"Not far now..." Eltrys muttered to Lia. They had slowly walked through the night from the Aspen Dam and their fight with slavers to the Fossil Ridge. A common hunting ground for Eltrys. The dawn was slowly lifting the moist morning mists away from the bones that littered the ridges.
The antlered fae was leaning on him since she had been wounded in the previous fight. He wanted to bring her to Polaris as quickly as possible but he didn't want to rush her due to her injuries.
A sound echoed through the ridges and bones suddenly and Eltrys froze. Something... was not right. He ran his tongue over his lips and lifted his head to peer around at their surroundings. Then there, silhouetted against the rising morning sun was a large antelope buck. Something about it was setting his teeth on edge.
"Lia..." He warned, locking eyes with the prey that seemed to try its hoof at being the predator for once.
The buck bleated again, lowered its horns, and charged at them! Eltrys pushed Lia out of the way if she hadn't chosen which way she would dodge yet and bolted himself opposite so the buck would barrel right between them! What level of hell did he wake up in? First slavers now a rampaging meal? He snarled and faced off with the beast, standing before Lia with his head lowered. The skin on the nape of his neck had begun to ache and pull from the battle earlier.
Knight
Professor
