Comments/Reviews?
"I told you to maintain your distance." Oliza whispered her upset words carefully to the two guards that had accompanied her. "We are lucky that we all weren't shot down on the spot."
The two guards shared a frustrated look between them. They had been flying since sunrise and now, the afternoon was closing in on them. Oliza led them between the tangled forests, keeping a close watch on the movements of what appeared to be human settlers. Oliza shifted into her hawks form and flew up into the trees. The two guards shifted as well into fine black ravens, finding a perch on the higher level of the trees.
The humans were nothing but settlers, but even they were as dangerous as the soldiers that others had seen destroy their homes. A few fires were already burning brightly to welcome the coming night, bringing warmth and comfort to the human's feeble bodies and that of their young.
There appeared to be no threat in these creatures that were said to be vicious but one could not be so certain. The Mistari, strong and proud shifters with the form of tigers, were driven out of their homes by the harmless humans before. Nevertheless, curious to see how the humans lived and why they appeared so innocent, Oliza flew back down to the ground, shifting back into her usual human-like form. She wondered what made them so strange. Their bodies were not so different from each other, but the regular humans died too quickly and their bodies were not as strong. With no ability to change form or heal at the rate of the shifters, they were weak and almost worth pitying. Were they really worth the fear of the shifters who exceeded them in speed, power, and grace?
A small thumping sound came from behind her followed by one of the guards, Garzan, covering her with his body protectively. She looked around, checking to see where the second guard had gone but found no trace of him. Something was going on.
"What happened?" Oliza whispered as shelooked around wildly but saw no danger yet. She could only hear Garzan breathe in and out carefully as if one single breath might bring upon chaos. His eyes looked around carefully, inspecting every part of the tangled forests with dark eyes. The second guard, Lyos, had not yet appeared.
Oliza began to feel her muscles tense with fear and anticipation. She rebuked herself for thinking the humans to be harmless. Malevolence, no matter how innocent they looked superficially, still played inside their wicked souls.
From one of the bushes near by, a foolish human ran up to Garzan, charging him with his sword. Instinctively, Garzan raised his sword and struck down the reckless man with a single blow. Oliza was not so lucky. Even though Garzan's reaction was quick, it left Oliza unprotected, giving chance for another human to hold her back. Others appeared from other bushes and trees. Some held bows in their hands while others held lances and swords. They were no soldiers but it was obvious that they knew how to defend themselves well. Garzan found himself trapped, to charge up against the man who held Oliza captive was her death sentence. He stood stock still, holding his sword firmly as he looked around the surrounding humans.
"Garzan!" Oliza gasped as she felt the human's hand constricting her throat. The man's hold on her was rough and she could feel her arm's ache as the man held them tightly against his chest. "Stand…down." Nearly breathless, she closed her eyes.
Garzan looked lost amidst their newfound enemies and Oliza's orders. His eyes roamed about, looking for a way to out of their sordid situation. In a single movement, Oliza managed to get the small blade that was hidden under her clothes and stabbed the man who held her, landing a mortal blow. One man noted what had happened and in that exact instant, he jumped on Garzan and slit his throat savagely. The only thing Oliza could do now was to flee. She knew that Lyos was dead as well. She did not have to see him to confirm it. In fact, the shock of watching a man die would never leave her mind. She had never seen death presented to her so crudely and so merciless. Her life was in jeopardy and her people would need her.
She took flight into the air, this time leaving her hawks form behind. The majestic wings of her Wyvern form and the slender snake body that accompanied it frightened the men and sent them scampering about. It was clear that they had never seen such a creature and that sent fear into them. Oliza flew into the air, heading back home to tell everyone of the danger that lay among them all. It was then that she felt the sharp sting of an arrow going though one of her wings and another that nearly struck her down. If it wasn't the arrow that killed her, it would be the fall. She tilted down, as she began to fall on the canopy of trees. She received several blows from the tree's branches before she shifted back into her human form. As she fell down the final remnants of the trees, she managed to grab hold onto one of the branches, glad that she had survived the fall from the sky. She looked down and noticed that the ground was close. She felt a sting on her left arm and realized it was the same arm that had been wounded. Blood oozed out of the wound where the remaining part of the arrow was still buried there. The only arm that was in good condition was her right and it was not enough for her to hold on. She let go of the tree's branch and fell onto the forest floor. Everything went black after that.