Ace twists mid-stride to look back over his shoulders, just in time to see Elle bowling for Nightrenders. He almost laughs. A bold move, if even more insane than the stunt he is pulling. Clearly she wasn't lying when she agreed to get his back.
Then her memories wash over him. He manages to resist becoming fully immersed in them. The thought of her being devoured while trying to save him fills him with rage which he channels to push the visions back. If she is overwhelmed and unable to flee it will only take a few seconds before the Nightrenders she knocked down are up and on her. Unfortunately, there are still a few on him that he will have to deal with to reach her. He isn't sure she has that time.
Time for some more stupid heroics.
He snaps his gaze back to the front, surveying the forest ahead for a tree that will serve his purpose. This time his luck holds. There is an adolescent birch ahead that should do just the trick. The next time his hind paws hit the ground he leaps, shifting midair back to his war-form. He catches the trunk to arrest his momentum and plants his feet against the bole of the tree as it bends slightly against his weight. As it snaps back he leaps again, sailing over the heads of the two closest Nightrenders.
He lands and sprints off, not looking behind him. If the Nightrenders are close enough to grab him there isn't much he can do about it. He has to reach Elle. He can already see several of the creatures she bowled over have reached their feet.
Ace runs full-out, dropping into hispo again and churning the earth as he uses his claws to gain purchase. Judging the distances he should just make it.
It is at that moment that Elle reaches the end of her memory and that sense of peace and calm radiates from her. It enters Ace and spreads through him like heroin from a needle. Elle's fear doesn't even begin to cut through the sense of warm certainty that suffuses Ace's mind, body and soul. It feels like home and he knows with absolute certainty that all of this, everything, will work out just fine...
Re: II
Then her memories wash over him. He manages to resist becoming fully immersed in them. The thought of her being devoured while trying to save him fills him with rage which he channels to push the visions back. If she is overwhelmed and unable to flee it will only take a few seconds before the Nightrenders she knocked down are up and on her. Unfortunately, there are still a few on him that he will have to deal with to reach her. He isn't sure she has that time.
Time for some more stupid heroics.
He snaps his gaze back to the front, surveying the forest ahead for a tree that will serve his purpose. This time his luck holds. There is an adolescent birch ahead that should do just the trick. The next time his hind paws hit the ground he leaps, shifting midair back to his war-form. He catches the trunk to arrest his momentum and plants his feet against the bole of the tree as it bends slightly against his weight. As it snaps back he leaps again, sailing over the heads of the two closest Nightrenders.
He lands and sprints off, not looking behind him. If the Nightrenders are close enough to grab him there isn't much he can do about it. He has to reach Elle. He can already see several of the creatures she bowled over have reached their feet.
Ace runs full-out, dropping into hispo again and churning the earth as he uses his claws to gain purchase. Judging the distances he should just make it.
It is at that moment that Elle reaches the end of her memory and that sense of peace and calm radiates from her. It enters Ace and spreads through him like heroin from a needle. Elle's fear doesn't even begin to cut through the sense of warm certainty that suffuses Ace's mind, body and soul. It feels like home and he knows with absolute certainty that all of this, everything, will work out just fine...