When a Bad Day Turns Good (Limit 3 People)

OoC: Including myself, only two others may join this RP. And I have a rule. ASK ME FIRST BEFORE JOINING. This is to prevent noobs from coming in. I hate reading their posts. So you need my permission to join the battle. I also don't like having too many people at once in a thread, so I usually limit mine to 2-4 participants.

I'll be using Zarek. He's in the list linked in my sig.

Participants
- Crystal (Zarek)
- Abyss Master (Caragon)
- Navi007 (Padme)

BiC: So far it had been a long day for the Reaver known as Zarek, even though it was now only early afternoon. The annoyances just wouldn't stop, and and the frustrated axe wielder could only hope he'd begin finding better luck soon. Already he had run into a rain storm and mistakenly electrified his lunch to an uneatable state due to the water and the electricity of his Bolt Axe. He'd also run into a pair of good for nothing teenagers swimming in a lake who splashed him by mistake, ruining the second meal he'd gotten. To make things worse, Zarek afterwards had tripped and fallen into a mud pool.

After he'd finally cleaned himself up in a nearby river connecting with the lake from earlier, Zarek went on to hunt a meal for the third time since breakfast. He traveled along a vast plain with scattered trees here and there and followed the river he'd washed up in, hoping to find some animal taking a drink or bath. Finally, when his luck seemed to have turned around at last, Zarek spotted a wild chicken bathing in a shallow part of the river. He smiled and licked his lips, chicken being his favorite meat. Zarek hid himself behind a bush and quietly crept up to the unaware bird.

"GOT YOU!" he exclaimed and plunged his Silver Axe into the bird's flesh. It was turned into a carcass immediately, but feathers had mistakenly flown into Zarek's eyes. Not able to see, he tumbled into the river and was pulled downstream for a few moments. When he finally reached the surface and grabbed the edge of the water, Zarek pulled himself out and immediately went to fetch his meal.

To his dismay, he saw the same two teenagers from the lake approach the dead chicken and take it for themselves. Angry once, more, Zarek stood there, gripped his Silver Axe tightly and decided that he had had enough.

"Damn it!" he shouted. "This is the last straw! COME BACK HERE WITH MY DINNER, YOU MORONS!!" Since it was already too late in the afternoon for lunch, Zarek settled for his next meal to be dinner, and chased the teens at blinding speed, who began running off in fear the instant they set eyes on Zarek. Being much faster than them, Zarek caught up quickly and grabbed both by the backs of their shirts. Not able to control himself anymore, Zarek tossed them into the river and entertained himself by watching their misery because of the increase in the current's speed in this part of the river.

"Have fun in the rapids, suckers!" he teased. Laughing afterward, Zarek picked up his chicken and took it away for cooking. Deciding to stay near the river, Zarek settled himself by a few more bushes, gathered some wood that was lying around, and ignited a small fire. While warming himself up, he plucked the feathers off of the bird, getting it ready to cook. He attached the chicken to a stick and began to cook it up into a roast when it was feather-free. Zarek's mouth began to water as he could already taste the deliciousness of a fresh chicken leg or breast.

Just as the bird was almost finished cooking, however, a rustling sound startled Zarek, causing him to nearly fall over. What could this be now? His luck had finally changed now, why should it continue to be horrible again? Zarek stayed cautious, but started eating the chicken moments later.

OoC: That rustling is the character of the next person to join.

(OoC: Ugh, my mistake again - my character is named Caragon, not Castron. I keep making that blunder >_<)

BiC: Caragon's red cape hung over his shoulders heavily as he dragged himself through the forest. The last few days had been particularly rough, and it had been almost a full day since the last time he had a decent meal. Berries and nuts could only satisfy his needs for so long.

He was used to a lack of food. Ever since he had left his home, meals had been a luxury he could rarely enjoy. His armor and halberd didn't exactly make him an ideal hunter, either. Money was hard to come by, as no-one seemed to be in need of someone of his talents and abilities. Someone some time ago had adviced him to forget his fighting ways and settle down somewhere, but that was not how he had visualized his future. In fact, he had yet to see anything for his future.

He had reached the edge of the forest. He knelt down and picked some blueberries from the ground. They tasted rather sour in his mouth, but he didn't mind at all. Why would he complain if he had something to eat?

As he was about to stand up, his gaze fell upon a small light up ahead. It seemed to be a small fire, by the edge of a river. Caragon slowly approached, but used great caution. There was someone there. A man, seemingly around the same age as himself. The light from the fire cast an orange glow over him, but Caragon still noticed that the man's hair was green. Green hair? he thought to himself. That's... weird.

He accidentally let his hand touch a bush, and the rustling of the leaves alerted the other man. However, he did not investigate further, but went back to what he was doing before - cooking up a dead bird. Caragon twitched a little, but kept his calm. Though he was hungry, it was against his beliefs to steal from others.

He was, however, thirsty. He came out from the bushes, but ignored the other man's stare and went over to the edge of the river. He knelt down and dipped his hands into the cold water, splashing some over his face before drinking up.

Those who wander into the realm of the haschen ought to be advised in a certain matter regarding the rabbit-like creatures. When one travels through their forest, they are temporarily invading that territory, providing a threat which must be carefully watched and controlled. Such a traveler must keep in mind that there are certain things that anger these creatures. Alone, one haschen is a bother. At twenty, they become deadly. Anger one and that traveler will bring upon themselves a great deal more pain than they could ever imagine.

So, to stay on the good side of these furry creatures, there are rules that must be followed:

1) NEVER, under any circumstances are you to hunt in their territory. Nothing enrages a haschen more than a fellow animal killed for human food.

2) Avoid fires. Campfires of any sort attract haschen like moths, for they are forever suspicious of humans and would never trust one with a tool as destructive as flames.

3) Do NOT insult a haschen. They are a proud and wild species and will meet any aggression with their own.

4) Do not underestimate the intelligence of a haschen. They are far cleverer than your average animal, and their forests have often been known to be full of traps. Chase a haschen in their own territory, and you are very much at risk to fall into one of their traps.

5) Be friendly. If a haschen does not see you as a threat, they are likely to return your kind gestures and may even help guide you through their territory.

And so, you can imagine the rage of Padme, the great haschen warrior, when she clearly saw these two rules broken. She had been on patrol for quite some time with her good friend, Ziggy, when she saw smoke rising above the green treetops. The western breeze carried the scent of roasting flesh, causing both haschens to cringe.

“You smell that?” Padme sniffed the air cautiously with her small pink nose, raising herself onto her large back paws.

“Yes, yes, Ziggy smell it, too.” The pure back rabbit beside her nodded his furry head, his ears pricked up high above his head. His keen eyes followed the tiny string of black reaching into the sky, his body tense and alert. “HUMANS be here!”

Padme gave out a low growl, her teeth barring. She gripped her thick wooden staff tightly in her paw, her eyes peering lividly into the tall grass. “HUMAN not be far. Padme smell it from here. Has metal with it.”

“You think it be warrior?”

“Yes, Padme think that. Hunters no wear shiny suits.”

“Then we must fight!” Ziggy hit the butt of his black ash wood staff against the ground, his wooden bangles clacking threateningly against it. His fierce gaze encouraged Padme, who grinned at the creature with a star-like patch of white fur covering most of his face.

“Yes, we go now!” Both haschen warriors placed their staffs in their mouths, allowing them to travel quickly on all fours toward the HUMAN’s fire. In a matter of moments, they reached a break in the land, where the wide Fecund River rushed through the forest. Just on the other side of it, a tall line of trees stood near the bank, marking the vast grove of forest that climbed up into the mountains. Padme and Ziggy had to cross Fecund River earlier that morning to get from those woods to the clover fields, which they had been told to patrol. Rumor had been that there were a pair of two young HUMANS travelling through the forest, so the haschen were being particularly careful.

But that wasn’t what Padme was thinking about. As soon as she saw the rocky shore of the river, she caught sight of two humans, one with a pointy stick, and the other with two huge axes strapped to his back. They both looked rather mangy (for humans, anyway), as if they had been walking the woods for a long time. Neither spoke to the other, or paid any heed, so it seemed safe to assume that they were separate.

“They be too old to be young.” Ziggy whispered into Padme’s sensitive ear. She nodded silently and pulled back, hiding herself in the tall grass.

“Yes, Padme no think they be the young ones elders speak of. They be stronger, bigger threat. We must scare them away quickly!”

Ziggy nodded solemnly, his dark gaze fixed on the human with strange spikes on his shoulder. “This no be easy, Padme.”

“Challenge always good for strong warrior!” Padme thumped her chest proudly, then propped her ears forward, listening intently to the humans. One was splashing himself in the water, while the other must have still been attending to his fire.

“On count of three.” Padme bent low into the grass, her ears flat against her head. Ziggy followed her example, propping his staff to charge, and waiting silently as she slowly counted. “One…Two…THREE!”

Moving so fast as to look like nothing but streaks of black and yellow, both haschen warriors charged towards the man with axes. They were well aware of the threat of the other human, but haschen warriors always fought together. The only way to overcome a truly strong preadator was to group against it, for combined power was always their greatest strength.

“HUMAN DIE! You kill friend!” Padme cried as she leaped for the man, her staff whistling towards his surprised face. Ziggy charged with her, but veered off as Padme leaped, circling quickly around to the man’s left side in order to flank him. With surprising coordination, both struck the man at the same time, one towards his face, and the other at his left leg.

BiC: "WHOA! What the--! YOW!" Zarek screamed as two large rabbits had come from out of nowhere to pounce him. He'd had no chances to grab one of his axes, so all he could do was feel the impact of rabbit feet, paws, and the staff wielded by one of the two, a yellow rabbit. Zarek kept trying to talk and get the rabbits off of him, but nothing worked until he finally managed to grab both by the necks and hold them above the ground.

"Hey! Let us go!" the black rabbit demanded, clutching Zarek's hand.

"What the heck is going on here?!" Zarek blurted as the two rabbits dangled there helplessly from his hands. "I was desperately hungry! Don't you know other wild animals eat meat too?!"

"No matter who eat animals, we protect them!" the yellow rabbit squealed. "I demand you put us down NOW!"

"Now just a minute!" Zarek insisted. "If I offended you so badly, then whatever, I'm sorry. How was I supposed to know two rabbits who hated what I was doing were lurking here?"

"It don't matter! You our enemy and we kill enemies!" the yellow rabbit replied.

"Humph. You leave me no choice then, since you're not willing to cooperate," Zarek decided, and threw down the two rabbits. "If it's a fight you want, you got it." Damn, if the others back in Altarais saw this, I'd be the laughing stock, Zarek thought. Then again, a challenge is a challenge, and a good battle always makes my day.

"Oh, and by the way," Zarek added, watching the two rabbits get up and breath again. "It's easy to tell that you two work best when you combine your power. Well guess what? That is also MY biggest strength as well!" With that, Zarek immediately let the blades of his axes touch one another to start with his Dual Lightning Axes technique.

"Choosing to ignore my attempts to reason with you was the worst mistake you'll have ever made!" Zarek finished, feeling as prepared as ever to fry both rabbits to a crisp.

Both rabbits were more than ready to fight. In fact, they were quite enraged. Being manhandled isn’t one of their top items in “what I really wish would happen to me” list. That was why, when the HUMAN challenged them to a fight, that both of them took to it rather quickly.

Ziggy was the first to move. He leaped towards the man in a black flash, his staff clanking angrliy as the man blocked him from the left side. Only a moment later, Padme went to the man’s right, striking at his leg. This movement was a practiced one, both haschens using their advantage against the man’s. With two enemies striking at both sides, there was no way he could block both attacks. He’d have to have two heads for that. Another purpose of this move was to throw the man off balance, making it difficult in the extreme to block both a high and low attack on either side.

For the most part, it worked. While the man manged to block the initial blows, he could not keep up with the quick and desicive strikes of the haschen warriors. When Ziggy distracted him with a low blow to the left, Padme leaped on the man’s back, striking his head with the full force of her staff. When he reacted to that, trying to throw Padme’s clenching paws off, Ziggy went for his chest, barreling into him and bringing the great man down.

Padme barely managed to get off of the man’s back in time, but rather than press their advantage, both creatures hopped a few feet away and began to circle him. Every good hashcen warrior knew it was dishonorable to fight an enemy on their back.

OoC: Abyss, come on dude, help me! XD

BiC: Damn, how can two measly rabbits fight like this? Zarek thought. I may have underestimated them, but they've made the same exact mistake with me! The anger boiling up in his mind at the moment could not be stopped. Zarek was almost losing control of his easily lost temper when angry.

"Alright, enough games!" he yelled. "I'M GETTING SERIOUS NOW!" With that, he held his axes out in opposite directions and spun as fast as he could, igniting a double Electric Twister attack. Both axes plunged into the rabbits' bodies, dealing a great bit of damage to both. The electricity electrocuted them, hurting them even more.

"You've angered me FOR THE LAST TIME!" Zarek continued, his rage building up. He'd hoped no one was watching, but decided it didn't matter too much if someone was anyhow. From the extreme anger now built up, Zarek held both of his electrified axes high in the air, about to do a Lightning Strike attack when all of a sudden, a huge bolt of Lightning shot up into the sky from both axes.

"Huh?!" Zarek said with confusion, looking up to see what just happened. After the large bolt of lightning was high enough in the sky, dark clouds had suddenly formed faster than they ever had before, and more lightning could be seen striking above. Heavy rain began to fall, and it took only seconds for Zarek to realize what had just happened. He created a thunderstorm. A real thunderstorm, by himself, with his own power. He'd found a new magic spell to use to his advantage, but wasn't exactly sure how he'd done it.

"Hehehe. As you probably guessed, I fight even better during a thunderstorm!" Zarek continued. The two rabbits were by now looking afraid and overpowered, but did not have thoughts even close to that of giving up, and Zarek could see it in their eyes. However, he would underestimate the two no more, and would go at them with his full strength and skill. Even though by now they were getting soaked from the rain, none of them cared about anything but winning the battle.

OoC: Hehe, you've let Zarek discover a new ability, Navi. :3

OoC: Caragon isn't one to get into fights unless provoked. Especially not against rabbits. But I'll think something up.

BiC: Caragon just stood and watched, holding his halberd in his hand. He had no idea what was going on - he had heard the rabbits yell something like "DIE" and "HUMAN". Their opponent, the man with the axes, seemed to hold his own against the two small ones with electrocuting attacks. Somehow, he had managed to conjure up a thunderstorm, which to Caragon's irritation made it start raining.

Of all the places I could be tonight... he thought to himself, sighing and scratching his head. To be fair, he thought that two against one wasn't such a fair match, but the two rabbits had enough to deal with against the axe-man alone, and they seemed to be fighting honorably, avoiding their opponent's back and striking head-on. There simply was no need for an intervention -

Something in the corner of his eye caught his attention. There, by the trees. A... a squirrel? Caragon instinctively rushed towards it. Hunger consumed his mind, and he could only think of one thing. He had to eat.

Unfortunately, the squirrel escaped before he had even gotten to it. He cursed himself, leaning against the tree and gritting his teeth. He wouldn't have been able to roast it anyway, because of the rain. It was like he didn't even care anymore. He had to eat something. Something more than nuts and berries.

There was a dunk! as something fell onto his head. He winced in surprise and saw the object fall to the ground. An apple.

He looked up, just in time to dodge as two more apples fell. He looked up again, but he saw nothing. And this wasn't an apple tree. Peculiar indeed.

He didn't care, however. Apples were more than enough for him. He dived to the ground to collect them, immediately, taking a bite from one of them. It was an indescribable sensation to taste it, after so long of tasting dirt and sourness. He took another huge bite. And another. And another. Soon the apple was gone entirely.

He started on the second apple when he heard something. A small crack, like someone stepping on a twig. He turned. A wolf. And he had let go of his halberd in order to pick up the apples and eat them.

Caragon slowly backed away, and the wolf began to snarl. His foot touched the staff of the halberd. If he could only reach down and -

The wolf leapt. With blotted, white teeth that were ready to sink into human flesh. Caragon kicked the halberd up into the air with his foot, and caught it with his hand. The wolf's body flung sideways as the saber-like blade hit it with the flatside, sending it flying with a yelp. It recovered quickly and made another attempt at attacking. Caragon, still holding one apple in his other hand and one apple held by his teeth, found it difficult to swing the halberd without the necessary support, but he couldn't let go of his food.

A well aimed kick sent the wolf flying again. Caragon pursued, lifting the halberd and bringing it down upon the animal with as much force he could muster into his right arm. The blade cleaved through it, causing it to fall to the ground in a pool of blood.

Caragon breathed a sigh of relief, taking a bite from the apple he had held by his teeth. Hunt or be hunted, huh?

Padme’s light yellow fur was standing on its end, her instincts heightened by the presence of the storm. Every fiber of her body screamed that it wasn’t natural, that she ought to flee from it, but the brave haschen warrior stood her ground.

Both rabbits had managed to block the sharp blade of the man’s spin attack with their staffs, but the impact had sent both of them flying while electricity fizzed through their bodies. Padme was still shaking, but Ziggy was in an even worse position. The man’s axe had managed to cut into his side, leaving an ugly red gash on his smooth black fur. With all of the rain pouring down on him, Ziggy was limping, holding his paw against the wound while shaking from the electric attack.

“Ziggy!” Padme cried out in alarm. She moved to help Ziggy, but he held out his paw to stop her.

“Ziggy be fine! Must keep up attack!”

Padme’s worried gaze turned to a vicious glare at the electric man, and her ears again went flat against her head. She came down on all fours , and Ziggy followed suit. Again, they both charged at full speed, but this time, there was no leaping. Both animals struck low, aiming at his legs. This they did in systematic strikes, both running from different directions and dashing off once they effectively made a hit. The man’s axes came down at them like great swinging pendulums, but he could not keep up with haschen speed.

By the third strike, the haschens had battered the man’s legs fairly well. He was even limping slightly on his left foot, which Ziggy had stomped the butt of his staff into. Both rabbits then slowly circled the man again, their small bodies poised to strike at any given moment.

Far away, Padme heard a great cry echo through the forest. The storm was so loud that only her haschen ears could pick it up, but it made her heart leap with joy. It was the warning cry of a haschen on patrol. Her people knew she was in danger.

“Padme, there be more than one great predator!” Ziggy quickly motioned to the trees, where the other man was fighting with a wolf. The apple in his mouth made him look truly silly, but both Ziggy and Padme were too focused to laugh. They still had the electric man to deal with.

OoC: Well, Abyss, I was actually thinking Caragon could team up with Zarek so we'd have an even two on two fight.

BiC: Zarek, being as strong as he was, showed that he could not be weakened at the legs so easily. Only limping slightly, he still had more strength left in his muscular legs than those two rabbits probably held in their entire bodies. They may have the speed advantage in this match, Zarek thought. But I have power and strength at my side! It was true. As a Reaver, Zarek and his axes were all about power. However, that did not mean skill didn't apply as well. In fact, speed was just about the only thing Zarek lacked in battle, and even then he gradually has grown a bit faster himself with every training session.

"Hehe, I know just how to stop their speedy feet in their tracks," Zarek mumbled to himself as he fought on. He then tossed the Bolt Axe like a boomerang and struck both rabbits before they could eat away even more at his legs, and more quickly than usual because Dual Lightning Axes was still in effect, which meant the lightning bolt connecting both axes gave the attack a great amount of range. That's right, Zarek hadn't done that yet, thus the rabbits had no knowledge he could.

"So much for your speed advantage!" he said as he caught the returning axe. "Power RULES!" However, as Zarek was smiling to himself about overcoming the fact that he was the slower warrior in the battle, he stumbled on his limping leg and fell over backwards. The area behind him was slightly slanted, so he kept going for a bit of a distance.

"Gaaah! Damn...it!" Zarek hollered as he tumbled back towards the river. He gripped his axes as tightly as he could, but as he approached the water again, the Silver Axe slipped from his hand and was sent flying towards a caped man standing nearby. The man ducked immediately when he saw the flying axe and let it land in the water. Zarek landed in the dirt next to him.

"Hey, you!" the man said to him. "What was the meaning of that?!"

"Ugghh...sorry. I tripped on a weakened leg from those rabbits," Zarek apologized as he got up. "Mister, those rabbits don't like humans who break their beliefs. You might want to stay clear of them if you're not an experienced fighter."

"The name's Caragon," the man replied. "And I thought I saw battling up there. You seemed to hold your own well enough, but why did those creatures bombard you like that in the first place?"

"Zarek. They found me eating a bird and warming up at a campfire, two things they apparently hate," Zarek explained as he fished his Silver Axe out of the river.

"I see...since they're rabbits, I can understand where they're coming from, but they also sound like they're overreacting," Caragon decided.

"I agree. I tried to reason with them, but they would not listen. Now I've lost a little strength in my legs, and those rabbits are much faster than me," Zarek went on. "If we could team up and make this an even two on two, it'd be my pleasure. But that's up to you."

OoC: You decide, Abyss.

Fighting rabbits wasn't exactly what Caragon had imagined when he had been training alongside his master. But alas, this man called Zarek needed help, and it was not in Caragon's nature to decline a request of assistance. He brushed wet hair away from his eyes.

"Alright. Are you sure they won't listen to reason?"

Zarek nodded.

"As I said, they won't listen," Zarek said. "They're - WOAH!"

Zarek threw himself to the side, and Caragon soon realized why - what looked like a yellow flash had tried to make a jab at him, but made no contact with Caragon at all.

"ALRIGHT!" Caragon bellowed, gripping the halberd with both hands and spinning it in his hands. There was a whirlwind of silver as he swung the weapon around him. As he stopped by slamming the blade into the ground, he saw that he had not made any contact with the yellow rabbit. It was now accompanied by what seemed to be a black shadow - this was the other rabbit, apparently.

"Check your flank!" Caragon shouted towards Zarek, rather pointlessly - the axe-wielder was already on his guard.

"Here they come!" he yelled, and one of his axes lit up in electrical energy. Caragon saw the two rabbits make their move against Zarek, so he immediately dashed to his aid. The rabbits were faster, however, already dashing away and making another attempt when Zarek successfully repelled their attack.

He ducked, and Caragon's halberd came flying through the air, right above Zarek's back and towards the rabbits. They narrowly escaped the deadly threat of the sharp blade, and Caragon felt a force striking his shin-guard. He leapt sideways, seeing the yellow rabbit swing a small staff of sorts.

No use in underestimating these, I see, he thought to himself.

OoC: Oi, this is hard! Don’t worry, though, I haven’t brought in the cavalry yet. It’d be funny if they got captured by a whole horde of haschens, though…

BiC:

“Chuk! Padme, must keep going!” Ziggy called over the baleful storm, his black fur soaked to the bones. Both creatures were already shivering with the cold, though their soft fur kept it from being too severe. The humans were much more powerful than either had suspected, and their fast reflexes made it extoordinarily dangerous to attack. Still, they were haschen warriors, and a warrior never backs down from a fight.

“No worry, Ziggy! They be coming!” Padme called out as the two met in a zigzag pattern around their enemies. Neither haschen could pause for even a moment, else they be struck by the deadly edge of their opponent’s weapons. It certainly was not what one would consider to be a fair fight, as both Padme and Ziggy wielded blunt weapons, but humans were never known for honor.

“Take THAT!” Padme rushed towards the man with a large stick, jumping over his low strike, and hitting the soft back of his knee. The hefty strike sent his leg crashing down, and as he struck again at Padme, she jumped out of the way while Ziggy barreled into his face. Both man and rabbit were sent reeling into the mud.

In the dirty chaos that followed, the man managed to get a hold on Ziggy’s neck, suspending the black creature from the ground. Ziggy cried out in pain, but was quickly rescued by Padme, who climbed up the man’s arm with the agility of a squirrel, and then bit the soft flesh of his hand. The man cried out and released Ziggy, violently trying to shake off Padme, whose teeth were still deeply gashing into his hand.

Before the man could strike at Padme with his staff, Ziggy sent himself flying into the man’s back, kicking him hard forward. At this, Padme let go of his hand, then joined her companion on the ground. Again, they went for the electric man, taking turns on each human to land a first, then secondary blow. Their teamwork was entirely flawless, fueled by adrenaline and perfected by training.

Caragon felt minor pain shifting around his body, from his knee to his back to his hand and so on. He limited himself to aiding Zarek, since he had no personal disputes with the rabbits. He still had problems with trying to take lives. Ever since that fatal day, he had had an issue with killing. While he would not hesitate to kill in order to protect himself or to get food, fighting these creatures was different.

They always make sure to stay together, he thought to himself as he narrowly dodged a quick strike. Maybe I can use that to my advantage.

He lifted the halberd over his head, bringing the blade down towards the yellow rabbit with great force. It escaped easily. However, the moment the rabbit had moved, Caragon was already a step ahead - he let go of the halberd, his hand shot out and he barely caught the yellow one by the neck. It cried out in pain, and Caragon turned his head. There was the familiar black shadow, shooting towards him.

"Take that!" Caragon yelled, leaping over the black rabbit. As he did so, he kept his hand with the yellow rabbit raised, and he threw it downwards with great force. As he landed he rolled forward and found the halberd with his hands, spinning around to guard against any more attacks. The black rabbit had apparently managed to catch the yellow one before it had crashed into the ground. There hadn't been as much of an effect as he had hoped for.

"Good job!" Zarek yelled out as he suddenly appeared out of nowhere behind the rabbits, making a deadly swipe. The rabbits zoomed off again, and Caragon got to his feet, moving over to stand back-to-back with Zarek.

"They're fast," the axe-man said through gritted teeth as he blocked an incoming strike. Caragon spun the halberd in his hands, deflecting an attack.

"Fast, but not deadly," he replied, sound strangely calm for being so hungry. "They use blunt weapons, and they aim mostly for the legs. They don't seek to kill us."

Zarek's axe lit up in electric energy once more. "Well, that certainly isn't helping us much!"

"No..." Caragon muttered, his eyes trying to follow the yellow and black figures that zoomed by. "They outmatch us in speed, but we have range, strength and your electrical powers."

Zarek turned his head a little. "I dunno if you noticed, but "range" and "strength" hasn't helped us much thus far."

"Nonsense," Caragon said. As he did, the black rabbit made another assault. The warrior ducked, bringing the wooden staff of the halberd up to intercept the attack. He felt the rabbit yank a hold of the staff, swinging and re-aiming the attack towards Zarek next, who had not turned around fully yet and was more than open enough for another strike. Caragon tipped his halberd upwards, making the blade meet the rabbit flat-sided in mid-air and knocking it aside.

As Caragon was about to breathe out in relief, however, the yellow rabbit had made a second assault and how knocked him forward with a whack with the stick. Zarek caught him hurling forwards, quickly pushing him back into standing position.

"Thanks for watching my back, but I think you should worry more about your own," he said with a small laugh. Caragon blinked in confusion, gripping his halberd to once again pick up the fight.

OoC: Hey, wait for me! XD

BiC: "Yeah, I guess I should," Caragon agreed. "We need to fight fire with fire here. Do you know what I mean?"

"Not exact--wait, are you saying we should combine our strength just like they do?" Zarek wondered.

"Exactly." With that, both Zarek and Caragon began brainstorming a combination attack to counter that of the two rabbits. Zarek's mind kept rolling as he defended himself against the aggressive creatures, who continuously kept attempting to weaken the men even more. Within minutes, Zarek had finally hatched an idea, and turned his attention towards Caragon once again to inform him of the new plan.

"Alright, I have an idea that just might work, but we're going to need a little more room," Zarek said. "Just follow my lead."

"You sure are quick about this," Caragon commented, deciding to go along.

"Well, I was part of an army once, and our tactician was a brilliant one," Zarek explained. "Anyway, follow me." With that, Zarek began to dash through the woods as quickly as his weakened legs would carry him.

"Catch us if you can, furballs!" Zarek called back with a chuckle. Caragon followed him immediately, hoping the Reaver knew what he was doing.

"What they thinking?" the yellow rabbit asked. "Are they cowards?"

"They have plan, I bet," the black one replied. "We must follow and see!"

"But Ziggy, it could be trap," the yellow rabbit protested.

"True, but we no can stay here and let them be free." Knowing Ziggy had a point, the yellow rabbit gave in and the two hopped after the men, who were by now a good distance away from the original battle site. The thunderstorm was still brewing, and it did not look like it would clear up any time soon. No one could be sure how long it would last, since it was the first time Zarek ever used the Thunderstorm spell, or even knew such magic existed. As more lightning and thunder as well as dark clouds and rain crowded the darkened sky, the four warriors traveled on until Zarek finally reached a large clearing that was more the size of a small field.

"Okay, listen. I'm going to infuse some of my electric axe's electricity to my other axe," Zarek began, turning his attention to Caragon again. "Then I'm going to strike the ground with both axes and send electricity through it. The axe blade of your halberd is made of metal, so it should be able to conduct the electricity as well. Absorb some and then we can surround them with the biggest shock of their lives."

"Sounds good to me," Caragon replied. With that, Zarek ignited Dual Lightning Axes, and struck the ground as soon as the two rabbits reappeared to attack. Caragon responded by stabbing his halberd into the earth to absorb the electricity into the metal axe blade while Zarek struck the ground once more. This blow, along with Caragon's strike with his now electrified halberd, dealt serious damage to both rabbits upon impact. However, they still would not give up, and stayed on their weakened feet.

"Damn, for rabbits, these two sure are tough," Zarek replied. "Still, we can't let our guard down." Immediately after he said this, Zarek broke off Dual Lightning Axes and tossed the Bolt Axe once more. It struck a few trees by the path which they'd all come in, and blocked the escape route by knocking them down into a pile in the dirt.

"Good thinking. Now they can't run easily," Caragon replied. Zarek was sure by now that the fight would be theirs.

OoC: Bringin' in the calvary! WOOT!

BiC:

“M-m-m-m-me no l-l-l-like HUMAN sh-sh-sh-sh-shocks!” Padme’s teeth chattered together in perfect harmony with her shaking body. Both rabbit’s fur stood on end as rain continued to drench them, the burning smell of lighting thick in the air.

“W-w-w-what w-w-we do?” Ziggy’s body was low to the ground, only the tips of his ears visible in the long grass.

The large yellow rabbit crouched down next to Ziggy, her voice low and urgent. “T-t-to the trees!”

Running low to the ground, both haschen warriors ran to the circle of trees, entirely invisible in the thrashing grass. They climbed up a thick oak tree, whose deep green leaves kept them out of sight from their enemies. Padme and Ziggy sat quivering in the thick branches, enjoying what cover the great tree offered. They huddled together for warmth, neither one quite sure of how to end the terrible mess.

“If elders be here, they know what to do,” Padme sighed as she heard the HUMANS wandering about below. It would only be a matter of time before they realized that the creatures weren’t there at all.

“But elders no be here. We need own plan.” Ziggy bent down his head to lick the wound on his arm, taking out the bits of soil and wood out with his teeth. “The whole forest be in chaos because of HUMANS!”

“That be IT!” Padme cried suddenly, her eyes bright with excitement. “Whole forest, Ziggy! They help us!”

Ziggy smiled at the bright idea, his gaze turning to the point of Padme’s staff. “You have horn?”

Padme nodded vigorously, slipping the staff down between her paws until she reached the top. There, she found a piece of wood shaped like a cockle shell tied to the staff’s end, the result of Haschen ingenuity. The strange object was slightly larger than a human fist, with one large, sidelong whole, and a smaller, circular hole at the top.

Padme quickly licked her lips and brought the small hole to her mouth, taking in a deep breath. With all the might of a haschen warrior, she blew into it, causing a high pitched VAUUUUUUUUUUUU to echo through the forest. It carried far past the meadow and trees, stirring the forest like a great clap of thunder. Padme blew three consecutive blasts, each call louder than the first.

After the last blast, the meadow was met only with the sound of wind and rain. Padme could hear the HUMANS running towards her tree, but she stayed silent and still. Beside her, Ziggy tensed, his dark black eyes determined. If help did not come soon enough, both haschens would be too weak to fight them off…

And then they came. Like a flash flood through a canyon, roaring water down a waterfall, they came. Both rabbits could hear the squawks and chitterings of countless forest creatures, all upset and excited from the storm. At the sound of Padme’s call, they gathered like a nest of angry hornets, their intent clear. Something had disturbed their forest, and something was going to be done about it.

One more moment, and Padme could see them. Bodies, small and large, of feathers and fur, paws, and beaks, gathered into the nearby trees, their chitterings like a storm of sound. The trees were full of them, their branches bent against the weight of the numerous creatures. There were even some Haschens among them.

At first, Padme was confounded by how quickly everyone had gathered, but it soon made sense. The Haschens had been on alert. The HUMAN had disturbed the forest with his unnatural storm. All of the animals had been poised to attack, ready to fight or flee, and now that the source of their unease had been found, their anger could be unleashed. Padme’s call had merely been the last flake of snow before the mountain collapsed under the weight of it all.

“ATTACK!” Padme’s voice rang out loud and clear, and both she and Ziggy leaped out of the trees to meet their enemies. They did their normal charge, aiming at their legs, but both attacks were blocked. They tore off into the meadow again, too low to be seen in the grass. This time, however, there was a new attack to back theirs up. As both warriors looked back to gauge their opponents, a new storm brewed from the leaves of the trees. Emerging from the wet green came a barrage of nuts, everything from walnuts to acorns raining onto the ground. It made a wonderful sound as they smacked against the HUMANs, which suddenly ceased when the Haschens turned to charge again.

As Padme and Ziggy charged toward the surprised HUMANs, a new set of Haschen warriors came out to greet them. These new warriors, however, were charging from the opposite direction. From the vertical point of attack, a flock of birds joined the fight, tearing at the HUMANs with their sharp beaks and claws digging into any open flesh.

Surrounded by furious creatures on every side, one thing became clear to the HUMANs. They thought they could defeat the haschens by running into the forest. What they had done had merely awakened it.

"There are too many of them!" Caragon yelled through the deafening roars of the thunderstorm. Lightning strikes now struck from the sky, the storm growing in intensity as time passed. Zarek leapt backwards to avoid the attacking flock of birds.

"We need to pull back!" he shouted in reply, gritting his teeth in frustration.

Caragon's mind raced. Though they were animals, some of these creatures fought with as much skill and speed as the two rabbits. Their numbers were too great to take head-on. Only options were to flee, or move to a more ideal location.

There was another crashing sound as a lightning strike suddenly struck. No matter where they would move, there was a danger of being hit by a lightning bolt.

What had he gotten himself into?

Another bolt. This one was dangerously close, causing Caragon to fall back. His head felt heavy. His stomach ached. More than ever, he wished that he was back home, in his own bed, not having to worry about thunderstorms or crazy animals or falling apples -

It dawned on him. Of course. Now he understood where the apples had come from. And if he was correct, she was still around, watching.

"DELIA!" he bellowed as loud as he could, hoping that he would get an answer. "DELIA!" he tried again. No response. He bitterly returned to battle as Zarek fought off some of the attackers.

"Time to go!" he yelled. Caragon nodded in frustration, swinging his halberd and making a run for it. They weren't nearly fast enough to outrun the rabbits, but perhaps they would be able to get away from the majority of the animals.

"Ha! HUMANs be ones running now!" Padme and Ziggy bounded toward the fleeing men, only too willing to press their attack. "They be headed straight for traps!"

Ziggy looked rather thoughtful as he ran beside Padme. "Yes. They be caught...then what?"

"Then..." Padme hesitated for a moment, unsure for the first time of what she was doing. "HUMANs be caught, then we...we teach them good!"

The black rabbit nodded vigorously in agreement at the vauge statment, his hesitation immediately gone. Both Haschens continued to chase the humans, knowing it was only a matter of time before the HUMANs found themselves in a well crafted haschen trap.

"Hold on!" Zarek said as he and Caragon kept running through the woods. He brought his running to a halt.

"What's wrong?" Caragon asked.

"Something is strange about this area," Zarek replied. "Let me try something." With that, Zarek tossed his Bolt Axe through the area ahead of him and Caragon. Revealed almost immediately were several large holes in the dirt and nets hidden on the ground from the axe's electricity. Zarek smiled to himself before saying something when the Bolt Axe returned to his hand.

"I knew it," he said. "They were attempting to lead us into physical traps."

"That's a lot of traps you found too. How did you know?" Caragon wondered.

"When I was part of that army I mentioned earlier, we were trained to stuff out the enemy's traps before the enemy itself," Zarek explained. "Not to mention this kind of trick is like the oldest in the book. So predictable."

"I can agree with that," Caragon said. "I've seen this done a lot myself, but I never knew how to find any traps before falling into them."

"Yeah, well those rabbits aren't going to be trapping us," Zarek replied. "Let's go around all this and get out of here. It's best that we just escape."

"Agreed. Not like we can handle all those animals by ourselves." With that, the two made their way around all the newly exposed traps and continued their way on another path. However, it wasn't long before the rabbits and some of the other animals had caught up with them. Zarek kept running anyway, hoping he could find the room to zap them all with a toss of the Bolt Axe soon. It was soon that Zarek also noticed the rain had stopped, and that he was now running through a drier part of the woods due to the trees creating a canopy. However, lightning bolts still lit up the sky above, and as suddenly as the next one showed itself, it struck a tree Zarek and Caragon had passed a minute ago. It erupted in flames instantly.

"Damn, can this get any worse?" he asked himself. "First an army of animals, now fire."

"Fire?! We need to move before it spreads too much and cuts off our escape then!" Caragon replied. "Come on!" With that, he motioned Zarek to follow him and he raced off down the path in the opposite direction of the spreading flames.

"Hey, wait a second!" Zarek called. Caragon was already too far away to hear it, and disappeared into the trees ahead. Zarek, although he'd lost his mind and had been really annoyed with those rabbit warriors, started to feel guilty as the flames continued to spread towards his direction. The animals started to flee immediately when they saw the flames, but the rabbits continued after Zarek. What? What could those stupid furballs be thinking? There's a fire not twenty feet from them! Zarek thought. Well, whatever then. Their loss. With that, he went in the same direction Caragon had gone in, but did not get far before stopping again. The rabbits did not appear to be following him anymore.

"Ugh...smoke," Zarek said, coughing soon after. He looked behind him and noticed the rabbits were experiencing the same problems, but worse, since they were closer to the flames than he was, and were therefore in thicker, blacker smoke. Zarek sighed again and felt more guilt come to his mind. What have I done? I'm the one who made that storm. How could I have put these lives in jeopardy? he asked himself. Not able to resist anymore, Zarek dashed back towards the two rabbits, who had now fallen down unconscious from the smoke, and plucked them from the smokey ground.

"I must be nuts, rescuing two animals who tried to pulverize me," Zarek mumbled. "Then again, I'm not the kind of guy who leaves helpless creatures to die." Running as fast as he could, Zarek finally saw bright light some several minutes later and jumped through the thick smoke with the two rabbits in his arms. The light of the sun through the clouds had shown down upon them as they headed far enough from the burning woods to where they'd be safe. Zarek spotted Caragon's familiar figure not a long distance away. The caped warrior noticed him instantly as well.

"I was afraid those rabbits were the reason you didn't follow," Caragon said. "You could have died back there! Why'd you save them?"

"Because then I'd feel even more guilty than I already do," Zarek replied as he put the two rabbits down, who were now soiled with soot. "I made that storm, remember? This whole disaster was my fault. I dragged you into the battle, and I put all our lives in danger. I've also destroyed a chunk of nature with my recklessness."

"Wow, you didn't seem like the kind of guy who cared much about nature, but I guess you're right," Caragon said. "You have my forgiveness. Don't know about them, though." Referring to the still out cold rabbits, Caragon looked at them and sighed. Zarek could only hope they'd now leave them alone since their lives had been saved by him. He could run and escape them just in case they still tried to attack, but then how would they know who saved them? Zarek decided to stay until they woke up, if ever.

Padme woke up coughing. She had no idea how long she had been out, but she felt horrible. All of her soft muscles were aching, as well as her lungs, which had to gasp for air. Though she was still lying down, the large rabbit felt light-headed, like she might pass out in another fleeting moment.

“Ziggy?” Padme’s small black eyes opened to survey the land around her, memories of fire and HUMANs floating lazily around in her head. “Ziggy! FIRE! Ziggy!”

“Fire be gone, Padme.” Ziggy was laying on his stomach right beside her, his black fur blending in perfectly with all of the soot he was covered in. Both rabbits could smell the thick ash that clogged their lungs, but when they strained their ears, there was no sound of fire at all. The only creatures present, as far as Padme could tell, were the same two HUMANs they had been fighting.

“Huah! HUMANS DI—“ As Padme moved to her feet to strike, she broke out into a coughing fit, falling back down to the ground as a large pile of soot and yellow fur.

“No good, Padme.” Ziggy’s voice was resigned and tired, and he didn’t bother to move from the ground. Though he was resting, the black creature was still struggling for every breath. Padme crawled right beside the gasping rabbit, laying down next to him to rest herself. Both HUMANs were still present, but neither had spoken. It was very likely that they didn’t understand the two creatures because haschen speech is much faster and less accurate than anything humans speak.

“Hyuo, Ziggy! What we do? HUMANS eat us!”

“Ziggy no know. Maybe they nice. HUMAN did say sorry.”

“Yes, but HUMANS lie! Ziggy know that!” Padme was spluttering now, losing her strength even as she spoke.

“Well, no choice now but to wait for humans.” Both creatures lifted their heads to view the HUMANs towering above them. They were too tired to be vicious.

"They seem to be okay," Zarek said as he looked at the two rabbits lying on the ground. Caragon, who had been scouting ahead and who now had returned, knelt by them. He could see that they were conscious, and he could hear them whisper to each other in their quick language.

"They need to be cleaned," he muttered quietly. "We'll have to move back to the river."

"We'll do that then," Zarek said and moved over to pick up one of the rabbits. They gave off some protesting noises, but apparently had little strength left to fight with. Caragon hesitated.

"Well? Come on," Zarek urged, picking up the yellow rabbit, not as gently as it might have preffered.

"Yeah..." Caragon replied, looking up and towards the trees. It was Delia who had helped him with those apples, he was sure of it. Delia, that old woman - a spirit of nature that had come to his aid once before, and who would surely have made this whole situation more comfortable for all parts. Forced to accept that she was not going to appear, Caragon reached down and picked up the black rabbit.

"Come," he said. The two humans set off immediately, towards the same river that they had been staying by before. It was not far away at all, so they didn't have to walk for long. As they reached the edge of the river, they both put down the rabbit they were carrying and reached down into the clear, cold water with their cupped hands. They splashed some on the small animals, starting to wash away the soot.

"What happened to the other animals, you reckon?" Zarek asked as he splashed more water on the yellow rabbit. Caragon looked up at him, then turned his head.

"... good question," he replied thoughtfully. "Who knows? They'll probably appear sometime soon, to reclaim these two." He nodded down towards the two rabbits.

"Yeah... we should set off soon so that we don't get captured in the meantime."

Caragon nodded in agreement. He reached back and grabbed the end of his cape, using it to dry up the black rabbit a little. It got a little black from the remaining soot, but at least the rabbit was now a little cleaner.

"H-hey now, don't squirm, we're helping you!" Zarek cried as the yellow rabbit tried to get away from him. "After all, if it weren't for me, both of you would be a double rabbit roast by now!" The yellow rabbit only squirmed even more at those words. Zarek smacked his face and realized he shouldn't have said 'rabbit roast.'

"Oh for the love of pete. That was so wrong. I meant that I saved your lives!" he corrected himself. "Honest!"

"Ziggy, you hear that?!" the yellow rabbit exclaimed. "He say rabbit roast!"

"That don't mean he eat us," Ziggy replied. "He say he saved us."

"Yeah, so they have meal!"

"Zarek! Why did you have to say that?!" Caragon blurted out. "Now they'll never accept an apology!"

"Damn it, you're right..." Zarek admitted. "Why do I continously make matters WORSE?!"

"See? He yelling at other human for saying rabbit roast," Ziggy pointed out.

"We no know that!" the yellow rabbit squealed once more.

Zarek just sighed as he finished up the clean up job and thought there was only one way to prove to these rabbits that they had no intention of eating them. In fact, Zarek decided long ago that he hated rabbit meat as well as duck, deer, and goose. It was only chicken, beef, and some pork for him. Still, after he was through with the yellow fur of the stubborn yellow rabbit, he put it down and kept his axes sheathed, showing he was not going to attack.