Tavren stalked the deadly beast, his breath held tight as he carefully placed each step on the forest floor. In his hand he held his shimmering steel sword upright like a torch; beside him, bearing no weapon at all, was his ally - a wolf-creature of the Hawkbrothers, sent to aid him when they realized the creature's danger. The creature itself was only a few feet ahead, a shifting shadow in the undergrowth. Leaning forward, Tavren held his breath and leaped at the thing, his sword aiming for the creature's foul heart -
A sudden "meewwooowlll" echoed through the area as the black cat scrambled away, leaving the dirty boy to fall face-fist onto the floor. A high-pitched giggle erupted from behind him as he clumsily picked himself off the floor, turning around as he wiped leaves off his tunic.
The girl-thing was ten feet high, sporting red horns and devilish black eyes. In one hand she'd picked up the wolf-creature that had accompanied him, squeezing the lupine's bones with a strength born of dark deeds. His companion was fighting back, however, his claws and fangs tearing long gashes in the girl-things face even as she screamed in agony -
Jean was laughing as the small puppy licked her face, trying desperately to hang onto the squirming dog. After a moment of having her face washed, the little girl dropped the puppy, giggling as it continued to chase the harried cat. Then she trained her dark brown eyes on her older brother, raising one hand and pointing at him accusingly, "Mum said not to chase the cat, Tavren."
The dark mage leveled one hand at him, mouthing an incantation as a black nimbus slowly surrounded her form. A sudden chill crept through the warrior as he realized his imminent doom; gritting his teeth, he leveled his sword at the fiend, ready to charge -
"Mum says you're too old to play with sticks."
Scowling at his pesky sister, Tavren dropped the stick, determined to pick up his quest another time. "Go 'way Jean - supper's ready."
The little girl's face flushed in excitement, somehow managing to match the color of the two red ribbons in her hair, "I have to get puppy!" Laughing with the eternal excitement of an eight year old, the girl ran off in search of the dog -
The giant girl-thing retreated screaming into the undergrowth, pursuing the noble wolf-creature that had aided him. Reaching down to retrieve his fallen sword, Tavren gave a silent thanks to the lupine as he continued his search for the shadow creature. The path was difficult, littered with the bones of the fallen; the creature itself could be anywhere, lurking in the dark spots of the forest's undergrowth. He was alone now, desperately in need of aid as he continued his perilous quest -
Cutting through a swath of undergrowth, Tavren grinned openly as he beheld his new partner. The Heralds must have gotten word of his desperate plight, and had sent a glowing Companion to aid him. The mystical creature stood framed in a ray of sunshine, the light picking out blue highlights on its white coat. Approaching the powerful beast, Tavren lowered his sword as a gesture of peace, looking into its eyes as he began to tell it the plan -
:I Choose you, Tavren, and I will always be here to fight at your side.: Though a current of laughter eddied through the voice, it was somehow steely serious.
Letting the stick fall from numb fingers, Tavren stared into his Companion's eyes, never to pick up his quest again.
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