"Nice catch" Lex managed to breathe out, looking up at her "Care to pull me up"
Stealth was considering how to position herself better to pull him up, when she felt a sudden jerk pulling at her arm. Looking down past Lex, she saw the Gull, perched on the cliff edge, one hand pulling at Lex's leg. Lex instinctively kicked out at the hand gripping his ankle and managed to free himself for a moment, but pulling Stealth further over the edge at the same time. Stealth struggled to shift her weight, in order to hold him as well as save herself from doing a head dive down the cliff. Lex managed to get a look in the general direction of the Gull nearby and gave another kick, this time causing him to lose his footing. Stealth watched as he slipped and started to fall, rolling to the beach below.
"Now, as I was saying..." Said Lex looking back up at her with a questioning expression lining his eyes.
Stealth felt like retorting, that it was easier said than done, but instead concentrated on trying to pull him up the cliff edge, inching back onto the path and hoping some of the lookouts were on their way to help having seen their fall. Gaining a little distance, she was relieved to hear footsteps behind her until, upon glancing at Lex she saw a wary expression cross his face. A dull point dug into her spine between her shoulders and pushed her down.
"Well well what do we have here?"
Her heart sank as Hawk's voice spoke softly behind her, pressing the pole harder against her spine. She heard a few rocks ricochet off the cliff face behind them onto the path, but she knew from their lookouts that her tribe wouldn't get any clear shots of the Gull behind her. The path was an advantage to stave off attackers, the higher the ground they gained the less risk the attackers would take in battle. Still, a few of her tribe tried in vain to gain the attention of the two Gulls, to no avail.
"Call them off" ordered Hawk, stepping back from the edge but not moving the pole. Stealth took a breath and looked down at Lex, not moving. The pole dug sharply and travelled further down to the middle of her back and she swallowed a back a cry of pain.
"Call them off" repeated Hawk as another stone cracked off the rock face and fell to the ground.
Stealth shifted and signalled with hers eyes that she would have to release a hand from Lex. She bit back a breath as her arm took the full weight of Lex as well as the pole digging into her spine and placed her fingers her mouth, managing to let out a long haunting whistle. She listened as the signal was picked up by a lookout and repeated to the others, ordering them to return to the safety of the caves. She wrapped her hand back around Lex wrists and waited for Hawk to be satisfied she had done what he had asked. Momentarily the pole was removed from her spine and another Gull knelt beside her reaching down to Lex, who took the hand almost gratefully despite the outcome. Stealth clambered back onto her haunches as Lex collapsed beside her, a hand gripped at her neck and pulled her to her feet, turning her and bringing her face to face with Hawk.
"Phantom will be so pleased" he sneered into her face, his fingers painfully tightening their hold at the nape of her neck, and though she didn't wish to admit it, she had to agree, a shudder running through her at the thought of being back in Phantom's presence once more.
Hawk glanced along the narrow path and up into the trees before turning to his companion, a Gull named Thayer and motioning to Lex.
"Let's go"
Thayer took Lex's arm roughly to direct him along the path. Responding quickly Lex jerked from the hold and landed a heavy low blow into Thayers' gut.
"I don't think so," said Lex, eerily calm looking at the Gull. Thayer recovered quickly from the blow and responded with a hook of his own, catching Lex's jaw.
Stealth felt the hand gripping the back of her neck, shift its place, as Hawk brought his hand to grip the front of her neck and throat. As the two beside them lashed out at each other he jerked her suddenly backwards, instinctively she wrapped her hands around his wrist as she felt herself being held at the edge unable to cry out, instead panicking breaths escaped her mouth, as Hawk tightened his grip. From the corner of her eye she saw Thayer fall heavily against the wall behind him, Lex towering over his crumpling form, ready to land another blow.
"I don't think you want to do that" said Hawk in a soft tone.
Stealth held on tightly to the arm of her captor. She didn't put it past him to let her go, even if Lex managed to control his actions, at the moment he was poised to drop a heavy blow onto the Gull he held. In any other situation, Stealth would have willed him to go ahead, but here she knew Hawk held all the cards. If Lex were a good judge of character he would know Hawk didn't bluff. Stealth willed him with her eyes to stop as Hawk started to allow his hold on her to drop slightly.
"All right….all right," said Lex, his hand unwrapping from a fist, to an open hand, a sign of compliance at the order. "Let her go"
"Right here?" replied Hawk with a sly smile lighting about his lips, letting up his grip slightly more. Stealth felt her hands aching from her tightened grip as she slipped back slightly; willing her body to keep its balance as her toes barely kept in contact with the edge of the path.
"Come on man, stop playing around"
Lex stepped forward towards them; Hawk jerked Stealth roughly in response. She managed to get out a wrangled cry as a foot slipped from the edge for a moment, the fingers gripping around her throat tightly. Hawk was teasing them, but her heart beat wildly as she struggled to regain her foothold.
"I'd tell your new friend to back off, wouldn't you sis?" asked Hawk, keeping a keen eye on Lex whom looked ready to pounce given an opportune moment. Stealth didn't miss the surprise shadow his face when he heard Hawk refer to their estranged sibling relationship.
Barely able to take enough breaths to make an audible sound Stealth looked from Lex to her brother with a flicker of her eyes.
"Lex….please" she managed to choke out.
Strangely it dawned on her that her predicament and it's outcome wasn't on if her brother would show her mercy, but rather her faith that a stranger would keep his cool in the situation. For a moment the outlook looked bleak. Moments before her brother had been toying, but she didn't put it past him to let go in an instant depending on Lex keeping his cool or otherwise. She knew the fall wouldn't kill her, but from this angle, she didn't doubt more than a few bones would be broken.
"Thayer" said Hawk calmly, as if holding someone in a deathlike grip over the edge of a cliff was an everyday occurrence "You ok?"
Thayer was already dusting himself off from the fight, taking in a few deep breaths. He nodded, and approached before rounding on Lex once more and landing an unexpected low blow into his gut, causing him to double over in pain. Stealth hoped Lex wouldn't respond in kind, and felt guiltily relieved for a moment when he dropped to a knee winded from the punch.
"Yeah I'm fine" replied Thayer, turning back to Hawk with a satisfied smile.
Hawk allowed himself a soft chuckle of satisfaction and looked at Stealth.
"Now as I was saying, we'd better get going. Wouldn't want to keep Phantom waiting, would we?"