The earth shook, hammered by silent thunder. The trees shivered and hissed, rippling waves in a sea of green. Countless birds took to the sky, their frightened squawks filled the air, as if they wished to drown out what hid beneath them. But it was no use.
Two great powers were fighting, and no forest would contain them.
Jade's back hit a small tree, a burst of thin needles and brittle branches raining down at the impact. Shock and searing pain overtook her in a blinding flash; she barely felt herself there while she struggled to sit up. But she still had strength indeed, and in mere seconds she had scrambled to the side just as Grendel charged at her like a freight train, slamming violently against that same tree.
And she was barely on her feet again when the squamataur had ripped the tree off the ground in a groaning bubble of dirt and rocks then lashed out with it. Swinging in sudden, wide arcs at first, but as the giantess jumped and dodged, evading every single strike, what little composure the predator had left rapidly decreased, and he quickly used it like a club, attempting to smash her again and again, snarling furiously all the way.
The moment the trunk finally shattered, Jade leaped forward and kicked Grendel's head from a side, the force almost causing the squamataur to collapse. Immediately his long tail crashed on her own face, sending the giantess to plummet back to the hard ground.
For how long had they gone? Minutes? Hours? Days, for all anyone knew? Hard to say…but there was no place for that in their minds. The raging destroyer and the steel-minded protector, they were giving it all. They were both bruised, beaten, so many cuts and scratches and claw-marks and bleeding wounds, all that exhaustion and soreness and biting pain clinging tight to every bone, muscle and inch of skin. They punched and kicked, slashed and pounded, beat and crushed. The very forest around them was barely recognizable, wrecked by their brutal clash into a patchwork of upturned soil and ravaged vegetation.
But Jade wouldn't quit. She couldn't possibly quit. The monster was far bigger, far stronger, he absolutely reeked with hatred, but she couldn't give up. No matter how many times he beat her to the ground, no matter how much pain he'd give her, no matter anything that happens, she would stand up. She had brought this on herself. She had brought this on everyone back home. If she gave up they would be all DEAD. She would stop him. Stop him and protect them like she's always done. Like every single threat that struck the Harbour since she got there. She'd defeat him. For Trisha. For all her friends. She'd DO this.
"C'mon….."
The dreaded squamataur was back on his feet already, watching Jade as she painfully pulled herself together. The overhanging trees surrounding them were casting their shadows over the behemoth, making him an even more threatening figure if that was possible. Clearly he was just as pained as her, human half leaning on his bruised knuckles, chest heaving deeply and harshly. What would refuse to change, however, was his expression; twisted into an impossibly wrathful grimace, nostrils flaring, gritted fangs with missing gaps, dark red foam drizzling from his mouth in a disgusting lather.
"C'mon…" He said again, in his growling, primal voice "You are looking for more? I'll give you more, wench, come on!! And this time you'll stay DOWN!!!"
"N-No!" Jade answered, never taking her eyes off Grendel even as she struggled to stand still, coughing up slightly, hands balling into fists "No!!" You are NOT touching Safe Harbour, Outlaw!! I won't let you!!"
"MUMACRAP!!!" Grendel barked at those words "Manlings are VERMIN!! Stupid, cowardly, snively, puffed up weaklings! They exist to be eaten! To be stomped and walked on! What they were BORN to be!! And you're STICKING UP TO THEM!! YOU MAKE ME SICK!!!"
"DON'T YOU DARE SPEAK OF THEM LIKE THAT!!!!"
Now it was Jade who was rushing at Grendel, all her discomfort suddenly replaced by blind fury. What right did he have to say that? What did he even know??
Before she could even land a single hit the scarred savage had swung a huge hand, striking her face so hard he might've torn it off. Pain came back to the giantess like white-hot shards, but even that didn't stop her momentum, and with a yell she tackled him. Once again they had become a brutal flurry of movement, but the toll of the battle was starting to show; as much as Jade dodged and countered Grendel's attacks her own movements were slowly but noticeably less swift, hesitant ,desperate
"What do you REALLY want with them?" Grendel asked as they brawled, exhausted but never giving an opening, clearly infuriated by those words of hers "Are you herding them? Fattening them all to eat them yourself??"
"Shut up!!" Jade yelled out, with not quite the same tone she had used previously
"Or maybe you're just using them! Playing them out your little games, then BAM! Yeah, that fits you trollop better!!"
"DON'T SAY THAT!!!" Now Jade was screeching more than yelling, throwing herself at Grendel in a desperate craze. His words were like rusted drills, forcing their way inside her mind in the most tortuous possible way. And as much as she tried to restrain herself, she was finding it almost impossible "DON'T SAY THAT DON'T SAY THAT DON'T SAY THAAAAT!!!"
The answer she got from the squamataur was a head butt, stopping her cold. Then in a heartbeat two great fists went down like hammers, smashing her against the dark soil, her body almost bouncing from the sheer strength of the blow. Jade tasted of blood.
"THAT'S HOW YOU FEMALES ARE!!!" Grendel roared, loud and booming as if he was talking to the entire forest. Such a mixture of emotions in that voice; disgust, outrage, seething contempt, even bitterness, if one was paying attention. "YOU TAUNT AND TEASE AND SCHEME!!! MANIPULATE OTHERS TO YOUR BIDDING, SWEET-TALK THEM INTO OBEYING!! AND WHEN THE WIND CHANGES YOU TOSS THEM ASIDE LIKE PUPPETS!! BECAUSE THAT'S YOUR NATURE! LIARS, PARASITES!!! YOU'LL FOOL THE MANLINGS, SHE-DEVIL BUT YOU CAN'T FOOL ME! IN THE END IT'S ALL ABOUT YOU!!!"
She couldn't ignore it. Every muscle in Jade's body, every nerve ending begged for rest. Her own mind screamed at her to focus, to fight and stay clear no matter what. But she couldn't block out those endless threats, those bile-filled curses and rotten words. Every last of them resonating within her, making her mind wander and remember.
Remember the fires and the smoke.
Remember the explosions and the screams.
Remember the taste of flesh and blood.
The rush
The laughter
Alright.
All right.
ALL RIGHT.
What sound came from her throat was not one she had ever heard, or that she even knew she could make, but she did it anyway. Faster than she had ever been, she leaped at Grendel, tackled him to the ground in his surprise.
He tried to block, she sunk her teeth in his arm, bit hard and deep. Blood burst out like jam. And in the scream and the confusion she hurried to his back. And her thumbs went for the eyes.
If any onlooker had witnessed the scene, it would've been quite the nightmare. The battered monster thrashed and flailed, cursed and roared in helpless wrath, stomped his claws, swung his tail in every direction, shook and contorted in an attempt to get rid of his attacker. But the giantess wouldn't leave any time soon. She'd punch, she'd bite, she'd pull his hair. She'd scratch and spit and stomp with nimble feet. Her arms wrenched around his meaty neck, twisting in an attempt to break it. Her fingers digging on skin, her thumbs struggling to reach the eyeballs, stab in, gouge them out. No matter how many times those powerful fists slammed on her, how many times his gore-encrusted nails tore at her own skin, she wouldn't budge. And all the while, a cacophony of most horrid screams and yells.
Jade wasn't quite herself, either. Bruises, hematomas, cuts and scratches and open wounds covered most of her body, almost as much as scars in the squamataur. Blood and sweat and dirt mingled together on her skin in a wet, grimy film. What few clothing she wore was tattered, ragged, damaged in the conflict. Her teeth were gritted, hissing spiteful primal noises. Red flowed from her nose and mouth to her complete indifference. And her eyes? Still bright green, still hidden under that messy hair, but there was no longer a gleam of reason in them, or pride, or affection. Only hate. Hate and rage and revenge, boiling and exposed for all to see. Would anyone in the Safe Harbour have recognized her? Who knew? But that was no longer in Jade's mind. Neither was the Harbour itself, or her own name, or anything else for that matter. She was sick of fighting with herself. No more reasoning, no more thinking. Only feeling. Only instinct.
Kill him. It's her enemy. Kill him. He's hers.
Such was her trance, it took but a while for her to notice her dreaded target had grabbed hold of something in his maddening throes.
And only when she was bludgeoned with it did she recognize what it was.
Hot and yet cold, slimy and yet solid.
An elf corpse.
A corpse!! He was hitting her with a CORPSE!!!
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!!!"
She jumped off just as quickly as she had attacked, overtaken by complete shock. Reason had gone back to her all right, but in the worst possible way. How could she even describe that horrible an act, how disgusting that felt, how depraved it was?? She could do little else, just stand there, screaming with ragged breathing as she struggled to wipe off vital fluids far from hers "AAAAH!!! G-GOD!!!! WAAAAAHHHH!!!"
Grendel's talons, slicing across her stomach.
The world slowed down. Her mind dissolved into a blank. Her breath stopped.
Then a second blow, fast, brutal, stronger than all before it. Far, far she flied, crashing through the sharp branches like some projectile, a ragdoll of a giantess. Yet again it was a tree she collided with, snapping it in half in the process, and her body dropped to the gnarled roots with a dry thump.
Pain….pain….there truly were no words for the world of agony Jade was plunged into. Her once fair skin was red and purple and swollen all over. Hot, thin blood rolled from her torn abdomen and pooled on her sides. Everything was burning and searing and almost blinding. She couldn't even cover her wounds properly, for her tortured limbs twitched uncontrollably, just as drunk on pain as she was. Only the faintest whimpering escaped her lips
Get up…..You have to get up……you have to fight….get up….
But her body was practically screaming in silence, the toll of that monstrous punishment coming at her with a vengeance. She could only manage to squirm helplessly, trying her damnest to even use her hands for support, as the earth once again shook with thunderous drum-beats and the towering shape of Grendel emerged before her. Hunched, battered, glistening with sweat and dirt, yet with that expression of burning hatred never leaving his face. His purple eyes almost seemed to glow under the branching shadows above.
"You know what?" He snarled, loud voice breaking as his breathing fought to stabilize itself "You know bloody what?? I didn't give a pile of DROPPINGS about your stupid Harbour! But now, just because of YOU, I'm gonna go there, and I'm going to stomp it to the darn ground!!! I'm gonna eat all your stupid pet manlings!! Smash'em and smash 'em until everything is just a SMEAR!!! So you'll know what happens when you don't get YOUR DAMN PLACE!!!!"
That was the last thing Jade could bear hearing. Her irritated, bloodshot eyes opened wide behind the swollen lumps, staring with mute fury. Her breathing hitched and her nostrils flared. Her jaw quivered with stress. And her struggle to stand up only increased. "No" her mind repeated again and again "No no no. Don't you dare. Don't you go anywhere near them. Don't you touch them you son of a bitch. Don't you dare…"
"You hear that, wench!? Filthy wench!!" Grendel got even closer to the fallen Jade, putting effort on each heavy step, and then grabbed the giantess by her exposed neck tightly "I'M BETTER!!!"
And right at those words Jade's arms were launching themselves at Grendel, a sudden burst of energy he clearly didn't see coming. The protector was giving snarls of her own, struggled under the predator's rugged iron grip, as her hands grabbed hold of his neck once again to dig her nails into the vulnerable flesh, deeper, ever deeper. She would not let him have his way. She would not give up. She wasn't giving up. She was going to FIGHT.
But her body couldn't keep up anymore. With a loud growl the furious squamataur forced her arms away easily then bashed Jade's face, as hard as he could.
And then he opened his mouth, and the putrid jaws closed on her shoulder.
The giantess screamed, a ragged dry shriek from a tortured throat. She kicked her legs on the ravaged soil, slammed her fists on Grendel's back, pulled at his hair, anything that could free her of this beast, of the burning wet pain, of the sharp rending fans dosing and crunching and ripping her flesh. Her cries of agony only became louder as realization hit her. Poisoned! She had been poisoned!!
Something gave all at once and the brute's head pulled back sharply, fresh blood dripping from his jowls, raw-red strings hanging from his teeth along with thick bridges of necrotic slobber. No sooner had he caught his breath than he swatted the still-shrieking Jade with a fore-claw, sending her rolling a few feet from him like a broken toy.
"And stay. Down."
Having said that Grendel let out a weary sigh and seemed to pause for a moment, maybe to catch a break from all the exertion, or maybe trying to re-orient himself. Then the massive hulk turned around and began lumbering towards the distant sea of trees, slow but purposeful.
Jade knew exactly where he was going.
"Stop……" She muttered, low and raspy in a breathless repeat "Stop…you….stop…."
She hurt, she hurt so miserably. Her entire world was a crazyquilt of agony and pain, humiliation and rage. Her skin was all but scarlet, sore and swollen like she was filled with nothing but blood. Lacerations in her stomach, a shredded patch in her clavicle, all welling vital fluids that splattered around her without cease. And still she wouldn't accept it. She scrambled. She flopped. She crawled on her knees. Reached out to the squamataur with one hand, then with the other hand and then with both hands at once, dreaming to catch him, to stop him, to pull him apart. Her mind and her mouth raving on and on.
You can't reach them. You can't touch them. Lira, Trisha, Isham, Sam, the children, the townsfolk. Don't you go to them. Don't you dare go to them. My friends. My family. I'm their guardian. I protect them. I defend them. I'll kill you. I'll kill you. I have to save them so I'll kill you. Cave your face in. Break your bones. Cut you open and hang you out to dry. Monster. Murderer. Kill you. Kill you. You won't get to them. You'll never get to them. I'll stop you. I'LL STOP YOU.
Yet every movement she made brought bolts of razor-edged pain, sinking in like countless teeth, deep to the bone. Her knees wobbled and gave out, dropping her on pools of her own blood. Blood she rapidly lost, and that her body mutely cried for in intense cramps. Her mind would block it out, but her body surely felt it. The demon's venom. Seeping to her veins, slithering like rabid snakes. Pain. Pain.
He was so far away…..
She screamed again. Bitterness. Anguish. Frustation. Her palms slammed on the soil, mustering every drop of strength she could gather. Using them as balance, she lifted her upper body off the ground. Instantly her arms gave out and she was back on it, face-first. It stung.
And she cried.
Get up Jade. Get up.
You useless shit get up
They need you. They need you.
Get up get up GET UP
Not this again
Not this again
Get up
Get….up…..
Get….
Subject: Clash 3 
Sat May 26, 2012 4:55 am
