Colonies in my mind (Quills!)

[Anonymous]

((I said don't worry Quills! D8 WHY ARE YOU WORRYING!))

"I look forward to it as well Hasea. We shall find ourselves there in no time if we continue this pace." Sure, Sesselav didn't actually know how long it would really take, but she couldn't see it being so long. She had chosen the best point to cut down across from, and hopefully it would end up being the shortest route. So long as the bugs didn't do anything drastic like take them out of their way. Though, if Hasea was right about them...liking her, there would hopefully not be too much trouble.

Hopefully.

Sesselav was observing the rabbits carefully, wondering just what they were about. It never crossed her mind that they could be dangerous, or they could be some sort of spy for a mage that could speak to animals, or creatures that could a man's head off. It just didn't occur to her, because they were just bunnies after all. In her world, it wasn't common or even possible, especially the man eating neck chomping kind of bunnies. They couldn't do that, they were just little bunnies.

"Maybe they were confused about us for a moment...thought we were just insects...which would not be unusual for them to see..." They might have thought that Hasea and Sesselav weren't as close as they really were, thinking they were just tiny bugs, or a swarm of them. A queen leading her bugs to a new places. Until they realized that they were close, and they were much larger than them.

"Such strange little creatures."

[Anonymous]

((I wasn't, but I am now... O.O))

Hasea nodded. They'd come quite far already, although a few miles felt much shorter when they were talking while they travelled. She smiled and joked, "If we get there... Too fast... I'd miss... I'd miss walking... With you..."

She made little noises of agreement as Sesselav went through reasons for the creatures not to run from them. They did make sense, really, even if she had been sort of hoping to make friends with one. Just to see if she was on a roll today, of course. She giggled. "But they are so... So fuzzy..."

Just then a large spotted cat-like animal stepped out of some long grass a distance away. It was the leopard from earlier, its face injured by its tangle with the swarm. Even though the little animals would have barely been a snack, almost anything would do to replace its stolen lunch. It looked at the pair, however, and flicked its long tail indignantly before slinking away. It was hungry, but not hungry enough to make a repeat of its earlier ordeal. Yet.

Hasea twisted her head around a little further to watch it leave. "Maybe... Maybe we should... Walk a bit faster..."

[Anonymous]

((Well you shouldn't be! STOP WORRYING!))

"The company is definitely good, and it does help to get rid of the boredom of the walk." Sesselav smiled at her friend, nodding her head. She really did like having Hasea around, it did help to stave off the thought of all the walking and travelling. The things they'd be able to talk about would be very interesting, and...she just hoped that in the end, Hasea would be able to remember her till the very end of this. She didn't...well, she really didn't like the idea of her friend forgetting her.

It would be...hurtful to see.

"Oh yes...they are very fuzzy." The ant woman agreed. While she couldn't truly appreciate their fuzziness, her wings had more nerves than her exoskeleton, and she occasionally had little bunnies sleep on them. They found them so comfy, probably because of how smooth they were, and she really didn't want to argue with the adorable little creatures. Of course, these ones were quite wild and would probably not care to sleep on her wings. Pity really, but there was nothing that she could really do about it.

Sesselav noted the leopard as well, the beast watching them cautiously. At least it hadn't gone after the bunnies right? It was probably quite mad with them, more specifically with Hasea. That couldn't be good at all. Hasea had the swarm around her, and perhaps it looked at her like the Queen. This was not good at all. Nervously, Sesselav's mandibles clicked together, herself making a chittering sound of sorts. Well, that was very...uhh...interesting. Yes. Interesting was a great way of putting it actually.

"I agree. We should walk much faster." With a nod of her head, Sesselav began to walk a bit faster, though not at a run, if they ran, it would probably give chase and end up...well...attacking them. Killing them even, or at least trying. She would probably survive easily, she had a good exoskeleton after all...but not Hasea. She was soft and squishy. "We must be wary."

[Anonymous]

(( FINE B| and omg so jealous of Sesselav =O I want baby bunnies sleeping on my wings...))

Journeying alone could be very boring, with only the changing landscape to let Hasea know that she was actually getting somewhere. Most of the time she didn't have a particular destination in mind, though, so it could also seem relaxing and, in turn, a reason for despair. "Walking is... Always the same... But that makes it easy..." She realised that hadn't come out quite the way she meant, even if it was sort of true, and added, "Still... Different is better... Much better..."

She giggled with Sesselav's agreement. She was surprised somehow that the ant queen could appreciate as cute the same things she did, although she didn't really know why. There was an idea she'd heard somewhere that people found things cute partly because they reminded them of babies, and baby things of many species tended towards being small, round and helpless, didn't they? Even insects. That was probably what it was.

Why could she always remember the useless things?

Hasea too sped up, to the kind of pace she used to walk at when she thought she might have had a lead. It wasn't easy to sustain for long, and she'd since learned that she got farther faster if she didn't have to rest as often, but it was just right for a time like this. Whether the leopard had tracked them or it was just coincidence, she didn't know. If it had really gone away or if it was stalking them, she also didn't know. It was nerve-wracking, and she had very few nerves left to wrack.

She looked around twitchily, not sure what signs to look for. She had the feeling that if the leopard did try to eat them, actually seeing it would mean it was too late to do anything about it. "What... What do we... Do if it..." she whispered.

The swarm would surely help... But would that be enough?

[Anonymous]

((Wait, you have wings?! I mean. Yeah, I bet that'd be fun!))

Journeying alone was very boring, and Sesselav wasn't really used to it. Even if she did managed to escape for a few hours, eventually the drones and workers would catch up to her and try and either escort her back, or barrage with a ton of questions till she just got sick of it and went back to the hive. She knew she was truly alone when she walked away from a small town and nothing came after her. Nothing caught up with her to tell her to return to the hive for safety...nothing asked her about what it was like, or where she had gone, there was just...nobody.

Not anymore though, there was Hasea.

"I agree, different is better." She smiled and nodded to her friend. In her old life, she couldn't imagine it being this...simple. It was so...easy to have a friend. She couldn't ever imagine it being like this when she was a queen, walking in the open with a human. It was confusing, but at the same time...clear as day.

If Sesselav had to figure out why she found baby animals so cute, she probably would. She found baby insects cute after all, caterpillars and maggots, little larvae and the like. Most people didn't find those as cute, but for her it spanned over multiple species. Hell, she even found tadpoles to be kinda cute. But baby mammalian animals had their own strange way about them. Probably it was the ability to vocalize a pathetic nature. The little noises that they could make when in trouble or lost. Bugs didn't really have those sounds...they had...smells of sorts that they gave off in a way, at least, her species did...she wasn't too sure about others. In any event...occasionally her tunnels would break into a small den of rabbit babies, and Sesselav herself would ensure their safety. They struggled at first, but she learned about proper pheremones in order to stop the mother and father rabbit from being afraid of her...and soon they'd all be asleep in a corner of her private chambers.

She missed that.

Hasea posed an interesting question, and Sesselav tried to think of an interesting answer. "If it does...I will distract it. You are soft and fleshy, it will cause much harm to you. It will do a lot less damage to myself. We just must hope that when it grows tired it doesn't go after you." The only problem was it was a hunter. It could see which was a better target, and hopefully despite Hasea being a little...flighty in her ways, it would remember the swarm around her, and see Sesselav as an easier target. Sesselav could deal with it...she didn't have a lot of fighting experiences, but she knew that with mammals, the fleshy creatures with bones on the inside, snapping the neck or spine was an instant death. If she had to, she could try to do that. While she was acrobatic, it wasn't really for fighting...but she could try and convert it for that use.

After a few swift kicks and failed leaps, hopefully it would see the folly of its ways and move it. She didn't particularly like the idea of killing it, but...if it was a choice between it and Hasea, and she'd kill the leopard in a heartbeat.

[Anonymous]

((I do now! =D This took forever to write 'cos I kept breaking out in squee at Sesselav with tiny bunnies. It is hard to type in a squee >.>))

"I'm... Glad you... Glad you agree..." Hasea didn't entirely know why she said that. Sesselav had been a queen, and that was a good thing, wasn't it? It meant she'd been liked and respected and looked after... But that must have made suddenly being alone so much worse. That was probably what this was different from. It was a complicated situation though, Hasea thought, and it wasn't really her place to speculate.

It wasn't her place to ask about it, either, so she'd just have to leave well enough alone.

The ant woman was going to try to fight the leopard? Sure, she was probably decently tough, but on the other hand it was big and strong and built for killing things. Hasea had no idea what kind of match-up that would be, and she didn't want to try to predict the outcome. She looked at Sesselav with wide eyes. "Will you... Will you be... All right?" She'd hate it if her friend got hurt because of her. It would be terrible! Unforgivable! "I could... I could try... To help..." she suggested. "With... With magic?"

But... Well... She guessed that her friend felt the exact same way that she did. All she wanted was for everything to turn out happily, like it should. That wasn't too much to ask, was it?

[Anonymous]

((xDD You're a dork you know that?))

Now she had to help her new friend out, get rid of these blasted ants, and hopefully Hasea would be able to heal. She knew about magic, and divine graces of beings more powerful than some could imagine, and she knew that while resilient, a brain couldn't just heal from being dug out by ants, after having holes literally carved into it. How they managed to attack non-essential areas of the brain she could never guess...but to get them back...that would be a real challenge. Else she'd be like a lobotomized puppet for the rest of her life.

Sesselav didn't enjoy that idea, and knew that she'd find a way to help her friend out. Someone had to have some powers over such things, someone would be able to help Hasea rid herself of the swarm. Otherwise...well...Sesselav didn't know. She simply refused to think of what may happen...of what she might have to do. If Hasea was suffering...or believed she would be suffering, then Sesselav might...do a mercy killing.

Though, she was shocked she was even thinking that. It was a possibility they wouldn't talk about no doubt. Amazing how just a few hours ago they had just met...and now Sesselav was thinking about ending her suffering. Which wasn't actually uncommon really, she thought about mercy killings all the time back in her hive. Drones got injured, and their ability to heal wasn't all that great, so, there were times when the best thing to do was to end the suffering.

Sesselav quickly shook it from her head. She would help Hasea rid herself of the ants, and she would find someone who could heal Hasea's brain. If...If Hasea wanted that of course.

"I don't think I would be too hurt but...the assistance is very welcome if it comes to one of us being attack. All that must be done, is make a show for the beast...so that it realized we are not easy prey, and it is better off somewhere else." With Sesselav being too...much of a bug, and too difficult to really catch, and Hasea with her bugs and her...magic, if they got attacked by the beast, hopefully it would see that they were not easy prey and it could end badly for the leopard. That was the hope of course...that was the real hope.

[Anonymous]

((If it makes me a dork to think it's ADORABLE when a giant humanoid ant snuggles with bunnies, then I guess I'm a dork... XP))

Hasea nodded decisively. "So... We try... We try to... Look tough... And scary... I... I can do that..." She giggled. "You wouldn't... Wouldn't think so... Would you?" The girl was scrawny and meek, but she could defend herself when she had to. If the swarm didn't put an attacker off, a flashy spell or two would do the trick. They didn't even have to be strong, just noisy and confusing enough to give a good scare.

Of course, that was if she could still do them. She hadn't used her magic in a while, and there was no guarantee it would even work.

She glanced tentatively around her again and then, when she didn't see anything, up at the sky. The sun was getting dangerously close to the horizon. That was bad. "I don't... Don't know... How much daylight... Is left..." she mentioned nervously. If the leopard decided to wait for nightfall to attack... Well, she just hoped Sesselav could see in the dark.

[Anonymous]

((Well, that's good because...well, you are a dork. So it works out for everyone doesn't it?))

"Are you kidding? With all those bugs around you, I am sure most people think twice about approaching you. I just...felt...kinship in some small way." She didn't want to say in a big way, because...well she was a Queen, while Hasea was...a walking hive. Hasea was the unfortunate soul who had been seen by swarm and turned into a walking home for them. While on the other side, Sesselav had been born into this position of power...though, she wasn't volunteering to be exiled from her realm. So...there were similar unfortunate parts of their lives that they could fall back on.

"I will...do my best to look as threatening as possible."  Just as she spoke, her wings slowly spread out. She wasn't a like a bird, who would rather have their wings tucked at their side, and then use them to fly whenever she pleased. No, Sesselav could have her wings out whenever she pleased, however she pleased, and at this time...she pleased to have them unfolded, to make her look much larger, and she hoped, much more imposing.

"The darkness will hinder me a little...but my eyes can see well at night." It was the design of course, it was the particular way her eyes worked. In extreme conditions of course, Sesselav was able to use her smelling sight to see better...and this was a good condition actually. There was only really...grass to smell, so she could pick up the scent of the leopard in the dark as easy as she wanted. Hopefully.

[Anonymous]

((Not for the people who had money riding on me not being a dork, but that's their own fault I guess. ;P))

"That... That is true... I guess..." Hasea had sort of noticed that being hassled was one of the few things she didn't have to worry about. She'd thought it had less to do with her looking scary, though, and more like she looked disgusting or, in the case of animals, unappetising. The bugs gave the effect, she supposed, of week-old carrion wandering about and a lot of predators wouldn't eat that. She'd had some problems with vultures in the past but they usually gave up when it became apparent that she wasn't just about to fall over and die.

"Oh! Wow... They're so... So nice..." She breathed, marvelling at Sesselav's wings. They were pretty enough folded in, but all spread out like that with the slightly orange-tinted light shimmering through them, they were even more impressive. "They make your spikes look... Extra... Extra spiky..." she added, with some vague hand gestures. She didn't think the ant woman needed to do all that much to make herself look not like a target, but every little bit would help. Even if they were just for show, most animals had more sense than to go after something with that many pointy bits.

She clapped her hands together. "That's good... If you can see it... We can... We can beat it...?" She wasn't completely sure of this, because after all, there would still be some fighting to do. But they'd have an advantage. Hopefully, it would work out. "Right?"

[Anonymous]

((Who wouldn't have money riding on you being a dork? That's just silly!))

If she had to take any guess, Sesselav believed it was probably the swarm that made people think twice about Hasea. Maybe they thought she was the walking dead, or maybe they thought she was just one of those nature people, the ones who communed with the animals and the plants...and the insects. However, if people had just...decided to get to know her, they would have found that Hasea was not a bad person at all. Really, Sesselav was sure that she wouldn't hurt a fly. Maybe one of the swarm, but not something that did nothing to her.

She could understand if she did of course, since they were...well...killing her in a way. Still, if people just...looked past the swarm to the woman inside of it...they'd be surprised.

"Thank you, I am glad that you like them." Sesselav looked back at her wings, they looked like dusty cobwebs but they were actually quite strong in fact. She couldn't fly, but she could glide when she needed to. OF course, she hadn't needed to in a long time but they were now here to make her look a lot more fearsome. Mainly, they made her look bigger, and that's what she needed, to look bigger, more dangerous, like she shouldn't be attacked because she was stronger.

She only hoped that they worked on the leopard.

Sesselav looked to Hasea pointedly when she said they could beat it if they could see it. "Right Hasea." She wouldn't dare tell her friend that it was a possibility that they wouldn't be able to. Hopefully it would be smart enough to just stay away from them and there would be no fighting.

[Anonymous]

((Um, people who aren't very observant, obviously. >.>))

"Of course... Of course I like them..." giggled Hasea. "Hee hee... They're all... Wing-y..." She brought her hands up to shoulder height and wagged them happily. It was kind of stupid, she knew, but she hoped it would lessen the tension somehow.

She was just as unsure as Sesselav, really, but she always had to find a bright side. In her kind of situation, turning to pessimism simply wasn't an option. "Yeah... Because we've... We've got... Teamwork..." Maybe a little too much teamwork, she thought, itching yet another swarm-induced tickle. Still, that had been the point of quite a few moral-of-the-story things she'd been told when she was little. If people banded together, they could beat much worse things than they could alone. She wasn't sure if this extended to two women versus a leopard, but since they both had experience working in teams... A lot of experience... They might come out all right.

And frankly, the two of them were owed a whole lot of good luck.

She glanced around all the while, trying to make out some stealthy shape in the waning light. There didn't seem to be anything when she looked, but she was still uneasy. What she didn't see was the form, pressed low to the ground, scuttling expertly from long grass to bush to tree, always about two hundred yards behind them. If easier prey came along it would leave them be, but it was so, so hungry and right now, it would take what it could get.

[Anonymous]

((Well, obviously.))

"Yes, they are pretty...wing-y aren't they?" Sesselav agreed with a smile as she looked to her wings once and gave them a little flex. They were intimidating, sharp looking, but also beautiful. A man had complimented once on her wings, and she at least understood what the man at meant. Of course, she had no idea that the man had a fetish for wings or anything like that. She had left the tavern pretty quickly after getting directions, though the man had looked increasingly forlorn about the whole thing. She just assumed that it was one of those human things.

"Yes, because we have teamwork. Two heads are much better than one...and...I guess...one million heads are better than two." Sesselav eyed the swarm and Hasea for a moment before shaking her head. She was sure the swarm could be very handy but...still, she didn't want to make Hasea use them. It really wasn't...she wasn't comfortable. The woman didn't seem to use them all that much so...she wasn't sure it would be a good idea.

Sesselav continued to monitor the air, sniffing at it cautiously. She wasn't sure if there was anything there....the air didn't seem to have any colour to it, everything seemed...well...normal. Grass...Hasea...the swarm...herself...ground...there wasn't anything there. Nothing out of the ordinary. The creature stalking them was smart, staying downwind and all. "We should hope....that the swarm might be able to sense the creature or see it before we can. They are many after all..."

[Anonymous]

((Sorry this took longer than I said it would. I would've posted yesterday but I was pretty much asleep by the time I got in. >.<))

Hasea squealed excitedly and clapped her hands when Sesselav twitched her wings. "They... They moved!" They were funny and delicate-looking and so, so lovely, and she had the urge to reach out and touch them. She resisted it, though. That would just be rude.

She followed Sesselav's gaze and looked around herself before realising what was meant. "Oh... Yes... They... They will help... Probably..." Her voice would have had a hint of sarcasm, if she was any good at it. "They wouldn't want... Wouldn't want me to get... Get killed..." They didn't really care all that much if she got injured, so long as it wasn't life-threatening, but if she died they'd really be in trouble. An empty body was no use to them; without the host mind, the queen would die and the rest of the colony would surely follow. It was in their best interest – well, their only interest, really – to protect her.

Sensing Hasea's heightened state of nervousness, the swarm began to spread gradually outward. They'd done this hundreds of times before they'd learned to tell actual fear of something from their host's general uneasiness at the entire world, so they knew what they were doing. Each individual could sense only a small range, but together they could cover a much larger area, and they drifted out in a careful, methodical circle so as not to miss anything.

The leopard followed, keeping its distance, waiting for the right time to reveal itself. It would be only a short while before the swarm covered enough ground to spot the pursuing animal, but with the light fading, it was hard to say which would reach its target first.

[Anonymous]

((Tsh tsh, think nothing of it!))

"Well...they are part of me Hasea...I can control them with a thought." Sesselav said as she looked over her shoulder at the wings and flexed them once more with a smile. It had been quite a while since she had had to use them actually. She almost wished there was a place to go right now that she could use them...but then Hasea wouldn't be able to follow, and that would be saddening.

Sesselav nodded, slightly sad that her friend would have to use the creatures that were killing her, and admit that they were helpful on some small level...she didn't much care for it but...it was something that had to be done. If they could prevent Hasea and Sesselav from being attacked, then...well, then it had to be done didn't it? They could help after all, little by little they could help...but Sesselav and Hasea would probably never let them go...they would have to die eventually, or leave Hasea's body completely.

Sesselav remained calm as the swarm passed around her. It was a little disconcerting, she could hear some of the thoughts...some of the images clearer...and she really didn't like them. It was...just plain weird. Some of them involved her, but she wasn't sure what they wanted from her. Maybe they didn't see her as a threat, which was most likely.

Once more the queen twitched her wings and shook her head. "Let us maybe...keep walking a little faster." Sesselav couldn't deny that she didn't feel right...that there was something wrong...and as the wind shifted there was a new smell in her sights. Quickly Sesselav turned around to see if she could follow it with her senses. "It's out there. It's behind us, stalking us!" Sesselav began to panic. What should they do?! It was stalking them, and it was smart! It wasn't frightened by her at all, and she couldn't get an accurate look of where the smell was coming from.

"Should we run? Do we...try to hide...or should we stand our ground?" She knew that if they ran, if they tried to escape from it, then the creature would end up giving chase, and more than likely Hasea would be the one to stumble and fall and she'd be the one to get attacked by the leopard. Oh this was bad...this was very...very bad.

[Anonymous]

((If you say so... ^^))

"Yeah... I guess to you they're... Just like arms... Or legs..." Hasea swung her arm a little to illustrate her point, not that it needed it. "Only nicer..."

Hasea's eyes widened at Sesselav's warning and she turned to look also. "Behind us... Are you sure..." she started. Of course Sesselav was sure! She'd spent most of the day calming Hasea down from ridiculous panics, so if she wasn't, she wouldn't be saying it. "Yes... You are... Aren't you..."

She started to blink faster as she thought as hard as she could. What could they do? Running and fighting would probably both turn out badly, and they couldn't hide if they couldn't make it lose them. She twitched her fingers nervously, trying to recall the movements that would call up a spell, any spell, and the swarm fanned swiftly out behind the pair without needing to be told. "I think hiding... But..." She looked around desperately but couldn't make out much on the plains. If there was a good hiding spot, she couldn't see it. "Can... Can you see... Anywhere we... We could be safe..."

The leopard noticed the thick black cloud moving toward it, and remembered what happened earlier. Those things again! It was too hungry to scare this time, and it wasn't going to lose another meal to them. It eyes fixed on its prey and it prepared itself...

[Anonymous]

((I do say so, that's why I said it duh!))

"Oh? And I thought that I had nice arms and legs." The queen crossed her arms over her chest and tried to look rather indignant, but...exoskeletons had a bad sort of way about them. In the end, she just laughed and uncrossed her arms. "Only teasing Hasea. I know that my wings are much nicer, it's okay." She didn't want her friend to think she was insulted or anything along those lines. She really wasn't, she knew how beautiful her wings were after all.

"I am very...very sure Hasea." Her tone said it all really, she was completely serious about it. It wasn't something that she could joke about, no, this was real, and it was happening. It was a very scary thing at that, but all through it, Sesselav found herself caring only about her friends safety. That's all she could really care about, because she was completely sure that Hasea would be the one to get injured the most...having soft fleshy skin and all.

Sesselav took her eyes away from where the leopard was to look for any place to go. There was nothing though, flat land...a tree wouldn't work either because...well...the trees could be climbed by the leopard as well. They saw that already. "No...I don't think there is any place." So they would have to stay and fight then...plain and simple. Well, it wasn't really simple...and it wasn't really a good thing either...still...it would have to do.

"Get ready Hasea...if it leaps at you...then try to use your magic to scare it...maybe blow it away with something?" She had seen the capabilities of magic to some degree...fire...lightning...earth...wind...ice...if Hasea could any of these, it would work out great for the pair. Just anything...would do.

[Anonymous]

((You could be lying! D:))

"Well... Arms are boring... They just do... Just arm stuff..." Hasea poked herself in the shoulder and winced slightly. She was bony and bruised easily, so that wasn't a very smart thing to do. "Wings are... Different..."

Nowhere to hide, then. "Oh, that's... Oh... Yes..." She nodded frantically. If it came down to it, and it would, she'd have to use her magic. It had been a long time since she'd had to cast any spells at all, and even longer since she'd had to try and fight with them. She needed to try to relax a little, to concentrate, but that was next to impossible in such a situation. It would help if she could close her eyes, but she had to see what was happening. She tried to control her breathing, make it easy and slow, feel the littlest currents in the air around her.

"All right..." she whispered, straining to extend her control further and further out. "All right... I could... I can do this..." She shuddered with effort, but her hands were completely still, held in front of her as if gently cupping something. She had to close her eyes, just for a moment, just for that little bit more strength...

And of course, that was when the leopard moved. It burst out from its hiding spot, aiming to break through the thickest part of the swarm before they could start biting. They clustered around it as it closed the distance, but it could ignore them for now... It was just so hungry...

[Anonymous]

((I would never ever lie to you Quills <3))

"I suppose that wings do a lot more than arm and leg stuff." Sesselav agreed with a smile, her mandibles pulling up into that classic odd look. She was getting much more comfortable with smiling and emotions. They were difficult to emulate with her limited ability but she was finding a way.

Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, nowhere for them to escape this predator...and they had to do something...they had to find a way to combat this single threat. At least that's all it was...just a single threat. Sesselav still couldn't imagine being attacked by even one thing...and here she was...being attacked by one thing! It would never have happened in her world, where she was always watched usually...now she wished that she had some sort of...well, she wished that she had a drone with her...or a good knife.

Wait. She had spikes didn't she? She could try and use that to her advantage!

First though, she'd hope that Hasea could somehow manage to scare it off. She really didn't like the idea of...killing. In the poor beasts defence it was hungry, it had its meal eaten by the swarm, and so it was really just...hungry. She wished that something could be done...but all they had were the onions...and even then...the creature probably didn't much care for onions.

"Please let this work." Sesselav spoke quietly as she flapped her wings gently, trying to look as intimidating as possible.

[Anonymous]

((You're lying right now! D8))

The leopard was close enough now that it had to choose a target, which wasn't difficult. Not running directly at pointy things was a basic life skill, and one of the pair was considerably pointier than the other. Neither was trying to run, which worried it somewhere deep in its little animal mind, but that also meant it'd take less effort to catch one. So, the obvious thing to do was to head for the least effort, just standing there, non-spiky prey.

And just then, Hasea opened her eyes to see it charging towards her, and she whimpered. Not even sure what she was doing, she reflexively flailed into something that she hoped was a spell, sending a small whirlwind rippling across the grass. The leopard smacked into the wall of churning air and stalled. What just happened?! It was not used to prey that did that.

It snarled and weaved from side to side, deciding whether to have another try or just give up. On one hand, it was starving and the wind could have just been a fluke, but on the other, these two seemed like too much trouble and the damn insects were biting it again.

"Should... Should I hit it again?" Hasea looked nervously over to Sesselav. She didn't want to hurt it any more than she needed to, but she didn't know if it was going to go away. Overhead, clouds started to gather, obscuring the appearing stars and hastening the nightfall. A rumbling noise made her blink and tilt her head curiously, but she was too focused on the poor confused cat to work out what it was.