Miles Riverbend, Touya Khan & Val
Without warning a flash of metal came through the darkness as Miles’ dagger cut the air spinning. Still caked in the blood of his therian comrades, it flew straight at Val in the absence of Touya. A diversionary tactic. Miles came in behind the knife, ducking low but travelling at a blistering pace. He rose up as the dagger reached its target, faking a sword swipe when he was actually aiming more dirty water. Drawn from his water canteen, the texture was yellow and wretched in smell.
“I had a lot of time to contemplate how to defeat you,” Miles remarked, hoping Touya would adequately support his efforts, “Have a face full of piss.”
The flash of steel was caught by Val's gaze easily enough and lifting his arm deflected the blade. His steel bracers allowed the knife to bounce off his forearm unscathed and he lowered it to glower at the human who thought that would have done something to him. However, he wasn't prepared for what happened to him right after the knife flew away.
Val stumbled backwards, his eyes stinging from the disgusting water and sputtering as it hit his mouth. He'd effectively been taken off guard and he was boiling with rage at the mere thought that a human had done it. The man had tricked him and used underhanded methods to get his guard down. Val growled at the human and advanced threateningly.
"Daruth kuth shan," Val cursed in their language.
Touya was back on his feet then and assisted Miles in the fight. With Val's attention on the human only, Touya came upon his left side and swiped both blades downwards. The first cut into Val's arm, creating a deep gash, the second locked against the arm blades that were out. Val ignored the cut on his arm and turned his dark gaze upon Touya. Quicker than Touya could disengage, Val pulled his arm towards his body with Touya in tow. A sharp punch to Touya's stomach had the Therian doubled over and coughing, a second to his face sent him crumpling backwards and dizzy.
The most stunning sight by far was Val's unnerving resilience to injury. Despite a fatal cut his arm that would have incapacitated any normal man, Val was still swinging strong. He laid out on his assailant, staggering Touya with his brutal onslaught, but Miles had no intention of simply spectating. Aiming precisely, Miles came between them, intercepting the next blow with vicious sword lunge to the therian's center. Simultaneously, he propelled himself forwards with an acute burst of air from behind, accelerating his speed.
Val had turned on Touya who was sprawled out on the dirt, nose bleeding and eyes unfocused from the last hit. He didn't see Miles' coming at him until it was too late. The sword came very quickly, too quickly, obviously propelled by the man's magic. Turning ever so slightly, the Therian took the weapon fully, surprised. Steel slid through the rebel leaders chest, effectively stopping the man in his tracks. Val lowered his gaze to the sword sticking from his body then looked up to the human. A bit of blood trickled down his lips as he smiled.
"How... fortunate for you... but don't worry, neither of you will live to leave this god forsaken place," he pulled himself forward on the blade to lean in closer to Miles, his wicked smile gleaming, "Even if you do survive, Touya'll die anyway. I don't expect you to save him, of all people. Give my regards to that woman of his," Val finished just as the camp below erupted. Val had done something to warn them, magic most likely. Or perhaps he'd just given them a time limit and that time was up.
Val toppled over and Touya's breath released in a sigh of relief. They'd kill him. Finally. It was over. Well, not quite as the camp below was in a complete uproar. Several Therian's were going to be topping the hill very soon. Touya pushed himself up to his feet and glanced over to Miles.
"Go," he said nodding his head to the open wilderness behind them. Touya turned and faced the other side of the hill, his swords held loosely in each hand. He would keep them occupied for as long as he could. That would give time for Miles to get a good distance away.
Miles glared at up at Val from where he had struck the therian, eventually letting the man slip off the span of his blood soaked blade. A soft thump prelude the explosion of frantic activity from the therian camp, signaling the game was up. How much time did they have? No more than a matter of seconds judging from proliferating sounds of shouting. Miles could already spot a few dark figures rising intimidatingly over the lip, moving close and closer. The wind picked up abruptly, whipping the cloth of his uniform. Grimly, Miles stepped in front of Touya and gave him a rough shove.
"We both know who the faster one here is,” Miles sighed. He was just about out of tricks. To make matters worse, his dagger had disappeared in the process of fighting Val, “They’ll be on us in seconds. I still have to get on my horse. Go save those prisoners.”
Chiding his decision to remain behind, Miles could scarcely believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. It was not Val’s words that had provoked him; few words rarely did when one came from a social background such as his. Nor was it any particular inclination towards Touya. Was it honor? Pride? Probably not if his life’s decisions were any indication. Having trained to fight since birth, Miles was far from his limits, but stamina was a moot point when one was outnumbered and outgunned.
Touya glowered at the man, "You and April are the same in that regard," the Therian growled. Flicking his weapons closed he sheathed them and reached out to take hold of Miles' arm.
"You think I'll really leave you here to die!?" Touya snapped. With a shake of his head he turned and started down the hill with Miles in tow. He didn't have enough power to use on both of them and speeding up his movements would be far to taxing. He could shapeshift into his wolf form and easily out distance the Therian camp, but he didn't wish to leave Miles behind.
"Quickly," Touya urged.
"You fool!" Miles snarled in growing frustration. The therian's stubbornness was utterly illogical given the situation. Scant meters away from being torn asunder by outraged therians, Miles switched his gaze from enemy to ally. This was not the time to be considerate. He whirled around and jerked his arm free from Touya's grip.
"Don't get us both killed! Take the horse!" he ordered. Miles adopted a defensive stance, rooting his feet to the ground to indicate he had no intentions of moving.
Touya growled in return, "Stubborn human!" He twisted around to glare at the man who stood rooted to the spot. If Touya had had enough energy he would have thrown the man off his feet and hauled him up over his shoulder.
Muttering under his breath in his own tongue, Touya turned on his heel and ran for the horse. He was soon upon the animal and mounted in a matter of seconds. Yes, he was definitely much faster than a human. Kicking the steed, he raced across the grass towards Miles' last position. He pulled the horse around the human and faced the oncoming group of Therian's.
"Don't let this go to waste," Touya shot at Miles who was on the other side of the horse. Stretching his hand forth, Touya summoned as much energy as he could and expelled it into a final blast outwards. The ground shuddered at the attack and the Therian's who were rushing towards them were thrown backwards and dazed. The noise alone was enough to have their ears ringing if not bleeding. However, it would not keep them grounded forever.
Touya turned to Miles and motioned for the man to mount the horse. His energy was falling dangerously low and with Val's poison in his system he wasn't going to be awake for much longer. Even so his vision was blurring and his body was growing heavy. Miles was going to have to move the horse if they wanted to get out alive.
Miles did not turn around to see Touya's response after that. So this was his end. He guessed it was suitably glorious, one against many, man versus beast. A story suitable for the history books. None of that sentiment particularly comforted Miles Riverbend as he faced down the approaching therians. Blades whirred, snapping out of hidden compartments like jaws hungry flesh and Miles could not help but shudder in anticipation of their cold edges entering his body.
An energy wave rocked him from behind suddenly, disrupting his careful composure. Hearing the thunderous clamor of a galloping horse, Miles span around in confusion. Approaching fast, Touya had taken command of his horse and was now in the process of expelling his magic. The resultant shockwave threw off the pursuing therians, throwing them violently. Gawping in astonishment, Miles shook his head and then sprinted towards Touya. Mounting the steed behind Touya, he snatched the reigns from his hands and kicked the horse into action.
“We should’ve done this in the first place instead of bickering like petty children!” Miles laughed, his joyous chortle echoing well into the night.
“Altheim! Finally!” Miles proclaimed, sounding genuinely please for the first time in days. His arms spread out in an open wide gesture, imitating a hug as he welcomed the archway of Altheim’s west gate. “Keep that hood on and stick close to me. Getting in shouldn’t be a problem that way.”
Another week had elapsed since their hasty escape. Fast as they maybe, even the therians could not fully outrun a horse full on the gallop, a fact Miles had much cause to be grateful for. Assuming that was the end of their problems was Miles’ impulsive error. Succumbing to pain and fatigue, Touya passed out moments after their getaway, but that was only the beginning to a string of dilemmas.
Initially Miles only held suspicions towards Touya’s condition, but as the days expired the venom was increasingly taking its toll. By the time he addressed the bites with a bandage to slow the transfer of poison, it was too late. With their mission complete, he considered abandoning the therian on several occasions. But Miles figured he owed Touya the courtesy of seeing him through to safety.
“Havoc’s office is a few blocks from central HQ. He should have something to counteract the poison’s effects,” Miles said, reciting a statement he had repeated many times over the course of their journey to comfort the therian.
They approached the gates, Miles walking on foot as he directed their horse and Touya on top. Taking the lead, Miles strolled up to the gates and past the guards, only to be quickly intercepted from behind.
“Excuse me sir, do you and your companion have identification?” asked the city guard.
Miles raised an incredulous eyebrow, “I’m Miles Riverbend, my face is my own identification. Is that not adequate?”
The city guard’s grip around his shoulder was tense, as was his face. In fact it was hard not to notice it now. Miles read anxiety on the faces of every passing individual, as though fear permeated the very air itself.
“This is highly irregular,” Miles complained, “Look, I’ve been living rough for two weeks now. Do you think that kind of person has the time to be worrying about identification?”
“I’m sorry sir, but you’ll have to come with m-”
“That’s quite alright sergeant.”
Miles looked around, spotting the familiar short, dark hair and rough features of Reginald. The medic strode down the court, crossing the bustling streetscape to reach them. “Mr Riverbend, what did you see on my badge the day I summoned you?” Reginald asked.
“A golden crest held by the national griffon…why?” Miles replied, slightly clueless.
“Just confirming your identity,” Reginald smiled warmly in return, “Welcome back Mr Riverbend….and Touya?”
“Bitten by a snake,” Miles explained, flicking a thumb over his shoulder towards Touya’s stricken form.
“May need to keep him that way for a while. He’s not going to like what we have to say,” Reginald frowned, growing somber abruptly, “Come with me. We'll treat him at the hospital.”