Horoth would rather not kill the monster. It seemed an irony to him that to save one inhuman creature they must kill another but it did not look like it was going to give them much choice.

With a lunge and a yell he goaded the wolf monster again and it replied with an advance and landed into Horoth's net.

"NOW!"

Wasting no time Horoth struck with his trident trying to pin it to the monsters heart even as the sharp and powerful jaws snapped wildly at him and the fleshy tail with the head of a vulture screeched and bit at him, now getting the full brunt of its wrath and drawing blood from his arms but bouncing harmlessly from his helmet as it went directly for his eyes.

"I HAVE IT, FINISH IT OFF!"

His powerful body held it down with his weapon. He had missed the heart of the beast but had it by the ribs and it he would hold it as long as he had enduring the bites and pecks of the creature until Lucero could end it.


@Lucero
 
Syr Horoth's armor was heavy, it clinked and clanked with his movements. His weight could be felt, each step a small quake that Lucero could feel beneath her boots. Her spine tingled with a chill that started from her neck and ended at her spine. He shouted and a struggle ensued. Lucero turned her head away, letting her ears be her eyes instead. Suddenly, the tang of blood filled her nostrils, pungent and earthy. A second second follower, metallic and sweet. Oh, poor Syr Horoth. Lucero's nose was good enough to decipher between the two of them bleeding.

"F-finish it?" Lucero still couldn't picture the beast, the thing that had lurked behind them as they traveled ever forward in search of another beast. She didn't know what had caused Horoth to bleed, what was currently going on in their struggles. There was a growl and hiss, a screech that hurt her ears. Normally, Lucero would not waver with her blade, but now she had to. If she hit Syr Horoth it would be shameful.

Though trying to avoid it, Lucero became resolute in her new decision. She trained her sight on Syr Horoth and the monster, letting the shroud shape and outline their forms. She saw the creature with two heads, how both attacked the knight relentlessly, pecking and clawing and biting. But within both bodies, Lucero's spiritual lucidity remained crystal clear. Red, spikey, black, bubbling and festering, and then blue, still and resolute. She sheathed her sword, began taking off her gloves.

"Syr Horoth, please, trust me." Her brows were lowered nervously, unsure how he would react to a plan that was not at all what he had suggested. With a deep breath, she reached out her hands towards the two of them. Her fingertips were stained with the ink of a glimmer puff squid, the red ink in shapes of runes that were old and unused. Empaths need not carry shield nor sword, and yet the very air bends around them.

Intensity began to ebb, slowly before it quickened. Like sand falling through the hourglass, it could not be stopped. Lucero thought of warm sun, cool breezes, sweet fruits and savory meat. She thought of soft grass and sturdy trees, the sound of wind and the sounds of birds. Kitten whiskers, someone else brushing her hair, the time spent with friends. All of it she used to fight against the creature's fear and anger and hunger, slowly subduing it's movements, gently taming it.
 
"I do, I trust you Lucero but hurry!"

The beast calmed and Horoth could scarce believe it.

Magic could do wonders but to tame the savage heart was a thing he had never witnessed before. Gently, as the great monster quelled itself at Lucero's beckoning whim and he eased up, stopped trying to keep it down, it was calm in a few moments of this and he was all the glad for it.

"You tamed it, that... I have never seen such a thing before."

He regretted that he had to remove his trident from the creatures torso but he did so as gently as he could and without doing any more internal damage than he had to.

"What do we do with it now?"
 
Something warm and fuzzy radiated from Lucero like a cat uncurling from a long nap in the sun. Syr Horoth's words felt like a fresh coat of pain, sharpening a dull pencil to a point. It helped her keep her cool, let her lean into her own knowledge, her own magic. Her vocation was not only to heal, but to soothe, she dealt with souls not wounds. Life and Loch, two things that intertwined in her like the original lovers, dawn and dusk, moon and sun.

"It was scared," Lucero said. The creature shuddered and growled as the trident was pulled out of its flesh. More metallic tang, more pain, stole the air like gruesome incense. "Not because of us." She added, "I think it only felt curious, maybe a little hungry." Lucero crouched towards where she could feel the heat of the wound, pressing her hands into a mixture of soft feathers but rough, wiry fur that was so short it reminded her of a stubborn but beloved mule back home.

Her mule was probably dead now. The knight briefly wondered if her father took care of Beatriz.

"I will heal it, it will help us, I think. I can perhaps convince it, too." Wasn't always the nicest thing to do. She could feel what the creature wanted to do deep down. It wanted to claw at her and bite her. It wanted to stomp all over Syr Horoth and peck his eyes out. It would feast on their innards, choosing the organs first, then leave nothing but their bones before running off and finding a place to sleep.

Lucero continued her weaving, small fibers of flesh linking together, staunching the bleeding. The wound would always remain as a mark like a burn. There were many things that Lucero could not fix, regeneration was a tricky, complex thing, with more rules than a sparrow had feathers. She could do enough to ease the discomfort, could close up the deep holes and make sure all the organs were working properly. Maybe one day she could be like Syr Margot but it wouldn't be today.

"If I can be honest, Syr Horoth, I always get cold feet when it comes to killing. Even as a child I could feel death. Now I can see it." Fingertips continued to stitch and stitch, putting everything back together. A glassy glaze over the two pairs of monster eyes, it hardly felt a thing, tongues lolling out between teeth and beaks. "It's why it took me so long to become a knight, not because of my affliction but because of my inaction with decisions. You are not like that."
 
"No..."

He knelt next to the beast and watched, waiting for the miracle to be done.

"... you are better than me."

Casting back his thoughts he relived the countless days in the arena when he fought fearful men and beasts made violent with hunger.

"You can choose to not kill. It is harder for me."

Gently he reached out his hand but did not dare touch the beast.

"It's harder for this creature as well but at least it only follows it's nature."

He wondered as he gazed upon it if it would feel hatred for him.

"Don't regret not being glad to kill. It is not worth it."

At last he removed his helmet and cast a soft gaze on the monster.

"Will it help us find her?"

@Lucero
 
When there was no more to be done, Lucero reached over to Horoth, hand holding onto his forearm and squeezing it gently.

"Nobody is better than anybody, Syr Horoth," She did her best to smile in his direction. There was another squeeze though she suspected he couldn't feel it from his armor. "Sometimes we kill to protect what we love. Sometimes we kill to survive. Sometimes the killing is not a choice but a accident."

She stood up, putting her gloves back one. The beast also got up, both heads with wide eyes as if startled from a long sleep.

"It will." She said, holding onto the mane of the lion head. "Not all the way, but close enough." Lucero's head tilted towards the other head as if it helped her to better hear its thoughts. Her skills in the Wyld were limited, nothing compared to some of the other Knights and Squires. The best she could do would be know an herb by its smell.

Silently, Lucero followed after the creature. Her steps matched its own, pace for pace, breath for breath. The forest was quiet about them once again. No birdsong, no scuffling mouse, just the knights and the beast.

"If Shoyna attacks us, I think you should let me handle it. I believe I can stop her without spreading more blood.."
 
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"Hmm."

He did not know if he entirely agreed with the statement. Not because Horoth thought Lucero naive but because, at least in his experience, there were many lesser people in the world and they were often ironically those who thought themselves above others.

The touch was welcome, despite his armoured arm preventing contact, the gesture was enough. Lucero was seemingly of a worldliness that belied her appearance, her soft smile and face held perhaps the seeds of a greater wisdom. Horoth respected that and felt that perhaps she should be a bit more forceful in her ascension within the Order. They had power aplenty but real insight, that was a rare thing.

"Very well Syr Lucero, let us hope that it does not come to that though."

Walking along with them the silence of the forest unnerved him as he wiped the blood from his arms and hands with cloth. The creature seemed docile enough, even the vulture's head from its tail was simply watching them with none of the ferocity in its eyes that had been there before.

"Does this beast have a name?"

He asked, wondering out loud.

@Lucero
 
"Me too." Lips were pressed firmly together, entirely resolute in her suggestion. She had a sword on her hip, a heavy reminder that even those following after the Pursuit of Life still had to skill. Lucero didn't think it would come down to her needing to use the blade. Shoyna was surely frightened, and while that still made it dangerous, she also hoped it meant the Harpy might be more trusting than their current guide.

The two-headed guide brought them through many more trees and ferns. It's steps that should have been heavy were quiet, barely audible unless Lucero focused on searching for the sound. The air slowly became cooler, the tinkle of a trickling stream towards the left, The young knight felt her boot get caught on a root, nearly tripping her. There was a brief stumble but she was soon upright, tightening her grip on the guide.

"A name?" Lucero echoed, turning her head towards Horoth's voice. Brows raised and close together as she looked up like it helped her to think. "I was never proficient with the Wylds." Any sort of communication with beasts was beyond her. She could feel emotions, assume what thoughts might form from such emotion, but she'd never truly know. "But don't we already name cats and dogs whatever we want to? Can't see why we can't with this fellow... fellas?" As if they understood what the knight was saying, a growl and squawk corrected Lucero.

"I give one name, you give the other? I really like the name Gemma." There was a pause. "I'm not sure if it's a boy or girl so maybe something more neutral is better? Or food names are good for pets, aren't they? Morro or Cinnamon?"
 
The word sprang to his mind at the suggestion of food inspired names. It was a food that he always enjoyed and it seemed it might take the sting from its ferocious form.

"What about, Peanut?"

It was neutral, as far as names went or so he thought and he knew that some animals might be named such, horses and things were named biscuit and honey.

"You have more insight than many I think. I have no gift for magic at all and I tried, I only ever gave myself a nosebleed from the strain."

A hearty laugh came from his mouth then, as he remembered the gentle but firm way he was told that magic was simply not meant for some to wield. It did not bother him, he had spent so much time away from the natural world that it did not surprise him in the least that he was unable to touch the Shroud.

"So, Gemma and Peanut?"

He indicated the Wolf and then the Vulture heads respectively.

"Or the other way?"

Crossing his hands he almost got a nip from the Vulture.

"And I thought we were past that."

He scolded the beast but frivolity was put on hold by the screech of something, a desperate wailing howl in the distance, almost mistakable for wind. It had to be Shorna.

@Lucero
 
Peanut! Why didn't she think of that? She rather liked the snack herself, salty or sweet or both. Lucero nodded sympathetically to Syr Horoth. Not all knights needed to wield magic. There were plenty who fought only with the strength of their body, the goodness of their soul.

"Before the surgery, I had no way of touching or seeing the Shroud, much less using it." Lucero said gently. Her situation was different now. She didn't want to tell Syr Horoth that there were times she was tempted to trade it back for her sight because she had forgotten the brilliance of colors, that pink got blurred between orange and red, that she hardly knew the difference between dark and light blue.

"But every Knight has their strengths, there are feats only you can accomplish that a talented mage couldn't. Holding everyone to the same standard when it came to experience and skill would be backs with the teachings." It was why any could come to the Monastery, work hard at studying, and become a Knight despite not knowing a single spell.

Before Lucero could answer on who would be Peanut and Gemma, the shriek of a cold wind sent a chill deep into Lucero's bones.

Peanut and Gemma stopped, hackles raising, teeth bared. Too frightened to even growl, Lucero could feel the fear rushing to the hearts of both. Ears flattened on the wolf's head, the vulture opened it's beak, stamping one of its feet into the ground. They started to back away, even if Lucero tightened her grip and tried to fight against that fear.

But it was two against one, two sets of eyes versus an unseeing pair. Lucero didn't know what Shoyna was capable of, but Peanut and Gemma did. Suddenly, the wolf whipped it's head around, biting at Lucero's wrist.

"Ow!" She was more shocked than hurt, it was only a warning bite, but it was enough to have Lucero forget about her grip and to hold her hand to her chest, checking for blood. There was none and Peanut and Gemma had already turned to run away. Lucero sucked in a breath, hands slowly reaching out before her to grab onto anything. Their guide gone, but another piercing shriek was enough for Lucero's sensitive ears to lead the rest of the way.

"Syr Horoth," Lucero ventured. Suddenly, the undergrowth felt thick and unruly, the fronds of ferns brushing against the back of her knees as roots seemed to move beneath. Another wailing wind blew over them, stronger and louder than it had been before. It pushed all the hair over Lucero's shoulder flying back from her head. The gale was strong enough for Lucero to close her eyes, cold pricking needles into her cheeks.

The Knight had thought she would come across a injured Shoyna hiding up high in a tree or laying pitifully against the ground. She hadn't considered that Shoyna might have found them first. Another burst of wind, and this time, Lucero could pick out a high-pitched scream of one word.

"LEAVE!"

Between the trees, a pale shape could be seen. There was another scream and a wind so sharp sliced through the thick trunks of trees, making space for it to fly comfortable through the dense forest.
 
Horoth closed the gap between them quickly, taking her hand.

"I'm here Syr Lucero."

It was not intended to be any form of indult but he took a protective posture over her. Holding out his small shield and scanning the scene upwind to try and spot Shoyna but the force of her cries sent twigs and leaves swirling through the air at them, obscuring more than you might think.

"Are you injured?"

The Gemma and Peanut attacked from fear, he did not like it but he could not blame it for wanting to get away.

As the blast commanded them to leave he gritted his teeth but still did not draw his trident, letting it stay upward pointing in the same grip he held his shield.

"It looks as though Shoyna has found us."

The trees split and began to topple from the might if her wind blade. One looked as though it might fall atop them.

"Lucero, this way."

He did not really give Lucero much choice as he wrapped her in his strong arm about the waist and lifted her up to move her out if harms way, the trees and branches that fell made cacophony all about them.

The debri made a bit of cover, Horoth hoped it might buy them time to decide how to approach but by the look of it Shoyna would come for them soon enough.

"Are you alright Lucero?"

@Lucero
 
Both hands were pressed against her ears as if they could make any difference in drowning out the scream. Although her eyes were closed, Lucero could see the buzzing of the shroud in the air all around them like small blinking fireflies or drops of water sizzling in a hot pan. She could feel the vibration in her own blood, could almost swore she felt air bubbles clogging up her veins.

She had been brave and overconfident in telling her fellow Knight to let her handle Shoyna. A small whimper of discomfort would be all to leave her before another deep breath helped to strengthen her resolve despite being maneuvered by Syr Horoth.

"She's so angry," Lucero whispered, pity tinged her soft voice. She was leaning against Horoth, head lolled onto a shoulder as she considered her options. Though she might have the ability to force her emotions onto another, it was never certain if it would work. Anger often fought the hardest against it. The veins in around her eyes became pronounced, skin stretching tight over them.

Gathering the shroud around her fingers, Lucero concentrated every bit of shroud into a thin thread, as invisible as fishing line. Shoyna was still approaching, attacking the trees around them, searching for them as she screeched. As she turned towards the screaming harpy, Lucero threw her hands out before her, clearly tracking Shoyna, waiting for her time to strike.

Lucero made a gesture as if she had an invisible lasso, throwing seemingly nothing at the harpy. A hiss and a whisper came from the blind knight's gloved hands. Without warning, Shoyna turned back and Lucero was pulled after her, flying through the air until getting a leg caught between fallen tree branches.
 
"LUCERO!"

Horoth ran after her, hopping over fallen trees to reach her but she was stopped caught in the branches by the time he got to her.

"I've got you."

Bracing himself with his foot on the felled tree he took firm hold of Lucero's hands though he could not feel nor see what magic connected them he knew that if Shoyna could pull Lucero along then the harpy could be pulled towards them.

Another ear shattering screech reached their ears and Horoth cried out at the pain, it was as if a needle had been jabbed into his ear hole.

"PULLLLL!"

And Horoth pulled, he pulled with all his might he pulled to help Shoyna back to her people and for Lucero to be free from the tree, he hauled them back a few inched and his tanned knuckles turned white with strain.

"CAN YOU FREE YOURSELF?"

He shouted over the ringing in his ears, it was as if Shoyna's cry existed within his head.

Ahead Shoyna halted and screeched and roared and demanded they leave her be between every cry.

Horoth could just about make her out, there was something wrong here, something was done that should not have been and his mind once again went to his initial impulse at the marked trees.

Had Shoyna been wronged by those who were supposed to care for her?

@Lucero
 
He took hold of her at just the right time. Lucero was long and lanky, as a child her mother and grandmother had fretted over her being too skinny and constantly worrying whenever she had gotten sick. Even as a knight and her following through on the diligent regimen of calisthenics every morning and knight, all it had done was make her stronger, not heavier. Maybe she ought to bother Syr Horoth to take her to the training grounds and assist her in lifting, pushing and pulling heavy things after this. Clearly, that was what kept him a sturdy as an oak.

With his weight, Shoyna couldn't rip off Lucero's leg caught in the tree, and with the first pull from Horoth, the white harpy screamed in agony. Like a fish caught on a hook, with every pull of the two knights, Shoyna was forced to relinquish the power of her wings. Harpies had hollow bones, using their wind weaving as a necessity to give them an edge when protecting their territory. Quite fragile they were, which meant they had to be all the more ferocious.

"Yes!" Lucero shouted back to Syr Horoth, but still she pulled those invisible threads made purely of shroud and determination towards her heart. "Syr, when she's close enough, can you use your net?" He still had it with him, didn't he? Lucero couldn't remember if Peanut and Gemma had ruined it, she had been far too focused on healing their two-headed friend.

Shoyna continued her thrashing, screaming every time she had to relent another inch to the Knights. Lucero's fingers felt as if they were being seared by hot blue flames, skin felt as if it were being peeled, layer by layer until it was flesh and muscle, layer by layer whittling away until even her bones were radiating with burning nerves. Lucero ground her teeth hard together, didn't even worry if she might chip a tooth, trying to soothe the now angry and scared harpy.
 
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