Post by fruitbat on Sept 6, 2013 0:13:22 GMT
Ok, I didn't quite get us off the ship, but we do have a battle to attend to first! 
Here is my contribution:
“Keep behind me, Raisa. We need to get below deck. Quickly!” Tegraine attempted to take hold of Raisa’s long sleeve, trying to move her behind him, whilst in front of her, Stacius wielded his hefty axe, slaying the Backlighters as they approached him from every direction. But now his situation had changed. Stacius faced a deadly weapon. A rebel pointed a gun towards Stacius. If Stacius went down, Raisa knew that she and Tegraine would be next. She could not let this happen. The dwarf was repugnant but he was a good fighter, Raisa would grant him that. She may be a goth, but she had seen battle.
Tearing her sleeve from Tegraine’s grasp, Raisa placed her palms together and concentrated all her strength into her hands. There was no time to lose. Slowly, she began to change. Tegraine turned just in time to see Raisa’s body elongate and bristle with a sleek, black fur before she dropped onto all fours. Her long tail whipped round to knock him backwards out of her way as she pulled back her lips in a warning snarl, revealing needle-sharp canines. The terror of the surprise was replaced by a knowing smile as Tegraine nodded to the big cat beside him.
“Raisa. I knew you were a good choice. Go!” With a final snarl, Raisa sprang forward in a great arc towards the man with the gun. The Backlighter looked up in utter surprise to see the shadow of a large black panther descending rapidly towards him. He fired his pistol wildly into the air but the energy rays scattered, missing both Raisa and Stacius by several feet. Stacius used the distraction of the big cat to raise his axe once more as an attacker hurtled towards him, a short sword gripped in both hands. With one swoop of his axe, Stacius cut the man down just as Raisa landed with all four paws on the body of the man, whose energy pistol had now flown out of his hand and skittered across the deck. Tegraine seized the moment and shot out across the deck to retrieve the pistol, narrowly missing an arrow as it arced out from the shadows. The arrow found its target in a Backlighter, who, armed with a short sword, was approaching Stacius from behind.
Stacius bellowed at Tegraine to stay back. Chastened by the dark threat in Stacius’ voice, Tegraine moved back to his cover, examining the pistol in his hand like a rare artifact. Even if he managed to work out how to fire it, Raisa knew she could not rely on Tegraine. He was a man of learning, not a warrior. She, on the hand, especially after Dulin’s comments, had a point to prove.
Raisa looked up to see that more of the disks were flying in over the ship. From below deck, two lines of soldiers ran up in clean formations to fortify the stronghold in front of the conclave. Raisa looked to see if another dome of energy would rise up to bring down the disks and the attackers who rode upon them. When no energy burst came, Raisa realised what she had to do. Still pinioned beneath her enormous paws, with one sharp claw, she ripped through the chest of the attacker like tissue. His rib cage burst apart and with an agonising scream, the attacker’s life ended. Raisa had no time for the prick of conscience. This was war and she had to do her part. A charge burst in front of her, nearly knocking her off balance, but she sprang aside, just as two more disks landed on deck. With claws outstretched, Raisa sprang forward, fatally lacerating both enemies simultaneously. Armed with a sword, another ran in from her right, surprising her, but she managed to knock him from his feet before ripping out his throat with her powerful jaws. Raisa hated the taste of blood. She could feel its metallic taint on her large tongue, which, as a vegan, she found particularly distasteful. She tried not to swallow, spitting the vile red matter onto the deck. She knew that this must be a strange sight to see such behaviour from a panther but then again, seeing a panther on the deck of a ship was not so usual either.
Raisa was just considering her next move when she felt it. Someone or something had jumped onto her back. She thrashed her powerful body from side to side, trying to throw off the tenacious weight but it refused to budge. From the pressure against her shoulder blades, she knew it must be a two-legged creature as she felt the thighs grip her. In a mighty effort to rid herself of the creature, Raisa launched herself onto her back legs, twisting her body sharply in the air. Finally, the creature released his grip from her back as he fell away, but not before he left his mark on her. As her attacker fell through the air, his wildly slashing blade connected with her shoulder, slicing a deep wound. Raisa felt the blood well up and soak into her black coat. The pain was acute. As fast as she could with an injured front leg, she bounded away, seeking any place that might take her out of the heart of the battle whilst she tended her wound.
The ship’s soldiers fought on valiantly and seemed to be overcoming and outnumbering the attackers. From behind her, Raisa could hear the now familiar grunt of Stacius as he repeatedly heaved his axe, helping to sway the odds in Khula’s favour. From an unseen cover, arrows continued to fire, one after the other, finding their target with deadly accuracy. Raisa knew who was behind that bow. Perhaps the company she kept was proving useful after all.
Keeping her belly low to the ground, Raisa slid her way along the edge of the deck, looking as much like a shadow as was possible for a panther. The battle raged about her. Finally, she found her way round behind the diminishing rows of soldiers who were still holding out in front of the conclave’s quarters. Here, in front of the doorway, she had some protection. She lay down. She was exhausted and in quite some pain. Slowly, she used her barbed tongue to lick the wound. The metallic taste of blood again. This time, she would have to suffer it. It was her blood and the cleansing powers of her saliva would help to keep the wound free from infection.
As she was licking at her shoulder, an unusual brightness caught her attention. Liquid gold was oozing slowly across the deck towards her. She focused her yellow eyes to see a prone golden form a few feet away. A member of the conclave lay motionless on the deck.
Here is my contribution:“Keep behind me, Raisa. We need to get below deck. Quickly!” Tegraine attempted to take hold of Raisa’s long sleeve, trying to move her behind him, whilst in front of her, Stacius wielded his hefty axe, slaying the Backlighters as they approached him from every direction. But now his situation had changed. Stacius faced a deadly weapon. A rebel pointed a gun towards Stacius. If Stacius went down, Raisa knew that she and Tegraine would be next. She could not let this happen. The dwarf was repugnant but he was a good fighter, Raisa would grant him that. She may be a goth, but she had seen battle.
Tearing her sleeve from Tegraine’s grasp, Raisa placed her palms together and concentrated all her strength into her hands. There was no time to lose. Slowly, she began to change. Tegraine turned just in time to see Raisa’s body elongate and bristle with a sleek, black fur before she dropped onto all fours. Her long tail whipped round to knock him backwards out of her way as she pulled back her lips in a warning snarl, revealing needle-sharp canines. The terror of the surprise was replaced by a knowing smile as Tegraine nodded to the big cat beside him.
“Raisa. I knew you were a good choice. Go!” With a final snarl, Raisa sprang forward in a great arc towards the man with the gun. The Backlighter looked up in utter surprise to see the shadow of a large black panther descending rapidly towards him. He fired his pistol wildly into the air but the energy rays scattered, missing both Raisa and Stacius by several feet. Stacius used the distraction of the big cat to raise his axe once more as an attacker hurtled towards him, a short sword gripped in both hands. With one swoop of his axe, Stacius cut the man down just as Raisa landed with all four paws on the body of the man, whose energy pistol had now flown out of his hand and skittered across the deck. Tegraine seized the moment and shot out across the deck to retrieve the pistol, narrowly missing an arrow as it arced out from the shadows. The arrow found its target in a Backlighter, who, armed with a short sword, was approaching Stacius from behind.
Stacius bellowed at Tegraine to stay back. Chastened by the dark threat in Stacius’ voice, Tegraine moved back to his cover, examining the pistol in his hand like a rare artifact. Even if he managed to work out how to fire it, Raisa knew she could not rely on Tegraine. He was a man of learning, not a warrior. She, on the hand, especially after Dulin’s comments, had a point to prove.
Raisa looked up to see that more of the disks were flying in over the ship. From below deck, two lines of soldiers ran up in clean formations to fortify the stronghold in front of the conclave. Raisa looked to see if another dome of energy would rise up to bring down the disks and the attackers who rode upon them. When no energy burst came, Raisa realised what she had to do. Still pinioned beneath her enormous paws, with one sharp claw, she ripped through the chest of the attacker like tissue. His rib cage burst apart and with an agonising scream, the attacker’s life ended. Raisa had no time for the prick of conscience. This was war and she had to do her part. A charge burst in front of her, nearly knocking her off balance, but she sprang aside, just as two more disks landed on deck. With claws outstretched, Raisa sprang forward, fatally lacerating both enemies simultaneously. Armed with a sword, another ran in from her right, surprising her, but she managed to knock him from his feet before ripping out his throat with her powerful jaws. Raisa hated the taste of blood. She could feel its metallic taint on her large tongue, which, as a vegan, she found particularly distasteful. She tried not to swallow, spitting the vile red matter onto the deck. She knew that this must be a strange sight to see such behaviour from a panther but then again, seeing a panther on the deck of a ship was not so usual either.
Raisa was just considering her next move when she felt it. Someone or something had jumped onto her back. She thrashed her powerful body from side to side, trying to throw off the tenacious weight but it refused to budge. From the pressure against her shoulder blades, she knew it must be a two-legged creature as she felt the thighs grip her. In a mighty effort to rid herself of the creature, Raisa launched herself onto her back legs, twisting her body sharply in the air. Finally, the creature released his grip from her back as he fell away, but not before he left his mark on her. As her attacker fell through the air, his wildly slashing blade connected with her shoulder, slicing a deep wound. Raisa felt the blood well up and soak into her black coat. The pain was acute. As fast as she could with an injured front leg, she bounded away, seeking any place that might take her out of the heart of the battle whilst she tended her wound.
The ship’s soldiers fought on valiantly and seemed to be overcoming and outnumbering the attackers. From behind her, Raisa could hear the now familiar grunt of Stacius as he repeatedly heaved his axe, helping to sway the odds in Khula’s favour. From an unseen cover, arrows continued to fire, one after the other, finding their target with deadly accuracy. Raisa knew who was behind that bow. Perhaps the company she kept was proving useful after all.
Keeping her belly low to the ground, Raisa slid her way along the edge of the deck, looking as much like a shadow as was possible for a panther. The battle raged about her. Finally, she found her way round behind the diminishing rows of soldiers who were still holding out in front of the conclave’s quarters. Here, in front of the doorway, she had some protection. She lay down. She was exhausted and in quite some pain. Slowly, she used her barbed tongue to lick the wound. The metallic taste of blood again. This time, she would have to suffer it. It was her blood and the cleansing powers of her saliva would help to keep the wound free from infection.
As she was licking at her shoulder, an unusual brightness caught her attention. Liquid gold was oozing slowly across the deck towards her. She focused her yellow eyes to see a prone golden form a few feet away. A member of the conclave lay motionless on the deck.
would love to read it.