Kratos
death doesn't discriminate
The mountain passage was harrowing without a storm, and nearly impassable during one. By the time they find a winding, twisting path that led down to a flatter area, both dragon and equine were soaked to the bone and looked far worse for wear. Most of the trees had thinned out from winter’s chill by now, and although the available shelter was laughable at best, it was better than the alternative of trying to go further and potentially falling to their demise.
Kratos let loose a curse as he sidled up to one such tree, the cruel wind blasting through the valley and effectively stealing his words so that not even Pryna could hear what he had said, probably for the best. As his body began to quake against the onslaught in an effort to warm up, thankful for the small wind block provided, the man of starlight settled in for what could quite possibly be one of the longest nights of his life, as Pryna laid claim to his back.
’We will be okay here,’ she soothed, ’Rest, and I will keep watch.’
But rest would not come so easily. Just as he began to warm, a cry pierced the air, impossibly louder than the shrill whistle of the wind. His sharp blue eyes, once squeezed shut now opened, peering out into the darkness around them. Upon his back he could feel Pryna shift, who knew better than to think her companion had managed to find sleep.
’That was a call of distress,’ her voice came through the dredges of his exhausted mind, ’We need to see what it was.’
Kratos’ lips pursed and he contemplated telling her to go see what it was herself, content to stay put until the storm had subsided. His job had never been to assist the living, but rather the opposite. But as true as the fact was, one thing was even more true – he was more frightened of what Pryna would do to him than he was of Felume. With a sharp inhale and a look that could kill, he trudged forward, his hooves squelching in the mud and slop with every step.
In time they reached the frantic mother, and Kratos eyed the wild cat warily as he approached. It wasn’t that he was particularly frightened of her, instinct be damned, but rather his simple distrust of most creatures that weren’t Pryna. But as he observed the scene quickly unfolding before them, he spotted the single cub dangling precariously from a too thin branch, far too high for the babe to survive such a fall. The branch he was on creaked and groaned as the wind buffeted it, threatening to send it crashing to the ground at any second. A shift of her weight was the only warning Pryna gave before she took flight, struggling against the wind but managing to reach the near-broken branch.
’Be ready to catch him, just in case!’ the dragoness called out to her bonded as she went, finding purchase beside the young bobcat. The branch moaned and sagged beneath her added weight, and Pryna knew she had to act fast before it was too late. Reaching out, she grabbed the cub by his scruff as carefully as was possible given the situation. He cried out, surely in alarm at being accosted by a dragon, and squirmed in her grasp – just as the dead branch finally gave way and went careening toward the ground.
Taken by surprise, Pryna tightened her grip on the cub who was even more frantic now that he was dangling helplessly in the air. The wind whipped violently against her back as she fought to keep control in the air and make her way down, but between that, the writhing bobcat, and her sheer lack of size and strength, it was too much. Just as she surpassed the halfway mark to the ground, the cub was ripped from her jaws, and she barely had a moment to cry out to her awaiting companion below. ’Catch him!!’
Though his eyes were narrowed in an attempt to block out the elements, Kratos’ gaze had never strayed from Pryna’s opalescent form, and from the ground he tried to stay directly below her, ready to move should anything go wrong, and wrong it went. As the cub plummeted toward the ground, the stallion grit his teeth and sidestepped to the left. The youngster cried out fearfully as he fell toward his certain death, but before he could potentially meet his demise, he landed across Kratos’ hindquarters and nearly bounced off, leaving a few scratches across the unicorn’s skin in the process. Heaving a breath of relief, Kratos knelt down on his front knees, further covering himself with disgusting slop but knowing he was at a point where it didn’t really matter anymore.
Dazed and confused, but alive and ultimately unharmed, the cub scurried down the length of his back before leaping from his withers. The frantic mother darted to his side, appearing to check her son over for a moment before reaching down to tenderly pick him up within her own teeth. Before she turned and hurried off somewhere safe, though, she lingered, and Kratos swore he could see gratefulness shining in her green eyes before she slinked away. Straightening back up just as Pryna returned to him, perching on one of his horns and grinning wide, Kratos watched until the mother and child had disappeared completely before he, too, turned to find shelter for themselves once more.
The day was cold, dismal and oppressive, but for them, it had become just a little brighter than it had been five minutes prior, and Kratos would never admit that he felt just a tad warmer, too.
"Speaking."
Kratos let loose a curse as he sidled up to one such tree, the cruel wind blasting through the valley and effectively stealing his words so that not even Pryna could hear what he had said, probably for the best. As his body began to quake against the onslaught in an effort to warm up, thankful for the small wind block provided, the man of starlight settled in for what could quite possibly be one of the longest nights of his life, as Pryna laid claim to his back.
’We will be okay here,’ she soothed, ’Rest, and I will keep watch.’
But rest would not come so easily. Just as he began to warm, a cry pierced the air, impossibly louder than the shrill whistle of the wind. His sharp blue eyes, once squeezed shut now opened, peering out into the darkness around them. Upon his back he could feel Pryna shift, who knew better than to think her companion had managed to find sleep.
’That was a call of distress,’ her voice came through the dredges of his exhausted mind, ’We need to see what it was.’
Kratos’ lips pursed and he contemplated telling her to go see what it was herself, content to stay put until the storm had subsided. His job had never been to assist the living, but rather the opposite. But as true as the fact was, one thing was even more true – he was more frightened of what Pryna would do to him than he was of Felume. With a sharp inhale and a look that could kill, he trudged forward, his hooves squelching in the mud and slop with every step.
In time they reached the frantic mother, and Kratos eyed the wild cat warily as he approached. It wasn’t that he was particularly frightened of her, instinct be damned, but rather his simple distrust of most creatures that weren’t Pryna. But as he observed the scene quickly unfolding before them, he spotted the single cub dangling precariously from a too thin branch, far too high for the babe to survive such a fall. The branch he was on creaked and groaned as the wind buffeted it, threatening to send it crashing to the ground at any second. A shift of her weight was the only warning Pryna gave before she took flight, struggling against the wind but managing to reach the near-broken branch.
’Be ready to catch him, just in case!’ the dragoness called out to her bonded as she went, finding purchase beside the young bobcat. The branch moaned and sagged beneath her added weight, and Pryna knew she had to act fast before it was too late. Reaching out, she grabbed the cub by his scruff as carefully as was possible given the situation. He cried out, surely in alarm at being accosted by a dragon, and squirmed in her grasp – just as the dead branch finally gave way and went careening toward the ground.
Taken by surprise, Pryna tightened her grip on the cub who was even more frantic now that he was dangling helplessly in the air. The wind whipped violently against her back as she fought to keep control in the air and make her way down, but between that, the writhing bobcat, and her sheer lack of size and strength, it was too much. Just as she surpassed the halfway mark to the ground, the cub was ripped from her jaws, and she barely had a moment to cry out to her awaiting companion below. ’Catch him!!’
Though his eyes were narrowed in an attempt to block out the elements, Kratos’ gaze had never strayed from Pryna’s opalescent form, and from the ground he tried to stay directly below her, ready to move should anything go wrong, and wrong it went. As the cub plummeted toward the ground, the stallion grit his teeth and sidestepped to the left. The youngster cried out fearfully as he fell toward his certain death, but before he could potentially meet his demise, he landed across Kratos’ hindquarters and nearly bounced off, leaving a few scratches across the unicorn’s skin in the process. Heaving a breath of relief, Kratos knelt down on his front knees, further covering himself with disgusting slop but knowing he was at a point where it didn’t really matter anymore.
Dazed and confused, but alive and ultimately unharmed, the cub scurried down the length of his back before leaping from his withers. The frantic mother darted to his side, appearing to check her son over for a moment before reaching down to tenderly pick him up within her own teeth. Before she turned and hurried off somewhere safe, though, she lingered, and Kratos swore he could see gratefulness shining in her green eyes before she slinked away. Straightening back up just as Pryna returned to him, perching on one of his horns and grinning wide, Kratos watched until the mother and child had disappeared completely before he, too, turned to find shelter for themselves once more.
The day was cold, dismal and oppressive, but for them, it had become just a little brighter than it had been five minutes prior, and Kratos would never admit that he felt just a tad warmer, too.
@Random Events
