Snippet #2267045

Something wasn't right. Slanu was not quite sure what it was, but there suddenly seemed to creep a sense of foreboding into the air. The trees had stopped allowing their leaves to whistle, and it seemed that the usual joyful sounds of the forest, such as animals running or calling to their mates, had ceased with to a sudden and noticeable end. The first shot was fired- right at Valinor's head. Slanu's first reaction was the leap towards Valinor in a defensive stance, ready to protect the wounded comrade. Soon, though, he remembered that Valinor was merely a shade and that the arrow hadn't harmed him in the slightest.

His movements were quick. He crouched down into a stealthy and hard-to-hit creeping position, putting a hand on the small throwing daggers (his weapons of choice) that were attached to the belt on his waist. He pulled the first of them out, just in time to use the dagger's blade to deflect an arrow that had been directed at his chest. To counter, Slanu aimed at the orc who had shot the arrow (this orc was also now rushing at him with full force) and, with a powerful flick of his wrist, found that the dagger reached the orc's throat. The enemy fell almost immediately and began to nurse its wound; Slanu figured the poor beast didn't have more than a minute to live, so he left the beast to die in terror. However, Slanu had been so distracted by this orc that he dumbly forgot to pay attention to the arrows that were shooting all around them; one knicked the upper part of his shoulder. He winced sharply, but the pain subsided and he found that his light armor had been enough to prevent any blood from being spilled; he would have a nasty bruise, though. With speed and stealth comparable to that of a fox hunting its prey, Slanu leapt into the nearest, somewhat short tree and found a branch that allowed for a good vantage point. Now that he was directly out of the line of arrows, he had some time to collect his thoughts.

Well, sort of. Arrows still whisked away around him, so he made sure to keep aware. But, from this position, he could find targets more easily for his daggers. He saw an orc approaching one of the members of the group from behind (one of the men, he couldn't be sure which one) so he swiftly drew a dagger and threw it into the base of the orc's spine. The beast was now paralyzed from the waist down and in pain, though not quite dead. That would not do; and Slanu didn't relish the idea of spending another dagger on this beast. He released a sharp whistle into the air, which had both a positive and negative consequence. The positive was that, as he suspected, Afon galloped to just beneath the tree, within jumping distance. The negative was that he had now made himself aware to the archers of the orcs and had many a bow pointing in his direction. So, without wasting any time to think, he jumped from the tree and landed squarely on Afon's back. Just in time, too; he watched as an arrow pierced the spot on the tree where his head had been just seconds before. "That's my girl," he proudly growled, then lightly kicked at her flank to let her know that she could go. She stamped forward into the throng of orcs, just in front of the one who Slanu had paralyzed a moment before. He reached to his sword, which did not find itself used often and was glad to get some fresh blood on it, and quickly beheaded the orc below him to end its suffering.

Afon released a shrill cry, and reared onto her hind legs; an arrow had skimmed the top of her back. Slanu found his eyes searching -enraged- for the perpetrator. An orc stood a few feet away with a crossbow in his arms, grinning evilly and with purpose. "No one shoots my horse!" He yelled angrily, in a baritone voice that did not usually escape him. He swung his sword forcefully at the orc; the orc dodged to the left quickly, the blade singing softly by its ear. The orc tried to get another shot in, but before he could Slanu smacked the crossbow out of his hand with the hilt of his sword. The orc gulped. With one final thrust, Slanu laid his sword deep into the orc's gullet, causing the beast to fall over, dead. From there on, Slanu made sure to keep himself on the move; he dismounted from Afon, instead choosing to sneak around on foot. Afon ran to just beyond the edge of the trees, safely away from the fighting for the moment. With his daggers out, Slanu made occasional slashes at the knees of orcs who were facing away from him, causing them to utter cries of despair as the fell. A few times an orc would notice him and try to attack him, but Slanu would usually go into a series of quick movements that would dismantle the orc's defenses and slay, or more often disable, the foe. He encountered a few bruises and a nasty cut on the back of his hand, but otherwise Slanu had managed to remain somewhat unscathed.