Moudrost Village

Irritated by the human's supposed lack of respect for their host, Yamane reached out her hands and held Songrose's in between them. "You don't have to make anything for us." She held onto the hand as Disir showed his disagreement over having what he referred to as a soft-skin in his home; slowly eating a raw chicken in front of him and bumping what must be a rather abrasive shoulder into the human's. There wasn't really any reason to not like the lizard, he showed an annoyance with humans and he seemed to be respectful to those who acted accordingly. The only problem the girl had with him is that he would most likely deter any time that would be spent alone with the vampire. She had a hope that grew and grew within her, one where the human would be chased away by the housemate and slowly be eaten after a long run, leaving the two in peace for a long stretch of time. Unfortunately this was unlikely due to Songrose's request for the beast to not do such a thing.

Songrose smiled at Yamane, then back to the human. "Actually, you're right; as Disir said, he doesn't like eating any food that your kind eat. And I simply can't eat those foods; I miss them sometimes, but they never want to stay down...although I'm not positive about what Yamane likes to eat," she explained, and looked back to Yamane. "I know I don't have to, but sometimes I miss being able to cook. It's just as much for me to be able to do something I like as being a gracious host, you see?" She grimaced at Disir's messing eating, although she knew the human was to take that to be a warning. This was why she was relaly the only person he could call a friend. He wasn't exactly polite, but that wasn't the biggest problem. No, the really big thing that kept him from having friends was his attitude that no one could be trusted without enough time for him to warm up to and even start to trust them.

She shook her head as he passed by. "You'll have to forgive him; his kind believe that relationships and bonds make you weak, and so everything about him is designed to keep others away. Believe it or not, it's much easier to make a friend of him than another of his kind. He really is nice, once you get to know him." She would have to apologize to him later. She had only been trying to be nice, and liked to have company; she wasn't saying that he was bad company, but sometimes she liked to have larger groups of company to talk with. Variety is always much more fun. The human didn't seem to be suspicious until she had mentioned food, but gave a grin, hoping to allay whatever fears he had. "I wouldn't worry too much; Disir just ate, and I just came back from feeding, myself. Unless Yamane hasn't eaten in a while, I don't think any of us are really hungry or thirsty enough to bother you too much."

He felt relieved to hear their appetite was satiated. When she described Dsirs personality he froze. The creature isolated it'self from others, just as he did. Come to think of it he was confused to why he was here in the first place. He hated people, he hated company, so why in the world had he decided to follow the lizard to his home? He closed his eyes tightly and rubbed his forehead. He looked up at the people he was with.

"So," He began quietly, "how long have you been living here? Are there more like you?"

Alumit fell forward slightly as he listenced to the girl , sighing deeply and putting a hand over his face "No matter the girl , they -always- complain about how I look when I do this." Stepping forward Alumit grinned and grabbed her , staring her in the eyes....or he would be if he -had- eyes "You are infact -THIS- fat. Which is to say , NOT AT ALL!"

Huffing Alumit let go and put his arms at the back of his head and tapped one of his new shoes against the ground "Seruisely , you have less meat on you then a reaper and those things are just bones." Leaning forward Alumit gave a light laugh "Least I think they are , never met one of them myself...dont really want to , probably means they want to kill me."

Giving another laugh Alumit patted the girl on the back and started walking "So I dont know -where- you're headed but i'm following. I was planning to stay on Crickets couch but I get the feeling that would just end in a really akward fight with her roommate...plus I dont think Spider is all that fond of me iether." Giving a quick spin Alumit laughed girlishly and struck a pose , still using Claras body "So! Where too?"

Songrose sighed. Now he was going to be quiet? At least, quieter than he had been. Perhaps it was just a slow reaction, and he really was scared of them, but was hiding it really well up until then. But whatever; she had always made it a point to never be rude to someone. She gestured to the couch nearby, for him and Yamane to sit, since the human, Alistair, hadn't said whether or not he did want something to eat. She took a seat in a chair, shifting it slightly to face the couch. "Somehow, I think there's going to be more than one question, so let's at least be comfortable while we talk, okay? Oh, and I don't think you should leave until morning; the reasoning for that is the same answer to the second question. Yes, there are others, but they aren't nearly as friendly, and would be much quicker to eat you than talk with you."

Thinking she had forgotten to mention something, she looked at the ceiling for a second, then back to Yamane. "I know I said he had to stay here until morning for his own safety, but you're in little danger if you decide to leave. You may stay for however long you want. And as for your other question..." She paused, thinking long and hard about the answer. "...I've been here since the village was created...or founded, whichever word you want to use. And that was...well...a few hundred years ago. I think. I don't count the years, really. But if you meant this shack, I've been here since Disir and I became friends...and that was...not nearly as long...but still longer than at least two human generations. Again, I don't count the years that go by, except to try to remember my age."


Raine froze, glancing around. She had thought she had heard something...but, when she heard nothing more, she continued on her way. Why was everone so afraid of these trees? she wondered, pausing in front of them to get a good look. They were all afraid of them, all spreading rumors that no one who had gone into the forest had come back. So maybe those people were just stupid and lacked survival skills; didn't they ever think of that? She didn't see danger; she saw adventure in that forest. And now she was going to see who was right...and she was confident it was her, and not those stupid villagers. She'd show them; there was nothing to be afraid of, if they knew what they were doing.

She took a deep breath, then boldly walked through the first trees, into the forest. She wandered around for a while, pausing every few minutes to see if she could hear anything. After a while of wandering, she footsteps. Ha! Take that, stupid villagers! There were others out here in the forest, and so there were others that had survived out here! She was right. She celebrated in her head, walking confidently towards the footsteps. But her own footsteps slowed down as she realized that there were a lot of people out here. ...A whole lot...like, maybe an army...a big one...why did she bother coming out here again? She froze as she suddenly found herself in front of what was indeed an army. ...But this army...what were they? She started to back away, hoping not to be noticed by these...gigantic scaly things. What were they?! She held in a scream, still hoping to avoid detection as she continued to back away.

Clara laughed as Alumit stuck a pose. "Well," she said as she tapped her chin. "We could go .... to .... hmm .... oh! I have to collect some souls, I might pass out in the next hour or two. You wanna help?" She closed her eyes and thoguht of the nearest target. "There is an old man and woman that don't live to far from here, you wanna go?" She looked in the direction of the house then back at Alumit, and grabbed his hand. "Come on! It'll be fun!" She ran in the direction of the house, but stopped about halfway there. "Well, since I can't go home, and have no where to crash, after I take their souls, we can stay there until morning!"

She looked as the house came into veiw, This is so against the rules, she thought. "I am normally supposed to have permission to take a soul, but this is important," she whispered to herself.

How dare they harm one of their own! Their society may not have been made up of affectionate bonds but they did have a strong survival instinct and when one of their own is threatened, their entire species is threatened. So when a youngling had drug himself back to the clan after his first hunt near the village, all members were enraged. He had spouted nonsense about a shadow but surely no shadow did this, it must have been those filthy soft skins. They caught the young one off guard and then proceeded to torcher him and send him back as an example. Well, if those foolish beings didn't realize by now, they held little fear of any creatures and such a bold act was going to cost them. This is why they marched toward the village now, many strong warriors came as they planned to leave no one alive. Finally they had a reason to wipe out the pathetic humans and take the land as their own. Of course some would be kept, if only to breed more of their weak race to feed themselves. This was the perfect plan that Erak, leader to Disir's old clan, had in store.

Their footsteps filled the night air as did their angry hisses and growls. Silence wasn't their intention, after all it wouldn't matter what these soft skins did because they were doomed from the beginning. However instead of them surprising their prey, it would seem it surprised them as a young female suddenly burst from the brush and stood frozen in what he could only assume was fear. Scrunching his battered face in a glare, he hissed angrily as he approached the human. His one working eye seemed to glow bright yellow in the darkness while the burned and scarred half of his face only made his appearance all the more menacing. "Soft skin has stumbled into trouble it seems." His group of warriors chuckled at the dark sarcasm as they watched with hungry eyes what their merciless leader would do to the stupid thing. "Come looking to explore, yes? Give you more than that." Snapping his arm forward, he grabbed the girl's small limb in his powerful hand and squeezed as he roared in her face, fin flaring, just to horrify her more before he brought her a painful end.

---------------------------------------------------------

Disir huddled himself in his corner and glared at Songrose as she conversed with the human. Why did she continuously try to encourage them to befriend him?! He's nice once you get to know him? What was she trying to do, ruin his reputation?! He didn't want soft skins coming from all over to befriend him or more correctly oogle at the ugly beast. Huffing loudly to make his displeasure known, he then turned his head to glare at a bare wall. Although he'd never admit to it, his angry silence could be compared to a youngling pouting because it didn't get its way. His invisible fortress he had made in the corner didn't last long however as a faint scent he caught caused him to bolt upright. That was unmistakably his kind's scent, more procisely his clan's scent. They must be on the move and they had to be close. What were they doing approaching the village?! Of course he knew what they were doing, the only thing they ever did when they moved in mass, kill and eat. It must have something to do with the blood of his own that he smelled earlier. Shifting his eyes to Songrose, he realized he didn't want to bring her into this. He could deter them himself. So moving swiftly across the room, he exited the shack with a resounding bang from the door before he slinked off into the darkness without his cloak.

As he was now outside the smell was more clear and it was obvious there were more than he previously thought. Maybe this wouldn't be as easy as he had hoped. No matter, he could at least slow them down and surely Songrose would sense them soon then come to help. After all she had done for him the last thing he wanted to do was ask her to put her neck out on the line and push away his people. Of course she'd probably do it anyway to keep these ignorant humans safe though.

Coming to an opening in the thick brush, he paused before entering. Despite usually rushing into things with only the thought of bashing it senseless, he realized that perhaps a more planned out approach would do in this situation. What could deter a large group of hulking, hungry beasts? A light nearby caught his eye and he realized what he needed. Fire! Yes, all of them had a fear of fire because no matter how strong you are you simply can't rush head first into flames and expect to come out unscathed! It was the one thing that all his people shared in common, especially Erak. The leader had felt the pain of fire himself and would never travel anywhere near it. With this plan set in his head, he grabbed a lantern hanging from a nearby house and took it with him.

He moved as swiftly as his large form could muster through the thick brush and branches. The lantern light was turned down low and he could smell them clearly, could hear them now and oddly he heard Erak's voice speaking towards someone. Furrowing his scaly brow in confusion, Disir carefully approached and peeked through the limbs to see his brother torchering a young human female. In an instant Disir's blood boiled with rage as he remembered his friend Teaghan from long ago. This female's life would not be ended as hers had. Quickly he positioned himself as close to Erak as he could while still remaining hidden before he broke the lantern over a dry limb and watched as it was enguled in flame immediately. As expected his brother dropped the human and stumbled backwards away from the flames with a yelp. The rest followed his lead and began to move backwards in mass. Taking the opportunity, Disir lunged forward and grabbed the human. Tossing her over his shoulder he took off back towards the village as the sounds of squawks and yelps sounded in the night. He knew that small fire would only deter them for so long, they would gather themselves and put it out before it got out of hand and certainly his scent would be left for Erak to follow. For now though he came to a hault on the outskirts of the village and plopped the female down on her feet then glared at her. "What think you're doing?! Going into forest at night! Stupid soft skin! Ah! Come, not safe here!" He moved off quickly and fully expected the human to follow as he made his way back towards the shack.

Alumit coughed as he was pulled off , smilnig widely at the thought of the fear he was about to get for free. When suddenlu he perked up and stopped "Ahhhh , damnit. Salamanders move fast." Quickly changing back to normal Alumit pointed to Clara "Listence , I want you to go eat and then find somewhere safe to stay. When you do stay there. I still plan on crashing at your place."

As Alumit moved , his normal suit of clothes quickly dawned themselves on to him and just as quickly he pulled off one of his fingers with a sickening snap , throwing it to Clara "I'll find you later with that , dont lose it." Giving a wave Alumit took off , finding his way in to a shadow and moving through the forest as a white and black blurr before coming to the top of a tree. Below him burned a small fire and a bunch of scared lizards panicing for now anyways.

Alumits grin took over his face , from side to side nothing but a sharp row of fangs before he leaned back , putting his head towards the sky as his mouth opened and he inhaled. A mass of his fear miasma rose from the ground. So much from so many sources , all of them mosters.

When he was done Alumit hugged his own body and shivered , drool falling from his mouth "Fire. The lizards are scared of fire.....Hehheh , this will be a good feast." Sliding down the tree Alumit took his place on a branch , his arms grew slightly , sharpening in to two long double ended blades as he leaned on the branch , staring down at the lizards boss "You got my message and you -still- insist on taking my food?" Alumit laughed loudly , his voice echoed coldly before he just stared at the boss , his suit filling out with muscle mass and his height increasing by a couple feet. He was well fed now , satisfide for the first time in years....and here he was , staring down a group of monsters that gave him his meal "Retreat now or I will set this entire forest on fire just to spite you , I will hunt down every child of your clan and do to them what I did to the messenger. Leave and remember the name Alumit , for I am the shade that protects this city and the food in it."

Rather annoyed that the man had not just been invited, but encouraged upon penalty of danger to stay with them, Yamane looked toward Sangrose as she stared upwards. When her eyes fell upon the admirer, she uttered what was to be expected to one of her status, an invitation to stay for nothing common in these forests could cause her much harm. She was again happy to here the acceptance to stay not matter how many times such a thing had been said, but then there came the aspect of the couch the vampire had gestured to. It was ragged, like everything else here, but the greatest concern was for the human who would undoubtedly take a seat there as well. To rip apart the man would have filled the girl with a great amount of relief, but the reaction of the woman weren't easy to guess. Ultimately it would be best to resist the temptation for tonight at least. Tomorrow this Alistair would need to rush home quickly before the spider woke from its sleep.

With the rejection of violence, for tonight at least, Yamane thought it would be best to distance herself from her target. A location nearest the one she sought after would also lower her drive for murder, so she kept her place for a moment and thought as the vampire related her origins. When she came to a conclusion she walked beside the chair Sangrose sat in and slowly dropped to her knees, resting her hips just above her heels. "I'm more comfortable here." She spoke courteously and wore a small smile, all while attempting to push the existence of the human out of her mind.

Clara squeked as Alumit threw a finger at her, but she caught it anyways. "Don't lose it," he said and ran off. "Alright, I'll see you soon," she yelled after him as she looked for a place to put the finger. After she found a pocket, Clara ran back over to the house. "Now, best get ready," she sung. “Umbra et nox me involutum in tenebris et da mihi veram formam. Forma a messor, quae vere sum!” Shadows gathered and covered her, making themselves into the to familiar cloak. Her skin and eyes change color, making her look scarier than her human form. The front door was luckily unlocked, so Clara let herself in. The old man and woman were sitting on the couch together, holding hands and snuggling. “We expected you to come,” the old woman started. “But we never thought it would be this soon,” the old man finished. Nothing made her happier to see a loving couple ready to die together. “I never would have come, but I have to feed. And you two have lived your lives to their extent,” Clara’s voice came out in an involuntary hiss. “It’s alright, dear. We under stand.” Clara drew her bow, placed two arrows on the bow and, right before she shot, she whispered thank you. She prayed the two would be alright later on. Then she release the arrows.

Collecting the souls was the easy part, cleaning up was harder. “That was satisfying,” she said as she put the last of the dirt on the grave.

Songrose glanced down at Yamane, confused, although she didn't show it. "Whatever makes you comfortable," she said, glancing between her and the human. She looked up slightly as Disir huffed, giving a quiet sigh, silently acknowledging his discomfort. But the human wouldn't last long out there, not with so many of his kind going missing recently. She gave him a more curious glance as he bolted upright, and pretended not to notice him going outside. Perhaps he just needed tome to himself; she knew how he felt about humans, although she wasn't entirely sure about his thoughts towards Yamane. She would find out sooner or later, she figured. She glanced between Yamane and Alistair. "So...that answers those two questions...are there any others? Or do either of you need rest?" Anything was better than absolute silence.

Raine froze as the thing grabbed her by her arm, roaring in her face. What had she gotten herself into?! The villagers were right, then...? But that only meant she was going to die here, and no one from the village would know about it. So more and more humans were going to start vanishing, and she wouldn't be able to tell them about it. She bit her lip, closing her eyes, fully expecting to die there. But suddenly she heard a crash and the flames crackling, and then felt herself being dropped. She looked up in srprise to see fire, and then something else had lifted her and was carryign her away. From what she could see, this one also had scales. Another of their kind? But he had just saved her! ...Or maybe he was a rebel amongst them, and had planned on eating her himself. That's what she thought until he dropped her, and started scolding her. Her mouth opened slightly as she wondered whether or not the entire world had been flipped upsidedown; a monster saving her from monsters...and then telling her it wasn't safe and to follow him. She gave a hasty shrug before following him to...wherever it was he was leading her. He couldn't be all bad if he had saved her...right?

Songrose stood up suddenly as a scent caught her nose; fire, burning wood. And Disir was gone! What had he gotten himself into? She glanced between her two guests, then started to walk towards the door, pausing to sniff again. No...his scent was too close to be anywhere near the fire...at least, it was now. "Something's wrong..." she explained to the two guests, and she stepped forward to open the door, but didn't go out. Why would she need to, when she saw Disir walking towards the shack? Until, of course, she took note of the human following him. Younger than the one in the house, but she seemed a little shaken to her. She stepped aside to allow the two in. "What happened?" she demanded from Disir. If anything, he would know what had happened out there. She only spared the human girl a quick glance before looking back to Disir for an explanation.

Alistair sat down next to Songrose(I'm not sure if he's actually heard her name yet. Did I miss that part?) the couch was more comfortable than he expected it to be.
He listen carefully as she answered him. His expression turned to one of amazement as she talked, he could hardly believe what she was telling him. Had she really been around for so long?
"Wow." was all he was able to say as she finished talking to him. Interesting so there really was more of them.

"Thank, and I do have one more question. . ." As he began to ask her, she stood up and headed towards the door. There was a worried look on her her face. He stood up and walked next to her to see the same thing she did. The hulking creature entered the shack, strangely enough there was a girl with him.

"That's something, I though you didn't like humans." He said looking at the girl. "What's with the sudden change of heart?" He asked Dsir, with a slight hint of sarcasm. Maybe the lizard only liked girls. It would explain why he was so rude to Alistair.

Al walked towards the girl, she looked shaken like she had just seen something terrifying. He couldn't tell if it was the sight of the other's or if something really had happened. The night was becoming more exiting by the minute, and he could feel that it was only beginning. It seemed like he might just find that inspiration after all.

Disir thumped in quickly, only reaching back to yank the young girl over and roughly look her over for injuries before turning his attention back to Songrose. "Stupid female in forest! My clan's warriors were there. They coming to village! Must leave quick now." His concerns at the moment weren't with all the people in the village but with his friend Songrose and this human female who reminded him so much of his Teaghan from long ago. The male, Alistair, spoke and his words caused Disir to his angrily at him. "Speak to me like that?! No like humans! Foolish soft skins always get you into trouble, they annoying, scare to easy, always stare and waste time to be leaving!" Did he not understand how serious this was?! They needed to leave and now if they wanted to get away from his clan's wrath. It wasn't that he was scared, no it most certainly wasn't that but he just wasn't foolish and knew him against hundreds would only end in a death becauseof stupidity. Perhaps there was another village that Songrose knew about that they could move to.

------------------------------------------------
The fire was put out quickly with the help of dampened foliage being tossed on top of the flames. Disir, that foolish youngling, he would pay! Erak growled lowly as he gave a loud roar, a signal for them to carry on but once again they were interrupted and hisses erupted from the group toward this thing that now opposed them. Hm, a shadow, well it appears the young one wasn't just spouting nonsense. However they were too close to the village now to turn back, the land those damn soft skins inhabited was rightfully theirs and Erak would make sure they had it. "Not burn forest if protector of soft skins. Your food need food from here to live and stay. Move now shadow or fight hundreds of best warriors!" This thing was too fool of himself. Perhaps he could harm a mere youngling of their kind but an army of their finest warriors? Ha, that idea was laughable and he would enjoy killing the strange creature if it made the fool hearty decision to attack. With yet another roar, the clan was on the move again.

Songrose bit her lip as Disir explained the situation, glancing out the door past them. "If that army is so close, we won't have time for much else..." She shook her head sadly. She had hoped that, by living in this village, she could avoid having to fight again. Her prey never put up much of a fight, so she never counted them, but otherwise, she had managed to avoid all sorts of violence that she had grown used to years ago. "We can't run, Disir..." she said, turning her attention to him, then the two humans, then Yamane, then back out the door. "We have to see what we can do to protect the village. I'm not going to be chased out of my home again!" She glanced back at Alistair. "I suppose, if you really want anything answered, it's either going to have to wait, or have to be asked on the way there. I can't stay here while an army marches on a village that has no army."

She hated having to do this, but turned to go to her bedroom, and pulled out from under the bed a blade; a sword. She hadn't used it in years, and even then only against humans. She had yet to use her full strength while using it, and wasn't sure how well it would stand up. But strapping it to her back gave her a slightly more fearsome appearance, and so hopefully she would be able to avoid too much fighting. She headed back to where everyone else was, near the door. She glanced at Disir. "If you don't want to fight your own kin, I would suggest you stay here and watch the humans. If you want to help fight, I'm heading there now." She would follow the scent of fire that Disir seemed to hate so much; perhaps it was one of the few things that could harm them, like it could her. She looked at Yamane. "I'm not going to force you to fight; only ask if you are willing." Then she turned a fierce gaze between the humans. "And you two...you two are going to have to stay out of trouble, whether you stay here, or follow. I would rather you stay here, but if I'm gone, I can't physically force you to stay here."

Raine hesitated as she listened to the lizard thing and the pale woman talking. She winced as the giant lizard called her stupid, but maybe it was true. She knew what the villagers said about the forest, and still she had wanted to explore it. She shook her head; she wasn't stupid! She had survived after going into the forest, and she could prove it, too! "I'm not stupid!" she argued, although it hardly seemed like a good idea when the lizard could probablt tear her apart. "And I don't want to hide!" She winced slightly as a man in the house started walking towards her; was she in for a lecture? Better yet, was he even one of the humans, or something else she needed to be afraid of? She hated this...maybe she should never have left the house.

(Edit: Ues, he has heard her name already. Songrose introduced herself and Yamane when she first saw the human.)

Alumit tilted his head as he watched his opponents run off towards the town "Oh come on! They lead one of their wounded to their nest leaving a trail but their to smart to fall for THAT!?" quickly ditching in to a shadow Alumit sighed as he caught up to the front of the group and quickly jumped out. Too at least hold them off for awhile Alumit sprouted his extra arms , four blades now.

When he slammed the blades in to the ground the shadows aroudn the group sprouted out , he was moving his blades through the shadows to stab at them. Every lining of a tree andd their own shadows now were his points of attack. Sure it kept them at bay , but it was eating away at Alumit quickly. His body was already whittaling away back to it's former thin state "CRICKET I SWEAR IF YOU DONT SHOW UP WITH HELP I WILL EAT YOUR YOUNG!"

The attack suceeded in wounding a couple , still a swarm left that quickly over took Alumit and started to claw and bite at his shapeless form. Throwing his blades around and using his own fangs to bite back he was now surrounded and quickly getting more and more hurt "When I kill every last one of you I am going to follow the scent of your injured and steal the eyes from your children! I do -not- have the time for this!"

Bennett looked around his room and wondered when Phoinex would get back. He had been gone for longer than he should have been. He looked quickly out the window, while pacing, and saw nothing. "Well, maybe if I take a nap, he'll be back by the time I wake up." Bennett walked over and collapsed on his bed.

Phoinex flew one more giant circle before landing in a tree. "This girl ... I swear! This is impossible to do when I have no idea whatsoever of her whereabouts. Alright, let me see where would I be if I was that ... crazy ... irrispondsible ... child." He flew in a random diraction for a few minutes, and, low and behold, there was Clara, appearently burying something. Phoinex landed beside her, on one of the piles and waited for her to notice him.

Clara streached as she threw the shovel towards the forest. "That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. They were really light, compared to the others I had to bury." As Clara turned around, a bird-like figure caught my eye. She quickly turned around and tackled the figure in front of her. When she got up, she realized it was Phoinex. "Oh, sorry buddy! Why are you here," she said as she picked the bird up. "Your brother wanted me to tell you to come home. He's worried sick, and you know who has to worry about him when he's worked up about you?" Clara rolled her eyes as the bird waited for her answer. "You have to worry about him. Look, I found a friend, and him and I are going to stay in this house. He just had to leave to take care of some ... buisness, I guess. He should be back soon." Clara smiled at he bird and made a shooing motion. "Fine, but I'll make sure that when you come back, you get an earful from your brother." With those last words, the bird was off in the sky.

Clara was confused at first, but she ended just pushing it to the side. "Alright," she said as she made her way into the house. "The bedroom is over ... here. I'll take the pilows and sheets from there and make some beds on the couches in the living room. Then I'll see if they have any food to make some dinner with." She ran out to the living room with her arms full of blankets, and set out the pillows and blankets. Then she headed into the kitchen, when she heard a sudden noise, almost distant. She went outside and looked around. "Let's see," she said as she looked around. She followed the noise and corrupt smell into the forest. After a minute or two of rnning, she came to a group of lizard men and Alumit. "Oh my gosh," she gasped. She had see those types of monster's in her study books, but never in real life. They were worse than she imagined. She saw that Alumit need help, but she didn't know what to do. She fell asleep when she was being tought to kill these monsters. "How can I help if I end up dead," she whispered to herself and climbed a tree. Clara hopped from tree to tree until she was above the fight. "I have to think of something and quick." She stared at the fight as she thought of a spell that might be helpful. "Alumit," she whispered down to the man. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

There were too many things happening at once. Things were clearly getting dangerous now and it seemed like a good time for him to call it a night. Unfortunately it seemed he wasn't going to be able to simply go home and sleep tonight. They were talking about some sort of attack on the village. If that what the case there wasn't much he could do to help them. After all he was only a human.

"Hey there." Alistair said to the girl Disir had saved, he held his hand out to her. "My name is Alistair. Don't worry I'm human just like you. You've got a lot of courage if you want to fight, more than me that's for certain. Are you really sure though that you wan't to go?"

He wasn't sure what he was doing now. But that strange feeling that sometimes came over him was back. It told him to trust in the girls decision. It told him to follow her. He wasn't sure what it meant but it had never led him in the wrong direction and he wasn't about to lose faith in it now.

"Songrose, do you even have a plan? Or are you hoping to win by sheer luck?"

Not one to actually care what happened to a bunch of humans, she could easily find food somewhere else and there would be less filth wandering around, Yamane wasn't sure how to take Songrose's readiness to fight. Then the image of her ultimate goal flashed in her mind, a reminder that if this village suddenly disappeared, the likelihood of achieving it dropped significantly. The reptile had managed to save a girl, for some unknown reason, and the other human still tried to stand near them. The spider would fight for the opportunity to meet that person again, but she would not put up with being surrounded by such a worthless being as she reluctantly tried saving them. She had kept quiet until now, preoccupied with the recent arrival of an apparent army, but she could not restrain herself anymore. She brought her right hand up to her face and hid her mouth under it, producing a lethal venom behind her lips as she did so. This specific mixture would need entry into one's body before sucking the life out of it in what she imagined must be a painful process after watching so many others writhe on the ground mere moments after her attack.

When Yamane's hand returned to it's place at her side, wet from the tongue that dragged across her fingers, a thin thread crept forth from her fingers, anxiously reaching for the ground below. Just before reaching their goal, the light breeze making it a much longer journey, the girl spun and with the momentum of such a movement, cast the strings around this Alistair's neck. The fibers glistened with the toxin that eagerly sought an open wound as they tightened around the weak throat. "I will assist in keeping the lizards out, but I will not stand for a human standing before me and speaking in such an annoying way!" Her eyes were filled with the entrenched hatred for the ones she blamed for the absence of her lost lover. "You will be silent now, or I will erase your voice from existence." She forced her hand downward, issuing a command that needed no sound to be understood. Her four hidden arms, stiff from their lack of use so far today, emerged from the segments of the clothing that were made for such an arrival. She wasn't going to keep such a thing a secret from someone she wanted to cower in fear, and they would certainly be useful against the approaching reptiles.

Songrose glanced between the two human, then shook her head. "You two had best stay here. I don't need a plan; older monsters are always more powerful, and I highly doubt any of these lizards are any stronger than I am. Disir knows them the best, so if I need to know anything, he'll tell me. As for Yamane...I'm not entirely sure what she's capable of, but she's survived so far, so she must be strong enough to take care fo yourselves. But you two are only human; stay here until we get back. It's unsafe out there for you, and with both my scent and Disir's so strong in the area, there are few monsters willing to trespass. And Yamane," she added, looking to her, "I'd rather you not threaten the humans. He's a guest here, as are you, and I've never been fond of fighting unless it's necessary for survival or, in this case, keeping my home safe."

Raine frowned, shaking her head. "I'm not staying behind!" She glanced at the hand warily, taking a tiny step back. He claimed to be human, but she couldn't be sure. She glanced between the monsters there, and pouted stubbornly. "I want to come help, and I'm not going to stay behind here to do nothing and wait until morning. There's no way!" she protested.

Songrose rolled her eyes. "It's safest if you stay here, but, as I said, it's impossible for me to physically make sure you stay here while I go out. Either the pair of you stay here, where it's safe, or you stay close to one of us, who can protect you. Either way, we can't afford to wast any more time." She started walking towards the forest, pauing to sniff before she glanced back at them. "Decide quickly; it is a difference between life and death." Then she turned, walking into the forest.

Raine hesitated as the pale woman walked into the trees, and she froze for a second as she remembered what had happened in there. She glanced at the human, gave a shrug, and took a small step closer to the lizard that had saved her. He would protect her. Besides, physically he seemed to be stronger than the other two. She was safest there. She glanced at the human. "Are you coming or what?"

Alumit was in trouble , even if he felt like expanding every bit of energy he had left he would only kill a few of a massive swarm , no , just had to buy time. The scent was being carried on the wind , some beast or ally would notice soon. Swinging one of his arm blades in to the gut of a lizard man gave them a opening Alumit would regret and quickly did when he felt fangs dig in to the arm and pull.

The arm came off completely , ripped and the black mass of the arm scattered too the winds. "GAHHHHHH!" Alumit couldn't heal the arm , not now anyways , not enough fear left. Using his extra arms more now he was down to three weapons and running out of steam quickly , his body was thinning and the black miasma that was his power was now leaking out of the missing arm wound.

Meanwhile he had noticed one ally had showed up , the young reaper girl from before. His finger climbed its way out of her pocket , stabbing her in the leg to get her attention before using her blood to write "Fire." on her clothes. That was the best Alumit could hope for , he couldn't shout at her or the lizards would catch on , he only hoped that she understood what it meant , that he needed a burst of flames from somewhere and quick.

Disir shifted back and forth on his feet, unsure of what he wanted to do. Here Songrose was ready to go into battle against a horde of finely tuned warriors whose very society was based upon winning battles to rise in rank and just merely survive the day to day but he was wanting to run away. He knew though, he knew they didn't stand a chance even if they somehow managed to bind together and fight with a united front. There were just too many of his kind, they were too skilled and when angered they only knew the scent of blood. Despite all of this he just couldn't let his only friend dive head first into such a ferocious battle alone. "No, I go with you. Foolish but will still fight with you." Before he even made a move to follow though the spider woman Yamane had viciously threatened the male and the female seemed to press closer to him in a choice to stick by him. Perfect, just perfect. They apparently would be divided going into this battle and now he had a soft skin to worry about? After Songrose handled the irate Yamane he followed her out the door, tightly gripping the female human by her arm. "You come, stay close then but don't get in way! Hide when I say so, move when I say so and run when I say so."

Making sure to stick close behind Songrose and the human close to his side, it wasn't long before the smell of his clan was overwhelming and the scent of some other creature. Whatever they were attack was hurt, that much he could tell and when they came close enough to see it was clear they were intent on utterly destroying whatever they had swarmed upon. His brother was at the front of it and seemed to be making a move to finish the creature once and for all. Disir didn't exactly care for some monster he'd never met but he knew Songrose would. Making a quick decision he nudged the female towards Songrose before stepping forward and into sight. "Erak! Killing weak prey now? Pathetic. Fight me." He could only hope that the distraction it provided would leave an opening for Songrose and the others.

------------------------------------------------------

This shadow was very interesting, it's attacks were like none he'd ever seen so it was ashame that he would have to be killed. It had wounded a few of his warriors and now it had killed one with a blade to the gut. However revenge was quickly sought as the shadow lost his arm but it still lived and fought. Yes this creature was very interesting indeed. Pushing forward in the swarm, Erak shoved and pushed until he was standing directly above Alumit's form. Pressing his foot onto his chest he hissed loudly and ground down, making sure his claws flexed into the shadow creature's body. "Not have time for us? Pity, just have to finish quickly then." An ear to ear toothy smile and the massive reptile raised it's leg in order to crush its foes head but stopped short when he heard a familiar voice.

Disir! Ha, his brother had shown up quite unexpectedly. He certainly had guessed that his younger brother would have fled yet again. "This weak creature is more worthy to fight than you. You are coward, a lover of our prey. Eh, and you stink of soft skins now. Want to fight?Then will fight but quick because have to make it to village." Stepping off of the shadow, Erak made his way toward Disir as the swarm left their prey to begin circling the two in order to keep one opponent from fleeing but also to watch the fight. Erak swayed his tail back and forth lazily, putting on the show as if he had better things to do than be here. Suddenly he moved forward with more speed than his hulking form should hold and tackled Disir to the ground where they began laying powerful blows while tearing and biting at each other all the while.

Clara yelped as the finger stabbed her, then when it wrote fire on her clothes, she thought of a spell that would do the trick. "Sanctus Deus, Dominus omnipotens Suspendisse nunc arcu a me fili Alumit. Ut tua, tuum, voluntatem tuam. Sanctus Ignis autem benedicite mihi Edenis!" Clara's eyes began to instantly glow red and yellow, her hands engulfed in flames. She jumped of the branch and landed in front of Alumit, but the enemy seemed to have a new target. Clara ran, jmped high and landed on one lizards back. "Hostes Dei punietur!" The fire on her hand grew bigger and she punched it throgh the head of the lizard. "Ha! Take that," she yelled as she moved onto the next one. But this one was much quicker, much faster, and it pulled her underneath it. Clara had a second to act, and she was happy she acted right. She kicked it on the tail, causeing it to stummble, and she shoved a fiery hot hand though its chest. Clara moved to the middle where one lizard man was being attacked. She attempted to pull one off him, but just burnt it's side making it run off.

Songrose hesitated as Disir pushed the human girl towards him and ran off to fight his kin before they got to the shadow she had seen before. She bit her lip, and watched as some of the lizards were set on fire. She realized what she was doing and sighed before shoving the girl towards one of the tree, and the male human, if he had chosen to come along, ordering, "Stay here; don't move!" Then she turned. The only way she could manage to get anything done against this group was to use brute strength, seeing as her power wasn't exactly suited for brute strength. That didn't mean she could take out the entire army without tiring herself. As it was, she could really only take out a handful before she stopped. Not because she was tired, but because she was never fond of fighting, besides the fact that she had decided she wasn't going to fight anymore unless it was absolutely necesary. She distanced herself from the army, looking over it again, before turning her attention to Disir and their leader.

Her eyes narrowed as she saw Disir fighting the lizard leader. she fought off the few that had dared to follow her awa from the group, to attempt to kill her, before charging at the lizard wrestling with Disir, aiming to, hopefully, tackle the leader, Erak, and not Disir. All the while, her teeth gritted together, she protested, loudly enough for them to hear. "How about you fight stronger prey, then?" She wasn't fond of fighting, and especially not killing, but this race lived to fight, whether they died or not, and she couldn't hold back. Besides, no one had dared to attack her friend before. For the first time in years, she was thoroughly pissed.

Erak pinned his younger brother beneath him as he tore at the tough flesh. "Have grown weak in time with the soft skins! Will dispose of you quickly!" He grinned wickedly as he raised his claws in order to bring them down to slice Disir's throat open. His motion was stopped short as some insane female who was wielding fire came out of nowhere and began assaulting his men. Erak screeched at the woman as he backed away from his brother, attempting to retreat from the fire. It would seem his brother had taken his distraction as an opening to attack as he felt strong jaws clamp around his shoulder and a weight push him forward in an attempt to pin. His attention taken away from the fire for the moment, Erak quickly regained himself and turned the attack back on his brother. Freeing his shoulder from the jaws he whirled around and raked his claws down the side of Disir's face. His weak brother stumbled backwards with a shriek at the apparent loss of an eye and Erak bounded towards him to deliver his final blow that was so rudely interrupted earlier.

It was like a flash, he was on the path toward his brother but then he was thrown off balance and sent rolling. Quickly righting himself, he stood tall with his fin flared bright red as he roared at his unknown offender. Much to his surprise, it was a female, a seeming soft skinned female. No, a soft skin didn't have that kind of power behind them this was something different. No matter what she was, the foolish thing had challenged him. "Ha! Stronger prey? Not what you are, weak female! Have no time for this!" With a fire wielding female and one that possessed unbelievable strength behind her frame, it was clear his troops were in for more of a fight than he previously thought. Still though, it seemed as all of them were trying to protect the village and the soft skins in it. If they could only reach the village and begin wreaking their chaos, perhaps they could have some sort of leverage against their opponents. He roared loudly and his warriors retreated from any battle they were engaged in and seemed to all but disappear into the foliage as they stampeded forwards. Turning his shining, yellow eyes on the female he grinned with his tooth filled maw and backed into the darkness to also disappear.

------------------------------------------------

Disir knew at some point in time, he had been stronger than his brother but those were times apparently long gone. He had been pinned in no time, despite dealing some nice blows against his brother he always seemed to have the upper hand. Maybe it was true, maybe his brother was right, he had become weak during his stay with the soft skins. The more abuse he was dealt, the more it became clear he really had nothing to gain from siding with the humans. His eyes caught a quick glimpse of the soft skin female as he lay in pain while his brother retreated from a fiery attack dealt but a seeming ally. No, he couldn't abandoned the village. He was sure there were more like Teaghan in the mix, certainly there were more kind humans like her and Raine. They shouldn't be subjected to the horror of slaughter and enslavement. A growl of determination and he launched himself up to attack his brother with a powerful bite. Their saliva might be deadly to others but on their own species it did nothing more than cause irritation. Quickly he was once again at the losing end and soon found himself slashed across the face and lacking an eye. He grasped his face with a shriek of pain and stumbled to land on his back. The death blow that was sure to follow never came and it was clear why as he uncovered his bleeding face. Songrose? She had jumped in to save him but his brother would have none of it as he and his troops quickly retreated and continued forward, the coward. Disir groaned as he rolled over and pushed himself up on shakey limbs, covering his empty socket with a clawed hand. "Need to, put up a barrier of some kind. Prevent them from getting to village."

Clara looked as more people came. She watched as all the lizards began to run off. "A barrier ... I can do that. With my white magic, as long as I'm aloud to concentrate, I can create a barrier over at least half the city." She didn't know what was happening, bt if she didn't protect the humans, she would have no pray for herself, which means she would become extreamly weak. She walked over to the lizard man and saw he was bleeding severly from the eye area. "And they can't get through unless I am somehow killed or distracted, and trust me, neither of those are easily done ...... and if you want, I can patch that up for you."