Tazi
My body always springs me awake at the slightest sound, because there's always something going on in Greenhaven. So this morning, when Ryan woke us, I was surprised that I had slept the entire night. I say surprised, but pleasantly so. I felt rested and ready for what was ahead.
Or at least I think so.
"Let's go!" Hoya called as soon as we'd packed up. She lead the way out of camp. We left behind our horses, except Lucia of course.
We crested a small hill on foot, pausing just before the top. Tyler motioned for us all to hunker down as Hoya pointed out our target.
I held my breath as I followed her finger with my gaze.
Five animals were gathered at the bottom of the hill. A hawk, a mountain lion, a stag, a bobcat and a bear. All of them were larger than usual, but smaller than Great Beasts. The hawk wore a chain that gleamed in the early morning sun.
The sight of them alone made my hands clammy. We'd trained for this, sure, but that wasn't the real thing. What if we screwed it all up?
"How do we get the talisman?" Lucia asked in a hushed voice.
"We don't necessarily need to kill the animals, because they are just protecting the talisman. I'd guess that they are being controlled by it..." Tyler responded.
I frowned. What kind of non-answer was that?
"What's the plan?" Sasha broke in. He sounded excited. How could he be?
"Hoya, your lynx and you should take on the mountain lion. Sasha, you help her." Tyler instructed, his eyes roving our opponents. "Ryan, Zay and Lucia will take on the stag," he continued, "Sabien and Navia will deal with the bobcat. Last, Tazi and Niko, you're on talisman duty. I will help whoever needs it."
Niko looked over at me, his throat bobbing as he swallowed.
"We got this." I managed to whisper to him, though the lack of confidence did little to reassure him. And myself. The handle of my battle-axe suddenly felt heavy in my palms.
"We're not the only ones." Lucia said darkly, pointing to the other side of the clearing.
Squinting, I spotted darkly clad soldiers. They stole closer to the battlefield-to-be and golden C's shimmered in their armour. Conquerors.
"Well, it's now or never." Hoya muttered grimly. "Charge!"
Lizzie
The Greencloaks charged into the clearing, following a pink-haired woman with a lynx.
I frowned. I didn't like being beaten to things, especially not the punch. "Now!" I shouted, and my troops ran into the clearing too, releasing their animals. I followed, Widow flashing from passive with a fearsome hiss. I drew my sword, rushing past my troops. "Focus on the talisman!" I ordered, heading in that direction. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Greencloaks separate and attack the other animals.
I grinned to myself. Perfect. We can concentrate on the talisman, then.
Two boys had already reached the hawk which carried the Copper Falcon. It shrieked and lashed out at them.
"I'll take the back!" The smaller one called. He had no visible animal.
Ah, stingray kid, then. I deduced, briefly pausing to duck under a sword swing.
"Got it!" The other, who had an ostrich, called back.
I sent a quick, cursory glance over the clearing. Yep, all eight of us were here. Welcome to the team, I guess. I smirked.
Finally reaching the hawk, I engaged the boy with the ostrich.
Tazi
Turning at the sound of a fierce war cry, I saw that a girl with a tarantula was battling Niko and Jesse.
"Niko!" I cried out before I could stop myself.
"I'll be fine!" Niko answered, grunting as he deflected the girl's blows. "Just get the talisman!"
Right, of course. The talisman. I returned my attention to the task at hand.
A gust of air nearly sent me reeling as the hawk flared its wings.
"No!" I threw down my axe and sprang onto the hawk's back before it could take off. It shrieked, enraged, and took to the air anyway.
Uh oh. I was not expecting that. Its feathers were too slippery to get a proper hold on and I couldn't get my arms around its neck fast enough. I was slipping off!
Then, at the very last second, my fingers snagged a hold. The talisman! I clung to the chain, hoping it wouldn't break and not daring to look down.
Lizzie
Looking up for a moment, I realized that the hawk had taken off, and the stingray kid had jumped on it. Stupid idea, really, because he was now dangling from the Copper Falcon.
"Tazi!" The ostrich kid screamed, having paused as well to follow my line of sight.
And he's still here. I rolled my eyes and swiped at him again.
But ostrich boy nimbly dodged my blow and leapt backward, his eyes still on the boy in the air. "Tazi! Hang on!"
"I'm trying!" The stingray kid's voice was shrill. He was terrified.
And the perfect distraction. I chased after ostrich boy, sword ready in my hands.
"Can you get it off?" Ostrich boy shouted, risking a glance back at me.
"I think so!" Tazi, as ostrich boy had called him, replied in a voice high with fear. He struggled, trying to climb back onto the hawk.
"Hey, ostrich boy!" I snarled, fed up now. "I'm not done with you!"
The ostrich boy spun just as I sprang. My sword hit his staff with a heavy clunk, sending him reeling back in an attempt to hold me off. Don't these kids ever give up?
Tazi
Despite my better judgement, I glanced down at the sound of metal on wood. My vision wavered as I saw the distance from the ground. "Okay, breathe." I told myself, quickly looking back up. If I could just shift my hands up, one by one, then I could get on the hawk.
"Just breathe. Don't look down." I whispered to myself, "one hand at a time." Moving achingly slow, I shifted my hand up and clung tightly to the chain. Then I did the same with the other. And again.
I repeated this until I was on the back of the hawk, where I finally let myself release a small breath of relief. I carefully lifted the talisman from the hawk's feathers, up and over its head.
Then, I was falling.
Lizzie
The animals vanished. Everything seemed to pause for a moment, and my eyes drifted to follow the stingray kid as he tumbled back to the ground. The thump he made echoed around the silent clearing.
"Tazi!" Ostrich boy ran over.
"I'm okay." He claimed, pushing himself back up to his feet. His face was flushed with triumph as he raised the talisman in his fist.
I hesitated for a moment. What are you waiting for? I snarled internally at the moment of weakness, then rushed toward them.
Ostrich boy whirled, his teeth bared in an aggressive growl. His staff was ready in his hands, blocking the slash I threw.
Behind me, clashes of metal and battle cries told me that my troops had taken the cue and continued to fight.
I rocked back a few steps, shaking hair out of my eyes as I readjusted my grip on my sword. I sent another look around the clearing, then paused.
Ostrich boy stopped too, confused.
The battle continued to rage. I felt the wicked grin curl my lips.
"Stop." My voice rang out over the clearing, cruel and even. The command made the battle grind to a halt. All eyes turned my way. I laughed and spread my arms. "Foolish little Greencloaks. You are outnumbered. If you continue to fight, you will surely die. So I propose a deal. Either you give me the talisman and I let you go free. Or..."
I signalled one of the soldiers.
They lunged forward and slashed a deep cut across the lynx's throat. It collapsed into a pool of its own blood.
The pink haired woman screamed. Her wail raised the hair on my arms, but I shook it off.
"Or I will execute you all." I crossed my arms and turned back to the stingray boy. "What will you choose?"
Tazi
Ever been stuck between a rock and a hard place? Yeah? Me too. Actually, right now.
I looked over at Tyler and Ryan, unsure. Tyler swallowed visibly, but gave me an almost imperceptible nod.
I stepped cautiously forward, past Niko. I held out the talisman.
Her fingers were almost around the chain when I snatched it back.
"What?" She snapped, a terrifying fire lighting in her eyes. "Give me the talisman, you–"
"Wait. I want to know your name." My voice was steady, oddly enough. I was sure everyone in the clearing could hear my heart beating as I prayed she wouldn't chop my head off.
The spider girl narrowed her eyes and considered me for a long moment. "Lizzie." She conceded finally. "Now give me the talisman."
I hurried to hand it over, backing away quickly.
And just like that, they were gone.
A keen wail cut through the silence following their absence. It was Hoya. I could only stare helplessly as she ran to the lynx's body.
"That was very brave."
I finally tore my eyes away, feeling sick as I glanced back at Tyler. "Really? I didn't feel very brave."
Tyler smiled sadly. "Doesn't make it any less courageous. Good work, kid."
A small flower of pride blossomed in my chest.
Tyler patted my shoulder as he walked away.
Maybe I wouldn't be such a bad Greencloak after all.
11103 words! Cool! Hope you're enjoying it, comment and vote please, and also check out my friend, SinceX's book, Riptide. A lot of things happened in this chapter, some good and some bad. I'll put up the next one when I can! Peace!
edit: 15/05/21
literally tho why do i always torture the best characters. like lad hoya is a god. she don't deserve this
but anyway
i hope you enjoyed!
stay safe my lovelies xx