"Oh shit!" Tal's curse rang out as Maea shifted, from pale, horned woman to sleek molten tigress and he had a sudden, terrified vision of the roots beneath her snapping as she landed, sending her plunging down, down, down to the ocean far below.
And the rocks that thrust up from the battering waves like hungry teeth.
He flung himself forward, not sure what he'd do if his own roots broke beneath his boots but hoping he could figure it out on the fly, but it was already over. The roots had held, the tiger was successful, and Tal breathed a heavy sigh of relief as he saw that not only was Maea still on solid-ish ground, but that she'd caught the creepy ring thief! "Hey, nice job!" He managed a shaky grin as he edged towards her. The corrupted mata mata struggled beneath her paws, shrieking a banshee screech that had the courier wincing and tilting his head away from it.
It only bought the bird a few seconds before he recovered enough to lash out with his Dagger, careful of Maea's form so close to the beastie. Even though he was still ten feet away and Tal's blade was nowhere close to it, the bird jerked and went suddenly silent. The blood began to drain from it, coating the roots and dripping down to scatter in the winds beneath the Grotto, though its dark feathers hid the location of its death wound.
Tal worked his way the rest of the distance and wriggled past the tiger, trying to avoid her molten stripes so he could lean over and snag the ring, working it free from the sharp beak that now hung loosely open. "Thanks, Maea. You're a lifesaver. I'm lucky I ran into you!"
And the rocks that thrust up from the battering waves like hungry teeth.
He flung himself forward, not sure what he'd do if his own roots broke beneath his boots but hoping he could figure it out on the fly, but it was already over. The roots had held, the tiger was successful, and Tal breathed a heavy sigh of relief as he saw that not only was Maea still on solid-ish ground, but that she'd caught the creepy ring thief! "Hey, nice job!" He managed a shaky grin as he edged towards her. The corrupted mata mata struggled beneath her paws, shrieking a banshee screech that had the courier wincing and tilting his head away from it.
It only bought the bird a few seconds before he recovered enough to lash out with his Dagger, careful of Maea's form so close to the beastie. Even though he was still ten feet away and Tal's blade was nowhere close to it, the bird jerked and went suddenly silent. The blood began to drain from it, coating the roots and dripping down to scatter in the winds beneath the Grotto, though its dark feathers hid the location of its death wound.
Tal worked his way the rest of the distance and wriggled past the tiger, trying to avoid her molten stripes so he could lean over and snag the ring, working it free from the sharp beak that now hung loosely open. "Thanks, Maea. You're a lifesaver. I'm lucky I ran into you!"
