by C S » Mon Nov 18, 2013 12:08 am
The beast staggered and limped in the opposite direction, holding its stricken leg in the air. Its head whipped around and it screamed at the mercenary, its bright eyes burning with fury. Before it could retaliate, the other monsters charged it while its line of sight was broken. It looked back at them at the very last moment, when they were all in the air and hurtling towards it. Their front limbs were held out in front of them, claws splayed like big cats pouncing on prey. There was a weighty collision, then there were the noises the creatures made as they mauled each other, guttural sounds mixed with the sound of tearing flesh. Droplets of water and blood alike went flying every which way.
Things were not very much different where Taleun was concerned. Though the creatures did not focus their aggression on any single target, choosing to attack whichever one of them dared to approach the man, they battled viciously nonetheless. They tackled each other to the ground, bit and slashed, kicked and thrashed. Taleun lifted himself up shakily, battered but not defeated. Adrenaline kept the worst of the pain at bay. He sheathed his knife as he stood upright and grabbed his bowgun. He pulled the canvas off of it and let it fall to the muddy ground. He then flipped up the compartment over the butt of the gun and grabbed one of his ammo pouches, loading the weapon up with the metal laden husks. When Taleun was done, he closed it and pulled the sling back until he heard it click. The gun was cocked and now it was time to let the shrapnel fly-
The sound of snapping timbers and crashing branches reached his ears over the pummeling rain. He snapped his head about to look in its direction and felt a sinking sensation in the pit of his gut. There, lit by the weak flames set by the mercenary, was a behemoth. The giant animal, something that was almost shoulder height with the tall branches of the treetops, had a dark red underbelly that transitioned to thick, brown hide on its back and sides, striped with streaks of gold. The two legs it stood on were short and stocky, ending in padded paws that sank into the mud. Its arms were large and powerful looking, well defined muscles bulging with each movement they made. It had claws on its fingers similar to an anteater's and its forearms had long, blue fur dangling off of them. Its rounded head was situated on a stout neck, its lower jaw more pronounced than the upper one with fangs protruding over its lips at the front. It had four gray eyes, a pair on either side of its head.
It also happened to be the reason Taleun and Warren were sent to the edge of the forest in the first place. They were supposed to lead it deeper into the woodland, far from the outskirts of Weywin. Instead, the sounds of battle drew it out into the open...