[Mkguild] Fight and Flight

[Stealth]

The follow up to Cheeters Never Win, worked on this with help from Coal
Train


Fight and Flight

Copyright (c) 2008 Michael Nastov



The courtyard appeared idle and barren. The stone walls of the keep all
around imposed themselves on the small open ground with its scarce foliage.
Colour and movement remained all but absent save one figure standing on the
ground, looking up at the night sky.

The figure was illuminated in the moon light. He looked up and spotted
another standing atop the roof far above, though, he could only see a
silhouette. However the man standing on the ground knew his visitor and
glared up in contempt and defiance, then the silhouette spoke.

"Greetings oh spotted feline. Fellow sprinter, friend and rival." The
stranger held out his arms as he spoke.

The figure on the ground continued to glare.

"Still bitter about your loss?" The silhouette tilted his head and asked,
"How does the saying go? The better man won, or is that morph? Or does it
matter?"

"Cathal!" Stealth shouted, "Face me now!" The cheetah demanded.

"But why?" The rabbit asked genuinely curious, "Does my victory bother you
so?"

Stealth un-sheathed his long sword and slammed it into the stone paved
ground, "Now!" He demanded again.

"As you wish..." The rabbit sighed. Cathal leaped from the roof into a flip
before unfolding and landing on the ground with a tremor.

Stealth lifted his blade and ran at the rabbit. The cheetah swung his sword
about and hit air; the rabbit warrior had already jumped and landed on a
window sill. Stealth snarled, he adjusted his grip on the sword while Cathal
looked down at him with an amused grin.

The rabbit leapt from the sill and landed behind the feline. Stealth spun
around, swinging down at the annoying creature who jumped back. The cheetah
used his sword to propel himself slightly into the air and perform a flying
kick at his adversary who just jumped back a bit more on his large feet.

Stealth tried a new tactic and swung the long sword about in an arc and used
the momentum to throw it at the elusive quarry. Cathal leapt far above as
the sword imbedded itself in the courtyard's wall. The rabbit had landed on
another window sill higher up and put a paw to his chin.

"You won't catch me like that." He observed.

"Silence" Stealth hissed and attempted to remove the blade from its place in
the wall though it wouldn't budge.

Cathal dropped from his perch forcing the unarmed cat to abandon his salvage
attempt. The bunny removed the weapon from the wall with little trouble and
examined it, "you know this sword is too much for you."

Stealth remained silent, though not so much in defiance and contempt as
before but rather confusion and fear.

"You're place is that of speed and agility, not brute force." Cathal states
and throws the blade into the night sky.

The confused cat threw up his arms and called upon a flaming stone from the
oblivion and sent it roaring toward the rabbit. Cathal unsheathed his own
blade and make quick work of the fiery projectile; it landed before his
foot-paws in a pile dust.

Stealth quickly called upon more flying objects and those too were sliced
into a fine powder as Cathal cut through them with lightning speed. The
cheetah sent one more object, this time a sphere of energy which Cathal
evaded by leaping once more into the air.

This he anticipated; the sphere hit a nearby window which shattered into a
million shards, all of which went in different directions =96 at first =96 =
then
halted in mid air and shot toward the rabbit. Cathal's terror was clear in
his eyes; it was the same look he had given the cheetah during their race
which triggered Stealth's cold-potion-induced feral state to take complete
hold.

Predictably though, the rabbit jumped once more to the safety of another
ledge while from immediately behind where he had been standing, a small
shrub was cut to pieces and collapsed in a pile of compost.

"Very good, Stealth, I underestimated you." Cathal notes, "You are a
contender, though nothing more."

The cat seethed at his quarry whom stood out of reach.

"I grow tired, I take my leave." The rabbit announces.

"Face me!" The cheetah demanded again.

"Fair the well, oh spotted feline." And with that the rabbit leapt one last
time, into the sky leaving the cheetah alone with his rage.

Stealth ran up and shouted at the void, "Cathal! You are NOT faster than
me!" Though he wanted to shout it again, the sky to which he looked began to
fade. He felt his centre of gravity shift and then nothing.

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

Stealth opened his eyes. Dimly the feline could make out the room
illuminated in a soft gray light visible only to his keen sight.

The curse seemed to have wrought a complex modification to his eyes in that
his colour-vision didn't merely fall into disuse in poor light; it would
cease to exist at all. Instead his night vision took hold. Though it would
relent once more when he went into good light where upon his colour vision
could serve its purpose.

In his present situation, Stealth's feline eyes were far more adapt to
detecting his surroundings. They allowed him to discover that he was
currently lying on the cold stone floor staring up at the rafters in his
apartment. He fell out of bed. Actually, from the feeling in his back he
didn't need keen eye sight to figure that out.

He grumbled and forced himself to his feet =96 which had remained in the be=
d.
Thankfully the room was warm =96 not toasty =96 just warm enough that it wa=
sn't
freezing for the thin coated cat. Thanks to a wonderful rune-incrusted
object courteous of his dragon friend, Rugger.

For the moment, Stealth forgot about his restless nights sleep and instead
walked over to the window. He could faintly make out the hazy oil lamps
dotting the town as well as a blue radiance on the horizon whereas all else
remained shrouded in darkness. Interesting, he found the dawns; everywhere
the night could remain so until the blue horizon blossomed into a warm
yellow glow finally banishing away the darkness.

Okay, dawn was approaching; perhaps his night vision isn't as good as he
thought, Stealth mused, as a form of light existed to see by. However in the
darkness above the cat could make out a wonderful sight. Outside Stealth's
window two Gryfin frolicked in the pre-dawn sky. He knew these creatures to
be real Gryfin rather than morphs or at least that had been the word around
the keep.

They were his new neighbours, Kiska and QuickPaw. Or rather, he's their new
neighbour as the mythical pair claim to have resided in a tower nearby since
before the attack the past winter, though they returned only recently from a
very long trip.

Stealth turned to his dresser, on top sat some objects one of which was on
loan from the infirmary. During his recent recuperation from a
cold-potion-crash, he was restricted to full form as a precaution. He'd been
entrusted with a talisman granting him telepathy, though it had gone mostly
unused.

The cat decided to put it to some use and draped it around his neck, sensing
its runes glow and activate. Stealth opened his windows with a creek. Cold
air swept in though it felt refreshing. The feline peered through to get a
better view of the avian-feline hybrids.

"*Kiska?*" He asked in his mind trying to distinguish the pair in the poor
light. One of them, the dark creature, turned its beak toward him. Stealth's
heart skipped a few beats when the large flying predator folded its wings
and shot right toward him! Stealth jumped back from the sill and fell on his
tail a good two meters from the window.

Kiska flared his wings as he grappled the inside of the window sill with his
talons and poked his avian head through the portal. "*Greetings oh spotted
feline.*" The Gryfin said directly to his mind.

The cheetah raised an eye brow; where had he heard that before? He would
have remained grounded had it not been for his aching tail. Slowly he stood
though remained wide eyed. "Uh, Kiska... hello." Now that the creature heard
he was here, Stealth had no need of the talisman for sending though he
relied on it to hear Kiska speak.

The Gryfin knew the spell for what it was and payed it no heed. He adjusted
his talons on the window sill, *"Tis a fine morning for a hunt."
*

"Aye..." There was just something immensely un-settling about being greeted
by a Gryfin sticking its head into the window of your room in the morning.
"Although, I prefer heading off later. How are you today?"

*"We are well; it is always a good day when the weather is fine so we can
stretch our wings."* He thought to the cat then tilted his head, *"I'm
afraid you have me at a loss; my mate and I have seen you about but I don't
know your name."
*

"Oh, you can call me Stealth." He had been meaning to say it, "I've seen you
two about, too."
*

"Well met, Stealth. How are the?"* The avian creature bobbed its head about,
looking cute. And scary.* "Why are you up at this hour?"
*

The cat stretched out his back and yawned, "restless night to be honest; I
had a strange dream."
*

"A strange dream?"* Kiska all but had a death-grip on the window sill; he
wasn't going anywhere. *"Would you care to tell me, Stealth?"
*

It was very hazy though he recalled as best he could, "I was in a duel. My
opponent was a rabbit, he was much better." Stealth paused, "He was faster
than me."

The Gryfin nodded his large avian head, *"often our dreams are reflections
of ourselves. Of our hopes and desires, even our fears."* Kiska
explained. *"May
I presume who this rabbit was?"* The Gryfin asked.

Stealth paused, "Go ahead."

*"Cathal, I take it?"* Kiska guessed.

"Aye." Stealth tilted his head, "you know him?"

*"Indeed, on many occasions I've gotten to know him"* The Gryfin explained.
*"I can't tell you the meaning of this dream."* He conceded, *"However, I
can tell you that this is a way for you to learn about yourself, perhaps you
feel you should have won.

"Cathal bested you though not at your own ability; rather he excels in his
agility. If you become more familiar with your abilities and hone your
skills I doubt you would not become a formidable opponent."
*

Stealth nodded slowly, "I understand"

Kiska flexed his talons. *"Cathal has a great deal of pride. Though despite
his tough demeanour he is actually a good person and enjoys the company of
others, never mind the outer-shell."
*

Stealth nodded again, "I see, thank you."

*"Not a problem."* The Gryfin shifted his grip on the sill, *"Fair the well,
oh spotted feline."* Not a moment more and he dropped back from the window.
Kiska kicked his mighty forelegs off the castle wall, repelling himself back
into the void. Spreading out his wings, the mythical creature half dived as
he turned and banked up to meet his mate who quickly admonished him to at
the very least not try that when the walls are wet, not that Stealth heard
her.

The cheetah closed up the window, cursing himself at the amount of warm air
that had escaped. Stealth decided it was best to just start the day. He made
the bed and got properly dressed. There was still plenty of time before
work; perhaps he'd get in some practice on the training grounds. With that
thought, the cat headed off, intent on locating the kite.



Fight and Flight

Copyright (c) 2008 Michael Nastov
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