Cont from X with @silverspinekeeper
At the first retchen's screams of agony, a roar of thunder shook the air, a darkness of smoldering red fire erupting to life from nothing, as young Riot rockets through the air, re opening her closed wings still sparking embers. She's only here because she was brought. Her rider leaps from the caniquus foal's back, twisting his body to launch a long, steel spear through the air like a bullet as he screams.
With such an anguish and terror... It was too late for one, but not the others. As the weapon gores cleanly through the temple of one of those awful rat hunting monsters moments before it could catch it's own prey, the others scamper in a terror, regrouping to form a protective circle, gnashing teeth and claws, flocking to the monarch as he hits the ground in a tuck, springing up to stand protectively in front of his subjects, sickles drawn, as the near victim rips his spear from it's attacker and runs to stand beside him.
Breath ragged, fear raw and burning under his skin with blood pounding in his ears, he shouts to the sky. "RIOT! RIOT GO- GET OUT OF HERE, YOU'LL GET HURT!-"
But his pup didn't listen. Only roar a deep, snarling bellow as her talons touch sand to gallop only three strides, horn pointed, at the threat to her parent, all four tons of her bloodlust charging to gore with wing claws and forelegs tucked up to maim.
The female who got the spear, smaller than Gordon by hundreds of pounds, and many years younger, snarls at her king as she stands beside him. "What have you done!?"
"Wynnora, I'm sorry!" Is all he can cry in reply, trying to shoulder her behind him to be protected... If they would die, he would go first, and Riot with them... He'd never been so nauseous with terror, defeat, hopeless adrenaline, betrayal, and raw desperation in all his life...
His life wasn't the one he was worried about.
