The two Aiovus Strike Force members stared at the queen, both on their guard and ready for combat if necessary. From the crazed look on Zelda face, Darion knew this wasn’t going to end well. Her eyes darted back and forth between the two of them and contained a fire that Darion had not seen but in the depths of an asylum.
And then the battle began, with the queen striking first at Senyik. A counter parry closeout put Senyik’s blade on the outside before she came with a downward slash at the smith’s chest. Senyik ducked, and came back with a stop cut into her weapon arm that brought her slash to an abrupt halt. She cried out in pain as drops of blood poured down her arm.
Darion came in now with swift mule kick to her knee that forced her off balance. She went down on her wounded knee and winced in pain yet again. She forced herself to work through the pain as she parried a thrust from Darion that would have put yet another nasty wound in her sword arm. She swung at him with her weapon. The slice was sloppy and almost made her lose complete balance altogether. She then forced the point of her weapon a foot from Senyik’s face as she struggled to get back to her feet. If she had more mobility she might have given the smith a very unwelcome gift. The delay tactic, as it were, bought her a few seconds before Senyik parried with Shadowcatcher and brought his own weapon to bear on her again. This time the attack on her weapon arm was landed, a slash parallel to her arm that drew yet more blood. At this she dropped her weapon and a second later, Senyik’s blade was against her neck.
Darion noted that there was a break in the fight and he rushed back to Arcite to grab the rope in his knapsack.
__________________
"We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to understand." Hebrews 5:11
Last edited by Darion McNair; 05-21-2004 at 03:13 PM..
A great roar erupted from from deep within Meekal's chest as those he considered to be friends struggled with one another. Once their attention was sufficiently his, he shouted, his voice seemingly no longer his own, "War is coming & you fight amongst yourselves! Our homes & families will be destroyed if we don't band together! You said it yourself. We came out here to hunt dragons to gain some leverage in this war, & you're threatening to kill each other! I will not stand for this any longer. Do what you like. While you are engaged in your childish antics, I'm going to take the others on ahead. Someone has to focus on the mission at hand." He glared at the Swordsman specifically. "You might not care about Moon at this point, but I do. I'm getting this hunt finished as soon as possible, then getting back to her. And when I do, we're leaving Arconia for good. And-" He stopped & turned his back to them, lest he say something he might regret later. He squeezed his eyes shut & tried to take deep breaths, remembering feeling this angry only once before, with grim results. In a lower voice, Meekal added, "And then you can have your precious Arconia without having to worry about us."
Nækos smiled sarcastically up at Meekal. "Lesson number two for being a king - enforce your authority. You can't let crimes go unpunished."
Meekal turned & narrowed his eyes at Nækos. A barb sat waiting on the tip of his tongue, ready to use it on the man. Instead, he let out a deep breath. He knew he was no match for either combatant. Even as his anger coursed through his veins, he would not risk his own life to stop them from taking theirs. The frustration overwhelmed him. "This is your fight. Kill each other then. I'm leaving."
__________________ "Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind."
"Meekal wait," She tried to move but Nækos held her tightly. She grumbled and continued to address the King of Muu, "You say we worry about you, why do you think that is? Do you think we pity you? Or do you think we just worry about you because you were Meekal the Daft?" She would have shaken her head, but she thought better of it, "We worry about you because we care about you. I can't speak for everyone else here, I'm certainly in no possition for that. However, when I worry about someone it is not because I pity them. Nor is it waisted on some stranger. I worry for the ones I care about. Right now you, Moon, and the baby are all included. So you're leaving because we care about you?"
She took a breath and looked to Nækos, "I completely understand Nækos' reasoning for pinning me here and giving me a couple of knocks. In his eyes and everyone elses, it looked like I was trying to kill Darion. Nækos cares for his men, everyone knows that though he may not show it all of the time. I know he cares for me somewhat because if he didn't, he wouldn't have saved my life after the Summit meeting. Not to mention, either of us wouldn't be in this possition if there wasn't some type of caring involved."
She turned her attention to Nækos, "Did I get that about right?" She asked a little softer.
__________________
"Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of men who follow and of the man who leads that gains the victory." - George S. Patton
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It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us the freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who gives us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protestor to burn the flag. - Father Dennis Edward O'Brien, USMC
"Save your breath," Meekal returned, still not facing them, anger growing & expanding. "Consider the 'caring' involved next time you are at each other's throats. I'll have none of it. As far as your worry or your pity, I'll have none of them as well." He whirled on them & gave a flourish of a bow. "Now, if you will excuse me, I intend on carrying out my statement. Join us if you wish, but I'm collecting the others to go on ahead before I get truly angry."
(& as the Hulk says, "You won't like me when I'm angry.")
__________________ "Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind."
"Go right ahead," Nækos dismissed him. Then, to Rosaline again: "I am taking your weapon, and sending you with them - in shackles, if necessary. I will go to the next town to get help with the survivors. If you wish to resist, I shall render you unconscious. So decide whether you'd like a headache or not."
__________________
It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us the freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who gives us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protestor to burn the flag. - Father Dennis Edward O'Brien, USMC
"On second thought," Meekal announced to no one in particular, "I'm going back to Arconia. I don't need this, & clearly, I'm not needed here." He began to march toward his mount, grumbling as he did.
__________________ "Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind."
"You have five seconds before I decide to go with the headache," Nækos told Rosaline.
__________________
It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us the freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who gives us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protestor to burn the flag. - Father Dennis Edward O'Brien, USMC
"Meekal, are you cracked? You can't ride back to Arconia alone. You're the king of Muu, countless people could be looking for you and Craig knows what their intentions are."
She turned her words to Nækos, "I'm used to headache's Nækos, I'm going with Sarah to the next town whether I follow you or ride with you."
__________________
"Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of men who follow and of the man who leads that gains the victory." - George S. Patton
"Very well." It took about three seconds, but Rosaline was quickly stripped of her sword and various daggers.
__________________
It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us the freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who gives us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protestor to burn the flag. - Father Dennis Edward O'Brien, USMC
Zelda looked at Senyik, her eyes showing no emotion.
" I would remove that blade if i was you." she commented, her voice monotone and dull.
"Do I have your parole if I do?" Senyik replied, his eyes searching for some flicker of light in her eyes.
"You do." the queen replied, her eyes still masked.
"Darion, dont worry about the rope, her majesty has given us her parole." Senyik called to the Bosconian behind him, as he removed the sword from the queens throat.
"Thank you," she replied, rising up onto her feet, gingerly stretching joints and muscles.
Suddenly a foot came out of nowhere, knocking the sword from Senyiks hand.
__________________ You may love me but you dont accept me. I dont want your love without your acceptance.
The queen bent down quickly, retrieving her sword. She was just about to close in on Senyik when a rustling was heard from behind. She quickly brought her blade up in an outward parry deflecting a potentially maiming attack from Darion.
"Your parole eh?" Darion roared, he glared at her. A counterparry changed lines in Darion's favor. Quickly, he brought his unarmed forearm down on her wrist in an attempt to loosen her grip. The blow never arrived however, Zelda dropping her hand and removed target. A few clumsy steps back because of her wounded knee brought her farther away from Darion but yet closer to Senyik who had his weapon in hand again.
__________________
"We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to understand." Hebrews 5:11
Rosaline struggled against Nækos as he disarmed her.
"Very well what? Honestly man, a little more detail would help."
__________________
"Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of men who follow and of the man who leads that gains the victory." - George S. Patton
Zelda sensed rather then saw Senyik gaining on her. She looked around, the trees around the clearing had fairly low hanging branches....if only she could get to one of them. Turning painfully on her knee, she bought both Darion and Senyik into view.
Judging the distance between them she ran.....aiming for the edge of the clearing and a conviently placed low hanging branch. Grabbing the branch, she swung herself up into the tree, and continued climbing upwards, until she was sure that both Darion and Senyik were out of reach.
__________________ You may love me but you dont accept me. I dont want your love without your acceptance.
Darion glanced at Senyik and raised an eyebrow then looked back at the queen. "Come Senyik." he said, still looking at Zelda. His gaze was one of firm resolve, yet quiet cooperation. "We have a message to deliver."
Senyik looked annoyed. He did not need to say anything to convey the emotion Darion knew surged through him. He too looked up at the queen and with one swift stroke severed one of the trees limbs and watched it fall to the ground before starting to walk slowly away. Darion followed.
__________________
"We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to understand." Hebrews 5:11