Castle Shyr

EEE! More Ju\'agul. :)

Loki said this part was scary... \'cause you know they\'re smart....

Real smart... :ghost:


-The Weapon Of The Tev-

‘Why is it always me?’ Isbal thought dismally to himself as he trudged down the hallway, dragging a sack full of meat behind him in a rather comical way. ‘I’m sure those damned beasts are capable of hunting for themselves - why doesn’t the King just let them loose? It’s not like they’ll attack us, they know we’re their masters. Besides, why pick the soldiers to deliver the food? We have servants for this sort of thing!’

Isbal hesitated as he neared the large pit in the center of the courtyard where the Ju’agul were locked up night after night. It was nothing more than a large cylinder cut into the ground covered with a thick metal grating. The Prince assured the Tev that the grate was not magicked in any way, but to hold in the six ferocious beasts there had to be something special about it.

‘Then again,’ Isbal thought to himself, ‘perhaps it is just a normal grate. Nobody claims to know everything about the Ju’agul, so maybe metal is their weakness.. Though, with the way they chomp through swords I doubt it.’ He sighed as he let go of the large bag and paused to catch his breath, doubling over and tipping his head down.

“Hhhhurrr…. Reh.. Reh..” Isbal looked up slowly as a strange, almost whining sound met his ears. He knew the sounds the Ju’agul made from being on the front line, and from having been elected for this job once or twice before, but he’d never heard them make such a sound. They sounded - as if they were in pain. He stood up slowly, craning his neck to see if he could peer into the pit without getting closer, but he could only see the very far corner. Curiosity getting the better of him he took a few cautious steps forward and bent over to gaze into the gaping hole in the ground.

“Oh hawk shit..” Isbal grumbled as he let out a hiss. One of the Ju’agul was indeed injured, laying on it’s side against the wall, thin ribs pounding flesh with each pant. The other five were standing in a bit of a semi-circle, eagerly waiting for their companion to weaken enough to be devoured.

“Hey! Hey!” Isbal shouted, standing and waving his hands over his head to try and gain the attention of the five. One of the beasts swiveled it’s head to look up at him, then snorted and went back to staring. The Tev rubbed his head in agitation, the downed Ju’agul was the only female and if the King still wanted to continue breeding attempts, she was vital. He had to get the males away from her, and get a doctor.

Sometimes he really hated his job.

He turned back to the sack of meat and quickly began shuffling through the rotting flesh until he found a large steak and turned back to the pit. He felt his stomach churn and his palms begin to sweat, he was crazy to attempt this alone, but he needed to move the grate so that his aim wouldn’t be thrown off by the bars. ‘Gods this had better work.’ He muttered to himself as he crouched down near the far corner of the grate and reached out shaking hands to unlatch it.

The strike was too quick to be seen. The grate moved aside and she swung to her haunches, and launched herself up and out. Her front claws just barely grazed the grass as she clamped her huge jaws shut over the Tev and nearly swallowed him whole as she slid down the wall to the bottom once more. She lifted her head and let out a warning snarl as one of the males got a little too close for her taste, nipping at the corners of her mouth for the dribble of left-over Tev. She snapped her bony tail into his side and he backed off with a snort in her direction.

She turned her dead, fiery gaze towards the grate, swung open thanks to her midnight snack. She would claw her way atop her companions to get out if she had to.

Tossing her head roughly to scatter her tattered mane she barked out orders to the males, watching with a sort of sick satisfaction as they obeyed without a noise.