When Hunters Colide

"It's time to face it fox. Your doomed." The fox speaks out loud as he walks. "Lost, alone, injured-" a loud growl eminates from his stomach, "Hungry..." Bandit whines softly as he traverses what he can only call Mossflower. Having been blind folded since his forced exodus from Ferreval he was utterly and completely lost. There was a river up north but it wasn't the mossflower river...at least he didn't think it was.

"Just...just keep plugging away mate. You'll make it...you'll make it." The fox wavers on his sore and blistered foot paws. He is bare chested, wearing only a pair of trousers that hangs slightly more loose than it did when he started this adventurer. IF nothing else being kid napped and starving in the woods was good for your diet.

"Just keep plugging along...just keep moving and...and..." The fox stares at a moss covered rock to his left. The rock wasn't much different than the other rocks he had seen. He knew this because this was the second time he had seen it.

"Oh come on!" Bandit wails, falling to his knees and crying. "Circles...I've been going around in circles...I...I am going to die out here...I'm going to DIE out here..."

Well, if he keeps sitting in 1 place, he will. Riana Thunderbolt has been hunting him for a few hours, circling and circling. She watches him closely, and begins her needed calculations for how to best catch him. She wants to make sure that he really and truly does die out here. Just.....not in the way he's probably thinking.

The fox begins to chuckle darkly as he rocks back and forth. "Here lies Bandit! Life of adventure, ended cause he couldn't find his way out of a bleedin forrest!" he continues to laugh, leaning forward and clutching the grass tightly with his paws, "I want my bed." He begins to sniffle. "I want my tavern meal. I want my cozy little fire." With out warning Bandit slaps himself. "Git ahold of yourself fox! you've been through worse. Now on your feet! That's right, one more step..." Slowly the heavy set fox picks himself up and begins to continue trotting forward. He comes eventually to the stream running north. It may not be mossflower river but it will keep him alive for a little while longer.

The fox practically collapses at the river bank and begins to lap up the vital essence given by the un named stream.

Riana gives the flying birds version of a jump when he slaps himself. Eyes widening, she follows him, shaking her head. Maybe she should kill him now and rid the world of an insane person. She nods to herself, then dives, bringing her talons forward at the last possible moment and goes to pin him down on the stream bank.

Finishing his drink the fox splashes water across his eyes and face. Oh it felt cold, but so good. Oh so good. His fur was a matted mess of sticks and leaves and mangled hair. All from running from slade and...what ever those creatures were.

The fox goes to take another paw full of water from the stream when he catches sight of a shadow looming over him and the blury reflection of-

"Holy #$%@!" What can Bandit say, he was a sailer at one time. He knows how to curse. He also instictivly throws himself to the side, letting the bird create a large splash and saturate the vulpine in water. Bandit falls onto his rump into the water, sheilding himself with his paw and staring in shock at the eagle that almost pinned him into the river.

Riana hisses with frustration, her lower half all wet, which is NOT what she wanted to happen. Hissing in pure irritation, she turns and spreads her massive wings to make herself look bigger (like she needs to do that). "Hold still, little fox, and I shall make your death quick and basically painless."

The fox gulps. The bird was going to kill him! And then possibly eat him! It was laughable really, the extent of problems he has had for the last few weeks. Sold out by his own guards, almost killed by a fur trader, and now he was here, about to be devoured by one of natures finest predators. Mum always said Bandit would meet a bad end...

Taking a step deeper into the stream the fox raises a paw, "How do you know?" Bandit asks with out warning, "I mean I am much obliged for the offer of getting it over quickly but how do you know if it really is painless. My doctor says I am allergic to pain after all!"

The fox laughs in a nervous forced way. Bandit wasn't much of a running beast to begin with, let alone in the middle of a river, and he very much doubts that he could fight an eagle, unarmed. In these situations he often asks himself, what would Wilks do? "Begging? What for! I'm obviously doomed! There is no way I could escape from such an efficient and deadly predator." He continues to move himself deeper into the river until his feet stop sinking into mud and hit something hard. "Those wings! Those claws! Nope, no escape there! Tell you what, I'll just sit here and let you get the deed over with?" The fox lowers himself to a sitting position in the water. "What? Are you waiting for a dinner bell? Grade A fox meat, right here for the taking!"

Blinking, Riana folds her wings and cocks her head. "......you......seem to be having a rough time. I've never met a beast that was so willing to die before...." She settles down on the ground, her legs folded neatly under her, and stares at him in slight bewilderment. "....I'm not so sure if I want to eat you now....."

And that is when the river rock goes sailing towards her beak. If she had just mentioned that a split second earlier the fox would not have followed through with his plan to lure the bird closer and pelt her with a rock from the river. But you'll have that sometimes.

Bandit makes a series of loud yelping noises as he scrambles out of the river and back onto the river bank.

"SKEE-ARK!" Screeching and squawking in rage and surprise, Riana flaps her massive wings and propels herself backwards a few eagle lengths. Fixing the fox with a baleful, golden-eyed stare, she shrieks at an eardrum-hurting level and flaps forward at a much faster speed than she went backwards. "YOU ARE DEAD!!! YOU TRICKY LITTLE PEICE OF FOXMEAT!!!!" She darts forward and goes to slam both taloned feet into him. In her rage she isn't able to aim very well, so there's a good chance she'll miss him.

The fox let's out a screech of his own as the claws dig through the meat of his hide, pushing him forward and down a hill. He rolls once before landing on all fours and dashing away with more speed than even he knew was capable of him. Up ahead there is a large fallen tree over a bramble of rocks. Not the most ideal place to hide but any port in a storm...

Bandit doesn't look back. He doesn't need to to know that the bird is after him, not after his little 'distraction'. He plans on running until his heart bursts or the eagle gets him. Throwing himself over the log Bandit rolls and slides under the log, peering intently at the forrest ahead of him.

And then things progress from bad to worse.

Behind the fox there is the sound of something moving in the darkness. A large head bringing itself around to peer at the beast with one misty eye. "Whatssss do you think you are doing?"

The fox twitches an ear before he turns his head around to come face to face with the makeshift caves current residence.

His screams can be heard across mossflower. A few moments later the fox finds himself outside the log again, wrapped tightly in the coils of a large whiptail snake. Broken arrows, spears, even twisted sword blades permeate the snakes flesh, remnants of long past battles. "Why did you interrupt my naaaapsss?" Before the fox can answer, the snake tightens its grip on him.

Riana had been chasing the fox. But then he screams about something else and she lands, wings outspread. She takes a couple flaps back as the snake exits his hidey-hole. Hissing, she fluffs herself up, making her look twice her actual size, and stalks forward, eye narrowed and wings wide. "Hssss, let go of my prey, wyrm! He's my fox! I saw him first!!"

Bandit by then is given a clear view of the snakes gaping maw as he is slowly shoved toward it. Ageless pauses turning to a direction close to where the avian is. "Oh? You ssseem to be very popular...fox? Ah yessss, yesSSsss, a fox. I feel the tail now, at first I thought you were a very sssoft badger. You are large fox yesss?"

Doomed, Bandit was so doomed. But this might play out to his advantage. If the snake and eagle fought each other then he could slip away! It was the perfect plan!

"Yes! Big fox! Biggest fattest fox you will ever find! I'm...I'm so well fed even my tail is rounded! I'll fill your belly for a whole week, no, a month! Two months even! You're not going to let some feather brained nitwit take your kill from you are you?"

The snake thinks on this, petting the fox between the ears with his tail, "Hmmm...no. Agelesss doesss not Share." And with out further warning the snake bites into the fox, his mouth covering Bandit's entire head and his fangs digging deep into the fox's shoulders.

This...this was not the perfect plan...

Ah! No! Riana screeches and flies forward, trying to get a talon in each of the snake's nostrils, then, aiming to get her other foot on his lower jaw, she tries to pry his mouth open while flapping frantically into the air. "No, you stupid snake, GIVE HIM BACK TO ME!!" She starts pecking angrily at his face, trying to get him to let go of the fox.

That...is about as pleasant as it sounds for the snake. Bandit's muffled scream of terror fills the air as the snakes head is ripped from his meal. With two talons up his nose Ageless isn't able to even properly insult his new enemy. He merely tosses the fox away from him, sending Bandit flying into a log with great force.

Pulling away from the bird the snake coils around himself, spitting out blood, "Congragulationsss. You now have my undivided attenion." Ageless then lunges forward to bite the bird. Repeatedly.

Riana screeches in victory--very short-lived victory. The first bits lands on her leg, but she manages to avoid the others by flying high above the reptile. "Oh ho ho, THIS IS WAR, WYRM!!" Shrieking, she dives down, trying to rake the back of his head with her talons.

The talons strike the snake, but catch more of the broken arrow shafts and spears than anything else. Who knew that the litter of broken weapons would act like quils for the snake? Bandit would wonder how the snake isn't dead from infection by now but he is more concerned about getting to his feet to escape the battle. His everything hurt. From the claw marks across his back to the puncture wounds to his shoulder to the throbbing pain of being bodily thrown into the log. His exodus is slow going with a slight limp and clutchign at his shoulder.

Ageless for his part let's out a hiss, "Insolent welp! You dare to dance with death incarnate? I am Agelessss! AGELESSS DOESSS NOT DIE!" The snake bats at the eagle with his tail, swinging it like a prickly weapon laced mace.

Riana barely sees the tail coming before it hits her full-on in her wing. A loud snap can be heard, then she screams in pure agony as she falls to the ground, driven quite a few eagle lengths from the reptile. She lays there as involuntary tears trickle down her cheeks. The middle of her right wing is bent at an unnatural angle where the force fo the snake's tail broke the hollow bone. Waves of pain crash over her mind, making it almost impossible to focus on anything else.

The snake breaths deeply in anger. First the fox disturbs his nap, then this bird tries to attack him? The gall was appauling. "Did I hear sSSSsomething pop? Tell me bird, did I break ssSSsomething important?" Ageless begins to slither closer to where he thinks Riana landed, his flicking tongue guiding him by scent alone. "Let agelessss help. Let him put you to ssssleeep. One you will never-" The snake pauses, gasping in pain. His entire body convulsing before he hacks up a spittle of blood. His breathing becomes even more ragged and he nearly collapses there next to the bird. "I...I am getting too old for thisss $$$$#%@..." the snake turns away from the eagle, retreating for his log once again. He leaves the bird broken and laying where she is...

The snake can be heard shouting, "Why won't any of you jussst leave me ALONE." Before retiring to the safty of his log. "Jussst...leave...Agelessss alone..."

Riana tries to wake herself up from her conscious coma of pain as she barely hears the snake come closer. She opens her eyes just in time to see a clot of blood coming in her general direction. Squawking weakly, she pulls herself back, then collapses again as he retreats back into his hidey-hole. Groaning, she lays there for a long while before slowly, painfully making her way to the dirt road. She has heard about the great Abbey of Redwall and how they help beasts who are injured. She desperately needs some healing help right now.

Well its not going to come from Bandit! The fleshy fox casts one last glance at the bird and is long gone. He needs help from the abbey as well, heck he would take any village at this point. The trouble is the fox heads in the completely opposite direction of the eagle.

Who is going the right way...