Careless Children [job/solo]

Job Details:

Lexiara sang softly to Leo as they moved along the path, his steps padding softly beside her horses hooves. Shelby had been distraught when she had stopped by, her sister’s children had been staying with her for the week and had asked to go play at a nearby oasis and the female butcher had allowed it, the oldest child familiar enough with the area that she was not worried about them getting lost. After the sun had set and the children had not returned, she became worried. By the time Lexiara had arrived at her shop to drop off a pie, the stoic butcher was wringing her hands and looking half crazed with worry. Lexi had listened to her story and then asked where the oasis was the children had gone to.

Shelby had given her detailed instructors and thanked her profusely, offering the use of her horse to speed her trip. She had wasted no time and headed for the oasis, Leo close to her side. The trip was a fairly quick one, the oasis just at the beyond the edge of the village Shelby stayed in. There was a small bubbling brook running through the oasis and dense foliage along the ground, though there were not a large number of trees. The stars sparkled against the night sky as she began her search, nodding Leo out into the greenery to help speed her search. She came upon a large opening that was oddly quiet and she frowned. The oasis at night would normally be filled with the noise of insects and animals. She shrugged it off, assuming her presence had frightened the local wildlife. Leo came dashing back to her side as she walked into the clearing and suddenly began growling at the darkness. Her eyes were already adjusted to the dark, but she could not see any danger. A moment later, she heard a rustle of wings and angry caws as four crows flew up about 15 meters from her.

[333/1500]

Her eyes widened at the size of the crows now angrily flapping above her and she wasted no time in pulling her bow free. Leo was in a defensive stances, his muscles tensed as he watched the crows in anticipation. He could feel the tenseness of his “mother’s” body and knew there was danger afoot. Lexi eyed the four birds before pulling five arrows from her quiver. It took her another blink of an eye to level the bow in the direction of the flying birds and release her Multi-Shot towards them, the arrows flying forward at incredible speed. Three of the arrows caught one bird each squarely in the chest, one caught the fourth in its wing and the fifth arrow flew to the side, harmlessly. The crows all responded with angry screeches, their eyes flashing at the pain and she saw one of the tuck its body into a dive.

Leo responded without thought, waiting until the crow was within range and pouncing at it with a flash of claws, the bird crashing with a screech a few meters from her. The other three followed suit and Lexi reacted quickly, drawing more arrows from her quiver as another crow began its dive.

Abilities Used:

[Stamina 170/200]
[538/1500]

She quickly used her Rapid Shot, her shots directed at the two crows further away. Leo dispatched the closest one with another swipe of his claws as she rapidly shot four arrows off, two aimed for each of the remaining crows. Two of them struck one of the crows, but only one landed in the last crow. This did not deter its dive in the slightest and a split instant before it struck her, it raised its feet, clawing at her face. She raised an arm to block her eyes, but the claws still scraped and dug above them, causing blood to pour down. She heard a growl and snap as it sounded like Leo biting at the crow. She could not see for the blood in her eyes and she grumbled softly, trying to wipe the blood away with her sleeve.

Abilities Used:

[Stamina 150/200]
[680/1500]

Leo nuzzled gently at her face, trying to lick her wounds before she gently restrained him with a shake of her head. It had been careless of her to not deflect the last crow and she berated herself as she carefully tore a long strip from her skirt. She tied the cloth around her head, trying to slow the flow of blood into her eyes. It was not very effective and she cursed softly again. She heard another angry screech and her head swung in the direction of the sound, but she was having problems making anything out between the rivulets of blood. Leo tensed again at the sound, standing squarely in front of her to defend her from the screech.

[Stamina 150/200]
[801/1500]

Suddenly, from the side, she heard shouts of children and set a calming hand on Leo, who was still focused on the direction the screech had come from. She heard a clamber of feet and crushing grass as three children came running towards her. She tried to split her focus between the sounds of the children and the screech of what she assumed was another crow.

“Be careful, kids, there is still something out here!”

She tried to sound brave, but without her sight, she could not be certain of if there was immediate danger. She released her hold on Leo, hoping he could at least defend her until the bleeding slow. She heard him pounce towards the side, luckily away from the children, who had finally made it to her side, babbling about crazy birds and asking if Leo had attacked her. She tried to shush them when another screech cut across the air. It sounded like Leo had found the last bird and she squinted in the direction of the screech.

[Stamina 150/200]
[974/1500]

Her vision was starting to clear, just in time to see a massive, fat crow chasing Leo across the open area and she gasped and grabbed for more arrows. Leo had already slashed at the bird, evident by the blood pouring from its wing. The crow was hopping up and flying for short spurts as she notched two arrows in her bow. She led the target for a moment before unleashing her Disabling Shot, each arrow aimed for both wings. The shots landed and the Mama Crow let out a sonic screech that burst the ear drums of her, the children and Leo. She felt blood drip from her ears as she leveled a normal shot at the bird and released the bowstring. Her disorientation caused the arrow to fly wide of her intended target and she notched another. The second arrow also missed and she took a deep breath.

The Mama Crow was unable to fly without the use of her wings and luckily Leo was far enough away when the screech had hit him that he had a moment to recover. When he continued his run, she noticed he was running drunkenly and frowned in concern. She took another steadying breath before scrambling for a Poison Arrow, making certain of her aim before releasing the shot and striking the bird just in front of a wing. She had been aiming for the head, but the poison from the arrow quickly did its work and it gave a pitiful squawk as it collapsed against the ground.

Abilities Used:

[Ammunition 8/10]
[Stamina 100/200]
[1231/1500]

Lexi slumped to the ground after the Mama Crow collapsed, her ears ringing painfully. She turned to look at the children as they sat on the ground, crying from the damage to their own ears. Leo swayed over as she approached the children, trying to calm them and let them know their Aunt Shelby had sent her. Carefully, she wiped the drips of blood from the side of their faces as the oldest sputtered out their story in hiccupping sobs about how they had been playing in the open area when the crows had descended upon them. They had found a small cave to hide in, but the crows had crowded at the only exit to the cave, keeping them trapped until she had arrived.

She listened idly and nodded, her vision spinning slightly from the movement. Once the children were cleaned up and she checked for further damage, she loaded the one of the younger children on Leo and put the two older ones on the horse. Aside from their ears and a few scrapes from crawling in the cave, the children appeared to be free of serious injury. They made it back to town without incident and Shelby came running from her house, simultaneously scolding and soothing the children.

The butcher gave her a grateful look before ushering the children into the housel Lexi took it upon herself to put the horse back in the stable and unsaddle the beast before brushing it down and giving it some oats. She was glad she had been able to help Shelby out and was even happier that the children would be okay.

[1503/1500]
[exit]