In the dark under the couch, Batran felt the maws of the dark mistress release their grip on him, now concerned with the cat-sized moth crawling its way over to the two animals. Umbra blinked as she suddenly got bapped on the head by a kitty paw establishing dominance - the bug-eyed creature did not appear especially upset, but that was likely because she did not particularly care for matters of dominance. The cat could rule the roost if she wanted. Umbra sniffed, her wings fluttering as she followed behind Ebony, whom she had identified as friend. Meanwhile, Cyran took the opportunity to flee for his life, finally finding a moment of freedom. He fluttered out from under the couch, escaping the prying hands of his normally beloved children in search of freedom…

Only to bonk into something solid and warm.

Zarius!

Cyran blinked, his blurry bat vision still making it difficult for him to see things, but he thought he could make out the sight of Zarius’s snoot and the almost irritated expression on his canine face. Cyran let out a little squeal, floating up to the top of his head urgently. Now that he was out of Ebony’s clutches, he could reassess where they were - and it was just now dawning on him that they were in a room surrounded by his own curious foster kids who had a penchant for animals and a love of petting things they found cute.

Oh, hell. This was a recipe for disaster.

Cyran wrapped his little claws around Zarius’s ear and half-urgently tugged at him, trying to indicate the the direction they should run. They needed to get out of here, quickly - the kids had already discovered Borzarius was here, and were murmuring amongst themselves about the new puppy and kitty Master Cyran had brought them!

(Okay… maybe he spoiled them more than a little.)

Well, he’d always believed that enrichment and therapy animals were a good key to ensuring that kids who already dealt with trauma so young… but right now that decision was coming back to bite them in the ass as the kids had already assumed that they were new pets, and the commotion had gathered a few of the rescue and therapy animals that called Shade’s Valley home. From the rafters above, the birds were fluttering nervously, along with the elegant pixie that liked to haunt the orphanage and pull pranks on the kids that Cyran had never seemed to be rid of. A menagerie of kids and animals proved to be a cocktail of disaster - Cyran wished nothing more than to have his regular voice so he could kindly encourage the kids to head to the playground and stop overwhelming the little animals, but that wasn’t an option, so they had to take more drastic measures. Cyran eyeballed the nearby coffee table, thoughtful. Maybe if Zarius could knock it over, they could cause a commotion and grab Oriole’s attention to get the kids out of here…? He tugged at Zarius’s ear once more and pointed to the table, hoping that Zarius would get the message.

Zarius is not used to feeling a lot of social anxiety even amongst crowds, but being surrounded by children who are taller than him and he cannot communicate with sure does set off all the imminent danger alarms in his head. He manages to pull his tail free from the one kid's grip without totally yanking them off the chair and onto the floor. But he doesn't get far before he sees little hands reaching to pet his head. 

Nope. He's not here for it.

Not wanting to cause more trouble-- or get a firm scolding from Cyran later-- he refrains from snapping at the children and instead goes for avoidance rather than defensiveness. 

That's when Batran bops him in the face with his body. Every muscle in his body goes rigid and stiff for a moment until Batran scurries up onto the top of his head. 

Feeling the tugs on his ears, his eyes flit over to the table. It doesn't take long for him to figure out what Batran's idea is and he makes a break for the underside of the piece of furniture just before he's encircled by the curious children. He ducks his head to avoid knocking Batran clear off his head before arching his back and haunches to lift the table off its legs and tip it over. The few toys and other miscellaneous items on its surface clatter loudly across the floor, hopefully drawing the attention of an adult. Or an Oriole. Either would work. 

Ebony meanwhile is making friends with Umbra, using their shared feline-ness to communicate at least the bare minimum of intentions. Crawling on her belly across the floor, the black kitten waits for the children to be distracted before darting across the room and clawing her way up a wooden support beam into the rafters. Her eyes are wide and bright yellow, making her almost look owl-like in the shadows cast throughout the space. She looks at the two little griffons as she makes a number of chattering noises.

Though not magical herself-- in theory-- most beasts of Charon are used to the feeling of magic. Particularly strong magic can be sensed and cause animals to act in strange ways, and the magic that has warped Zarius and Cyran is beyond potent. Even without having an understanding of the arcane, the kitten knows something is up and that it's not good. Especially if she wants to continue to be fed on a regular basis.

Needless to say, Ebony has mostly figured out that her servant and servant's accomplice have run afoul of some powerful magic and now are different in shape, but not different in smell. This would not be tolerated. How was she supposed to chew on her servant's head if they lacked horns? Unacceptable! The only thing worse than this would be if her servant's mate lacked ankles to sharpen her claws on. 

But there's another scent mixed in with familiar, a stench of ancient and powerful magic. If they could follow it back to the source, then perhaps the shapes of her servant and the servant's accomplice could be reverted. This, however, would require more keen noses and many allies. Competent ones, unlike those that walk on two legs. Ones with wings and teeth and claws. Clearly, her servant and servant's accomplice think the same, otherwise why would they go to her first for help? Such needy creatures. 

CRASH!

The sound of the table being knocked on its end, clattering ceramic mugs and decorations everywhere, caused the children to go scattering every which way with startled screams. Cyran winced as much as a bat could wince, hoping that the children were not too startled by the sudden noise, or the table was not too dented considering Del had just repaired that leg - nope, not important right now.

The commotion, thankfully, finally caught the attention of the thief in the other room. Oriole burst through the door, a scowl on his face and a broom clutched between both hands. “Hey! Quit busting this place up, we’ve already had to repair it once! All of you, out! Out!”

He swung the broom at Borzarius and Batran first upon the realization that it had been “Pickles” who riled up the animals and trashed the table. Batran was still perched on top of the jackal, merely along for the ride while Oriole attempted to shoo them outside through the front door. Not for the first time he lamented how small and insignificant he was in this form, unable to convey to his apprentice that they needed help, needed extra blades, or something - but in Oriole’s mind he was just a mangy stray right now. An animal.

Oriole would be no help to them.

The animals, on the other hand, seemed to be the only ones with senses and intuition keen enough to recognize that the little winged creature on the back of the jackal was their elf, the shadowy-man who smelled like snow and steel and fed them snacks. The songbirds were responding to Ebony with chittering noises, a melody that sounded suspiciously like the sound of someone saying ‘Master Cyran! Master Cyran!’, as if in complete agreement. Oriole turned his attention to the rafters, catching sight of the blinking eyes in the dark.

“Ugh… how’d the cat get up there?” Oriole replied, grumpy and upset that the strays had ruined his fresh pie and now upset the children - and in a move that could only be described as foolish at best, and suicidal at worst, he raised the broom upwards, trying to shoo Ebony away, too. “Get out of here! Go ruin someone else’s baked goods!”

The songbirds both took to the air, chittering amongst themselves in a melody that sounded like ‘Get out of here! Get out of here!’ In Oriole’s own inflection. The chirp almost served as a cry, getting the attention of the winged pixie who’d been similarly hanging in the air, and a small bat who’d been sleeping in a darkened crevice. Umbra, too, made her way from the couch after the elf-turned-bat, turning to look up at her new feline friend while the birds continued to chirp in the air. A rallying cry for the tiniest warriors known to man - and right now, the coalition of Cyran and Zarius’s support.

Well, it was better than nothing.

… Maybe.

Borzarius makes a break for the door as Oriole shoos them out. As tempted as he is to snatch the broom out of the apprentice's hands on his way through the door, he relents in case that makes him throw something actually dangerous. 

Ebony, on the other hand, does not know the meaning of restraint. She leaps down at Oriole's face, landing on him and letting out a loud disapproving hiss of being swatted out with the broom. Oriole is lucky she keeps her knife-sharp claws sheathed while on his face. Bouncing off of Oriole, Ebony tears out of the orphanage after Borzarius and Batran with all the other pets in tow. 

Outside the orphanage, Borzarius stops around the corner to calm down and let the other critters catch up. As all the pets gather around, he can't help but feel a bit skeptical about their chances of ever returning to normal. This is really not his idea of finding help, but he supposes something is better than nothing. They clearly weren't going to get help from anyone without being able to communicate. 

He sits down and thinks for a moment about how to proceed from here. They were no closer to reverting to their original forms than they were before, and now they had an entourage of cute and fuzzy critters that didn't stand a chance against an Ur-beast. Things are not looking promising but at this rate, they would have no choice but to return to the Deadwood to confront the Ur-beast even while they're still stuck as animals. 

That idea would feel a lot less dire if they had a bit more firepower on their side. Or rather, any power at all. They needed some much larger help. 

That's when a familiar scent of ozone hits his sensitive snoot. Looking around, there's no storm in the sky, which means that the scent is coming from something else. He gets back onto his feet and circles around a bit trying to pick up the trail. Once he does, he yips at the other pets and heads down the street toward what hopefully would be some actual help. 

Perched up on a roof not that far away from the orphanage is a large silver storm drake and their teenage drake rider who is bored out of her mind with little to do. She sits back against the drake's side while picking at her nails with the tip of one of her fighting knives. Indra snorts as ash lands on her nose, sending flurries of grey flakes flying back up into the air. 

"Man, this is so dull," Shael complains.

She figured there would be more interesting work for her to do rather than just patrolling around and watching for any suspicious activity. Which, it's Darkveil. Suspicious activity is the norm. Well, at least it's better than being in debt to the Red Riders. Still, she wishes something interesting would happen.

Batran was hopelessly along for the rise while Zarius led them out of the orphanage and through the streets. Meanwhile, on the inside, Oriole was hopelessly unaware of the danger he faced in provoking the unslumbering beast. She let out a hiss as she pounced, using the thief’s face as a landing pad and scratching at his cheeks. Oriole dropped the broom, startled, scrabbling at his face in a desperate attempt to free himself from her clutches.

“Getoff, getoff!” He cried, but Ebony was already gone, the storm whisking itself away as quickly as it had come. And the rest of Cyran’s little animals in tow, all forming the world’s most adorable army. A mighty force they did not have, but given their sheer inability to get their loved ones to listen to them, their next best option was to rely on their pets.

Cyran was not especially optimistic about their chances, but it was better than nothing.

He was still perched on Zarius’s head, letting out a rather bat-sized sigh, when Zarius suddenly caught sight, or scent, of something sharp and pungent in the air. He was nearly knocked off of Zarius’s head at the sudden jolt, the jackal moving somewhere only he was privy to, letting out a sound for the other animals to follow. Cyran curled his wings around himself, ears flattened on his fuzzy little head while he watched his therapy animals trail behind them.

A mimic moth, two griffonbirds, a pixie, and a bat trailed behind their now bat-shaped owner, who was still clinging to Zarius’s fur while they drew ever-closer to something big. Something incredibly menacing. Cyran’s bat-vision was still a bit too blurry to make it out entirely, but he could tell holy shit that thing was huge. Maybe if he stayed still, it wouldn’t eat them…

His own animals, on the other hand, had no such reserves. All they saw was that there was a giant drake, the fact that it was very much minding its own business notwithstanding, and their little bat-elf was in danger! Umbra immediately lunged, the griffon songbirds fluttering in the air, chirping in alarm, a ferocious militia, doing absolutely fuck all to the dragon.

… Yeah, they were about to have a hell of a time mounting any resistance to an Ur-Beast.

Spotting the large silver drake, Zarius knows that its rider cannot be far. Having someone experienced with animals may come in handy as they should, in theory, be able to tell when animals are acting not like animals. Zarius isn’t entirely convinced that this new plan would even work, but their options were growing ever slimmer. Last thing he wants to do is be indebted to Shael, but if she was their last hope, he would bare that burden.

Shael has been a rather annoying ally to have. The teenager has nothing but bad habits and shows him little to no respect most days. Pair that with having the unwavering loyalty of a very dangerous lightning breathing drake and it puts Zarius at a bit of a disadvantage when it came to any disagreements. And they disagreed a lot. 

Still, he cannot deny that the young dark elf is skilled in certain areas. Too bad that did not include manners or being discreet. 

Indra snorts at the critters fluttering in her face. If she were a more irritable drake, she would probably snap at them, gobbling them up as a midday snack. Still, the pets were successful in getting her attention and the drake’s reptilian eyes follow them back down to the alleyway where Borzarius and Batran were. Her nostrils flare and there’s a rumble like thunder in the back of her throat.

“Something wrong, girl?” Shael leans back against the drake's side, glancing over at the other pets that are hovering around the drake's face. 

"Go on, shoo!" She waves her hand at the griffin songbirds, course there's no reason they would listen to a stranger like her, so she only does so half-heartedly. The little fellas couldn't harm the much larger drake anyway. 

The large silver drake’s nostrils flare as she sniffs the air. There was potent magic on the wind, it unsettles the dragon-like creature. Though not nearly as powerful as true dragons, drakes still had connections to the primordial energies of Charon similarly to the true dragons. If only through instinct, Indra can tell something powerful has encroached in the Deadwood just beyond the city’s limits.

Borzarius and Batran both reek of the Ur-beast’s accursed magic, but beneath that is the distinct scent of brimstone from Borzarius which is familiar to Indra. This isn’t necessarily a good thing. Zarius had caused her ward a great deal of distress when they first met, and drakes are well known to have very good memories. She has hardly forgotten the fellblood’s transgressions against her and her young ward.

Indra breathes out a breath that smells strongly of ozone as a means of warning that any who approach her should do so with caution. That said, she was doing well to tolerate the buzzing friends batting at her face. 

Ebony then appears on the roof as well, having somehow manifested not that far from the massive drake and its rider. The fuzzy terror creeps up unseen before tentatively climbing up onto Indra's back by scaling her tail. 

The drake snorts again and lets out another rumbling growl.

"What's got you all riled up?" Shael finally gets up and helps Indra fend off the fluttering pets before she spots Ebony sitting in the saddle. "Pffft, is the cat the problem?"

Seeing that Shael was now up and investigating the situation, Borzarius lets out a yip to get her attention. 

He certainly gets it, but her look of surprise quickly turns into confusion. "The fuck are with all these animals?" she mutters to herself. 

Borzarius looks around for some way to deliver her a message. They'd only get one shot at this. 

A Drake. Zarius had led them to a drake of all things, and a rider to boot. How did he know this young woman and her threatening Mount? Zarius had a plethora of connections that Cyran had not met, though even the assassin could admit that a dragon rider was a bit of a surprise. He supposed he really could not look a gift horse in the mouth, though. They likely could not communicate with the young woman in any constructive manner, but perhaps they could get the attention of the dragon. Cyran’s experience with the creatures was minimal save a few adversarial run-ins with them, to put it mildly. He knew they were supposed to be ancient and wise, and most he’d met were incredibly prone to anger.

They would need caution in abundance; caution that his animals did not have, apparently. At least the young woman knew that the little animals were no threat to her companion. While the griffon songbirds retreated, Ebony inched closer, utterly uncaring of the dragon’s wrath she might possibly incur.

Cyran was worried that the drake might attack Ebony - not for the cat’s safety, mind, but the drake’s - but it only let out a low warning growl, which Ebony paid no mind to. Even the young woman seemed to pay no kind to the little hellion scrambling up the drake like a tree. But she seemed to finally get the message that they were all trying to get her attention… somehow. Zarius let out a high-pitched bark, pulling the curious woman’s gaze her way. Well. Now was their chance to finally deliver a message.

Cyran fluttered his wings, nervous. Now that they were actually here, his mind actually drew a blank. Despite all their best efforts, they were no closer to being heard or understood by anyone else. Oriole, his apprentice, had swatted at them with a broom, and Madam Zewala had only recognized him when she peered through his memories. Most didn’t pay them a second glance, believing them to be nothing more than mangy stray mongrels that had wandered into the city after the instability in the volcano had driven them here. But perhaps if he acted in a way that wasn’t the way an animal ought to behave…

While the young woman was watching, Batran hesitantly started skipping along Borzarius’s head, like he was doing a little jig. Mostly just to get her attention, and think, ‘what the fuck’?

And he felt like a damn fool while doing so.

Eons grateful that Caedes was not around to make fun of him for this or his fiancé to see him make a fool of himself as a tiny bat dancing atop a jackal’s head, Cyran continued this fool’s song and dance until he was certain he had her attention… and her confusion.

Okay. What now?

She had no idea who he was, but she did know Zarius. Cyran stared at the ash-covered ground, thoughtful, when an idea occurred to him. He hopped to the cobblestone, fluttering around as he traced his little bat claws through the ash to create a pictograph in the middle of it. He was not an artist, and without hands, it was even more difficult to make coherent lines. But it had to work. Even if the young woman had no idea what Cyran was trying to say, he could only hope the Drake understood. They were supposed to be smart and intuitive, and they needed that creature if they were going to stand any chance against the Ur Beast.

Batran looked up, tilted his head to the side, and waited.

Shael stares down at the little bat that did a jig and then drew in the ash. There’s a long stretch of silence aside from the fluttering of the other pets still pestering Indra.

“...what the fuck,” Shael whispers.

Indra watches and seems to catch on to what Batran is communicating faster than her rider. After all, she could tell Batran and Bozarius were not what they seemed. The large drake rises to its feet and the roof creaks under the weight of her body. 

"Hey," Shael looks at her drake. "Where are you going?"

The massive drake rumbles before climbing down the building to where Borzarius and Batran were. Her feet land heavily against the cobblestone and send a flurry of ash up into the air as she disturbs it. The drake is even bigger as it looms over them. 

"Indra! What the fuck!" Shael tries to clamber up on the back of the drake as it slinks to the ground, but she just misses running up onto its tail. "Indra!" The young dark elf sounds just as confused as she is frustrated with the odd way her mount is behaving. 

Lowering her head, Indra takes a big breath of the pair's scent. She doesn't like what she smells. The Ur-beast's magic is far too potent to ignore, and while the drake is not particularly territorial, she is protective of her rider. Something as powerful as an Ur-beast being so close peaks the drake's defensive instincts.

Zarius holds his ground the best he can, though being a small jackal makes this whole interaction a lot worse than previous interactions with the drake. His tail curls under his body as the drake leans closer. He's not entirely sure what it's planning on doing and yelps in surprise as the drake reaches forward with its talons and closes them around him. 

Borzarius and Batran are scooped up and feel a lurch as the drake suddenly leaps into the air and carries them off. Ebony digs her nails into the back of the saddle to hold on for dear life. Lastly, Indra snaps her jaws forwards, seemingly catching all the fluttering pets between her jaws, but careful not to actually eat them and instead carry them in her mouth the way a mother alligator carries her dozens of hatchlings. 

"INDRA! HEY!" Shael's voice calls after the drake as it flies off, stranding her on the rooftop without any idea of what is going on. Soon the elf's voice fades and is overtaken by the wind rushing by their ears as the drake follows the scent of the Ur-beast back to the Deadwood. 

Gods, this was not really good for any of them. Could the drake actually even do anything against the Ur-beast to begin with? Well, they were about to find out one way or another. 

… Yeah, okay. That was about the reaction Cyran ought to have expected. He let out a little dejected bat sigh as her expression clouded with bewilderment rather than lighting up in recognition. Of course her first instinct would be what the fuck the bat is acting like a circus clown rather than what the fuck, that thing drew Zarius, wait a minute, that dog looks an awful lot like Zarius doesn’t he?

The dragon, on the other hand, did seem to recognize what Cyran was saying. It towered over them, assessing Cyran’s drawing, the animals, the scent of god-magic in the air that clung to their wings and fur. The dark elf seemed annoyed, but still not quite piecing together what the mount - Indra, so her rider had called her - had managed to piece together.

Batran flattened himself against Borzarius’s head, hoping to disappear in the fur, at the dragon’s scrutiny. Rationally, he was aware this creature would not harm him unprompted; she was intelligent and knew Zarius and had no reason to attack them unless she had somehow found his rendition of the fellblood offensive from how bad it was. And yet, his tiny animal instincts were screaming with a litany of warnings, please don’t eat me, please don’t eat me…

But Indra merely scooped the jackal up in her talons and took to the sky.

Cyran screamed, digging his bat-talons into Zarius’s fur in a desperate bid not to be flung haphazardly through the air at the sudden liftoff. If he lost his grip here, at this height, well… Batran could fly but he didn’t want to find out what would happen. Meanwhile, Darkveil grew smaller and smaller behind them with each flap of Indra’s wing; and the Deadwoods drew closer, their return journey significantly shorter than their departure. With Indra’s… help, it almost made their efforts thus far seem like a joke. They really were just that tiny and insignificant in these forms. At least with a Drake they might stand a chance.

Though the closer they drew to the forest, the more potent the Ur Beast’s presence became in the air, the more apprehension Cyran felt. They were a dog, a bat, a dragon, a cat, and a menagerie of various other animals, set to slay a beast of the gods. It almost sounded like a bad children’s nursery rhyme. Perhaps Cyran might even get the chance to tell it to the orphanage kids if he survived and was not crushed into little bat paste from the entire ordeal.

And soon enough they were upon the clearing where Zarius and Cyran had been transformed in the first place. Cyran waited for Indra to get closer to the ground before poking his head out, letting out a series of clicks and feeling the surroundings about him. The copse of trees ahead, dead branches swaying in the wind… the place seemed almost devoid of animals, but given what lurked in the woods he was not surprised. But further in the treeline, he thought he could feel it. Something big. Barely shifting or moving, almost as if it was resting. It would not remain that way for long if they dallied.

But there was a chance - a small one - that if they acted now, they could catch it by surprise.

Cyran pointed in the direction of their quarry, already aware Indra could likely sense it. All he could do was let the dragon carry them there.

It was time to launch their final assault.

Indra soars across the ash-filled skies until the city streets of Darkveil disappear behind them and the barren trees of the Deadwoods reach up from the ground. From up here, it looks less like a forest and more like a graveyard filled with disturbed skeletal hands grasping at the sky.

The drake's nostrils flare as she attempts to track down the scent of the Ur-beast. It doesn't take them too long to see the massive creature slithering through the corpse of trees. It also doesn't take the Ur-beast long to notice their intrusion. The creature lifts its head and glares at the drake as it circles overhead.

Borzarius looks down at the divine beast. Even from here, he can tell it is not happy to see them, and it also doesn't appear to be willing to wait for their feet to be firmly on the ground before attacking. The winged snake coils then strike upwards, spiraling into the air with unexpected speed. 

The large storm drake, having never faced a creature quite like the Ur-beast, hisses in surprise and starts to gather a burst of lightning in its throat as a warning. The Ur-beast isn't deterred and headbutts the airborne drake in the chest before its body wraps around it. The impact knocks the air out of Indra, and she coughs up all the little flying pets she is carrying in her jaws. Ebony lets out a catty yowl in protest as she's nearly knocked off the drake's back by the Ur-Beast's coils. 

The extra weight of the Ur-beast forces the drake to make and crash landing into the forest below. She does her best to slow her descent before releasing Borzarius as close to the ground as she can before she slams through a few trees with the Ur-beast. 

Zarius luckily lands in a drift of ash which softens his ungraceful landing and sends a cloud of ash up into the air. He's blinded and starts hacking from breathing in the cloud, but that hardly drowns out the sounds of splintering wood and snapping branches as Indra and the Ur-beast tussle not that far from them. Ebony somehow lept into the safety of a tree before Indra hit the ground. She now perches, like an owl, and watches the scuffle from above. 

By the time the ash settles, the Ur-beast has Indra tight in its grasp. The drake is half on its side with one wing pinned underneath itself and the Ur-beast while the other flaps in the air. Indra's talons scrape across the dirt, unable to find any purchase on the flesh of the Ur-beast or get any footing to stand. The Ur-beast has one coil around the drake's throat, bending its neck back and pointing her head away from itself should the drake attempt to bite or release a burst of lightning at it.

Surprisingly, while it has the opportunity to sink its fangs into the restrained drake, it does not, and instead its angry gaze looks towards Borzarius and Batran once more. Just like before, its voice echoes through the forest and sinks into their thoughts. 

You return. You return, bringing those you have enslaved to fight for you. Disgusting, wretched, evil creatures you are.

The hair on Zarius' haunches rises as his ears pin and his lip curls. He growls at the creature. Just turn us back to normal already, he thinks in his mind, and the Ur-beast actually responds. 

No. 

The Ur Beast was none too pleased to see them.

It, of course, was capable of sensing the beasts that entered its domain, and Indra was hardly stealthy with her approach. Why would she need to be when she carried the blood of ancient dragons in her veins? Still, it was primordial energy against the divine, and the reptilian beast was quick to dodge the first warning strike levied at it from Indra’s lightning strike. In an instant the snake was coiled around the Drake in an armless, slithering grapple, the force of its headbutt blow forcing out the rest of their menagerie from her mouth. Batran and Borzarius were hastily released, Batran able to catch himself in the air…

And Borzarius, not so lucky.

Batran flapped hastily in the air, sparing a distressed squeak for his friend, but Borzarius was not down for long. The jackal was up in a second, hacking ash and dust out of his lungs. Good. He heaved a sigh of relief and turned his attention to his animals. His birds were attempting to peck at the eyes of the Ur Beast, and Umbra had her wings spread out and was climbing up and down it, batting her paws at its thick reptilian hide in an effort that was ultimately useless but honestly adorable. The joint attack wasn’t doing much, but it was all just an effort to give Indra any chance they could to gain the upper hand via distraction. Even without speech and communication they understood, implicitly, what the plan was, and what they needed to do.

It was unfortunate that said attempts were only serving to make the Ur Beast angrier.

Cyran heard its speech in the recesses of his thoughts once more, enraged by their united front. Still, it seemed to think this a domination of man over beast rather than the group of them working in tandem. Cyran would have scowled if he was capable of it. Though he was little more than a pathetic prey animal, molded into this form by the very beast they sought to eliminate, anger sparked deep in his core. How dare it speak of vile creatures when it was the one murdering civilians and claiming it justice for beasts?

The Ur Beast did not even deign him worth looking at.

You, I should have turned into a worm. Spineless, writhing around and pretending to be greater than you are. Its nostrils flared with a burst of blue, luminescent celestial light, still coiled around Indra as a warning. Not crushing her just yet - but on the precipice of it. The primordial dust that hit Cyran’s animals swirled around the minuscule creatures, the beast’s divine command clouding their minds and obscuring their love of their owner.^[1] They all flew in the other direction, perching in trees and holding still, their eyes all the same glowing color as the Ur Beast’s. All that was left was Cyran and Zarius, and Indra still within its clutches.

And one more, hidden behind Batran’s back, who was not beholden to the beast’s spell.

Behind Batran, a shy, moon-white spriteling unfurled her wings, taking to the air. Aruna, like most pixies, was prone to hiding behind their masters in battle, but the elf whom she’d bonded to was in a different form, and he was in danger. If she didn’t act, he would be hurt. And she was rather attached to the silly, pointy-eared, knife-loving man that had helped hatch her in this world. Though the spriteling’s arrival from the realm of wonder had been a prank, he’d taken her in and loved her all the same, and the only one allowed to torment him was HER.

With as much courage as she could muster, the water pixie fluttered up to the Ur Beast. She was not an imposing threat, but nor was she a creature under his dominion. Hovering in front of the creature’s glowing eyes, she commanded with as much authority as she could muster.

Halt, beast! This bat and his friend are under my protection, as an emissary of the Realm of Wonder. If you don’t want to risk angering the fae courts, then you will release the dark spell you have put on them.

It was not, in essence, a lie… though she might have been exaggerating her greatness a tad, considering she was really only an emissary in the sense that she was sent to the physical plane to play pranks. But would the Ur Beast fall for her gambit?

---

1. Command Beasts - Ur Beast

Ebony remains perched in the tree tops, safe from the scuffle below, but not a whole lot of help currently. She just watches things play out while kneading biscuits out of the brittle bark of the Deadwood tree.

The Ur-beast narrows its viper-like eyes at the tiny pixie who dared to speak with such authority. 

The fae courts hold no power over me. These fools sought to drive me from these lands and have rightfully suffered the consequences of such arrogance. I am ancient, I am the land itself. Mere mortals will not move me. 

Borzarius uses the momentary distraction caused by the pixie to skulk around back through the trees. Thanks to his smaller size, it's not too difficult to break the line of sight with the Ur-beast and circle around to the other side of it and Indra. With Cyran's pets under the Ur-beast's control, they were now at an even greater number disadvantage. The drake was their best bet at forcing it to turn them back to normal, so they needed to get the diving creature to let it go. 

His plan is simple. Which hopefully means it will work. Basically, he'll get behind the Ur-beast while it is speechifying at the pixie and nip it hard enough to get it to react. If he can draw its attention to him, it might loosen its grip on Indra enough for the drake to twist free or rip her talons through its flesh. 

So far so good, he manages to sneak through the ash drifts and gnarled roots to behind the two massive creatures locked in their grapple. 

Indra's nostrils flare and a threatening growl rattles in her throat while she is kept restrained. Her eyes catch sight of Borzarius as he carefully closes the gap between himself and the vulnerable end of the Ur-beast's tail. She shifts her wing to block the Ur-beast's periphery vision just enough to give the jackal a bit of cover. Static sparks between her fangs and the scent of ozone grows in intensity until it overwhelms the scent of ash in the air. Despite her situation, the drake does everything she can to assist and be prepared to strike. 

It is helpful. Against such a huge threat, they need every bit of leverage they can get in this situation. 

Once he's within striking distance, Borzarius crouches, his belly brushing against the ground as his haunches bunch under him. He'd likely only have one shot at this. He can't afford to miss. With a little waggle of his bushy tail, he leaps forward and pounces on the end of the Ur-beast's scaly tail. Snapping his jaws down on the end of it, he tastes the divine creature's blood as it seeps up in between his canines. 

The Ur-beast throws its head back and hisses in pain, the coils of its body slip along Indra's scaled hide as it twists to try and strike at its assailant. Borzarius leaps back to get clear of the wrestling match between the two creatures. Even just getting accidentally bumped by either of them could result in a broken bone if he's not careful.

Indra uses that moment to writhe against the Ur-beast's hold and manages to pull her head free while digging one talon deep into the ground. She throws her weight to the side, dragging the Ur-beast over with her and pinning it down under her chest. The crackle of static grows louder as her throat scales glow with an intense blue-white light before she unleashes a bolt of lightning right in the Ur-beast's face. 

Reeling, the Ur-beast is forced onto the defensive. The direct lightning strike to the face certainly left a mark, but it has hardly taken the creature down. The Ur-beast retaliates by trying to gouge out Indra's innards with its clawed hind legs, but the claws just scrap against the drake's hardened belly scales without much effect. 

Branches snap and trees shake as the two tussle and fight for dominance between the grey trunks. The Ur-beast slams against the tree Ebony is perched in which knocks the black feline off her branch. She lands on Indra's back before darting clear of the fight with a loud caterwaul.

Insolence! The Ur-beast's voice booms in their minds. They've certainly pissed it off now. 

Just turn us back already! Borzarius snarls. 

You mortals thinking you control the wind, the rain, the sun itself! Your arrogance and greed is revolting!

We are just protecting our own. Would you mock any other animal for defending their territory, their kin?

Do not try to sway me with your poisoned words. The creature hisses. We have walked this land long before you, and we will walk it long after you as well. 

Then we are hardly a threat worth your time! Borzarius barks as he tries to circle back around to Batran. If my words are poison then your spite is venom!

The Ur-beast is less than enthused with being criticized and it whips its tail out in a wide sweep with enough strength to break branches and knock anything in its path to the ground. Borzarius flattens himself to the dirt as the tail just misses him, his hair ruffling from the woosh of air that follows it. He almost breathes a sigh of relief only to have his breath catch in his lungs as he sees the tail flick upwards towards a little flappy uncoordinated bat. 

Rather than falter, Aruna’s gambit only seemed to make the ancient god-creature angrier, spitting venom about the Fae Courts and boasting of its greatness. Aruna had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. Someone certainly had an overinflated sense of ego. The derision masked a deeper, more primal emotion though - fear. The Ur Beast was spouting venom at the fae, and though there was really nothing it could do to her at the present moment, but if it let go of Indra, then there was nothing stopping it from eating her in one bite.

But that would require it letting go of Indra, and it couldn’t afford to release its hold on the drake. They were forced into a standstill, one that Aruna was going to lose. Her power, a lonely fae, a hatchling, was nothing to a beast containing even a drop of the ancient earth God’s power. But she was not moving alone. The Ur Beast was operating under the assumption that the two lowly mortals turned animals were essentially operating on their own, forcing their pets to support them. That was the beast’s own mistake. It had forgotten the power of pack tactics, the strength in numbers and unity that blossomed amongst kin.

You are not the land. You forget where you come from, Beast. You forget your creeds, and more importantly… you forget the subjects of your own domain. It was then she caught sight of Borzarius crouching, ready to pounce and give Indra an opening. Saw Indra coiled, the powerful storm drake understanding what the fellblood-turned-jackal intended to do. The elegant moontide spriteling stuck her tongue out, unable to resist a little taunting. And now, you forget there is strength in numbers.

It was at that moment Borzarius clamped his fangs on the Ur Beast’s tail. Aruna giggled, flying away back from the battle, perching on the branch next to Ebony, where the cat was still making biscuits in the bark. Drake and snake were now clashing below, their ferocity shaking the air and the earth around them - then it slammed into the tree, dislodging cat and pixie. Aruna fluttered into the air, nervous… the Ur Beast seemed more pissed off than anything. And Borzarius’s provocation only seemed to anger it more, as it swept its tail right towards Batran was still hovering, frozen with fear.

Or perhaps, only what they’d assumed was Batran.

It was easy to forget that Cyran had a night-flying companion of his own. One who’d been sticking to the back of the fray this entire time… and while the attention of the battle had been diverted elsewhere, thanks to Aruna and Borzarius and Indra, Cyran had been able to conduct a little misdirection of his own.

Yeux the vampire bat squeaked as the tail impacted with his side, the creature unable to fly away in time. But the Ur Beast would immediately recognize this was not his intended quarry. This was not the elf-turned-bat he’d been meaning to hit. Unfortunately for the creature, it would not be able to see where Batran had gone until the answer hit him in the face. Literally.

It was at that moment that Batran jumped from the shadows from behind, sticking its claws into one of the Ur Beast’s eyes. The Beast hissed in pain, recoiling as if to buck Cyran off.

Impudent little creature!

But Cyran held as strongly as he could to the Ur Beast’s head.

You call us arrogant yet you are the one who exerts dominion to control the very beasts you swear to protect. The gods are dead - your power is an antiquity, and a veil for your hypocrisy, arrogant god-prick. Release your hold on these animals and see how they really feel about your ‘rule’. And turn. US. BACK!

FOOLS. The Ur Beast roared, eye dripping with blood where Cyran had clawed at it, blinding the creature. A lucky blow - but the beast, who clearly saw itself as above them, was already enraged that a mere jackal and a bat had managed to catch it by surprise. Human or animal, it makes no difference. The end result will be the same. You will die, and the cycle of the Wild will continue. I alone will continue, for as long as these wilds still exist.

The authority in its voice should have made Cyran tremble - a single, tiny bat against the force of a God’s will itself. But, current form or not, Cyran had stood opposing to Ziev, and managed to carry the day. He’d fought opponents stronger than him, enemies that the assassin normally could not hope to defeat outright. But he was tired of being afraid - tired of constantly being the weaker, more cowardly one. He was still alive and breathing. He still had his wits. No bestial magic could take that away from him.

Then PROVE it! He screeched. Defeat us at our strongest! PROVE that you’re every bit as great as you claim to be, predator to predator! Just the way the land intended!

The Ur Beast snorted, indignant. But to Cyran’s amazement, it finally, finally, came with a familiar burst of smoke… the smoke that had changed them in the first place.

The Ur-beast's breath floods the forest, returning Zarius and Cyran to their original forms. 

"Finally," the fellblood breathes a sigh of relief as he gets back up onto two feet. 

Though it's probably best not to wait for the Ur-beast to change its mind about a more honorable fight. He and Cyran need to end this quickly. The fellblood makes sure his knuckle knives are on before running up the side of a tree to get up above the Ur-beast and the drake.^[1,2]

He leaps off one of the branches and falls on top of the creature's head, slamming his fist straight down on the top of its skull.^[3] The force of the hit slams the Ur-beast's head down to the ground thanks to Indra keeping it from being able to avoid the strike. 

Dazed, the Ur-beast tries to shake its head clear of the dizziness. Its control over the remaining pets falters as its focus is broken. Now their numbers are back in their favor at least mathematically. 

"Cyran! Keep it busy!" He calls to the hunter before he jumps down from its head and onto its back.

He jams the tip of his knuckle knife in between its scales. Looking over the creature, he tries to discern its weak points.^[4] If they were going to take this thing down for good they'd need to deal a devastating blow it couldn't just shrug off. 

Indra feels the Ur-beast's grip loosen which makes the drake thrash about to get free. She manages to drag her talons across the divine's flesh before she backs up out of the coils. Finally free, she launches herself back up into the air, rattling the nearby trees as she does. 

Meanwhile, Ebony slips between the trees and crouches under some roots. 

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[1] Knuckle Knives
[2] Spider Silk Boots
[3] Grounding Strike (1/topic)
[4] Heart Stopper (1/3 post lead up)

It was with no small measure of relief that Cyran found himself back in his original body; four limbs, functioning eyes, no wings; and most importantly, his knives and his spells. The unfortunate part of being no longer bat-sized and bat-shaped was that he’d been right in the Ur Beast’s face. There was all of a second where Cyran was suspended in the air before his stomach dropped and gravity caught up with him. He landed on his feet and rolled backwards, Spell Slicer and Cold Steel in his hands in an instant.^[1]

He hadn’t expected his gambit to work, but he wasn’t going to waste this opportunity. The assassin righted himself, rearing backwards and with a flick of his wrist sent Spell Slicer through the air at an angle, the spinning blade nicking it in the side of the face - even a single drop of blood enough for the blade’s enchantment to take place.^[2] Likely not enough to stop an ancient god being’s magic, but he had to do whatever he could to prevent it from thinking better of releasing its hold on the two fighters and turning them back into animals. The beast only hissed in response, the blade’s damage paltry in comparison to its power.

But Cyran wasn’t the firepower here.

Zarius burst through the trees with a powerful blow, aided by gravity, knocking the divinity out of the creature with a powerful enough blow to snap the animals out of their reverie. Cyran waved his hand, silently commanding them to scatter while they could. His pets were therapy animals for children, not intended for battle. He could take it from here. The only one who remained was Aruna, who fluttered down and perched on his shoulder.

“Got it.” Cyran nodded, already moving to obey the command. He spread his arms outward, his shadow growing larger, the air around him growing darker. From it rose a large, spectral bat of pure, ink-black darkness; the creature spread its wings with a discordant screech, a beam of darkened energy barreling straight into the Ur Beast’s chest.^[3] Between Indra and the Shade, the Ur Beast was being attacked from all sides.

Zarius needed opportunities to find the creature’s weak points, and Cyran needed to give him the chance to do so.

But Cyran wasn’t done yet.

The assassin raised his hand, summoning a handful of ash roses to his palm before scattering them into the wind.^[4] The petals, sharp as nails, buffeted the Ur Beast in the air, hopefully allowing Zarius to find any weak spots in its scales where the shade-petals stuck it. Overwhelmed, the Ur Beast lashed out at the shadow creature, tearing it asunder with powerful jaws and fangs; the Shade dissolved back into the darkness, but it still had the others to contend with. And it had not yet sunk in for the beast that this battle was its own to lose.

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1. Summon: Possession
2. Boomerang Arc (Passive: Magic Blocker Enchantment)
3. Summon: Dark Elemental - Chaos Bolt
4. Petal Storm