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Mud on church steps. [open!]

Started by Rhindeer, August 05, 2016, 12:19:08 PM

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Lion

Quinlan cackled at her reaction. Good god, she'd been in the church a long time. Well, yeah, if that was all she knew. While it would have alarmed any other person, he thought it was hilarious. Oh, any prospect of cleansing his soul was gone out the window a looong time ago.

"Oh, I'm a sinner, Church Mouse. Down right and dirty. You better keep some distance. Or my sins...might rub off on you," he chuckled and tilted his head in an exaggerated display of 'gawking' and sucked air in sharply between his teeth. "Oowie, mama. I likes what's I sees-a."  And cackled again.

Quinlan nudged the horse to go on a little further and scratched at the animal's mane.  He sobered a little from the humor when she brought up his sister again. "In case I didn't say it before, I'm not exactly well-liked here in our good ol' land of the Great Grand Duke. It's kinda hard to just walk in when you're wanted for murder. Thankfully the civil war is a decent enough distraction."

He cleared his throat and shifted himself in the horse. "My sister is in trouble," he said plainly, frowning now and looking at the shadows between the trees, feeling his hackles raising on his neck.  "You see, I had a dream.  A really bad one.  And I knew I had to come to Connlaoth, to get my sister out of here.  She's the only good thing I ever left behind.   Don't you have any family?"




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Rhindeer

Clover let of a sputtering gasp at his "gawking" display, her skin going crimson. Joke or not, that was downright lewd! And she had half a mind to whip around and box his ears good, give him a good ol ' taste of church-style penance, when he sobered.

The subject of family was definitely a mood killer. "Course I've got family. My parents live in town, and my brothers. I...don't see them much."

She frowned, bunching and unbunching her skirts in her hands. "They thought it was safer that way. Distancing themselves from me, since I'm a mage and all. Didn't wanna bring bad luck upon themselves. Unlucky enough they had a mage as a daughter. So, the church is my family now."

She rolled her shoulders back and took a deep breath. "What kinda trouble's your sister in?"
Adamaris // Aderyn // Aki // Alexander // Angel // Axieva // Beatrid // Briar // Cadmus // Corryn // Einin/Owl // Emery // Fang // Faolán // Faris // Frost // Hayate // Ife // Jayari // Jirou // Juniper // Katxiel // Khaiya // Kota // Kyran // Liam // Makani // Max // Maya // Mei // Nakato // Naovi // Nasrin // Niaaki // Niamh // Noor // Pepper // Qiana // Qismat // Quinn // Raxta // Riyarin // Rook // Sachi // Sahar // Siobhan // Simonea // Sita // Song // Summer // Valor // Yasmin // Yiroa

Lion

Leaving her behind to the Church. Just like that?  He didn't know about her but that seemed awfully cruel to him. To simply separate someone because they were different. What kind of idiot thought that would actually help someone?

At least his father hadn't kicked him out for simply being a mage. If anything his father wanted his family to stay together. Stay safe with each other. That was until... 

Quinlan bit down hard on his lip in order to keep his sorrow from overwhelming him. "She's...she's under siege," he said softly. He didn't know how else to put it. "Demons that can't get to me. Are going to try and get to her...  And I have to help get to her before they do. Or get them out of her if I can.  I should have never left her behind."

He felt a tear roll down his cheek, but he wiped it quickly away with the back of his hand. "She's not cursed like I am. But demons are fickle little bastards.  They don't give a shit."




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Rhindeer

"That sounds...real bad," Clover said, awkwardly. No kidding that sounded bad! That was a massive understatement, but what else did you say to something like that?

She rolled her shoulders as a chill slid down her spine. Demons. Was it...dangerous to be with this man, who was demon-touched? Would it invite demons into herself? Was that how demonic possession worked? But what were the alternatives? Go wit him, or face the world alone.

Her belly clenched, the reality of it all sinking in another inch, but she swallowed hard. Right now, it still felt so surreal. It was probably better to keep it that way.

"How...er...how do you fight a demon?"
Adamaris // Aderyn // Aki // Alexander // Angel // Axieva // Beatrid // Briar // Cadmus // Corryn // Einin/Owl // Emery // Fang // Faolán // Faris // Frost // Hayate // Ife // Jayari // Jirou // Juniper // Katxiel // Khaiya // Kota // Kyran // Liam // Makani // Max // Maya // Mei // Nakato // Naovi // Nasrin // Niaaki // Niamh // Noor // Pepper // Qiana // Qismat // Quinn // Raxta // Riyarin // Rook // Sachi // Sahar // Siobhan // Simonea // Sita // Song // Summer // Valor // Yasmin // Yiroa

Lion

Sure, it sounding bad was only the the beginning of it. Quinlan knew that he was crazy, but he didn't know if he was crazy enough to simply 'dream' up that his sister was in danger. Why else would he risk going to some backwater wartorn country that he wanted only to put behind him? Why hadn't he taken Malena with him?

A white hot sensation scorched the bit of his torso just beneath his sternum, above his stomach, a sickening ache that made him want to take a Mordecai' head and slam it into a rock until he saw the gray pasta inside. An anger at himself that made him entwine his finger's in the horse's mane.

Until the church Mouse's question caught him off guard.  He blinked and shrugged his shoulders a little. "Well, a demon is, uh...a spirit, of sorts. And you have to fight spirits on the same level that they are. When I first got my magic, I had prayed to Ansgar...but he didn't listen, then I prayed to anyone that was, and I felt it inside of me...  Power. And it made me glow inside."

He forced out a snort. "Not like a lantern or nothing. It made me....feel alive. Like every sense was opened up and as if I'd been numb to everything until then. Like your body on the bring of ecstasy," he said nonchalantly.  Quinlan looked at her and gave her a side-long glance. "How does the Church tell you to fight a demon?" he asked, curious.




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Rhindeer

Clover shuddered at his description--his very, very apt description. Because what he said described exactly how her own power felt, and it reminded her all too vividly that it was still there, was always there, even when she tried to pretend she was normal. Even now she could feel it inside her veins, flowing through her body to the rhythm of her heart like a warning. A warning of how easy it was to just reach out and use it, because it was always within reach, always a finger-prick away.

She licked her lips as her mouth grew dry and swallowed hard. Don't think about it. Thinking was a slippery slope down the path of temptation.

"Um...they don't really teach it. At least not to folk like me. I just clean the church and do my chores and studies," she said with a frown. "But I guess through exorcisms and prayer and things. If you believe and you pray real hard, Ansgar will deliver you. You just have to have faith."
Adamaris // Aderyn // Aki // Alexander // Angel // Axieva // Beatrid // Briar // Cadmus // Corryn // Einin/Owl // Emery // Fang // Faolán // Faris // Frost // Hayate // Ife // Jayari // Jirou // Juniper // Katxiel // Khaiya // Kota // Kyran // Liam // Makani // Max // Maya // Mei // Nakato // Naovi // Nasrin // Niaaki // Niamh // Noor // Pepper // Qiana // Qismat // Quinn // Raxta // Riyarin // Rook // Sachi // Sahar // Siobhan // Simonea // Sita // Song // Summer // Valor // Yasmin // Yiroa

Lion

Pray really hard. Now there was a kicker. And it was those words that caused Quinlan to cackle outloud, throwing his head back. He hadn't meant to laugh but at that kind of devotion, who couldn't!? Well, maybe it was a bit of a dick move, and maybe she didn't deserve it, and maybe Quinlan just wanted her to be miserable right along with him.

He sobered and sniffed loudly. "Well, at least one of us does," he said with a grunt. "It seems to be more important to you than it is to me. At least Ansgar is watching over you, eh?  Because clearly you've experienced miracles. How else would you have faith?"

It was rhetorical question, and perhaps even a bit mocking, and he guided the horse as it navigated between the trees. His eyes were vacant, and his brow furrowed. Quinlan felt himself growing sick at the conversation, and really he didn't want to talk about it.  But he had to ask at least this one question.

"How do you know?" he began. "How do you know he's really watching over you?"




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Rhindeer

The man burst into laughter and the sudden sound made Clover jump, but once she realized he was laughing at her, her shoulders hunched up and her face colored. Oh, she could hear the mocking in his tone; she was quite familiar with that. After all, wasn't she just a huge joke? Why would she have faith in someone who had purportedly made her this way just to challenge her? It was something she had struggled with before, alternating between thinking it a wildly dick move to punish someone for the way they had been created and thinking there must be some greater purpose she was just too small to see. The Father had always told her it just meant she was strong enough that she could be tested in that way.

She didn't really understand, but he'd always told her that some things were beyond mortal comprehension.

Her hands tightened in the horse's hair, knuckles whitening, until the horse gave a snort of protest and tossed its head. "I HAVE experienced miracles," she snapped, glaring at the back of the horse's neck. "It's a miracle we're alive right now, for example! We could've died for all that crazy back there! But we didn't! Any of those arrows could've hit us, but Ansgar must've wanted us to live!"

She shot a quick glower back at him."That's how I know He's watching over me. 'Cause there's been a lot of times and reasons I shouldn't even still be here, but I still am and so are you. I was praying REAL hard I'd come outta this alive and look, still in one piece. You oughta be thankful, too!"
Adamaris // Aderyn // Aki // Alexander // Angel // Axieva // Beatrid // Briar // Cadmus // Corryn // Einin/Owl // Emery // Fang // Faolán // Faris // Frost // Hayate // Ife // Jayari // Jirou // Juniper // Katxiel // Khaiya // Kota // Kyran // Liam // Makani // Max // Maya // Mei // Nakato // Naovi // Nasrin // Niaaki // Niamh // Noor // Pepper // Qiana // Qismat // Quinn // Raxta // Riyarin // Rook // Sachi // Sahar // Siobhan // Simonea // Sita // Song // Summer // Valor // Yasmin // Yiroa

Lion

"Ha! That was no small thanks to me and my quick thinking" Ahem, not thinking at all more like, but he wasn't going to tell her that - "that got us out of that mess, Church Mouse. I saved our lives, not some invisible absentee father figure. If Ansgar didn't really want us to die, why did he let those soldiers attack us in the first place? That doesn't add up," he growled.

Quinlan sniffed and nudged his feet into the horse's side to let them trot and Quinlan shook himself of that sickening feeling again. "But look, I'm not trying to sway your or change your heart, Mouse. You believe what you want. I'll believe what I know. That's all i can really tell you. That's all I can say that matters. What's here and now is what's important."

Quinlan glanced back and listened closely, just in case they were being followed. And sure enough, they were. "All right, Mouse. Hold that mane tight! We've got company!" he hissed.  And reached around her to grip the reins, nudging the horse into a gallop.




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Rhindeer

Clover was about ready to tear him a new one, because he was wrong, so, so wrong! He hadn't saved either of them! He'd been dumb as bricks and almost got them both killed with his wild acrobatics and flirting with death!

She took a deep breath, really winding up for a full-blown rant--absentee father figure?! How dare him! But before she could finish drawing air, he said the dreaded words.

We've got company.

With a squeal of surprise as the horse kicked into a gallop, she grabbed the horse's mane tight and leaned over its neck to stay low, her heart leaping into her throat. "See?! SEE?! That's what happens when you insult God!" she cried. "You doubted, now we're in trouble! We were doing JUST FINE until you started bad-mouthing Him and now He's tipped them off to smite us! If you're gonna be a non-believer can you at least not say it where He can hear you?! I'm gonna pray for us! I'm faithful, maybe he'll at least listen to me over your dumb butt!"

The thunder of hooves announced the riders behind them, and shouts of "there they are!" rang out behind them.

"You should pray, too! Repent! Hurry!"
Adamaris // Aderyn // Aki // Alexander // Angel // Axieva // Beatrid // Briar // Cadmus // Corryn // Einin/Owl // Emery // Fang // Faolán // Faris // Frost // Hayate // Ife // Jayari // Jirou // Juniper // Katxiel // Khaiya // Kota // Kyran // Liam // Makani // Max // Maya // Mei // Nakato // Naovi // Nasrin // Niaaki // Niamh // Noor // Pepper // Qiana // Qismat // Quinn // Raxta // Riyarin // Rook // Sachi // Sahar // Siobhan // Simonea // Sita // Song // Summer // Valor // Yasmin // Yiroa

Lion

What the hell was wrong with this girl?

Repent!? Now of all times!?

"YOU WANT ME TO DO WHAT?" Quinlan shouted and even though his heart was in his throat, he turned the horse just enough to yank the mane to a halt and the horse whinnied in protest. Whipping it's head around, Quinlan wrapped his arms around Clover's and cupped them in standard prayer format, his hands over hers and he was still leaning over her shoulder.

"Okay, Ansgar! Deliver us from evil! Please! Let these good men skin us and teach us the error of our ways," he prayed. "This is how you pray, right Church Mouse? Ansgar! Do you hear us!?"

And as they just sat there on that horse, praying, their pursuers pushed faster through the trees to catch up with them.

"I'm praying, Clover! I'm trying!" Quinlan hissed. "Is it working?"




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Rhindeer

"What?! WHAT? What are you doing?!" Clover yelped when he jerked the horse to a halt, so abruptly she just about got whiplash. Before she could even register what was happening, he gathered her hands up in his. Hands pressed flat together, fingers steepled, she could only stare in bewilderment at their hands, joined in prayer position as he spoke over her shoulder and...

And...

Oh my God.

HE WAS PRAYING.

Which was the result she wanted, but not this way!

WAS HE SERIOUS?!

Clover gaped, stunned beyond words, but the sound of hoofbeats, growing louder and louder, and the shouts of men, snapped her out of it and she whipped a look behind her--and could see the men now, their arrows trained on them.

"OH GOD! I didn't mean like this! You can pray and move!" she yelped, her chest tight in fear. He was going to get them killed! She struggled, trying to pry her hands free, tried to kick her feet against the horse's sides to get it to move. "Quinlan! I'm sorry! Please, please, oh God, it's working, it's working, just get moving again!"
Adamaris // Aderyn // Aki // Alexander // Angel // Axieva // Beatrid // Briar // Cadmus // Corryn // Einin/Owl // Emery // Fang // Faolán // Faris // Frost // Hayate // Ife // Jayari // Jirou // Juniper // Katxiel // Khaiya // Kota // Kyran // Liam // Makani // Max // Maya // Mei // Nakato // Naovi // Nasrin // Niaaki // Niamh // Noor // Pepper // Qiana // Qismat // Quinn // Raxta // Riyarin // Rook // Sachi // Sahar // Siobhan // Simonea // Sita // Song // Summer // Valor // Yasmin // Yiroa

Lion

Oh this wasn't what she wanted? God's balls, couldn't she just make up her mind? Why on Earth did they have to run if Ansgar was looking out for them!? Quinlan's eyes became saucers and he gasped looking between their hands then their pursuers.

"WELL IF YOU SAY SO THEN!" he shouted and let go of her hands, dug it into the mane of the horse, and kicked the animal back into a gallop. The horse whinnied and shrieked just as dust kicked up in their wake. He curled his body around Clover's and his arms were secured tightly around her body.

"I never had been really good at praying!!!" he cried out, his heart pounding hard and fast, no doubt resounding against her back. "Good God! This is EXCITING!"

Quinlan made a whooping sound and leaned into her shoulder. Oh...was that fear painted on her face!? What the hell? Weren't they having a damn good time!?

"THAT'S THE BEST GODDAMNED PRAYER I'VE EVER DONE!" He laughed and guided the horse between trees and laid his body over hers when they passed beneath a low hanging branch. The soldiers had gained on them in the brief moment they had stopped.

A distance that Quinlan planned on stretching as much as possible.




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Rhindeer

EXCITING?! This was EXCITING to him?! This whole part where THEY COULD DIE?! While Quinlan whooped and laughed, Clover tried not to vomit with terror as they took off again and a few arrows thunked into the branch they had just ducked under.

"You're crazy!" she cried, burying her face in the horse's mane. "Do you WANT TO DIE?! Ever hear of praying to be saved from the flood, but don't say no to the boat passing by?!" And then, as soon as she said it, a horrible thought struck. A horrible, sinking thought that curdled in her belly like sour cheese. Clover's breath caught, stopped, and her eyes went wide.

"...Oh God. Are you my punishment?" she said out loud though she had meant to only think it. "Am I being punished for something? Is that what this is? Oh my God--is it because I've taken His name in vain?! Are you His messenger sent to avenge?"

Their pursuers were growing ever closer--close enough now to put an arrow in them, with a clear path between them. One of the soldiers broke off to flank them, running his horse hard, sweat frothing on its coat. "Final warning!" he shouted. "Halt! Or this time we won't miss!"
Adamaris // Aderyn // Aki // Alexander // Angel // Axieva // Beatrid // Briar // Cadmus // Corryn // Einin/Owl // Emery // Fang // Faolán // Faris // Frost // Hayate // Ife // Jayari // Jirou // Juniper // Katxiel // Khaiya // Kota // Kyran // Liam // Makani // Max // Maya // Mei // Nakato // Naovi // Nasrin // Niaaki // Niamh // Noor // Pepper // Qiana // Qismat // Quinn // Raxta // Riyarin // Rook // Sachi // Sahar // Siobhan // Simonea // Sita // Song // Summer // Valor // Yasmin // Yiroa

Lion

Geeze, was she really going to be prattling on and on about God and punishment and vengenace the entire trip? Somewhere behind all her screaming, Quinlan could hear and even see from the corner of his vision, the sight of a mounted soldier galloping across them and then along to the side. Fuck.

"I don''t want to die, but we're going to die if you don't quit nagging me!" he howled and he scraped his fingernails against old scabs across his palm. He hissed when it wasn't enough and brought his hand to his mouth. It was there that he bit down into his hand, scraping hand across his teeth until the healing cut opened and he felt it fill his palm with a small pool.

A sanguine puddle and he flicked his wrist to the ground, sending the blood across from him in the soldier's direction. It solidified into a spike of ice. And it cascaded across from them, piercing between the trees until it ended up in the soldier's side. A scream and a thud and he was a corpse on the ground.

"I don't want to die. But if we stop, we surely will," he growled in her ear, voice husky and low. Quinlan kicked the horse and pressed the animal harder although terror of the chase left them virtually on the verge of collaspe. "Don't you stop now! Goddammit!" As he turned the horse hard toward the right, he felt the bit of a fired arrow, burrowing itself into his arm. Quinlan didn't scream although his lungs burned for want of exhalation.

Like he would give them that fucking satisfaction. "T-take the reins," he murmured, handing them to Clover and gripped onto her with one arm, his other hand reaching around his shoulders to rip the arrow from his arm. His entire face was flushed and red, and what blood wasn't there was leaking out of his arm. Big fucking mistake.

That rush of red made Quinlan's veins burn. Hot breath escaped him and he pulled more out of his arm until he could solidify it into a pool in his hands. The jostling of the horse, Clover's nagging, and the cries of soldiers behind them all became distant echoes. His ears were deafened to all else but the call of the blood. And it was then that he felt himself drop from the saddle, body crashing to the ground.

Quinlan's neck hadn't been broken, by some miracle and his blood touched the soil, tainting it much as he had been. The soldiers were closing in, hooves digging deeper into soil, their weapons drawn, but no. They would crush him beneath those horses, he knew. It was an easier end than arresting him. A slow blink, a thrumming in his ears and when they were closer, he rose to his feet, limping and as they closed in, he threw himself up onto the closest soldier and yanked him to the ground. The other one stopped, drew his blade and flung himself from the saddle.

Quinlan dropped him and commanded the blood to take him, and there were the soil was soaked, the vines moved and the roots shredded the ground and wrapped around the soldier. Quinlan turned his screams to focus on the other one with his drawn sword. He took his own daggers out, watched and waited for him to strike first. Quinlan scuffled with him briefly and the soldier kicked him down, pressing a boot against his chest. Stumbling backwards, Quinlan was half-dazed.

"Fuck you," he hissed, and stabbed at the foot that stepped on his chest. Quinlan kicked his legs out from under him, crawling slowly over to him. "You don't hurt innocent people," he growled. "That girl did nothing to you.  And you were gonna kill us both. I ain't gonna let you."  And his hands pressed the edge of the soldier's own sword against his throat, slashing it and leaving him to choke on his own blood.




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Rhindeer

This was a nightmare. That's what this was. This had to be a dream!

The flanking soldier let out a strangled cry, cut off short, and the now riderless horse screamed in fear and bolted. Clover stared with wide eyes as it passed them by. She'd heard the wet thud, and she'd heard the scream, and though her stomach twisted, she looked over her shoulder--

And wished she hadn't. Was he dead?!

She'd never seen a dead body before.

And she was about to see a whole lot more.

The horse turned hard and Clover yelped and clung hard to the horse's mane, screwing her eyes shut and praying to God for a miracle. Everything was happening so fast, and with Quinlan behind her, she didn't see him get shot--but she did feel his absence, felt him roll off the horse and leave her back cold.

WHAT?

A bloodcurdling scream filled her ears, and her eyes snapped open as terror gripped her by the throat. She grabbed for the reins. Was that Quinlan? Was he leaving her--or dead?! She didn't know how to ride a horse! The horse whinnied and danced in a circle, confused as she jerked the reins back hard and then to the side as she wobbled from the sudden stop, and as it turned she got a clear view of a gurgling soldier writhing weakly in ropes of red, and Quinlan on the ground with a soldier closing in on him.

This was a nightmare.

"Oh God, no!" she cried--but her fear turned out to be misplaced. A quick motion and the soldier went down like a lamed deer, and though she couldn't hear what was said between them, she did see the end result.

The soldier's throat opened up like a fountain with so much red bubbling out between choking gasps. The other soldier wrapped in all that red had gone eerily still and quiet.

Clover paled at the sight, felt her own blood drain and breath seize, and the world darkened all around the edges and sound became a distant, faraway thing. She wobbled in the saddle--and then fell from it like a stone.
Adamaris // Aderyn // Aki // Alexander // Angel // Axieva // Beatrid // Briar // Cadmus // Corryn // Einin/Owl // Emery // Fang // Faolán // Faris // Frost // Hayate // Ife // Jayari // Jirou // Juniper // Katxiel // Khaiya // Kota // Kyran // Liam // Makani // Max // Maya // Mei // Nakato // Naovi // Nasrin // Niaaki // Niamh // Noor // Pepper // Qiana // Qismat // Quinn // Raxta // Riyarin // Rook // Sachi // Sahar // Siobhan // Simonea // Sita // Song // Summer // Valor // Yasmin // Yiroa

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