Desert nights have very cool temperatures. Pacha enjoyed these nights, the clouds were scarce, thus the stars and the moon shown brightly. He lay down, staring into the heavens, and it was peaceful. However... something was wrong, Pacha knew not what was wrong, but something was wrong. He lay there... acting as if he didn't realize a problem, but he knew. So he clutched his sword which was on his back, and readied for the battle he knew was coming.

He waited, something approached, slowly and quietly. He could feel it approach, and could hear it's quiet breaths behind him. It was about twenty feet away at this point, and Pacha relaxed his muscles. As long as the foe thought it had the advantage, Pacha knew he had leverage.

The foe drew closer... ever so slowly, and Pacha was ready to cast Fear. "Once it's five feet away", he thought. It was at this point ten feet away. Pacha let out a fake snore, then a yawn, then felt the breath of his foe.

Quickly Pacha jumped up and cast Fear into the beast, which turned out to be a rather large wolf. Pacha held his sword to his right side, very loosely, to give the impression of weakness, despite the fact that the animal was scared out of it's mind. "Come on, fight me!" Pacha said in an intimidating manner.

The young vampiress's Gryphon flew through the desert at nightfall. It was so peaceful with no cloud in sight. Jen could see no signs of fatigue in Talis even after all the miles that she flew in the desert on him. Still Jen continued to be alert. Ready to greet someone if she saw anyone....which was highly unlikely. Since the desert was a place of where few ever ventured. Jen wanted to see what one was like herself. She had never been to a place like this and decided to check it out herself.

"Wow. This place is strange...." Jen spoke softly looking at the sandy dunes. "What a desert."

Someone's voice disturbed her peaceful gazing at the scenery. "Come on, fight me!" She heard someone say.

Talis flew up to the noise and noticed someone battling a what appeared to be a wolf. Jen thought for a moment and wandered if she should help or not. This really wasnt her fight. Talis stood there suspended in the air a little ways off the ground.

"Are you okay? Do you want me to help or do you want to do this alone?" Jen asked on her gryphon. "I didnt want to be rude by killing it before you did."

Jen waited there for an anwser.

The wolf stood pretty still. Pacha had made some distance in between him and the wolf. He wondered where this woman and her gryphon came from, but that didn't matter. What did matter was that the wolf was very large (the larest wolf Pacha had ever seen). Pacha noticed the wolf stopped trembling, which meant the fear spell wore off. However the wolf stood still. It was most likely pretty sure it wouldn't get out of this mess easily, considering the fact it had Pacha, and a woman on a gryphon opposing it.

Within the secongds that Pacha had to see what exactly was going to happen next he did notice one thing... the wolf either met the gryphon in size, or was bigger than it (it was hard to tell at night). So Pacha yelled to the lady, "I'll attack, but I don't know how this outcome will be."

Pacha ran in to smite the wolf, and just as his blade cut through the wolf's side he heard the wolf howl very loudly. It lay on it's side, injured, but Pacha heard howl's of reply in the distance, "That can't be good." He said to the woman

Lord Skye trudged through the desert, wading through the heavy yet smooth sands. It was night; Skye loved the night. Not because it was concealing, even though there was that factor, but there was atmosphere about it. The air was still, thin, not baring on his skin like the daytime sunlight. The moon was always an icon of beauty to him. He looked up at it periodically as he moved, whether voluntarily or simple because he couldn't keep his eyes off, it mattered not. The moon happened to be full; Skye always felt somewhat invigorated when on a walkabout when it was, even though there was no wereblood in him.
A sudden, pained yelp drew his eyes to a small campsite a couple hundred paces away. There was something on the ground, and something standing over it; he also noticed a flying object nearby. Before he could wonder what was going on, a chorused howl tore through the silent air.

"...Wolves."
Heheheh. Looks like we may be in for a bit of excitement.
Skye looked at the campsite, then off into the distance, deciding whether to intervene. "That person is in trouble. I doubt they can handle a pack of wolves, possibly werewolves, alone... or even with help of a gryphonrider..." He picked up his pace in the direction of the campsite.

Wolves, as most people tend to know, are pack hunters. Pacha knew this, but before killing this wolf he had forgotten that fact. Actually the wolf wasn't quite dead yet, it was kind of just lying there on the desert ground, trying to turn it's wound into the sand. Pacha figured it might be trying to fill it's wound with some sand in order to slow the bleeding a little.

The howls of reply weren't occuring anymore, but it was easy to tell they were somke distance away still. Pacha had to wonder though, "If wolves hunt in packs, why were the others so far away to begin with?" Then Pacha thought to himself, "Maybe this one was a decoy of some sort." This would seem irrelevant, unless you factor in that this was a big wolf to begin with. The pack would most likely send out their weakest to be the decoy... so that would mean the other wolves are probably much larger.

Pacha spoke to the woman, "We need to make sure we can win this... I have a feeling we're in for a battle we won't soon forget."

"Well then lets start." Jen said to the man drawing her masterwork shortbow. "I shall attack them from the sky with my arrows but I really doubt that will be enough. If we only had more help..."

Jen could sense someone else coming toward them...but wasn't to sure. Talis roared at the wolf warning it not to draw near. Jen knocked an arrow and was ready to shoot it in the leg. She wanted to wound it first then go for the final blow.

"Talis." Jen laughed to the gryphon. "Your gonna break my concentration." His roar was putting her aim alittle off."Don't do that." She commanded her gryphon."Okay! Lets do this! You strike first." She added telling the man that she was ready.

Jen watched the man to see what move he would make first so she could make the next.

"Alright then..." Pacha answered, "Their howls seem to be coming from that direction," he pointed toward the moon, "So i think I will run and attack my hardest, and hopefully their attention will be focused on me. You can then help me by firing off arrows at anyone of them that attacks me from behind, and hopefully that can keep me from dying. So what do you say?"

Pacha realized very well that he had a high chance of dying here. He wasn't to pleased with that, considering he liked living. But they needed to do this, because the wolves were definitely hostile.

As he neared, Skye could determine the person atop the gryphon was certainly female. Her slender figure, armor and long, silky hair dictated this clearly. In addition, the body which still lay on the ground writhing powerlessly was a rather large desert wolf (easily guessed by its cry of pain), its slayer a man dressed in dark, a sword in hand. They appeared to be tensing themselves for battle; the two had no intention of fleeing from the roving pack of beasts. At this point, Skye knew he was in as much danger as them, and would do well to team up, or at least introduce himself as an ally.
"Ho!" he called from about twenty meters, his voice reaching dryly through the air. "Looks like you could use an extra swordarm." He worked his tired legs even harder to get closer to the two before the wolves appeared.

Pacha was very happy that this man showed up. It was very good fortune, as his presence surely would raise the chances of winning the battle to come. The man looked as if he would be a good swordsmen, which was good because with two men slaying by melee attacks and one archer from above, Pacha figured they would actually get out of this battle close to effortlessly.

"Hello there," Pacha answered to the man. "It's is a very good thing you've shown up here. I've heard at least ten different kinds of howls, so I'm estimating there being anywhere between ten and twenty wolves out there. If we attack first we might surprise them because I'd assume most of their vistims try running." Pacha paused a moment. "By the way sir and ma'am, I am Pacha."

"I'd have to say that I agree." Jen smiled knocking an arrow ready to attack.

Jen could feel more approaching them. And she could also sense something else but wasnt quite sure of it. Another person nearby perhaps? Maybe. Jen continued to stare forward and watch the man's back. She would need to be back up alittle more further than she was now from the ground. The young vampiress didn't need any wolves jumping at her. This accurance reminded Jen of the time that ITanium saved her life by carrying her. He ran so fast with her on his back to escape them and when he fought them he was amazing. She was also reminded of what he said as well. "I tried to warn you about the wolves, especially on a full, red moon. It sends them a little wild...." His words echoed in her mind so she looked back at the moon. It was just as he had said once before. The moon was full and red. Jen smiled and thought of her dear friend.

"Hey, This reminds me of another incident with one of my other friends." Jen said softly remembering the incident. "We barely excaped because my friend was carrying me. This time I'm strong enough to fight. Last time I wasn't prepared...this time is different. By the way, my name is Jen." Jen could sense something drawing near. The wolf pack began to draw near. "Well you first. I got your back!"

Jen waited for his first move so she could make the next. Although the pack wasn't close enough yet for her to make a shot. Talis backed up a few feet in the air. They weren't to far off the ground. Just enough so the wolves couldn't make an attempt to attack her. They stayed enough off the ground to watch the man's back too. Just as she was about to attack she was disrrupted by someone else running up to them.

"Of course we can use an extrasword arm! We could use all the help we can get!" Jen smiled as Talis lowered so they could see the new person. "Thank you! My name is Jen just so you know too. Now lets get these guys. I'll watch your back too so dont worry!"

Jen readied herself again and prepared to watch the white haired man's back as well. She wanted to protect her friends this time, not stand back and worry. With her gryphon Talis, that shouldn't be a problem. The wolves began to draw even more near.....

Pacha nodded at the two of them... And ran in the direction of the howls. He held his sword to his right side with one arm (which would normally be a bad idea considering it was a two handed sword. However he rested it on the desert ground while running, which actually seemed to reduce the wieght).

The wolves were more near than Pacha had expected. There were just about as many as he estimated, and their sizes were unimaginable. But Pacha went forward in strength and lifted his sword with both hands, ready to strike diagonally through the first wolf. It was about twenty feet away, but Pacha noticed another circling around him. "Ugh," he thought, "I hope the other two can keep these things from killing me."

He really didn't feel like dying at this point.

So, amiable company. These folks shouldn't be too difficult to work with.

"Nice meeting you both, you can call me..." He was cut off by the pawsteps of a nearby wolf. Its legs sank deep in the sands, but the beast seemed as unhindered as if it were stone he ran on. One was already facing the swordsman, Pacha, another circling around. Skye didn't know how much faith he could put in the female rider's aim, much less the helpfulness a couple of arrows would do against stocky wolves like these, so he would do his best to stay in front of the enemy. He calmly drew his sword and cast off his heavy cloak, ready to take on the first beast.
Skye could tell by its ravenous eyes and bared teeth, it wasn't about to waste any time chatting. He ducked to the side as the wolf dove past, turned and drove his blade through its side; it landed and near collapsed from the injury, but wheeled around showing no signs of pain.

Ugh... this could get rough, fast.

Jen watch the two battle for a moment before striking the first arrow. She saw one come across Pacha and she knocked an arrow. Jen fired it and it struck it between the eyes. In an instant it was dead and Jen knocked an arrow. Her precise shot ability was never one to fail. So she readied herself and aimed for the next one that ran across her path.

(OOC:Sorry its short...)

Pacha ran toward the wolf ahead of him, and swung down with a very stong blow to it's leg, and it bacame immoble. He noticed that Jen protected him from the wolf behind him. But he had even more problems to deal with... the two fastest wolves were dead, but the slower ones were coming up. And these one were closer together, thus making it harder to beat them because there was such a dense amount.

Two wolves were side by side and came up to Pacha, at a very fast speed. Pacha stood still, and lifted his sword right into the one on the left's face, and he followed through into the one on the right. He thought, "This battle may be easier than expected." But then he remember there were about fifteen more.

Lord Skye ducked to the left and drove his sword through the wolf's chest; its snarling jaw missed his face and instead crossed over his right shoulder as the blade pierced its body. He pushed the carcass off his sword and stole a glance at his allies while there were no more beasts in the immediate proximity. Had he underestimated them? The gryphon girl slew a wolf with a single arrow, and the man in red cut down two of the monsters with one heavy stroke each. Skye had already developed a greater respect for these two fighters. They didn't seem to be the average adventurer duo for sure.
Are they... involved, or...
That girl's pretty fine, you know.
Stop tempting me.
You know... you're only hurting yourself by--
"AGH!" A young wolf pounced squarely onto Skye's chest, taking him by surprise and knocking him to the ground. The sword left his hand as he struggled desperately to keep the bloodthirsty canine's jaw from his neck. Skye tried calling for help, but the wolf's growling and incessant barking drowned his cry.

Jen continued to watch them fight for a moment. She then saw Skye get knocked to the ground by a young wolf. So she motioned for Talis to accend lower so she could help Skye. The young vampiress aimed at the young wolf and shot it in the back. However, that did not stop it from attacking its prey. Jen then knocked another arrow and shot it. This one pierced its head dropping it dead beside Skye.
Talis landed beside him and she saw his sword laying a few yards away from him.
Is he okay?...Pacha seems fine.Jen thought as her gryphon landed beside her friend.

"Are you okay?" Jen asked looking at him for injuries. "Hmmm...you don't seemed to be hurt." She looked over and saw three more wolves circling them. That wasn't too good. "Uh-oh....look out!" Jen called out to him as a wolf jumped passed her. They continued to circle them and Jen realized she had one arrow left. The vampiress took a shot at one of them but she only hit it in the shoulder. Furious the wolf jumped at her. It knocked her off her gryphon dragging her to the ground just as Skye was earlier. She looked for Talis but he seemed to be too busy to help her. The gryphon was battling with the other two wolves. Jen tried to hit the wounded wolf in the face but it was too strong for her. "Help! Talis!....help! I ran out of arrows! Ahhhh!" Jen screamed as the wolf bit her shoulder hard. Blood poured from her wound as it bit her. Even though the vampiress was in pain she managed to try to kick the wolf in the shoulder where she wounded it. The wolf growled in pain and it backed away from her.

Jen's heart pounded as she slowly rose to her feet. She gripped her wound painfully and started to walk toward Skye. Jen was about a foot away from him when she fell to the ground in pain. Her vision was beginning to get blurry and she thought of something. If we kill their leader they will run away....ugh....so...much pain...

"...if you kill the leader...augh....they will abandon us....please..." Jen told him painfully as her long red hair fell around her face. "...help..."

This might be the end for me.... She thought laying thier on the ground, waiting to see if he would kill the wolf behind her. Jen really needed some help right now though.

The wolf now lay dead at Skye's feet. The arrow which pierced its skull never left it, allowing a trickle of blood to escape. He looked around for his sword, but his eyes instead fell on the gryphon rider who was dismounted by another one of them, stirring shock and urgency in his mind.
Damn, now she's lost her mount...
The gryphon was too busy fending off his share to come and protect her. The other man sounded to be still on his feet and holding his ground. Skye went to grab his sword from the ground a few feet away to strike the wolf off, but by the time he got to it, the lady cried in pain. His heart stopped momentarily; had she just been killed? He whirled around to see the wolf backing off and the rider grimacing while standing up. Skye hurried back to her, noticing her shoulder wound. The woman collapsed to the ground. "A--"
"...if you kill the leader...augh....they will abandon us....please..."
"I... But which... look, just yell if another one comes near you..."
Skye faced the nearby beast. Its white beard dripped from the gryphon rider's blood, and it sickened Skye to see a lady take such a deep wound. He said no words, but ran at the beast predicting its reaction: it dove, jaws gaping, which was the perfect invitation for a blade through the mouth. Its carcass thudded onto the cool desert floor, arousing a small sand cloud.
Skye looked around quickly, then back to the lady. "Doing okay?"

Jen laid there and watched what appeared to be Skye through her blurry vision. She became nausated and tried to move but collapsed against the sand in pain. Jen looked at her shoulder and then down at her chest. To her horror she found three slash marks across her chest. That must be why she was suffering so bad. The wolves clawing did more damage to her then she expected. The top of her shirt was covered in blood.

I-I can't die....not here....where's Pacha?....is he okay?

Jen wanted to get up but her strength failed her. She then heard the man's voice call out to her. "Doing okay?"

"...no....augh...." She coughed painfully rolling onto her back. "...thank you...so much...augh...."

Jen began to breathe very hard. Her chest hurt so bad she thought her heart would explode. The vampiress's hands began to throb and shake. Was this really the end for her? Talis fought the other two wolves sucessfully killing them both by snapping thier necks with his powerful jaws. The gryphon flew over to Jen and looked at her with great worry. He sat beside her unsure of what to do for her so he looked at Skye. Talis gave Skye a sympathetic and worried stare. The gryphon looked at the man for help and hoped he could save his master and friend. Talis could do nothing and put his hope and faith in Skye and Pacha. Jen put her faith in them as well.

(Since Pacha is decidedly absent at the time being, I'll make another filler post...)

Lord Skye cast his eyes over the bloodstained desert ground. Pacha was still some distance away, faced by a single wolf. He appeared somewhat fatigued, but not injured. More appeared over a dune further away. "Lords, is there no end to this?!"
Skye hurried back to the lady, still on the ground, breathing slowly and heavily. "Hold still, Jen." He lay his hand gently over her chest wound and cast a lesser healing spell. Faded blue light built up and dissipated into the cuts. "That should lessen the pain, at least a bit... just stay conscious, alright?" He stood up without waiting for her answer and started off in Pacha's direction, sword ready to strike.

(OOC:Ill post too since he hasnt come back yet...)

When Jen was completely healed she rose to her feet.

"Thank you." Jen told Skye with a smile. "Come on Talis! Lets go help Pacha!" Jen then turned to her left and saw Arshis the alu cat about five feet from where she was standing. Apparently he had lagged behind them when they traveled. He must have gotten lost again. "Arshis...your a little late now. Heh heh. No matter though, lets go!"

Jen picked up her quiver and all the arrows that fell out when she was attacked. Mounting Talis she was now ready again to aid her friends. Talis rode forward as Jen drew her bow and knocked an arrow. She had pulled out a frost arrow and was ready to freeze the wolves. Arshis ran up to Syke and began run with him. The alu cat was as big as a dog and was ready to attack as well. So they braced themselves and prepared for an attack while going to Pacha's aid.

(Damn, it's always frustrating to see an RP die like this... I blame it on Pacha. ;))

(OCC:yup; -_- <_< Well I have more topics incase u want to check them out. I dont mind if you join them.)