01-15-2010, 01:18 PM
Zana could feel her pulse quicken as she had come to the point where her body had fought far longer than it should have. She gritted her teeth as Nesmed and two others, Clanian and Camran by the looks of it had shifted the wave of the enemy around them to allow her a moment to gather herself. She was glad that she had gained their respect in the past moons but she wished for Aisleran and DaVinci, souls that she knew far better than any face before her now. She closed her eyes a second as she used her spear to pull herself up completely. She pulled the staff from the strap across her back as she leaned heavily upon it and shifted the spear to her good hand as she narrowed her eyes and nodded to Nesmed who had taken a moment to glance back at her.
Quick as can be they all shifted to make her part of their defense again, the four of them easily taking on the wave once more. The fighting had persisted for quite some time, Zana able to feel the noontime heat beating down upon her head as she shook sweat from her fur, seeing no end in sight as her heart gave a lurch as Nesmed had been brought down, a spear piercing his side. Zana snarled and yelled for the others to cover the fallen man as another joined their force.
Zana quickly pulled away, leaving the heavy fighting to the fit warriors while she quickly fell to the ground beside Nesmed to examine the damage. He had taken the spear clear through his side but it didn’t seem like it had struck anything vital, there was no frothing of blood about his lips and when he spoke though his voice was raspy it didn’t seem as though his lung had been punctured. The smallest warrior among them quickly unraveled the ribbons that had been bound up in her tail and ripping the bottom half of her shirt she made a makeshift bandage, wadding up the fabric to his wound and swiftly wrapping the yards of ribbon about his frame. She flashed him a quick grin as she told him, ”Pink is definitely not your color.” making sure that he was fine otherwise she removed herself from the ground and limped back to the circle of warriors that surrounded them, only to realize that while she’d been tending Nesmed the battle had run on without them, the defeated enemy trickling through the trees to try and escape as some of their own followed after.
She frowned to herself before turning back to Nesmed and asked. ”Is it over? Have we won?” He grunted and as Clanian and Camran joined her he admitted that he didn’t know, perhaps they had won the battle but the war would not be won until Malchan had been thrown from the throne. She scratched an ear a moment before she wondered aloud. ”Do we have to wait for him to show? Perhaps we should go find him..” She knew that if DaVinci hadn’t found him yet that he would be on him like a hound on a scent. A stab of panic hit her as she realized that she didn’t know if her sibling was alive or where exactly he could be.
Instead of acting on her suggestion she dropped to the ground, her leg finally giving out on her as she sighed and crawled over to lean again Nesmed as she destroyed the rest of her shirt and began to take notice of her maraud of wounds and bruises scattered across her body. She growled to herself as she ignored Nesmed’s comment on how the Ollamhs would not be happy to see her striped down like a little savage again. She had worked hard to let them believe that she didn’t mind wearing the clothing that they had provided but she could care less now. The shirt would do better as a bandage than on her frame, it had already become blood soaked and gore spattered.
She paused a second and dropped the remnants of the shirt, thinking that perhaps it was better if she just let her wounds weep for now. She really didn’t want to have to clean out all sorts of grime and grit from her wounds later when the healer women decided that they needed stitches. She did have to admit that there were some things here that seemed a little bit better than back home in the territories. In its own way though, this place was twice as savage and barbaric.
Someone passed her a waterskin and she poured some of the blessed liquid down her throat before she realized that it wasn’t water but the strong spirits of the clan. She gave a grimace and glared at the owner of the skin before passing it about to the next soul. She was luckier the second round, sniffing the opening to make certain it was indeed water before taking a swig and letting the water roll about her maw before spitting it upon the ground. The next gulp went to fill her belly and the last to soak what part of her shredded shirt was the cleanest, using it to wipe some of the remnants of war off her frame.
She sat silently beside Nesmed, not knowing if she could even get up right now or if she even wanted to. Clanian and Camran had gone off to see who had survived and to recover their wounded and those of the enemy. Zana pinned her ears back as she realized that she had no clue where they were. This wasn’t the same glade that they had descended upon, even without the scattered array of warriors and death upon it it wasn’t right, the valley had been larger. She voiced her concerns to Nesmed, who despite his wounds roared with laughter.
She really couldn’t tell what he thought was so funny but she sat there quietly and waited til he was done to see if he would perhaps grace her with what she’d said that had been such a riot. When he did take the time to explain she should have realized it without his explanation. They had been riding in one of the chariots and even if it didn’t seem like they were moving the horses had brought them farther into the battle than those who had been on foot. She just silently shook her head in wonder and decided that it was best if she shut up while she was still ahead.
After a while she used her staff like a crutch and made her way about the field, looking for her lost weapon. She knew that there were lots more out in the world but she had carved the spear down from the rib of a massive whale and she was going to make certain that it was returned to its owner. She was weary by the time she found the ivory weapon jutting through the man she’d killed, his hollow eyes gazing up at her but never seeing as she tugged the spear from his rigid frame.
She silently made her way back to where Nesmed still lay resting, joining him once more as they watched the bodies of the slain enemies moved to piers to be burned. She couldn’t say she approved of how the warriors cleaned up the fields, at least they wouldn’t have to bury all the dead, just those of their clan who had fought beside them. She wrinkled her nose as the piers were lit and the scent of burning flesh hit her senses. War was a hellish and brutal place.
Zana had closed her eyes for a moment, leaning back against Nesmed thinking that she would only rest her overwhelmed body for a few seconds, but when she opened her eyes, realizing that someone was gently shaking her the sun was beginning to dip behind the trees, the cold autumn chill setting in. She shivered and turned to find that Clanian had found the stallion that she’d believed had been killed in the fray. The beast had seen better days, there were some cuts and scratches across his barrel chest but aside from being worn he seemed to be whole. Camran was helping Nesmed onto the back of the horse and Clanian lifted a protesting Zana up to join him, the small girl perched in front of Nesmed’s large frame as she took the reins at Nesmed’s request. She listened quietly as Camran told her that DaVinci and Aisleran had been seen with the lord of the hall going towards the enemy camp.
They had been seeking out Malchan and no one knew if they had found him yet, the remaining warriors being too busy taking the wounded out on litters into the meadows where wagons were waiting to carry them on the long trek back to the halls. Camran told her to take Nesmed to the meadow and get herself checked out by one of the attending. She had other plans though.
Zana followed through on the first half of her instructions, bringing Nesmed to the healers. She watched as her comrade and commander was settled into one of the last wagons to be taken to the halls. He looked up at her upon the horse and knew what she was about. He nodded once before wishing her happy hunting. She grinned and gave the command for the stallion to move out, the beast going no more than a trot, but also knowing that was about all she could take right now.
The world about her was bathed in crimson from the late rays of the sun. She was glad for the full moon that she knew would be overhead as long as the clouds stayed at bay. She would need all the help she could get finding DaVinci, if she would even find him that was. She sighed to herself and pressed on, the sight of the enemy’s camp was visible when she reached the bluff, across the fields and valleys it rested, the shadowy figures of tents and wagons scattered about.
She had to shake her head a few times to be sure but it seemed like the shadows danced far below; she couldn’t be certain if it wasn’t her mind playing tricks on her weary soul or if there were figures in the deserted camp. She urged her weary horse on as she reached back for the spear she’d recently gathered from the battlegrounds as she made to cover the last of the distance between her and what she hoped was her final destination, where she would find the usurper slain and the two men she’d worried and fretted over so before and after the battle.
Quick as can be they all shifted to make her part of their defense again, the four of them easily taking on the wave once more. The fighting had persisted for quite some time, Zana able to feel the noontime heat beating down upon her head as she shook sweat from her fur, seeing no end in sight as her heart gave a lurch as Nesmed had been brought down, a spear piercing his side. Zana snarled and yelled for the others to cover the fallen man as another joined their force.
Zana quickly pulled away, leaving the heavy fighting to the fit warriors while she quickly fell to the ground beside Nesmed to examine the damage. He had taken the spear clear through his side but it didn’t seem like it had struck anything vital, there was no frothing of blood about his lips and when he spoke though his voice was raspy it didn’t seem as though his lung had been punctured. The smallest warrior among them quickly unraveled the ribbons that had been bound up in her tail and ripping the bottom half of her shirt she made a makeshift bandage, wadding up the fabric to his wound and swiftly wrapping the yards of ribbon about his frame. She flashed him a quick grin as she told him, ”Pink is definitely not your color.” making sure that he was fine otherwise she removed herself from the ground and limped back to the circle of warriors that surrounded them, only to realize that while she’d been tending Nesmed the battle had run on without them, the defeated enemy trickling through the trees to try and escape as some of their own followed after.
She frowned to herself before turning back to Nesmed and asked. ”Is it over? Have we won?” He grunted and as Clanian and Camran joined her he admitted that he didn’t know, perhaps they had won the battle but the war would not be won until Malchan had been thrown from the throne. She scratched an ear a moment before she wondered aloud. ”Do we have to wait for him to show? Perhaps we should go find him..” She knew that if DaVinci hadn’t found him yet that he would be on him like a hound on a scent. A stab of panic hit her as she realized that she didn’t know if her sibling was alive or where exactly he could be.
Instead of acting on her suggestion she dropped to the ground, her leg finally giving out on her as she sighed and crawled over to lean again Nesmed as she destroyed the rest of her shirt and began to take notice of her maraud of wounds and bruises scattered across her body. She growled to herself as she ignored Nesmed’s comment on how the Ollamhs would not be happy to see her striped down like a little savage again. She had worked hard to let them believe that she didn’t mind wearing the clothing that they had provided but she could care less now. The shirt would do better as a bandage than on her frame, it had already become blood soaked and gore spattered.
She paused a second and dropped the remnants of the shirt, thinking that perhaps it was better if she just let her wounds weep for now. She really didn’t want to have to clean out all sorts of grime and grit from her wounds later when the healer women decided that they needed stitches. She did have to admit that there were some things here that seemed a little bit better than back home in the territories. In its own way though, this place was twice as savage and barbaric.
Someone passed her a waterskin and she poured some of the blessed liquid down her throat before she realized that it wasn’t water but the strong spirits of the clan. She gave a grimace and glared at the owner of the skin before passing it about to the next soul. She was luckier the second round, sniffing the opening to make certain it was indeed water before taking a swig and letting the water roll about her maw before spitting it upon the ground. The next gulp went to fill her belly and the last to soak what part of her shredded shirt was the cleanest, using it to wipe some of the remnants of war off her frame.
She sat silently beside Nesmed, not knowing if she could even get up right now or if she even wanted to. Clanian and Camran had gone off to see who had survived and to recover their wounded and those of the enemy. Zana pinned her ears back as she realized that she had no clue where they were. This wasn’t the same glade that they had descended upon, even without the scattered array of warriors and death upon it it wasn’t right, the valley had been larger. She voiced her concerns to Nesmed, who despite his wounds roared with laughter.
She really couldn’t tell what he thought was so funny but she sat there quietly and waited til he was done to see if he would perhaps grace her with what she’d said that had been such a riot. When he did take the time to explain she should have realized it without his explanation. They had been riding in one of the chariots and even if it didn’t seem like they were moving the horses had brought them farther into the battle than those who had been on foot. She just silently shook her head in wonder and decided that it was best if she shut up while she was still ahead.
After a while she used her staff like a crutch and made her way about the field, looking for her lost weapon. She knew that there were lots more out in the world but she had carved the spear down from the rib of a massive whale and she was going to make certain that it was returned to its owner. She was weary by the time she found the ivory weapon jutting through the man she’d killed, his hollow eyes gazing up at her but never seeing as she tugged the spear from his rigid frame.
She silently made her way back to where Nesmed still lay resting, joining him once more as they watched the bodies of the slain enemies moved to piers to be burned. She couldn’t say she approved of how the warriors cleaned up the fields, at least they wouldn’t have to bury all the dead, just those of their clan who had fought beside them. She wrinkled her nose as the piers were lit and the scent of burning flesh hit her senses. War was a hellish and brutal place.
Zana had closed her eyes for a moment, leaning back against Nesmed thinking that she would only rest her overwhelmed body for a few seconds, but when she opened her eyes, realizing that someone was gently shaking her the sun was beginning to dip behind the trees, the cold autumn chill setting in. She shivered and turned to find that Clanian had found the stallion that she’d believed had been killed in the fray. The beast had seen better days, there were some cuts and scratches across his barrel chest but aside from being worn he seemed to be whole. Camran was helping Nesmed onto the back of the horse and Clanian lifted a protesting Zana up to join him, the small girl perched in front of Nesmed’s large frame as she took the reins at Nesmed’s request. She listened quietly as Camran told her that DaVinci and Aisleran had been seen with the lord of the hall going towards the enemy camp.
They had been seeking out Malchan and no one knew if they had found him yet, the remaining warriors being too busy taking the wounded out on litters into the meadows where wagons were waiting to carry them on the long trek back to the halls. Camran told her to take Nesmed to the meadow and get herself checked out by one of the attending. She had other plans though.
Zana followed through on the first half of her instructions, bringing Nesmed to the healers. She watched as her comrade and commander was settled into one of the last wagons to be taken to the halls. He looked up at her upon the horse and knew what she was about. He nodded once before wishing her happy hunting. She grinned and gave the command for the stallion to move out, the beast going no more than a trot, but also knowing that was about all she could take right now.
The world about her was bathed in crimson from the late rays of the sun. She was glad for the full moon that she knew would be overhead as long as the clouds stayed at bay. She would need all the help she could get finding DaVinci, if she would even find him that was. She sighed to herself and pressed on, the sight of the enemy’s camp was visible when she reached the bluff, across the fields and valleys it rested, the shadowy figures of tents and wagons scattered about.
She had to shake her head a few times to be sure but it seemed like the shadows danced far below; she couldn’t be certain if it wasn’t her mind playing tricks on her weary soul or if there were figures in the deserted camp. She urged her weary horse on as she reached back for the spear she’d recently gathered from the battlegrounds as she made to cover the last of the distance between her and what she hoped was her final destination, where she would find the usurper slain and the two men she’d worried and fretted over so before and after the battle.