Uncaged [Sequel to Forever Caged]

Shinda had kicked the boys out of the wagon, and was working on the latch in the floorboards. He knew a spare wheel was kept under them. He was grumbling to himself, mostly complaining about Lesara's reckless driving.

Kyran was outside next to Arna and Lesara, waiting until he was called to help.

Lesara crossed his arms, irritated. Arna was smiling. "I don't see what's so funny about this, Arna."

Arna looked at him. "You goofed."

Kyran was trying not to laugh. "Shinda did say to slow down..."

"Oh not you too!" Lesara threw his hands up in exasperation. "If Shinda drove, it'd take another week to get there!"

Shinda slipped out of the wagon, holding the large spare wheel. "If I drove, we wouldn't be stuck here right now. Now use your tail and see if you can't lift the wagon a bit. Boys, go collect wood. It's late so we might as well make camp."

Lesara stuck his tongue out at Shinda, but did as he was told. Arna went with Kyran to pick up some wood, thinking about tonight. "It's gonna be harder for you to kick my ass, you know that right?"

Kyran went off a ways, going to a patch of bushes where he figured there would be a lot of dead branches. He smiled at Arna. "And why is that?"

"Well... cause I was thinkin' about last night... and cause of maybe tonight," Arna said with a sly grin. He was only joking, of course, but he was half hoping Kyran would take him up on it.

Kyran blushed a little, pausing mid-bend. "You mean out here?"

Arna went to him and grabbed his squishy rear. "Not if you don't want to, of course. But seriously, I think I might have found a weak point in your fighting."

Kyran squeaked softly and moved away. "What weak point?" He tried to hide his face as he continued gathering sticks.

"Well, now if I told you that, that would ruin the whole plan." Arna found a nice fat stick and bent to pick it up.

Kyran pouted at him. "Well then I'll just have to make sure you can't take advantage of it."

Arna wiggled his hips. "If you can find it."

Kyran went over and whapped Arna's butt with one of the longer sticks. "Don't try and tempt me during the fight," he said with a grin.

Arna yelped. "I wouldn't do that unless I knew it would work." He poked him with his own stick. "And I saw you yesterday. You were all about the fight." He went and kissed his cheek. "Was kinda hot."

Kyran blushed again and his grin widened.

"Aww, how cute," came a low masculine purr. A tall, slender figure strode out of the bushes, a long furred tail swaying behind his legs. Straight black hair reached his back, and his bright green eyes glinted like mirrors in the darkness. "Don't suppose that's your wagon over there?"

Kyran jumped back, dropping all the sticks he'd collected. He glared at the stranger. "Who are you?"

Another one strode out,almost identical to the first, his tail swishing and fangs poking out in his grin. "Just some tired travelers. Don't think you could lend a hand, could you?"

Kyran frowned, looking between the two. He grabbed Arna's wrist, pulling him back. "You don't look like tired travelers." Not that he had any idea what one would look like, but he didn't trust these two. They seemed too eager.

Arna let himself be pulled by Kyran, keeping tight hold of his larger stick. Their presence made him uneasy.

"Oh, don't be that way, we don't bite." The slightly more built one feigned a pout.

The other's long furred ears twitched. "Not too hard," the slimmer man said. He couldn't keep his grin from curling wider.

"Gods dammit all!" came Shinda's voice. Kyran gasped and looked behind him, and thought he saw fire.

"Aww, looks like he started the fun already. Guess that's our cue. I want the one with the pretty red hair." The slimmer felhuma set his eyes on Arna, and readied for a pounce.

Arna dropped his wood, and held his large stick like he would his axe.

"Fine by me," said the larger one. "This one here looks rather delicious, don't you think?" His cat-ears folded back, and his grin widened as he turned to Kyran.

Kyran swallowed, and was glad he'd been smart that morning. He slid one foot behind him and lowered his body into a defensive stance, left arm brought up to guard. He didn't want to pull his dagger out yet.

The slimmer felhuma leapt at Arna with a frightening speed, claws bared. Arna slid back a little and brought his stick forward hard.

The other felhuma dove for Kyran, claws ready for his flesh. Kyran ducked and rolled forward, letting the felhuma land behind him. He spun around and shot his leg out, going for the man's legs.

The smaller man caught the stick in one hand, gripping it tightly. He yanked hard in attempt to pull it away, bringing his other hand around to swipe at Arna's stomach. Without turning to look, he said, "Careful Ren, that one's fast."

The one called 'Ren' jumped over Kyran's leg, and landed on him. "So feisty. I like that."

Kyran yelped, colliding with the ground after behind pounced on. He growled, orange eye starting to glow dimly. He shot one arm up, aiming a palm-strike for Ren's chin.

Arna grabbed the thin felhuma's wrist and tried to turn his arm back. The smaller felhuma wrestled with Arna for a while, then brought one leg up and planted it on his stomach and pushed. Arna refused to relinquish his grip on the felhuma's wrist as he fell over. He brought his own leg up and went for a swing at the felhuma's side.

Ren took the palm to the face, and brought his own clawed hand down. "Ikalma, these ones are fiery. Think they got a lot on them?" he said in the struggle.

Ikalma growled, slit pupils widening. "Probably." He dug the claws of his held arm into Arna's, trying to force him to let go. He jerked the stick from Arna's grasp and flung it somewhere behind him, and pressed his free hand to the boy's throat.

---
At the wagon, a lesser feyth was having some fun. He held two katars, the edges of the blades serrated for tearing. He grinned at Shinda, who'd already given up on blasting fire and instead had pulled a long broadsword from the depths of his bag. He held it offensively, waiting for the man to make a move.

Lesara had unhinged his jaw and was letting a low out a low warning hiss. His fangs were already dripping as he waited for the feyth to move.

The feyth shook his head to toss long rich brown hair behind his shoulder, and raised both arms. A dark ball formed between his hands, and he shot it between Shinda and Lesara. It expanded on impact, blackening the entire area. Shinda cursed and flared his wings to create some form of light, and raised his sword just in time to deflect a hard blow.

Lesara's tail whipped about, searching for something to grab onto.

The feyth darted away from Shinda, invisible in the darkness he'd created, and instead focused his attack on Lesara. He leapt behind him, aiming for his back.

Lesara felt something heavy collide with his back. He wrapped his tail around it, and threw it to the ground.

The feyth landed with a grunt, and quickly rolled to his feet. His bright red eyes glowed in the dark, and he spoke up. "I'll say it again. Hand over what you've got and we'll leave you be."

Shinda growled and threw a fireball at those eyes. "What do you mean 'we'?"

The man rolled to the side with a laugh. "Haven't you wondered why your little friends haven't come back yet?"

"The boys!" Lesara swung his tail hard at the feyth. He wanted to turn and leave but he didn't want to leave Shinda there by himself.
---

Kyran met Ren's hand, grasping it with his own. He winced at the strength of the man, and dug his own long nails into that hand. He brought a leg up, aiming a kick at Ren's crotch. Ren groaned as his crotch was assaulted, and clamped Kyran's foot between his thighs. He grabbed the boy's thigh and dug his claws in.

Arna winced as claws bit into his skin, and he twisted the other's wrist this way and that to make him let go. He tried to pull the other hand away from his throat, but the felhuma proved to be stronger. Ikalma released his hold on Arna's wrist and drew his arm back, and sent that fist into the boy's gut. "Hand over anything valuable you got, and we'll leave you alone." He grinned down at Arna, as though he didn't really mean it. Arna doubled over at the punch as the wind was knocked out of him. He gasped for breath, unsure of what to do.

Kyran yelped, then brought his free hand up to strike Ren's cheek. "Get...off!"

Ren took the slap and laughed. "Come on now, pretty boy. Just hand over your goodies. We'll leave you alone after that."

Kyran growled and forced his wings out. Shinda had advised him not to for safety reasons, but he needed the small advantage. He used them to push himself off the ground, shoving Ren off in the process. He faced the felhuma, small wings hidden behind his back and he seemed to simply levitate. "You're going to leave us alone if you don't want to die!" Both eyes were glowing vibrantly, and he raised his arms, palms up and aiming at Ren as he started a low chant.

Ikalma gripped Arna's throat tighter, taking a second to look up. "Better move faster Ren. Hey, if they don't hand over their stuff can we just keep 'em?"

Ren aimed a punch at Kyran's face, intending to stop the chanting. He knew magick when he saw it. "I don't see why not!"

Arna brought his leg up and kicked Ikalma hard as he could in the gut. He was beginning to grow lightheaded.

Kyran drifted back to dodge the punch, then flew wide around Ren. He came instead for Ikalma, and caught the distracted man in his flying tackle.

"Gah!" Ikalma yelped as he was shoved off his prey. He rolled along the ground a ways, then quickly bounced back to his feet.

Kyran was already standing by Arna, trying to guard him.

Ren went to stand next to Ikalma. "What's the matter, pretty boy? Scared we were gonna hurt your buddy?" He leapt up and over Kyran, then grabbed Arna. Arna struggled and kicked at Ren hard as he could, making the felhuma grunt. "I see why you want him, Ikalma."

---
The feyth laughed. "That's right. Who knows what's become of them by now?" Tendrils shot from the darkness, stabbing at Lesara and Shinda.

Shinda flared his wings brighter, but they didn't seem to deflect the darkness. They did eat the few tendrils at his back, but he couldn't defend his front, and took several punctures to the torso. He grunted, then got the bright idea to run away. "Dammit Lesara don't you have anything to counter him?!"

Lesara's ears picked up where the feyth was, and he shot his tail at him, wrapping around what he guessed was the man's leg, and yanked.

The feyth let himself be pulled, hitting the ground with a yelp and a skittering of gravel. He twisted around to slice at Lesara's tail.

Shinda followed the red eyes, and glided behind the pesky bastard. He brought his sword around, ripping through cloth and flesh.

A howl came from the feyth as blood sprayed from his back, and he struggled to get out of Lesara's tail, swiping at whatever came close.

Lesara growled and squeezed when he felt scales come up. "My tail! You bastard!" He lifted the feyth, then brought him back down hard. "I oughta eat you!"

The feyth cried out as he was slammed on the ground, and thought he felt something crack. The darkness he'd made started to falter, the edges wavering. Shinda took the moment to swing his sword at the man's neck. The feyth saw the gleam of metal just in time, and ducked his head. He kicked out of Lesara's tail and rolled to the side. Shinda glared at him, and the man thought better of continuing his attack. "This isn't over yet," he growled. The darkness faded, taking him with it.

Lesara hissed and growled in rage. "Where are you! I swear I'll make pies out of you, coward!" His bleeding tail lashed about. He could hear Arna and Kyran fighting, then went into a panic as Ren's words floated to his ears. "Shinda, we gotta get the boys!"
---

Kyran growled and spun to face Ren. "Let him go!"

"Whoa, Ovasi?" came Ikalma's voice.

The feyth called Ovasi slid out of the shadows behind Kyran before the boy could move, and wrapped strong tan arms around him. "Hello there," he purred.

Kyran gasped as he felt the feyth grab him, and fought to break away, digging his elbows in hard where he could.

Ovasi laughed and wrapped one clawed hand around Kyran's throat, now free of his katars. "Why don't we just take these two and go? If nothing else I'm sure they'd sell for a lot."

Shinda cursed, looking in the direction the boys had gone. "Let's get moving then." He flew off without waiting for the naga, who sped after him.

Ren chuckled. "Not a bad idea, but not before we get a chance with them first. What do you say, Ikalma?" He bent Arna's arms behind him. Arna gasped at the pain, and slid low, then swung his leg up. His shin collided with Ren's face, and he howled as he was forced to let go.

"You little rat, your legs aren't supposed to bend that way!"

Kyran couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. It was cut off by claws pushing into his neck. Ovasi's red eyes glinted dimly and he started to pull away from the scene. "You can't even handle one huma boy?"

Ikalma growled at him, and then pounced at Arna.

Arna went down under Ikalma with a loud "Oof!"

"Well, if I can't handle it, that's why you two goons are here." Ren went to Arna and yanked his hair. "Where are the other two? Did you take care of them Ovasi?"

Ovasi frowned. "They're too much trouble to kill alone. Let's just run with these two while we can." His grip tightened around Kyran, who had learned to stop struggling for now.

"You'll never make it," Kyran spat.

Ikalma grabbed both of Arna's wrists and pinned them down, straddling the boy's waist. He ignored Kyran, and glanced up at Ren. "Tie his legs."

Ren unwound some rope from his waist and began tying the struggling Arna up. "Ah well. I bet these two are worth more than they had anyway."

Ovasi started to sink into the shadow of a tree. "Hurry up," he growled. He stilled in surprise suddenly, feeling the sharp point of cold metal against the back of his neck.

"Release them," Shinda said lowly. He had the tip of his broadsword against the man's neck, ready to plunge through at any second.

Ovasi gave a nervous grin, turning his head to look back at the angry requiem. "You're aware that I- KAHK!" His red eyes lost their gleam, and Kyran jerked away, pulling his dagger from the man's throat.

Shinda glanced around the feyth at Kyran, raising a brow. He took his turn, shoved his blade through Ovasi's ribcage and ripped outwards.

Ikalma looked back at the scene, and once he saw Kyran pull his dagger from his sleeve, he wasted no time jumping off Arna. "Shit, let's get out of here!" He grabbed his brother by the wrist and started to pull him away.

Ren didn't need telling twice. He let Ikalma lead him away, leaving Arna on the ground. Arna sat up and began untying himself before Lesara came crashing through the bush. "I'll eat all of you!" he growled. When he noticed that the thieves had fled, he let his shoulders sag in disappointment. "I really did want to eat them. Oh well."

Shinda let the feyth fall to the ground. "You can eat him. If we just let him sit there he'll sink back into Feythis and regenerate." He stepped away from the bloody mess, walking towards the boys. "You two all right?"

Kyran nodded, rubbing his throat. "A few scratches but nothing serious."

Shinda nodded and looked to Arna. "You?"

Arna nodded and got back up, holding the rope. "That was not fun."

Lesara patted him on the shoulder. "Well, why don't we go back to camp? I'll dismember this one and cook him up."

Kyran winced in disgust. "He's all yours." He sighed, pulled a small cloth from his pocket to clean his blade, then slid it into its sheath on his arm. He looked at the ground, thinking for a moment while the glow of his eyes faded. "We still need to make the fire...How's the wheel by the way?"

Shinda cleaned his own blade off, shrugging. "We fixed it before the attack. I guess we got lucky this guy didn't ruin all that work."

Arna walked ahead of his master, who was hoisting up the body. "Does this mean Master won't be driving anymore?"

Lesara pouted. "Sadly, it does. Shinda here said such hurtful things about my skills as a driver, that I don't know if I have the courage." He even added a little bit of a sob to his voice.

Shinda laughed while he helped Kyran collect some sticks. "You just can't handle the truth."