Oh, but they won't find you here [mda]

[Anonymous]

Brennus struggled through the snow, every step a struggle.  He could barely lift his boots high enough to move him another foot, and once again he thought he was going to fall down and die.  This was no place for a storekeeper and businessman like him; this was a place for barbarians!

He shivered and pulled his jacket closer to his body, hoping that it would in some way give him more heat.  However, he knew that he had wrung all the heat from it he could get.  Foolishly he thought that if he had a bit of magic he could keep himself warm.  He shook his head and pressed on.  Ever onward.

Mumbling to himself about the damned pelicans, he had to admit that not even those cursed birds could find him up here.  And when he was here, his arm and his forehead did not sting where they had tried to peck him to death.  Once he got into the city--if he made it over these blasted mountains, of course--he would have himself a nice mug of hot ale and a long, long sleep.  It would be a nearly impossible journey, but he knew that he could do it.  After all, what choice did he have.

It wasn't like he asked to be attacked by a flock of pelicans.

He took another step and another and somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that he would never make it to the city.  The wind roared around him, and the only thought he could muster to comfort himself was that at least he wouldn't die by the beak of birds.

[Anonymous]

Something giant, winged and loud was flying over the snow and it was hunting. It spotted something down below moving very slowly and awkwardly: easy prey for a harpy.

Demya was hunting for food while her sister was planning an attack on Connloath. Demya couldn't stand to sit around talking when there were open skies to invade and conquer so she had promised to return with food: yummy, delicious food all the way from the mountains. Vyne needn't know how far she went to get the food, just so long as she came back in time for the first attacks. Considering how recruitment was going, would take a long time.

Demya spiralled around the solitary creature, chirping happily at what she had found. 'Helloooo down there! I'm going to eat you!' she called. Demya was not known for her tact.

She flew lower so that she could get a closer look and beamed at the human. Humans were so silly. What would one be doing all the way over here? In her excitement she allowed a couple of vines to start curling around the man's feet. They didn't touch him but they were close enough to know she meant business.

[Anonymous]

Brennus' own thoughts tumbled around in his brain so loudly that he almost didn't hear the incoming predator.  However, even though his mind tumbled back and forth, he could still hear the squaking and the flapping of wings.

Quickly he turned around now and looked up into the sky and saw the creature with a start.  Never in his life had he quite seen a bird that big and though his heart began to race as he knew that the Pelikan had finally won, he realized that something was not right.  (Beside, of course, the fact that he was being chased by pelicans in the first place.)  His hands trembled visible, from the cold or from the fear, he did not know.

"G-go away," he stuttered as frost tried to silence him.  He turned and took a couple of steps as fast as his legs could move, but he looked back over his shoulder at the approaching creature.  "G-go."  Great.  This was the end of him.  This was it.  He had wished away pelicans and he got this thing.  Oh, sweet irony!

[Anonymous]

Demya landed right at the man's feet, almost touching him she was that close. 'You're a scaredy little hatchling, aren't you,' she said. 'There probably won't even be much to eat on you.'

'I'm not going away. Why would I leave with a meal in front of me. I'll probably have to catch another human for my sister though. There is soooo not enough meat on you,' she said. 'What are you doing up here anyway, this isn't exactly human territory? IOn fact, it's one of the reasons I like it up here. No humans for miles. I wasn't expecting to find food up this way but now I've found you I'll have to bring you back.' Demya could talk. It was one of her better skills.

She fluffed her feathers and tilted her head, brushing her wings against the little man. At her full hieght she was huge. 'Ah, that's better. Flying can give you cramps after several days. Now where was I. Ah yes, you're human so I'm going to eat you.'

[Anonymous]

Well, that's perfect reasoning, thought a distraught Brennus as he adjusted his tie uneasily.  The bandages on his arms rubbed against open wounds and he winced slightly.  This monster was going to eat him because he was human?  What sort of idiocy was that?

He took a step back and tripped over one of the vines, but caught himself before he could fall.  That would be the last thing he needed now.  Instead he glanced uneasily back at the creature.  "I fear I wouldn't make a very good meal," he said with as much confidence as he could muster.  (Which was, mind you, more than he actually felt now.)  "But I'll make you a deal," he continued.  "I'll make you a deal.  There's a man who has far more meat on him than me and would make a better meal for both you--and your sister--" he added with unease at the thought of two of these monstrosities.  "I am, um, looking to find him right now, which is why I'm here."

Ah, the lie slid off of his tongue so easily, and for a moment he wondered if what he was doing was right.  But he cursed you with pelicans! Brennus reminded himself.  He swallowed and continued, "He's magic, but I doubt that will be a problem for you, for I think you could deal with him adeptly.  I will find this man for you and in return--you will spare my life."  He looked up at the creature expectantly.

[Anonymous]

'Easy there, I don't want my meat bruised,' she said. She thought about his proposal then nodded. 'Okay. I will fly you to wherever you think this man is. If you don't find him, then I'll eat you.'

She tangled the vines around his feet so that he couldn't get away then started preening herself for the new flight. She wanted her feathers all nice and straight if she was going to be carrying an extra load. 'Okay, now you're going to have to stay still so those icky wounds don't open up again. I'm going to carry you in my talons; if you squirm you'll probably start bleeding and I'll have to hold tighter.' Humans were always so stupid when it came to being carried, they got such a fright that they tried to get a way, even when it would mean their death.

'Where is this man with extra meat? We don't really have to go now but it's always weird if you know your food before you eat it. I don't want to be eating potential friends,' explained Demya.

[Anonymous]

Brennus blinked and opened his eyes wide.  He had half expected that that wouldn't work.  From the way things were looking, he recognized that he could buy himself an extra hour or two of life.  Hopefully he could figure something out before his time had come to a brutal conclusion.

"Yes, um," said Brennus as he eyed the monster's massive talons and the sharpened claws.  He couldn't help but recall the pelican yesterday that gouged at his eye with its scaly feet.  The bird had missed and nicked him (severely so) above the eyebrow, but it was better than it could have been.  "Well, you see, I'm still looking for him.  I think that perhaps he could possibly be on his way to Adela."

[Anonymous]

Demya sighed and flicked her red and gold hair. 'Well, fine. I'll fly you around the area and if we don't find him I'll take you to Adela. If he isn't there, I'll eat you. You're turning out to be a not-so-easy prey after all. If you or this other guy don't taste good I'm going to spit your bits right back out. or I could tenderise you first. That might make you taste nicer. Yes, I'll do that.'

She squatted down so that they were eye to eye. She winked her pretty eyes at him and smiled, 'don't worry though, I won't hurt you until then. You never know. If I decide I like you, I might just let you live. Just don't tell my sister. We're supposed to be killing humans, not befriending them.'

[Anonymous]

Brennus listened carefully now, though he had his arms wrapped across his body in order to protect himself from the cold.  A thicker jacket would have been nice, he realized as his teeth chattered.  Not only would it keep him warm, but it would mean that if this thing did decide to bite him, he would have a better chance of living through it.

Brennus, you're supposed to be clever, he reminded himself.  You've been able to sell some strange and useless items to even the smartest of people.  Why can't you survive in the wilderness.

Well, he answered back.  I didn't think I'd ever be attacked by pelicans!

Wait . . . why am I answering back? he wondered.  But then he saw the creature staring him right in the eye and a chill shot down his spine.  The hair on the back of his neck stood on end, and it was all he could do to nod to show that he understood the monster.  Befriending him?  As horrific as that sounded, it wasn't nearly so bad as being eaten by this thing.

"O-okay," he said through his blue lips.  "Okay."

[Anonymous]

Demya noticed that the human was shiverring. Admittedly, she was cold and it was making her... perky. 'You humans are so stupid! Why on earth didn't you stay somewhere warmer or where more of those nasty clothes you humans seem to lather yourselves in,' she snapped. She didn't want her food to turn into a popsicle, not that the things still existed.

She twirled a few strands of hair around her finger and smiled at him. As scary as she was, she was quite attractive and her feathers were always nicely preened so they gleamed in the sunlight... when they didn't have speckles of human blood on them.

'Now don't squirm, I'm taking you somewhere warm so you don't die of cold. If you're a very good boy I'll even look after your wounds for you. They don't look much fun.'

She stretched out her wings and gave them a few test flaps before rising into the air. Demya loved flying more than anything else and she swirled around in intricate circles and loops before swooping down and grabbing onto the human's arms. She was able to hook her talons under his arms without hooking into them, which would really hurt. She started whistling and chirping like a male canary, (which have a much prettier song than the females,) and flew him up high into the air.

[Anonymous]

Brennus thought now as the monster leaned over and swooped him up that his heart would pop right out of his chest for it was beating so loudly now.  Blood rushed into his ears and a sudden jolt of pain ran through his arms as the creature picked him up off the ground.  How far would he have to travel in such a position?

He struggled to maintain a normal breathing rate amidst the pain in his body, and he hardly noticed that the cold snow no longer sank into his clothing.  He looked down at the ground and saw it getting farther and farther away, whisking his breath from his already-straining lungs.

Don't wiggle, he told himself.  Wiggling would mean certain death--or at least excruciating pain--and if he had a chance to live by going with this monster, than so be it.

[Anonymous]

Demya's wings beat hard against the air and her body moved with the force of her wings. She wasn't used to carrying someone for very far and would have to stop a few times each day to stop getting tired. It aslo meant she would have to bind the human up. He would proabbly forget about his promise and run away. that wouldn't be good because then she would have to find him again and eat him.

'Where did you - huff - think he would be - huff -?' she asked. 'Are you -huff - hurting?' she asked. She didn't want him to be in too much pain. Eating someone and hurting them were entirely different. if this was hurting him then she would make a vine basket for him to lie in. The problem with that was she'd look like a stalk stealing someone's baby... or so some old legends went.

Little vines started sneaking down her legs and onto the man. They went under his shirt and brushed at his hair. They weren't really for anything, she just liked playing with them. Besides, they could help with her grip, even if just a little.

[Anonymous]

"N-no, I'm fine," lied Brennus for fear of what the creature would do.  But before the words had fully fled his lips, vines curled down from the creature and wrapped themselves around Brennus' frame.  He twitched involuntarily and he tried to take his mind off of them as they slid by his skin.

"Um, well, he talked about going to Adela," choked Brennus.  "I really don't know how far that is, but I'm sure he'll be worth it."

[Anonymous]

The vines larger and tightened as Demya got irritated. The other man had better be worth it. Frankly, it would be better if she ate this one then set of to find herself another. She changed her mind: she would eat him now.

Demya dive-bombed straight down to the earth, it was a fair way down so it would take just under a minute to get there. Demya was always a high-flier. She let go of the man about half way and jerked herself into an almost still position. The vines holding him either rubbed against his skin or snapped. Those that didn't snap hung from her legs and shrank until they disappeared.

Pelicans?

Why were there pelicans chasing after her prey? Her prey? They would not get away with this. She turned back into the dive-bomb and shot vines straight down below her, entangling the falling man. 'Mine!' she shrieked at the pelicans. 'MINE!'

[Anonymous]

Just when Brennus thought that he had a chance of escape, something went horribly wrong.  The monster started to dive towards the earth, decending at a frightening speed.  Brennus gripped some of the vines for dear life, but before he knew it, he heard a tell-tale snap as the first vine broke.

He looked upward and saw as the harpy let go of him.  The pressure around his arms disappeared, but only for the briefest of seconds before the vines started to grate across his skin, opening a wound on his chest that had just begun to close.  He cried out in pain, and only then did it occur to him that he was falling, and he had nothing to support him.

Brennus was going to die.

He free-falled through the air and his life flashed  before his eyes.  He realized now that he had  lived a pathetic life compared to what he could have lived.

But suddenly . . . pelicans.  Brennus' eyes grew as wide as dinner plates as he saw the incoming birds.  And wouldn't you know it--they started to hammer at him with their beaks and beat at him with their wings.  A particularly large one swooped down at him with its claws extended.

"Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" howled Brennus.

He wished he would just hit the ground and be done with it.

[Anonymous]

Demya echoed the human's howl of "Noooooooo..." with a shill, birdlike quality. She would have this human live and eat the pelicans instead. They would not take her prey from her. Vines swirled around her food's body and coocooned him tightly. The vines made their way from him to the largest pelican.

'Give me my food you ugly-billed fishbreath!' she shrieked. The wind about her body sped backwards from her as she flew after the birds, ripping them apart with talons, arms and vines. She kept flying, her eyes only on the prize before her, which was all wrapped in green... with a couple of pretty red flowers too.

'Human, are you still alive?' she called. If her prey was dead, she'd be VERY angry.

She shrieked again and the sound echoed around the ice filled mountains. The echoes added their own shrill atmosphere to the scene. If she hadn't been so focused on the pelican and parcel, she would have felt sorry for the man dangling in the air. But she didn't: she wanted her well earned food.

She came up alongside the pelican and hissed. She swung her body sideways and bashed into it, clasping as much feathers as possible as she went. She pulled at the and the pelican lost its balance and began to spiral slightly before righting itself. Blasted birds, the others were starting to attack her. She would have to ignore them until she got the main one to the ground.

[Anonymous]

Brennus' plunge towards the earth below came to a sudden and jolting halt when vines snatched him out of the sky.

He choked as his descent was cut short and he tried his best to claw the vines away from his body.  It was foolish, he realized, but some sort of ferral instict couldn't bear it as more and more vines slithered across his skin.  Before he knew it, they had completely enveloped him, and he could not move an inch.  His entire body ached and he could see nothing that was happening around him.

Great, he thought as he sat there in his coffin.  Just great.  He couldn't form any coherent thoughts now as the blood rushed through his veins.  From outside he heard the monster call to him.  He forced his lips to move and form words, but he couldn't extend his voice past his thick tongue.

Birds around shrieked and he could faintly hear their wings.  Several times pelicans dove at his vine enclosure, but none of them managed to get inside.

"I-I'm alive," he finally squeaked.  He closed his eyes and pretended that he was in a hammock in his little house and not in a vine tomb danging who knew how many feet above the ground while birds all around him fought each other to have the privelege to eat him.  "I-I'm good.  Nice and tender now, as you wanted."  No, on second thought, humor wasn't a good idea now.  This wasn't funny in the least.

[Anonymous]

'Oh, I'm not going to eat you. Not now,' she said in a harsh and overly pissed off tone. The vines around him tightened. Demya hadn't meant them to tighten and barely noticed any changed. Her anger was playing with her control and it was not being helped by the stupid, smelly pelicans pulling at her wings.

'Stop ruffling my feathers! They take forever to preen as it is,' she snapped.

She was hurting, cranky and her food was moving away from her. The buzzards kept pulling at her feathers, making their annoying noises and just being plain ugly. She swerved around the flock so that they had to try and be agile to keep up with her. Demya flew up as high as she could go then flew over the leading pelican.

'Human! Be prepared or you will be in a lot of pain!' she shouted down to the package. She bent her head forward, folder her wings and opened up her tail. In this position she shot straight down the the leading pelican and managed to clasp it roughly in her claws. This time, she did not bother where exactly her talons went. Package, pelican and person were all in her grasp. She didn't even bother with how tightly she held on, she just continued plummeting until she was close enough to the ground that she could pull up and have the following pelicans crash land in the snow.

[Anonymous]

"D-don't worry, I won't be going anywhere," chattered Brennus as he hung out inside his tomb.  Suddenly the vines started to tighten and he received the distinct notion that he was falling.

Again.

Damn it!

But before he could go too far, once again his little coffin was snatched up, but this time the monster's claws had no mercy.  Outside, he heard a pelican or two squak, but he felt no pity for them as the increased pressure on the vine encloser caused him to struggle to breath.  His head was going to pop off at any second, he just knew it!  He couldn't even bring himself to do anything but concentrate on inhaling and exhaling.

What a way to die.

However now, he was jerked upward into the air, and he realized that the monster was just toying with him. Several thumps landed in the snow below.

[Anonymous]

Demya dropped the package and the, now badly injured, pelican the last few feet. Only then did she realise how much pressure the vines were constricting the human with. 'Oh dear,' she said. 'I didn't mean to hurt you. On the plus side, I'm not going to eat you either. I have plenty of dead birds to eat now. I'll just have to pick someone up for my sister on the way back.'

Demya tilted her head as she snapped the pelican's head off with her talons. It couldn't attack her again if it was dead. 'I just hope that wasn't a poor attempt at attacking me, because it was very stupid if it was.' She settled up very close to him, so that her ruffled and bedraggled feathers brushed against him. She wrapped her wings around the two of them, or tried to. The stupid pelicans had hurt her wings and they didn't bend properly. She ignored her hurts and looked over the human, rubbing the fingers of her one arm against his badly injured body. 'Well now, we can stay here and I can keep you warm until you're not hurt or I can take you to a human place. Actually, not a human place; I hate humans.'

She made a large cocoon out of her vines and pulled the dead buzzards closer to the "hut", again with vines. Now that she was settled she pulled the human close to her. 'You'll catch you're death if you don't keep warm, my chic. I'm going to nurse you back to health but if you don't want to stay, I can take you somewhere else.'