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Altair remained calm as he listened to her ranting. Once she was finished he stood up and moved right in front of her, gripping her face with one hand. The moonlight finally revealed his face to her as he leaned in. "You should take care of what you say to me. I believe you're in no position to throw your weight around."
Replacing the cloth in her mouth, Altair lifted her back up and continued his way through the forest. He shrugged off the stories of some monster being in these woods, and used the scare it gave the people to his advantage. No one would come charging through here to look for her. He could feel Robyn grown tense against him once she realized where she was.
"Don't tell me you believe in ghost stories too?" He said quietly at feeling her distress. Then again, he remembered her speech and how her and Rehan went through the forest. They had returned alive though. Whatever was out here, if there even was anything couldn't be all that bad.
Altair soon found out how very wrong he was.
Yellow eyes followed the young pair as they made their way deeper into the forest. Foolish humans, they never learned to stay away from their mistress's woods.
A low growl could be heard behind Altair. The thief stiffened at the noise. A muffled scream could be heard from Robyn. She was slung over his shoulder and saw whatever it was behind him. Damn, maybe I should have listened to her... Holding on tightly to Robyn, the thief ran through the forest as fast as he could. The weight of her slowed him down, and he seriously wondered why he didn't just throw her to the beast as a distraction. Oddly enough he felt a certain responsibility for the young woman. She was his captive and he felt he had to protect her until his ransom was completed.
The beast was gaining on him in the darkness. It roared in fury at the intruders, wanting to tear them apart. The thief was not aware of the root in his path up ahead. Branches clasped the moonlight to themselves, leaving very little to the ground below. An unnatural grin appeared on the tiger's face as he watched the man trip on the root and crash to the ground. He was unable to regain his balance due to the young woman he carried.
Altair only had time to roll over as the tiger pounced on him. The weight of the beast knocked the breath out of him and left him gasping for air. Get your weapon, Altair! Don't let this overgrown cat kill you... What would Berad say? Using his left arm as a shield against the claws, he grasped the dagger at his belt and plunged it into the tiger's side. Roaring in pain, it clawed at the man's arm even more, feeling the warm blood as cloth and leather were stripped away. Grimacing in pain, he pulled out another dagger from his belt and thrust it into the animal's neck.
Backing away, the tiger shifted targets and went for the female lying on ground. She was bound and it knew would make a much easier target. Not her... You're not taking her... Gritting his teeth and staggering up; he quickly pulled out two throwing knives from his boots. He threw it at the tiger and watched in satisfaction as it buried itself into the beast's shoulder. Growling, it turned away from Robyn and charged at Altair. Determined to rip him into pieces. "Damn beast..." He said quietly as he threw his last throwing knife. The blade sunk into the animal's eye and left a sickening crunch. Crashing to the ground, the tiger looked at Altair pitifully as it died. Removing his weapons from the animal, he wiped it clean on the fur and put them back on his belt and inside his boots.
Clutching his arm to his chest, he made his way over to Robyn. She appeared to be ok, but extremely shaken up. Without a word he wrapped his uninjured arm around her and helped her to her feet. He hoped she would be more cooperative now and walk.
[ 07-29-2006, 05:15 PM: Message edited by: Deiter Leafblade ]
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