The blood-curdling scream that ripped through the air made Syrae jump in surprise, and when he jerked his head toward the source...he almost groaned.
A woman was staring wide-eyed at him, one hand raised to her throat in surprise. Er...actually...on second thought, she wasn't looking at him, nor was he looking at his draconic companion whose wrist he lightly gripped in his bloodied, goo-covered hand. She was looking beyond both he and his friend and at the rather mutilated creature that his other hand was pressed against, its fat, sandy-colored, oblong body curled up in a way that could have looked almost sad or pathetic...if it wasn't a twenty-five foot long sandworm that looked like it had been hacked to pieces. Or, almost hacked to pieces; it was still all technically in one piece, held together by whatever thin chunks of flesh hadn't been thoroughly severed, and even though it was very much dead and its death throes had long since passed, a nerve did still twitch here and there along its body. Yum. It was also creating quite a little mess on the ground beneath it, and probably stank pretty bad. Syrae imagined it did, he just couldn't smell it anymore.
And in addition to scaring the daylights out of the poor woman, he'd also managed to teleport them right on top of the lady's vending table...which she must have set up some time after he and Jaiha had left to go hunt, because it had not been there that morning! He knew it. He remembered. Because he'd been very careful about picking out and memorizing a spot for them to teleport back to, and he'd chosen that spot near the front of the city because, well...no one ever hung out there! Until now. Of course.
"Ack! Sorry about that!" Syrae called out as she turned to flee. "No! Wait! It's okay, I...I'll fix it for you, I promise! Sorry!" he yelled, both hands cupped around his mouth so she could hear him as she vanished into the crowd. Well...at least they hadn't landed on <I>her, he thought as he lowered his hands away from his face, leaving a streak of worm guts on his face and not noticing it...which was easy to do with it splattered here and there on his body, including his black hair, which was long and tied up in a sort of thin wrap that extended down his back, save for his currently platered bangs.
Oh well! So they'd scared one person and broken her wares...it was all good!
Because they'd killed a bloody sandworm!
Yay!
A grin suddenly broke out on Syrae's tanned face at the realization--it hadn't really sunk in until just now, because now he was no longer all pumped up with adrenaline and stuff--and without missing a beat, he turned to his friend and wrapped his arms around her, mindful of her wings, in a rather sloppy hug, given they were both quite covered in glop. "Jaiha! You know what? We just killed a sandworm. A sandworm!" he emphasized, giving her a squeeze and rocking with her from side to side in his excitement--and subconsciously hoping her tail wouldn't whip around accidentally and slice him...or smack him with the flat end, which also hurt like hell though it didn't run the risk of dismembering, at least. That'd suck.
...And it was also the reason why that sandworm was all neatly sliced. It was a weapon in its own right, and his own double-bladed staff had nothing on it.
Finally releasing her, he took a step back away from her and, still grinning, tugged at his bladed staff--which was firmly lodged deep in the sandworm's fleshy body. Pulling it free, he didn't even bother to clean the blades; he'd only just smear the stuff around more rather than clean it. Instead, he just propped it up against the inside of his elbow; it was a little taller than his six feet. "We gotta show the elders! But, uh...we'll just sort of not mention that we didn't bring back anything edible...they'll probably forget once they see this, anyway! And if not it doesn't matter anyway, because we just bloody killed a <I>sandworm!"
Yeah, yeah, they were supposed to have been out hunting, but...well...then this had kind of come up, and, well...they weren't supposed to pass up the chance of taking down something like this, were they? Come on, the elders--and his parents...but...he could forgive them--couldn't possibly treat them like a couple of clueless kids after this! He hoped. Because then that would just make him...mad. Because he definitely was not a child...he was eighteen. Jaiha, on the other hand...heh, they probably just referred to him as a kid too since he hung out with her.
In any case...he'd just...take them out into the desert later and then they could catch some real food as compensation. Not that he was worried! Because this was just...awesome. And he was more than ready for all the exclaimations and praise this was sure to--!
...Eh?
Turning away from Jaiha, still beaming, his smile soon faded into a look of annoyance when he saw that...no one was looking at them. What? But...but...they'd just...they'd just killed this! And it was big and fat and deadly and it had been one hell of an awesome fight and...and...why wasn't anyone paying them any attention, dammit?! This was kind of a big deal!
He felt his green eyes cross in irritation and, huffing a little, he glanced back toward Jaiha and frowned. Jeez...tough crowd. Unless...
It was then that he realize how oddly quiet the city was. At least, it was a lot quieter than usual. Turning away from Jaiha again, this time he really allowed himself to take in the city...and to look at its people. The city was quiet...but there were loud voices speaking somewhere beyond them, and the postures of the citizens were stiff. But they were not inactive. Hands discreetly formed cautious signals that would be easily overlooked by an outsider, for they looked perfectly natural, but easily identifiable for a citizen, and some people whispered in corridors. Others seemingly went about their business as though nothing were happening, feigning ignorance. But it was oddly empty here--erm...maybe some of that had to do with the stinky, bleeding creature they'd brought in--and the voices were coming from beyond--the direction of the square. Something was happening...that was certain.
What the...? They hadn't been gone that long, had they?
Syrae quickly felt his previous excitement turn to concern. This wasn't his birthplace, but this <I>was his home, and had been for most of his life. And he could feel the hair on the back of his neck raise with a chill. Nothing like this had actually ever happened in his lifetime...but like anyone that lived here, he'd been taught what the signs and signals meant. "Jaiha...c'mon..." he muttered, nodding his head toward the square.