It was what he deserved for letting himself get distracted, really. He'd been too absorbed by the fox's graceful play and let his guard down—easy target for the gourds. Angrily, Rory stabbed another squash, ending its nightmarish charge. It wasn't like they were difficult foes, either! There were just a lot of them, and he would've much rathered just watched the fox.
But alas. And it was the fox's turn to yelp, causing Rory's gaze to snap back to it. His heart froze in his chest for a moment. That damned calabash had one of the fox's paws in its mouth, and very, very briefly, it seemed it wouldn't get lose. Rory's brain computed the path and the distance to the fox, but before he had a chance to launch either himself or the pike, the little white creature got loose. Not wanting to be caught off guard again, Rory looked down and kicked another encroaching gourd away.
In the corner of his eye he saw the fox return, felt its presence behind his calves; he glanced down, a small smile curving the corner of his mouth. It really was kind of cute, all fluffed up like that. Some Attuned ought to never shift out of their animal forms.
Then again, the person behind the fox could be cute too, but Rory doubted he'd want to ruffle its stomach or tug on its ears.
Still, he had squashes to deal with before he could even think about setting such a plan in motion (and it was kind of weird to think about whenever he acknowledged the fact that the fox was most likely a human in magical disguise). So he chuckled as the fox headbutted away a small gourd that had taken advantage of his spell of inattention, appreciating being saved by his playmate. But.. following in its wake was two rather large squashes, and Rory, again, felt his heart freeze.
It was something about their size and their glowing eyes and their fleshy mouths, and the noise they made as they determinedly wobbled and rolled and bounced towards them: Rory made a noise that was something like determination and fear-driven anger, and stabbed relentlessly into one of them with the pike.
Sort of belatedly realizing that there were two of them and he wasn't getting his one to stop/die fast enough...
But alas. And it was the fox's turn to yelp, causing Rory's gaze to snap back to it. His heart froze in his chest for a moment. That damned calabash had one of the fox's paws in its mouth, and very, very briefly, it seemed it wouldn't get lose. Rory's brain computed the path and the distance to the fox, but before he had a chance to launch either himself or the pike, the little white creature got loose. Not wanting to be caught off guard again, Rory looked down and kicked another encroaching gourd away.
In the corner of his eye he saw the fox return, felt its presence behind his calves; he glanced down, a small smile curving the corner of his mouth. It really was kind of cute, all fluffed up like that. Some Attuned ought to never shift out of their animal forms.
Then again, the person behind the fox could be cute too, but Rory doubted he'd want to ruffle its stomach or tug on its ears.
Still, he had squashes to deal with before he could even think about setting such a plan in motion (and it was kind of weird to think about whenever he acknowledged the fact that the fox was most likely a human in magical disguise). So he chuckled as the fox headbutted away a small gourd that had taken advantage of his spell of inattention, appreciating being saved by his playmate. But.. following in its wake was two rather large squashes, and Rory, again, felt his heart freeze.
It was something about their size and their glowing eyes and their fleshy mouths, and the noise they made as they determinedly wobbled and rolled and bounced towards them: Rory made a noise that was something like determination and fear-driven anger, and stabbed relentlessly into one of them with the pike.
Sort of belatedly realizing that there were two of them and he wasn't getting his one to stop/die fast enough...
