This is a continuation of RR1 and the introduction of Kadyriah.
The tall elf turned and looked at her. His eyes were crazed and it seemed like her stared through her. **Nightdream? Sweetsong?**
Soulwhisper fell back and screamed. "No-no! Longchirp!"
Immediatley the fledging flew up and attacked the strange elf. The elf waved his hands around trying to chase away bird. **Leave me be! Where's Shunnar? Where's Silvergrowl? EVIL!**
Soulwhisper could still hear the voices of the elves parents. /Help him/ /Heal him/ /Save his soul/.
Foxeye urged Rainshale forward, sending to the other searchers and trying to reach even far-away Snowcloud with her mind. She didn't succeed though, so all the redhaired huntress could do was move towards the feeling of Soulwhisper's mind. This hunt of thoughts was different from the way things usually were and that made her feel ill at ease, but anything was good if it brought her closer to the missing cub.
She slipped at a rock that was covered with ice, and cursing she saw how blood trickled from her knee. The wolfrider bended over and licked at the little wound, cleaning it. She motioned Rainshale to continue. Foxeye cursed silently, now she couldn't run as fast as was needed! But still the elfess continued, climbing higher up in the mountains.
Rainshale looked back, pausing for Foxeye to catch up. The strained look in the young woman's eyes told of her pain, though she knew Foxeye would rather keep it to herself.
"You need a healer, Foxeye." Rainshale said, grabbing her hand and pulling her up the untamed mountain trail, "That gash could get bad and you'd have even more trouble..."
"I'm fine, Rainshale." Foxeye snapped, not meaning to, but she couldn't stand someone breathing down her neck, Even if they were only concerned, "We must get to Moonslight."
Rainshale opened her mouth to protest, saying that the others certainly would have gotten to Moonslight by now and have things nearly under control, that they could afford a rest so she could at least bandage Foxeye's knee, but Foxeye pushed past her and looked back briefly. With a jerk of her flame-hued head Foxeye gestured the rockshaper onward.
Suddenly, all around them it seemed, but really coming from a few yards ahead..."Wolves!" Foxeye cried, lasping instantly into sending. **The wolves have found something!**
**Maybe Soulwhisper.**
**Maybe trouble.**
Rainshale turned three shades of pale at the direness of Foxeye's sending bounced through her mind. As if they needed anymore trouble.The small bit of dried meat she'd eaten before the hunt sat in her stomach like a pile of rocks.
Dalamar raced with the others to find Moonslight. He had thought his lovemate had stayed at the holt, but he shrugged. Now was not the time for his own selfish thoughts. He stopped when he realised he wouldn't be able to catch the others. He sent to them. **I will be the go between for you and the holt.**
Snowcloud listened to Dalamar's report with interest. There was still a chance....
"I...I don't know...really," she said as she backed away from the elf. **SOMEONE! ANYONE!HELP!!!!!**
Soulwhisper turn to run out of the cave as soon as she saw that she had dropped her sling shot.
**NO! YOU WILL NOT LEAVE!** He sent as he grabbed her leg. Soulwhisper fell to the ground hard. She hit her head as soon as she landed.
/Heal him/ /Help him/ /Save his soul/ /Save him/ /Evil within/
'Help HIM, who's going to help me?' She thought as she looked up at the elf standing above her. Longchirp still tried to save her, but it was helping only making him more mad. 'Please let someone hear me,' she thought before sending once more.**HELP!!! PLEASE HELP!!!! ANYONE!!!!**
Stamist leapt form her perch. she ran to her friend. Her teeth bared in howl. Soulwhisper sighed in a terrified relief. The elfess charged onto the crazed elf, prepared to do anything to help the cub. Soulwhisper saw the look in the pale elfess and shouted out. It barely was heard to the overprotective maiden, but she heard and stopped before anything had been done. Stamist stood looking quizzically at Soulwhisper asking without words what was going on.
Kadyriah looked at Starmist. **You are not Silvergrowl!! Who are you?**
He charged at her, a longsword drawn. His green eyes stared at Starmist in anger. He turned to Soulwhisper, **Evil!! You are all evil!**
Starmist glided back. **Soulwhisper get out of here!**
Soulwhisper edged out of the cave and began to send for help from the others she felt near. Longchirp sent to her to get on his back and his that, the two flew down to the bottom of the cliffs. They spotted some elves in the distance and rushed to get more help.
She glared back angrily. Her ivory blades whirled out and with a howl she lunged at Kadyriah. Starmist stared up at Kadyriah. Then she gasped...somehow she felt all of his anger, his madness, his...soul?
Kadyriah roared and slashed at her arm. Crimson blood oozed onto the frozen floor. Starmist stared for a moment before replying with her deadly blades. She struck fast, knocking him back.
Foxeye and Rainshale were working their way upwards when Soulwhisper came flying down. The sounds of the fight and the urgent sendings together with the cub's scared look left no choices - they picked up their speed as much as possible. Foxeye gritted her teeth and climbed even faster than before, blankly ignoring the gash in her knee. It wasn't all that deep, she told herself. The blood had already stopped.
She came to the cave with the blood pounding in her veins, filled with adrenaline and fear. The elfess looked startled at the fight, not knowing what she should do. She must stop that crazed elf! But... what if she harmed Starmist? With a growl, she picked up a stone from the floor and concealed it in her fist. Then the elfess howled, trying to avert his attention from her friend.
Motaba and Moonslight had just heard the send. **Stay here and wait for the others then guide them to the cub, I'm sure most of them havn't heard her send.**
Then Motaba floated up in the air, whistling for her bird that came shortly. She could feel that there was something wrong, so she made her bird fly as fast as it could. She could see Foxeye, but not the others. So she took her swords and let go of her bird and floated down. She landed and saw that Foxeye had a stone in her hand and then she looked into the cave and saw what was going on...If she interupted maybe he'll duck when she swung her swords and maybe hit Starmist...she wouldn't dare to hurt one of her new tribe. The only thing she actually could think of was sending. **You don't have to do this...we wont harm you if you surender..**
Kadyriah stopped for a moment. He was now surrounded by three females. Each not the person he was looking for. Green eyes stared out at them. In those eyes, was a glazed look. He roared angrily. **EVIL! Leave me alone! Give them back!**
Starmist floated back to Motaba and FoxEye. :Maybe if all three of us attack at once...: She lock-sent.
FoxEye shrugged and growled loudly.She edged forward, while Starmist made her way towards the left. Motaba rose up to the cave ceiling and then dive-bombed Kadyriah. The other two warrior maidens stared in shock as the crazed elf merely floated out of danger. **How dare you!!**
He flew at Starmist and attacked her. They rolled out of the cave and into open air. FoxEye watched as the two began to duel. A small distance away, Soulwhisper sat on top of LongChirp watching the battle.
'This is all my fault,' she thought to herself. 'I have to do something.'
/Don't hurt him/ /He can be saved/ /Heal his soul/
"STOOOOOPPP!!" She screamed into the air. "PLEEEAAASSSEEE STOOOOOPPP! He can be saved. They say so!"
Soulwhisper and LongChirp flew down where the fighting had stopped for the moment. Her three friends looked at her strangely.
"Who say he can be saved?" FoxEye asked the cub now in front of them. Soulwhisper looked down for a second as if to question if she should tell them or not, then she looked up.
"The voices, they told me to find him and heal his soul."
:Great now what?: StarMist lock-sent to her two friends. They looked her then to the crazed elf. What would they do?
Stamist barely controlled herself from going back into the fighting, but the insistenece of the cub somehow stopped her. She watched the crazed elf wary of what he would do. She looked down at SoulWhisper in a silent question. Poor half dazed Moonslight looked at everyone in question unsure of what exactly was going on.
"Anyone care to explain?" she spoke out, breaking the silence that had overcome the group of elves.
Foxeye growled deep in her throat. The young elfess had sunk down on the floor, her green eyes glowing and never leaving the elf for a second. In many ways she was as a wolf, and right now her elvish mind wasn't totally in controll. That thing had hurt her packmate. That beast, that enemy was to be killed, and his blood would fall on the barren ground and nourish nothing. But when she tried to get up, the sharp pain in her knee overcame her and Foxeye had to sink back down again. Then Soulwhisper looked at her and shook her head, a scared look on the cub's pale face.
There was nothing else to do. She let go of the stone and - still growling - moved closer to her friends, but not planning any attacks against the stranger anymore.
Kadyriah flew back deeper into the cave, and never taking his eyes off the strangers before him, built a fire and sat facing them, replaying the fight in his mind and finding his weak points. . . always something he found interesting. He sat there, stroking his silver star necklace, contemplating their next move.
----
DarkShroom sat watching the elves. She had seen Kadyriah wandering through the troll caves, but had decided not to take action. 'At least they found the she-pup,'she thought to herself.
She stood in the shadows, waiting for when she could help the elves that she had come to like.
----
And in the caves, far away, Kave turned his old face towards the mountainside where all the strange events took place. The old elf didn't feel very comfortable, something was wrong deep down and it made his bones ache. With a sigh, he poked at the fire with a stick and watched the flames dance. Around him elves buzzed, and the chieftains were ordering them around.
He watched them leave with a concerned look in his eyes, and sended openly to them all, **Come back in one piece, cublings. I've seen to many walk away and not return.**
The elven maids stared at the crazed elf's strange actions. He just sat there...watching. Unsure of what to do, they sat and watched.
Just then, Moonslight got a sending from Dalamar. He told them that Snowcloud and the others agreed that the stranger elf should be brought to the holt. And he also mentioned that Blizzard had possibly discovered three other elves nearby.
Starmist growled. :How many strangers will encroach on our holt. We don't even know if he's okay to bring back!:
She pointed wildly at the elf that had caught her attention. She didn't want to tell the others...but she held the mad elf's soulname within her. She wondered at the possiblity that because of his madness, he had let all barriers down. Maybe her tribemates held his soulname as well. Sighing, she turned away from him.
Soulwhisper had a dazed look on her face. The voices were stronger, urging her to help heal their son. That Starmist held the key. 'What key,' she wondered.
Everyone was confused, but orders were orders. They had to bring Kadyriah back.
Foxeye's eyes narrowed. In her hand she concealed a small piece of troll-metal, covered with cloth and leather to make a hard ball that still wasn't deadly. In her other hand, the huntress held her sling. She shot a quick glance at Starmist. Foxeye never wanted to be the leader of a group - if she could, she let someone else do the hard decisions. Then she watched Kadyriah again, judging the distance. Locksending to Starmist, she said :I can pick him out from here, and he probably won't suffer bad damage. Shall I try?:
Motaba sent to her tribe mates and made sure the crazed elf didn't hear it. **If those other strangers are this one's friends who knows how crazy they are...I think we better go as fast as we can back to the holt just incase a fight would break up. We could tie him up and I could take him on my hawk...what do you say?** She looked at the others.
Starmist looked over at her companions. Sending to each of them. :We've got to get them back to the holt:
Although, still slightly dazed she nodded at Foxeye and Motoba. Soulwhisper bit back anything she wanted to say at Starmist glare. Motoba and Foxeye nodded in aggrement and in a flash Kadyridn was unconsious and they were on there way back to the holt.
Kadyriah awoke one day into the trip, screaming his rage and flailing his clawed hands as best he could. He was then quiet, staring out into space for a while, then glaring at Foxeye, the one he presumed had konked him out. :How dare you!: And then he hit her with a wave of black-sending.
