Where Rumors Grow [M] [Giraffe]

[Goldie]

Jelani was lost in the fire within herself. A fire that made her skin burn to the touch and made everything else superfluous. She knew Pyla had hold of her, but it was secondary and she barely responded as her sister pulled her across the sand. Tiny micro cuts appeared on exposed skin, some deeper than others, and still the winds rose.

She needed to control it. The storm still raged, but Pyla had removed them from the brunt of it and on some level Jelani understood that they were safe for now.

Her arms were wrapped around her torso in a desperate attempt to hold her magics in. There was still worse... much worse...that could be unleashed if she wasn't careful.

"Pyla." She gasped, blood dripping from her nose, "I'm trying...need to...control." and she curled in on herself in the cave and pulled back on that string she had unraveled to save them.

[wandering_giraffe]

Pyla had never seen Jelani like this.
She pulled Jelani close,, wrapping her arms around Jelani.
"You can do this," she said calmly.
"You were chosen as the leader for a reason, and even if I have never said it, you were the best choice."
Pyla took deep breaths, hoping that it would ground Jelani some.
"I know it's difficult, but breathe with me. Slow down your breathing. Focus."

[Goldie]

She didn't fight or argue when Pyla pulled her close. In any other circumstance she would have, but here in this hell she welcomed it. Even with her eyes closed, she could feel the rise and fall of her chest and she focused on it. Pyla was right. She needed to breathe. She needed calm.

So Jelani honed in on that feeling, the steady rhythm of her breath and of her heart. She grasped onto it with everything she had and pulled on that thread with more confidence and more strength than she ever realized existed within herself. She pulled, and she wound the threads of magic into a tight ball. Blood pour ed from both nostrils and her skin boiled to the touch, but the storm eventually stopped and a deafening silence fell upon the world.

But Jelani didn't move. Exhaustion had claimed her in those last moments and her body forced herself into darkness to recover. It would take time, but eventually the fever would disappear and her body would stop shaking.

[wandering_giraffe]

Pyla quickly grabbed a soft handkerchief and pressed it to Jelani's nose, stopping the bleeding and cleaning up the blood.

She didn't know much about how magic worked, but with how hot Jelani's skin felt, she was worried about a fever.
"I'm sorry, this isn't going to be comfortable, but I've got to do it."
She unrolled the blanket she had tied to her knapsack and covered Jelani with it, tucking it around her shoulders and leaning her up gently against the cave wall.
She carefully took a look outside. The sand storm seemed to have died down. She hoped whoever had tried to ambush them would have lost them in the ensuing sand storm.

She strained her ear. She could hear something in the distance...she grabbed her staff and waited. As she looked, she could make out a bird...it was Zephyr! He was limping, a pitiful cry coming out of him. She threw her desert staff and ran to him, carefully picking him up.
"Zephyr! How are you alive?!"
But behind him was a blood trail...if the ambushers were smart...they didn't have long. She carried him into the cave and set him down, stabilizing his arrow wound. She checked on Jelani again, making sure she wasn't feeling any worse.

 
She sighed, running a hand through her hair. That whole situation could have gone so much worse.
Pyla leaned against the cave wall, anxiously taking a glance every now and then outside of the cave.

[Goldie]

It didn't take terribly long for Jelani to stir and when she did she was covered in sweat from the fever and the blanket tucked tightly around her. Her head was fuzzy and she was thirsty but otherwise very much alive and aware of their situation.

"Pyla." Her voice came out as a croak while she pushed aside the blankets and shakily rose to her feet. She stumbled over to where her friend stood by the front of the cave.

"What's our status?" And then she noticed the blood and the bird, "He's alive?" She asked, surprised.

[wandering_giraffe]

The bird was alive...but barely. After Pyla stabilized his wound he went limp, and she thought he was dead.
Pyla was concentrating so much on making sure they hadn't been followed, that she didn't hear Jelani get up.
Jelani's question cut through her intense train of thought like a knife, startling her back to the present. Pyla promptly engulfed Jelani in a hug.
"You're awake!"
Then she let go of Jelani and glanced out into the relentless desert again.
"Currently, I'm trying to make sure we weren't followed here."
Pyla gestured to her knapsack.
"I have a small container of water in there. You are welcome to it."
Pyla studied something suspicious looking on the horizon, before figuring out it was only a dead bush.
"So those coordinates we got were a trap. I should have known they were."
Pyla looked over at Zephyr, who was currently in a deep sleep.
"I'm just glad you or Zephyr didn't get killed."
If Jelani had been killed...Pyla didn't want to think about that. Jelani was her sister in arms, her friend. She quickly wiped away a stray tear from her eye.

[Goldie]

Jelani returned the hug with a single arm before pulling away and taking Pyla up on the water. Her mouth was dry and dusty from both the sand and the effort it took to control the desert. It was why she rarely did it - raising the sand for cover  was one thing, but the wind was uncontrollable and went its own way. If she wasn't careful it would kill her.

But not today.

"We were both fooled." I've always been a fool, she added silently, "But I wouldn't have been able to sleep if we didn't come and see. Any lead could bring us closer to those missing pages and they cannot fall into the wrong hands. You know as well as I what's at stake."

She sighed and rubbed her thumb and forefinger against the bridge of her nose, "Rumors have been spreading, Pyla. I've tried to quell them but....people are searching for the city."

[wandering_giraffe]

Pyla gasped. The city...rumors were spreading? But how...
"What if...what if that wasn't a trap..."
Pyla half muttered to herself, pacing around the cave like a maniac.
"Jelani! What if the pages are there, in that sinkhole thing? What if the ambushers were just trying to kill us since they knew we would go there eventually? But...what if we spring their own trap on them? Sneak in...find the papers...and then collapse the sinkhole on them!" She stopped her pacing and looked at Jelani.
"It sounds like false hope...but it could work..."

[Goldie]

Jelani grunted softly. As usual, Pyla wore her emotions on her sleeve and was quick to voice things that might better be left unsaid. She was loyal, honest, and that honestly was why Jelani selected her to come in the first place. As the leader of the Mtetezi people were constantly itching to gain favor despite her very open and deep seated hatred for all things political. Even warriors in her supposed inner circle believed themselves to be greater than others when, truly, Jelani only selected them because it was customary for her to have a guard.

As far as she saw it, a woman didn't become a soldier unless they were able to complete the rigorous trainings and pass all required examinations. Each and ever woman was capable far beyond average skills but...Pyla had never lost her freedom. She was free within the confines of their community. Free within the confines of their sacred mission.

Free to speak her mind.

"I know, Pyla." She placed a hand on her shoulder, "That has always been the hope...that one day we can gather and protect everything about him to keep our world safe.

"We'll need to investigate. Someone wanted us here, wanted me here. That someone hurt Zephyr and knows that we were caught unawares. They need to be dealt with before we turn around or our other sisters will be at risk. Are you prepared for battle?"

[wandering_giraffe]

Jelani's words had a needed mental and visible effect on Pyla, who was feeling rather discouraged.
She straightened up, pressing a fist to her heart.
"Yes, Jelani, I'm ready. For battle. For vengeance!"
She covered Zephyr carefully with her blanket, crouching down and pressing a loving hand to his forehead and closing her eyes for a moment. He was breathing more slowly than normal, but was alive.
She stood up, grabbing her sword, slinging her staff over her shoulder, and checking her knapsack, before turning to Jelani.
"How shall we attack?"
Jelani was ready to go, itching for a good fight.

[Goldie]

Jelani gave Pyla's shoulder an encouraging squeeze before withdrawing to drop her linen cloak from her shoulders and pull her own double blades from their sheaths against her back. They slid almost silently, but the sand from the storm had gotten into them making it more difficult to maneuver. That would not do.

In one quick motion the straps that held the sheaths were undone and she had dumped their contents onto the cave floor. In her bag she had oil which she applied deftly to each blade before returning them and re-buckling them to her back. Next came the daggers. Those were much easier. Sand had gotten into their sheaths as well, but a quick wipe of a cloth was all that was needed to ensure a quick, silent draw.

"That sinkhole," Jelani started to explain while she resheathed the daggers, "I don't believe it's real. I can sense the desert and that...thing...I can't sense it. That's how they caught us. We stopped."

She tightened all of her straps but left her cloak on the ground. The brown of her skin and the brown of her leather armor would blend better with the desert. Even the yellows and blues of the cloth beneath her armor was intended for camouflage. It wouldn't help with the sun, but they were far past that worry.

"Ignore your eyes. Follow me."

She didn't need to look back for acknowledgement. She knew that Pyla would be right behind her, walking into a sinkhole in the middle of the desert. 

[wandering_giraffe]

She followed Jelani, almost half expecting the sinkhole to be gone when they arrived.

The sun was sinking beyond the dunes, casting long shadows that fell over the sand, creating contrasts of inky black over the hues of golden sand.

Pyla kept one hand on her desert staff and the other hand hovering just above the hilt of her scimitar. Her eyes constantly scanned the desert, the temperature rapidly sinking now that the sun was descending.
She looked for that sense of familiarity and grief, where Zephyr had been shot protecting Jelani.
Ah...there it is. Slowly fading. She picked up the pace, almost overtaking Jelani and slowing to a stop. She drew her scimitar and crouched behind a rock. The sinkhole was still there...or was it? The more Pyla looked at it the more it felt off. Jelani was right.
She heard distant shouts. A group of men, looking to be quite well armed, numbering around 10, emerged, swords drawn; some men holding bow and arrows, and looking ready to kill. Jelani felt a chill go down her spine. These guys were not good news. She really didn't want to attack first...she looked at Pyla for confirmation to attack and then something embedded in the sand next to her.
It was a knife, buried in sand up to the hilt and still vibrating from the force of the throw.
Pyla smirked at the unfortunate man that had foolishly thrown the knife "That's the best you can do? Figures. You're all men. That's why the ladies do the fighting!"
And Pyla charged, sword in hand. And then absolute chaos happened. Pyla figured if she didn't die in this fight, Jelani was going to kill her personally.
An angry looking, older man with an unshaved beard swung his sword at Pyla and she deftly blocked it with her staff and stabbed him through the torso, the man promptly collapsing to the ground.
An arrow whizzed through the air and stuck into her staff with a thunk!
She yanked the arrow out and threw it like a makeshift knife, the arrow finding its mark with startling precision, another man falling down with a startled cry. She felt rough arms grab her from behind, a sword grazing her arm, and she slammed her foot down onto her assailant's foot, cracking his foot and causing him to release her. Pyla swiftly turned around and tripped him, letting the momentum of his fall carry into her staff, which she swung up and hit the guy square in the face, at least knocking him out. She hoped Jelani was faring well, in the chaos she had lost her.

[Goldie]

Jelani cursed audibly as the fighters appeared from the illusion. She had hoped that they would have been less obvious in their approach, especially after the wait for her recovery, but they would have no such luck today The desert wanted blood and She would have it. Pyla's bloodlust, however, was unexpected and that caused another string of curses coursing from her lips. Rushing in was foolhardy! If you let your emotions cloud your judgement on the battlefield, the battle would claim you faster than thirst.

"Pyla!" Jelani cried in a desperate attempt to draw her attention, but her sister in arms was already gone and she needed to keep up or see her friend die by a wayward blade.

Despite her years of leadership, Jelani never let her skills dull and trained daily to ensure she remained battle ready and it was apparent in the way the blades slipped from their sheath. They were not just tools of destruction, but an extension of her very arm. They moved with her, sang with her, were a part of her. She did not fight their movements but adapted to their needs as she let them whistle through the air.

One down. A crimson line from shoulder to hip appeared even as he fell and the top three inches of her blade came away stained. His companion charged in anger – fool.

Anger got you killed. Anger clouded everything.

He was close. Much closer and faster than she anticipated. Her leg lifted and she kicked him forcefully in his chest to push him back – he stumbled – her blade drank from his throat.

Another fell.

An arrow wizzed by her face followed by the sting of being struck. Nothing pressing, nothing to kill her, just a slice from the fletchings or the head. She continued, scanning the surrounded area for Pyla while also avoiding being struck.

A slice on her arm from the left told her where the arrows were coming from and she spun to dash towards the source, her lips set in a firm line. Thankfully, the sand hid her just as well as it hid them so their aim was less accurate. Then, a shadow appeared in the distance and a throwing dagger was out of her hand in an instant. The resulting thud and grunt told her that she had hit, but he didn't go down – not yet.

She was close now, so close she could almost see the whites of his eyes before he realized that another dagger was being slashed across his throat. He fell in a heap.

Pyla. Where was she??

[wandering_giraffe]

Pyla was enjoying the battle alittle too much, her scimitar dripping with blood and her staff being spun around, its' unfortunate targets falling down.
That was two gone...where were the other two?

The other two men were lurking, they had hidden themselves the moment the battle started. They didn't have swords, they were armed with daggers and murderous intent.  Pyla spotted Jelanj barely through the sand and the chaos, holding her own. Suddenly, both men jumped out from behind a small dune, viciously attacking Pyla from both sides. At first it caught Pyla off guard, but the men's attacks were uncoordinated and she slowly started to gain ground. She dropped her scimitar in the scuffle, changing to just her desert staff, swinging it hard at one of the assailants, who parried it with his arm, grunting with exertion. He swung his dagger in an inside cut, and Pyla quickly brought her staff down to block. In the chaos, the other assailant crept up behind Pyla and grabbed her. She promptly threw her head back and headbutted him, stunning him. She broke free from his grip and swung her staff again, walloping him in the side of the head.

[Goldie]

There.

As the last man fell to the bite of Jelani's blade, she finally laid eyes on her sister. She was flanked by two men and her breath caught as the second grabbed her. Jelani was too far away to do anything but stare as she pressed her toes into the sand to begin her sprint to close the gap.

Still too far. Too damned far!

But Pyla was able to free herself only to be sandwiched between the two. Gods she needed to be faster!

In a desperate attempt, Jelani summoned the desert one more time - this time in a very small amount - and sent a swirl of sand into the first man's eyes. He screamed and clawed at his face.

"Pyla, now!" She cried while sending her final throwing dagger towards his throat and praying she wasn't too far away for it to actually help.

[wandering_giraffe]

Pyla's hit didn't even phase the man, him angrily grabbing her staff while she was swinging it and twisting it. Now she was stuck between two men, unable to do much. One of them grabbed her arms. She was trapped. She could see, out of the corner of her eye, Jelani running towards them.
The other man drew back his dagger, preparing to run Pyla through.
Suddenly he cried out and reached for his eyes, dropping his dagger.
There was a spray of red and the first man dropped, a throwing knife embedded in his throat.
Pyla twisted in her captors grasp until she felt cold steel on her throat, dangerously close to her jugular vein.
"So it seems we are at a stalemate," he snarled, addressing Jelani and pressing the knife against Pyla's throat.

[Goldie]

Jelani froze, breath coming quickly as she skidded to a halt a few feet away from where Pyla now stood as a hostage. A low guttural growl rumbled in her throat and her hand gripped the hilt of her sword tighter.

"Who are you?" She hissed, but didn't make any movements that might alarm him. She had to play her hand carefully. She knew she could hit him with sand, but she couldn't guarantee it wouldn't cause his blade to jerk and slice into Pyla's throat.

"Why did you draw us here?"

[wandering_giraffe]

"I'm no one of consequence, I'm just someone that decided you jaded women need to learn your place."
His grip on Pyla unconsciously loosened as he talked. It seemed he couldn't do two things at the same time.
Pyla could tell from where the man had his knife on her throat that even if it cut deep it wouldn't hit anything major. 
"You metezei or whatever the hell you call yourselves always running around the desert, disturbing things you shouldn't. You should stay at home. Let the men do the fighting."
Pyla had had enough of this man. It was risky, but she headbutted the man hard. She could feel the knife slice across her neck, a line of sharp, red hot pain where the knife had been. She only prayed she was right, as she tried to wrestle the knife from him, blood beginning to drip down her neck.

[Goldie]

Jelani was still a good distance away that there wasn't much she could do to directly assist Pyla. Her throwing daggers were gone and that damned blade was still against her neck.

Except...

As Pyla moved, Jelani was quick to act. She summoned the desert again and whipped sand at the man's eyes hoping that it would be enough for her sister to finish him.

[wandering_giraffe]

The sand and Pyla's headbutt were too much for the man, and he let go of Pyla, who promptly grabbed her staff and knocked him over the head with it.

Pyla pressed a hand to her neck, trying to stave the crimson flow.
"Well, I'm still conscious so that's good...what if there's a whole cell of these extremists?" She worriedly asked Jelani.