True Monsters [Sinistrari + Blonde Panther + Beefish]

Discussion in 'Southern Hyrule' started by Beefish, May 5, 2016.

  1. Sinistrari

    Sinistrari Devious Grins & Hunter of Synonyms reg

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    Dig around in the dirt...? On her hands and knees...? HER?

    A sickening sort of horror curdled in Datura's stomach, twisting her organs into firm, anxious knots. For a few, long moments she debated exaggerating her condition. Perhaps even a slight swoon and a sudden faint would be in order to truly escape the chore that so assaulted her pride - as tarnished as it already was. One of the many reasons, yet still a very valid reason nonetheless, to her living her life so sordidly was to escape situations just like this one. Her wilful, arrogant heart just wouldn't have it.

    "I-..." The single letter slipped from lips bit promptly afterwards. The woman's whole face contorted with internal conflict, golden eyes flashing between Moblin and Aeraflos with indecision.

    She could. She could do it. She could fake a collapse and be done with it all. Their hearts were so malleable and warm; ironically even more so than many other men she had so often met. It would be easy to take advantage. Incredibly so.

    But should she?

    Bearing witness to the pure, guilt-ridden paranoia that had clawed its way into Griskin, from the crestfallen slump of his shoulders to his skittish eyes, began to peel away at Datura's selfish drive. And so did the instinctive protection Silver had offered them a mere minute ago. Their actions communicated far more than their snipped, uneducated language ever could and it softened her. She began to feel guilt and shame. She became overly conscious of her hesitance and counted every second of her delay.

    No. They weren't monsters to her any more but nor were they puppets either. She was a greedy woman but not a cruel or sadistic one.

    These innocent creatures far from deserved her schemes.

    "Of course." Datura at last accepted; a resigned sigh fleeing through a widening smile. She succumbed down onto her knees with more than just one sharp pain but endured regardless, allowing herself to sink into the dry dirt with no escape. It had been done. She was here now. They had rescued and aided her and now it was her turn to help out, if only a little.

    But she really had no idea what she was doing. In truth, overcoming the unwillingness to confess her ignorance so openly had been half the battle. But at least they weren't men. Or beautiful women. That made things a lot easier.

    And so, it was like that that the Gerudo came to keenly request and listen for guidance from the Aeraflos, following Griskin's lead and patching up any holes with additional, fresh knowledge when required. She tried her very best to support them both, in more ways than one, though her attention happened to drift more towards Griskin than her other companion - or that evil, damned Octorok. Though the Moblin moved and acted she could tell he was distraught. As a result whenever Datura passed him by she pressed a comforting hand to his shoulder and even aided him in tasks where perhaps more dexterous hands like hers would do better.

    It was in the middle of one such act that Datura found herself suggesting out loud, "I admit I know very little about things like these, but would it be possible to find fresh seeds elsewhere? Somewhere nearby? I presume these all came from scavenges to begin with and I'm not sure if everything can be salvaged."

    Yes, it was treacherously hot away from any form of shade. Yes, she was in no fit state to go terribly far. And yet, despite all of that, her conscience had tugged the idea into her mouth, forcing her to decide between choking upon it or speaking it.
  2. Blonde Panther

    Blonde Panther Not always sweet and delicate vet

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    "Some hard to find," Silver mused out loud. A few of the seeds had come from distant scavenges and would be hard to replace. But others were from right nearby the village. "Small bush of Ember Seeds close by, though," he said, turning to Datura fully. "Could get those." But first, they would have to finish repairing what they could. He dug into the earth to make sure he got the roots out as well- it would be hard to plant anything with those roots in the way.

    After a long time of hard work, he stepped back, looking at his garden. Most of the damaged plants had been stilted and would recover when given time, a lot had only needed a few damaged branches removed, but a handful had been too far damaged to be salvaged. Fortunately, only one of those plants would be hard to come by, the others were all easy enough to find. "Let me get spear," he said to the other two, "Will go get Ember Seeds." With that, he calmly walked back into his hut to grab the weapon.
  3. Beefish

    Beefish DODONGO DISLIKES SMOKE. new

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    Griskin's neck craned upwards as he watched his reptilian friend assessing the damages. He looked back into giant hands, covered with soil and leaves. The sight didn't inflict any feelings of dirtiness, but he still wiped the granules of green and brown onto his tasset by force of habit. Eyes turning again towards Silver, the pig-man's tusked smile returned in splinters between the gnawing guilt uprising from his belly. His fragmented mouth opened, but froze for a moment before any words could be expelled.

    "I have a spear," He observed, before furthering his comment with "Would you like to use mine? It's a good spear."

    He threw a pointed finger towards the floor near the edge of the garden. The traditional Moblin weapon had been hurriedly tossed beside what was now a pile of torn vegetation. The pole was sturdy and dark wood, the blade was composed of two triangular pieces, set vertically along the top, mirroring each other. Grudd stood next to the weapon, glaring all around like a paranoid guard dog.

    "What do you need one for?"
  4. Sinistrari

    Sinistrari Devious Grins & Hunter of Synonyms reg

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    Datura hadn't the faintest clue what these 'Ember Seeds' were, nor had she ever shown interest in such a thing until this very moment. For the sight of the charitable Aeralfos marching off to do the deed - apparently by himself - had startled the Gerudo onto her feet with a prompt pang of crippling agony. But she was a stubborn woman sometimes and no matter what sort of pain tried to thwart her plan she still managed to loudly blurt, "We'll come with you!"

    It was only once the words had popped out of her dry, cracked lips that her eyes glanced towards Griskin for his reaction to her sudden nomination. Nonetheless, there was no backing down now. "...Right?" She pressed. With a gleam of her eyes and a pinch of her brow, Datura attempted to strike the fine balance between intimidating and just downright desperate.

    At the end of the day for all her offers and little boasts she really wasn't in good enough a condition to do the task alone. If she was to really do this, out there, with a determined scavenger likely set on doing his own thing, the Gerudo would some support. If things continued this way the support might even need to become quite literal. In other words, Griskin had to come with her, so she stared him down appropriately with intentions to do so until he cracked.
  5. Blonde Panther

    Blonde Panther Not always sweet and delicate vet

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    "Huh?" Silver turned around when both Datura and Griskin protested against his taking off, Griskin offering his own spear and Datura shouting that she'd come with him. "Eh, was plan," he said to the girl. He wasn't someone who was comfortable leaving complete strangers unattended in his own house. "Seeds grow in warm place. Many creatures. Territorial." He shook his head. "Go alone bad idea." He still remembered the last time he'd gone into their lair on his own. It had been once, but never again.

    "Have own spear," he said, leading the other two into his house and picking up the spear he'd put down when they'd brought Datura inside. "Will do. Smaller, lighter. Throwing spear." It had always served him well, especially combined with his ability to fly. "Follow?" he said, gesturing them to come with him as he already thought on the path they'd have to take.
  6. Beefish

    Beefish DODONGO DISLIKES SMOKE. new

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    The Moblin found himself caught between the heavy glare of the red-head and the winged-reptile's keen gestures. Neither of which were required, as he immediately gave way to both of them without hesitation. He had already left the village once, and quite wilfully on account of mysterious adventure! Rocketing from the ground with renewed resolve, Griskin went to collect his own spear.

    "Of course!" He beamed at Datura, before turning the smile towards Silver. His blue Octorok scuttled away from it's spot, apparently disturbed but otherwise quiet. Silver's vague description of the location made Griskin start to create mental maps of the more forested places he'd seen in the local area, but his visual memory being one of the more piggish and slow areas of his mind, he could not remember one that was especially warm.

    Turning the spear between his palms, Griskin stood by Silver and welcomed Datura to stand with them with a sharp grin.
  7. Sinistrari

    Sinistrari Devious Grins & Hunter of Synonyms reg

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    Din and drats. What have I gotten myself into? Datura lamented with a scarcely snuffed sigh. A tooth nipped at her lower lip to withhold a brewing groan of indolent, selfish despair.

    She shouldn't have offered. Heck, she should've just stayed in bed...well, the nest... That way she'd at least be able to keep her fingers around what little grains of comfort she held so dear and sacred. But no. It was all slipping through her grasp now: actually, scratch that, it was being thrown by her own ardent will apparently. Somewhere deep down inside she was still a respectable human being. Din damnit.

    It would've been nice of you to at least politely decline the offer though... Or for someone to point out the fact that I really probably shouldn't be walking around, you know? ...A bit of pity pretty please?
    But none came... Either that or that she didn't hear it? Wait. No. Their expectant expressions betrayed nothing of the sort, regardless of how much hope reasoned that the faces of monsters her companions could just be difficult to read properly. Her heart fell and turned a little bitter with spoiled indignation. But at the end of the day there was nothing for it but to suck it up and deal with it like the adult she supposedly was.

    "Okay." The Gerudo stated, more for her own ears than anyone else's. She drew in one big, sharp breath and readied herself for the approaching punishment, the dread masked by a hesitantly growing grin all the while. "Let's go then!"

    As for a weapon of her own... A mild flutter of panic caused her eyes to rapidly scan her surroundings. "Lead the way." She prompted, distracted. "I'll be right behind you."
  8. Blonde Panther

    Blonde Panther Not always sweet and delicate vet

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    Silver hesitated, seeing that Datura didn't have any weapons. She would need one, if they were to go get the Ember Seeds they needed. Thinking for a moment, he pointed a nail up to indicate he'd had an idea. He rummaged around in the pile of now-compost they had made earlier, picking out a handful of assorted seeds. Making sure they were functional, if a little unripe, he wandered over to Datura and plunked them into her hands. "Useful," he said, adding with a warning tone, "Don't eat. Not ripe." The seeds might have been a little unpredictable on account of being harvested too early, but they would go to waste otherwise and they should have been fully functional. "Throw at monsters," he added, "Will see."

    With that, he grabbed his spear again and led the other three out of his house and out of the village, lazily and slowly flying above their heads both for a vantage point and because he'd done more than enough walking for the moment. He knew exactly where they were going, and periodically sniffed the air around him for any hints of the monsters he was afraid of running into.
  9. Beefish

    Beefish DODONGO DISLIKES SMOKE. new

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    Griskin's lips spread over his tusks, parted to reveal rows of blunt teeth, corners pinched and completed a giddy grin as he swung heavy feet in step alongside Datura. The sound of Silver's great leather wings beating cool wafts above them, as if to combat the dry air, hung over the Moblin as he held his father's spear leisurely at his side.

    "I've never seen a human fight... but, you're a lot smaller than I thought." Griskin's left tusk caught on his upper lip, and Grudd hurried behind the group, stopping here and there to suck up pebbles and dust. "And y'arms are real thin. How do you people survive?" Yet another question from the Moblin's spring of enquiries.

    He glanced at the sky, Silver hovering over them like a scaly guardian. Coving a hand to the edge of his mouth, Griskin called up to the Aeralfos.

    "My friend," the snorting of his voice was amplified into a loud, boar call, "y'see anything coming?"
  10. Sinistrari

    Sinistrari Devious Grins & Hunter of Synonyms reg

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    "I don't think I'm exactly the greatest example for your first time." Datura confessed to Griskin with a flush of shame. She hobbled along at his side with humbled pride - and the occasional catch of his burly left arm - counting each agonised stumble of a step with silent, bitter despair. "I'm not exactly at my best right now and that aside my skills are...in other areas. I'm not exactly your average Gerudo, I suppose."

    Why she was going out of her way to defend the rest of her fetid, monstrous 'sisters' was beyond her. Swiftly she regretted it and hated herself. But oh well. The words had already left her lips now. If anything she should be thankful that she slipped up out here, in the middle of nowhere, where the embarrassment was at least kept to a minimum by the lack of a proper audience - or eavesdroppers. It could be quickly forgotten.

    But anyway, Griskin had changed the subject and now directed his curiosity towards the wings overhead. It didn't really help. Datura blanched at his question and ended up muttering another prayer under her breath. Odd. She hadn't really taken herself to be the religious sort: not before this whole ordeal anyway.

    I really, really, really hope we don't bump into anything else. She groaned to herself. She could barely even hold these damned seeds properly out of fear that they'd explode in her pretty little face at a wrong touch! The mere recollection of the chaos these little, unassuming plant things had wrecked on the garden sent a cold shiver of dread down her spine. They were dangerous. And she usually liked dangerous. A lot. Just not this sort of dangerous. What will I do if all this backfires? Literally? Her brow puckered. Violence had never been her type of fun, and with her own gorgeous looks on the line she hated it even more. There wasn't even a man involved.
  11. Blonde Panther

    Blonde Panther Not always sweet and delicate vet

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    Silver shrieked quietly when he heard the rumbling voice of a Moblin, but as he looked down at his companions he realised it must have been Griskin who had shouted at him. What was he thinking? There was a reason Silver carried his spear- he might have attacked his new friend if he hadn't had the sense to look first! ...but if it hadn't been Griskin, the time he'd needed to look could have been the time in which he could have been taken down. Tricky, tricky. There was just no winning here.

    Realising Griskin had asked if he saw anything yet, the Aeralfos looked ahead for a moment, hanging still and squinting as he saw little black dots on the horizon. "Have to hurry," he shrieked down, "Others coming! Don't know who!" He assumed they were hunters or something of the like, since anyone coming from the village would have come from the opposite direction. Fortunately, their path swerved here, taking them off of the collision course with the mysterious newcomers.
  12. Beefish

    Beefish DODONGO DISLIKES SMOKE. new

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    Griskin turned to his Octorok companion and scooped it up. If there were strangers ahead, a violent cephalopod was the last thing they needed to get by safely. With backwards-facing Grudd under one arm and a weighty, ancestral spear gripped at the other, the Moblin stepped in time with the wide wings of his monster-kin above. Taking into mind what Datura had said about possessing other skills, Griskin was only further intrigued by the Gerudo. Did she mean she was magical? He went to press her for details, but shut himself up as he began to smell the shadows ahead of them. The other travellers on the path were drawing closer. Grudd wiggled and puffed angrily, before going still again, breathing quickly to prepare for another bout of squirming. In a hushed tone, Griskin muttered something and kept a reassuring hold on the spear's middle, preparing for whatever was steadily invading their course.
  13. Sinistrari

    Sinistrari Devious Grins & Hunter of Synonyms reg

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    Great. That was quite literally the last thing she wanted to hear right now.

    Suitably thrilled her guts writhed: twisting inside themselves with the same avid reluctance Datura dragged herself forward with. It was hard to breathe. And harder to swallow back her panic. To prevent her heart from lurching out of her mouth, the nerves had constricted her throat as a safety measure and left the shoddy cage of ribs to the mercy of its relentless pounding. Her skull echoed with the palpitations. Sweat clogged the pores on her scalp for multiple reasons. Droplets trickled down to the edge of her nose and she shuddered under the disgusting coat of sticky grime, which really, was the least of her worries right now. And unbeknown to her waking mind, several fingertips meekly reached out to cling onto the back of Griskin's arm - as if that helped.

    She was in no position to fight, no matter how she looked at it. Even with a bunch of explosive seeds in one hand and two armed creatures of conflict at her side she feared for her safety, and more importantly, the beauty which she made a living off. And worst things worse... what if... just what if, it wasn't more monsters that were approaching?

    But would they really chase me this far?

    A nervous giggle bubbled up in Datura's sore throat. She was surprised by its length but too anxious to be embarrassed. And in no time at all her teeth were set on nibbling at her lips. "Can't we just-... take a little detour?" The Gerudo suggested timidly, the words lacking enough conviction to raise their volume: which was probably a good thing.
  14. Blonde Panther

    Blonde Panther Not always sweet and delicate vet

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    What... what the heck had happened?

    When Silver's eyes opened, they strained to see anything in the darkness, so he shut them again and sniffed the air instead. No, wait. It was the ground he sniffed. The feeling returned to his limbs and he pushed himself up into a sitting position, running his claw over his nose to rub the sand away from his nostrils and sniff the air again. The powerful musk of Moblin was just nearby, with the characteristic smell of Octorok not far away. But wait... He opened his eyes again, his normally slit pupils wide as the darkness forbade him to see. They must have been out cold for a while, for evening to have fallen.

    He stuck his nose as high into the air as it would go without him taking off, taking a long, hard, exaggerated sniff. "Datura?" he asked, not picking up the woman's scent. "Griskin! Datura where?" He wanted to leap forward, only to trip, fall, and crumple into a heap of leather and scales. His wings were floppy and without any tension, either conscious or subconscious, and they threw him off-balance rather than helping him balance. He had a lot of pain in different places, too.

    "What happen?" he whimpered, clutching his painful leg.
  15. Beefish

    Beefish DODONGO DISLIKES SMOKE. new

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    A screen of white so thick, his sight couldn't penetrate even the first layer of light.

    That was all he could see. The sudden flash across his vision took him completely aback. Griskin clawed at his brow, as if by feeling his eyes in place he could rip the blindness away. He could barely detach the sounds of kicking, pleading, the telltale sound of flesh knocked savagely against bone from the throbbing in his head. His own mind banging on the case of his skull in protest against the white filled landscape, devoid of shape and colour and sense.

    A loud crack followed swiftly by a rising, bubbling pain to the back of his head brought the Moblin to the ground. He felt the shell of his form slump into the dust as his mind reeled away. The last thing he heard before he lost consciousness was a familiar thunk of stone, followed by a cursing mumble from an unseen foe.

    Brilliant white filled with grey noise, and then slowly hatched into a black slumber laced with pangs of grief which knocked against his head, pulsed in the brain. The dull stabbing migrated to his forehead. Warmth changed to cold. Griskin's half-sleeping mind considered that he might be dead. But this was dismissed and completely forgotten as the darkness clouding his head shivered away, spots slowly revealing themselves in an infinite space.

    Griskin blinked. A hint of blood and shock clicked in his throat, spread along his tongue the more aware he became. He was lying down and staring into a twilight sky, speckled with stars here and there. The beast sat upright - but the sudden weight forced him to fall forwards onto steady forearms. He hung like that, leaning over himself with face towards the ground. Dark brown casing of a Deku Nut lay broken at his cloven hooves.

    "Griskin! Datura where?"

    Griskin rubbed his eyes as if awakening into a morning ritual as Silver sprung into questions. Datura? Did he say Datura was gone? Before he could dwell on the thought, Griskin's attention turned to an approaching creature. Grudd was sneaking around his sitting frame and poked its way into the Moblin's arms for comfort. Clutching the bulbous cephalopod sent a feeling of safety to embrace his battered, bewildered nerves.

    "What happen?"

    He used the silence after his companion's question to gather what he could remember. The pieces were scattered like a jigsaw puzzle, it took a minute before he found confidence in his mental image of the fight.

    "Those oncomers. The'were, they..." they couldn't have caught up that quickly could they? No... they were too far away. "I think... I think they had an ambush set up." Huddling to Grudd like a teddy bear, the pig climbed to full height and scanned the dirt for his spear. "They got us by surprise!"
  16. Blonde Panther

    Blonde Panther Not always sweet and delicate vet

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    Owwwww. That would definitely explain why everything hurt when he moved. He wished he had a Gasha seed on him and enough time to wait for the tree to grow. But he didn't, so he flapped his wings a few times to see if they still worked. Yeah, they'd be fine. He felt like he had mostly taken a blow to the head and to the gut and everything else was him making a scene. Straining and aching, he gripped his lance and shield and started flapping harder, lifting himself off the ground. If Datura had really been captured, then he had to help her. It was his fault she'd been out here again, after all.

    "Catch scent," he told the Moblin before he flapped his way higher up. "Can fight?" He wasn't sure if he would be the best fighter right now, himself. Hopefully, he would be more useful as a tracker- and he was, as he almost immediately caught a whiff of the pleasant smell that had hung around Datura. He waved down at the Moblin that he and his Octorok friend had to follow, starting to fly in the direction he caught the scent in.
  17. Beefish

    Beefish DODONGO DISLIKES SMOKE. new

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    Grudd under one arm, Griskin reached down towards his spear when he spotted it. His brain was still encumbered with fog thick like blood. His own sense of smell directed his nose along the route Silver took, and he launched himself into a bouncing jog with Octorok and weapon still in his grip.

    "I'll be okay!" He snorted up at his winged companion, "Just a li'l fuzzy in the head." He shook himself, and kept his eyes on the floor below, combing the sandy-grit floor to assure his footing. "Did they getcha bad? Is there anywhere near where they coulda took the lady?" The slope rolled beneath him, and despite his efforts he almost slipped over. The pig scoffed and threw Grudd back into the dirt. As if by anticipation, the many-legged creature took to running as soon as it hit the floor and scuttled along as if it hadn't been carried half the way. "Hey, do you remember where the sun was when it happened? It's," Griskin's eyes hovered above, "It's gettin' dark pretty quick."
  18. Blonde Panther

    Blonde Panther Not always sweet and delicate vet

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    "Is alright!" Silver called down. "Nose good in dark!" He spoke truly- it wasn't long before he landed and hid behind a large rock, the scent of the fire that illuminated the camp completely drowned out by the powerful scent of Datura's ring. "See, see," he hissed, but then realised he was no longer in Hylian company and could communicate normally. Using his spear, he gestured to one of the tents, which was where Datura's smell was coming from. Next, he set down his shield and reached into the pouch nearby his loincloth. It was a shame to use pure and workable seeds as projectiles, but he would have to. It was his fault the woman was in as much trouble as she was now.

    From his pouch, he produced a small seed reminiscent of a blue whirlwind. If they could get it to impact the humans's campfire... well, it would give them a distinct advantage. Humans needed their eyes to see an enemy before they could fight, whereas Silver and Griskin could work off of pure scent and hearing. Making sure he had Griskin and Grudd's attention, Silver gestured first to the seed and then to the fire to convey that. How to get it there, though? He couldn't throw the lightweight seed that far. He supposed he could attach it to his spear, but that would risk it going off too soon and giving them away.

    And then his eye fell onto Grudd's snout...
  19. Beefish

    Beefish DODONGO DISLIKES SMOKE. new

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    The smell of wood-smoke clung to Griskin's nostrils while he watched Silver's gesticulations carefully. He wasn't adept in botany, so he wasn't sure exactly what the little tornado-seed was capable of, but he guessed it would put the fire out. He followed the Aeralfos' gaze until his own landed upon his Octorok friend. Grudd? Griskin's brow fuddled against his eyes, he tapped one of his tusks thoughtfully. Grudd simply stared back at its master, bleak eyes full of unquenchable hatred. It spat a pebble onto the dirt floor, it bounced and was smothered in the long grass.

    "Oh!", Griskin covered his mouth after his sudden interjection. With a whisper, he continued. "Grudd! Here, take this," Grudd's expression faded for a moment, a rare respite from the burning scowl. Griskin dropped down, crouching ungracefully, and started moving the seed towards his pet's mouth. Grudd's proboscis twitched against the shell of the seed, but after a wary pause, the Octorok took it.

    "Okay, now you have to-"

    shw-oot!

    Just like that, the seed was gone, launched like an unwanted gift from the hands of a spoiled child. Grudd dared Griskin to question it, glaring up with white eyes. The whirlwind shot through the air, towards the camp, but Griskin's whole frame was stunned. He climbed upwards again like a plant shoot, and didn't lose sight of the camp at all as he asked Silver, "Did it work?"
  20. Blonde Panther

    Blonde Panther Not always sweet and delicate vet

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    Silver growled lowly, urging Griskin to be quiet, just as the seed impacted the campfire and exploded into a small, but powerful gale. The sudden tornado caused an uproar in the soldiers, alerting them to the beasts' presence, but also blew out the campfire and sent debris flying everywhere around it before it died out. He didn't waste time, using the confusion in the encampment to fly forward and inhale deeply. It served a dual purpose; on the one hand, it let him take in a deep whiff of the surrounding air, letting him pinpoint where Datura was being held.

    Secondly, though, and this was just as important, it gave him a chance to breathe out much more powerfully than he normally would, sending a powerful gust of air whirling around him to deflect any arrows fired at him and people approaching him. He gave a cry, both to notify Griskin that he had started the attack and to draw the humans to his current position, before flapping his wings and getting himself higher up and moving towards where he had smelt Datura. The sooner he found her, the sooner they could get out of here and the less blood they'd have to shed.