[SE] An armor of skin

Time has stopped before us The sky cannot ignore us Caido was full of predators – each one mighty, conniving, and potent in their own right. But perhaps the ignorance of youth fouled the ursur; falling immediately into the trap with nothing more than a bolster of thunder and an intimidating presence. Deimos followed, massive wings outstretched, with Belial close behind, hovering above to see if his notions and prowess were going to be a necessity. Sah’s efforts seemed to coincide with his plan though, and he could hear, see, the ongoing battle below, the rise and fall of snow, the strike of a blade, the roar of the bear. It tottered and toiled, blood spattered across the ivory surface, but remained defiant – much like everything else in this world. Battered, broken, and with each pump of its veins gauging another lapse of time, the bear still tried to swipe at Sah. Perhaps one last act of violence. the Resurrected Sword No one can separate us For we are all that is left

Sah

Sah sensed Deimos' presence above him briefly but focused entirely on the bear in front of him. As it attempted to swipe at him, the Abandoned moved in once more. This time he tried to doge the swipe, leaving a small barrier of telekinetic energy around him as a makeshift shield in case the bear still landed its strike. Or at the very least, make it so that the attack wouldn't hinder Sah's own counter as much.

As the Abandoned ducked, he attempted to take his sword and surge upwards with it, piercing the bear in the heart for hopefully a quick death. But if he failed, Sah would then attempt to leap backwards and out of range.

My soul is in the sky
-William Shakespeare

Deimos

Dare we know the halo's hanging low

A shadow he might have been, but the Sword didn’t appear necessary in this vital moment. With some innate fondness for Sah’s abilities, the thunderbird watched on as the power swept through snow and barriers, a surge of piercing proponents clashing with the young, wounded ursur.

And though it might have lingered on for those moments, the juvenile stumbled, careened, with the latest blow. The assault into its heart mattered for only a space of seconds, before it crashed into the ground, sides giving one last heave, and then becoming completely still.

A quick and efficient hunt, which showed prowess and progress on the Abandoned’s part, and some obvious foolishness on the deceased bear’s.

Deimos descended, shifting back into his human form with the peryton trailing alongside. “Well done,” he noted with a quirk of his brow and a slight smile. “Do you want to load it up and bring it back, or cut it here?” Gesturing to the sled, and perhaps the other bear too – no sense in leaving another behind.

Sah

There was a surge of feral satisfaction when the ursur fell. Both for the successful hunt but also for the efficency of it. Sah grinned at Deimos when the other shifted back. "Thanks for your help." The Warden's startling of the bear had given him the perfect set up for an ambush. Sneaking up on the urusur would have been far more difficult.

Sah considered the options presented. "I'd like to skin and cut up the one I hunted here. That I can get the skin safely tucked away. But the other can wait till we get back to Halo." If a scavenger or something arrived that damaged the skin before he could collect it, the Abandoned would be furious. Better safe than sorry.

With that said, Sah helped Deimos load up the ursur they found and then pulled out his skinning and butchering gear and set to work on the urusur he fell. Not that Deimos needed help in doing so.

With practiced ease he skinned the bear and folded up the skin. Once it was done, Sah placed it carefully in his bag and out of harm's way. Then he proceeded to finish butchering the rest of it. A thought suddenly occurred as he worked, and he glanced at his friend curiously. "Do you think I need to anything apart from cleaning it up a bit before I give it to Safrin?" He had a feeling the goddess would rather he remove the blood first, but he wasn't sure if he needed to do anything else.

My soul is in the sky
-William Shakespeare

Deimos

Dare we know the halo's hanging low

Deimos shrugged his shoulders; perhaps a little dismayed that he hadn’t been permitted to revel in some bloodletting of his own. But there would be other adventures and mishaps in the future, for those came with certainty in Halo, so he snagged at the other ursur, assisting and loading the emptied carcass (bizarre). As Sah worked and the Sword tied down the scavenged bear, his head tilted vaguely, listening to the inquiry. “She would appreciate that, probably.” Not that Safrin wasn’t a goddess who couldn’t handle the sight of such things – one could surmise she’d had her own share of potent and powerful demonstrations. “Otherwise, you should be fine.”

Sah

Once everything was finished and the meat was packed away, Sah stood up. "That's good." He had no doubt that Safrin could handle blood, but it just felt sloppy to bring her a skin that hadn't been tended to. Presenting it covered in blood and dirt, just sounded like an insult.

With that squared away, they made their way back to the Citadel in comfortable silence. It had been too long since Sah had enjoyed a quiet moment in good company. The brief change of pace was sorely needed. Once they passed the gates, the Thunder gave Deimos a small smile, "Thanks again, Deimos."

Sah then made his way home to clean up and prepare the skin for the full moon that was just days away.

-{FIN}

My soul is in the sky
-William Shakespeare