"Teeth," Jigano said succinctly, with a full grimace and a gaze full of shadows. "And hunger. I didn't even see all of it - just the jaws. I saw..." he hesitated, letting his mind drift back to that snowy night, the starlight and snow and the wolf... "It came up beneath a wolf. A big wolf. Teeth as long as my arm, and a mouth wide enough to swallow the wolf whole, not even blood left." In spite of the warm breezes of spring he shivered, ice trickling down his spine. "And then it just... disappeared, back beneath the earth again. Like it was diving back into water. Not a trace left..." Not that he'd stuck around to look for it. Hell no. He'd tucked his fluffy white tail between his legs and run straight to Rory's farm to hide in his friend's barn.
Luckily their companions were providing a welcome diversion from that particular memory. Isuma jumped in surprise when Bobi leapt back, then was caught caught off guard and off balance when the bobcat reversed direction and pounced on her long, fluffy tail. She squeaked in protest - or maybe delight - and as her fellow kitten retreated the gryphlet scampered in pursuit, neither as graceful nor as fast, but so very determined as she peeped happily and made pounces that inevitably landed short of the swift Bobi's paws.
Edy's boast was met with a grin, and nod of respectful acknowledgment. "You're my favorite bodyguard for a reason," the bard agreed cheerfully. He tilted his head at her fire, a curl of an idea in his gut as he lead the way at a steady amble in the direction of the arrow. "Speaking of fire... I don't suppose you'd have any use for a spark bird feather?" he asked tentatively. "You did more work than I did, getting the perch repaired. By all rights it should have gone to you." Of the four of them he had been the least useful, and the least deserving. He still felt a pang of guilt that he had somehow come through that night without an outward scratch when Amalia and Rory had been wounded so terribly. Perhaps being in foxform had protected him somewhat, or maybe the monsters had simply delighted in scarring the minds of some while they focused on the bodies of others. Regardless, as useful as the feather could be, there was no doubt that it had a greater affinity to the fire mage than the fox.
Luckily their companions were providing a welcome diversion from that particular memory. Isuma jumped in surprise when Bobi leapt back, then was caught caught off guard and off balance when the bobcat reversed direction and pounced on her long, fluffy tail. She squeaked in protest - or maybe delight - and as her fellow kitten retreated the gryphlet scampered in pursuit, neither as graceful nor as fast, but so very determined as she peeped happily and made pounces that inevitably landed short of the swift Bobi's paws.
Edy's boast was met with a grin, and nod of respectful acknowledgment. "You're my favorite bodyguard for a reason," the bard agreed cheerfully. He tilted his head at her fire, a curl of an idea in his gut as he lead the way at a steady amble in the direction of the arrow. "Speaking of fire... I don't suppose you'd have any use for a spark bird feather?" he asked tentatively. "You did more work than I did, getting the perch repaired. By all rights it should have gone to you." Of the four of them he had been the least useful, and the least deserving. He still felt a pang of guilt that he had somehow come through that night without an outward scratch when Amalia and Rory had been wounded so terribly. Perhaps being in foxform had protected him somewhat, or maybe the monsters had simply delighted in scarring the minds of some while they focused on the bodies of others. Regardless, as useful as the feather could be, there was no doubt that it had a greater affinity to the fire mage than the fox.
