Timid Terror

Rakot was getting flanked, this fight was not turning out the way he hoped, he was quickly running out of options. He tossed his maul towards Ianto, it quickly cut the air as it was spinning parallel to the ground, creating a heavy metal ring of death six feet in diameter. At the very least his attack would make the swordsman change position, and move some distance away. Best case scenario was of course the maul's spiked end piercing through his flesh, though as heavy the maul was, any part of it was potentially lethal in this situation. Wasting not a breath, Rakot turned towards the Bronto as its body descended on top of him.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRR!!!!!!"

Rakot yelled out, grabbing the descending front legs of the beast and pushing upwards, attempting to topple it on its side. The Bronto was heavy, but Rakot was strong and relentless, even as every muscle fiber in his body screamed in pain he kept pushing.

"A rogue. Well, damned if you think that's going to help all that much." Harval laughed as he walked about through the fog, "Come now. Hit me with your best shot you craven, weak bitch. You ain't no real man pulling little ladies off the street. Yer a shame to your family name and the Stone will not accept one of such depravity."

Taunting was fun. Sooner or later this other man would attack and then he'd have more energy to work with. He smiled, the edges of his lips lifting up his cheeks almost like a mad man's. His eyes shone a red glow which seemed demonic in it's intensity.

Well now this one was sneaky and tough. If he hadn't been such a creep he may have made a good warden. It was too bad that Nygozy would want to take care of him as it made this fight go on longer. If it had not been for what he knew his leader would want he would have simply changed into a predator and ripped the man to shreds.

Now Rakot was pushing back trying to trip him. What the hell. It wasn't like the man would know who he was and he didn't really mind Ianto seeing what he was. He'd probably just think he was a shape changer and that was all. Ianto would never guess that he was also a shifter unless he showed him that.

Drake honked a grunt at Rakot, moved his head side to side and started to grow even larger. His neck extended into a thick plated appendage with a head that held many razor sharp teeth. His body shifted as his new claws dug deep into the earth while he became heavier and heavier, making the possibility of pushing him over much less easy. His front hooves became clawed hands which wrapped around Rakot's shoulders, holding tight as he waiting, working on squishing the man under himself once again ... his weight building as he roared in defiance.

"Eeep!" The yelp came out in a shrill but low undertone as Jez was startled thinking there were more out there to get her. Then she noticed who it was and hugged the other woman as if she thought she would never see her again, and it was true as Jez thought she'd never see anyone she knew ever again.

"Calli ... Calli ... it was so scary. I almost died and they didn't really hurt me but they were scary and they threatened me. I don't know what I would have done if that one," She pointed towards the man with the axe, "Hadn't come along. I'm scared of him too, he's a reaver, but he did attack the other man because of me."

She shook against the other woman, still fearful even though she believed in the wardens.

He took only a split second to look Drake's way - the man/bronto was fine, for the moment, which worked out exactly as Ianto had wanted it - and then turned back just in time to catch the hammer end of the maul in his left shoulder. He bit down so hard he felt his tongue bleed, and as the maul finally slammed down to the ground, he could feel as every bone in his shoulder and upper arm crack under the blow. His entire arm went limp, and a circle of dark red began to blossom under his shirt, staining the fabric red as the patch grew larger and larger. Damn. Fuck, it hurt. Actually, 'fuck it hurt' really didn't come close to describing it - Ianto was fairly sure just keeping his neck straight right now was torture.

With his left arm completely useless, and injured collar bone putting the rest of him out of commission, Ianto took at least a moment of weary satisfaction in the knowledge that now Rakot was without his maul - a weapon like that could have even damaged a bronto's tough skin. And, even injured as he was, Ianto would go to the Maker before he let Rakot reclaim the weapon.

Which . . . actually didn't look like the problem, just now. The bronto figure had morphed completely into some ungodly form, all claws and teeth and muscle mass. Ianto had to say - he was throughout creeped out, and more than a little impressed with Drake.

The creature before him began to transform, its limbs elongated, its claw piercing Rakot's shoulders. With the wound on his side, the two arrows on his back, and now his shoulders getting torn to shreds Rakot would soon begin to loose consciousness due to bloodloss. However an enraged beserker is not a thing to be taken out easily. The pressure from the top grew heavier, and Rakot fell to one knee. He could feel his warm blood running across his skin, and through the cracks in his armor, it fueled his anger even more. He continued to push, giving in slowly, but steadily. His reserves of strength were being depleted quickly, but he wasn't done yet.

"YOU!...DREW!...MY BLOOD!!!!! RAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHH!!!!!"

He roared and pressed harder then ever, getting back up on his feet, sending the creature's claws deeper into his shoulders.

"NOW!...I!....DRAW!....YOURS!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Throwing himself downwards, legs first, he released his hold on the creature, sliding under it, between its legs and coming out on the other side. Taking out the dagger he had hidden in his boot, he turned around and leaped upon the creature's back, thrusting the blade downwards with his full weight and all the strength he could master.

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

Hiding in the smoke, Tendir positioned himself behind the dwarf. Both daggers in hand, poison dripping from the blades, he thrust both towards his enemy's back.

One blade in the middle of the spine, one to the top, target looses all motor functions. Lets see this sodding duster shake that off!

The fog was starting to lift and Jezarine looked down with trepidation. What she saw worried her greatly. That Dwarf who had kept her walking was ready to attack and she was not about to allow that. Her hand shot out and before she even realized it she cast crushing prison. Dwarf or no it still would hold him and crush him. She just had to hit.

Please let my aim be steady, please let it be steady. She thought in a natural instinct that was built out of her long hours of fear.

Tendir froze mid swing, it felt as if being dipped into a barrel of ice cold water, he could not move.

"What the sodding hell is this!"

Then came the force....it was as if he was clenched by a gigantic invisible fist. His hands fell to the sides, his back was forced to arch with his head thrown back. The helmet dropped off his head, as the one eyed dwarf stood bolted to the ground, staring upwards and gasping desperately for air. The expression on his face spoke of excruciating pain, but as the air was pushed out of his lungs he couldn't even scream.

Is this....death? And the last thing I see is the sky...a pity.

His eye deemed, his consciousness slipping from the pain and suffocation. Yet even as he finally entered the darkness, he still stood there, propped up by the magical energy crushing him, mouth open, back arched, and the one eye staring into the sky.

Calliara was relieved to see that Jez was alright now, even if she told her that she almost died, but the Dalish hadn't reacted to that. She had to be cold, she had to be efficient. The time for emotions and tears would be later. Now, she merely watched while the two dwarves fought. If they killed each other she couldn't care less, less effort for her, but by the Creators she would see til the end to know what happens.

With a cold grin she saw Jez moving and casting a spell that almost inmediately made the one eyed dwarf be crushed by something invisible, and she whispered. ''Jez, stop the spell. You don't want to kill him. Cut the spell''

While waiting for her order to be followed, she jumped down to the ground and stared at the two dwarves, her swords ready in her hands

Jezarine fought with the spell trying to make it stop because she could feel it was killing the man but this spell was not one of the ones she was best at. Finally she was able to stop it letting the Dwarf fall to the ground and jumped down from the tree. She landed nimbly but shook with fear.

Had she killed him? Was he ... how could it ... was he dead?

She stared at the body trying to analyze whether he was breathing or not, shaking her head as she got closer to see what she had done. Jez had never killed another actual person. Well ... once but he had been a man who was dying of a disease that made every moment of life a living hell and he'd asked that he be let go but even with that she had only given the man an herb and she felt relieved that he was no longer in constant pain.

This. This was different. She could have used a different spell. Why didn't she use sleep? He was a Dwarf but she was strong in that spell casting. Or had she wanted him dead? No. She was a healer and healers were not supposed to kill if they could avoid it.

Tears welled in her eyes and she shook. This was wrong.

Harval was about to strike when he heard a sound but when he turned he was amazed to see the other man held fast in an invisible prison then saw the other Elf jump out of the tree. Long white hair and such silvery blue eyes. Gorgeous. If she were a man he probably would have been too flabberghasted to speak.

"Well, lassie." He said to Calliara, "It's not every day ye see a ranger able to do a spellcaster's job. Ye must have worked hard to be both."

Drake's head snapped back as Rakot jumped on him and he sneered, moving his whole body to juggle Rakot about while the man put a knife in him with his whole strength into it. He didn't get his spine but it was annoyingly painful. Just not as painful as he likely would have wished.

The dragon head moved, aiming for Rakot's foot so he could swing him onto the ground and hold him down with his front paws, claws on either side to keep the kidnapper still. He didn't think Rakot had it in him to get out of the way this time.

Calliara sighed for herself, moving slowly to crouch next to the one eyed dwarf to check if he was alive or not, eyes still focused on the Reaver, no blinking at all. She didn't wanted this. She had tried to stop Jez before she killed that dwarf, knowing how the kind healer would feel afterwards. She was not done for killing. Calliara knew that, even if she knew it was difficult, she could deal with killing other beings than darkspawn. Jezarine don't, and the Wolf had wanted to keep it that way, protect the healer from that pain.

"Well, lassie. It's not every day ye see a ranger able to do a spellcaster's job. Ye must have worked hard to be both."

''I do lots of things are not suppossed to be my job'' She answered, not wanting to compromise at all and still checking the dwarf's vital signs

"Aye I suppose one would in these days here." He walked over to Jezarine, thinking she was upset because of having been kidnapped and put a hand on her shoulder gently and used a comforting voice, "Eh lass. Yer alright now. That bastard ain't gonna take you anywhere or get you so messed up again. Look what that all did to your hair, and your complexion. Oh lass, ol Harval can fix that hair right up and set you right with a good soap. You don have to worry about smelling anymore."

What in the world?

Jezarine turned her head to look at the Dwarf with an expression of complete befuddlement. Here she'd just killed a man and he was talking about hair and soap? And he was a DWARF? What ....

"Calli?" She looked over to the other woman, "Am I dreaming? He's not real right? No Dwarf who is also a reaver ... that's not ... well it's un ..."

Jezarine was derailed of thinking about the dead man due to Harval confusing her so she was able to start thinking of the bombs, "You got here safe! Oh good tell me no one got caught up in those traps. There are two more back there who put together traps!"

Now she started worrying about other things, the death on her mind but pushed back for fear of her friends being hurt.

''I am Wolf, Healer'' Calliara looked at Jez intently, clearly saying No names, then she turned her head to look at the unknown dwarf while removing the one eyed dwarf's clothes and weapons, to check if he had some kind of information.

''No one got caught in the traps. Templar and Shapeshifter are with me, they were fighting the big guy. The other guy is neutralized. If he is still alive when we go back with them you can heal him if you want. We need some answers after all''

Still studying the clothes and weapons, she looked directly to Harval ''What are you doing here, by the way, and who are you?''

A booming laugh came from the Dwarf as Jezarine spoke then he turned his purple eyes to Calliara, "The name is Harval Ortek and I'm out here catching bear for the Inn I stay at. They wanted bear meat and fur for my keep so I came and got some."

He looked at Jez, "Hey, I am real. Just unusual in my own strange way. But the reason for this ..." He waved his hand about the area then pointed to the body as he looked at Calliara, "That be because I cannot bear the abuse of others, no way no how. That piece of nug turd was herding this lass about like a prize mule." Harval looked back at Jezarine, "Sorry. No offense. Yer a pretty little thing."

He rolled his shoulders then put his axe over his shoulder, "If you have trouble up ahead I think I shall go with ye. You may need the help if anyone was able to get reinforcements."

"Oh! Ohhhh ... no are they alright?" Jezarine coughed completely forgetting the dead man and thinking of Ianto right away. She couldn't even consider that he would get hurt trying to save her. That was more than enough to worry her and she wasn't listening to the other two now. Her eyes gazed back the way they had come.

He could be hurt.

Within a moment she was off and running, going back the way they had come and rushing as fast as possible. If Ianto were hurt she would feel really bad and upset. He couldn't be ... no. Most that would be done is that he's got a few scratches. That's all. There would be nothing horribly wrong that she could not fix and certainly with no more than a hug and a bit of healing. She wouldn't allow it to be that bad.

You can't stop it. But I can fix it and I will. If he's hurt I will fix it with all my being.

[OOC: Uncle Vanya we need you to rp Tendir if you like, otherwise any of us will bunny him if you agree]



Calliara growled when Jez started to run. Creators be damned, no one in that stupid group knew how to obey??

The healer didn't go too far, because bolas [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolas] wrapped her feet and made her fall, hard, to the ground. Just a second after that, Calliara was by her side, furious and icy eyes sparkling while grabbing the healer's clothes and forcing her to look at her

''YOU. STAY. HERE. UNTIL. I. ORDER. OTHER. THING'' The Wolf was being just that: a wolf. ''You can't go running in the forest like a crazy girl, do you hear me?? You'll stay with me until I command other thing! It's an order, Healer!''

Standing again, Calliara still looked at her angrily, then turned back to what she was doing before: wrapping one of her chains to the one eyed dwarf's neck. The sodding bastard was still breathing, but was too sore to react for now, naked and without weapons.

''If you move from where you are right now, I swear that I'll shoot you. I won't let you go and hurt yourself, or worse, distract Templar and Shapeshifter while fighting'' The Wolf spated angrily, and then emptied her waterskin on the naked prisoner ''You, piece of shit, wake up already''

While waiting for him to wake up, or not, she looked at Harval ''You're coming with us. My superior would want to speak with you about this''

The dragon's teeth bit through Rakot's foot, swinging him into the air. Upon his descent the berserker's body slammed hard into the ground, so much so that he blacked out for a moment from the shock. As he came back, the beast's claws were descending upon him, mastering the last of his reserves he rolled to the side, as it landed. Rakot immediately leaped up to his feet, only to fall back down, his face hitting the ground. In addition to his other wounds his foot was bleeding heavily, and he lost control of it. He pushed off the ground, and attempted to get up again, this time balancing himself on his good foot. Covered in blood head to toe, the dragon's and his own, he tried to make a step but fell to his knees again, facing the giant beast he looked dazed.

"Heh.....so....a sodding dragon.....not a bad end....not bad at all....who turned off the sodding lights?"

He then collapsed one final time, his rage was gone, the strain and exertion placed on his body, coupled with heavy blood loss finally took its toll. The man's body laying in the mud was motionless for a minute, but then his nostrils expanded taking in air and he began to produce a loud rhythmic snore.

Harval waved his finger at Calliara and made a tsking sound, "Lassie, you may be giving orders to the other lass as she is part of your group but ye don't be giving me orders. I help where and when I can if ye want to be pushing someone around ye be doing it to him. Harval ain't here as yer whipping boy."

He booted the other Dwarf's leg, "I already said that I was coming with you so don't be considering on ruling over ol Harval. Ye have no right and I'm doing it for the other lass and not you. Got that? Now, he can be hog tied in my cart with the bears."

''No, he won't'' Calliara spated, still angry ''He will walk or be dragged, but no commodities for this piece of sodding shit''

While tying the dwarf, waiting for him to wake up, she managed to recover her calm state, and when she looked at Harval, she was more herself than before

''You are right, and I apologize if I sound like ordering you. Now, just let's go, I have two men that are fighting a berserker and, even if I know they are alright, I want to check them''

Standing up, she sighed tiredly and rolled her shoulders

''Let's go''

Jezarine yelped as she fell then gave Calli a petulant look as she was yelled at. Ianto could be hurt and here she was giving her a lecture? Sure Drake did not even come to mind as she had no idea that he was a shape changer. The man had not shared his skills with her so she was not about to feel bad about being angry at Calli. If she'd known the shapeshifter was Drake then she would have felt bad being upset at her but that wasn't so.

So she just gave her a look which was not scary or worrisome. Jez would always be cute no matter what expression she had on her face.

She waited until Calli started telling the Dwarves what for and took the bolas off her feet and waited thinking that if Ianto needed her healing now and she found out she would kick Calliara in the rump. HARD.

She got up and waited until Calliara gave the word and walked ahead of the rest, hoping to be ready for whatever sight they would see when they got to the others.

Ianto stood stock still a moment, watching as the dragon that was Drake finally took down the berserker man. Then, slowly, he brought his right hand up to clench at his left shoulder, and took a hesitant step forward, glancing over Rakot's fallen body to make sure that he was well and truly out of commission. He was still breathing - not dead, then - but from the looks of things, he wouldn't be getting up any time soon. That was a relief.

His eyes turned to Drake, then, still a dragon. It was frightening and awe inspiring, that someone he knew had that kind of power. For a few moments, all he could do was stare, and then he couldn't help a quick snort of laughter, and he hung his head, wincing sharply when his collar bone moved. Shit. That was going to be bad. But Drake had to be worse. He looked back at the shapeshifter, mindful of his injury this time, and his brows knitted together in worry.

"You okay?" He asked, not sure if the dragon-Drake would be able to understand, and winced again as even talking hurt. By now, the entire left side of his shirt and arm were soaked with blood, but he could feel that the fresh blood had almost stopped coming. Which was good, because passing out of blood loss wasn't high on his list of priorities, right now. Finding Jez was important - his arm could wait.

Coughing harshly, Tendir got up and looked around.

Hands tied...but not dead....for now this will suffice.

"You haven't killed me.....why?"

He spoke to no one in particular, moving his gaze from one person to the next.