Finally Hunting!|Beastlands

[Toyoll]

Nyala was almost giddy, crouching low in the grass, so familiar to her, not quite as tall as the elephant grass, but certainly tall enough.

She flexed her claws and rolled her shoulders, her stormy grey eyes flashed through the green stalks. A single mule deer stood munching away. A healthy male, it wasn't going to be easy.

But who cares?! I'm finally hunting! Nyala thought as she whipped out her trusty bone daggar.

Plesant memories of her first day on her Force Quest came back to her, only making her smile even more. The she-wolf crept closer....

[aivea]

Four Elementals of various signs took advantage of Nyala's distraction and eased toward her, one from each side, after remembering she was the one who had been seen with Audra. This would be the perfect chance for a little revenge for what the mercenary had done to their leader. After the four others where in position, a jackal affinity Beast crouched down before creeping closer on all fours with her tail sweeping along the ground to cover her tracks. Following a nod from the Beast, three small lightening bolts from the Storms in the pack struck near Nyala as a distraction while an Earth type manipulated the grass to try to wrap around the she-wolf's ankles. However the jackal just continued her silent approach which turned quickly to circling to look for an opening.

This was a hunt of a different sort...

[Toyoll]

As the group aproached, the mule deer bounded off. At first, Nyala thought it was just her...until the lightning exploded next to her. She lept aside, hackles raised and growling furiously, more out of instinct than anything else.

Her eyes went wide as she felt something wrap around her legs. Nyala looked down, panicked, she ripped her feet away from the hungry grass.

She could smell them before she saw them. She snarled, fangs flashing in the sunlight, ears plastered against her skull, tail held out. "Who in Taed's name are you?!" Nyala barked. As she watched the rest of the pack with dangerous eyes, she failed to see, or even scent, the jackal affinity, too distracted by the obvious.

Nyala took a quick gauge of what she was up against and found herself panicked. She was a fair match for any one of them, but together like this...

Nyala automatically went to bluff tactics. She let loose a horrifying howl, notes of strength and rage weaved into it. She reached for her sign, it would give her a temporary burst of power.

[aivea]

"Hunters," replied one of the Storms.

The pack hesitated for a second at the howl but the Earth started chanting to try again to bind Nyala, this time trying to capture all at once. To cover up the noise of the chant, two Storms created a loud bang of thunder and the final Storm launched another lightening bolt to try to make Nyala go more into the grass. In response and to encourage her back, the jackal yipped sharply twice before touching her signs together and releasing her own resounding howl filled with desire for revenged and projected hate.

[Toyoll]

Nyala visibly flinched at the display of thunder and lightning. She was surprised at the sudden yelps and the terrible howl to rival her own. Her blood boiled with indignation and rage. The she-wolf kept her wolf's eyes locked on this new threat, the effects of her sign made her feral orbs even more animalistic. Darkened rims and sharper tear ducts. Even her claws and fangs seemed to grow slightly.

But deep in her mind she knew that even a well trained single-sign isn't nearly strong enough to take on a two-sign who has obviously mastered her skills.

Nyala took a step back, her mind positively screaming at her, demanding she abides to the law of fight or flight. In a single act of defiyance, she spat on the ground.

Nyala took another step back, before pausing. What was she doing? Was going to be a Poldoran Officer backing off, tail tucked firmly between her legs? Of course not! Nyala lowered her head, teeth barred and she flexed her muscles.

With a terrible snarl, she flew at the female jackal, brandishing her bone knife.

[aivea]

One Storm continued to feint with lightening, one tried to break Nyala's concentration with repetitive thunder and the last tried to bodily tackle Nyala's legs to prevent escape. The Earth, meanwhile, continued chanting to try to tangle the wolf up with plants though more carefully now to avoid ensnaring their comrade.

"Hi," the jackal said calmly before leaping aside and baring her own fangs in a snarl.

For some reason, she seemed to prefer remaining on all fours or nearly on all fours than standing upright. The Beast's garb marks her as Beleg in origin and the scars on her arms and legs attested that she had not hesitated to fight with her clanmates. One each of her hands is a bone weapon similar to brass knuckles but with sharp and wickedly curved claws -which looked like real bear's claws rather than just carved bone- attached to the knuckles with metal.

[Toyoll]

Nyala barked in rage as the Storm tackled her. She furiously bit and clawed at his back and even struck him with the knife. The she-wolf, unable to retrieve her beloved weapon, managed to wriggle free, only to find herself tangled in snake-like grass.

Abandoning herself fully to her instinct, she practically forgot how to speak, growling, snapping and barking viciously. The frenzied Beast ripped at the plants. But the more she struggled, the more Nyala got tangled. Pure unbridled fury mingled with panic and loathing coursed through her veins.

Nyala fought admirably, but simply couldn't rid herself of these incessant plants. Eventually, the power that her sign lent to her faded away. Both of her hands had been ceased and she couldn't reach her sign again. Her knees began to falter until she finally collapsed.

Once on the ground however, she kept struggling, perhaps in vain. A wolf in a snare.

[Northen Light36]

Echo crouched in the long grass, her ears twitching. A fight was not how she'd wanted to spend her vacation, she'd been on her way to visit a cousin, but ah well. This was hardly something she could walk away from. Setting an arrow to the bow she'd brought along and hoping her skills with the weapon hadn't become too rusty in the time she'd lived in the cities where her bow was a burden, not an advantage. Firing off a couple of arrows at the earth type, Echo nods to her companion, the silver tabby kitten known as Wish, who darts through the grass to Nyala and starts chewing on the grass binding the wolf affinity.

"Don't worry," he meows to Nyala. "We'll help you out."

[aivea]

The jackal leaned down to try to roughly pick up Wish while the remaining Storms moved to protect the Earth. The two put up a shield of electricity to prevent any attacks from going through.

Audra, who had gotten bored waiting, stomped over with his weapon uncovered. "Who in the countless layers of Soahc blessed Flux is the leader of you Water bloods?" he snarled after seeing Nyala's state.

"Me. Care to join your packmate? Or should I say mate?" the jackal replied and stopped trying to pick up Wish.

"She's not my mate, you whelp of Taed!"

(I think I should leave room for a reaction here.)

[Toyoll]

"MATE?! You stupid Beleg DOLT!" Nyala growled.

She tried ripping at the grass again, without any success.

((sorry for the short post))

[aivea]

With a growl, Audra rushed over and swung his halberd at the jackal to try to end this with a single slashing attack to her throat. However the jackal ducked under the blow and slashed at him with her claws. The mercenary yelped in pain as her attack opened a few shallow though still quite painful wounds on his chest.

"Soahc take this stick," he hissed and dropped his weapon. "It's just going to slow me down."

"No weapons, eh? Then I'll be barehanded as well," the jackal replied and slid off her bone weapons. "You've nothing that will hurt me."

Audra smirked once he realised the pain was worse then the wounds and declared, "You forget about something..."

He tilted his head and pressed left his shoulder to his cheek which brought his Ice and Storm signs together. Before an attempt could be made to knock him off balance, he created a hail of electrically charged ice shards all around the jackal.

The Beast howled from fury and lunged at him again. This time, Audra separated his signs and dodged before reaching out to grab one of the jackal's wrists.

"'ey, Nyala. You want anything to do with her?" he asked dryly, the adrenaline rush of battle dulling the pain at the moment.

[Toyoll]

Nyala, who has finally managed to scramble free of the reeds, eyed the other men dangerously, the earth in particular.

".....No. You take 'er. I'm going afteR THIS ONE!" in a single fluid motion, she picked up her dagger and hurled it at the Earth male. She didn't stop to see is her weapon hit it's target, however, she was already pouncing on the other Storm.

In her mind she was implementing a hunting patern used to disperse prey.

[Northen Light36]

Wish snarls at the jackel as Echo, still hidden, switches targets and fires a couple of arrows at the jackel. The cats affinity growls softly, unable to run while her companion is among the group of fighters, but wary of joining the fight. After a moment, she hides her bow in the long grass and starts to creep closer to get a better idea of the situation.

[aivea]

The jackal twists out of the way of the arrows as much as Audra's firm grip on her arm would allow; however that only means that both arrows go through her shoulder rather than her chest. She tries to claw at the mercenary with the arm connected to her damaged shoulder only to have her other wrist be caught as well.

"Let me go!" the jackal growls.

"all right then, I will," Audra replies and throws her to the ground.

He brings his signs together again when the jackal starts to lunge at him in one more attempt to end his life. Seconds later, the Beast is on the ground dead after having been pierced through the throat by another electrically charged and sharp shard of ice.
__

The Earth is struck and falls to the ground dead; the Storm with Nyala attempted to pounce on dodges the best they can and swings to try to punch her. Meanwhile, the last Storm fires a lighting bolt at Audra which is blocked by the mercinary's firing another bolt straight at it.

[Northen Light36]

Echo takes out a throwing knife and hurls it at the Storm throwing lightning around before allowing her nails to lengthen into claws - her versoin of a cat extending her claws - and leaps out to slash at the Storm trying to punch Nyala. "Mind if I join the fun?" she asks Nyala, guessing she's from one of the clans where offering to help would be an insult.