Selene quickly dodged a handful of mud that came flying at her face. She ducked behind a big cargo box and another ball of mud, aimed at her, missed.
She could hear the victorious screams of the gypsy kids, as they felt their victory was not far ahead. Truth was, most of the city kids had fled after the sudden surprise attack, and very few now remained to fight at Selene's side.
But the girl had no time to think about that; suddenly, a young boy jumped out from behind a nearby box and threw more mud at her. Ducking, she managed to get out of the projectile's way, but another handful was being aimed at her.
Right then, like a streak of lighting, a great eagle came plunging from the skies, and grabbed hold of the boy's cat daemon. The feline snarled as the huge bird rose slowly into the air with it.
The gypsy boy dropped the mud and clasped a dirty hand over his chest, breathing hard. The eagle seemed to realize it was causing much pain, and seeing how its diversion had worked, it let go of the screeching cat.
By that time, Selene was already gone, dashing between the boxes of the large storage area. She was heading away from the gypsy base to gather her thoughts and make a plan.
The eagle rose into the air, and upon seeing her, flew at her.
"Nice one." Selene commented, grinned at the bird as it glided at her side. Isil, her daemon, screeched and turned into a wild boar, running beside her human.
"I didn't mean to hurt the kid. . ." Isil said softly as they slowed down and hid behind a box. Selene sent her a strange look, resting her back against the metallic surface.
"We can't be blamed for that, Isil! We forget, that's all!" She said, shutting her eyes. The daemon turned into a puppy and whined.
"But it's us that should be more careful! After all, not everyone can separate so far from their daemon, and therefore, we should remember that." Isil insisted.
The girl scoffed.
"That's not our fault either. It's because of Lyra; she's the one that has a daemon that can get far from her. It's genetic."
The daemon shook its puppy head and morphed into a large dog.
"I wish you'd call her mom . ." Isil finally said, after debating an answer.
Selene's eyes shot open and she gave her daemon an angry glance.
"I. . .' She breathed in deep, as if suppressing rage. 'Just fly up. . .see if any of the city kids stayed behind. . ."
Isil looked like she was going to fight for the cause, but finally, with a careless shrug, she turned into a hawk and flew up rapidly. She went very high; higher than any normal daemon could, and Selene felt nothing. This trouble her a bit, because she wished for nothing more than to be normal; sure, it was cool to have a daemon that could leave you. . .but all she wanted was to be like every other kid. . . she wanted to have a normal daemon, a mother that wasn't obsessed with the alethiometer, and a father she actually met.
There were many things Selene wanted, but few that she could actually get.
Isil flew back down at the moment, and landed on the ground.
"Three boxes to you left, five in front. Matt's stayed behind. You should go to him and tell him to gather all the kids he can find. I'll go see the gypsy base, and try to make an attack plan."
Without another word, the daemon flew away.
Selene got up slowly, listening for any approaching footsteps, and quickly set out towards were Matt was hiding. Crouching, she made it from box to box, until she finally reached the boy.
When he saw her, his daemon turned into a leopard, thinking she was the enemy. The girl rolled her eyes, and the boy calmed down.
"You gave me a jump, Sel!" He exclaimed, hand over his fluttering heart. Again, she rolled her eyes.
Then, without letting him place another word, she spoke up. "Get as many kids as you can here; Isil's gone to check out their base, so we can attack. Be back here as soon as you can!"
Matt hesitated, throwing her a look.
"Are there any chance's you'd just. . . give up?" He asked softly. The cold look the girl sent him told him everything.
The boy sighed. "I thought so. . . be right back, then. . ."
And he was off.
Selene sat down more comfortably on the ground and waited. Minutes dragged by, and distant joyful shouts from the gypsies could be heard. The girl hoped they could find a way to beat them; it might not seem like much to anyone else, but she really wanted victory. She hated loosing; on home ground most of all. After all, she had lived in Oxford all her life, and those water kids were only here once or twice a year. She had to defend the pride of her city; she just had to.
Very suddenly, a pack of murmuring kids erupted from behind a box, Matt at their head. Upon seeing Selene sitting there, they hushed down and gathered around her. Counting the girl and Matt, there was thirteen of them.
She looked up to the skies, and with a flash that made everyone gasp, Isil flew down and landed gracefully on the ground. She morphed into a beautiful lion and turned to the awed kids.
"Alright kids, so here's the thing:' The daemon said, and everyone seemed fascinated by her. 'The gypsies have built their base on the edge of the canal, and it is very well guarded. Also, there are many of them walking further off in the cargo area. It would be very hard to get to the base in a face-off attack, but. . .(she paused, eyes glinting) there IS a way of easily getting to them. Their weakness is the canal, for their base is not guarded from that side.
'I suggest that three of you go into the water, and swim up to nearby the base. The rest will go off and take on the kids that are prowling the storage area. They won't be expecting an attack so soon, and if we strike quickly, we'll take them out. Then, those who will fight will have to advance onto the base, where they should encounter ten guards.
'When those are distracted by the direct attack, the three that are in the waters will come out and take over the base. Is that clear?"
Everyone nodded without hesitation. It was Selene's turn to speak.
"I'll go through the canal. Who else wants to come?"
There was a mutter in the small crowd and shyly, two boys came forth. Selene nodded at them and they quickly got behind them, as if assuring everyone they would go with her.
"Alright, then. Ready? Good luck, kids. GO!" Isil roared, and all the kids bellowed, running off towards the base, where they would meet the first squad of gypsies.
Selene and the two other waited for a moment.
"Fly ahead and lead us." The girl finally told her daemon, which turned into a hawk and with a flap of its mighty wings, burst into the air.
The other kid's daemons turned into robin and followed Isil at low altitude, guiding their humans.
They passed many boxes quickly, zigzagging in the storage area and listening to their daemons as they told them where to go. It was not an easy task, especially for the boys, whose daemons could not get far from them. They trusted Isil to guide them as well.
Then suddenly, without warning, the cargo area ended and a short, steep and muddy cliff led directly into the canal.
Isil had warned Selene of the suddenly fall, and without hesitation, the girl rushed up to it and jumped. She fell through the air and dove headfirst into the cool waters. The two boys and their daemons had skidded to a stop before the fall and were gazing at the rippling water, wondering if the girl was alright. Seconds later she emerged, gasping for air.
Isil dove from the sky and right before touching the water, changed into a dolphin. She swan up to her human and helped her stay above water.
"C'mon! Use your daemons to help you out!" Selene shouted from the dirty canal. A boat passed her and her daemon helped her get away from the propellers. The two boys, unsure, tried to climb down the muddy bank, but seeing as how it did a 90-degree angle, almost simultaneously they slipped and came crashing into the water.
They daemon, panicked, dove after them, changing respectively into a white shark and narwhale. They helped the two kids get their heads above water.
Selene gazed at them patiently, and when they had calmed down, she mentally ordered Isil to head towards the gypsy base. The dolphin chirruped happily and burrowed its nose in the river, waving its tail to go on faster. The two boys had no choice but to follow, trying to catch their breaths at the same time.
It was not a long swim; they passed two boats and a bridge, and Isil led them behind a large rock on the edge of the bank, where it was less steep. One of the boys got help from his shark daemon and crawled on the muddy side, clutching roots to hold himself up. Obviously he hated water.
Selene pulled herself up on the rock, slipping slightly, and stayed up just long enough to see the small muddy castle made by the gypsies as a base. Then, she let the weight of her wet clothes drag her back into the water.
She leaned towards the two other boys, a grave look on her face.
"There are ten or so kids by the base. I guess our troops didn't get pass the one in the cargo area yet. (she turned to her daemon, which stayed afloat in the water, waving its flippers slowly) Isil, fly up and see how the city kids are doing."
The dolphin chirped and jumped out of the water, turning into a battered seagull to attract less attention. She flew up high and out of sight.
One of the boys was looking at the disappearing daemon with awe.
"How does he get so far from you?" He asked softly.
Selene rolled her eyes, annoyed. "It's not a 'he', it's a 'she'! And I don't know, alright! She always could, and we never really wondered!" She sounded angry, and the boy shrunk away, his narwhale daemon making soft, submissive sounds. The girl always got mad when someone pointed out that she wasn't exactly normal.
But at that moment Isil came flying back down, and she didn't have time to say anything else. The daemon landed into the water and turned back into a dolphin, allowing its human to hold on to its dorsal fin.
"The city kids just won. The other gypsies ran away, and those at the base know nothing about it. Our friends will be here any minute, so I suggest we get in close. Let's go, but be very quiet. If we mess this up, there's no chance that we can win." And with that, the grayish daemon gently turned around, and, as deep in the water as if could go without drowning Selene, it swan delicately towards shore.
Near the muddy bank, where the kids stood, chatting softly, it stopped again. Isil waited a few seconds, and out of the blue, there came a powerful shout.
A great troop of filthy, dripping city kids came rushing out of the storage area, and the gypsies, surprised, took a moment to retaliate. Then, without much more hesitation they all charged, screaming, and left only one young girl behind to guard the castle.
Her daemon, a white seagull with a black head, was flying around her, screeching.
Isil dove underwater and at amazing speed, traveled to the shore.
As soon as she felt ground under her feet, Selene rose and began running out of the water. She slipped and tripped in the mud, scratching her feet on sharp rocks, but she paid no attention to it.
In the confused, heat of the battle, amidst the flying balls of mud, Isil ran beside her human in a leopard form, leaping in the water and slashing it everywhere.
As both set feet on the drier shore, the girl left behind to guard the base noticed them at last. She screamed and her daemon screeched louder, but it was too late; Isil leaped and brought her seagull down in a single swish of her paw, and the girl fell as well.
Selene and the two boys ran to the wet castle and began stomping all over it. At that moment the gypsies realized what was going on, and thanks to their sudden confusion, the city kids were able to hit them enough times to make them run away.
The girl guard picked up her seagull daemon and dashed away also, slipping on the mud.
Selene raised both her hand in the air and laughed loudly, as all other city kids came running to the base, stomping the castle and throwing mud in the air as a celebration.
Passersbys further along the bank, on the edge of the muddy ground, smiled as they saw the kids, running around and screaming.
But out of the normal, adult people suddenly came an angry-looking woman with her long blond hair escaping from its pretty bun. Her long, rich dress dragged in the mud, but she didn't seem to care. Her dark eyes flashed as she searched the kids and her pine marten daemon glared, looking for someone too.
"Selene!" The woman bellowed, stopping feet from the celebrating victors. Most of the kids screamed at seeing an adult and bolted without any reason. But Selene's eyes widened and Isil, still in a filthy leopard form, crushed her ears against he head and snarled.
"Get out of here." She hissed at her human, before the blonde woman could say single word.
Selene turned around, wet and dirty blond hair flying, and dashed towards the canal. The woman tried to follow, but slipped and fell with an angry groan.
The girl wobbled into the cool waters and as soon as she was deep enough, she dove headfirst. Isil turned into a dolphin to help her out, and they went under a passing ship, disappearing from view.
Lyra got back up and glared after the ship beyond which her daughter had disappeared.
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How was it? This scene was just and intro, and to me, it was kinda short. Next chapter will be better, if this one wasn't.