Body mid-air. Back arched. Mouth gaping.
The arrow sliced through his cloak, pinning a portion to a nearby tree. A soft thud brought on by Tolki's knee upon the ground, and he was back moving. "Bloody hell. . ." Beings filled the trees. This was their domain, and Tolki was, apparently, an unwanted visitor. Goblins was the first guess that crossed his mind. Bow bearing, arrow flinging, bloody gobs.
So he had taken a few days rations from an abandonded camp. Lest he assumed it was abandoned. This sort of thing usually ensues when he assumes. Now he was running for his bloody life.
A flick of a string, a distortion of air.
THUD
As quickly as Tolki had risen he was back down, an arrow whistling just above him. Outnumbered and outgunned.Tragic fate it looked. A huge roar played through his ears, followed by another. Footsteps.
Heavy footsteps.
Sounding like a bloody elephant, but oh no, elephants don't roar. God could only imagine...
A sharp intake of breath and he was on his feet again, several thuds of loose string sounded, and he knew he was in trouble.
Dive, dive, dive.
Into an overturned and hollowed by nature tree. Gasping for his breath back. Tolki had to think quick, the roaring only increased, and the chatter only became more consistent. They knew they had him.
They thought they had him.
Tolki liked to tell himself that. Currently they had him right where they wanted him.
Check, and mate. . ?
Crossfire
Re: Crossfire
She'd been hiding perfectly well inside that tree trunk until the human had arrived. She supposed she had to help him now, but once she managed she was going to be very, very irritated.
She let out a long, vicious howl and started taking on human form so that she could converse with this intruder. An arrow thudded into the tree trunk right near her head, but luckily it didn't splinter. She grabbed it and pulled it through, looking at it disgust before snapping it enough half.
"I am Sparrow," she introduced herself, remembering from the recesses of her brain that humans liked to know each other's names before doing anything else. "Sparrow Kethil. I do not know what is outside, but it seems to me that they are trying to circle around us." Her speech was very precise, as she made sure she was intelligible. She'd didn't speak an awful lot. "I believe they are able to find you, human."
She poked her head out, listening carefully for the twang of a bow string, and tried to scent what the other creature was, but came up blank. She smelt it, but what species it was, she couldn't name. That had never been a particular talent of hers anyway. She was better at identifying people individually by scent.
"There is trouble," she said, ducking back inside. "We should leave." The other creature sounded huge. Its footsteps were probably audible, even to the human. "They will find us if we stay."
She let out a long, vicious howl and started taking on human form so that she could converse with this intruder. An arrow thudded into the tree trunk right near her head, but luckily it didn't splinter. She grabbed it and pulled it through, looking at it disgust before snapping it enough half.
"I am Sparrow," she introduced herself, remembering from the recesses of her brain that humans liked to know each other's names before doing anything else. "Sparrow Kethil. I do not know what is outside, but it seems to me that they are trying to circle around us." Her speech was very precise, as she made sure she was intelligible. She'd didn't speak an awful lot. "I believe they are able to find you, human."
She poked her head out, listening carefully for the twang of a bow string, and tried to scent what the other creature was, but came up blank. She smelt it, but what species it was, she couldn't name. That had never been a particular talent of hers anyway. She was better at identifying people individually by scent.
"There is trouble," she said, ducking back inside. "We should leave." The other creature sounded huge. Its footsteps were probably audible, even to the human. "They will find us if we stay."
Re: Crossfire
Startled by the immediate howl, apparently Tolki dove himself into a bloody den. First a wolf, than it started to change. Taking on a female body, shorts and a t-shirt. Ironic.
But at this moment in time Tolki wasn't going to deny the help. He laid in the hollow, listening to her words, curious eyes playing over her. "Sparrow eh? Well pleasent enough time to meet ya. Call me Tolki." His eyes scanned out of the hole in the hollow, seeing at least 4 little pairs of feet slowly making their way towards his and her position.
Another crash from further in the forest, the sounding of a tree being uprooted.
Than the sound of, war drums? A simple raping against the drum. Dum, dum, DUM, DUM, DUM
"The hell...?"
Her statement about them needing to leave made him chuckle a bit. His dark green eyes piercing into hers, "now, why hadn't I thought of that?" He winked at her, than sighed. "We're very soon to have company, the way we take is the true challenge. Like it or not, I believe we're going to have to fight our way out of here. Now, I've got a set of close combat daggers, which unless I can get within range of the arrow-flingers won't do me much good."
The goblins outside were approaching even closer, within a hundred yards now. "As for the other company, (Tolki was referring to the incoming threats down-wind) I don't believe we can handle them. At least, no ideas come to mind now. Any suggestions on how you feel we should leave this predicament is fine by me." A wrly smile placed upon his lips.
"But I think you should suggest rather quickly."
But at this moment in time Tolki wasn't going to deny the help. He laid in the hollow, listening to her words, curious eyes playing over her. "Sparrow eh? Well pleasent enough time to meet ya. Call me Tolki." His eyes scanned out of the hole in the hollow, seeing at least 4 little pairs of feet slowly making their way towards his and her position.
Another crash from further in the forest, the sounding of a tree being uprooted.
Than the sound of, war drums? A simple raping against the drum. Dum, dum, DUM, DUM, DUM
"The hell...?"
Her statement about them needing to leave made him chuckle a bit. His dark green eyes piercing into hers, "now, why hadn't I thought of that?" He winked at her, than sighed. "We're very soon to have company, the way we take is the true challenge. Like it or not, I believe we're going to have to fight our way out of here. Now, I've got a set of close combat daggers, which unless I can get within range of the arrow-flingers won't do me much good."
The goblins outside were approaching even closer, within a hundred yards now. "As for the other company, (Tolki was referring to the incoming threats down-wind) I don't believe we can handle them. At least, no ideas come to mind now. Any suggestions on how you feel we should leave this predicament is fine by me." A wrly smile placed upon his lips.
"But I think you should suggest rather quickly."
Re: Crossfire
Considering the human was in danger from all sides, Sparrow decided to take the odd growl emitting from his throat as a sign of nervousness, not a threat. And the strange flickering of his eyelid, now that was confusing. Was it meant as a sign of camaraderie? Or was he sickly? She really needed to interact with humans more often than she did, and maybe these assumptions would be crystal-cut answers.
Then again, she could try to interact less so that these situations didn't arise. It would be relatively simple for her to change back into a wolf and lope away, but the human part of her didn't want the death, whether or not it was of a thief idiotic enough to get caught.
She chose not to comment on his mention of weaponry and confrontation. They would not win a fight. That was a given.
"Is your balance well?" she asked. Good, she mentally corrected herself. Not well, good. "They do not expect the higher path." She couldn't find the words. She wanted to say that they should swing up into the trees and run along the branches, because they would be hidden by the foliage and they would leave no trail on the ground for the goblins to follow. But in her experience humans were often clumsy and incapable of this, and made enough noise to make them easy to follow anyway.
Then again, she could try to interact less so that these situations didn't arise. It would be relatively simple for her to change back into a wolf and lope away, but the human part of her didn't want the death, whether or not it was of a thief idiotic enough to get caught.
She chose not to comment on his mention of weaponry and confrontation. They would not win a fight. That was a given.
"Is your balance well?" she asked. Good, she mentally corrected herself. Not well, good. "They do not expect the higher path." She couldn't find the words. She wanted to say that they should swing up into the trees and run along the branches, because they would be hidden by the foliage and they would leave no trail on the ground for the goblins to follow. But in her experience humans were often clumsy and incapable of this, and made enough noise to make them easy to follow anyway.
Re: Crossfire
At her mention of balance Tolki rolled his eyes. One way or t'other he always ends up in the damn trees, this situation not an exception.
"Well." He cocked his head out, they were now less than 50 yards away. "Maybe, but that bastard there, second to left ripped my cloak." He ran his hand through his hair, exhaling deeply. His eyes pierced out the hollow. "Bloody thing cost me 45 Bishani, that's a whole two days worth of comandeerin', ya see?"
Like that he was out, sprinting like mad, dashing a few feet towards each side, never running straight. Almost immediately the four gobs rose their bows, trying to get a steady target. Their arrows piercing air, the feathers from one grazing his face. He was almost upon them.
Dum, dum, dum, dum. The beat of the drums still ringing in his ears.
Drawing his daggers from their casings he smirked and lept, daggers behind, maniac grin. Tolki's right hand dagger fell true. He drove his dagger through the neck of his mark, his other hand dashing out to cut into the other. His left hand missed it's mark, but his fist drove into it's chin, momentarily dazing it. With the momentum of the fist against his chin he spun, swinging his foot wide. The body of the 'nearly' decapitant was falling like a sack of bricks, only Tolki's right heel replaced the space. Connecting to the chin he heard a satisfying snap. Only two left, one dazed, the other confused (Hehehe).
Dum, dum, dum, dum.
The dazed one was coming to. Tolki got cocky. WHAM. He slammed his head forward, certainly giving that goblin a hell of a head ache. "Bloo- HELL!" Tolki grabbed for his own head, his instinct was to start rubbing. With one hand he kept rubbing his now, throbbing forhead, and with the other he was swinging his dagger through air. Tight slashes, hard, quick, innacurate.
A blood curdling roar. The goblin let out a shrill and took off through the understory, squeeling like bloody hell. Tolki slowly turned, a figure in the distance, dark, huge, and drawing near.
The sounding of the drum stopped, and it went still, for now.
"Ooook, now it's really, really, time to go." Replacing his daggers, eyes still trained on the sillhoutte he looked towards the hollow, nodding and looking upwards. "Worth a damn shot." Tolki eyed around, looking for his victim of a tree.
"Well." He cocked his head out, they were now less than 50 yards away. "Maybe, but that bastard there, second to left ripped my cloak." He ran his hand through his hair, exhaling deeply. His eyes pierced out the hollow. "Bloody thing cost me 45 Bishani, that's a whole two days worth of comandeerin', ya see?"
Like that he was out, sprinting like mad, dashing a few feet towards each side, never running straight. Almost immediately the four gobs rose their bows, trying to get a steady target. Their arrows piercing air, the feathers from one grazing his face. He was almost upon them.
Dum, dum, dum, dum. The beat of the drums still ringing in his ears.
Drawing his daggers from their casings he smirked and lept, daggers behind, maniac grin. Tolki's right hand dagger fell true. He drove his dagger through the neck of his mark, his other hand dashing out to cut into the other. His left hand missed it's mark, but his fist drove into it's chin, momentarily dazing it. With the momentum of the fist against his chin he spun, swinging his foot wide. The body of the 'nearly' decapitant was falling like a sack of bricks, only Tolki's right heel replaced the space. Connecting to the chin he heard a satisfying snap. Only two left, one dazed, the other confused (Hehehe).
Dum, dum, dum, dum.
The dazed one was coming to. Tolki got cocky. WHAM. He slammed his head forward, certainly giving that goblin a hell of a head ache. "Bloo- HELL!" Tolki grabbed for his own head, his instinct was to start rubbing. With one hand he kept rubbing his now, throbbing forhead, and with the other he was swinging his dagger through air. Tight slashes, hard, quick, innacurate.
A blood curdling roar. The goblin let out a shrill and took off through the understory, squeeling like bloody hell. Tolki slowly turned, a figure in the distance, dark, huge, and drawing near.
The sounding of the drum stopped, and it went still, for now.
"Ooook, now it's really, really, time to go." Replacing his daggers, eyes still trained on the sillhoutte he looked towards the hollow, nodding and looking upwards. "Worth a damn shot." Tolki eyed around, looking for his victim of a tree.
Re: Crossfire
Sparrow waited silently above him, balancing carefully on a sturdy branch. She had committed herself to helping him, whether he looked like he needed it or not, and would stick with that decision. Even though she was steadily becoming disgusted by the human. He was attacking, gravely injuring if not killing, goblins when he could easily have left them to their own devices, especially as running would have given them a useful head start on the huge creature approaching. His cloak had been torn already. What use was revenge?
Having lived most of her life as a wolf, Sparrow didn't fully understand his motives. Death, of any sentient species, was best avoided when possible. Even death of dumb animals shouldn't occur unless it was necessary for food or to defend against a threat. This... this wanton murder of creatures that could have been left alone, this was beyond her understanding.
And his asking for her advice, then doing whatever he wanted. It was confusing and showed his ego. It felt like he was trying to get one-up on her, to prove himself. Or just to show off. She had never liked show-offs, be they wolf, human or any other species.
"Then come up," she instructed, trying not to show her impatience. She bent down and offered a hand to him. "If your strength is not enough, stab your knife into the wood and tread on it. I can retrieve it for you after." The word order was slightly messed up, but the human language was coming back to her. This was going well, or as well as danger could.
The drum beats had stopped. The sound left her feeling tense and worried. It meant that something bigger was coming, something dangerous. And she could only just hear where the non-humans were. True, the drum beats had disguised everything around them, but she's been able to identify the direction they came from. Now she was relying on their clumsiness in snapping leaves and such.
And then there was the hulking great figure not twenty yards away. She prepared for flight, still keeping her hand down as an option for the human, should he need it.
Having lived most of her life as a wolf, Sparrow didn't fully understand his motives. Death, of any sentient species, was best avoided when possible. Even death of dumb animals shouldn't occur unless it was necessary for food or to defend against a threat. This... this wanton murder of creatures that could have been left alone, this was beyond her understanding.
And his asking for her advice, then doing whatever he wanted. It was confusing and showed his ego. It felt like he was trying to get one-up on her, to prove himself. Or just to show off. She had never liked show-offs, be they wolf, human or any other species.
"Then come up," she instructed, trying not to show her impatience. She bent down and offered a hand to him. "If your strength is not enough, stab your knife into the wood and tread on it. I can retrieve it for you after." The word order was slightly messed up, but the human language was coming back to her. This was going well, or as well as danger could.
The drum beats had stopped. The sound left her feeling tense and worried. It meant that something bigger was coming, something dangerous. And she could only just hear where the non-humans were. True, the drum beats had disguised everything around them, but she's been able to identify the direction they came from. Now she was relying on their clumsiness in snapping leaves and such.
And then there was the hulking great figure not twenty yards away. She prepared for flight, still keeping her hand down as an option for the human, should he need it.
Re: Crossfire
Tolki wasn't one to refuse help, 'specially when he needed it. Looking above he saw the female, with an outstretched hand. Taking a few steps back, he ran forward. Pushing with his feet and using her hands for momentum he swung onto the branch, hugging a limb, eyeing the besetting darkness.
Curiousity is a dangerous thing. Especially for those that toy with death, as he often himself did. His main concern wasn't for the wolf-lady, fact was he was oddly concerned about the welfare of anyone for that matter. His first priority was watching his own skin, but he "primarily" offered hands for those that offered him the same. Human nature, he assumed.
Sitting still, he pondered at the sudden dispense of the light, it waning to the corners of the forest. "What in God's name could have that sort of power...?" He spoke quietly, glancing to Sparrow. "Thrilling, don'tcha think?" A grin cursed his lips again, for this grin spelt idea. "Way I look 't, we've currently got a good position. I'm not one to speak for you, but i'm not the hastiest in these tree walking dealies, so worst case scenario, I'll need to take to the ground."
Coughing quietly he scratched at his nose, one eye keeping constant watch on the immobile threat. For the love of all he could not tell what it was, but inside, fear was replaced by curiousity. Tolki was simply dieing to know what was there. Oh of how the perils he would tell of on late nights without coin in the local taverns. For a tale like this would surely fetch an ale!
He momentarily turned his attention to Sparrow, shifting his weight upon the branch. "Now, personally, I'd like to know what the bloody gob was so scared of, ya see? You can take off if you will, because I'm not guarenteein' your safety. Or we can stick around, see what brings the darkness, than be on our merry way. Honestly, your compn'y wouldn't bother me, just don't want your body on my arms."
A quick grin, and his direction was back towards the unseen threat. Awaiting her decision.
"But make it quick, eh?"
(( OOC: Go ahead and take the plot in the next post. Have free reign! You can show us what we're up against or have Tolki almost get tore in two by a flying axe. Idk! Be creative, add your spice. =) ))
Curiousity is a dangerous thing. Especially for those that toy with death, as he often himself did. His main concern wasn't for the wolf-lady, fact was he was oddly concerned about the welfare of anyone for that matter. His first priority was watching his own skin, but he "primarily" offered hands for those that offered him the same. Human nature, he assumed.
Sitting still, he pondered at the sudden dispense of the light, it waning to the corners of the forest. "What in God's name could have that sort of power...?" He spoke quietly, glancing to Sparrow. "Thrilling, don'tcha think?" A grin cursed his lips again, for this grin spelt idea. "Way I look 't, we've currently got a good position. I'm not one to speak for you, but i'm not the hastiest in these tree walking dealies, so worst case scenario, I'll need to take to the ground."
Coughing quietly he scratched at his nose, one eye keeping constant watch on the immobile threat. For the love of all he could not tell what it was, but inside, fear was replaced by curiousity. Tolki was simply dieing to know what was there. Oh of how the perils he would tell of on late nights without coin in the local taverns. For a tale like this would surely fetch an ale!
He momentarily turned his attention to Sparrow, shifting his weight upon the branch. "Now, personally, I'd like to know what the bloody gob was so scared of, ya see? You can take off if you will, because I'm not guarenteein' your safety. Or we can stick around, see what brings the darkness, than be on our merry way. Honestly, your compn'y wouldn't bother me, just don't want your body on my arms."
A quick grin, and his direction was back towards the unseen threat. Awaiting her decision.
"But make it quick, eh?"
(( OOC: Go ahead and take the plot in the next post. Have free reign! You can show us what we're up against or have Tolki almost get tore in two by a flying axe. Idk! Be creative, add your spice. =) ))
Re: Crossfire
Sparrow had taken to ignoring the human. He was starting to get arrogant and that was dangerous. Especially if his mocking distracted him from... whatever it was in front of them. There was something about it that she didn't fully understand. Because although the light seemed to be vanishing, as if it was being sucked into this creature, it was still there. It appeared to be going towards the being, but Sparrow got the impression that in fact it was shadows being sent out to block the light.
A handy defense mechanism, she thought to herself as the darkness got thicker and it started to get difficult to see anything, even to her brilliant eyesight. She swung upwards onto the next branch and stepped over one tree, trying to get a better view. Nothing. Everywhere was equally as black, with only the barest sensation of depth.
She jumped to the floor, acknowledging that if she misjudged where a branch was, she could break something and that would make her easy prey. Keeping her arms out in front of her to ward off any trees in her way, she made her way towards the creature, trying to get a better smell of it. It was rank, and reminded her of a troll she'd once encountered, but this was larger than a troll. Demon? She'd never met a demon.
A slimy sensation started crawling over her skin - magic. That she hadn't felt it while the light was fading was disconcerting.
"I am called Sparrow," she called out, trying to distract it long enough for the human to get away. Her own animal instincts were screaming at her to run as far as she could as fast as she could, but her human self overrode that. "What are you named?"
Her only response was the crashing of something through the trees. She only just managed to dodge whatever was crashing down, and ended up bashing her shoulder on a nearby tree. So, the being was either mute, antisocial or barely sentient. None of them were particularly appealing options. She started backing up, and shifted into wolf form. The world was much clearer as a wolf, and easier to move around in. Add to that the fact that her vision was much better, and she felt a lot safer. She started going back to the human, wondering if he’d taken the initiative and left. Although, knowing humans, probably not.
A handy defense mechanism, she thought to herself as the darkness got thicker and it started to get difficult to see anything, even to her brilliant eyesight. She swung upwards onto the next branch and stepped over one tree, trying to get a better view. Nothing. Everywhere was equally as black, with only the barest sensation of depth.
She jumped to the floor, acknowledging that if she misjudged where a branch was, she could break something and that would make her easy prey. Keeping her arms out in front of her to ward off any trees in her way, she made her way towards the creature, trying to get a better smell of it. It was rank, and reminded her of a troll she'd once encountered, but this was larger than a troll. Demon? She'd never met a demon.
A slimy sensation started crawling over her skin - magic. That she hadn't felt it while the light was fading was disconcerting.
"I am called Sparrow," she called out, trying to distract it long enough for the human to get away. Her own animal instincts were screaming at her to run as far as she could as fast as she could, but her human self overrode that. "What are you named?"
Her only response was the crashing of something through the trees. She only just managed to dodge whatever was crashing down, and ended up bashing her shoulder on a nearby tree. So, the being was either mute, antisocial or barely sentient. None of them were particularly appealing options. She started backing up, and shifted into wolf form. The world was much clearer as a wolf, and easier to move around in. Add to that the fact that her vision was much better, and she felt a lot safer. She started going back to the human, wondering if he’d taken the initiative and left. Although, knowing humans, probably not.