The Hunt

Writers: Stasha, Vix
Date Posted: 16th April 2008

Characters: K'sper, Alasha
Description: K'sper rescues Alasha and her family from a prowling pride of felines
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 9, day 2 of Turn 4

Alasha sensed Zephyr's unease as the wind finally released its grasp on the riders. His eyes whirled into distressful yellow hues as he nuzzled Alasha, attempting to warn her of the impeding danger that he could not understand.

Snow flakes began to trickle down, and for a moment Alasha allowed herself to enjoy the peace. She pulled the furs off her head, exposing the bronze firelizard to the newly tranquil weather. "Shhh, it's okay, Love," she whispered soothingly to the delicate bronze. "It's alright."
But her gentle projections and loving words did little good to calm him.

"We'll have to find shelter for tonight," Nelaso called out. The temperature was beginning to drop; he could feel it even as the winds died down. It had taken them much longer to travel than he initially thought, but they were so close now, he kept telling himself. They still had only one day's travel left, but thread fall was tomorrow and would delay their remaining travel to two day at the very least. Yet, they were almost there.

Zephyr began to whimper again at Alasha as they proceeded. His thoughts continued to project the lingering distress that flowed through him.
Could she not sense it? Could she not _feel_ the danger that approached?
He began to chatter at her now before he leaped off her shoulder and circled around wildly. Why could they not see beyond their ignorance?
They had to leave, they had to run! That was when he saw it, saw them.
He projected the image with urgency as he shrieked out.

Alasha felt her body stiffen in horror as she caught the flash of the monstrous beast hidden in the snow, but before she could cry out in alarm a great brown feline roared out her battle cry as she lunged at the runnerbeast trailing behind Alasha. The feline's claws ripped deep into the runnerbeast, forcing a neigh of agony from the prey before she silenced the beast with a swift bite to the throat and drew out the runner's life onto the white snow.

The surviving runners reared up to the threat kicking out at it, yet Alasha only felt one instinct, the instinct to flee, to survive.
She called out to the runner, heeling her swiftly in the side into a hard run following behind Hedona, Murasha and Nelaso. The runners trampled through the snow putting as much distance between them and the predator. They fled for safety deep in the hills, but their escape only lured out the rest of the pride. The felines called out to the challenge of the chase. It was as if the signal for the attack was flagged, and the band of great beasts erupted from snow and fell in pursuit of the cowering runners crying out the inevitable defeat of their prey.

~*~*~

Patrol duty was always boring, but especially now, with the land surrounding the Weyr covered with snow. **At least there will be little damage from whatever gets through during Fall tomorrow,** was K'sper's message to his dragon.

}:None will escape,:{ Bentith replied confidently. }:We will flame it all.:{
**What little there is,** warned the brownrider. **Most will probably freeze before it gets to the ground.**

Outcroppings of rock jutted from the whiteness, producing eerie shadows, but even those lost their charm after a while.

}:Except when they are moving.:{ The brown's thoughts disturbed the rider's reverie, causing him to peer more closely.

"Lower!" K'sper leaned to make out the movements.

}:Felines,:{ Bentith told him, }:and runners with riders.:{ "Take us down!" The rider assessed the situation quickly. "Flap around enough to stir up the snow. And let someone at the Weyr know that we need help. There are too many of them to keep at bay for long."

Zephyr called out to his great cousin before he projected the image of the brown to Alasha as the snow began to whirl around her. She turned her eyes to the sky catching a glimpse of the dragon before the storm from his wings blocked her view. For a moment she began to realize she had a chance to escape, but then she heard the snarl from behind her. She heeled the runnerbeast attempting to drive her even faster, but the snow was too deep, and the felines were beginning to gain on them.

"Zephyr!" She called out to the flit. She feared she would lose the bronze in the chaos of everything.

He jumped /between/ to Alasha instead of fighting through the intense winds of the brown dragon's wings. When he reached her he promptly climbed into the safety of her collar before he looked back to the beasts pursuing them and hissed at them intensely.

Bentith swooped low enough to clutch one of the felines in his claws, flicking it hurriedly to break its spine and then flinging it aside.
Then he reached for another.

K'sper bent low on the dragon's neck, fighting the snow that whipped around them to see what was happening. **Concentrate on the ones that are closest. Give the runners more space to escape.**

The help of the brown dragon was a blessing to Alasha as he swiped up the feline that trailed right behind them. Her family was just beyond her safe from the beasts, and in the sky Alasha spotted several other dragons coming in to assist in the battle against the great beasts. It was all over now, Alasha sighed as her runner continued to follow the rest of the runners to safety, never relenting in their pace.

Alasha never saw them coming, running low in the snow so that it was even a strain for those in the sky to spot them. They sat waiting for the runners to come to them, with dripping fangs, and claws eager to hook under their prey's skin.

As Alasha passed two more felines erupted out of the snow at the runner's flank. The first went straight for the kill. The monstrous feline shot from under the beast, digging her claws into the runnerbeast's chest while her muzzle sunk around the runner's throat suffocating her prey to death. The second rammed into the runner's hind quarters. The force of the two impacting felines was enough to send Alasha flying off her runner. The snow cushioned her fall but as she recovered her self and sat up she saw the second attacker quickly lost interest in her sister's kill and ran straight for the girl.

"Noooooo!" Alasha cried out as she pushed herself across the snow attempting to get back to her feet. She had come so close, she was not ready for this. She had to live! Her mind began to imitate the pain she would feel from her death, as she quickly recalled the death of her runner. No, this could not be happening.

The feline let out a deep hiss. The girl was _her_ kill. Even the small bronze pest that hissed and spat while attempting to attack the great feline was of no matter to her. He was too small to do much of anything. Only her prize mattered, a delicacy that she would take much joy in killing. She would silence her prey's final cries of life.

K'sper did not even need to instruct his dragon. The brown dropped toward the ground, not even trying to reach with his claws, but landing directly on the feline, crushing down with all of his weight. With no movement beneath him, Bentith swung his head to regard first the feline feasting on the now-dead runner and then the girl.

"Come, quickly." K'sper held down a hand to the girl. "Once you're safely in the air we'll see what else we can do."

Alasha's breath was course as she attempted to keep the life flowing through her. Shock was quickly overcoming her, and her mind could hardly grasp that she was still alive. Only the rider's words that reach her senses confirmed that she was not dead.

~Danger!~ Zephyr pressed at her as he dove at Alasha, grasping her strands of hair in his claws and forced her up.

She complied with her firelizard and climbed up the brown dragon's neck, but her fingers could no longer feel the soft warm hide under hands, nor could her lips feel the air that passed by them.

K'sper bundled her in front of him on the dragon, arms around her to supply warmth as well as to hold her in place. **Up.** He uttered the command almost simultaneously with Bentith's wingstrokes lifting them into the air.

The dragonrider glanced around quickly, seeing that the other dragons were working to disperse the remaining felines and trusting that their riders would see to the other survivors. He leaned closer to the girl's ear, still speaking loudly to make himself understood. "It'll get very dark and even colder for a few seconds, but I'll still be holding you.
Then we'll be at the Weyr and we'll have a healer take a look at you."
He did not give her time to reply but gave Bentith the command to go /between/ to the Weyr.

Her fingers pulled at the fabric of his coat as the blackness of /between/ enveloped them. What of her family? Her eyes peered up to him once they erupted out of the void of space, and begged him to return."Go back," she was barely able to mutter through her paling lips, as her body began to tremble.

"Sorry but I can't do that," he told her as they circled toward the Weyr plateau. "We'll be met by healers who will see to your injuries and try to warm you up. The other dragons and riders will see to your traveling companions."

She peered through the visor of his helmet, attempting to see his eyes as she grasped weakly at his jacket. It was too much, and she felt herself becoming heavy and as everything became dark, but she had to know. "Are they safe?" she was barely able to whisper.

"They appeared to be from my last view of them," he told her, speaking as honestly as he could, "but we'll know more when the others return."
The dragon touched down on the plateau, hurriedly and a little more roughly than usual. "Right now there are healers waiting. Go with them and when I know more I'll find you and let you know."

Her family was safe now, that was all that mattered. Beyond those words she heard nothing more. Her mind began to drift off, she was so exhausted. Her trembles died away and her quickening breath became tranquil. As the view of the rider began to face from her eyes two last thoughts floated past her: She had finally made it to the weyr, and she wished she had a mark of strength left to thank the dragonrider for what he had done.

Last updated on the April 17th 2008

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The Hunt