A Syliran Surf and Turf (Rayque)

[Dimitri]

Spring 17, 511 AV

Dimitri was sitting atop a rock overlooking a muddy brown lake. He had been creeping through the wood looking for something to shoot and bring back to town. He followed a set of tracks, unknowingly, for nearly two bells. After giving up, he continued exploring the woods, cautiously of course. Then he came across an amazing site for fishermen. He saw a lake, with a rocky outcrop, perfect for fishing. But that wasn't the best part. There were rainbow colored fish leaping out of the water. He was intensely overjoyed that he had brought his fishing pole and kit today instead of his axe and shield. But out of necessity brought his sword.

He began stringing his pole. He didn't attach a wooden bobber or metal sinker though. He simply figured if the fish were leaping out of the water they would eat off the surface. So he strung the hook and tightly knotted it, cutting the excess with his teeth. He then strung a worm on it and prepared to cast from a sitting position. He whipped his hand forward and watched the baited hook land atop the water. He then watched as the hook was ignored for a whole bell while the fish continued leaping. He didn't understand at all.

Meanwhile as he sat there, he was being bitten constantly by these huge mosquitos. Their bodies were about an inch long. He'd swat and swat but they kept coming back. One flew down toward his face and he managed to snag it out of the air in his fingers. He flicked it toward the water. As it neared the surface he watched a fish leap out of the water, swallow it whole, and splash back down. This epiphany dumb struck him. They leap out of the water for the mosquitos! He knew he would soon have him a fine fish.

[Rayque]

After spending some time in the wilderness outside of Syliras, Ray had decided it was time to head back inside the walled city. She could not understand why she felt compelled to do such a thing, for it was against her nature. Closed spaces were despised by the Kelvic, while wilderness and open spaces were preferable. It had taken a bit of time for Ray to get used to the castle city, and she still was not completely comfortable with its confines. Of course, being a traveling creature, she probably would head to another city within a few days if nothing changed. So far, Ray had only met one man who shared her same interests and morals. The rest of the population was completely different from her. Previously, it had seemed necessary to steal. She needed money, and she could not get money in an honest way, so the Kelvic had to take it. Ray realized that she was hurting the people she stole from, but it was either that or starve to death. When you put yourself in Ray’s situation, there wasn’t really a decision to be made. Her silent footsteps took her through the vast wilderness outside of the confining city. It seemed as though she was heading in the right direction, but because Ray had never traveled these woods before, she could not be sure. After walking for a few moments, she spotted a lake, its gorgeous blue depth calling her to immerse and cleanse herself, but she held back. Ray had spotted a man whom she had never seen before. It looked as though he was fishing, but the fish were not biting. After watching for a few minutes, it seemed as though he was unsuccessful in his attempts and it took some self control to remain quiet and not laugh. A large mosquito found its way to the Kelvic, and after swatting at it a few times, it landed on her arm. Ray let out a deep growl and smashed the bug into her arm. The sight was disgusting, and after the bug had been smashed, her actions were regretted. Fortunately, the man on top the rock had not heard her, or so she thought, as she continued to watch him. If he was going to leave soon, then maybe Ray could bathe, but at this moment she couldn’t. It was her nature to avoid confrontational circumstances, and if she was bold enough, Ray would have gone and talked to the fisherman, but she didn’t. Observing people from a distance was preferable. As Ray tried to remain hidden behind a tree, more mosquitoes swarmed and before she could help herself, a louder growl came from deep inside her throat. Although she didn’t want to draw unnecessary attention to herself, maybe this would allow her to convince the man to go, and leave her alone with the azure pool.

[Dimitri]

Dimitri after several minutes of being bitten managed to finally snag a mosquito without squishing it. He carefully threaded the hook into it, and prepared to cast. He swung his arms forward, and watched it fly toward the surface of the water. And not a single fish went for it. The mosquito baited hook splashed useless in the water. Dimitri drew the string back in and decided to watch the fish more closely. He would see a mosquito fly down to the surface, he hadn't the slightest idea why though. The fish beneath the surface would swim close and wait. It didn't leap as the bug stayed in the same spot, but rather only when it sharply changed direction or to fly away. Dimitri had an idea of how to use this to his advantage. He tried a few practice casts. He would flick his wrist, sending the baited hook through the air, then as it reached the end of it's line, he flicked his wrist again, causing it to speed back. He tried to do this with the water, and kept flicking it to early. Then he focused, flicked his wrist. The mosquito hook shot toward the water, and as it neared, he flicked his wrist forcing it to stop in air for the briefest of moments. As it changed direction a massive splash erupted around it, and a multi colored fish swallowed the hook and insect. As the fish took hold he felt it's heavy weight fighting him. He slowly started drawing the string in as the creature fought for freedom. He eventually go it to the bank. He held it up as it thrashed tiredly, it's gills gasping for water. He then heard a low growl followed by a deeper roar. One sounded human, the other sounded close. There, behind him, trapping him on his rocky outcrop was a
large brown bear.

[Rayque]

As she glanced around the tree to see if the man had noticed her growl, she saw that he was otherwise occupied. It seemed as though a large brown bear had come from behind the Kelvic and soon as Ray set eyes on it, a loud roar sounded and she flinched slightly. Now she definitely would not be able to bathe here. As Ray continued to stare at the bear, she noticed that its position was trapping the fishing man on top of the rocky edge he was standing on. It was possible for her to leave unharmed, and forget about the man in trouble, but even though she would do that with most people, the man seemed unarmed. It would be cruel to leave him here to fend for himself. Various options crowded her mind, but one stuck out. It was probably the most preferable for her because it would allow her to fight more naturally but the man had heard her growl as a human. Would she allow this human to see her in her true form? It was the only way she could truly help him because she did not have any weapons on her at the time. Remaining hidden behind the tree, she slipped out of her clothes and shoes, leaving them behind as she took her leopard form. As she stalked out from behind the tree, the bear’s attention instantly shifted to her. Although she still was not very big even as a leopard, the bear realized that she could pose some threat to its safety. A low guttural sound came from her mouth as Ray bared her teeth and prepared to leap on the advancing bear.

[Dimitri]

Dimitri took a slight step back as he saw the growling bear, followed by a large black cat. Black Cat? Those don't live around here. He then heard a splash behind him. He turned and saw the sword that was sitting with his kit sink into the depths of the water. He turned back to the two creatures. The feline seemed to be aggressing toward the bear, almost in defense of himself. The bear turned away from him toward the cat. It first roared deafeningly. It then charged, and it swiped with both front paws at the cat.

Dimitri took this distraction to jump in the water. He had very little experience with swimming, as he splashed in. He sunk beneath the surface and looked for his sword before his breath ran out. Just as his lungs pressure built, he saw a glint in the mud near the edge. He kicked his legs wildly arriving at the surface. He took two deep breaths, and pushed downward. He strained against the water since he wasn't swimming properly. He forced his way down with sheer strength and will. His hand shot into the mud, and grasped a single silver miza. He tossed it away in frustration and continued looking around. As he righted himself his foot struck something hard. He looked down and saw the sword sticking hilt up from the lake bed. He snuck his foot beneath the hiltguard and lifted it up. His hand caught it and he broke the surface, gasping for air. He flailed to the edge, his feet sticking in the mud. As he came around the outcrop he found himself behind the bear.

[Rayque]

After Ray had come to the man’s defense, he had jumped into the lake. Confused, Ray didn’t see the bear lunge at her and its large paws proceeded to knock her onto her back. It did not take long for her to regain her footing as her lithe cat form helped her jump back to her feet and pounce on the bear. She grasped one of its large arms with her long, sharp claws and it growled deafeningly at her. The other arm came to swipe at her back trying to get her off but Ray moved barely in time. She had jumped off the bear, but while trying to avoid the bear, its claws had grazed her side. There was only a slight stinging sensation, but Ray was too focused to really notice the pain. Her green eyes calculated the next step to take as the bear unexpectedly lunged for her. Ray noticed just in time, and used her toned leg muscles to jump over to the side, rolling on the ground. As the bear regained its footing, Ray saw a shape emerge from the water, and realized that it was the man who had been there before. She couldn’t dwell on that for long because the bear was truly angry and lunged again. This time, it caught the Kelvic, pushing her to the ground, its large paw trapping her escape. As a last resort, Ray tore at the bears paw with her elongated teeth and sharp claws and finally it released her.

[Dimitri]

Dimitri saw the bear pin the panther beneath it. Worriedly he rushed over. Something wasn't right about the panther, it had been trying to help. He didn't know how he knew that or why a beast would help. He saw the cat struggle and get free. It appeared to have some injuries. Dimitri rushed over and stabbed his sword deep into the lower side of the bear. It roared in pain and Dimitri realized it was ill placed for a killing blow. The bear turned on him, it's shoulder slamming hard into his thigh throwing him to the ground.

He was on his back when the beast stomped feet down above his shoulders abd appeared prepared to make a chewtoy out of his face. As its snapping jaws shot down, he brought his knee up high and it connected hard with the bdar's lower jaw. It's head snapped up and he used that moment to roll back onto his shoulders. He then hurriedly placed one foot on the underside of the bear's jaw, temporarily locking it in place due to the strain on it neck. He then kicked it in the throat with his free heel. This caused it to thrash wildly and it fell off to the side, but it's claws raked his shoulder as it went. He rolled away and stood up, sword in hand. He saw his fish had slid to the bottom of the rocky outcrop and was now at his feet. He quickly picked it up. As the bear turned to face him he chucked it at it's head. As it flung threw the air, Dimitri closed the gap and, as the fish connected, more of a distraction than damaging, he stabbed into it's shoulder, the blade halting as it sunk in the bone with a strange grinding feel. He pulled the blade free and skipped backwards away from a swiping paw.

[Rayque]

As Ray struggled to get free from the bear, the man had emerged from the water. He held a sword, and she sighed, relieved that the man was not going to battle the bear unarmed, for if he did, it would end up disastrous. As the bear was being distracted by her, the man came and stabbed the sword into its side. Of course, the action did not kill the bear, but it became wounded and weaker, giving both her and the man the advantage. The bear, now angry turned and forced the man to the ground with a strong blow. As it came at his face, the man pushed its head back with his heel. He had then crawled away from the bear only to pick up the fish he had caught and throw it at the animal. The distraction was enough to allow the man to get close to the bear and stab his sword into the bear’s shoulder. This blow would not kill the bear, for only a wound in the neck or possibly stomach would do that. The bear swiped out a paw trying to get to the man, but the blow did not connect. Ray gathered the energy she had left and realizing that the bear was facing the man, she jumped on its back. As her claws sunk into its fur, it realized the bad position it was in and started thrashing around, trying to get the leopard off its back. This did not work at first, but after a few moments, Ray’s grip slackened and she got thrown off the bear’s back. She landed hard on one side, and the little breath she had was knocked out of her. She struggled to her feet as the bear came at her again, its paws slashing at her, wherever it could reach. Ray was able to dodge most of the blows, but one of its claws reached her face, making a long deep scratch under her right eye, and at the same time, the other paw knocked her to the side once again. Now the bear looked like it was going to finish her off, but Ray wouldn’t let that happen. As soon as the bear charged, she jumped up and sank her claws deep into its chest.

[Dimitri]

Dimitri saw the quite emboldened panther leap on the bear's back. The two thrashed wildly until the panther was thrown hard to the ground. Dimitri saw bleeding grooves in the back of the bear, but figured they were too shallow to be much more than an annoyance. The bear began swiping at the black feline, missing most, though landing a harsh looking one along it's face. Dimitri could see the bear had ragged breaths, and was limping heavily on it's injured shoulder. It looked ready to finish the cat, when the midnight shaded beat leapt onto its chest, claws sinking deep.

Dimitri knew the bear probably weighed at least three to five times more than himself. But he still considered a crazy idea. He gad to finish the bear off, without letting it fall onto the panther. He warily walked around the fighting pair of beasts to the uninjured side of the bear. He took a deep breath and sprinted at the bear full free sword in his right hand. As he neared the bear's right hand side he leapt onto its shoulder. He crashed hard, pain spreading across his chest. His sword arm swung beneath the bear's neck. The bear's injured leg struggled against the collision and then gave out, forcing a surprised roar from the bear. As it fell to it's left side, Dimitri was able to get a slash across it's throat, before falling away from the bear landing near the panther. He felt as if he had smashed into a brick wall. The bear hit the ground with a loud thud. It struggled, as it attempted to lift itself. It's left leg struggling, it's throat dripping thick blood.

[Rayque]

The man had come at the bear, first putting the bear off balance and then slashing its throat with the sword that he had. As the bear fell to the ground, Ray tiredly leaped off of it, and landed near the man. As the bear struggled to get up, Ray summed up her energy once again and leaped on the bear, her claws tearing at its chest and throat. Finally, the bear lay still and the Kelvic collapsed beside the beast. She lay on her side for a few mere seconds, letting herself relax a bit before she got up again. Even this small toil had been rough, and the cuts on her face stung. She had been fairly safe inside the walls of Syliras, and a conflict like this with a wild beast had not happened for a while. Slowly, Ray rose to her paws, realizing that the man did not know that she was Kelvic, and might end up running away from her as well for she had the appearance of a wild beast. Of course, he might not because she had helped him defeat the bear, but the chances of that happening were slimmer. Ray could not talk to the man unless she changed back to her human form, but she was determined to spend at least a few more moments in her more natural form for once she went back inside the city, she had to look human. Her large green eyes glanced at the man sitting beside her, wondering who he was. He did not seem much older than she looked in her human form, but the sword he carried especially in Syliras made her think that he was not just any man. Finally, she paced back to where her clothes were hidden, and when she noticed the man was not looking, she changed back into her human form, and slid on her clothes. Ray wasn’t sure whether this man would make the connection that she was the black leopard, but he might notice the scratches on her face were identical to the ones that the leopard had, and her eyes the same color. Ray slowly walked out from behind the tree, but still remained close to the tree, standing a few paces in front of it. “Are you alright?” she asked softly, not wanting to startle the man, for earlier, his only company had been two wild animals.