Flee to the skies
A paw slams down toward Keth, the sphinx growling out. “Climb on, we’re getting out of here.”
But the terrified human didn’t seem entirely adept at taking hints. Slimping down to his knees at the base of the tree, the other soldier just next to him takes this opportunity to unload a dart, point blank, into Daniel’s paw. A pained wince and a not so discrete glare at the sharp needling pain, the soldier was greeted to a backfist. A very large, very soft slap that sent him sprawling backward several yards, only to collide harshly with a splash of leaves.
Thick paws and retractable claws, Daniel could almost feel good about herself as the man staggered back into a crouched position and battered far away from what he thought was protection.
Flitflitflitflitflit
For as little help as that tree offered a single soldier, it was even less help to a sphinx several times wider than it. In desperation Daniel leaps backward, her wings flapping as if on instinct, and feeling that biting sting of needles jabbing into the edge of that appendage. Digging deep between the feathers, sticking into flesh. Another pierces into her hind leg near the thigh, and yet the worst of these well placed shots smacks her directly in the forhead. The needle bounced off but the woman’s eyes closing from the impact and the stun enough to knock her onto two legs.
While retreating back a needle burrows itself into the base of her neck, just above the chest. She feels the slight bit of elation at watching one dart zip between her legs and splosh into the waters behind, but another lands at the worst angle and stabs between her toes. She hears a loud thunk …
And upon opening her eyes, saw exactly one needle had actually hit the tree as she’d intended. Everyone else managed enough of a flanking angle. Unsurprising as one who hides behind a lamp post rarely expects it to offer full coverage.
“O-ooww …”
Daniel sets her front paws back onto the water soaked beach, more mud than sand in this area. But her injured paw, the needle still attached, hurt to stand on.
“Hraah!” She heard a shout to her left, one man in modern ballistic armor charging toward her leg and swinging his baton. It connects softly with the lioness paw and feels more like a gentle bap than a hard swing. The difference in muscle mass when that paw and leg were thicker around than his entire body and packed with nothing but muscle and bone and fluff was startling to see in action. But the point of this weapon very clearly was not the swinging force.
Her fur stands on end, the smell of burning skin and sparks flying. Her ears spread wide and her hair frizzed out in all directions, a tingling jolt that rises up her leg and into her chest. Teeth grit more from involuntary contraction than actual pain, the man was smiling as he electrocutes the front paw Daniel had to lean on.
Lift. Paw. Splat.
Splash.
For all the disorienting sensation of his electric baton actually facing him as a sphinx was about as involved as fending off a deranged kitten who mistook your leg for a find meal. A mud covered and sopping wet paw pulls back, lifts over his head, and smothers him into the surf. Face down under the water and thrashing wildly while the weight of an Egyptian monument holds him in a pin.
Her arms were shaking, her wings sore with the jabbing needle points stabbing into various places, the rest of her body felt like it was covered in papercuts that simply didn’t start bleeding yet. But even as she looks up from one easy victory against her kitten sized opponent, she sees the rest of this group lining up weapons or fitting in more ammunition for another shot.
Single shot weapons? And that’s all they’re equip with? What exactly were these annoyingly aggressive people intending to fight?
Don’t want to be here for another volley, there’s no cover large enough to hide behind unless you count the house. But even that’s being watched over by the men inside. None of the cars are anywhere near large enough to even duck behind, she’d need a semi-truck to match her height and width. It was hard to stand, it was painful to walk, and most of these dart guns were short-range pistols.
Air.
Flee!
Throwing herself backward, tail and hind legs drifting through the water, wings beating with that same furious gale. A loud gasp as the man underpaw can lift his head once more, the humans closest to each beating wing having to look away or cover their eyes from the stinging dust and spray of mist thrown their way. But there wasn’t as much terror and awe as her first appearance, and she certainly couldn’t rely on grandiose movements to throw off their aim.
Back, backward! The awkward movement of her fluttering served her unnatural body design well, between the kick and a few moments of flight she’d pushed herself some twenty feet in the air. Far enough away she wasn’t dipping her toes into the water, and now partially blocked by the leaves and crowns of tree’s who’s trunks had been entirely unhelpful.
Those who couldn’t line up a shot moved forward. There wasn’t much time, Daniel knew she had to leave now or face another barrage of needle jabs into her belly.
So close, so close all it would take is a single swoop, Keth and Angel were occupied on either side of the one soldier who was actually on his feet. Keth all but useless and Angel still wrestling with the man’s gun, her thin arms working an awkward leverage to make aiming all but impossible.
Angel stares up and for a moment their eyes meet, Daniel’s massive frame doing it’s best to resemble a pin cushion.
“Go!” the woman shouts, maneuvering to put her opponent in an arm lock. “GO! NOW!”
Written by Arbon on 14 March 2017
