A cry in the night [Sub-Plot]

[Tarra]

The Beastcraft Complex was a relatively open one, set against the rock and with a good portion of its fencing and stabling situated within the mountain itself. It was hardly the most ideal of places for herdbeasts, being rather barren and devoid of green growing things. Not to mention a little lacking in open spaces for the herds to properly run. But the beastcrafters did not complain overmuch - there were worse scenarios than that with which South Run Weyr provided them, and the Complex in spite of all its failings had a good freshwater source in the nearby lake. The fencing had been designed to take advantage of this, a good swath of it leading down to the water's edge itself to allow herdbeasts in the open pasture to waddle down and drink as they wished.

A small huddle of them were there now in fact, sipping at the waters or laying placidly alongside their fellows, tails flapping sleepily in the dim light of the twin moons. It was a cloudy night, with a cool veil of gray shrouding the heavens, though not so much that the faint hints of Timor and Belior could still be glimpsed through the clouds.

Unfortunately for them, the Complex's position also lent it the proximity of the mountainside, with all the various crags and crannies that gave cover and shadows to those that did not wish to be easily seen.

The first anyone knew of it was the heavy thud the fence made as it came down. A sharp, quick person might have caught a glimpse then of a dark shape fleeting away into the darkness of the mountain; in the next moment however all hell had broken loose as other forms - large ones - drove amongst the suddenly screaming cattle. Those lying on the ground had no chance at all - blood flowed in splatters and streams as the unknown beasts laid into them, sending the rest bawling in panic into the lake or up towards the relative safety of the caverns and the startled herders starting to scramble from the caves.

The first to emerge was a young man, one of the few that had stayed with the coalition since its Archipelago days. At the sight of the chaos however he froze, and his yell brought the herders coming behind him to a scrambling stop as well.

"Felines! Felines!"

Indeed, and at least ten of them if the shadows beneath the shrouded moons could be counted. The cry was taken up, not least of all by the watchdragon on duty on the heights over the Central Caldera. The blue was on his feet, gaze pointed toward the commotion, wings flared. Fenrith's mindvoice, cool despite its alacrity, echoed out to all who might hear even as his riders hastened to climb onto his back.

Attention - felines at the Beastcrafters'. Felines attacking the Beastcrafters Complex.

In the shadows of the rocks around the Beastcraft Complex, other eyes watched, gleaming.


(OOC> Ok folks, feel free to play your own characters or use an NPC wher/dragon if you wish Do bear in mind though these are large, powerful aggressive felines, so killing them will not be easy.)

[Nene]

The Sound of screams, not human though, animal. The Sound of bellowing dragons- not a death Keen, or a hatching humming. The sound of panic and terror. For once Orlaithe sprang from her bed. She'd been housed elsewhere but the quiet of the night carried the sounds. She'd remembered drifting off to sleep in somewhere. No where important, but being carried somewhere else. And waking up near the beast craft complex. Perhaps it was just dumb luck. But there it was, a pair of eyes locking onto her, draconic eyes, whirrinling . "And... ummm" she began when the voice popped into her head., it was a warm surge, a green grassy field in the summer sun. Mine, considered you too tired to go back and sleep at your own nest. The voice was almost scolding. Keysath? It was a private thought, and she could tell the dragon chorlted, perhaps because the thought was a bit louder than she'd intended. Unfortunately no, though I do know of her. You were a little thing...

Orlaithe was confused, and even int he dark the dragons presence seemed to help melt the fear. Come, we have felines to deal with. Mine will meet us, there..

She found a good open space and climbed aboard the dragon, She seemed momentarily confused. A green, who wasn't her mother's remembering her? No, the dragon was clearly using the riders memeory as a guide. Though Keysath was good point. "Nymath?" Orlaithe asked. Yes? Orlaithe grinned and as the swooped over the Central Caldera, Orlaithe swallowed. The green was large, for a green, and set Orlaithe down near her rider. "Tovern?" Orlaithe's voice was cut short by a feline's scream, as the rider, stapped the feline hard. "Kiddo, wits about you!" the voice was firm. "Glad, Nymath found, and sorry about moving you.. you're still feather-light, and its T'ven, now." The male voice made her smile She'd been just a little kid the last time she'd seed.T'ven. A blade was tossed, and Orlaithe grabbed. "Don't take unessary risks."

The green, Nymath took over and picked out a feline. Even in the Darkness Orlaithe found herself struggling to just stay out of the way.

[Zeneka]

S’don was quite happily asleep in his weyr, having a wonderful dream about-

S’don… S’don there are felines attacking.

With a jerk he awoke at his dragon’s intrusion into his mind and blinked blearily around. “Wha’zit? Huh?”

Fenrith is on watch, he has alerted the Weyr that felines are attacking the Beastcraft Complex. I thought you might want to know.

“Felines…?” he sat up in his furs, rubbing the sleep from his eyes before standing and fumbling about for some clothing. “Felines? What are they doing this far south?”

How should I know what goes through a feline’s mind?

“It was rather a rhetorical question, Lath,” he murmured as he turned away from the Brown to grab his bow and slide a quiver of arrows onto his back. He hurriedly climbed atop Lath’s back, “Let’s go. The more dragons present the better, maybe you’ll just be able to scare them off without too much bloodshed.”

Lath hurled himself from the edge of his weyr and winged his way toward the beastcraft complex; a dark, silent shadow in the sky. As they neared, the muted moonlight afforded them some view of the ensuing fight below. Some of the herders were there trying to fight the beasts off, along with a green dragon and he assumed her rider. It was too dark to discern too much more from the air.

Lath roared his challenge, his one and only warning to the felines to run now or fall to the mercy of his claws and fangs. S’don knocked an arrow as the Brown descended and let it loose at the nearest feline, drawing another arrow and knocking it in one smooth motion, “Sharding felines… interrupted the best dream I’ve had in a long time.”

[Tarra]

The alarm spread quickly. Dragons began to appear: first an aggressive green with a man and a girl atop her, armed with blades; then a bellowing brown with his rider notching arrows to fire. And a powerful heavyset brown, lunging suddenly from the air to land almost squarely on a feline about to pounce at a herder. Remuth added his roar to Lath's as he lashed out at another feline springing towards Nymath and Orlaithe. His was not with him, but given the circumstances there was no need for Yaa'kov to be there just then. The man would only be a liability to his dragon in the fierce maelstrom of fangs and claws, something they both knew from long experience. Few men were a match for a head to head fight with a feline, let alone a pack of them; the brownrider's presence would only have hampered his dragon, who had to guard both his rider and his own back.

More dragons were flashing overhead now, drawn by Fenrith's call and the commotion erupting over the lake. Faced with such a flurry of wings and talons, their numbers neatly trimmed by the three dragons already on the ground, the felines began to withdraw into the shadows. They were reluctant to give ground however, still snarling and slashing as they went. At least two were dragging herdbeast carcasses with them as they went, their frantic eyes almost glowing with...rage, hunger? It was impossible to tell.

Three of them, more opportunistic than the rest perhaps, went for the two humans on the ground - T'ven and Orlaithe, both easy targets as far as they were concerned. In the chaos of the retreating felines it was easy to miss the three as they slunk, two through the shadows and the other around Nymath's talons as she picked down a feline. The three launched themselves at the pair at almost the same time, from nearly three different directions. In several seconds they would hit their mark, and like as not the two humans would be down before they knew what was happening...