Wraith's Lament 6: Chapter 1 - 1120 Words

Despite it being in the middle of the day, the sky was completely dark because of the eclipse. Sweetheart gazed upon the giant creature before her. The Wraith was here, manifested before the small little bat.

"Are you one of Sol's heros?" The Wraith asked as the floating runes around her neck, tail, and legs rotated. She sounded like a thousand caws, screeches, and human voices in one.
The chiro shook herself out of her shock. "Yes." She boasted with such confidence.

The wraith charged at her, mouth wide open and the floating runes rotating faster than before.
Sweetheart took to the dark sky, ready to combat this wicked beast for all of Sol.

The creature screeched loud enough to startle the bat. The hero screeched back in retaliation, though it did not compare. She followed it up with a bellow of her fire breath. The Wraith screeched out again, this time in pain. "Good" Sweetheart thought. She bellowed her breath once more.

The wraith lunged at her, connecting with her antlers into Sweet's side. This sent her spinning. Though he knew that she was bleeding, this did not phase her. Sweet quickly readjusted herself just before hitting the ground. The Wraith attempted to stomp on her. Sweetheart quickly evaded and was high in the air once more, far above the monster. Sweet folded her wings in and launched herself downwards, opening her mouth to bellow out once more. The Wraith jumped up, just mere inches away from the small bat. The monster attempted chomp the small creature in two. Sweetheart managed to change her course and give the Wraith a mouth full of fire. The over-grown wisp screeched in rage and pain as it stumbled backwards.

Sweetheart began to feel weak, and now plagued by a pain in her abdomen and stomach. The wound must be a little worse than what she thought. It didn't matter. For Eensy, her stryx family, her handler, and all of Sol? She'd gladly die on the battlefield if that's what it took. Sweetheart doused the Wraith with another dose of fire breath. The screech of pain that followed made her feel better. Perhaps this thought about death was unnecessary.

As the bat re-positioned herself for another attack, she saw a large Gryph and it's handler unconscious on the ground. Geiger and Kali were still here and knocked out! Sweetheart looked back, the Wraith was still preoccupied with her pain and seemed to be much weaker now. There was time to wake them in order to get them to safety. Either way, they were in the path of the fight and could be crushed or perhaps something much worse.

She landed near them and attempted to jostle them awake. Kali was the first to wake up. She slowly got to her feet. She stumbled on her way up, and calmly gestured to Sweets that she didn't need aid in standing. The bat focused on waking the large stryx, the handler soon began to help as well. Within a few precious moments, Geiger began to clumsily get to his feet. He was slightly more graceful than his handler, possibly taking less damage during their fall.

"By Galyx, you're bleeding!" Kali gasped, "You're really-"
"I know. I know" Sweetheart assured, "I'm going to defeat this Wraith. You both have to get out of here."
"No!" Kali spat angrily, fear now evident in her eyes, "You're really bleeding!"
A low growl came from Geiger followed by him saying: "You can come with us easy, or I will make you"
Kali got onto Geiger's back in preparation for the retreat.

There was a loud screech and the rapid, ever enclosing stomps on the Wraith.
"Help me then!" Sweetheart took off shortly before Geiger and Kali, "I have no issue coming along then. This is bigger than all of us!"

Sweetheart could see the concern in Kali's eyes, knowing she disagreed. However, no one had any choice now.
"Foolish Arena hopeful!" Geiger spat, "Fine! Let's take this rotten cloaca out."
The team split up. Geiger and Kali took to the right of the rushing Wraith, and Sweetheart took to the left.

In tandem, the two fire breathers unleashed their breath on the beast. The Wraith screamed out in pain. Geiger than rushed her, scratching at one of her eyes. More even more red liquid than before spewed from the eye, causing her to fall backwards off her feet. "Stay back, bat! Keep using your own fire breath." Geiger warned

Sweetheart nodded, bellowing out another blast onto the creature. Sweets kept her breath on it until she had no more left, feeling light headed. The Wraith was now writhing in pain, unable to get up for the time being.
"Foolish!" Kali critiqued, "Remember your wound! Keep your oxygen in whatever blood you have left!"
Geiger unleashed is own fire breath, letting off of it much sooner to show the student just how it's done.

The three regrouped in the air as the wraith managed to get back to her feet.
"We go high, you go low." Kali told Sweetheart, "We'll keep her attention."

The team flew towards the creature. Sweetheart was only a few yards above the grounded as she caught the Wraith's attention rather than the Arena masters. It looked down and attempted to strike with it's beak. Geiger and Kali kept to the plan, fire roaring from his mouth. The Wraith screamed but seemed laser focused on Sweetheart. The bat shot sparks from her mouth.

Then blackness. Sweetheart opened her eyes again. She was on the ground. Then blackness. She came back to herself again, the Wraith's beak was around her, gaped wide open and the peak of it was in the ground. Her peripheral was complete darkness. As the creature attempted to snap it's beak closed, the bat blew out a large stream of smoke until she was out of breath. Then blackness. She was blinking in and out of consciousness, and couldn't snap from it. Sweet could hear a loud heart beat, was that her's? She could hear the distant yelling and cawing of Kali and Geiger.

When her vision returned to her, she was holding on around the only other good eye of the creature and bellowing fire into it. Everything seemed so distant, and so calm despite the dire situation. She quickly flew away as the Wraith was now blinded, falling down. Then blackness.

Sometime later, Sweetheart awoke in a medical room with humans and animal people rushing around her. Kali was there, calm and with a smile.
"You're going to be alright. The Wraith didn't stand a chance against the best the arena has to offer. I hope you know that includes you."