Cloud of Confusion
Stubb, Rayuwil, Angus, Kennidy, Cerberus, Amos, Anba Hor, Hactor, Rinzo
Location: North Path
Trees, barren and skeletal, demarcate the extreme fringe of the poorly-trafficked trail that Stubb and his fellow-travellers now find themselves following. Islands of frost are all that remain of the storm that passed through, now nearly a week ago. The weasel's vest bears a patch at the midriff, ringed with a dark crimson stain, but his gait is easy as he strides toward the south, into springtime. He pulls his pack more snugly onto his back and lets the wind tousel the long furs on his arms.
Rayuwil is still being prodded and poked along the way by Angus, following the weasel, and tries with all his power to stare a hole into Stubb's back. He keeps his composure otherwise, though, the rest of the time his countenance bearing the scant feelings of hope and dignity he still has, in spite of his oppressive situation.
Not too far off, the lizard also shuffles. He glides steadfast over the slushy terrain, bearded chin held high. The break in the weather has invigorated Angus, evidenced by the content, almost dopey, smile that plays his snout.
"Remind me again, Rasputin, why it was a good idea to come up here?" Kennidy is less than pleased about their decision to go scale some mountain path for the sake of doing it. And the squirrel tugs her coat a bit tighter around her, buttoning up one button further so that the collar is high against her throat. It's all part of this 'bad guy' thing, she supposes.. doing random acts of craziness in order to remind them of just how tough they are. In any case, she's cold and grumpy as she looks back over her shoulder to make sure the stoat, Cerberus, is following. Knowing him, he'd just ditch her for the fun of it.
From high above, a few rocks and organic debris roll down the cliff and onto the road, giving some indication that there may be beasts traversing its heights.
And that massive chunk of stoat following, only rolls his eyes. "Ee told you." he replies. "Vant to find zomething better to do." In short...he got bored of trolling the roads, killing whomever passed by. Cerberus pauses though, scanning the road for signs of movement. He hums just a little bit and starts to walk again, careful not to make too much noise in his steps.
Amos stares at the lizard in front of him, hare intrusted to his care and strapped to his back and sleeping as he brings up the rear and moves along without comment. Stiffness in his leg is ignored, along with the dull pain from the pressure of the hare's bottle digging into his healing shoulder. She sleeps happily and obliviously cutching to what she care most about in the world while Amos makes sure that his weapon is still on his hip.
Stubb's path cleaves close to the line of trees, but the clatter of tumbling stones pulls his attention up to the fringe of the clifftops looming high above. The wind is relentless here, and the weasel's bearing betrays his sensitivity to the chill. His jaw, though, is set, and his legs beat on indefatigably, even as his little eyes and ears read the rocky fringe for signs. "Yore lackeys followin' us, squorl?" Stubb's voice is accusatory as he glances back at the ousted king. "Oi don' much fancy anuvver rain a arrow loike we 'ad de uvver day. Smell anyfing on da wind, 'gus? Any a da' woodlan' stink?"
"Listen to yourself! They handed me over, weasel... I don't fancy they would want me back anytime soon. They have everything I need, they do not need me. We should be after them, before we go looking for this egg!" He tries for the hundredth time to bargain with his captor...
In spite of his buoyancy, Angus is rather worse for the wear. His hide is dull, plagued by patches of flaked skin, and his arm is still bound in a sling. But the monster acts oblivious to this as he trots along, resolute in his duty to find the lost egg-child. A short glance is paid to the rocky protrusion overhead, as the rubble tumbles and Stubb speaks of potential skulking minions. "Mmf," the lizard grunts, and idly rubs a hand along his gaunt cheek. "Probably just a bird 'r somethin'," he decides.
"And we couldn't have gone looking /south/ maybe, for something better to do?" Kennidy grunts as she continues on the path, mindlessly wandering and looking for whatever it is Cerberus is wanting to do. "Plenty of people to rob down south.." she mutters, more to herself than to anything. "Where it's nice and warm. We could've-.." For once, the squirrel actually shuts up, ears perking as she holds a hand out behind her to stop Cerberus in his tracks. The squirrel's brow furrows and she glances up to the sound of.. something. "I don't like mountains.." she finally mutters, after a minute of realizing there's probably nothing there.
Amos is alerted by the actions of the lizard and weasel, grunting himself, "I still say we should of shut that bloody squirrel up, ain't need a tongue, " He mutters, mostly to himself with Dangeon still sleeping obliviously. He moves to close the gap as he grits his teeth against the chill.
Cerberus doesn't like anything really and mountains are no exception. The stoat had already stopped, LONG before the squirrel tried to stop him, his ears swiveling about as he listens for anything. "Da. Zere are beasts...close by" he nods. They're not really that far ahead, so he can hear their talking. Some of it anyways. "Into shadow." he looks around for a moment. "Zere are no shadow." he frowns a little at that. He loves to sneak about in the shade but the rocks would be quite hard to move on, even for him. So he shrugs and slips off to the side, approaching the group.
"Ay, ma'e. Oi'll take your word for i'." Despite his words, Stubb's wary eyes speak of lingering uncertainty. "Jes'..." He shakes his head, deaf to Rayuwil's protests of innocence. "Give me tha creeps, dese grea' oigh spo's. Makes a soul feel..." A shiver cuts short his thoughts and shifts his attention to Amos. "Don' fink oi wou'dn' a relieved tha nuisance a his tongue, ma'e, an much more besoides, if oi di'n' fink 'e'd come in useful." Still trudging along, he tosses one more upward glance at the cliff.
Angus casts a look to the wildcat. "Y'got her all right, Amy? If ye' get too gimped, I kin maybe haul th' lethargic long-eared lady fer a bit." As he turns to the path before them, his foot inadvertently unearths a small rock among the mud. Studying the stone for a minute, the lizard stoops to snatch it up. The thing is thrown into the air and caught a couple of times, before he hurls it haphazardly into the distance. It sails above the heads of Stubb and the squirrel captive and vanishes into the forest. "Well, if they be out there, mate .." His words trail off, glassy eyes fixed on the arc of the airborne rock.
"And we're going to fight them. On a mountain??" Kennidy just stares incredulously at Cerberus as he goes into super stealth mode. Or the super stealth mode that he'd have if there /were/ any shadows. "No. No, there are no shadow. It's daylight and we're on a freaking mountain ledge. Com-pren-de?" She's less than pleased as the stoat stalks forward to find whoever this group is, and the squirrel trails after him with her hands sunk deep into the pockets of her coat. It's too cold for this.
Rayuwil looks back at Dangeon, breathing a sigh of relief. He mutters, "Well, there's that at least, hm." He swallows and looks up at the cliff. "Perhaps it's our fox duo... you said Hactor is in the fox's custody?"
Cerberus rolls his eyes nods. "Da. Ve vill fight them on mountain." he nods slowly then smirks. "Or maybe ee'll jus' push you off." he nods to himself, thinking how much that would really ease his troubles. The stoat stops once he gets a glimpse of the group, peering out at them from behind a boulder. He kneels down and reaches up to try to tug the squirrel down next to him. "Perrhaps...you make plan...zistime." Cerberus is obviously testing her. Just to see what she can think of.
"I ain't letting her out of my sight again, I got her and besides ya the most mobile and less hobbled of us lot so we need ya to keep an eye on that feller, " He gestures towards the squirrel, his ears twitching he eyes their surroundings, "And whatever else comes our way, as it always does, " He mutters, waiting for the other shoe to drop, "can we at least gag him or threaten him to keep his babbling to a minimum?"
Stubb chuckles at the wildcat's suggestion. "Oi've 'alf a moind ta do i'. Tha li'tle tree'opper's gonna warn the 'ole forest we're comin', wif 'is squeakin'." The weasel makes no moves to execute the plan, though, plunging blithely down the slope and nearing the Cerberus' boulder hiding spot.
"Aye," Angus grunts. He is back in motion, and has caught up to the duo ahead. "Th' ground betrayed quite th' scuffle back there; all though, there weren't no sign of th' once-king. Exceptin' a few tufts of fur. S'probably hacked t' bits by now." The lizard throws his shoulders in a shrug, which results in a wince and the tender readjustment of his injured arm. "Or th' bits he had left are now hacked int' smaller bits." His head tilts to Amos' suggestion, and, with it, he brings his hand around Rayuwil's head; his palm claps over the squirrel's mouth, thumb and index finger pinching at the nose above. A satisfied smile returns to his snout, and the dragon urges the rodent to quicken its pace. "C'mon, less yap more walk, oh kingly one."
Rayuwil grumbles and is squirrel-handled along the rest of the way, the metal in his boots dragging and clinking, making it harder for him to walk with the short bonds between them. Nidlorf looks around, mumbling, "A good spot for an ambush, perhaps I should be less, er..." He's silent for the rest of the march along the cliff.
Kennidy ducks down behind the rock with Cerberus as he tugs onto her collar, probably getting out of sight just before anyone else might see them. And she murmurs a, "You push me off, I'm pulling you down with me, comrade," to Cerberus while her eyes catch sight of the group finally. Whoa. Three vermin. And a squirrel. And a hare or something, sleeping. The whole scene looks ridiculous, as Kennidy's eyes peer just above the edge of the rockline. At Cerberus' words, her brows furrow as she tries to come up with a decent plan. It probably won't work well to have Cerberus be the damsel in distress, so Kennidy just plucks a small rock in her palm. "Don't kill if you don't have to." And with a steady aim, she chucks the rock at the monitor's forehead. If nothing else, the squirrel captive will serve as distraction, if the monitor looses his hold.
Amos smirks at the handling of the squirrel, still following behind his comrad, "Aye that's more like it."
Cerberus rolls his eyes. "Ee kill if ee vant to." he nods slowly, muttering stuff under his breath in his native tongue. He draws a throwing knife, and then peeks carefully around the big rock they're hiding behind, just to see what happens with that stone. "Most are wermen" he says. "Perhaps ve should...introduce ourselves." he grins a little bit.
Angus has his head cocked curiously at Rayuwil. "What th'," he begins to speak, but is squarely socked in the forehead by the flying rock. The hand releases its staunch grip on the squirrel to attend to the stinging lump on his own face. "*What th'*?" the lizard repeats through clenched teeth and repeated sharp inhales. A trickle of blood erupts among his fingers, which the lizard promptly peels away to inspect. He rubs the crimson goo in his digits, lip curled in furious confusion. "Did it bloody *bounce*?" he howls, and locks an outraged gaze on the spot just ahead.
Duck and cover! Well, plan A is entirely sufficient. The whole Plan B part, the actual robbing and stealing everything from everyone part, is a bit more tricky. And with Kennidy being new to this whole life of crime, there's a bit of a hesitation on her part. She nudges Cerberus sharply in the ribs and whispers, "There's your cue. Knock out those two if the rocks don't do it." And then just as quickly, she grabs two more rocks, not really waiting for any further word from Cerberus before enacting her plan. The rocks shoot sharply forward and over the rock, one toward Amos and one toward Stubb in quick succession. And as Kennidy is aiming a third for the monitor again, she pauses to try to literally shove Cerberus into the fray.
Meanwhile, atop the cliff, a voice calls out, and a tiny figure eclipses the sun... "Pitiful souls on yonder low ground! Feast your eyes on the Emperor of Mossflower himself! Hahahahaha!!!! He's been wanting in attention, so here it is! Look at how far he's come, how high his pedestal now!" He holds him at the very edge of the cliff, footpaws barely on solid ground...
Stubb's eyes flash fire as he stops in his tracks and wheels on the royal captive. "Ambush, did you say?" He takes violent hold of the squirrel by the scruff of the neck. He looks back in the direction of the launched stone. "Dis yore doin', then? Amos was roigh'. Shoulda frown you into tha river when we 'ad tha chance." He tugs on the squirrel to try to pull him forward--into the line of fire, unwittingly. "Come out, ya bloody pufftails!"
Rayuwil is knocked out by a stone and falls limply to the ground. Puffs of dirt erupt around the motionless body.
Cerberus watches the squirrel for a few moments then nods, stepping out before he's pushed, probably hearing a thud as his companion would probably hit the ground. "Comrades...I..." and with that, he looks up. "Ee've 'eard of flying fox but...zat vould be ridiculous" he stares upward. He blinks a moment, then looks back to the group, then back up, wondering who will get their attention.
Up above, Hactor is seen to make a move... Anba_Hor slips and Hactor goes over the edge first, still in the other fox's grasp... until his weight yanks him from it. The two are dangling over the edge, Anba Hor's forearms on the dead grass above, paws clinging to a rock jutting through the foliage. He kicks at the other fox's face.
Amos hisses and moves as he spots the stone flying in his direction. The sleeping hare waking only long enough to get a bump on the head and passing out, "I hate being right!" Amos glares angrily as he looks for the enemy and whom to use his weapon on as he rips it free of its hilt.
The second lizard-seeking missile fails to make contact; instead, it clocks a tree trunk beside Angus. "Ambush, right, poof-rump?" he booms at the squirrel king, dropping to safer tripod-ish stance. Scrambling on all-threes, the reptile slithers beside Stubb and Rayuwil. His tongue flits nervously. "But it sure don't smell like no leaf-leaper army up ahead, mate," he informs Stubb. Blood trickles from the split in his head; it lazily drips to one side of his snout. There is another ruckus, as well, so Angus' attention is torn between the assault at hand and the bellowing silhouette above. "Not .. what," the lizard stammers. His eyes bug as Rayuwil is knocked out cold. "Uh .. damn."
Stubb's paw relinquishes its grasp on Rayuwil as the much-abused squirrel is knocked out. "Ay, ma'e. Leaf-leapers dey ain'..." His jaw works in surprise as he works to process the events unfolding before and above him.
Nope, these be vermin. Or, at least one of them is. Kennidy is a leaf-eater. Even though she's about as vermin as they come. And as Cerberus comes out from behind his rock, she follows, twirling a knife in each hand for dramatic effect. "Evening, boys!" she states cheerfully, before rather abruptly finding her attention distracted to the show above them. Crazy falling foxes? Or a group of people in front of them who likely have plenty to steal? "I've got dibs on those ones later," she mutters to Cerberus, before pointing toward the group with one of her knives. "Kindly drop your belongings in a nice neat pile.. or at least, the non-stinky stuff. You must pay the toll to pass the .. rock!" Oh, she's so witty it's awesome. Or ridiculous.
Amos crotches in a protective stance, shielding Dangeon with his body and examining her as best he can with her on back of him to figure she'll be OK. Doesn't seem to be bleeding, thick skull that. He glares at Cerberus and Kennidy as they show themselves, "Ya shut your mouth, we ain't gonna pay no toll!"
Cerberus blinks several times before he turns towards Kennidy. He reaches out to smack her good and hard. "Eediot." he grumbles, setting his eyes on the group again. He looks up for a split second before finally taking a few steps forward. "But da...give over vhat walubles you carry. Zhen' ve vill be on our vay." he draws a knife, itching to hurl it at one of them, or even at one of those above.
"So I 'spose we found th' dogs, mate," the dragon barks, and cuts an anxious but brief laugh. The dog show has won his attention for now, so Angus stares, bloody and slack-jawed, at the spectacle above. "Thinkin' they got this one worked out fer themselves." As he rattles about the canine acrobatics, the bandits burst forth, weapons blazing; Angus promptly shuts his trap. "Er .. we are but weary travelers, madame," he skittishly tells Kennidy. "Ain't eatin' in days, lost our goods t' a bunch of lousy rats, but .. but." There is a contemplative pause. "Yew kin have this, love." He produces a rather rude gesture for the raider.
Giving one more yell of exertion, Anba Hor is seen struggling with something up above... suddenly a rope tumbles down, the end still high above the onlookers' heads... After a few moments, the foxes are sliding down at a frightening pace!
Stubb takes a different approach. He pulls off his pack and drops to one knee, one arm holding out the bag while the other reaches behind him. "Tha lizard speaks true. See for yourse'ves, take wha'ever ya fancy. Don' fink you'll foin' much." He stands to give the pack a slight kick that propels it perhaps a foot toward the scrappy bandits. His other paw remains behind his back.
"Well, you're going to pay the price either way!" Kennidy shoots back, having some other witty comment prepared before Cerberus smacks her upside the head. It's enough to momentarily stun the squirrel, as she takes a step back with an, "Oww." Though as she rubs at her head and shoots a nasty glare at the stoat, her attention is caught by the others and their insistence on not having anything. "Fancy that," she remarks, nose turned up slightly at Angus' gesture. "I'll fetch a pretty penny for /that/ at the market.." She's about to come up with some other plan when Stubb kicks his pack toward them. "There, you see?" she states, sheathing one of the knives and giving Cerberus a quick glance as she moves forward to grab the goods. "I'll be the judge of -... Holy /crap/." This last bit is uttered as she hears Anba Hor's yell and looks up, features paling as she sees the two foxes barreling down the side of the mountain.
From somewhere above, a vial shatters on the ground near the pack, and a brief flash of light before the immediate area around the pack is covered in a thick cloud...
Rinzo chokes.
Angus echoes Kennidy's shock at the perilous vulpine plunge. "Ye' got that right, love," he squawks, scrambling to stand upright. No point in lying low any longer. Once on his feet, the dragon is a striking sight: a undisputed behemoth, albeit a bit road-hard right now. His palm is against his cracked forehead again, but only to emphasize a very stunned face. This awe vanishes from sight as smoke engulfs the immediate area, obfuscating the actions of all present. He stumbles, blinded, for Stubb and Rayuwil, hacking and wheezing. "What th' bleedin' .." the dragon sputters.
And as much as that wasn't his desire, Cerberus thinks that sudden burst of smoke really helps him. He gives Kennidy a quick shove as he 'poofs' out of existence, gone off to get away from the falling foxes, and the beasts who have nothing of value to rob. He stays off though, to the side, keeping invisible and quiet as he watches the group. Then vanishes. Where? Only Kennidy and Cerberus will know.
Stubb is poised to clock Kennidy over the head with his concealed rock when the cloud of black smoke explodes between them, and instead the shoved squirrel bumps into his shins. The weasel goes over, arms akimbo. The waves of flowing black cloud break against his fallen form as he struggles, spluttering, to rise again. The wind whips past him, forcing the vile mix of soot and chemical into his nostrils, before his own inner forces expell them again in a blustery sneeze.
Rinzo rubs his eyes brutally trying to clear them up.
Anba_Hor takes advantage of the wind and descends with his quarry... and continues kicking out at the clinging Hactor, both at the end of the rope, still three lengths above the ground...
Hactor has had enough of Anba's kicks, and he certainly doesn't want to miss this oppertunity at freedom. The moment they hit the ground he tries to tackle Anba, Hactor returning a few of those kicks.
Rinzo cannot see because he foolishly rubbed the smoke into his eyes and they are tearing up.
Forget stealing. This has gone from crazy to nuts. And as something seems to explode near the backpack and Kennidy feels herself shoved forward by Cerberus, things really go nuts. The squirrel is /not/ a fighter. Or really good at anything, besides maybe manipulating a few random people on the road. And she stumbles headfirst into Stubb, flailing to get ahold of something to keep herself upright and not just roll off the path. And then, just as Kennidy thinks she's got her bearings again, something sneezes on her. And the squirrel reels back in the smoke and confusion and disgust. "What the-.." she starts, before breaking off into a cough. Epic fail of a robbery.
Angus is blindly groping around in the cloud. He wrestles with the asphyxiating gloom in the air, arm waggling to disperse the smoke--to no avail. Among the vapor, brief glimpses are spied of flailing limbs and tumbling bodies, but the lizard can no longer hold his eyes open. He choses to simply trash and reel; his tail whirls, smoke twirling in its broad wake. "Stubbster? Kitteh? Madame marauder?!" he croaks.
Stubb stumbles to his feet, eyes red but open. He's managed to grab another rock, which he holds behind him as he darts for the entwined combatants while the other arm shields his eyes from further particulate injury. "Dunno whoi oi'm comin' ta yer aid, ya crippled old coot..."
Anba_Hor struggles with Hactor in the growing, yet dispersing cloud, becoming less and less opaque while the fox's mind struggles with what to do... amid the kicking and pummeling, the Torturer stumbles around - chaos is good, but not when he is in the midst of it! He tries desperately for his knee to make contact with the attacker, and he definitely does hit /something/!
Hactor feels pain in his lower jaw, and Anba's knee makes contact. But luckily the force is not only enough to cause him sto stumble back a bit, it also causes his gag to loosen and fall. Animalisitc rage overcomes the old fox as he tackles Anba again trying to bite his jugualr.
Not good. Not good. And as Kennidy finds a solid spot on the ground, she takes to just sitting down, wrapping her arms around her knees and burying her head in them to keep from swallowing more of the smoke. It's starting to disperse.. a little bit, as she looks up and then suddenly lets out a yelp and scrambles out of the way to avoid being hit by the plethora of fighting foxes. "Rasputin!?" she shouts, coughing again as she tucks her nose down into the high collar of her coat.
A tree shakes as Rinzo walks into it. Curses rain down from his mouth as the sharp pain of walking right smack into a tree hits him. Why in the world did someone throw a smoke bomb out here?
Angus cannot see anything, but he races after the voice of his chum. "Stubb?" the dragon hacks and whines, lumbering gracelessly after the weasel. The lizard nearly wipes out over the entire party. Finally prying his eyes open, the dragon catches a short glimpse of orange fur. It fades. Then a flurry of black. Definitely their favorite foxes; certainly embroiled in something quite heated. Without pausing to consider the consequences, Angus simply dives in. His good fist flies at anything it can hit; his teeth gnash and his tail whips from side to side.
Anba_Hor is definitely the younger, stronger fox. Anba Hor uses brute strength to elbow out at the old fox's snarling face, his gutteral yelling no doubt making it easier for himself to be found amid the smoking mess, almost translucent now as well.
Angus is chomping at Anba Hor.
Anba_Hor ows.
Rinzo grunts at the tree.
Hactor spits blood from his mouth, and looks at Anba releasing an unearthly snarl. He circles the black fox slowly for a moment. Then he's at it again, although this time he's ducks low and clamps onto Anba's leg!
A tree branch snaps loose and falls in a Rinzerdly direction.
Stubb brings the rock down hard onto the darkest patch of fox fur his addled senses can detect; a good bet, even given the deposit of soot that now coats every fur, scale, and claw here.
Rinzo turns towards the sound of the squabble. Still quite blind from the tearing up his eyes are making.
Now two creatures are chomping at Anba Hor. And another is swinging a giant rock! This is quite the melee. Angus does his best to latch on to something. Odds are that his giant lizard jowls will find success sooner rather than later.
Time to get out of here. Kennidy is finally starting to see better, and realizes that everything has become a big mess of fighting and fur and teeth and just absolute chaos. And she's about ready to bolt. In fact, she actually pushes herself to her feet again, ready to scramble past the mess of others.... when her eyes catch sight of Rayuwil laying on the ground unconscious. Kennidy's gaze shoots toward the trail heading back toward camp. And then back to Rayuwil. Oh, and then to a couple others who happen to be laying there. And with a quick glance to make sure the others are distracted, Kennidy scrambles a few feet forward to the first of the unconscious sorts to loot Rayuwil of whatever valuables and weaponry he may have on him.
Anba_Hor howls in pain as he's simultaneously chomped on and rock-clubbed. The rock breaks upon his back, and instinctively, the fox kicks out at Hactor and twists in midair to grab at the weasel!
Hactor is flung back onto his side and after shaking it off he stands. Finalley he yells at no one in particualar, "Someone bloody untie me so I can claw his eyes out!!!"
Stubb clutches vainly at the crumbling fragments of the rock before resorting to the force of his own bones to punish the hated flank of fox flesh. It proves his misfortune: Anba's claws cut at his arms, and the weasel howls in pain. As he drops onto his back, his vest, snagged by the tips of a vulpine claw, tears open, strewing a couple sad buttons across the trail and briefly imprisoning Stubb's arm in a cloth manacle.
Clearly out of shear boredom Rinzo jumps into the fight and hits stuff.
Stubb howls again as he's struck by a blade-happy, tree-branch-addled bushtail. Fortunately, the little imp's battle frenzy extricates the weasel from his ruined garment.
Kennidy is busy shoveling money and jewels and bling into her pockets, along with putting an awesome new hat atop her head, to really get involved in the fray. She quickly moves between the unconscious sorts, loading up on valuables and weaponry.. to the point that when she stands, her coat is almost too heavy to walk in. Still, she makes it, scooting around the others and trying to avoid any punches or kicks or flailing fur, as she takes off down the pathway back south.
Angus, responding to Hactor's plea, rips at the fox's bonds; this gesture is not particularly kindly, but the lizard decides three against one is better than two and a hostage against one. And then in rushes Rinzo. "Wha--where?" he grunts, wide-eyed as Stubb is ravaged. "Oi, there, mate! Don't be pokin' that thing at my chum!" He releases Hactor and dives at the squirrel.
Where there's one trick, there's probably a second. And, taking a free paw to his belt, there's a second release of black smoke and the fox is off... focusing like a keenly-edged blade on his target, and dragging the unconscious king into the brush with him.
Rinzo turns drawing his blade in one fell swoop and beckons, "Bring it lizard."
Rinzo is of far distant kin to Rakkety Tam MacBurl!
The trees rustle as if in anticipation of the final outcome.
Hactor can't beleave Anba's getting away again, and tries lemping after him. But the many blows to his face begin to take their tole. He dizilly colappses to the ground, not unconcious, but the world swims in front of him.
A rock tumbles with excitement.
A tree smacks the rock, "Shhh....Your ruining it."
Angus coughs a bit, an unconvinced brow cocked at Rinzo. "Wait just a tick, mate," he says, holding up a compulsory digit. Pivoting to face the other combatants, the dragon crouches beside Stubb. "Yew okay, Stubby-wubby?" he quickly inquires, but shoots a skeptical look after Hactor and the fleeing Hor. "What exactly .. did that jus happen?" Waving his hand in the air, Angus feverishly works to disband the remaining smoke.
Anba_Hor doesn't escape without a fairly deep wound in his leg, a bleeding neck, an aching back, and a pulled thigh muscle, from carrying the weight of Hactor down the cliff... the fox drags the king as quickly as possible, zig-zagging in his route, disregarding the obstacles on the ground that make it quite a ride for the king, as Anba barrels through the rugged terrain to find better cover..
Stubb's lacerations are relatively minor, and, though dazed, he now stands outside the newly billowing smoke cloud. "Ay... Ay, ma'e, oi'm foine." He looks naked without his vest... perhaps because he is. "Where'd tha fox get too? Don' bloody tell me 'e's scamped off again. No' when we 'ad 'im..."
Hactor trys to stand, and collapses. He attempts a second time and fails just the same. Thunder is heard in the distance. Hactor doesn't move. He just lays there panting, watching the woods with hatred. Stubb's words don't register to him.
"Good riddance fer now, mate," Angus says, gazing emptily at the direction of the foxes' egress. He snorts, sputtering within the cloud. "Think the kitteh bailed .. and our knifey pals, too." The lizard tilts his chin, glancing down at his unclad cohort. "Yer gonna' be cold here soon as the sun dips; why'd ye' go and strip?" A lop-sided grin distorts his features, which are still plagued by blood and fatigue.
