half breed a glance somewhat between a thank you and a warning, but the formation came back too, Tinnok's body literally vibrating from the adrenaline coursing through her. They had to do this fast...or she would be the one breaking ranks for naught...

[Razkar]

It couldn't have been more than five chimes, five tiny increments, but to Razkar it felt like an age. Kingdoms could have risen and fallen in the time it took them to traverse that creaking, yawning darkness. Every heartbeat he expected a gigantic, scaly shape to leap from the trees and crush him, kill him before he was even aware of it.

If he was lucky.

The young male took strength from his fang, as much as he could. Their shallow breathing around him; the careful footfalls; the occasional bird calls; the rare but welcome flitting shadows that he knew were fellow Myrians. The fact that he was not alone...

A screech knifed out from the darkness ahead of them, and while his heart still, he felt him relax slightly. It came from where Lidara's fang was meant to be waiting, and a moment later-

Rehkuna answered the call. Incoming ally. Stand down.

Even in the darkness, he could see the shape of the jungle change as a dozen Myrian materialized from their positions. One by one they emerged, filthy with mud and dung and dirt, breaking up their shape and natural shine of their skin tone until they were but fragments of the trees they hid among. Razkar saw the flash of pale skin under a layer of mud, nodded at the Kelvic.

Rehkuna was more focused, marching quickly up to Lidara, who was frowning plain and hard under her camouflage.

"What are-"

"The nest is in the village," Rehkuna rasped quickly, not wasting a moment or a breath, "Half our numbers are dead or wounded. The plan is in shambles and whatever of our brothers and sisters who are still alive in the village are under threat. We've come to bring you back to Ioxera's fang, where we will make a united attack."

Razkar had to hand it to Lidara, the female didn't panic for a moment. He did not know her quality very well, but to be a Fang Leader in the first place meant you had to be a veteran and accomplished warrior. She absorbed Rehkuna's words in the space of three breaths... then nodded.

"Understood." She snapped her head to one side and gave out a thrill, four-tone bird call. All warriors follow leader. "Swift, sisters and brothers!"

They were at that. Rehkuna's fang may have been the brawling bastards of their force, Ioxera's the trackers and hunters, but though they were green recruits, Lidara's fang had speed on their side. Flitting shapes danced and darted ahead of Razkar in the Leth-cut undergrowth, lapping the older warriors despite their growling curses.

"Fucking gods." Razkar growled as a fresh wave of sweat rolled down him, "When did we get so old?"

There was a brief, nasty bark from his right and he saw Oxil keeping pace, vast and bulky body exhausted but grimly, vindictively determined not to slow.

"Speak for your-fucking-self..."

Those chimes were faster, Razkar realized later. Swelled and emboldened by fresh numbers and, more importantly, fresh purpose, the two fangs swept upward to where the remnants of Ioxera's were waiting, encircled against the jungle that had attacked them before. But when shadows poured from them again, it was fellow Myrians, and even Tinnok's golden orbs glimmered briefly with relief.

Lidara strode over to the treeline, glaring in undisguised hatred at the half-slithering, half-walking abominations lurking throughout the village. Razkar noted again her control, her poise, so disparate from Ioxera and Rehkuna.

Yes, but she didn't just lose half her fang.

"How could they have emerged within a village?" She hissed, shaking her head in angry disbelief. "How could they have extended their tunnels so far?"

"We can patrol the entire jungle, Lidara." Rehkuna said, still the voice of cold reason to Ioxera's raging fury, "But everything under it belongs to them."

"Zinrah is leagues upon leagues away. Tunnels all the way from there? Unlikely. From a cave, perhaps, or-"

"We waste time." Ioxera snarled, Tskanna-horn maces testily flipping in her hands. "They may not know we're here, but when their scouts don't return..."

She left the sentence unfinished, knowing everyone listening would understand. They were two dozen warriors now, and though some were wounded, that was more than enough to smash through initial defenses, even if they were Dhani. They could overwhelm two, maybe three... but nests contained more than that. Three of the monsters had been slain, and they had lost almost a third of their number to gain those individual victories.

Six, perhaps eight more of them, maybe. We'd decimate them... but eventually their own numbers would tell...

"We need some kind of advantage." Rehkuna said out loud, staring at the village with the other Fang Leaders as if willing a solution to emerge from it. "A distraction or..."

She shook her head and Razkar felt that familiar gorge rise in his throat, choked with fear and uncertainty. How was this to be accomplished? Twenty-four warriors versus maybe eight Dhani... and there was half the problem. They didn't even know the exact numbers of their enemy. The male racked his brain, wondering, hoping, pondering, trying to-

A scream exploded from the village. High and agonized and tremulous to the point it shook bones and made one's soul wither.

Razkar felt a shudder run through him. A female. A live female. But soon, one that would wish she wasn't...

[Tinnok]

Why do you feel this pain, skurak?

Tinnok whirled as if slapped, but suddenly realized that no one had spoken to her...the strange voice was her own. It pains you to your core, but why? Because those were her people suffering in Dhani hands. Or is it your people who have suffered at the hands of the Myrians, and they are simply exacting their revenge? Myrians would never... Never murder a Dhani child? A weak snake before it had learned how to shift into a deadly monster, or perhaps spare an aged female past the point of prime? Petching doubtful.

Tinnok shook her head, clearing away the voice like a haze. Her foot shifted forward. None of this made any sense, and all she wanted to do was blindly charge in just as Chinra...as most of all their fangs were ready to do.

She let out a deep and cleansing breath, listening to the other fang leader speak, attempting to calm her dizzying thoughts.

She found Razkar's concerned gaze in the darkness, his black eyes sharp as an Eagle's gazing towards the shadowed forms.

Well they had surprise, at least for now.

"A fang can be a distraction." She muttered lowly. Ioxera looked at her sharply, and the half breed shrugged.

"If just one fang is seen, they will charge, to take us out simply and quickly, one Dhani per warrior is in their favor, of course if we surrounded them..."

It was not a complex idea, but then again, they did not have time to surmount something more elaborate, not before the Dhani caught wind of them.

"The snake has a point." Ioxera said grudgingly.

"Then it can be the snake's fang that is the bait." Tinnok glanced into the Tigress's hard gaze. Unrelenting, uncompromising. Vaguely the half breed wondered what horrors the fang leader had under gone to show such viciousness to a being who only carried half of the ancient enemy writhing in her veins. Rekhuna smiled, an expression that held not an ounce of humor in it. "Now's your chance to jump into the fray, Ioxera...are you not eager to do so?"

The scout leader's gaze could have made a Myrian Tiger mewl for its mother, but she did not back down. "We can't kill em if you don't move into position, Rekhuna."

And so two golden eyes met the Eagle's dark ones in a silent farewell, a promise to meet in the coming battle, for Alva and his fang slid silently into the woods, moving to surround the village...and her own...readied themselves for the potential slaughter.

Slaughter only because you chose the weaker of two sides. I am the weaker of two sides. Because you cannot shift? Hardly. You can learn, just not as simply as they. Where Myri shirks you, their snake Goddess would welcome you with open arms. Petching shyke, Caiyha's daughter or not, I'm not bowing to some heathen Goddess. But she's only a heathen because you weren't born Dhani.

Tinnok snarled to herself, gaining a few stray glances, but a light Nightjar call signaled that each fang was in position.

That was when Ioxera and her troop charged forward, silently at first, then a...fairly blatant..."OY YOU PETCHERS!" worked to draw the snake's attention well enough...

And suddenly eight pairs of eyes were focused upon Tinnok and her companions as they sprinted forwards.

[Razkar]

It was a bold but dangerous plan, though so were all when it came to fighting the Dhani. One of Myri's own generals had laid out a good, solid, dependable strategy and now it was in tatters. All they had left was what mercurial inspiration and hard-edged pragmatism they could wean from the debacle.

Razkar's muse was late arriving; Tinnok's was not.

Plan decided and bait nominated, Eagle caught that flash from two golden orbs. A farewell conducted with a simple nod of her head, and he returned it instantly. He did not and could not share this hatred of her; had she not fought tonight, hard as any of them?

Oh, and the Dhani would not sacrifice one traitor to slaughter a dozen or more Myrians? You really think them so weak and principled as not to do that?

The male gritted his teeth and shook the thought from his head. No. She was his friend. She had bled with him, and that was that. He slid into the shadows with the rest of his fang, Lidara's going around the right flank of the village. Soon they would make the Claw, he knew: Rehkuna on the left, Lidara on the right, Ioxera and hers in the middle, drawing the prey home...

Not just one, either...

Hardly the most rousing or poetic battle cry in history, but that crude shout roared around the clearing, drowning out the screaming from the village. All movement in that defiled place stopped... and then all was shimmering scales and hissing, cursing, giggling things that slithered in joy and outrage both at the challenge.

"Goddess..."

"Stand to, boy." Rehkuna was right next to him, seeing the same monstrous shape as he, blowpipe rising to her lips as Razkar fumbled for his bow. "May Myri guide your hand..."

Razkar swallowed heavily and raised his shortbow. His fingers found the hard, firm wood, the strong... and then the arrow. He notched it on the second attempt and pulled it back. Aiming... seeing...

So huge. Long and sinous, reeking of power and malevolenve. Goddess... once again that thought came back to him: things that huge should not be able to move so fast. Leth-light flickered and danced on the mass of scales, first four then six... no, eight! Razkar's eyes widened. Eight Dhani in the clearing, powering towards the whooping, charging Myrians-

-Tinnok among them, face contorted in hatred and waving her daggers.

Razkar felt his courage return, or at least his fear subside. He breathed heavily and tracked his arrow on the middle Dhani, or at least one of them. The one advantage of the monsters' size was that they were almost too easy as targets. He waited... pulled the string taut... fingers beginning to shake-

"... and... and Dira my arrow..."

"NOW!"

With Rehkuna's roar a dozen bows and blowpipes twanged and hooted dully in the darkness, sending arrows and darts flashing forth. Lidara's fang must have gotten into position fast, because they were already waiting for the word, opening fire before the echo had even faded.

But the Dhani were fast to react, too, heads snapping around in mid-charge-

-as one of them caught Razkar's arrow in it's side and screamed in a voice neither snake nor Myrian... but something hideously in-between.

"What're you waiting for?!" A new voice, Ioxera's bellowed from the front, aiming towards the stalled Dhani with her clubs. "Into them!"

"Ioxera!" Rehkuna snarled, jamming a fresh dart into her pipe as a second volley whistled from the flanks, a perfect crossfire... and now being ruined. "Stay back! You'll be-"

But the zealot was not listening and nor were her fang. Spurring by fear of her or bewitched by her words, eight screaming figures pounded through the vines and shrubbery, closing suicidally with the Dhani, who were fast recovering. Arrows and spears were being thrown and shot back at the flanking Myrians-

-but not before a trio of arrows caught on Dhani in the chest, its face twisting in pain and disbelief-

-before two more thudded through its back, and heart, and it dropped down in a writhing, spasming heap of coils.

Razkar knew that he'd only get one more chance, the killing zone become crowded with arriving Myrians, aimed quickly, aimed low to minimize the chance of missing at a Dhani who was turning his way-

-fired-

-and was rewarded with a scream as it impaled it's lower arm, forcing it to drop the dagger it carried.

"Fuck it, then!" Rehkuna snarled, tossing her blowpipe and unsheathing her swords. On either side of them, the remnants of her fang did likewise. Erama with her gladii, Oxil with his grey-matter-spattered club... Razkar with his ax and gladius. "Get into the bastards!"

"FOR MYRI!"

Razkar bellowed out that ancient prayer-cum-warcry but it was drowned out by the dozen others from both sides of the clearing. Lidara and Rehkuna's fangs burst from cover, charging figures tiny to the Dhani but blood-maddened and attacking on three sides. The snakes rallied, screeching their eternal hatred.

They were not the only one. If ever two race despised and hated each other unto annihilation, until the last one was obliterated, no matter what the cost or alternatives... it was the Snake-People and Children of Myri, clashing together that night in Falyndar.

Razkar leaped at the Dhani he had wounded and slashed down with his ax, nearly taking off its arm-

-just in time to block a dagger coming at his side with his gladius-

-but not the shattered headbutt that nearly broke his skull.

Hope you're doing better, Eagle...

[Tinnok]

OOCYou keep swapping Eagle for Wolf lol

Tinnok bent on one knee, her long bow string sliding smoothly against her cheek. Strange how in this time of panic, earth rumbling as massive muscled bodies slithered towards them...she could feel so oddly calm.

Her arrow quivered a moment, poised as the half breed behind it took proper aim. There was little wind...good. Their forms were close...good.

TWANG

She watched with a small smile upon her face as the arrow hurled out of the smooth groove in the wood, worn from many a battle, and soared out amongst the rest.

And that was all the time she had for sight seeing as a cry went up, perfectly timed with the release of her shot.

Then something mahogany colored and hissing had born down upon her, and the bow was thrown aside in favor of her dagger...

A cry that was Myrian and close went up, and Tinnok grimaced. But the only one she was truly worried about was Eagle...and that cry had belonged to a female throat. Silver blade darted up int he night sky to slash across thick scales. A thin slit of crimson opened up...but it only caused the snake to laugh, and a bruising bludgeon with a massive mace sent her sprawling up over her own head to fall flat on the ground. She coughed dirt out of her mouth and began to rise when a large blunt object was heaved onto her back. At first she thought it was the end of the mace, but she realized only a moment later that it was the foot of a comrade stepping over her back.

Well that was camaraderie for you.

She lifted herself from the dirt and spun around, seeing that the Dhani was now busy with fivish Myrians clinging to it like ants. It writhed and whirled, dealing just as good as it got, throwing the insects off left and right.

Tinnok placed herself on the beast with a bit more vigor, lunging and plunging her dagger into the thick meat of the beast where tail met body. That got the attention of those puke green eyes quick enough. It seemed to recognize her, and grimaced...or grinned, she couldn't be sure with those teeth, but her moment in the Dhani spotlight was over as two arrows cleaved through the thing's head, and it collapsed lifelessly to the ground, blood gushing out of its many wounds.

Tinnok seperated her dagger from scales and muscles and turned to the next victim...A Myrian limb flew by her as she focused her attentions on a a particularly lithe green...female? And then the blur of battle closed in.

[Razkar]

Getting headbutted is painful. Getting headbutted by a Dhani is more so. But getting headbutted by a Dhani while flying forwards? That's a whole new level of pain.

Razkar tried to jerk his head to one side before the broad forehead hammered into his own, but didn't miss the whole impact. About the same times as his arm shuddered with the impact of his ax cleaving through that arm, his head cracked to the side, rock-hard Dhani forehead slamming into his temple.

That was hardly an improvement, but at least he didn't fracture his skull.

The male was aware of landing in the warm grass and rolling in that detached, prelude-to-a-concussion sort of way. He couldn't see his crippled enemy, though his eyes were wide open:nothing but shifting darkness and blossoming then fading stars were in his gaze now, and he couldn't... no... couldn't stand.

But he could hear, and he heard it scream.

That sound of pure, crystallized, hateful pain seemed to rip through his blindness like a knife through a curtain. The blackness shimmered and broke and he saw the Dhani charging towards him, rearing up eight feet tall and spurting blood from the stump of one arm, other loaded with a long, jagged dagger, eyes raging, cursing in that slippery, slithering, hissing voice-

"BASTARD!"

-only for two smaller figures, shadows with shining steel for arms, leap onto the creature, steel and metal vanishing into those scaly folds, and the beast screamed again as Razkar tried to get to his feet, staggering forwards.

The Dhani spun around and sent Erama flying with its tail, turning back to see Razkar raising his weapons with shaking hands. Stupid, prideful creature, she thought, even as she acknowledged the crippling injuries that would forever ruin her standing within Zinrah, but at least he will pay for-

THUNK-THUNK!

Two impacts to her side sent her staggering and spinning to the side, where a pair of dark-eyed Myrians were still spitting arrows from the treeline. The Dhani hissed and opened her mouth to scream-

THUNK!

That... was larger. Her whole body shook now, and she felt a... cold. A numbness, and she couldn't understand... where... her hands felt to her side, a stream of warmth trickling down her side... upwards to her neck... her face was so stiff...

And she felt the ax buried there; turned and saw the Myrian male on one knee, eyes fading and tired... but one hand empty... from where he had thrown his weapon.

Razkar watched the creature's face freeze in a rictus of sheer disbelief, then fall backwards with an impact that shook the very ground. But the battle was far from over. He looked around at the topsy-turvy world through wounded eyes and saw five towering shapes still slashing and battering out at the ant-like figures surrounding them.

Even in his dazed state, Razkar knew this was way beyond bad. The element of surprise had vanished and though they were pressing the Dhani on three sides, five of the monsters against thirty Myrians... no... not even that anymore.

Broken, twisted, bleeding bodies were already dotted around the blood-clotted battlefield. So still... for the most part. Aside from the ones that were still moving, still crawling, one of them, from Ioxera's clan, dragging herself forward with her remaining arm, even as she left a red smear in her wake...

Face fixed in utter hatred as she stared at the huge Dhani-

-who was striking fast towards Wolf.

"SNAKE SHIT!"

The green-eyed monster, another female, though that was more of a guess than anything else, whipped her head round to the charging male staggering towards her, bellowing and screaming-

-then hissed in pain as the female Myrian slashed her across the chest, dagger rearing back for another-

-but not before her sword knocked it away, nearly knocking the female down into the bargain-

-buying a few precious seconds for Razkar to invest in shifting all his energy and will to his bent legs, springing towards the Dhani's back, gladius held in both hands, aimed at impaling her through that scaly spine-

-only for her thick-as-a-three trunk to slash him from the air with bone-jarring force-

Brilliant rescue, there, hero...

OOCTrying out a new code Edreina made for me. Hey, I think it fits!