Lupine Attack

Toland slowed Tatiana down to a walk once they were away from the city. Now that he did not have to concentrate on riding, he grumbled aloud to himself about all that had happened at the Tavern. Toland was angry and frustrated. He was grateful that the mare was the only one to hear his ranting and he knew she was listening to him. The young mare's ears had flicked back to listen to him and she snorted as if in agreement with what he was saying. Still, she kept her eyes on the road ahead. Her already keen animal senses had been heightened by a cup of Toland's blood he gave her every fortnight, so she had no trouble making out the road ahead on this moonless night.

Toland thought Malcolm to be a lovesick fool, which made him dangerous to the one he loved and the rest of the kindred. Moreover, although the Toreador loved Yasamine like the sister he never had, he swore an oath that he and Renee were going to have to sit her down for a long discussion about the way she interacts with kine. In the same breathe, he cursed the bastard that had aged her body but left her mind to be that of a child. There had been no regard for that innocent, young mind trapped in such a voluptuous body. That young mind constantly got her in trouble.

He was so deep in thought that his awareness was down. He never noticed the half-dozen or so, dark, sinister forms that flitted from cover to cover on either side of the road. He did not even notice that his beloved mount was turning her head from side to side, softly snorting nervously.

It was not until they were going under the branches of a massive oak that over hung the road, that he realized his folly. By then, it was too late. Three huge creatures, for lack of a better description in the darkness, dropped down on kindred and horse. Two hit Toland hard, driving him out of the saddle to the ground. The third took down the mare as she screamed out a whinny of fright. Toland shrieked out in rage as he struck the hard packed road, his hand fumbling for the long dagger strapped to his hip. With his free left hand, balled in a fist, he struck out blindly, hitting one of the creatures in the jaw. The sound of bone crunching from the impact assured him that the creature was certainly not going to be doing too much more, the creature let out a howl and went silent. Still, the second one was trying desperately to keep him from freeing the dagger from its sheath.

Another powerful blow from his free hand was delivered to this creature's head, sending it reeling off him. With his dagger now free as well, Toland could hear the scrabbling of several feet and heard Tatiana's outraged neighing as two more of the creatures joined the one that had taken her down. He looked up in time to see three of the dark ones coming at him with the speed of wolves. He was barely able to get to his feet when they were upon him. One went for his dagger hand. The second creature grabbed his legs, biting down on his left thigh that brought a cry of pain from Toland. The third went for his throat and looked to be nothing but savage fangs before his pain stricken eyes. The fangs clacked down on air as Toland drove his fist into the abdomen of the beast before it could reach his neck. It staggered back, landing in a heap on the road next to one of the other creatures he had incapacitated.

Toland centered his attention on the foulness trying to grapple the dagger from his hand. With a deft twist of his wrist, he brought the dagger around and drove it into the creature's barrel shaped chest. Hot blood poured down the blade, soaking Toland's hand and wrist. Wide yellow eyes went wider with animalistic surprise, and then rolled up into its head and it fell off the blade, dead. Now he could focus on that damn creature that was trying to rip out a large chunk of flesh from his thigh.

Taking the dagger in both hands, he drove it down between the narrow shoulders of the half man-half wolf being. Its jaws clamped down even harder on his ravaged leg in its death throes. Leaving the dagger buried to the hilt in the creature's back, Toland slipped his fingers into the back of its jaws, forcing the mouth open. With inhuman strength, he continued to pull the jaw until it cracked, the lower jaw now hanging uselessly. He tossed the dead thing on top of the lifeless body of its brethren.

Looking to where he last saw Tatiana, he saw her kicking and bucking wildly. One of the creatures was on her back, clawing at her neck, trying to gain purchase of a hold so it could rip out her throat. A rear hoof caught a second wolf man under the chin, sending it flying through the air.

Not waiting to see more, he pulled his dagger from the dead wolf at his feet, he limped quickly over to aid her. Fearing that he might strike his mare, he caught the wolf man by a hind leg, snapping it in two. The beast howled in pain, releasing the tenuous hold it had on the horse, falling off her back away from Toland. Tatiana proceeds to stomp on her attacker, trampling him into the dust, her shrill cries of anger hanging in the air. She finally stops when the thing no longer resembles anything recognizable. She stands there, trembling with exhaustion and fear, head hanging low but away from the evil smell of the creature.

Toland is down on his knees, he watches the remaining three werewolves make off into the forest, wounded and defeated. He gazes about with dazed eyes at the bodies of the five he and the horse had killed. What in the hell had brought on this sudden attack by the lupine? This area was never known to be lupine territory, so why had they ventured here?

These thoughts would have to wait. Toland was seriously wounded and losing a lot of blood. He called the rattled mare to him. Before grabbing hold of a dangling stirrup, he put his blood-caked dagger back into its sheath, and then he pulled himself up to his feet.

With gentle hands and a calming voice, he inspected the mare carefully. She had several gashes and a multitude of scratches, but nothing serious. He coaxed her to her knees; she did so obligingly, knowing that her master was in no shape to pull himself up into the saddle with his ruined left leg. Putting his weight on her, he was able to get his right leg over her back, settling his bulk into the saddle's seat. With a cluck of his tongue, she slowly and carefully got to her feet. Toland's left leg hung limply off her side. He had to stop the bleeding. Taking the edge of his now tattered cloak, which had probably saved him from more serious wounds, he tore a long strip off. He tied it as tightly as he dared over the ripped flesh, trying to fit it back together like a piece to a jigsaw puzzle. With this done, he leaned forward over the pommel, taking up the reins and spoke softly to the horse to take them home. Tatiana turned and began a gentle lope back in the direction from which they came.

Toland held on tightly between waves of nausea and threats of passing out. He placed his well being over to his faithful mare, knowing she would get him home safely and before the sun rose. It would be there they could call the clans together to discuss this unforeseen lupine attack and what other problems it would hold in store for them.