In one final act of defiance, Jayari turned with the masked man--
And heard the tree crack and roll, heard the cries of the men as many met their deaths, right before the Adelans closed in on them. And though Jayari knew it was impossible, knew they were outnumbered, she told herself she wouldn't be taken without taking one with her. And so she drew her hunting blade and fought as they came for her, punching, kicking, and slashing, but there were too many and they wore heavy armor besides. A gauntlet-clad hand struck her in the jaw, making her see stars, and then pain exploded in her head--
Then there was nothing.
Not for a long while, at least.
When Jayari cracked her eyes open, it was dark, and the air around her stank of sweat and blood, and something sharp was poking against her cheek and through her clothes. It took her a moment to realize it was rotting hay, and that she was laying in a pile of it, and when she groaned and tried to move, she found her arms were tied behind her back, coarse rope chafing away at her flesh. Her vision swam, her head throbbing in pain, matching the rhythm of her heartbeat, and her jaw and mouth hurt, too. Faintly, she tasted blood, and she licked her dry lips to find flecks of it dried on her skin.
...Oh fuck.
Disoriented though she was, she still knew what this meant, could still faintly remember the moments that happened just before everything went dark.
She was a captive.
A chord of panic struck her, for she'd been captured once before, by a rival tribe, and oh fuck this was not a thing that was happening again! But she remembered this time was different--it was the Adelans--and...
Maybe this time she wasn't alone.
Biting back against the pain, Jayari started to look around, and then, using her legs, managed to roll herself over--
To come nearly nose to nose with the masked Duhjari.
She sucked in a breath of surprise, and then let it out slowly. Thank the spirits...
"Hey." She slid a leg forward and nudged at his leg with her boot. "You alive?"