What Have I Gotten Myself Into? Pt. II ((--Nicky!--))

[Anonymous]

"I don't know," Skah whispered back. "Could be anything." He closed his eyes, his finely tuned senses trying to hone in on whoever or whatever was stalking the two of them.

Another rustle! This time to the left. Skah's head drifted to the left a little. He then heard a low, faint growl. He expected an ambush, so he took a step forward...

"What the...!" He yelled as he opened his eyes wide as something gave a huge roar and leaped out of the bushes onto him. To Skah, it looked like one of those...what were they called, tigers?...only it was three times as big, and it had two large horns sprouting from either side of its head and curving down to its nose, which gave it a demonic look. It had him pinned to the ground with its large, rake-like claws and was about to thrust its giant, fang-filled maw onto his head. But Skah got his arms free and held the beast's mouth at bay, feeling its putrid breath envelope him.

"Katrina! Get back! Now!" he yelled as he struggled with the beast's jaws.

[Anonymous]

Katrina was not one for heroics. She didn't have the strength or the skill to fight off much of anything though she had gotten better than she once had been. However, when the thing lept out of the bushes, she screamed as most startled people will do and backed up. Where was she going to go? She couldn't out run a wild animal, it looked like it could probably climb a tree if it wanted to, though why it would bother when it could knock the entire thing down she didn't know. As she scrambled back, she searched for a weapon of somekind, but the only things that seemed to be around were rocks and sticks. She grabbed a stick. "What do I do?" She asked frantically as she backed into a tree. Being lost was probably more dangerous than this whatever it was. What was it doing on earth? It wasn't a normal earth species.

[Anonymous]

Skah shook his head wildly as Katrina asked that question. "No! Don't do anything! Just stay back!" He didn't want her killed by this...whatever it was.

He kept on holding the beast's jaws mere inches from his head. Suddenly, the inside of the creature's mouth began to glow wit heat. Skah's instinct was to get the beast off of him NOW. Immediately, he pressed both feet on the creature's stomach and pushed as hard as he could. Apparently, he didn't know his own strength, for he threw the beast into the air behind him. He sprang to his feet and turned to face the beast...only to be greeted with a giant fire breath. He jumped out of the way half a second too late; his right arm got singed in the attack.

[Anonymous]

"Can you fly?" She asked abruptly. "Fly while carrying me?" Her only logical solution was to get back to the ship and get back into space. She didn't know what the animal wanted, she had never met a firebreathing anything before. Did it like its meat cooked?

She was shaking, but had no where to go at the moment, but she clung to the stick, not intending to attack anything, but feeling marginally better with the knowlege that she had something with which to defend herself-- even if it was only a stick.

[Anonymous]

In events such as this, Skah thought that this was the best solution. But can he carry her? His right arm was charred with second-degree burns, but he felt little pain. Then he saw the beast hyperventilating from its breath. He decided to chance it. He got a good running start, then extended his wings to full span.

"I'm on it!" he yelled, leaving the ground, but not before grabbing Katrina from under her arms. They soared into the air out of the beast's reach. The beast tried to jump and grab them, but to no avail. In annoyance, the beast let out another breath of fire that missed them by yards. Then it stalked away.

[Anonymous]

Katrina held on as best she could, but she was nervous. After all, if she fell, not only was there the danger of impact, but there were beasts down there waiting to eat or char a person. She looked at his arm, but didn't say anything about it just yet. She would wait until they were back on the ship and relatively safe. It was possible he was still in shock and so didn't feel it, or it was possible that his species didn't feel much pain.

In an attempt to distract herself from the danger of falling, she attempted to enjoy the view and the air brushing past her. She would probably never get another chance like this. Too bad it had to be while they were fleeing an evil fire tiger beast.

[Anonymous]

Skah continued flying high above the treetops, looking for a safe place to land. He felt his right arm starting to give out; Katrina was surprisingly light, but the fact that his arm had been caught in the breath made his arm weaken. He had to find a safe place to land, and fast. He couldn't go back to the ship; it was too far away from them. He then saw a clearing in the jungle. Apparently, it looked like it had been used before; a ring of stones could be seen, as well as a couple of felled tree trunks.

"Over there!" he called from the sound of the wind. He then descended, using his wings as parachutes to ease the fall. When he got there, he placed Katrina safely on her feet. He landed right next to her.

[Anonymous]

Katrina's legs were a little shaky, but she held herself with poise despite the rather chaotic episode they'd just endured. "How bad is your arm? Do you know which way back to the ship? Do you think it followed us?" She asked quickly, one after the other as she struggled to stay calm. She had enjoyed the flight in some ways. Perhaps he would take her up another time, when they weren't fleeing for their lives and he wasn't half burned.

[Anonymous]

Skah looked at his arm, which was badly singed, but only hurt a little. "My arm's fine," he said. "I don't know which way is back to the ship, but I'm sure that thing didn't follow us; I think it went in the other direction." Truthfully, though, he had picked up the beast's scent while he was fighting it, so if he smelled its aroma, the it would be near. And he didn't smell anything.

"Let's just rest a moment," he said, folding in his wings and sitting on a log.

[Anonymous]

Katrina settled down beside him, smoothing her skirt, but a light beading of sweat could be seen on her upper lip as her heart pounded. She'd never even camped. All her outdoor experience had come about as a sink or swim situation. Kicked out of your sleeping quarters along with your friends, no where to stay, find a place to curl up and sleep for the night. Of course that had always been with at least one other person if not a whole posse of men to offer some level of protection, even if they were not fighters exactly. She sighed, recalling the rough crowd she'd fallen in with: her boyfriend's crowd. She'd had no friends of her own, so she ended up hanging out with him and his, that and she hardly left his side since he had enough enemies that being friends with him put her in danger. She'd become a mark to use in getting back at him. "Do you think we'll be able to find the ship again?" She asked. The thought of being stuck on a dying planet was not a comforting one, though really she didn't see why it should make a difference to her. She had nothing waiting for her in space either. As long as crazy beasts didn't eat her or Skah, it should all be fine, even on earth. Finally, she drew a deep breath and seemed to calm. Life was not as bad as it seemed in the moment of near panic.

She gently stroked his wing. She missed soft things. If they sat there much longer she very well might rest against his shoulder. Perhaps she was too trusting, but she'd been fortunate enough to run into men who had a tendency to protect her, so there had not been a pressing need to develop a sense of street smarts.

[Anonymous]

Skah shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "I guess, for the time being, we're kinda stuck here." He then just set his silvery orbs out into the sun, which was setting into the western sky.

He then felt a pleasant sensation going down his folded wing; Katrina was stroking them. It seemed unexpected, but it felt...nice. Not only because of that, but he actually had someone beside him. He had always felt lonely, even if he had someone he "befriended" beside him. But this time...no, it was different. Maybe he found a good friend after all. It felt pleasant. He turned his silvery eyes towards Katrina and smiled. Unbeknownst to him, the bad burns on his right arm slowly began to fade away.

[Anonymous]

Katrina continued stroking his wing as she spoke. It was comforting to her and he hadn't seemed to mind it so far. "We better find somewhere to weather the night. We aren't going to make it back to the ship before dark." She commented. She didn't want to spend the night in the dark forest unsheltered, and in her mind, she was spending the night alone, though she had Skah. She'd been alone for the last several months, so it was not natural to automatically picture the situation with a strong man with wings at her side. She glanced over at him and found herself wanting to crawl under his arm and just feel safe for a few moments, but instead, she just shifted so her head rested against his shoulder. "What do you think we could come up with before it gets too dark to see?"

[Anonymous]

Skah thought about this for a moment, trying to figure out what "weather the night" meant. Then he knew what it meant. "You mean for a shelter? I'm not sure. I don't know the first thing about living in the middle of all these trees." It was true; all that he remembered was in that space station.

[Anonymous]

Katrina sighed softly "Well, just someplace where we're out of the wind, and hopefully where the animals can't get to us, or at least can't get to us from all sides" She commented "not a lot to work with though." She looked up at him "What do you think?"

[Anonymous]

Skah shrugged. "Hmm...I don't know what to think," he said as a chilly wind began to blow. He looked around and saw nothing but trees and clearing...and Katrina. He then had a sort of idea. He extended one of his wings and wrapped it around Katrina, its soft feathers shielding her from the bitter wind. And though he didn't notice it, a kind of warm aura emanated from his wing...a comforting warmth. "I just don't know."

[Anonymous]

Katrina sighed and did the natural thing-- she leaned against his chest, letting the wing shelter her and somewhat himself as well. She felt oddly content though there was a higher than usual possibility of them dying or sustaining serious injury. "We should take turns sleeping probably so one of us can keep a look out" She mentioned, though she wasn't sure she believed it. It felt like it would all be okay, though she couldn't say why. The fear was melting away. As long as Skah was with her, she didn't have to be afraid.