Fire in Their Eyes [M]

[DragonSong]

"Aye, cap'n!" Aya gave him a jaunty mock salute and swung easily up onto the draquus's back. She eyed his horse as they approached, tilting her head.

"Beautiful creature," she noted, eyes softening slightly. "What's his name?" Darkmoon pinned his ears as they got closer, though he didn't make any other aggressive moves in the animal's direction.

[Lowen Thorn]

"Oh, this guy?" he said with a charming smile. "This here is Storm. Quite the fearsome name, though he's really just a big pet at heart. We've been together for a little over a year now, since I joined up with the Black Brigade."

[DragonSong]

"Hello, Storm," Aya said, nodding to the horse. She seemed to eye his small movements carefully for a few moments, then nodded and looked up at Foggy again with a smile, her eyes suddenly much softer.

"You take good care of him," she noted. "He's very fond of you."

[Lowen Thorn]

"I would hope so!" he responded with a hint of embarrassment. "We take good care of each other, as do you and him I assume."

He motioned to Darkmoon with a grin, and then waved the other soldiers over. "Okay, it's time we were off. Follow me, Aya."

With that, Foggy led her and the other soldiers out of the paddock, and toward the outskirts of Ketra.

[DragonSong]

The girl nodded, giving Darkmoon a gentle tap with her heels. The stallion didn't tend to like following, but he did so at her urging, falling into step just a few paces out of reach of Storm.

[Lowen Thorn]

The travel to the outskirts of Ketra was not a very long one, and before they knew it they arrived to join with the rest of the troops. Foggy's confidence smile had faded slightly the more they pressed forward, until it was completely washed away and replaced with determination. There were no signs of the Basilisks, yet, which was good.

He had hoped there would be no more, but he found that such luck was often nonexistent. It was time to take care of the threat, but first.

"Aya," he said quietly to the girl. "Whatever you do, do not look the Basilisk directly in the eyes. You do know what will happen, correct?"

[DragonSong]

Sensing his tension, Aya nodded resolutely. She'd unbound Darkmoon's wings, of course, but for the sake of keeping pace with her new employer they stayed on the ground.

"I turn to stone," she replied softly. "Believe me, I won't look."

[Lowen Thorn]

"Good," he said simply. "I would hate for something to happen to you. If you feel more comfortable doing so, use the horse to take flight. If something bad were to happen, use that flight to get away. That is an order."

He rested his hand on the hilt of his blade, waiting.

"You have a lot of bravery for one so young, Aya," he said, his head faced forward. "How old are you, anyway?"

[DragonSong]

"Understood, sir." Fiery she may be, but Aya wasn't stupid enough to disobey a direct order, not when there was no need to.

She did scoff a bit when he commented on her age. "I'm eighteen today," she said with a little flip of her hair. "And you're one to be commenting-- you can't be more than four or five years older than me."

[Lowen Thorn]

His eyes widened a bit, and he shot the girl a glance. "Eighteen today?" he asked skeptically, ignoring her comment about his age. It was true, he wasn't much older - he joined the military at an early age. So, she was right. He had no room to talk.

"Wouldn't you rather be doing something else to celebrate your birthday, Aya?"

[DragonSong]

She laughed and shook her head. "Hey, I've got my horse, an adventure, and a new job." She shrugged, grinning at him. Her eyes seem to flicker with violet flames. "What more could a girl ask for?"

Darkmoon tossed his head and pranced a few paces and she chuckled again, patting his neck.

"So. Like I said, you don't look all that much older than me. How'd you get to be a...what are you again? Captain?"

[Lowen Thorn]

"O-Oh. Actually no," he responded promptly. "I'm just the squad leader of today's mission. The only authority I have was assembling the team and commanding said team. We in the Black Brigade are flexible like that."

He turned his attention forward again, waiting for any signs of movement toward the city. "I joined the military at the age of sixteen," he explained, but then quickly shot one more look at her with a bashful smile. "Told them I was eighteen."

And then they came. Three separate basilisks slithered out of the edge of the forest and approached the front line of soldiers.

"Foggy, they're here!" a soldier alerted him.

The young soldier jolted his head back toward the frontline to see them advancing, tilting his head down slightly as not to meet their eyes. "Remember, Aya, don't look at their eyes."

Rushing forward, the man gave the command.

"Charge!"

[DragonSong]

Aya's eyes widened, then ducked quickly as she leaned low over Darkmoon's neck and more or less hid her face in his mane.

The draquus reared, screaming a challenge at the slithering creatures that dared approach, hooves tearing sharply through the air.

[Lowen Thorn]

The battle ensued.

Foggy had handpicked his team, not for their excellence in strength and their valor, but in their ability to listen/ The bravest of them all would face these beasts head on, and in turn, get turned to stone. The man couldn't win a battle with a field of stone soldiers.

He rushed at one of the basilisks, but was met with a swooping tail that he narrowly dogged, nearly knocking him off of Storm.

[DragonSong]

Screaming another challenge, Darkmoon charged forward into the fray, eyes blazing. His hooves came down in the middle basilisk's spine, making it hiss and writhe in pain.

Aya kept her head down, trusting her mount. Draconic heritage gave the draquus resistance to the creatures' gaze, and she had to hope that it would be enough to help fend them off.

[Lowen Thorn]

A fellow soldier had lost his footing and took a dive off of his galloping horse.

"Shit," Foggy murmured as he watched the man made impact with the ground. Without thinking, he and Storm charged over to aid the man. "Take my hand!" he called out as they neared, extending his arm.

The fallen soldier reached out to grab Foggy, but was unsuccessful as the giant creature whipped Storm. The horse let out a distressed whinny and reared on its hind legs, causing both Foggy and the man he attempted to save to take a tumble right in front of the beast.

[DragonSong]

With Aya clinging to his back, Darkmoon lunged forward and sank his teeth-- far too sharp for a typical horse-- into the back of the basilisk's neck, picking the creature up and flinging it away with a toss of his head.

Using the horse's body as cover, Aya rolled off him and crouched beside the two thrown riders. "You both alright?" she asked quickly.

[Lowen Thorn]

Foggy was absolutely floored by Darkmoon's abilities, so much so that he did not immediately register Aya's question. Coming to, he shot her a quick look and nodded. "We're fine," he said assuringly. "Incredible creature, your horse."

[DragonSong]

Aya beamed proudly and glanced at the stallion, still standing in front of them with his wings flared protectively. "He is."

She looked back and held a hand down to Foggy. "Let's get you mounted again, c'mon." She whistler sharply for Storm; she hadn't gotten much chance to get to know the animal, but hopefully he'd still come.

[Lowen Thorn]

Storm quickly rejoined Foggy, Aya, and the other soldier. Just before mounting the horse, Foggy gave the woman a quick nod and motioned for the other soldier to fall back for cover until he could get back on his own steed.

"Okay, m'lady," Foggy said as he leveled his sword hand. "I think it's about time we wrap this one up."