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Description
Whew this one was very time consumeing, given that i had to do it traditionally. I am pleased with the result however!

Story below, 2,155 words

The night had started off calmly enough, Vala and her adopted son Lykoi were lurking around the outskirts of town. Usually the two lived out in the forest alongside other feral Gro's, but recently Vala had been forced closer to town after the egg she had found hatched into a sickly and physically weak hatchinling. Vala still wasn't fully comfortable inside of the town, however her frequent trips due to Lykoi's poor health had changed that considerably in the past few months. Still she preferred to be outside of town whenever possible, however this close to Warptide the spites in the forests outside of town were too unpredictable and far too dangerous, and she was taking no risks.

She knew that she would not be able to escape an attack with her son in tow, he was just not strong enough. And so As warptide grew closer and the spites more agitated they had moved further and further away from the forests and into the farmlands, just outside of town. She had hoped that they would need to go no further and found them a quiet and out of the way spot to wait it out. The two of them hunkered down, ready to wait out the night. Lykoi dozed by her side, but she would not rest this night. She was far too on edge, every one of her senses on high alert. Everything about this night had her unnerved, and she was ready for it to be over and done with, the sooner the better.

however as she watched the moon rise, red as the blood in her veins, an ominous feeling welled up in her chest and somehow she knew that tonight would be a very, very long night. With her fear and worry building, she got to her feet and nudged her sleeping child. He blinked up at her blearily and she smiled reassuringly down at her son, it would not do to let him know she was so worried, the last thing she wanted was for him to be afraid to. To Lykoi she was strong and brave, someone he could count on and she wasn't going to let that change now. " Come Lykoi, i think its best if we find somewhere more comfortable, inside the town perhaps." It would be safer there she reasoned, and though she disliked the presence of so many other gro's, it would at least help put her worries to rest. Lykoi frowned but got to his feet, his mama knew what she was doing and he had learned that she always had a good reason for the things she did.

They walked on in silence, Vala straining her ears for the slightest sounds, anything that would hint that danger was near. They had only just reached the edge of the town proper when a mighty crash and an unearthly screech that made Vala's blood feel like ice tore through the air. Mother and soon looked on with terror as a great beast, a spite larger than any she had ever seen reared its great ugly head up over the tops of the buildings from it's perch atop the towns precious nova tree. Lykoi let out a terrified wail, he had never imagined such a terrible beat could exist, not even in his most frightening nightmares. Vala quickly curled her tail around him in a protective fashion. " Hush now, lets get to the nook, there will be others there and we will be safe." She lowered herself to the ground and motioned for Lykoi to climb onto her back. she could already see the chaos withing the town as gro's ran frantically to and fro. It would be all to easy for the two to get separated out and she could not stand the thought of Lykoi out here scared and alone.

With Lykoi clinging to her back, quivering with fright and letting out little yelps of fear at every terrifying noise that rang out from the center of town, she headed towards the nook. Gro's dashed here and there as they made their way through. Some were searching for friends or family, some searching for a place to hide, and yet others rallying together to fight the mighty beast. Amid the rush Vala and Lykoi made slow progress towards the nook, she was unaccustomed to moveing around in such crowds and they were often bumped into, once someone careened into her side so hard that Vala was knocked off of her feet and Lykoi was sent flying. After ensuring that he was unhurt and comforting the child, she got him on her back once again and get off even more carefully.

It took far longer than she had expected, but finally after what had felt like hours of walking, they reached their destination and Vala breathed a sigh of relief. She had been correct along with the wynglings, there were plenty of adults here as well to protect the wynglings and the eggs. Surely this was the safest place for Lykoi right now, though a part of her that would not stay quiet wondered if anywhere could really be called safe. Vala craned her neck to check on Lykoi, who was clinging tightly to her neck with his eyes shut tight, whimpering quietly in fear. she nudged him encouragingly and hurried inside.

She made their presence known to miss Alma, who certainly had her hands full protecting and caring for all of the nooks various charges. Vala wasn't sure if Alma would remember her, but as soon as she had introduced herself a fierce scowl appeared on her face. " Ordinarily, now is the time that i would scold you for running away the way you did, do you know how worried i was?! i was convinced something terrible had happened to you--" she took a deep breath and collected herself " unfortunately now isn't the time for scolding, so i will hold off for now. But don't you think for one second I've forgotten about this missy!" Vala breathed a sigh of relief as Alma's attention was taken by a crying wyngling and she hurried away. Lykoi let out a watery sounding laugh at his mothers expense, and Vala looked at him with a grin "found that funny did you?"

She took the boy and found a relatively quiet corner and let him of her back, even though she had tried to find a isolated area of the nook there were still many other wynglings and gro's all over the place. She sighed and sat down with Lykoi and spent a while calming her frightened child, and reassuring him that everything would be okay. She knew what she had to do next, but it wouldn't be easy leaving her son behind, especially knowing how lost he would feel here without here. Even though there were so many others around, he knew none of them and would feel insecure. But still, insecure was better than unsafe. He curled up next to her, eyeing the others in room with the wariness of a wild animal, and suddenly Vala knew she had been wrong to keep him away from town. It wasn't good for him to grow up so removed from society. She resolved to do better, maybe they would move back into town, or at least close enough to visit more often. Of course, all of that depended on if there was even a town left to move to after all of this was over....

A while later she carefully got to her feet, not wanting to accidentally step on Lykoi or anyone else and sighed, this would not be easy " Lykoi, listen... I have to go now and help the others fight off that giant spite, you'll be safe here so i want you to stay. If you need anything just ask miss Alma and i'm sure she'll help you. I'll come back for you when this is over, i promise" Lykoi was dismayed, and the normally quiet wyngling shook his head and cried " mama no! Stay!" Vala sighed again sadly and ruffled his hair " I know its scary here and your worried about me, but i promise i will be alright, im strong remember? No spites gonna get me! Now you stay here and be good for miss Alma alright? I'll see you soon." Lykoi looked up at her tearfully, mama knew best right? He wanted to go with her, or to stop her but he knew he was too little and once mama made up her mind he knew he couldn't stop her. "Mama.... be safe okay? come back soon!" She smiled reassuringly and gave him a warm hug " its a promise."

With that she turned and walked away, her heart heavier than she could remember it ever being. She hoped that she had told the boy the truth, but she knew she had to this. Everyone was working so hard, doing whatever they could to help. Vala was no warrior, but after growing up in the forest with her pack she was more skilled at fighting spites than many of the gro's in town, and she knew she could help fight, she had to. Most of the gro's in town were unaccustomed to such a conflict, and yet they were still fighting their hardest, how could she do any less?

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The fighting was fierce and complicated by the sheer size of the creature and the fact that it would not leave its perch. It seemed determined to destroy the nova tree. Vala attacked whenever opportunities presented, while dodging the creature as well as other gro's all trying desperately to damage the creature however they could. Many had weapons, but Vala herself had chosen to forgo a weapon in favor of her own claws. She was unaccustomed to their weaponry and would likely do more harm than good if she were to try wielding one now.

The Creature slid down the tree a ways, twisting this way and that, attempting to swat away the flies poking and prodding at it. Vala saw her opportunity as the beasts great tail slammed down not far from her and she leaped, digging her claws as deep into its flesh as she could tearing at it, desperate to deal as much damage as she could. This turned out to be a miscalculation however as she felt the tail move and herself rising high into the air. she clung desperately to the tail as she suddenly found herself almost face to face with the great beast who seemed to consider her with an almost mocking gaze. She watched fearfully as it raised its claws and lashed out faster than she thought possible for such a large creature. She cried out in pain and shock as she found herself falling through the air, hot blood flowing from a gash on one side of her face. Her focus faded in and out and she was only dimly aware of someone catching her, slowing her fall enough that she did not risk injury as her body hit the ground and then dragging her away from the fight.

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Everything was black and her mind was thick and foggy as she tried to remember what had happened, she tried to open her eyes and while one eye opened with some difficulty, something prevented the other eye from opening. Lifting a claw to her face she felt a large cloth bandage covering that side of her face. She stiffly lifted her head and looked around, there were Gro's all over the place some here for shelter and others laying around injured as she was. A familiar gro entered her line of sight and she felt relived " Dr.F... what happened?" The biped gave the best comforting smile he could muster given the circumstances and sighed " you were injured in the battle and brought here by young lady who saw you fall. I was able to stop the bleeding but i'm afraid i wasn't able to repair the damage to your eye.. i am very sorry--" he was cut off as yet another injured patient was brought in and he hurried away to get them settled.

Vala was horrified, her eye..? Did that mean she would be bind? Life in the forest was hard enough as it was... If she had truly lost one of her eyes then... She shook her head pushing away the thoughts. she had been careless and paid the price, but she would have to think about the consequences of it all later. She got up leaving the cot she had been placed on and settled down on an empty patch of floor. Others would need the cot more, and she was more accustomed to the ground. she resolved to rest for a while and then return to the fight, even injured as she was surely there was something she could still do.

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Description
Whew this one was very time consumeing, given that i had to do it traditionally. I am pleased with the result however!

Story below, 2,155 words

The night had started off calmly enough, Vala and her adopted son Lykoi were lurking around the outskirts of town. Usually the two lived out in the forest alongside other feral Gro's, but recently Vala had been forced closer to town after the egg she had found hatched into a sickly and physically weak hatchinling. Vala still wasn't fully comfortable inside of the town, however her frequent trips due to Lykoi's poor health had changed that considerably in the past few months. Still she preferred to be outside of town whenever possible, however this close to Warptide the spites in the forests outside of town were too unpredictable and far too dangerous, and she was taking no risks.

She knew that she would not be able to escape an attack with her son in tow, he was just not strong enough. And so As warptide grew closer and the spites more agitated they had moved further and further away from the forests and into the farmlands, just outside of town. She had hoped that they would need to go no further and found them a quiet and out of the way spot to wait it out. The two of them hunkered down, ready to wait out the night. Lykoi dozed by her side, but she would not rest this night. She was far too on edge, every one of her senses on high alert. Everything about this night had her unnerved, and she was ready for it to be over and done with, the sooner the better.

however as she watched the moon rise, red as the blood in her veins, an ominous feeling welled up in her chest and somehow she knew that tonight would be a very, very long night. With her fear and worry building, she got to her feet and nudged her sleeping child. He blinked up at her blearily and she smiled reassuringly down at her son, it would not do to let him know she was so worried, the last thing she wanted was for him to be afraid to. To Lykoi she was strong and brave, someone he could count on and she wasn't going to let that change now. " Come Lykoi, i think its best if we find somewhere more comfortable, inside the town perhaps." It would be safer there she reasoned, and though she disliked the presence of so many other gro's, it would at least help put her worries to rest. Lykoi frowned but got to his feet, his mama knew what she was doing and he had learned that she always had a good reason for the things she did.

They walked on in silence, Vala straining her ears for the slightest sounds, anything that would hint that danger was near. They had only just reached the edge of the town proper when a mighty crash and an unearthly screech that made Vala's blood feel like ice tore through the air. Mother and soon looked on with terror as a great beast, a spite larger than any she had ever seen reared its great ugly head up over the tops of the buildings from it's perch atop the towns precious nova tree. Lykoi let out a terrified wail, he had never imagined such a terrible beat could exist, not even in his most frightening nightmares. Vala quickly curled her tail around him in a protective fashion. " Hush now, lets get to the nook, there will be others there and we will be safe." She lowered herself to the ground and motioned for Lykoi to climb onto her back. she could already see the chaos withing the town as gro's ran frantically to and fro. It would be all to easy for the two to get separated out and she could not stand the thought of Lykoi out here scared and alone.

With Lykoi clinging to her back, quivering with fright and letting out little yelps of fear at every terrifying noise that rang out from the center of town, she headed towards the nook. Gro's dashed here and there as they made their way through. Some were searching for friends or family, some searching for a place to hide, and yet others rallying together to fight the mighty beast. Amid the rush Vala and Lykoi made slow progress towards the nook, she was unaccustomed to moveing around in such crowds and they were often bumped into, once someone careened into her side so hard that Vala was knocked off of her feet and Lykoi was sent flying. After ensuring that he was unhurt and comforting the child, she got him on her back once again and get off even more carefully.

It took far longer than she had expected, but finally after what had felt like hours of walking, they reached their destination and Vala breathed a sigh of relief. She had been correct along with the wynglings, there were plenty of adults here as well to protect the wynglings and the eggs. Surely this was the safest place for Lykoi right now, though a part of her that would not stay quiet wondered if anywhere could really be called safe. Vala craned her neck to check on Lykoi, who was clinging tightly to her neck with his eyes shut tight, whimpering quietly in fear. she nudged him encouragingly and hurried inside.

She made their presence known to miss Alma, who certainly had her hands full protecting and caring for all of the nooks various charges. Vala wasn't sure if Alma would remember her, but as soon as she had introduced herself a fierce scowl appeared on her face. " Ordinarily, now is the time that i would scold you for running away the way you did, do you know how worried i was?! i was convinced something terrible had happened to you--" she took a deep breath and collected herself " unfortunately now isn't the time for scolding, so i will hold off for now. But don't you think for one second I've forgotten about this missy!" Vala breathed a sigh of relief as Alma's attention was taken by a crying wyngling and she hurried away. Lykoi let out a watery sounding laugh at his mothers expense, and Vala looked at him with a grin "found that funny did you?"

She took the boy and found a relatively quiet corner and let him of her back, even though she had tried to find a isolated area of the nook there were still many other wynglings and gro's all over the place. She sighed and sat down with Lykoi and spent a while calming her frightened child, and reassuring him that everything would be okay. She knew what she had to do next, but it wouldn't be easy leaving her son behind, especially knowing how lost he would feel here without here. Even though there were so many others around, he knew none of them and would feel insecure. But still, insecure was better than unsafe. He curled up next to her, eyeing the others in room with the wariness of a wild animal, and suddenly Vala knew she had been wrong to keep him away from town. It wasn't good for him to grow up so removed from society. She resolved to do better, maybe they would move back into town, or at least close enough to visit more often. Of course, all of that depended on if there was even a town left to move to after all of this was over....

A while later she carefully got to her feet, not wanting to accidentally step on Lykoi or anyone else and sighed, this would not be easy " Lykoi, listen... I have to go now and help the others fight off that giant spite, you'll be safe here so i want you to stay. If you need anything just ask miss Alma and i'm sure she'll help you. I'll come back for you when this is over, i promise" Lykoi was dismayed, and the normally quiet wyngling shook his head and cried " mama no! Stay!" Vala sighed again sadly and ruffled his hair " I know its scary here and your worried about me, but i promise i will be alright, im strong remember? No spites gonna get me! Now you stay here and be good for miss Alma alright? I'll see you soon." Lykoi looked up at her tearfully, mama knew best right? He wanted to go with her, or to stop her but he knew he was too little and once mama made up her mind he knew he couldn't stop her. "Mama.... be safe okay? come back soon!" She smiled reassuringly and gave him a warm hug " its a promise."

With that she turned and walked away, her heart heavier than she could remember it ever being. She hoped that she had told the boy the truth, but she knew she had to this. Everyone was working so hard, doing whatever they could to help. Vala was no warrior, but after growing up in the forest with her pack she was more skilled at fighting spites than many of the gro's in town, and she knew she could help fight, she had to. Most of the gro's in town were unaccustomed to such a conflict, and yet they were still fighting their hardest, how could she do any less?

---------------------

The fighting was fierce and complicated by the sheer size of the creature and the fact that it would not leave its perch. It seemed determined to destroy the nova tree. Vala attacked whenever opportunities presented, while dodging the creature as well as other gro's all trying desperately to damage the creature however they could. Many had weapons, but Vala herself had chosen to forgo a weapon in favor of her own claws. She was unaccustomed to their weaponry and would likely do more harm than good if she were to try wielding one now.

The Creature slid down the tree a ways, twisting this way and that, attempting to swat away the flies poking and prodding at it. Vala saw her opportunity as the beasts great tail slammed down not far from her and she leaped, digging her claws as deep into its flesh as she could tearing at it, desperate to deal as much damage as she could. This turned out to be a miscalculation however as she felt the tail move and herself rising high into the air. she clung desperately to the tail as she suddenly found herself almost face to face with the great beast who seemed to consider her with an almost mocking gaze. She watched fearfully as it raised its claws and lashed out faster than she thought possible for such a large creature. She cried out in pain and shock as she found herself falling through the air, hot blood flowing from a gash on one side of her face. Her focus faded in and out and she was only dimly aware of someone catching her, slowing her fall enough that she did not risk injury as her body hit the ground and then dragging her away from the fight.

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Everything was black and her mind was thick and foggy as she tried to remember what had happened, she tried to open her eyes and while one eye opened with some difficulty, something prevented the other eye from opening. Lifting a claw to her face she felt a large cloth bandage covering that side of her face. She stiffly lifted her head and looked around, there were Gro's all over the place some here for shelter and others laying around injured as she was. A familiar gro entered her line of sight and she felt relived " Dr.F... what happened?" The biped gave the best comforting smile he could muster given the circumstances and sighed " you were injured in the battle and brought here by young lady who saw you fall. I was able to stop the bleeding but i'm afraid i wasn't able to repair the damage to your eye.. i am very sorry--" he was cut off as yet another injured patient was brought in and he hurried away to get them settled.

Vala was horrified, her eye..? Did that mean she would be bind? Life in the forest was hard enough as it was... If she had truly lost one of her eyes then... She shook her head pushing away the thoughts. she had been careless and paid the price, but she would have to think about the consequences of it all later. She got up leaving the cot she had been placed on and settled down on an empty patch of floor. Others would need the cot more, and she was more accustomed to the ground. she resolved to rest for a while and then return to the fight, even injured as she was surely there was something she could still do.

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