Wraith's Lament, CH 4: At the Docks

As Sastrugi walked into the brightly lit docks, he only had one thought on his mind. 'Please dont let us be the pair to find it,' he mentally prayed to Nokt. Surely the god of night time would respect that gentle, easy to do wish, right? This was not to be. His search partner. Scian, called out to him.

"Over here," she cawed eagerly. Scian grumbled as Kenite, his multi armed rider, pulled out its spears. Kenite made a gesture that would have been narrowing its eyes if it had eyes. 'I can't sense anything,' it signed with its lower pair of arms. Feli, Scian's rider, didn't see it signing, but Sastrugi did and frowned. The Rhakos had to be somewhere, right? But where could it be that Kenite couldn't detect it with its thermal vision? He stiffened as he came to a realization. Kenite seemed to come to the same conclusion, turning around very slowly. Scian chose the wrong moment to jump up with a big piece of a box in her beak. "Guys, what's taking you so long? Feli's distracted looking for-" the corva cut herself off.

The Rhakos roared loudly as it drew itself to its full height. Scian cawed in return while Sastrugi growled in terror. The Rhakos glared back, unimpressed, as the winds picked up. Its massive, curling horns gleamed in the moonlight before clouds cut the moon from sight. Sastrugi felt himself grow cold from fear. Nokt was no longer watching over them. What happened next would be entirely in their claws, out of sight and reach of the gods. Scian seemed to be having similar thoughts. She took to the air in her panic, leaving Sastrugi on the ground alone with the Rhakos. The casua whipped around to dive into a maze of boxes. Behind him, the Rhakos roared again and gave chase. Where Sastrugi dove carefully through the twists and turns, the Rhakos crushed all the boxes in its way. Despite his best dodging and sheer panicked speed, the much larger creature was catching up.

Scian turned around in time to notice what was going on. She whipped through the air, landing a solid (if awkward) hit on the Rhakos's skull. It tried to snap at her but missed entirely. Emboldened, she turned in for another dive at it. The Rhakos hissed lowly at her as if it could tell what she was planning. It twisted its head and opened its jaws directly in her path.Scian screamed in terror. She was too close! It was going to eat her! Before its jaws could close on her, Kenite threw a spear, hitting the side of its head. The throw wasn't forceful enough to knock the Rhakos' head out of the way. It was, however, enough to draw the beast's attention to Kenite and Sastrugi. The pair had made their way out of the maze of boxes. Kenite had jumped off Sastrugi's back to throw the spear.

The Rhakos growled. All these snack sized morsels, interrupting it over and over. Well no more! With a ferocious scream, the Rhakos charged. It was going to squash the little runner first. Then when the Casua was out of the picture with its spear throwing parasite, it would deal with the Corva. Vaguely, it womdered what the spear thrower would taste like. Perhaps it would find out. Assuming of course the parasite wasn't pancaked. It was meer seconds from catching Sastrugi when the rain started. The Rhakos blinked, startled by the sudden weather change. In the time the Rhakos was distracted, Sastrugi ran as fast as he could.

He and Kenite had learned normal rain didn't mix well with Kenite. Something about its makeup meant the rain physically stung with each drop. Too much rain and the spear thrower would be in absolute agony. Unfortunately, he didn't see any decent buildings he could get into. None of the crates to be shipped out were stacked in a way that could block the rain either. Scian swooped lower.

"Sastrugi, you're going to have to keep Kenite out of the rain," she called down. "This rain isn't stopping any time soon."

Kenite waved its hands. It was signing something, but Scian didn't understand and Sastrugi wouldn't turn around to look. Sastrugi screeched to a halt in front of a pile of boxes. Kenite slid off, flinching as rain drops hit its arms. Sastrugi maneuvered to stand where Kenite was properly sheltered under his chest and wings from the weather. Thundering footsteps caught all 3 creatures' attention as the Rhakos moved closer. It raised itself up to its full, massive height and roared menacingly at Sastrugi, Scian, and Kenite. Feli, finally having located the trio, ran in and was immediately plucked up by Scian. The feline being was thrown onto the Corva's back and Scian prepared to attack the Rhakos to defend Sastrugi and Kenite, who prepared themselves. Kenite readied a spear as Sastrugi stood to his own full height, flared his wings aggressively, and growled back, intent on protecting his new rider with his life.