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Post by kilnarak on May 13, 2019 3:13:48 GMT -6
"Right! I'll go once you're ready!" Ash chirped back at Audun, the sound bright and happy. He aimed a playful, parting splash at the drake after the other pushed him down, slapping water after the retreating drake.
Once Audun was in the ambush spot, Ash took a deep breath then sank down under the water again. He took a moment to get his bearings, paying attention to movement under the water. That there was a water-plant, but those brighter shapes must be fish! He angled himself to circle around the fish-shapes, keeping his distance, then once he had them between himself and the ambush spot he lunged at them. The first attempt was a failure, the fish darted around him and disappeared in the blue water. But the next try, when the fish tried to dart around him he flared out his wings - it slowed him down, but the sudden dark cupping shape of them served to frighten the fish in the right direction.
Audun wasn't the only one tracking Ash's progress through the water. The ancient fish waited near the edge of the cove, gone still near a rocky outcrop - it looked like just another rock. It had lost track of the larger prey, but this smaller one was making a path straight for it. Once it reached the edge of the cove, the prey would be within easy distance for the fish to lunge...
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Post by qhostqrowls on Jan 5, 2020 20:03:54 GMT -6
Audun tracked the smaller reptiles movements with a hawkish gaze. The water was beautifully clear, so he had good visuals on the other, even if his form was distorted by the depth. Ash was a fast learner, by the looks of it, already trying out some new techniques - the drake chuffed out a laugh at the wing flare, claws hooked on the edge of the rock as he readied himself for a pounce. Not yet.
As Ash's wings unfurled, there was a flurry of movement from the mouth of the cove. A toothy maw gaped wide as the ancient beast lunged towards the Sival, a frighteningly fast ambush. It's fangs snapped shut with a muffled clack inches from his neck. One glassy, unblinking eye fixated upon him - the other, he may notice, had long been gouged from the socket.
The monster fish snapped again, the remainder of its sinuous body coiling into the cove. It was twice the length of Ash's body, and roughly the same height - vaguely resembling an eel, and everything else awful and toothy that resided in the black depths of the ocean.
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Post by kilnarak on Jan 5, 2020 23:32:10 GMT -6
The fish were all going in the direction that he wanted them to! Ash fanned his wings slightly, trying to hurry them on toward Audun's direction. He didn't notice the dark thing uncoiling from the shadows below, at least not until it was lunging at him. He jerked his head away just in time to avoid the thing's teeth, though he heard them clack together even despite the muffling effect of the water. His maw parted in a startled squawk, then closed again before water could flood into it.
He jerked away from the creature, flattening his wings to his back and sides and lashing his tail to try to get away from it. It was blurry under the water, but something like a snake? An... exceptionally large snake. His scales lifted without much thought, a prickly barrier to hopefully dissuade the thing from biting him, and he began to paddle quickly for the surface. He could see better out of the water, and perhaps Audun could help him?
He had made it perhaps one body-length surface-ward before he felt the vibrations of the creature's movement as it lunged again, following him. And then a sharp pain as it's teeth sank into the meat of his tail. Even with his scales lifted to form a barrier, its teeth were longer and they punched into a chink between scales to dig into flesh. A string of bubbles and a high-pitched keening shriek escaped him.
More startled just yet than in pain, he thrashed to try to break free of it's grip, twisting his body to claw at the thing's head and flank.
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Post by qhostqrowls on Jan 6, 2020 2:21:40 GMT -6
The fish drew back sharply as it's teeth sunk into flesh, yanking the Sival further under the water. The massive creature was not sapient enough to consider drowning it's prey, but at this rate, that may very well be the most dangerous thing to Ash. It seemed unperturbed by the mouthful of sharp scales, and dragged him deeper with the same uncanny swiftness and power it had lunged with. It was a seasoned predator, and fighter, judging by the amount of missing barbels, scales, and torn fins it possesed. However, it was not used to its prey possessing claws, and abruptly released Ash, mouth gaping in what appeared to be offense, as his talons scoured across its flesh. A few thick, mottled scales dislodged from near its gills, dark blood billowing in the water.
It's shock was short lived. It drew back like a snake about to strike, teeth glinting horribly. It rushed towards the injured shifter. In that moment, there was an explosion of bubbles as Audun barrelled into the side of the creatures head, battering it off-course. His claws dug deep into its flesh, and his teeth snapped closed over the nape of its neck. The drake shook his head savagely, venom seeping into the wounds. A cloud of bubbles and sand surrounded the pair - but Auduns shriek of pain was audible, even under the water, as it twisted and bit at his leg.
A flailing section of the creatures tail thwacked into Ash, accidentally pushing him towards the surface. He had the choice to aid Audun, or to get a much needed breath of air - the latter seemed more pressing, given the amount of time he'd been underwater.
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Post by kilnarak on Jan 6, 2020 3:53:04 GMT -6
The thing yanked him down and Ash clawed more fiercely at the creature until it released him. His lungs were beginning to ache with want to draw a breath, and he fought to gain the surface. His tail stung as he lashed it, kicking his way higher and higher. He felt water displaced as the creature lunged at him again, but another splash came from above as Audun dove into the water. Ash barely had a moment to realize what the drake was doing before the creature struck him again, its writhing body crashing into him and shoving him toward the surface.
He had a moment to hear Audun screech in pain before his head erupted over the surface of the water. Ash gasped in a breath, then another deeper breath to fill his lungs before he dove back down.
Audun and the creature were a blur of dark shapes and a cloud of sand and bubbles as they struggled near the bottom. It was difficult to differentiate the two dark forms, but as he drove himself lower the outline of Audun's limbs became more clear. Ash pushed himself around to the opposite side of the creature from Audun, then dove nearer to it. He aimed for the creature's head, scrabbling at it's slick scaled hide with his claws. Perhaps he could hook his claws into it's eyes?
His fore-claws hooked onto the creature's face, gripping in, and then he brought up his hindlegs to try to drive the disemboweling claws on his feet into it's side. Perhaps he should have tried to get under it - the belly might be softer than its flanks, but if he was lucky, he might catch his claws in its gills.
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Post by qhostqrowls on Jan 6, 2020 5:55:38 GMT -6
The fish thrashed desperately between the two draconics, no longer focused on attacking. It seemed as if it had bitten off more than it could chew, as claws assaulted it from both sides. Audun's hind leg trailed lamely in the water behind him, blood billowing from the puncture wounds of the monster's teeth, but he held fast to its neck, a fierce determination and savage anger fuelling his efforts. A sizeable chunk of flesh was ripped from it, and his venom seeped deeper into the wound. He was sure he could drag it to the surface. With Ash's help, at least. He needed air, soon, but the taste of blood, the adrenaline pumping through his body, distracted him from that, and he seemed to fall into a frenzy of his own, too stubborn to let go just yet.
Ash's claws caught in the creatures gills, ripping through the softer flesh with ease. It's thrashing reached a frenzied intensity at the new wound, causing a particularly savage kick of Ash's to swerve off course - directly into the soft goo of its good eye. The fish recoiled, hard, releasing the drake's leg. He followed it, clumsy in the water, but nonetheless determined - claws hooking in its retreating tail and holding fast.
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Post by kilnarak on Jan 6, 2020 9:29:21 GMT -6
Ash felt the creature thrash as he hooked his claws into its gills and kicked, raking down along it's body. Then it jerked violently, his claws sinking deeper. He held on a moment more before it managed to rip itself away. The Sival didn't share his drake friend's bloodlust - his claws twitched reflexively when it pulled away, but he had no real desire to chase after it.
There was blood in the water and he wasn't sure how much of it was the creature's, how much of it his, how much of it Audun's. Silt and sand obscured the water around them as the thing tried to thrash away. It was hard to differentiate where the fish ended and Audun began - movement all around disturbing the water as the creature retreated and the drake cave chase.
Ash hesitated a few moments, trying to get his bearings. Then he followed the whip-thin end of Audun's tail, using his wings to propel him forward after the two of them. He nudged the drake's flank with his snout, trying to urge him to go up - they would both need air again soon.
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Post by qhostqrowls on Jan 6, 2020 19:26:01 GMT -6
Audun reluctantly broke away from the fish as Ash bumped into his side, almost instinctively snapping at the Sival. The pressure in his chest was crushing, he noticed, and he pushed off the seafloor with his good hind leg, swimming fast for the surface.
The drake dragged in a deep breath, second eyelid sliding back as he shook his head. It was tempting to just get to the rocks, away from the fish, but then they'd both be too afraid to go into the water again. They needed to kill it now. He wanted to kill it for even daring to attack Ash!
"Let's drag it to the beach," he gasped out, when Ash surfaced, his eyes blazing fiercly as he watched for the fish. It was an admittedly terrifying feeling, that something would lunge up from the depths and drag him under. "If we get it on land, I-" his head dipped under the water momentarily as he struggled to stay afloat with only three paddling legs. "I can fry it to death, but it has to be out of the water."
With that said, he ducked under the water again. The fish was circling blindly along the bottom, tracking their movements through the vibrations of the water. It gaped threateningly at them both from a nook it had managed to coil into, head swaying side to side.
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Post by kilnarak on Jan 6, 2020 21:37:04 GMT -6
Ash nudged at Audun until he pushed to the surface, coming up beside him with a gasp. His lifted scales shivered slightly with tension. He bobbed his head slightly at Audun's suggestion, agreeing before he had fully registered what the drake was saying. If he had stopped to think about it, he would have instead urged Audun out of the water, to safety away from the creature - but Audun was already diving back down and Ash didn't have the time to think.
The Sival dove after the drake, following him down toward the bottom. The creature was a dark blur, circling around itself until it settled into a vague, dark shape near some rocks. If he hadn't seen it moving toward them, he wouldn't have been able to pick it out now.
Ash tilted his head, one eye on the dark shape and the other on Audun. He waited for the drake to make the first move, then followed after him, circling around to the opposite side of the creature, meaning to flank it. Hopefully it wouldn't recoil into some crevice between the rocks - they wouldn't both be able to reach it then.
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Post by qhostqrowls on Jan 9, 2020 5:32:58 GMT -6
The fish made a lunge at Audun and Ash as they neared it, missing them by a few feet. It could feel them in the water, barbels picking up the minute vibrations and displacement. But it was also blind, and in pain, and lashed out wildly and for the most part, inaccurately. There was no intelligence to the movements. The fish was just a fish - a very large, dangerous one, but it was an animal.
Audun made a lunge of his own for the fish, one set of claws hooking into the gills nearest it's face - a stable anchor point as his jaws clamped shut around the same wound as before. The puncture marks on his leg stung horribly in the salt water, but he was focused, and angry, and held tight. His venom was likely diluted in the water, but would be fast acting even on a fish. The drake begin to kick towards the surface with his free front leg and his uninjured back one. His muscles rippled under his skin, but he made slow progress. He'd need Ash's help most definitely, but the other would need to take care. The beast's thrashing had only grown more frenzied, and one good hit from it's sinuous tail could seriously bruise the Sival, or knock the remainder of oxygen from his lungs.
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Post by kilnarak on Feb 18, 2020 23:59:11 GMT -6
Ash balked briefly when the fish darted out toward him, close enough that he could hear the heavy *clack* as its jaws snapped closed despite the muffling of the water. He hung back as Audun darted in to sink his claws and teeth into the thing, uncertain of just where or how to approach. He had never hunted anything this big in the water, and the wild thrashing of it's body was concerning.
... But Audun didn't seem to be overly concerned with the creature's struggles. He had gone right in, no hesitation. Ash's tail twitched, he waited for the big serpentine body to lash out one more time, then he flicked his tail and wings to propel himself in close, pushing his hindleg's forward to connect solidly with the creature's flank. He was lucky, his timing of the creature's thrashing solid - it didn't strike him and he managed to use its own movements to drive his talons in deeper. He hooked the big killing claws on his feet in, then grasped with his foreclaws and kicked hard, trying to rake his claws deep along the thing's side.
He hoped it would succumb soon, he and Audun couldn't stay beneath the water forever and he was unsure he could get his friend to let go without the creature being dead. Perhaps if they could drag it to shallower water...? That thought stuck and he kicked his feet free, bringing them up higher to dig in on a more intact part of the creature's side. He hooked his claws in again, but this time instead of trying to rake, he tried to use his wings and tail to pull, trying to drag the thing toward the shallows.
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Post by qhostqrowls on Aug 24, 2020 16:14:13 GMT -6
Blood billowed into the water around the two reptiles, the fish thrashing madly as their claws raked through it's scales and into the soft flesh beneath. It's mouth gaped open and shut as it coiled back on itself, straining for deeper water - but Ash was firmly anchored, and as he dragged it to the shallows, it's struggles began to weaken. The combination of bloodloss and venom were setting in, and the fish tilted sideways, fins scoring deep lines in the sand.
Thrashing turned to twitching. Audun's muzzle wrinkled as he heaved, and when Ash next flapped his wings they broke the surface of the water.
As if on cue, the monster fish let out one final shudder, and stopped moving entirely. It bobbed listlessly in the shallows, nightmarish teeth gleaming dully in the sunlight. A seagull cawed overhead.
Audun kept his grip firmly on the base of it's skull, sides heaving and blood leaking slowly from between his teeth. He pulled again, using the buoyancy of the water to drag it another few feet up the beach, tail lashing behind him as he glanced at Ash, suddenly recognising the scale of their success.
"We did it!" He gasped, words muffled by the flesh in his mouth - still unwilling to let go just yet.
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