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+--- Thread: The Scorpion of Shan'Gai Chah [closed] (/showthread.php?tid=10463)
RE: The Scorpion of Shan'Gai Chah [closed] - Twinflame - 03-06-2015
"Child of man, you are dead. You had no life to defend. My drake's life purchased nothing, and its loss has left a great debt in me." Shaking out the bow, watching water droplets fall from it, he set one of the great black arrows against the string. He lifted it and pointed it at the man.
RE: The Scorpion of Shan'Gai Chah [closed] - Naunet - 03-06-2015
"Woah, woah," Thal's hands came up in front of him, one of them bloodied. "I think we already established shooting me isn't gonna make a difference, so let's just... maybe there's something else I can do to help you, eh? Get you a new drake maybe? And... besides!" Blue eyes frowned, eyeing the bow warily. His toes shifted in the mud. "I may not be... well, y'know. But I still exist. I was defending my existence. That counts."
RE: The Scorpion of Shan'Gai Chah [closed] - Twinflame - 03-06-2015
"No, child of man. It does not. And new drakes have little value to a hunter. No, no. But, perhaps, you can help me with something." He lowers his bow and works his jaw. His dry tongue moves around his teeth as though he is choking on something, and his claws curl and close. Then he bites out. "The one who sent me to kill you: Shan'Gai Chah. He must die."
RE: The Scorpion of Shan'Gai Chah [closed] - Naunet - 03-06-2015
Thal's expression went slack for several seconds in surprised bemusement. "That... uh... what? Okay... Wait, hold up--" His tail swung in time to the asking waving of his hands. "Hold on a sec. I was taking care of... well, I mean, I've got some responsibility to that kid. Y'know. I mean, I guess I could help you... I'm not an assassin, y'know. And, uh, I need to get her some place safe." With a grimace, he gestured towards where K'aijeen lay.
RE: The Scorpion of Shan'Gai Chah [closed] - Twinflame - 03-06-2015
Baoht Zuqqa Roh growled, idly pulling the metal shaft out of his side and washing his dark blood from it in the water. "I am not in a mood to be patient with my captured prey, child of Man." Nonetheless, he remained, glaring. His sand drakes idled in the pool near the corpse of the one that had died. For a time, they simply stared at it, nudged it, waiting for it to move. Then the hungriest among them took a bite, and the rest joined in.
In the dirt near the water, K'aijeen lay on her back with her arms crossed over her. The black metal shaft had pierced through both forearms before embedding in her head, and her crossed limbs were pressed hard over her face, obscuring the view of her eyes or any wound. No fluid flowed from the injures. The holes that had been driven through her arms were dry and ragged.
RE: The Scorpion of Shan'Gai Chah [closed] - Naunet - 03-06-2015
"Right..." One ear twitched. "Let me just.. I'm gonna check on her." He sidestepped away from the river, keeping his eyes on the Amal'jaa but heading towards K'aijeen. When he got closer, he spoke to her and tried to keep his voice light, "Kid, can you hear me?"
RE: The Scorpion of Shan'Gai Chah [closed] - Twinflame - 03-06-2015
K'aijeen sat up, the movement rigid and top-heavy. Her legs popped up and her tail shot forward to try and keep balance, and she almost fell back again, but remained upright. Her arms were pinned to her forehead, and she strained visibly against the arrow, but made no progress. She exhaled a long, high-pitched sound that might have indicated pain.
RE: The Scorpion of Shan'Gai Chah [closed] - Twinflame - 03-06-2015
((oops. douple-post))
RE: The Scorpion of Shan'Gai Chah [closed] - Naunet - 03-06-2015
"Ah, okay, okay, stop moving around," Thal broke his cautious movement to hurry towards the girl and dropped down to one knee next to her. He grimaced at the gruesome vision. The arrow had shattered bone and tore through muscle such that he was surprised her hands were still attached. Pulling in a deep breath - one that he stopped almost immediately at the uncomfortable sensation of air pushing out from a hole in his chest - Thal worked past a wall of mental nausea to rest a hand on her shoulder, gently pushing. "Lay back down and, uh, we'll get that out, okay?"
He urged her down and gripped the arrow's shaft, moving his other hand to press down on her arms over her face as he pulled.
RE: The Scorpion of Shan'Gai Chah [closed] - Twinflame - 03-06-2015
Kicking her legs and making a small, but very emphatic squelch of pain, K'aijeen writhed while Thal pulled at the arrow. When it come free, it did not come out smoothly. Her skull seemed to bulged outward with it and her hands sagged unnaturally at the ends of her arms. If she could have screamed,she would have, but the sound she made came out more a ragged cough that last a long time. As soon as that arrow was free she rolled away from Thal, keeping her arms crossed over her head, her hands limp as though they were loosely tied with string.
Baoht Zuqqa Roh turned his gaze away from the pair and growled at nothing. Whatever magic this was, he cursed the children of Man for even possessing it.
RE: The Scorpion of Shan'Gai Chah [closed] - Naunet - 03-06-2015
Thal tossed the arrow to one side forcefully, not bothering it with a second glance as he crouched near the girl. "Sorry, kid," he muttered. "I kinda botched the whole protecting you thing. Think you can forgive me?"
RE: The Scorpion of Shan'Gai Chah [closed] - Twinflame - 03-06-2015
She curled up, and her tail swung tight between her legs, ears down, face hidden beneath her arms. K'aijeen did not answer verbally. She might not have been able to. Ragged sounds continued to slide out of her throat and she shook. She might have been crying.
Baoht Zuqqa Roh shifted impatiently. He spoke over the sound of the feasting drakes. "Child of Man."
RE: The Scorpion of Shan'Gai Chah [closed] - Naunet - 03-06-2015
Thal let out a faint groan and scrubbed at his face. When he returned his eyes to K'aijeen, they were sad. "Okay, kid. I know it isn't... look, for this guy to leave us alone, I need to help him with something, okay? It shouldn't take long." His ears shifted. "So... I'm gonna take care of it. Real quick. I'm gonna find you some place safe along the way, and then when I'm done, I'll come back. Okay?" Shuffling forward, he moved to try and lift her off the ground.
RE: The Scorpion of Shan'Gai Chah [closed] - Twinflame - 03-06-2015
K'aijeen didn't resist Thal. She curled up when he lifted her, laying her head against his chest. Her arms remained over her head, hiding her wound. She continued to shake.
A roar shook over the water. The sand drakes looked up at Baoht Zuqqa Roh's command, were still for a moment, and then moved to his side. The abandoned they half-eaten corpse of their fellow. Most of the heavy meat had been eaten away, allowing it to float, and it bobbed lazily in a mess of pink and brown gore. Blood and tendrils of flesh hung from the maws of the survivors as they followed Baoht Zuqqa Roh, who paced around the pool fishing out discarded discarded metal shafts and slipping them back into the massive quiver on his back. "You should leave her. If I were weak enough to be so easily defeated, my drakes would not drag me to safety. They would eat me and return to their feral ways. They would be right to do so."
RE: The Scorpion of Shan'Gai Chah [closed] - Naunet - 03-06-2015
"Yeah, well, I'm not a drake, and neither is she. We can't all be... whatever you are." Thal shrugged as he stood, and then turned to move towards the Amal'jaa. Part way he paused, shifting K'aijeen in his arms so he could bend to pick up his mask from the ground. For a moment he just stared at its empty face and the strange lines drawn across it. Then his tail twisted in frustration, and he set the object on his own face, covering his features save for now shadowed blue eyes.
Turning to once more step towards the black hunter, though keeping a healthy distance between them, Thal called out, "Let's just get this over with."