Snippet #2539048

Day 3

Darting between the thrown weapons of the bandits, Pirika delivered several strong gusts of wind to the bandits in order to keep their movements locked. A blade of air extended from her beak, and she dove around a bandit wearing incomplete armor so that she was positioned near his exposed left side. Surging upwards, the bird familiar slashed and tore through his flesh before ascending once again.

In retaliation, the bandit tried to get her with his axe, but a tailwind allowed Pirika to get out of the way of the clumsy swing. Looping around in a tight circle, the bird familiar flapped her wings and sent two air blades into his face, knocking him back. "Dammit! Get them!" the bandit leader shouted, raising his club.

Realizing how close he was to her, Pirika started to worry, but the bandit leader howled and staggered before he could make his attack, a spear protruding from his knee. Furiously, he swung his sword at the assailant--who turned out to be the masked man from the party--but he leaped away, having attacked from just out of the leader's range.

Well, with him disabled and distracted like that, Sylphine and I can fight all out, the bird thought in satisfaction. Glancing over her wing, she could see her tamer still performing dance-like moves as she attacked and dodged. But the girl seemed noticeably clumsier, and her face looked strained. At one point, a javelin even slashed through her coat, trailing blood as the girl let out a cry. What's the matter? Pirika asked, worried. You look like you're half dead already!

One bandit ran forward, grabbed the javelin again, and prepared to throw it, but a knife struck him in the neck--the elf had joined the fray. Clutching her upper arm where the javelin had struck her, Sylphine responded breathlessly. That tomahawk caused a lot more damage than I thought it would...I'm keeping the blood in with air pressure, but it still hurts so much...I don't know why, but I just can't focus as easily now...ah, b-but...no need to worry, the javelin only made a shallow cut...I'll last!

Sylphine took the staff in her uninjured right hand, and the crests in her eyes flashed as she thrust her weapon straight down. The air exploded outwards in the midst of a group of bandits, throwing them into the air before they could reach Adrian and the hostages. Some of them had knives sticking out of various parts of their body from the elves, but Sylphine didn't really have time to figure out which ones she could leave for dead. "Pirika!" she shouted, pointing at them.

Nodding, Pirika flew up above the group and opened her beak, letting out a high-pitched screech. The winds began to swirl around the group of stunned bandits and picked them up, quickly turning into a cyclone. A few moments later, they were thrown out of the vortex, crashing into their comrades, or into rocks and trees...most importantly, all the ones struck by this cyclone were now unconscious or dead.

Right at that moment, a bandit leaped into the air and tried to strike at Sylphine with a sword. Without much time to respond, Sylphine tried to block it using her staff, but the injury on her arm meant she could use only one arm. The attack was too strong for her to completely resist the force, and she was thrown to the ground hard. Laughing, the bandit tried to land on her with his sword, but Sylphine recovered enough to blast him away unceremoniously a second before he could make contact. The girl forced herself to stand, but she was breathing hard, sweating, and shaking uncontrollably.

Hovering near Sylphine's shoulder, the green bird tried to reason with her tamer. You really need to get out of here if you're feeling that much pain. Have Adrian or the shapeshifter do the fighting for you, and take a rest. And I really mean it, Sylphine.

Biting down on her lip, the girl seemed to struggle with the idea of letting the others take over. Then finally, she responded while sounding somewhat bitter, "Fine." Creating a barrier of air so that the bandits couldn't get past, the girl called over her shoulder, "Adrian! There are only a few bandits left, but all the same, let's switch roles! You'll take them on, and I'll free the hostages! Got it?"

The wound from the tomahawk was throbbing worse and worse...it was kind of freaky that one hit could cause this much pain.