Chapter 6: Tobias
My name is Tobias.
As tired as I was from our busy day yesterday, I still managed to be up at the crack of dawn. To a hawk sunrise meant hungry prey coming out of their hiding places and they refused to sleep through it. Too bad if Tobias the boy was tired and wanted to sleep in, Tobias the hawk was adamant.
Seeing that the others weren't going to be joining me in the land of the living anytime soon, I flew out a window Axe had the consideration to open for me the night before and into the morning air, flapping hard for every inch of altitude I gained. I was hungry and though I could eat the sweets we found on the train if I morphed human, I'd have to stay human for a while so it was properly digested. Chocolate in a boy's belly will still be chocolate when he turns into a hawk and it becomes useless to me, a hawk can't process anything that isn't meat. And it was risky being in unknown territory without me eyes and ears for long periods of time. That's how I felt at least, though I'm sure Marco would just claim that I'm paranoid and too attached to them. Either way, hunting for prey sounded good to me.
However, just as I reached the outskirts of the village, all my thoughts of food disappeared in a flood of panic. Though they we clearly hesitant and jumpy, people were coming out of their houses, opening stores and briskly walking the streets. Though it wasn't all that cold yet, a lot of them tended to shiver visibly and clutch their heads. Some of them even had tears falling from their eyes. I think it was safe to say that whatever we'd encountered last night was still around. What's more, either these people lived in misery or they had an even stronger effect on them they did on us. I had a feeling that the animal minds might have saved us again before.
Food can wait, I better keep an eye on them. I thought, frowning mentally as I swooped over the town. Observing the average lives of wizards might come in handy in determining who would be safe to approach inside the castle, but I was more focused on ensuring that no one wondered too close to the train and found my friends.
I started to relax before long though. Though the people of the village did leave their homes often, they never strode near the train station. Heck, they were barely outside for longer than five minutes, most of them making beelines for the grocery store or what I assumed were pubs. No one wanted to stay out in the open and exposed to these invisible menaces, not that I blamed them in the slightest.
The only problem with that was that I couldn't find out much about them. Other than the fact that most dressed in clothes that were in style in the Middle Ages and that most of them were either scared or infuriated, I couldn't tell you anything about them. Not even their language. I mean, if they dressed like that, then did they keep the old English too, or did they move into the modern version with the rest of us? Or did they even speak English at all? Weren't witches in those old movies I used to watch always good at long verses in Latin or some other unknown, dead language?
Sighing, I just flapped and flew off towards the 'ruins'. It was disappointing that I couldn't learn anything of them, but it couldn't be helped. The only way I could would be to get amongst them and with dark wizards everywhere amongst the good that was hardly a safe plan. No, if I wanted to get some useful information it was best that I just scouted out the hidden castle. After all, it was no doubt very well defended, much more so than the village. Maybe even from normal animals. If so, then it was important that we at least know about any visible traps.
Half an hour later, I knew one thing for sure: those invisible creatures were in the sky and they were everywhere. My head was forever being hit with a slight anxiety and my body felt cold. The hawk mind was doing much better. In fact, it was beginning to panic. Raptors so very rarely felt the worrisome sensations that these spectres were causing and it was freaking my bird instincts out. And of course, if that wasn't enough, I was still forced to power flap every few minutes and my wings were at their limits. The air itself refused to warm up around these things, which meant no thermals. Heck, I think there was actually ice forming on my wings
/Flying is definitely not the way to avoid these guys./ I muttered to myself, swooping away keenly as a gale blew by and took me around, but further away from, the castle wall. It surprised me as I flew by that the wall came to an opening bellow. That by itself wasn't too surprising considering it was along what was probably a magically created, stone bridge over a very deep part of the lake, but it didn't continue on very far on the other side. Instead, it met the side of a mountain and beside that, a suspiciously dark forest. The way the mountain met the water and wood would mean that anyone wanting to traverse that way would have to go fairly deep into the forest, but it still seemed like a very dangerous opening in defences.
/So what's the catch?/ I asked myself skeptically. It was too easy and too dumb a move for the people that designed this place. But no matter how much I stared at it, I couldn't see any kind protection. The only thing that made me wary of the place was how strangely dark it got. That and the fact that it seemed so unprotected. That was usually a lure. But I can worry about it later. I decided, forcing myself to ignore how my wings were screaming at me as I turned back towards the train station. After all, the others were bound to wake up soon if they hadn't already and the last thing I wanted to do was have them worried about me. Besides, I'm sure Marco would have fifty different theories about the forest's defences in an instant, though maybe half of them will be realistic.
However, just as a strong breeze appeared from behind me, making me sigh in relief as it gathered under my wings and made my flight near effortless, a pair of owls crossed my eyes and flew right towards the 'ruins' with letters tied to their legs. That alone surprised me so much that I almost forgot to flap when the wind receded. I mean seriously? Wizards had taken silent, winged predators and turned them into MESSENGER PIGEONS? That's it, Muggle or not, I'm putting my foot down in the magical world. Such impressive creatures should NOT be used in such a way. It's degrading for bird of prey everywhere!
However, my indignation quickly disappeared as they reached the castle wall. At first they both seemed hesitant to even approach it, like it was something that they really should avoid. However, whether through stubbornness or necessity, they plunged forward anyway and screeched.
And that's when I saw it a defence. Stunned, I barely kept myself in the air as I watched the owls hit what appeared to be a visible, transparent wall that seemed to be made of air. continuing to flap even after they hit it, the owls let loose pain-filled screeches as they torturously, slowly, forced their way through.
And that was it for me. I only watched for a few more seconds as the owls flew, pitifully, as opposed to their previous mastery of flight, towards the ruins before flapping as hard as I could to the others. Sore and tired be damned, there was no way I could let any of the others try that. They may not even survive the attempt.
...
/Tobias, are you within my range?/ My head jolted as Ax' voice struck it. He must have been projecting as far as he could for his call was extremely loud from where I was, just ten meters away from the train station and about twenty five up. It instantly gave me a headache! I was very tempted to snap at him in response, but I quickly smothered the urge. It was almost completely unnoticeable, but I easily could hear what I doubted anyone else but Cassie could. Under the calm Ax generally exuded even in the more stressful situations was a very small sliver of panic.
/Don't shout Ax, I'm fine./ I replied soothingly. I loved that my...uncle I guess, cared enough to panic, but I didn't want him to fret over me. I wanted him to be happy as much as possible, it makes me, and everyone else when he's in human form, happy too. And a little exasperated and grossed out, but we'll stick with the happy part for now. /I've just been scouting the area, not getting into any trouble. And I have news you're gonna wanna hear./ I added as I dropped down, flew expertly back through the open window and began to morph human. I didn't get to hunt after all that, so I guess I had to settle for a couple hours of being vulnerable. All well, chocolate tastes better than raw game.
"What were you thinking taking off like that?" Rachel demanded, though the intensity of it was kind of neutralised by the sheer amount of relief that filled her chastising tone. "You left us asleep while you took off into who knows how much danger on your own? You could have been killed."
/Relax, I stayed out of their sight./ I said reassuringly. /I'm the team scout, I know how to do the incognito thing./
"Under normal circumstances yes, but-"
"Let it go Rachel. It's done. And he's fine." Jake interrupted softly, gesturing to my unharmed form as he did before a more serious look crossed his face. "So what is it that you want to tell us?"
/Well, for starters, flying in is the worst idea we could possibly come up with./ I stated before telling them everything, from the invisible things in the sky, to the magical 'wall' that the owls hit and what it did to them. By the time I'd done recapping my mini adventure, all of the others were frowning, looking either grave, contemplative or both.
"There's spells guarding from the forest's side at least on the edge leading out to the castle." Marco stated firmly the instant I'd finished talking. "There would have to be, it's too stupid to leave an entire quarter of the castle open like that and besides, something has to stop whatever wild animals living in there from attacking the kiddies. And let's face it, a castle, rhymes making water do fancy tricks and lots of witches hats and broomsticks? There are bound to be some...interesting creatures nearby."
"Let's not forget that there are those creatures themselves if we're going with that assumption." Cassie added nervously. "Forests tend to have their own natural defences. Large predators, poisonous plants and animals. This one's particularly dark, so even it'll be harder to see any of them. In those conditions, the terrain itself can be extremely treacherous or we could just get lost."
"And they'll bank on it. The way the mountain side gets in the middle forces you to go in pretty deep to reach the castle right?" Marco asked, getting a nod from me. I couldn't talk, I was too busy scarfing down bars of chocolate and something called cauldron cakes. "What about the other side, where it reaches the other wall?"
"A huge cliff." I answered after a minute of concentration. I hadn't thought about the far side too much, I'd only noticed it in passing thank God for high altitude and raptor eyes. "It looks like someone dug a mile deep trench almost right around the castle. On one side it ends when you get close to the lake and on the other side it goes into the forest."
"Assuming that none of that is an illusion, the forest seems like the perfect way to enter. Most likely, you'll be picked off by whatever's inside." Marco said with conviction. "A little bit of obvious risk so it doesn't look too suspicious and then you snap the trap."
"Well unless you want to risk a lot of pain and death like the owls I saw and risk catching the attention of those creatures we ran away from with our tails between our legs, it seems to be the only way." I sighed. "Those walls may look old and like they're falling apart, but you can bet your life on that being a trick. Though I'm confident that they are really as thick as look at least and they look thick enough for four humans to walk comfortably across side by side."
"I guess you spare no expense when you have magic." Rachel commented, looking a little impressed.
"What do you think would be our best move Ax?" Jake asked, scratching his head in frustration. "Risk flying in or a trek through a suspiciously perfect forest entrance?"
/I think that the forest would be the best option Prince Jake./ Ax replied hesitantly, amusing me enough to bring a grin to my usually blank human face. The Andelite was still struggling to deal with being an equal ally when his training was that of an obedient, do as your told soldier. And of course, three, two, one...
"Don't call me Prince."
/Yes, Prince Jake./
"I just said that it's the perfect trap and you wanna run right into it?" Marco cried, smacking his head with his hand. "Guys, there will be some kind of magic guarding the place and who knows what's running around in there. For all we know, there could be a dragon in there!"
"True, but we have a better chance of fighting animals than whatever magic is protecting the other entrances." Rachel replied with a keen grin. No surprise on her choice. "I say the forest."
"And if I was right and a dragon or a demon beast comes to turn us into lunch, how are we going to fight them?" Marco asked exasperatedly.
"By becoming them." Cassie answered, a small smile growing on her face as her eyes lit up with realisation. "And then we'd have their forms' magic. Which would no doubt make it easier to not only see the castle, but also better protect us from its defences."
"If we're not gobbled up first." Marco grumbled in defeat. "I should have just stayed home. This is just too insane."
"Yay, I don't have to make a final decision for once." Jake said happily as he headed towards the carriage door. "The woods it is. Come on everyone, this route will apparently take some time and we don't have much to waste."
"Wow, Jake's actually eager for adventure today." Rachel grinned teasingly, getting an annoyed looked from Jake as she got up to follow him. "Let's do it before he reverts to his 'if we must' look."
"It's insane, Rachel said her line, we haven't the slightest idea what we're up against and we're willingly walking into a trap. We're gonna be dead by nightfall." Marco muttered under his breath as the rest of us followed.
That was normal. He always found every way we'll end up dead and predicted that very result before every mission bigger than watching someone's head from fifty feet up.
However, this time, though I didn't say anything, I had to admit that I was a little scared hat he was right.
...
Even as wolves, the journey just to the edge of the forest took most of the remaining hours of the day. It wasn't that it was too far away. In fact, you didn't have to go too far out from the village to reach the mountains. However, we had to go around it in the, much safer woods on the opposite side of Hogwarts. Though I couldn't tell you much about the village, I could tell you two things: one, if there were any kids in there, they were NOT going to be seen outside and two, whatever those invisible things were, they were enough to scare away pretty much ever animal that dared to come even close to even the edge of the village.
Then of course, the others had to head over a more climbable path in the mountain that was still a struggle for them. with waking up so late and the sun going down earlier, as it does in the colder months, the sun was setting as they finally made it to the dark forest.
"Yay, even better! Now we get to run around an already dark and creepy forest without the slightest chance of sunlight. What could be better?" Marco growled sarcastically, glaring up at the sun.
"So what? We'll just go in as owls." Rachel shrugged, giving me an apologetic look when I squawked. I'd perched myself quite carefully and comfortably on her shoulder and she'd almost knocked me right off. "It's probably better that way anyway because we'll blend in, be silent and easily avoid the creepy crawlies you're so scared of."
"How do you know that there isn't something in there that wouldn't love an owl sandwich?" Marco retorted , causing the rest of us to groan. Seriously, his paranoia was driving me crazy. "After all, owls seem to be very common around here. Anything could have followed them to this place."
I hated to say it, but he did have a point. We'd seen plenty of owls flying around on the way here, something that both unnerved me and confused me seeing as they were nocturnal creatures and I was used to them making the occasional attempt to kill me when my guard was down and when your chosen prey thrives in one area, a predator tends to eventually follow. Who knows, there might be strange creatures that like eating birds of prey here.
/I hate you Marco./ I muttered with a groan. Now I was getting really paranoid.
"True, but as owls we have a better chance of maintaining our direction." Jake mumbled thoughtfully, resting his head on his chin. "If we get turned around in there, and knowing our luck we will, we could just fly over the tree line and find the ruins."
"Maybe a less uniform morph approach is the best way to go." Cassie suggested, looking at our interested faces with calculated eyes. "Half of us morph owl for the benefits they'll give us and the rest of us morph wolf again. Between the wolf's sense of smell, the owl's eyes and both their ears, there wouldn't be anything alive that could sneak up on us. We'd notice most, if not all threats long before we reached them."
/It sounds like our best option./ Ax agreed.
/I agree with Cassie./ I stated, dropping down to the ground as Rachel nodded her consent, meaning that the plan was a go. /So who are my fellow wolves gonna be?/ I asked as I concentrated of the furry, canine face. I may have thought to acquire a wolf, but I haven't got an owl morph, so my choice was already clear. After all, a hawk in a dark forest at night is absolutely useless.
"I'll go wolf." Rachel called eagerly. Not that she had to, she was already growing a muzzle. As far as she was concerned, it wasn't up for argument.
No surprise there. I couldn't help thinking fondly as Jake just chuckled and nodded his head as Marco rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath how typical that was.
"Especially since bird boy's growing an attractive fur coat and muscles all the girls dream about in their lovers. oh, I can see the cute little cubs now." He added a little louder, giving Rachel a cheeky smirk as she went to cry out indignantly only to make a squeaky, barking sound.
"You take the last wolf morph Ax." Jake said as he shook his head at their banter, a small grin on his face. "Cassie, Marco and I will take up the wings."
/If that is what you wish Prince Jake./ Ax replied obediently, though he clearly liked the idea of being the stronger animal, and started his own morph, ignoring Jake's mock groan as his blue fur turned grey. Rolling his eyes skyward, Jake just let the title slide and started his own morph, starting with the formation of a beak.
As the last of our morphs finalised, we wasted only a few more seconds focusing our senses towards the trees before heading in, three of us running silently across the ground and three bobbing and weaving through the branches.
That was something that made me much happier and relieved. Wolves were masters of stealth and owls make no sound at when they fly. It was a very big reassurance, for it meant that anything that could be dangerous to us would find us completely invisible to one of their main senses.
Speaking of which, my own senses were on high alert. My ears were picking up rocks and leaves cluttering around in a small wind and my nose had already found the scents of countless rats, foxes and birds, but nothing that could be considered a cause for concern. Whatever protected this forest was nowhere near the edge. For now we were safe.
/Guys, the trees are getting closer together and branches are everywhere./ Jake called as we got about a hundred feet in. /They're blocking our long range vision a lot, so stay on your guard./
/Really, stay on their guard? And here I thought that they were all clear to take a nap./ Marco retorted sarcastically. /I mean, it's not like they weren't in who knows how much danger with our eyes at their best. The possibility of being digested by Hydra or choked to death by supernatural plants sounds like a delightful experiences./
/That's it Marco, no Hercules marathons./ I sighed as Rachel huffed in annoyance. /Even if Hydra was real, it was from Greek mythology, not English fairytales./
/And our fangs and claws will cut through any stupid plants./ Rachel added fiercely as she leapt over a particularly large tree root, ripping a low branch with her teeth for emphasis.
/I believe we should stop the 'back and forth' as you call it now./ Ax said firmly. Turning to him questioningly, I felt my stomach lurch as I took in his form. His posture didn't exactly say scouting pack mate as it had before. Though he was still moving, his body had grown tense and a low growl spilled from his lips as he sniffed, moving his nose around close to the ground. /I have picked up a scent that the wolf does not recognise. and judging from the variety of very similar scents coating the ground, it can be deduced that whatever it is travels in packs./
Tensing myself, I lowered my nose, sniffed and instantly knew what he was talking about. It wasn't as foul an odour like the invisible creatures', but it still was unpleasant and there was definitely more than one source. I'd say around twenty.
/It's very similar to a spider's scent./ Rachel commented as she walked up beside me, tilting her head in a very human, considering gesture. /But still different. Whatever it is though, it's big. Each individual scent covers a fairly thick, wavy line./
/Overgrown spiders. Great. Joy. What could be better?/ Marco grumbled as he landed on a branch twenty feet ahead of me. /Are you sure blinding pain from flying through unknown, air like walls wouldn't be a better option? You know that it might reach the ground where the trees meet the castle grounds anyway right?/
/Could you try being an optimist just once?/ Rachel snapped.
/I doubt we'll have to worry about that Marco. They would have made a castle wall before the trees if they didn't want access to the forest. They would have to want something in here and they wouldn't risk daily bodily pain./ Cassie said much more calmly.
/Well who says that they didn't just make a door in it? It's magic right?/ Marco replied grouchily, but he said no more as he took off further into the woods.
The further we went, the thicker the trees got, turning our sprint into an obstacle course. Tree roots were becoming as big as we were, forcing some pretty impressive jumps out of us and the terrain became more hazardous. I huffed in annoyance as what had to be the seventh cliff appeared before us. They weren't at spectacular heights, but it was definitely more than the wolf could handle.
/Great, we're off course again./ Jake groaned, just as annoyed as I was, before gaining altitude and circling the area. /It gets small enough to jump up around forty metres to your left./ Forcing down my urge to growl at it, I just bared my teeth before following Ax to the left.
It didn't take long to reach the decline at wolf speed, but we'd had to do so much winding around trees and boulders along the way and on the other side that we'd lost our direction and probably would have ended up deep in the forest if it wasn't for Cassie shooting up past the trees and seeking out the ruins/castle and setting us back on track.
However, it wasn't direction that worried us. While we were waiting for Cassie, Rachel, Ax and I picked up a lot of scents, some familiar and many that were not and all of them were much stronger than what we'd been sniffing before.
/It would be wise to vacate this area. It is very well used./ Ax suggested calmly, though his wolf body was showing signs of nervousness. Not that I wasn't worried myself, one of the unidentified scents was very fresh. The wolf mind said that it was less than ten minutes old.
/You'll have to curve right a bit to get back in line with Hogwarts./ Cassie instructed as she flew back down toward us. /Otherwise you'll be running into a more open, rocky area that looks like it's home to something big./
/Then maybe we should head that way. You know, to acquire whatever's there./ Rachel suggested, failing to hide her keenness in her voice. /A powerful, magical creature would make a good battle morph and make getting to the school much easier wouldn't it?/
/True, but I think it's best that we don't go looking for trouble in here. It's already sure to find us./ Jake replied.
/What we really need to do now is find somewhere that it is concealed and infrequently visited./ Ax stated firmly as we took off again, running full speed through the trees. A slightly dangerous move seeing that we'd intended to move as stealthily through the forest as possible and full speed resulted in a bit of noise, but we needed to get out of that area quickly. We were sure to be caught otherwise. /Our time in morph is getting low. We must revert to our true forms soon./
/I think there's a good enough place nearby./ Said Jake as he flew ahead. Following as best I could, I watched curiously as he circled, swerved and climbed up and around the trees. When I'm the team's scout, I usually have to use a lot less energy in observation, so his pattern amused me, but I have to admit that I'd never done it in such a thick and tricky forest. I supposed that even I would have difficulty seeing everything I needed to and we really had to be careful around here. /Yeah, there's large, bushy area surrounding a rock wall a little ahead and to your left. I can't see any animals in it or around the area so I think it's as good as we're gonna get./
/Well, my nose isn't picking up anything too close either right now, so let's go for it./ I agreed, running along with the others as the three owls swooped past and landed right in the heart of our target. Pushing through the plants, I took one last cautious sniff to make sure nothing was approaching before focusing on hawk body.
/So how far do we still have to go?/ I asked as soft fur turned into harder feathers and front paws disappeared, causing me to groan as I fell face first into the dirt.
"It...looked like we're around halfway there." Cassie answered croakily, already mostly human. I swear that she was only getting faster with her morphing process. Heck, the rest of us were speeding up too, yet she's twice as fast as we are.
Well then, good thing we're not normal humans. I commented as my body shrunk back down close to my natural height. On foot, this trip would take around twelve hours for the average person.
/And that's without the extra time they'd need to deal with the natural obstacles and assuming that they lucked out and didn't run into any-/ "menacing creatures." Jake added as his thought speak gave out, looking like a fur covered version of himself. "Without our eyes in the sky, it would probably take a full day, if they didn't just get lost in this place."
"Heh, who needs magic? Nature's all the defence this place needs." Rachel smirked, looking like a grey haired young woman who really needed to cut her nails. "All it needs is-"
/DUCK!/ I screamed, making everyone jump and jerk. They didn't have time to take my advice, but fortunately, Marco had jerked back just enough for an arrow to miss his head and imbed itself into a crack in the stone wall.
"WHOA!" He cried, falling right down onto his butt, saving him from the second arrow, before crawling behind a boulder. "Who's trying to kill me now? And arrows? Seriously, I thought we were walking to rhymes and flamethrowers, not medieval combat."
Cassie, being the only one to finish demorphing, crept closer to the bushes and peeked out from the bottom as loud cries and the clopping of running horses met our ears. Close enough to normal and the smallest of us, I crept forward along with her as she gasped, openly gaping at what she saw.
"How did we miss them?" She muttered quietly to herself as I struggled through the underbrush. "There's so many of them and they're so big. And..."
/Centaurs?/ I exclaimed, my demorph coming to a complete halt as I stared at them, completely gobsmacked. For there was no doubt about it. Standing about fifty yards away were no less than twenty three creatures, each one bearing the lower body of a horse and the upper body of a man or woman. What do you know, they're real. But they don't seem to be the nice guys mythology says they are.
"Oh really? What was your first clue?" Marco snapped quietly, though looking back, I found him looking just as astounded as I felt.
/What are these centaurs?/ Ax asked as he finished his morph, poking one of his stalk eyes above the bush. /And why are they...interesting, they look like a link between humans and Andelites./
"Reveal yourselves you unwanted freaks!" One of them shouted viciously as a number of them stomped their hooves on the ground. "The stars forewarned us of the arrival of you loathsome abominations and we shall not stand for you entering our land. Reveal yourselves so that we may kill you."
"Oh, that's gonna make me get up." Marco rolled his eyes. "And who's HE calling an abomination? He looks like the result of a psychotic, Frankenstein experiment. No offense Ax."
/Allow me to reason with them./ Ax said calmly, clearly ignoring Marco's comment, before expanding his thought speak to their minds. /Noble centaurs, we mean you no harm, nor do we intend to stay. We only wish to cross the forest to reach the school of Wizards./
/DOWN!/ I shouted, causing everyone to press as low to the ground as we could as a volley of arrows were released our way, ripping through the bushes and barely missing us.
"AAARRRGGGHHH!" Uh-oh. Whipping my head around, I found that I was wrong. Jake's right hand was clasped firmly around an arrow buried deep into his shoulder as he screamed.
"Jake!" Cassie cried in panic, immediately jumping into action. Grabbing the first piece of clothing from the pile Rachel and I made before we demorphed she could without dislodging the morphing cube on top, she put it in Jake's mouth for him to bite down and scream into as she ripped out the arrow before placing another shirt, Marco's, much to his chagrin, firmly against the wound.
"How DARE you filthy creatures enter our superior minds." The head centaur snarled as he approached, his bow and loaded arrow pointed right at Jake as the others stomp towards us behind him, growling wordlessly and furiously. "And you think that we would fall for such a pathetic lie? Strange werewolves are new, but both the old kind and all your fellow new and vile creatures have been running around OUR forest for far too long. Wizards and creatures alike treaded in and out of OUR territory like they have a right to be here. And the stars have been very informative. Whatever part you play in the lowly wizards' war, you only bring trouble and disrespect to our superior race. Therefore, we shall kill you all."
"Superior race? You lot can't even figure out how to dress or groom yourselves." Rachel retort, causing the rest of us to gape at her. "And I am no werewolf and I have not touched a single tree in your precious territory before today, nor do I ever feel the need to again. Now get over yourselves and leave us so we can get out of this stupid forest before I kick all of your conceded, egocentric butts."
"Everybody, morph something that's either too small to shoot or has a lot of padding within five seconds." Marco cried quietly, thoroughly terrified. Though we barely heard him with the furious roars and thunderous galloping of the centaurs. Rachel had really done it this time.
/Rachel, next time you want to verbally abuse an army of pigheaded, temperamental idiots, at least wait until we can actually protect ourselves./ Jake cried exasperatedly, already halfway through morphing tiger. With all that was going on I hadn't noticed that he'd started morphing, though with all the danger and his injury, I wasn't surprised. /Tobias, Ax, try to hold them off. I'll join you in a second. The rest of you, morph and get out of here!/
He didn't need to tell us twice. Just as the first few centaurs reached us, Ax burst straight up and over the bush, eliciting shocked and confused cries from the opposing army. They had clearly seen us while we demorphed, but it was clear that none of them had seen Ax and he looked so similar to them that it was very disconcerting for them.
FWAP, FWAP, FWAP! Before any of them had managed so much as closing their mouths, Ax' tail had already lashed out and destroyed a good seven bows, three with the first horizontal strike and two with each of the others. Screaming, six of them stumbled back as they covered deep cuts in their arms and hands.
"YOU MOCKERY O-ARGH!" I happily cut off the head centaur's bellow as I flew right out after Ax and scratched away at his head with my talons. Backing up, the centaur pushed up onto its hind legs and battered away at me with his hands while his front legs tried to kick Ax only for both of us to move away and pass him, both of us aiming for other centaurs loading arrows.
/Unless we wish to kill them, we must flee now./ Ax stated as his tail slashed right through another bow, and through one of the screeching centaur's fingers, only to have to run around a tree to avoid three arrows aimed for his torso. /I feel that my form alone is causing a severe offense./
/And they don't seem to appreciate us defending ourselves either./ I cried before letting out a screech of pain as one of four arrows coming my way grazed my wing. Diving towards the ground to avoid another round, I picked up as much speed as I could and flew straight under their legs, throwing off their aim and having a few turn my way, away from the others, as I weaved around the trees, only coming in occasionally to rip an arrow or a bow out of a centaur's hand.
However, most of them were focused solely on Ax.
"Filthy beast!"
"You DARE mock our noble race?"
"Die foul creature!"
Insults and the like were being screamed by almost every centaur in the area as they surged at Ax, some aiming arrows from multiple directions while others were charging his way with branches held over their heads like clubs. My uncle was fighting pretty impressively, mimicking their kicks along with the constant flurry of his tail, however, there were too many of them and as much as I tried to help, I was an irritation at best.
/Guys, they'll kill Ax if you don't get the lead-out./ I shouted panickedly, swooping down to try and steal another bow. Unfortunately, this time the centaur was prepared for me and at the last second she whipped around and slugged me with the curved wood, sending crashing to the ground with a short, pained squawk where I stayed. The blow and the crash had me completely dazed. My head spun like crazy and white spots covered my vision, but I could still hear the triumphant cheer of the one who hit me, along with the continuous, enraged screams of the others, as he distorted form swam into my vision, pointing an arrow at me.
Well, I guess this is when I say goodbye cruel world. I thought humourlessly as I stared at the arrow. There was no way that Ax could save me and there was no way that I was getting up in time. So I just laid there and closed my eyes, waiting for oblivion. Sorry guys, I guess I'm done.
"RRROOOOOAAAARRRRR!" Jerking at the sudden, ear piercing and terrifying roar, my eyes whipped open just in time to see the startled and scared centaur woman above me jump and launch her arrow into the ground a good two feet from my body as a flash of black and orange surged from our hiding place and crashed paws first into a bow wielding centaur, sending it crashing onto one of its brethren and on their way to the ground hard. Only waiting until his two victims hit the dirt and screamed, Jake pounced towards another two and sideswiped both of them with his powerful paws, his claws leaving deep slashes in their shoulders as the force knocked them both down.
The centaur woman forgot all about me at that and quickly loaded her bow as she aimed for Jake, but the tiger was a flurry of unpredictable motion, zigzagging, leaping, circling and attacking different areas of each target randomly. On top of that, the lightened aggression towards Ax had left him free to follow in Jake's footsteps, though his charging and attack patterns where much more tame as he struck out with the flat side of his tail blade and either concussed and knocked out anyone who got in his reach.
/Tobias, are you ok?/ Cassie asked worriedly, startling me as she appeared beside me. already in wolf morph, she must have used Jake's assault as a distraction and made her way around the battlefield through the surrounding trees. /We've got to get out of here. I can smell more coming and plenty of these guys are getting back up./
/But if we run, they'll just follow./ I groaned, struggling to get back up on my feet as another roar hit my ears. However, that one wasn't the tiger's impressive one and terror filled me for a few seconds. After all, this fight had been loud even before Jake announced his presence, we could have easily attracted the predators of the forest. However, I immediately relaxed as a grizzly bear ripped out the bushes it had been hiding behind as a bat flew in and disappeared in the night sky. It was just Rachel charging in to battle.
But that didn't stop my realisation from being any more terrifying. /Guys, this has been too loud and going for too long./ I cried, my panic quickly taking over. /Anything could be coming this way./
/Scatter!/ Jake shouted instantly, knocking another centaur sprawling as he ran through the forest. /We have a better chance of losing these guys and remaining unknown to the rest of the forest in groups of two than six. Morph birds when you're safe and locate the school. We'll meet up at the forest's edge. Ax, grab the cube, Rachel watch his back and then both of you get out of there./
/Yes Prince Jake./
/You got it Jake./ Ax immediately made a beeline for the pile we'd made, slicing bows and striking bluntly at heads of any centaurs along the way, while Rachel swung paw after paw, sending even these heavy creatures flying like ragdolls. However, there was a price to pay, as no less than five arrows flew right at and were imbedded into her bulky body in all different places.
"RROOAARR!"
/Rachel!/ I cried, instantly finding myself back on my feet. Spreading my wings, I was about to fly right back into the fray only for Cassie to jump in my way, leaving me bouncing off of her leg. /Cassie, get out the way, I gotta-/
/Get out of here./ Cassie interrupted hastily. /Rachel's fine and Ax has the cube. We have to leave now, I can already hear the next group of centaurs./
Looking underneath her, I sighed in relief as I found that she was right and that Ax and Rachel were already running as fast as they could away from the battlefield, in a different direction from Jake. I then tensed as I noticed that Cassie was completely right. The new centaurs she'd smelled were so close that the ground was rumbling from their galloping.
/Alright, let's get out of here./ I agreed, turning and taking flight into the maze of trees, Cassie running full out right behind me and a group of centaurs not too far behind her, screaming at us to 'stop and die by my arrow'. Sparing a look back, I found that the new arrivals, and no doubt the first group of centaurs too, had been coming from the same direction we had. That was downwind while I was a wolf, so it was no wonder that I hadn't smelled their approach and our flyers were more worried about what was ahead of us. A rookie mistake, but I wasn't going to blame them too much. I'd not exactly ever let them get much experience in my field of expertise and I could say that I was any better at my job at the moment. It was so dark that I had trouble seeing much of anything.
However, I pushed on with Cassie's occasional warnings and between the two of us and the overwhelmingly thick trees, the centaurs' shouts and jeers quickly grew fainter and fainter until we couldn't hear them at all, their galloping becoming only a slight patter in the background.
/Well, that was a pleasant experience./ I commented sarcastically as the galloping finally completely disappeared from my hearing. Exhausted, I gave the area the best scan I could before landing on low branch, my wings killing me. /I sure hope the wizards are that welcoming./
/You're starting to sound like Marco./ Cassie responded, slightly amused, but I tell that she agreed with me. /It's interesting how they look so similar to Andelites and think just as highly of themselves. An amusing coincidence. Though they definitely seem more hateful all other living things./
/Yeah. Hysterical./ I said shortly. I was tired, scared and all I wanted to do was go to sleep back in my own, relatively safe meadow. Forgive me if I seemed a little rude. Cassie seemed to understand though because she didn't pull me up on it.
Or it might have been because at that moment the sound on scurrying feet running over grass and rocks caught our ears and sent us both back to our tense states. Caught off guard, having not seen anything before, I whipped my head towards the direction we'd been running to before and after a few minutes, I found it just as Cassie snarled at its scent. Running across a clearing towards a large hole in the ground was none other than a Taxxon. And judging from the haste in its step, it had just found some tasty prey.