Chapter 5: A Chimera's Horn
Hideous. That's the only way that the creature could be described. It held the head of a lion, with long floppy ears like a hound dog. The body was that of a bull with lean and powerful muscles rippling as it lunged forward; long talons of an eagle's foot extended to shred the trespassers, the legs of a horse propelling it with power. On its head were horns and at the side of the muzzle were insect-like pincers, its large owl-like eyes locked onto the group as it came down on an empty piece of cavern with a tremendous thud.
On the crest of the head was one of Sakura's feathers, along with a few feathers on the front legs.
Syaoran had already summoned his sword and Kurogane had Sohi drawn in an instant, both of them taking up stances. Fai on the other hand had a debate; he could use magic but he'd prefer not to. It came to a life threatening situation for poor Sakura then he would. As it was Kurogane would be little use; he was going to leave them after all. That thought sent a small throb of pain through the mage but he pushed the thought aside as he darted over to Sakura, guarding her closely as he watched Syaoran lunge ahead, avoiding another blow from the other arm, only to get swept away by the large reptilian tail. At that moment Kurogane took action, taking the distraction to give a long swipe of his sword, the blade digging through the flesh of the beasts left haunch.
The beast let out a howl, rushing its head down to snap at Kurogane, but the ninja dodged neatly taking the time to analyze the large creature. The underside of the neck and top of the head where the neck and skull met were vulnerable. The legs and body had too much fat and muscle for their attacks to be effective. It was about ten feet tall so scaling the monster wouldn't be too much of a difficult task.
The chimera let out another bellow, the cavern shaking from the volume of the sound. Fai tensed as it lunged for Sakura and himself, going for an easier target. He almost let out a sigh of relief when Syaoran jumped in front, slashing the beast across its nose, causing it to retreat back with a startled yelp. Kurogane jumped forward, grasping the monster's mane and jabbing Sohi forward to the beast's throat in attempt to cut the windpipe, only to find that there was more fat and fur blocking Sohi's path then he expected. The large monster lashed out, throwing its weight against Kurogane causing the ninja to get thrown back.
The beast lunged, aiming it's talons for Kurogane's chest, letting out a bellow of rage. Syaoran gasped, too far away to do anything but watch, Sakura let out a scream as she could only watch…
Thud.
Sorry for the really short chapter but I wanted a cliff hanger. Nothing will be out until after the March break…. Gomen!