Shrills,thrills and silence. (closed to: Redford and Sir_Creno)

[loves.blessing.]

The perfect time to be in the Red Forest when the sun and the moon where both able to share the sky for that brief moment. The light of the sun and the glowing of the moon set the forest on "fire" with the vibrant color red. The area was quiet more than usual though when one goes to look for solitude and seclusion they do tend to find it and that is exactly what the curvy frame of a woman was doing. Making her way threw the forest carring a case shaped like a violin making not a sound when walking over dead leaves the color of her mane. Beautiful disaster that was what her "mother" used to call her, though she simply went by McKinley. A mess of wavy reddish-brown waves fell down past her bare shoulders billowed in the slight breeze that would come and go. The curvy woman wore a simple sleeveless shirt that was a silk material and the color of jade that complimented her ivory complexion nicely. Complimenting the top was a pair of denim skinny blue jeans and heeled black leather boots that went up to mid-shin.

Finally feeling pleased with the distance between her and civilization she hoisted herself up to the lowest branch and placed the black case delicately on her lap. Crossing her ankles as if to use them as a counter weight she opened to case to reveal her only possession that she has owned since she can remember. Gently running her manicured hand over the beautiful rosewood instrument she grasped the neck of it and placed her chin on the chin hold. Correcting her posture so her spine was straight and a bit stiff, she took the bow already rosined out and drew it out of its hold. Doing a few test cords she drew the bow up than down before adjusting the knob to tighten and loosen the cord to the pitch that pleased her. Taking a deep relaxing breath she let her fingers find the strings to start out her melody, the melody was a tad bit fast and yet held much sorrow in it. Closing her dark crystal blue eyes she pictured the harmony before she even played it, her fingers dancing fluidly from one fret to another. The music bounced off the trunks of trees that surrounded her allowing for the sound wave to travel off each allowing it to carry a bit of distance away from her. A look of bliss and calmness played on the closed eyed beauty as her fingers danced playing the melody of heart ache and despair. Though much could hear the music unless musically trained most would just hear the sad tempo, though her vision was of the suffering of the forest and the cursed leaves and soil that she sat around. How dreadful it must be to be cursed and the remembrance of blood the thing you need for life but that may also cause death. Coming to the peak of her composition she hit a shrill note on purpose to through the harmony off and counter balance the flow of things to show the mess of the life that lived in the forest before coming to an end, leaving the note open and longing since the life of the forest is still unknown to what may happen to it.

Taking another deep breath she opened her eyes and looked out at the sky as colors of blues, purples, pinks, reds and oranges danced, mixing with one another. It was serene out in the forest but her face held no emotions at all except her full crimson lips pursed in wonder. Not paying much attention the girl or woman depending on the eyes that laid upon her face; dropped her bow. Groaning inside she jumped down, landing fluidly on the ground with a gently thud to retrieve the bow to her instrument.

[Sir_Creno]

(Excellent post by the way Kayla keep up the really good work.)

The Red Forest was not meant to be traversed alone.

Except for those who were fools, or thrill seekers.

Creno was neither, he simply was a soldier doing a job. Those days, when not doing duties for The Tarot, he was simply running parcel from town to town that was still standing. Raiaera was a nation that was victimized and ravaged by war. The specters of Xem'Zund's campaign still were visible to that day. Creno knew that the trees themselves, Treants they were called, had become hostile. He was travelling deep in the region of The Red Forest, when something caught his ears. At first, he was not sure of what he was hearing. He hesitated. Then after a few moments the sound persisted and it was clear that he was hearing some sort of a song being played. Though Creno's knowledge of music was quite limited, he knew the distinct sounds of a violin, string instrument. Creno blinked, instinctively he wanted to keep moving forward to getting the job done that he had to complete. However, the song was bewitching and mesmerizing. Creno felt haunted by the song, as if he had heard it someplace before. He wasn't entirely certain but the source of the song merited some investigation. Creno looked directly ahead at the path he was walking on for a long moment and the song continued to persist.

He turned his attention towards the general direction of the song's source after that.

Then, he proceeded to travel towards the mysterious song maker. Creno narrowed his eyes, there was an intense concentration on his face as he listened to the music. He was trying to discern where he had heard that song before. He made his way through the forest, and found himself moving deeper into the depths of the forest in pursuit of a song. Not necessarily the song itself, but Creno Valour had to know who was playing the song in this very dangerous place. When Creno got closer to a clearing where there were several trees nearby. Creno saw a figure he would never forget. The violinist was beautiful! She had nearly ruby red hair and her composure with the instrument she played was extremely skilled. Creno had never seen such beauty. The Althanian women were all quite handsome, but there was something arcane and magical about the woman playing the violin. Creno looked at her very carefully for a long moment, his breath was literally caught on his throat and he had no idea what to say to her. Creno was a tall man. He judged that she was considerably shorter than he was, but that was all right. Creno blinked a few moments and considered the situation at hand very carefully. He then approached.

"That song...I feel as though I have heard it somewhere before my lady." Creno said, a surprisingly gentle expression was on his face.

He had a deep Salvarn accent. He spent a lot of time travelling between Salvar and Raiaera on Tarot business. He walked towards the girl, and sat down nearby against the roots on the ground. Creno had never been a terribly fast person, but he was very strong. He sat down, and relaxed but never completely let his guard down. He looked up towards her. "You know this area of the Red Forest is terribly dangerous. It is not safe for you to travel alone. Xem'Zund's remnant forces still linger and other threats too." Creno felt himself obligated to protect the woman before him. He sat in a relaxed position and listened to the song that was played for a long time without speaking again for a long time. He simply absorbed the whole moment as it happened, and should the dark attempt to attack, Creno would be ready to protect the woman playing that lovely song.

[redford]

John was content with the Tarot Heirarchy. It provided benefits and cash for his services, and the others he’d joined with on jobs had been amiable. He also felt an intangible sort of belonging to the group beyond Vince’s witticisms and Logan’s dry humor. There was more here, the whole of the Tarot was greater than the sum of its parts, and John thought on this as he emerged from a trap door into the dense red forest.

Yes, the Tarot was good to him; and yes, the people were friendly, but there were times that John wanted nothing more than to be out of the cramped quarters and among trees no matter how warped their beauty, and be under an open sky no matter how cloudy it was.

There was a time he enjoyed walking with a woman through the forests of Salvar when the sun broke the snow’s hold on the land every year. They would walk on the grass together and lean against the back of a massive pine to watch the sunset. The gentle evening wind would play and dance with her curly black hair, and she would blush when she caught him staring.

It was hard to keep his eyes on the sunset when she was beside him.

His mind conjured an image before him, and for a moment he nearly reached out to it before stopping himself. He sighed, stepping forward as the illusion dispelled. No, there was nothing there but his own shattered memories, all reflecting poorly like the many shards of a broken mirror. He could not summon her to his mind in all of her perfection, even though his subconscious tried repeatedly to bring her to life again, if only in his mind and only for a moment. There was a moment of silence as emotion welled up inside him, and John’s eyes softened.

As if to provide commentary to his sorrow, John heard strings echo through the forest, as if played from a violin. The notes were long and deep, and the transitions from chord to chord were slow and intense. The melody played upon John’s ears like every somber thought of the woman he once loved, still loved even now. A tear formed at the corner of the hard features around John’s eyes, but didn’t fall to his cheek.

After a moment, John realized that the song was not played by his mind, but did in fact come from elsewhere in the Red Forest. He shook his head, banishing his earlier thought of her from his mind. He set his mouth in a line and wiped the moisture from his eyes as he walked purposefully through the woods toward the source of the sound. The Red Forest, usually being quite dangerous, did not usually house bards and minstrels. The music continued as he found a small clearing, more a patch of grass than anything.

There was a woman plying on a violin skillfully, sitting in one of the lower branches of a tree at the edge of the clearing. She sat on a branch about as high as he was tall. He saw another form he recognized from the Tarot; Creno sat at the base of the trunk. He was speaking up to her as John approached. He stood at the base of the tree and watched silently, enjoying the melody now that he refused to let it remind him of her.

[loves.blessing.]

Landing on the ground having not even noticed either of the males that had walked up on her. McKinley had been too engrossed with the melody she was playing to have heard the first male speak to her, and since the second male didn't bother to utter a single sound it wasn't hard for her to not even notice him. As she bent down to pick up the bow that she had dropped from being so careless is when her dark crystal blue eyes fell onto a pair of boots. Straightening up she turned slowly with her bow in hand, slowly her eyes made their way up the legs of the male than the torso, chest and finally landing on his handsome face. Slowly blinking her long lashes casted a shadow over her already dark hues, tilting her head to the side caused her long red locks to fall over the side of her face as if to be a make shift curtain for her face to be shielded away from the males. Not too certain on why there was two males by her she turned and looked at the other male that was standing a few feet away from the tree that she had just been playing in only a short moment ago. Looking closely you could see that her ivory skin around her nose and cheeks had been painted a little shade of pink having been out in the sun for too long that day which made the freckles that danced across her face pop out that much more. Blinking slowly at these two man she hurriedly picked up her violin that was perched on the tree limb, placed it and the bow in the case closed it.

Swinging the case to her side she bit her full red/pink lips nervously and hurried down the path deeper into the forest with out uttering a single word to either of the males. McKinley was very shy when it came to company she wasn't much of a people person and having confined in the solitude that she found in the forest only to have two strange men come and join her made her pulse race. See McKinley wasn't trying to be rude she was just uncomfortable with being around other people, her own mother and father had left her to a strange half-crazed Latin woman to raise her and from the moment she could understand that she wasn't going to be a normal child McKinley was oddly okay with that. The pace of her strides could only be heard by the clicking of her heels against the ground as she walked. Knowing that sooner or later if the males didn't go away that she would have to speak to them or they would think something mentally wrong with her. There wasn't really anything wrong with her vocal cords actually she had a lovely voice so she had been told by a select few she just found talking to people was something she wasn't really good at. So she did what any person would do when trying to avoid a situation that they didn't know how to handle she fled the scene.

Making it only about a yard or two from where she had left the two males a snapping sound came from her left heel, having found itself in a small hole in the ground it broke off sending McKinley down to the ground with a thud and the sound of air leaving her lungs in a hurry. A small gash was left on her forehead from a near by stick that had scrapped against her flesh, a small groan parted her lips as she rolled over gently touching the tender spot. She looked herself over only to see that she had also torn her jeans open at the knee, having a cut there as well to match the one on her head. Frantically looking to see where her violin case had landed a look of horror painted on her angelic features as she couldn't seem to locate her beloved instrument.

[Sir_Creno]

Creno saw her move off with a start and that startled him subtly.

She's probably one of those anti-social types...? I should have thought of that... Creno thought to himself. It was getting later in the day and Creno took a look up at the sky for a moment. Then he saw her up ahead, she'd tripped over something. Creno was already on the move. Never been the type to leave a lady in need... Creno nodded towards John, a fellow member of the Tarot guild. Both men were trust worthy. Creno made his way towards the girl quickly, and knelt down before her. He reached out towards her with a hand so she could take it, if she chose.

"Come with me if you want to live." Creno said calmly.

There was a certain gentleness in the big man's eyes. His face was calm and relaxed, but he was already looking around the two of them in case there was any signs of danger. Creno was heavily armed, but he was not going to draw his weapons unless they were needed. His eyes kept coming towards the trees. The last encounter with the dangerous treants always kept Creno on edge in this area of the red forest. His eyes narrowed and he looked back towards the girl in front of him. His expression was patient, but he knew what the risks were. They couldn't linger much longer in the area, there were too many threats out to get them. Creno carefully waited for the girl to take his hand so he could help her stand up. She looked hurt from the injury on her knee. Creno quickly ripped a sleeve off of his shirt and handed it to the girl as well.

"Wrap that around your knee tightly, it will stop the bleeding." Creno said calmly. He was trying to hear for very specific sounds.

Sounds that would reveal the nature of the enemy that was out to get them.

"John, take point when you get a chance to buddy." Creno said to the other man, knowing full well the other would hear.

Whatever was holding him up, he hoped it would be very important.

Creno kept his eyes darting from the trees to the girl, he wanted to be absolutely certain that nothing could sneak up on them.

He knew first hand, from experience, how dangers were Xem'Zund's remnant forces. That was what his eyes scanned the trees for, the tell-tale signs of any of the walking dead. Creno feared the walking dead the most of all of Xem'Zund's creations. Something about their lifeless and eternally hungry eyes never sat well with him. He'd lost many friends to the endless assaults of the walking dead, and he knew Raiaera had already lost a lot. Creno's mind was focused as he observed the surrounding area, making sure that if anything were to attack the three travelers, he would be ready to protect the girl.

Creno had a lot of thoughts passing through his mind, when he heard a tree branch on the ground snapping nearby.

Immediately, his hand went to his battle spear...he hoped to god it wasn't one of the many monsters of the Red Forest...he hoped that it was just John.

[redford]

Gracelessly, she dropped from the branch she sat on, attempting to flee. John silently mused that she must not have wanted visitors before she tripped on the loose ground and fell. Her head struck the ground forcefully, and John began to move forward. Creno winced as he heard, already moving to help the lady. Her violin had clattered to the ground a short distance from her, and John moved to pick it up. She would heal, the violin would not.

His hand closed on the hard, dark wood, and he brought his other hand up, tracing the largest string with a metal finger, producing a soft, but precise note. He absently wondered how she played it so well before he heard a soft rustling in the forest just off the trail.

Instantly, he disregarded what Creno had said a moment ago, turning with ears perked up, trying to discern the location of the source. He slid his feet apart and bent his knees, looking around. He took a step forward, and a branch crunched under his foot. A shadow fled from the deep shade of the forest, evidently one of the smaller denizens, scared of both the noise and the presence of humans. The Red Forest, while familiar to John, was still quite dangerous, and no place to spend the night. Most of the creatures of the forest were large, and the ones that weren't were venomous. They had made quite a bit of noise already, and though it drove off the smaller creatures, it drew in the larger and more corrupted denizens.

[loves.blessing.]

McKinley blinked at the hand that was reached out towards her unsure if she should really take the help that he was offering. Her heart was racing and all she could hear in her ears was the deafening sound of her galloping heart beat. Upon reading his lips as he told her come with him if she wanted to live, cocking her head to the side not understanding why he was being so mellow dramatic but little did she know there was danger lurking around every corner in this cursed forest. Slipping her small smooth hand into his she felt how rough his hand was as it covered her own she felt the protest in her joints as he hauled her off her back since having just been jolted and shook from crashing into the hard ground. She looked at her hand in his one last time before withdrawing it and holding it in her other one as if to guard it from being touched any more. When offered his sleeve she chewed on her bottom lip a look of question of whether or not to take it from him. In the end she quickly took the torn fabric and dabbed her forehead to clean up that gash before tending to the larger one on her knee. Her beautiful features were twisted and distorted with pain as she tightly wrapped the make shift bandage around her town flesh to apply pressure to slow down the bleeding.

Having tended to all her wounds as best as she could she turned her attention once back to her beloved violin that was still missing. Running a flustered hand through her fiery mane of locks she turned right than left looking for it. She could feel the sting of tears threatening to expose her vulnerable state to the male. A lump rose in her throat and tightened her air way as she parted her plush lips to try force more air in and out of her constricted throat. Her chest was heaving up and down from the struggle of breathing as if she was almost on the verge of having a panic attack. Turning in circles her vision started to blur as black spots started to appear warning her that if she didn't calm down soon and regulate her breathing she was going to pass out.

Upon hearing a crunching she slowly turned now her dark crystal blue eyes landing on the over sized man that had stumbled upon her playing her violin. The sound could have been easily mistaken for her precious instrument. She didn't have the heart to look down and see if it really was her violin she couldn't bare to see it in little pieces. Instead she let the tears slip past her eye lids and charged at the large seven foot eight inches of human. A blood curdling scream parted her lips that any one around for a half of mile could hear. The tears blurred her vision as her tiny clenched fist pounded on his rock hard chest, had she just looked in his hand she could have seen the small instrument clutched. Her face turning red from the crying and screaming, her ivory skin tone almost now matching the fiery color of her locks. Shaking her head vigorously as she cried, smashing her fist against him as the large mass of man didn't even budge from her feeble blows.

[Sir_Creno]

Creno watched as she cleaned her wounds, the injuries were many.

The thought of her being hurt made his own heart sink, however...he kept his composure surprisingly well. The afternoon sun was slowly starting to sink into the star ocean, and the first few stars were already twinkling. Creno did not like the idea of having to wander around The Red Forest in the dark. Gotta get this situation under control, and fast. This place really is not safe. Creno's mind was already thinking up possibilities when she suddenly ran towards John and started to attack him! Creno sighed. It had been a simple slip and fall, but he dreaded to think what would happen if...

And then it happened.

The nearby trees stirred and Creno, instinctively turned his attention towards them.

A creature emerged from the dark areas of the trees, and moved slowly forward towards the clearing they were all in.

It had hunger in it's eyes, and was one of the stranger fox-like creatures he'd seen several times in his journey. Creno sighed and felt his heart beating rapidly in his chest. He was afraid, not for himself, but for the girl and her apparently lack of combat experience. "John, we got company!" Creno yelled, Creno had some leadership capacity and would use it to his best capacity. He was thankful for that. He drew his combat spear and prepared to engage the corrupted fox before anymore of them would show up. Everything in The Red Forest, animals included, were cursed by Pode's influence. Creno readied a combat stance and prepared to engage the monster with his weapon, and skill.

[redford]

John turned just in time to see the girl, scrapes and all, charge toward him, a vicious look on her face. She struck John's chest with a tiny fist, the cause of her anger and distress a mystery to the giant. Her hair was a tangled mass of red that fell around and over her face. She was angry, yes, but why she was angry was still lost on him. Though, as John looked at her again it seemed that her anger was born more of sorrow than anything else, and tears streamed down her face as she continued to pound weakly at him. It was all very odd.

Creno's words snapped him out of his thoughts, and he looked up to see Creno plucking his spear from his back, blade pointing toward the giant fox-like creature that was slowly approaching. Splotches of deep red marred a tawny coat, fangs and claws shining in the sunlight. It was nearly five feet tall, and more bulky than a regular fox would be at that size, its head and neck were large, and its jaws more vicious-looking. Even the girl was brought out of her sobbing by the quickly-escalating situation.

John pushed the violin into her chest, and her hands closed around it instinctively, still gaping at the monstrous creature. The fox was pacing just beyond them on the trail, snarling at Creno's spear. John spoke slowly, but forcefully to the girl, trying to prevent her from panicking. John attempted to calm his own breathing.

"Behind Creno, now," he said, and as she moved, he heard another rustling in the trees. A second giant fox emerged from the forest behind Creno, growling deeply as it walked forward.

This is not good, John thought, backing up until he was opposite Creno, with the girl between them. Pack hunters, likely more in the trees. As if on cue, he heard the same low growl from several locations in the trees. It would be a hard fight, but their chances were good; John's only problem was the girl, as protecting her could prove dangerous. However...

The growls grew in tempo and volume, drowning out the native sounds of the forest. Even the sunlight seemed to fail them as the pack closed in, the giant foxes in the trees now just off the trail. John's eyes darted to and fro, trying to see how many of them there were. Five, he supposed, but that didn't mean there weren't more waiting. A plan sprang to mind, dangerous though it was, it might offer them fewer tactical disadvantages.

"Creno! Break the circle!" John yelled over the growling. There was more of a chance they could get the girl out unharmed if they weren't trapped by the monsters. If they could get out of the circle, they could make a stand with only one direction to worry about. If not, it was unlikely they could keep the girl safe. John got ready to grab her, readying spikes at his knuckles in case he needed to punch his way out following Creno.

[loves.blessing.]

McKinley's cheeks were dirty the mixture of her sweat, tears and the dirt in the air clung to her already blotchy skin complexion from crying. The one thing that she was able to keep out of danger was that violin that was left with her on the door step of the hut, the only thing that connected her to the woman that gave birth to her. This big mountain of a man crushed it into nothing but splinters leaving her nothing but the simple note that was attached to the woven basket that she laid in. Instead of hurting the bolder of man she pounded her petite little fist against, his chest didn't move it was like hitting stone with each blow she felt her hands pleading her to stop. Small sobs and whimpers were choked up in her throat leaving her to gasp for air in between swings.

The sound of growling brought her sobbing to a complete halt as her head whipped around towards the direction that the sound had come from. A large beastly creature that shared the resemblance of a fox came out of the tree shadows, in that moment Kinley's breath hitched in her throat staring wide eyed at the large male that she had just been beating in the chest. As he shoved the violin to her chest a small gasp left her lips which drew the attention of the beast. It's animal instinct more than likely honing in on the fact that she was the easier pray of the three. On que the creature bared it's teeth snapping its chops as it salivated profusely making the small girl's stomach turn with an uneasy feeling that something wasn't going to end well.

Being pushed the first male she had met so that she was in the middle of the two walls of men, her small frame looked even more smaller as she stood between the two. Seeing more of the fox like creatures come out of the wood works she clutched her violin tightly to her chest as her heart sunk into her stomach as fear constricted her muscles from moving. Her large piercing blue eyes held nothing but fear and horror in them as she gave a look to the large male that had pushed her in the middle the look was almost asking are we going to die right now?

As more creatures came forth the violin in McKinley's death grip shook uncontrollably as she hadn't realized she was shaking with fear seeping from her pores. The sweet smell drew the beast closer as they lifted their muzzles towards the sky inhaling deeply before letting out a sound that was close to a growl and cackling. The sound made Kinley's blood run cold as the large male shouted something about breaking some circle looking back with puzzlement twisting her features. Before she could understand what was happening chaos erupted from every which direction.

[Sir_Creno]

Creno's mind was whirlwind that focused on one singular thought though the chaos as it started.

Protect her at all costs...even my life. Creno had never even considered the possibility she was a stranger. We must protect her because it can be, must be done, at the current moment! Creno started to feel extremely angry that the strange, corrupted and blighted foxes would dare place her danger. He didn't exactly understand why he felt so strongly at the moment, but he simply did. As he stood there carefully, he noticed that the first of the creatures stalked towards him. That hunger in the beast's eyes made Creno consider how severe Pode's influence actually was. It had the capacity of affecting all of the local wild life in the area, and even their offspring were born tormented by Pode's influence.

Creno tired to focus on the matter at hand and would leave the hypothesis time for later.

He gripped the haft of his battle-spear very tightly.

His muscles tensed up to their full capacity, and Creno noticed that the fox-creature was well within striking distance at that point. He acted. Creno used his powerful body's forward momentum and lunged with his chosen weapon. He had a small arsenal with him at all times, but the main weapon he preferred using was the spear. Creno always did fancy himself a lancer or a dragoon type of soldier. The snapping maw of the beast came forward towards the big man and he struck with the skill of a warrior who was well trained. The waning afternoon sun reflected light off the surface of the spear tip's blade. Creno lunged with an upward thrust of his weapon, aiming for the mouth of the creature..he would take no chances during the course of the battle.

Creno's eyes narrowed and he felt impact from the spear.

He pierced brain and sinew, flesh and bone. The tip of the weapon pushed all the way up and through the skull of the creature, a well positioned killing blow. Creno growled as he struck the thing, and then twisted his body weight ever so subtly. After that, he pulled the weapon of choice out of the creature and through it's skull. There was a burst of black, corrupted blood as the creature's head all but exploded. Creno swore out loud as that occurred. His body was now splashed with the black, tainted blood of the creature he'd slain. His eyes had a serious expression in them, and he mentally prepared for the worst to happen. He knew Pode's influence ran deep. He was waiting for something else to happen to the body of the creature.

A mutation, an extra set of attacks...it possibly rising again.

The creature surprisingly fell dead, and remained dead.

Creno took a moment to look at the progress of his friend and warn him where to strike.

"John, take their skulls, don't take any chances with these things. They have black blood man, who knows what they are capable of doing!" Creno yelled to his long-time friend.

If there was more time, Creno would have burned the already rotting body of the corrupted fox.

Then his eyes caught it. In the trees surrounding them, there were way more foxes coming. Hungry eyes stared from the darkness at the trio. Creno knew he would take as many of them down as he could, but there was the immediate concern of the girl who was now in their care. Creno would have to quickly devise a plan to protect to her. Creno's sharp eyes attempted to count exactly how many of the creatures had surrounded them. He lost count after the fifth one. Two had attempted to flank Creno but the seasoned soldier was prepared. He swung his spear at the first one that lunged out the shadows, and the weapon struck true. As if guided by the hand of God. Creno did not believe in the locale populace's Thayne Codex. He simply believed in a Creator...or God. The Gene Pool was a testament to the Creator's grand design of all things.

Creno's spear connected with the head of the second lunging beast...

But..

[redford]

As the fox in front of him lunged forward, John produced a round plate from his armor similar to a shield, sprouting from his forearm quickly as he leaned into the impact of the fox, sending it flying. Hopefully Creno had killed the outermost foxes so he could get the girl out. As his other hand came round and grabbed her by the waist, another lunge from the trees caught him off guard. Pain surged at his thigh from a giant biting fox. John grunted, molding the bottom edge of his makeshift shield into an edge, bringing it down on the fox's neck.

John was already in motion as his shield cut through most of the animal's neck. He passed Creno quickly, spying a giant branch overhanging the path. John leapt, extending his free arm, his shield morphing into a large hook that he swung toward the limb. He landed the hook, which held for a moment under his weight, at least long enough for John to deposit the frightened girl on top of it.

Before he released himself, he gripped the girl's ankle hanging off the branch, concentrating on his armor intensely. He imagined a river of molten iron from his forge, flowing from him to the girl, and it happened.

John watched as a portion of his armor flowed from his armored hand onto the girl, covering most of her leg quickly. He looked up at her terrified visage.

"Concentrate, and it will protect you," he said quickly, releasing his hook from the branch, shaking the ground as he landed. The armor he sacrificed to protect the girl meant his chest no longer had any armor and he wouldn't be able to make his larger weapons, but he was used to improvisation.

The wolves continued their advance, a few more appearing from the trees as still more made themselves visible in the dim light of the forest. John looked around, but he was no longer nervous. The girl was safe and out of reach for now, and he was quite confident he and Creno would be able to deal with the wolves. John's armor pushed out to his forearms and fists, making them oversized. It would add impact to his punches and strikes.

A fox leapt out from the forest at him and he met it in the air with a giant crushing blow. Something crunched in the fox's head and it fell, motionless. John made his way back to Creno. Being surrounded wasn't the best situation, but there was an old adage.

Surrounded? Excellent, it wouldn't be fair any other way.

[loves.blessing.]

McKinley was more than just panicking she was freaking out, shaking like a leaf in a wind storm. When an arm wrapped around her tiny waist a yelp escaped her lips until she looked up to see that mountain of a man grabbing her. As he launched up into the tree tops Kinley wrapped both her arms tightly around her violin, the sudden movement caused her stomach to flip. Holding a hand over her mouth so that her stomach would not empty its contents all over John but when the over grown fox clamped on to his thigh she kicked her legs furiously at the creatures head. When the head was detached from its body by the male's armor her stomach flipped again as she could feel the bile rise in her throat slowly threatening to come to the surface.

When hoisted to the tree limb she clung to it for a moment before panic set in once more feeling something on her leg clinging tightly. Though her fear faded as the male shouted to her wait it was and what it could do, nodding somewhat she almost lost her balance as the earth shook from the impact of the male dropping down to the ground. Watching with fear in her piercing blue eyes as the two men were now surrounded by the beast. What should I do?! What the hell am I gonna do?! She thought as she stood up planting both her heels on the trunk since it was large enough to have held the large mass of a man of John it could easily hold her. Still clutching her violin she took a shaky breath and took the bow with a wavering hand before she found the cord she was looking for.

A high pitched squeal filled the air around her which would have caused the fox-beast things to look up at her. With their heightened hearing it would be painful for them to continue to hear it. Another squeal left the instrument, shredding her bow in the process looking over at the two men while most of the beast were too busy looking at her with their ears pinned back to their skulls. Kill them, hurry while they are distracted!! She screamed in her head as her eyes were pleading them to understand what she was doing jumping down to a lower branch in one fluid motion to get closer to the beast. The closer she came with the squealing of her instrument the more they squirmed and withered with discomfort at the high pitch frequency of the notes she was playing.

[Sir_Creno]

(I have ze plan. Red make sure you get McKinley out of there. That is all.)
(Moderator note: I am writing Creno out the remainder of this project. Thanks for understanding, I'm also forefeitting my Exp out this since I didn't stay to the end. Thanks.)


A sudden and high-pitched sound pierced through the area.

Creno was nearby when the noise erupted and felt it more than he actually heard it.

The sound was so loud and sudden, that it caught the lancer completely off guard.

He felt a piercing pain through his skull, the sound had affected him as well. The gathered fell beasts paused for a moment as they too, heard the thing in play. Several of the fell beasts howled in agony as the sound persisted. Creno, not particularly well trained in dealing with such sounds, immediately dropped his spear nearby and clutched at his head. The high pitched frequency was felt as it was attempting to rip through his skull like a white hot knife. Creno growled in anger and panic as he felt completely exposed to the sudden event. As the sound persisted in the clearing, Creno felt his jaws clenching tightly. He had not heard such a terrible banshee's wail in his life. His skull felt like it was going to explode.

At the time, he wasn't entirely certain why he'd reacted to such a sound in such a complete sort of way.

But it was enough.

What followed next would forever haunt the lancer.

At the last possible moment, he saw the fell beast had recovered much sooner than he had. It was then that he realized that he was unarmed. It had all happened so quickly that the lancer could only react in a strangely calm sort of way. He knew he could not out run them. So he had completely accepted his fate. The fell beast lunged at Creno with a gaping maw, jaws snapping madly. Creno attempted to raise his arm in a feeble block. But, the beast had won the initiative attack. Powerful dire claws struck Creno and pierced flesh, the beast grabbed at him with sinewy muscles bulging through dirty fur. Creno did not scream, he did not yell for help. He simply fought back as best as his current skill would allow him to.

The fell beast managed to knock Creno backwards and on the ground.

Creno stared right into the eyes of his would be killer.

The eyes were blood-shot red to the point that they glowed, red just like the forest that surrounded them.

Creno kept his arm raised and knew it was the only thing that kept his enemy at bay.

The snapping jaws drooled with horrible, hot saliva.

He felt anger in his heart, anger and something like a black fear pulsing up his spine.

I am going to die... He remembered thinking.

He kept his forearm in between himself and the fell beast. He could already feel talons piercing his forearm and cutting him up horribly. It was all happening so quickly, that he did not know how to react. The beast was working quickly with all four of its legs to cut Creno up into small tiny bits. The noble lancer kept his eyes locked on his mortal enemy. I must ensure that John gets away to safety with that girl...otherwise...I am going to die for nothing. Creno felt the weight of the dread thing on top of him, and he knew he had to act suddenly and decisively. Creno felt his free arm shaking with the tension of bood loss and injury, but he was still able to control it. He clenched his fist tightly.

Screaming loudly...

There was a horrible snapping sound.

The fell beast fell down, dead.

Creno moved the corpse off of his body and struggled to stand.

He turned to look at his companions, especially at John.

Already the dire beasts were surrounding the brave lancer.

The last thing he said...

"Run you fools..." Creno managed to whisper, but they would both be able to hear him as loudly as if he'd yelled the words to them both.

They attacked him all at once and it was all a blur after that.

[redford]

There was much John knew, being a former member of nobility, and one unpleasant but important thought reared its head as the beasts closed in on Creno.

Sometimes you have to leave people behind.

The half-giant growled angrily at their turn of fate, wishing to save his compatriot, but knowing the distraction he would provide would be invaluable to their escape. He refused to think on it in the heat of battle, lest his emotions overcome his sense. He yelled up to the girl, readying himself to catch her. She had only spent a few moments in the tree, but they had to get away, and fast.

"Girl! Drop down!"

She caught his meaning quickly, and he caught her falling form in stride, breaking into a run away from the confrontation, carrying the girl with him.

Hopefully their distraction would prove beneficial.