"'Course I chose!" Tal huffed. "Y'don't know what it was like, afore th'Barrier fell. Safrin an' th' rest? Hadn't been seen in hundreds o' years! Choosin' t'have faith in someone who doesn't answer's a lot harder'n showin' your belly t'the first one who does!"
They were both mad, Tal no less than Sah at the constant barrage of insults going back and forth between them. The courier might have had plenty more to say, but the physical aspect of the fight that accompanied their verbal lashes carried on, and there was only so much breath and time between exchanges of blows. Tal paused a moment to savor the way Sah was looking, sporting several careful cuts in his gear from the courier's blade, but hubris was ever the catalyst for the fall.
Literally, this time. He saw the flick of the hunter's wrist and started to jump back but he reacted a heartbeat too late. The invisible wall of force hit hard and slammed him down into the mud with a yowl like a scalded cat, all indignation and wounded pride that turned to a yelp of pain as he landed badly on his other wrist. Something cracked as the wall of telekinetic force continued to press down and Tal lashed out blindly with his dagger from the ground, hoping to catch the hunter a shallow graze on his arm that would break his concentration.
They were both mad, Tal no less than Sah at the constant barrage of insults going back and forth between them. The courier might have had plenty more to say, but the physical aspect of the fight that accompanied their verbal lashes carried on, and there was only so much breath and time between exchanges of blows. Tal paused a moment to savor the way Sah was looking, sporting several careful cuts in his gear from the courier's blade, but hubris was ever the catalyst for the fall.
Literally, this time. He saw the flick of the hunter's wrist and started to jump back but he reacted a heartbeat too late. The invisible wall of force hit hard and slammed him down into the mud with a yowl like a scalded cat, all indignation and wounded pride that turned to a yelp of pain as he landed badly on his other wrist. Something cracked as the wall of telekinetic force continued to press down and Tal lashed out blindly with his dagger from the ground, hoping to catch the hunter a shallow graze on his arm that would break his concentration.
