Fire Cow (Talon)

[Senara]

20th of Glade, 121xx

Brianne’s brow was pinched as she stared at the white wolven mess in front of her. It was just before dusk, the sun had begun to set and Talon was to arrive any minute.

And yet, not only was Senara not dressed, she was still sitting unmoving in her wolf form, eyes placid as she licked her lips of the last remnants of stew she’d scarfed down only an hour ago before.

“Senara, so help me, just return to your human form and you can go right back to this when we get there.” She said, grumbling to herself as she sat on a stump outside the house. Their things were already packed, her horse had been readied and was standing just off to the side grazing, and now all that was left to do was wait. And apparently, force her live-in annoyance to listen.

Brianne rubbed both hands down her face with a groan, finishing by resting them on the pile of clothes in her lap. As her fingers gripped the fabric she glared up at the wolf that sat before her looking every bit defiant as she had when she’d arrived.

’Why would I travel on two legs when I can get there faster, easier, on four?’ Senara’s words were unspoken, and yet, Brianne had somehow found a way to understand the tiny gestures and grunts she’d made. Though usually her communication was a simple chuff.

“Look, if we go walkin along the pathway with a damn dire wolf at our side we’re going to attract attention- either by other predators or people none of which we need interfering with our mission.”

’Then why do I have to put on clothes?’

“You can’t walk around naked, Senara!” Brianne shouted. “Appearing in front of someone you don’t know nude is highly inappropriate, and besides the strangers we’ll likely see on our way we’ll be travelling with Talon, I’m sure you remember him. Do you want him to see you naked?” She asked, though she knew the answer the moment it slipped from her mouth.

’Why would that matter?’ Brianne sighed as Senara’s ear twitched with indifference. Truly, she should remember by now exactly who she was dealing with. A wild wolf who would likely have no issue licking her own ass in front of Sahfri. The past two weeks had shown her that much. Hell, she’d nearly sexually assaulted Rickter just in greeting.

Though the worst of it had been her grooming in the front yard, something the mail man had become uncomfortably-used to on his morning routes. Sometimes he’d find her nude, picking her teeth and glaring at him from afar and not allowing him to passby the first half of the walkway. Though other times she’d just sit at the end of the walkway in her wolf form and stare down at his tiny, fragile form, threatening him to drop the mail with nothing but the massive shadow her frame cast over him.

Perhaps she should hire a dog trainer. But then again, that’s what Rickter had been for.

But for all the annoyance and strangeness that was Senara, she was a powerful creature. Their last few hunts together had been scores more successful than any she’d been on, and with her own hound-dog was able to chase down fresher prey. Her help alone had increased the women's income tenfold just in the past week. And now that her wounds had been healed, she was slowly returning to her former glory.

Her fur had finally begun to take on it’s lustre, her eyes were no longer sunken or hazy and she was beginning to show the first signs of dropping her constant anxiety. At least mostly. Even when she was sleeping there was a tenseness to her muscles, an alertness to her ears that twitched at every minor sound. It was concerning to say the least, but at least she knew nothing would ever sneak up on them.

Brianne stood from the stump and in her place threw down the set of clothes. She should be more kind, more understanding, but the creature they were to fight wasn’t even fully known to them. And too many had already died.

“You will put those on, before Talon arrives.” And yet, she could already hear the confident beating of wings in the distance.

“Well, fuck.”

[Talon]

Fire Cow

20 Glade 121

Talon dove into a spin, tucking his wings in close. The rush of the winds blew through his hair, glided over his feathers and flowed over his body. He felt a thrill that he had not in quite some time. The excitement of being chased. The exhilaration that came with flying in the open skies, free to follow the currents, guided by the whispers of the wind as he stepped through the air. For weeks, Talon had been cooped up in the Palace of the First Wind, allowed only to go where his mother and father blessed him to go. This was one of the first days that he had been afforded the freedom to simply soar. Away from the city, away from the noise that threatened to drown out his thoughts. He was given to the skies and it filled him with a sense of joy and excitement.

A loud squawk returned him back to the moment. He had been flying when the shadow of something had passed over him. As soon as he’d seen the shadow, as soon as he’d felt a disturbance in the air around him, Talon had threaded his aether into a point well away from where he’d felt the creep of danger along his spine. Quicker than he could truly think, he had reacted simply on instinct, using his kinetics to enact Seeming a good distance out of the way. No sooner had he moved, the appearance of claws streaking past him followed by the snap of an angry pair of jaws alerted him.

The creature’s hide was pale white. A pair of webbed appendages served both as its arms and its wings. It looked like a combination of a bat and a flying lizard. It possessed no eyes on the sides of its head, skyward and in front. Talon resisted the urge to grin. Stone Drake. They typically hunted deeper in the Astralar Mountains but he could not say that he was surprised to see one. The Dread Mists had driven many things into parts they did not normally hunt or forage. It was just one lingering consequence to his foolish actions the previous season. While the thought filled Talon with a brief note of regret, he pushed it down. This was no time to lose himself to his melancholy. With a clenching of his fist, Talon summoned his blade, veering out of the way of the stone drake as it dove toward him, snapping its jaws at him once more.

Spreading his wings, Talon ascended higher as the drake brought itself to a stop. Just as the beast halted its advance, Talon angled his body and tucked in his wings entering into a dive of his own. He let the pull of the earth do its work, falling at an angle toward the drake. He brought out his sword, slashing across the thick hide of the drake’s side. The pale scaled beast whipped its tail in Talon’s direction. Immediately, Talon brought up a wall of force to protect himself from the impact. He felt the force of the tail smacking into the barrier he’d put up. Had that made contact with him, he most certainly would have either bruised terribly or broken a bone. Talon whipped around, releasing his sword, allowing it to spear through the air toward the stone drake.

The animal croaked in pain as his blade embedded itself into one of the beast’s forelimbs. The stone drake flapped its wings and twisted darting through the air toward him, baring its teeth. Talon raised a hand just as he reached out with his kinetics once more. He threaded his aether into the weave of the flux just past the stone drake as it careened through the air toward him, maw open wide. Rows of jagged teeth were bared, ready to rip even one of his limbs clean out of its socket. With a force of thought, Talon yanked his pact blade out of the drake’s forelimb causing it to wobble slightly in its course. Instead of flying out of the way, Talon zeroed in on the space just beyond the drake. He angled himself and then pinpointed his target. He flapped his wings.

One.

The stone drake extended its clawed feet for him.

Two.

Talon’s pact blade came rushing through the air toward him, hilt ready to grasp with his outstretched fingers.

Three…

Talon enacted Seeming. He speared through the air, meeting his pact blade along the way. It returned to his hand. He wrapped his fingers around it, brought the edge in front of him, surrounded his body with a field of kinetic force and met the stone drake head on. Talon angled slightly at the last moment, just off to the side of the beast. The edge of his blade caught at the corner of the stone drake’s jaw. The force of the impact slammed into Talon nearly pulling his pact blade from his grasp. Only because he was using the power of Returning was he able to hold on to it. Talon felt the strain in his muscles as the power of his kinetic seeming pulled him toward his chosen spot above the drake while the weight of the beast’s body pushed him backward. Those claws raked toward Talon, hitting the kinetic field wrapped around his body. Talon felt sweat break out across his back as he strained. He let out a roar as he felt a surge of something different inside of him.

The fire that burned within his heart came to life. In his mind’s eye he saw a man bearing his divine mark letting out a ferocious cry as he held back a large boulder with his brute strength alone. Talon tapped into that strength, he let it fill him, he let it course through his body and with a sickening snap, he heard bone give way as the sharp edge of his blade cut through tendon, teeth and jaw. Talon kept a firm hold of his sword, pushing or rather pulling his way through the side of the stone drake’s body as his kinetic seeming pulled him toward his chosen point. The drake shrieked but then Talon felt muscle and flesh give in and he was shooting down the side of the beast’s body. Bone and flesh was severed as Talon finally cut through one of the winged appendages leaving the drake’s side cut completely open. Its blood and innards began spilling out.

Talon spun as he reached his destination. Below him he could spot Brianne and Senara, the large dire wolf, waiting for him. Tucking in his wings, Talon let himself free fall. He adjusted his body, spread his silver feathered wings and slowed himself until he could land safely. Talon’s armored boots touched the ground and the young demigod landed in a slight crouch. His eyes shone brightly, the remnant of silver fire trailing slightly from his sclera. The normally blue-violet markings on his body were a silver-white as he righted himself. Rising to his full height, around him shone several pinpoints of light. The manifestation of his nimbus as he slowly folded his wings, lowering his sword point toward the ground.

Talon closed his eyes briefly. He let out a breath, slowly, calmly. When he opened his eyes, the fire was gone. The nimbus had faded and Talon’s markings had returned to normal. He observed both Brianne and Senara.

“Apologies for being late.” The stone drake dropped to the ground behind him, the crunch of bones and splatter of guts gushing out of its wound accompanying the smack of its corpse to the earth. Talon felt its gore splash against the kinetic field he had surrounded his body with. At least he would not have to worry about stains. He did not even look at the corpse as he slowly allowed the aether of his pact blade to sink back into his body. He clenched a fist, the muscles of his jaw flexed but he did not falter in his step as he walked forward to meet his teacher and her ward.

“I was delayed.”

"I am Justice."

[Senara]

xx

U

nlike Brianne's human ears, Senara heard more. She'd made out the faint sound of metal cutting through bone, the crunch of flesh and screams of a dying creature in the air. Her fur stood on end with the last cry of it's life leaving it's body, and in that same moment she saw Talon finally floating down.

"Not late at all, right on time. Though I'm surprised you didn't bring flowers instead." Brianne teased.

Senara ignored their banter as she stared at the glowing skin and strange aura around the tall man. Well, here was the culprit of a kill. But where was the-

Thud

Ah. There it is.

Was it a mating display? To bring his kill before the woman he desired? It was a poor display, not even bringing it between his teeth or presenting it directly to her.. Did winged men have a hot season too? Or were they like the rabbits and simply made babies every season? She pondered the strange ways of Talon, licking her lips as she rose from her seated position and picked one of her paws up to move towards the maimed creature.

"Ah- ah! No! Senara, stay back from that." Brianne commanded sternly from behind her, earning the woman a hard glare from the wolf as her head shot back toward her. She had in fact stopped in her tracks, but not without a frustrated chuff and light growl of annoyance. They'd gone on like this nearly every hour of every day. Senara about to eat or destroy something, Brianne holding her back by threatening her with the promise of burnt meat or sugar based meals. It was awful the things that woman did to food when she was in a bad mood...

But it meant she had some hold on her. And with that hold, Senara sat back down in front of her and brought her cold gaze to Talon. He was proud. Bold. He smelled rich and musky and like pride. It was the same type of pride that had been on him on the mountains all those months ago, but this time there was an assurance to him. Like he knew who he was now, or at least what he should be. Now getting a better look at him she could see the defined markings upon his skin. How their slowly dissipating glow had livened his skin with something ancient that smelled of the sky- but not this one. A burning, glorious sky that she'd only dreamt of chasing in her years in the mountains.

Her eyes narrowed as she worked through the novelty that was Talon. In the end, she respected him. He'd helped kill the kenboku, slaughtered a stone drake, and in the end had not attempted to harm her. Yet. For now he could be trusted, she decided with a short yawn.

Brianne pinched her brow and let out a long sigh. "Get back inside, and get changed. We'll leave as soon as you're ready but not a moment before. But if you're not out within ten minutes so help me I'll make honey chicken every day for a week."

'Excuse me?!'

Bewildered, Senara shot the woman a challenging glare before chuffing at her directly. Brianne grabbed the pile of clothes from the stump before opening the door, her head gesturing for the wolf to enter. After a few moments of silent defiance, her posture softened in acceptance of her situation. None too gracefully, though. But there was no point in changing inside, either.

Her fur began to recede.

"Dammit Senara, not in front of-"

Bones and joints began to crack and the painful, stiff twist of her muscles and cartilage sounded across the dusk landscape. Pained grunts left her mouth as the slow shift took place until all that was left was a much, much smaller nude woman. Pale skin with reddened cheeks and small goosebumps lining her narrow frame were paired with dark, amber eyes and brown hair. Finally cut, it no longer tickled her ankles but landed instead just past her shoulders. But it was messy, something Brianne was still trying to train her out of after buying the girl a brush. But at least it was better than before.

Brianne sighed deeply as she moved to block the nude girl's body from Talon, frustration tight in her brow as she shoved the clothes into her arms.

“Dammit girl, learn some manners.” She said, huffing. “Just put them on.”

Senara rolled her eyes- a tactic she’d picked up from Rickter- and began to shuffle herself into the simple attire with a few annoyed grunts. It was easy enough to put on, the dark blue shirt the same color of the shadows at night. It hugged her form just tight enough, not restricting movement but allowing for the girl to avoid any branches or hooks that might have otherwise pulled at looser fabric. The pants were another issue, though, she’d still found herself rather wobbly when trying to balance on one leg to get the other inside the pant hole. Surely, there must be an alternative. Not that she’d found one yet.

Brianne sighed and turned to Talon as the girl clothed herself. "Sorry about that, I'm still trying to teach her manners."

As she worked the clothing on she shifted her jaw and fingers, popping the last remnants of shift out of her body. Each time she shifted it was like she was remembering the pathways her bones needed to take to form herself. Like roads, she expected that the more she performed her shift the easier it would be. But that didn’t mean learning the kinks of her body wasn’t an annoying process. One she had hoped to avoid if not for the woman so bent on keeping her in training.

After slipping on dark cloak and a set of zip-up boots, as laces had proved to be quite the problem, she stood up and let her gaze flick between Brianne and Talon.

“We go now?” She asked, shifting her toes in the boots. Confining. Annoying confining. But human feet were so damn delicate she wondered why they even had them at all.

Brianne sighed as she stepped back and shook her head. “Introduce yourself. Like we practiced.” The woman crossed her arms, the leather of her jacket crunching in the motion as she gestured to Talon with her head.

“Go on.”

Senara made a short chuff in response, meeting Talon’s eyes then with an audacious stare. The sun had set behind him then, casting blue hour upon the girls thinner form as all glinting in her eyes fell with it.

Her lips parted as she bowed shortly, her eyes never leaving his. “Senara.”

“C’mon, the full thing, Senara.”

She rolled her eyes, raising up to bow once more. This time lower, though her shoulders held none of the pleasantries the gesture might have normally conveyed.

“Nice to meet you, you may call me Senara.”

It wasn’t that she didn’t respect him, hell if anything she respected him more than any other mortal. But that didn’t mean she cared for these strange societal rituals. Rituals that, as far as she could tell, were performed regardless of how you felt for the person. Plus, what was 'nice' about meeting him? It wasn't not nice per say, but they'd also already met before. Not like this, but still. Brianne's ways confused her.

But she’d do it now. If only so her food would remain unsweetened.

[Talon]

Fire Cow

20 Glade 121

This was not the first time that Talon had witnessed a Rathari shift. It was, however, the first time that he had seen this one shift. The revelation that the great dire wolf that had fought beside him with such stunning ferocity was not exactly what she had appeared to be set Talon both at ease and on alert. It gave an explanation for why he had discerned such intelligence in her eyes. It also told him that he had been right not to treat her as a common beast, that could have ended very badly. Perhaps it had something to do with Rickter, but Talon was finding that he had a soft spot for wolves. He resisted the urge to smirk as Brianne valiantly tried to hide the other woman’s transition from beast to human. Given their difference in height, it was admirable but pointless. Instead, Talon turned his back to the two, allowing the shift to be done in at least the illusion of privacy. He set his sights on the corpse of the stone drake.

The beast had to be a few hundred pounds and was only slightly larger than Talon himself. He stepped forward, extending his senses across the aether flux in order to discern the makeup of the ground beneath the beast. He could not leave the corpse out in the open to attract other predators. That was a problem for later however. It seemed that the Rathri was finished changing. Talon turned to observe her.

She was young. Perhaps no older than Talon himself. There was a hard lean edge to her body. To his eyes, she appeared ready to leap upon the nearest thing that moved. The amount of discomfort she showed just from the furrow of annoyance in her brow told him that she was unhappy about something. Her human form was considerably smaller than her dire wolf form, something that surprised Talon. The dark hair that framed her face was messy and wild, just like the fierce intelligence and pride he sensed flowing out from her in waves. This was not a Rathari like Rickter. This one was much more in-tune with her beast form. Rickter was an impressive display of discipline, strength and skill. This Rathari? There was the touch of a natural predator in the way she stood and the way she assessed everything in her immediate surroundings with a stone cold stare. Talon had seen enough dangerous animals and monsters to recognize a capable hunter when he saw one.

He quirked his head at the stubborn, almost agitated greeting that he received. Talon could almost feel her annoyance from where he stood. It made the corners of his mouth twitch as he tried to suppress a smile. Her voice seemed strained as she practically growled out her greeting. Again, Talon had to suppress the urge to laugh. He dipped his head in greeting.

“Well met, Vya’ahd. I am Talon.” He addressed her with the Synskrit word for “hunter”. It seemed an appropriate title. He looked between the two of them.

“Any word on where the beast was last sighted?” He was ready to set out on the hunt. The reports from the Sky Guard and even hunters of the Slayer’s Keep had raised a surprising amount of alarm and competition. There were contracts out to see this creature put down. One of the prime reasons that Talon wanted to pursue it himself was due to the danger it posed to the area. The other reason was because it was a chance to see something new, something he had never encountered before. He had seen fire elementals before but this was not a creature he had witnessed if its description was accurate.

"I am Justice."

[Senara]

xx

"H

ey now, try to show some respect. He’s the prince.” Brianne said, rolling her eyes at the girl's obvious show of annoyance.

In turn the human girl raised one of her brows at him. “So?” She asked, earning a disgruntled sigh from her landlord who had all but given up on teaching her manners for the moment.

Senara stood proud in front of the man, letting him look her over with a strange discomfort churning in her chest and stomach while she in turn studied him. The way he looked at her was open, raw, the same way the sun looks down on it’s earth and welcomes it’s creatures to be exactly as they are, and warms them all the same. He made her uneasy. Her lip twitched.

“Vy… Vii-ah-hade…” She repeated, albeit poorly. Completely butchered the word in fact, her nose scrunching as she attempted to morph her lips into the correct shapes and itch the foreign word from her tongue.
“Meaning?” Senara asked, rubbing her tongue on the inside of her teeth. His voice was not harsh like Rickter's, nor fluting like Telion's, but she could still tell whatever word he'd used was not meant as any insult. Words were strange, speaking at all was even stranger, but the strangest part was the need for different languages. Why did people not just all use the same one? Even though wolves did not caw like birds or squeak like rabbits, she could still understand them. It was a body language, a scent, a dilation of eyes and a flick of an ear. Why did people not do the same? It would make communication clearer, easier, but that was why she preferred being a wolf. Words were not necessary when the only things that mattered were food and breathing. But such was not the case as a human.

Word-speakers, humans, mortals, people- they were so caught up in their emotions and their words they hardly noticed the scent in the air shifting, the direction of the wind, the change of someone’s stance that gave away their next move. And for some reason, some words were off limits. Those were the only ones she really liked, like verbal teeth without rhyme or reason they would shock people out of their comforts. ‘Curses’ they were called- separate from real curses, though somehow more feared. People were weird.

As Senara stared him down, Brianne too observed Talon as he watched her with amusement. But she also saw the tiny spark of admiration he had for the wolf.

It pulled a knowing quirk of her brow and smirk of her lips as she turned to begin tightening the girth on her horses roping saddle, her hands first lifting the thick stirrup before slipping between the woven band and beginning to pull upwards with a huff.

“It’s getting closer to town, unfortunately. Early this morning I got word it was sighted only three miles southeast of here. Apparently the thing is larger than we originally thought. But since you two have already worked together before I figure we’ll have a better chance.”

With the girth tightened, she faced Talon again while tying her hair up in a tight ponytail. “It’s been attacking anyone traveling with a lantern at night, so, I say we travel with the expectation that we’re not getting the jump on it. Senara, you can shift on my signal, but not a moment before that. Understood?” Brianne asked, her hair now out of her face as she put a foot through the stirrup and hoisted herself up on her stallion.

Senara didn’t turn her gaze from Talon, neither did she respond to Brianne. The woman had come to learn that no response from the wolf was a good one, and nodded to herself.

“Well then, let’s go.”

[Talon]

Fire Cow

20 Glade 121

"It is alright, Brianne.” Talon regarded Senara passively for a moment. He opened up his senses to the flow of aether within the young woman. As he attuned himself to her aura, he got a sense of the things that were most pressing in her emotional state. Annoyance was in abundance. The orange biting agitation buzzed over his senses. Exactly what she was annoyed with, Talon did not know but he could hazard a guess. The second thing that presented itself to his senses was a mild kernel of respect, the reservation of it coupled with the touch of appreciation was not as readily available to discern but it was there. From her behavior and her background, Talon had an idea of how to approach Senara. He would do as he had always done, he would let his actions speak for themselves.

“Let my actions be what I am judged by, not a title.” He smiled at Senara then as she butchered the word in Synskrit. There was amusement in his eyes as he regarded her. “It means Hunter.”

Through her aura, Talon sensed Senara’s frustration. He could only imagine what the woman was feeling. Well, that was not quite true. He could see and experience the emotions of what she was going through as plain as day but some of those feelings were muddled. He was not certain whether that was because Senara was trying to mute them or because she did not understand them herself. Regardless, for as little as the woman said, she was a flood of information in other ways. Talon took note of that. He turned his attention to Brianne as she explained what she knew of the beast they would be hunting. He thought through what little he knew of the creature thus far. Just a glance over Brianne, and from having been her student in the past, he knew that she would be able to handle herself both up close and at a distance. He looked to Senara. His gaze was not merely cursory observation then. He assessed her physically and measured what he had seen of her ability as a hunter thus far. A dire wolf was a formidable beast but against an otherworldly creature made of fire? Claws and teeth would only get them so far.

“The creature we are hunting is rumored to breathe fire. Among other things. Can you protect yourself from that?” He regarded both Senara and Brianne. “I can grant you both a temporary shield against such a thing but it will only hold for so long.”

Talon glanced behind him. He regarded the stone drake for a moment.

“And I should dispose of this. Unless you want wild animals coming to feast upon the corpse in your front yard?” He smirked then looked back to the two women.

"I am Justice."

[Senara]

xx

B

rianne stared at Talon, a bit of amused judgement in her eyes as she regarded his words.

“While a noble idea, Talon, and understood by most, Senara hasn’t yet understood why she should be respectful before you. Should she disrespect another noble, or gods forbid the rest of your house or the palace, it could end her in a world of trouble.” She flicked her gaze to the white wolf, then, narrowing her eyes. “Especially with her being so quick to temper.”

But she sighed, relaxing her expression as she adjusted the reins in her hand. “It’ll be your job as well as mine to teach her how to navigate society, though I suspect you’d do a better job at it than me.”

’Because she respected him already.’ Brianne thought to herself. Her posture had been enough of a giveaway. Sure, she didn’t like having to bow or put clothes on. But the girl had voluntarily stood closer to him than she had anyone else, even Telion save for the few times she’d healed her. Additionally there was their previous fight against the kenboku. It meant he’d already won a positive place in her mind.

Whereas Brianne… she knew she’d sorta fudged up their greeting. Kidnapping someone from their home and caging them does that to a person. And now they walked a fine line between landlord and captor, one she hoped to change into.. Well something else, eventually. But first, trust needed to be built.

Senara huffed at Talon and took in his form the more he spoke. Hunter… She was more than that, though. She was the wind. The mountains. The chasms and the rivers and the crags that lined the landscape and sent men and creatures to their deaths without warning.

But to him it all boiled down to the word ‘Hunter’. Not that she cared. Of course she wouldn’t, whatever he thought of her made no difference in her mind. At least, that’s what she convinced herself of.

With a chuff she rolled her eyes at him in a very ‘Brianne’ type way- stiff shoulders, knotted brow and all.

Brianne just chuckled in the same moment. “Talon, you think so little of her. How do you think she survived in the mountains so long? You know there's more horrors up there then the Warrens at times, and I wouldn’t bring someone on a death mission.”

Senara in turn puffed her chest out as the woman spoke, pride in herself swelling within her. At least someone got it, she thought to herself. And whatever the 'warrens' were- she'd find out later. It seemed interesting enough. The girl flicked her dark eyes to Talon then, sizing him up with her own judgement as he'd done to her.

When a person wakes up in the morning, they trust that the ground beneath their feet is solid. That gravity holds them down. That air will fill their lungs when they breathe in the first morning air. That sort of trust is done without thought or contemplation. In that same way, Senara trusted that Talon could handle himself against whatever beast they were to come across.

Brianne clucked and her horse began to walk forward. “Let’s head out. You can get rid of that corpse you so kindly dropped on my doorstep on our way. And feel free to fly above us, if you see it first we'll be better prepared.”

As the odd threesome took off, Senara walked by Brianne's side. Her horse was large. A mammoth of a stallion nearly 17 hands tall and with thick, well toned muscles. She'd had two others as well back at the cottage, but they had been for casual travel and were much smaller. But this- this was a war horse. Built for battle, with nerves of steel and a trust in Brianne that even if he were blind would likely follow any command given to him. Plus, he was the only horse with a shaved mane and shortened tail. Something Brianne had taken into account of before they'd packed up that very morning.

Halfway to their destination, Brianne pulled a long torch from the side of her saddlebag. Fishing through her waist bag, she took a minor Pyrolyth dragonshard out from inside it. It was a small stone. No larger than her pinkie but emanating a soft glow and warming her fingers as she filtered her aether through it to light the torch. It roared to life at first before dying down to a comfortable, continuous flame.

"Alright, we're almost to where it was last spotted. This should draw it out, and given what I've heard we should be able to see it before we even hear it."

Senara chuffed, a hint of excitement in her breath. She was ready. Her first real fight since the mountains, since sparring, since healing. It would be at least forty minutes before they arrived at their destination, but she could already feel the adrenaline threatening to pump through her veins.

[Talon]

Fire Cow

20 Glade 121

"Quite the contrary.” Talon raised a hand. Across his senses the indentations of the stone drake rippled over the aether flux. He felt for it, he molded the grasp of his kinetics around the corpse of the beast. His awareness burrowed into the flow of aether that still coursed through it.

“It is why I speak of you as “Hunter”, Senara. You are the last shadow seen before the Death God’s embrace. You are the whisper that sends a chill down a man’s spine. A hunter is many things, but above all they are prepared. The terrors of the Warrens are many but have you ever actually gone into them?” He clenched his fist. The bones of the stone drake corpse began to crack and snap one by one. In the heart of the creature’s corpse, Talon funneled his aether flux, interjecting the pulse of his essence into the very core of the beast’s body. He then ripped apart the flux with a mere blink of his eyes. A pulse beat out from the corpse, sending dust flying outward from it in a dome. Talon expanded the hole in the flux until it was of a size that he felt would adequately deal with the task at hand. He released his concentration.

The corpse of the stone drake stirred, the limbs began to shake and tremble. The sickening squealch of blood and gore being drawn to a singular point filled the air for a moment as the flux rushed in to stitch itself back together. The result saw the corpse implode on itself, the corpse deforming, bones shattering, skin being ripped from its, all compressing it from a beast that matched Talon in size, to something no larger than a medium sized dog. It was slightly unnerving to Talon how easy it was for him to do. There was the task of breaking past the resistance that the flux offered and of course the physical resistance of the corpse itself but his stamina felt greater, his strength far higher. Something told him that he had yet to truly push the boundaries of his new limits. He was not entirely certain that he wanted to. The task of compressing the dead stone drake had been made easier because it could not move and thus could not fight against his kinetic grip. Still, it gave him an idea of what he might be able to do in the future. All of what he had done had taken no more than a few moments. With a gesture from his hand, the sinewy ball of compressed bone and gore levitated.

“I say all of this not to demean you, either of you, but facing a Shinaegri is different than facing a Somaval or worse, an Archwraith. An elemental creature that can burn everything in its path? I ask not to question your ability but to ensure we are prepared.” Talon made a punching motion. He thrust his arm out to the side in a forceful jab. The ball of crushed flesh and bone was sent rocketing off into the distance with all the force that Talon could muster. It shot off and away from Brianne’s home with startling speed.

“The only assumptions I make in battle is that I will be unprepared for something and thus we should remain alert for surprises.” He smiled as he bowed his head to both of them. “I will take to the skies. See if I can spot it coming.”

Spreading his wings, Talon leapt into the air. There was always a rush that came with leaving the earth behind. He spun, flapping them with a powerful downbeat that sent him rising into the skies. There was a yearning inside of him, a yearning that was felt by every Avialae that flew, an instinct that told them where to find the proper wind currents and how to navigate them. He followed that voice and soared with ease. Opening his eyes, he let his inner lens cover them so that he could see clearly and easily while he flew. He made sure to keep near enough to Brianne and Senara that he could swoop down and join them if there was trouble but high enough that he could see ahead clearly.

Even before Brianne lit her torch, Talon spotted a circle of charred trees. The soft glow of embers and a steady burning reached his nostrils as smoke filtered up from the scorched earth. He narrowed his eyes, angling his body so that he could perch atop one of the branched of a taller tree. Talon grasped the nearest branch, bracing his feet against the trunk and hung slightly from the tree. He gazed into the distance where he spotted the flickering flames. Behind him, the torch held by Brianne burned like a beacon in the darkness of the dense forest.

The trees shifted, shaking beneath the weight of a lumbering beast. Talon spotted underbrush that went up in flames. Tucking his wings in close, Talon leapt from the tree, caught himself with his kinetics and guided himself quickly to the ground near the two women. He landed in a crouch before rising to his full height.

“It comes. Give me the torch. Brianne, ready yourself. Aim for an eye if you can get a clear shot. I am going to put myself in its path. Senara, try to wound it. See if you can leave one of the legs limp.” Talon reached out and took the torch from Brianne. He sprinted a short distance ahead, far enough that Brianne and Senara could fan out but close enough that either of them could get a clear hit on the beast once it appeared.

The ground shook slightly as flames began to ignite the wood and greenery ahead of them. Talon tightened his hold on the torch in his grasp. He spread his legs shoulder width apart. He prepared himself to leap into the air. The snap of breaking branches and trees that were bent cleanly out of the way resounded in the area. And then Talon saw it.

It was massive. It made even his impressive stature seem small by comparison. A beast of stone and fire that burned with the heat of an angry volcano. Molten rock flowed from its mouth, the horns upon its head were wreathed in fire. Gouts of flame followed its hooves as it charged toward him, smashing through trees, crushing rocks into powder and igniting virtually everything in its path. There was an infernal rage in its eyes as it beheld Talon with the torch. He let himself go calm. He kept his eyes focused on the beast. The world went quiet. All he could hear was the sound of his own breathing with the echo of the thunderous hoofbeats little more than a drum in the distance. The beast let out a bellow of anger, a display of aggression to claim its territory. It crashed through the line of trees, eyes zeroing in on Talon. He moved as soon as it crossed the trees, leaping into the air spinning as he summoned his pact blade. He could feel the heat of the flaming bull beneath him as he narrowly missed being trampled. He released his blade sending it spearing forth to stab into the flaming hide. The blade bounced off of its hide, deflected by its natural toughness. Talon landed, recalling his sword to him.

The fight was on. Talon waved the torch through the air, working to keep its attention.

"I am Justice."

[Senara]

20th of Glade, 121xx

Senara expected him to simply not respond, or perhaps shrug his shoulders and walk away like Rickter did so often. But the surprise of Talon’s speech set a strange warmth within Senara’s chest. Tingling, pulsing, spreading through her limbs and leaving goosebumps on her flesh hidden beneath the cloak Brianne had given her.

Dark, cavernous, mocha eyes dilated and widened with the clench of Talon’s fist. Followed was the rhythmic crack of bones and a brief flinch from Senara who took a step forward as if readying some form of a defense against the creature that twitched upon the ground. A quiet growl from her throat began, but all too quickly was silenced when she realized that the drake was not alive. It was Talon.

Her eyes flicked to him with a furrowed, confused brow. And then he blinked, and within moments the creature's body was condensed into a grotesque ball of organ, skin, and bone. Her eyes did not stray from the corpse, though. Instead she walked forward to the strange magic happening before her until she was standing nearly under it only for it to be catapulted forward and away from her curious gaze.

She chuffed, slightly annoyed she hadn’t gotten a better look at it, but turned back to Talon all the same.

“Only a fool believes themselves to be prepared.” She stated simply. It earned a surprised blink from Brianne.

There was a coldness to those words. A bite. Like she wasn’t even speaking to him. Like what was said was not all that was intended. And it wasn’t.

She’d learned that fact in her adolescence first. From the first time she’d crushed her fathers hands in her door only to find his feet could be a worse weapon. From the time she’d stolen food from the fridge thinking he wouldn’t notice if he was drunk, only to find the food itself rotten. She still ate it. She got sick. And he still beat her for it.

When she’d finally killed him and run into the mountains she found even more so that preparation only got you so far. Nature had it’s patterns and its rhythm, but half of that rhythm was chaos and confusion and the only things that ever remained constant in her life were the sun, the moons, and the pain brought on by humanity. And thus, those were the only things she ever truly prepared for.
But Talon was off before more was said, and with that the human pair began their travel.

Brianne and Senara did not speak, and yet neither of them felt it awkward. For Senara it was because she had nothing to say and had spent her entire life without conversation. For Brianne, it was due to the harsh focus she kept on the road ahead and the treeline in the distance.

It was when Brianne pulled out the torch that her demeanor suddenly shifted. She could hear the beating wings of Talon coming down and knew, too, that Senara had likely heard them before her. “Senara, remove your clothes. Put them in the saddle bag.” Brianne smirked slightly as she turned to the girl. “It’s time.”

Senara’s heart pulsed with anticipation as she huffed with excitement and began to violently remove the clothes from her body. She barely gave any notice to Talon as he landed with grace next to them.

“Easy.” She said, handing him the torch and wrapping the reins of her stallion around the horn. Just long enough to give him enough room to move, but short enough for easy control should she need it. Not that she would- he was a brilliant horse she’d trained on leg commands who already huffed and stomped his hoof in excitement. Sometimes she thought he liked being in danger.

Turning to grab the crossbow and bolts that were strapped to her back, her breathing steadied as her fingers worked diligently to ease the first bolt into position.

Meanwhile, Senara had removed the last of her clothes and shoved them haphazardly into the saddlebags. And now she stood forward. Facing the oncoming bull that tainted the air with the stench of burning flesh, fire, and pain.

The massive beast thundered forward in the distance as if riding the wind and propelled by pure hatred. The fire and lava of it’s core burned the ground beneath with each giant hoof that came forward to thrust itself with greater speed towards its intended target.

Part of her felt for the beast. It’s loud bellowing cries of rage as it charged towards Talon in the distance sounded less like a creature with reason and more like one completely out of its element. She had no problem taking down predators like mountain lions, rabbits, deer- creatures that knew the order of things and lived in their own habitats ready to kill or be killed as nature intended.

But nature did not intend for this creature to be here. It was out of place, it didn’t belong, and it would have to die because of it.

Gritting her teeth she began the shift. Bone stretched and cracked and sent horrific pain through her system that bubbled and squelched. Silver lupine hair pierced through her skin and grew from head to paw until eventually in the humans place stood the menacingly large, horse sized wolven Senara.

She panted for a moment. Collecting herself as she stared ahead.

“Don’t die.” Brianne called from beside her while working to aim the crossbow towards the oncoming monstrosity.

Senara chuffed in agreement.

’I won’t.’

Without hesitation Senara took off in a dead sprint to the left of Brianne towards the forest. She could feel the vibrations of the creature in the ground beneath her paws and the familiar detailed nature of it’s scent filled her lungs with embers. The very air around the three quickly became hazy with a smoke like nature the closer she got to it until finally she was within striking distance of it.

Just mere seconds after Talon's blade bounced off of it like a rubber ball Senara came out of the shadows and launched herself towards its leg, just as instructed by her comrade. It was distracted, full of rage and hunger as it leaned it’s head towards Talon and completely missed the wolf that sunk its teeth into it’s leg- but they didn’t pierce.

As Senara’s jaws came clenching down onto the hot flesh she instantly recoiled with a pained yelp as her lips and tongue seared upon the contact with its hide. The beast turned to Senara then, but she’d positioned herself well. Just in front of Brianne and with a quick twitch of her leg she bounced out of the way as Brianne’s first bolt came flying through the air and struck the beast's eye through. Nearly instantly the shaft burst into flames, but not before the creature let out a pained bellow as the titanium bolts head remained stuck within the center of it’s eye.

It thrashed in pain and a blood-like magma began to ooze from the destroyed eye.

Senara backed away from the creature as she licked the charred flesh around her lips and blinked back the hot aura of smoke around its body. Like staring into a bonfire her eyes burned the closer she was. And the bull could sense it.

As its bellowing stopped it twisted forward and began to charge at Senara who took off in a sprint. It’s hooves scorched the earth and her own paw prints behind her as she took a straight path away from the other two, leaving both molten blood-lava and burned grass in it's wake.

Positioning. Just like the kenboku. Just like her hunts with Brianne, how they’ve practiced weaving boars with similar builds into traps. If she was right, it meant it couldn’t keep up with complex patterns, and it meant they had everything they needed to take it down.

The wolf quickly turned on her heels and launched herself back towards the others causing the bull to stumble in it's attempt to turn as quickly as the nimble wolf. It staggered merely briefly before catching itself and bellowing as it charged once more forward, though now having fallen back behind the wolf a few paces.

Brianne had watched in horror as the beast chased after Senara, and a strange pang of fear rushed through her body unlike she’d ever felt. She was about to rush off after it but then the wolf turned, and Brianne’s widened eyes caught the glimmer of Senara’s staring back at her with determination.

“Talon!” She screamed, looking up at him in the sky. “Senara’s bringing the beast to you! Get it’s attention again, we've got an idea!”

[Talon]

Fire Cow

20 Glade 121

Talon’s hand grasped his sword. Almost as soon as he had touched the ground, the proud form of a white dire wolf darted out from the shadows and attacked the bull’s leg. When Senara’s pained yelp sounded in the air, Talon felt the hairs on his neck stand up. That had been exactly what he had been afraid of. The creature’s body was too hot for the wolf’s natural weapons to be of much use. If Senara tried to bite it, she was going to burn herself. If she tried to swipe at it with her claws, then she was just as likely to get scalded by the sweltering heat that wafted off of the beast’s body. This was not a fight that could be handled with such direct assault tactics. Seeing Brianne’s crossbow bolt land its mark and pierce the bull’s eye, Talon felt some of the tension leave his body. Partially blinding the beast could work in their favor. Blinding it completely could be a mistake, one he did not want to see unfold. The partial blindness would be just enough to piss it off and keep its attention as it viewed them as threats.

Talon was about to jump back into the fray when Senara bolted off, drawing the bull’s attention. He cursed softly to himself. Crouching low he was about to take flight when Brianne shouted for him. He heard her instruction. He nodded.

“I hope it is a good one! I would prefer not to get roasted!” Talon darted directly into the bull’s line of sight. He raised the torch in his hand high, showing the fire back and forth. The bull emit a guttural huff, smoke billowing from its nostrils. Its remaining blazing eye focused on Talon. He could feel the heat in that gaze. Unlike the fire that burned in his bondmate’s eyes, this fire was menacing, it was angry and it wanted to hurt him with everything at its disposal. Were he a lesser man, Talon would have fled from the beast in abject terror. As it was, he swallowed and remained firm. He gathered his aether together, ready to send a concussive blast of force hurtling right into the bull’s face if it got to that point but he did not release it.

The bull charged closer, a murderous look in its gaze.

“Ladies?” Talon called out. He wound the aether in his grasp tighter, ready to deliver what would be a bone shattering punch to this beast if it got too close. Talon glanced at the ghostly white fur of Senara, working to glean some sort of insight into their plan. His instincts were telling him to take flight, to dodge and then jump back in from an angle he could control and knew would not get him killed. Talon resisted that impulse. He had to trust his partners. Even if he might about to be trampled.

The bull was closer.

“Any time now!” He shouted at the both of them.

"I am Justice"