Obsidian Scales

Chapter 8

 Lily's blood ran cold at the sight of the manticore in front of them. It slowly stalked towards them. Silas raised himself up, hissing in aggression as well. His pupils slit, mouth open to reveal his sharp fangs, while his tail was slightly coiled around Lily behind him. His gaze not leaving the beast, he spoke. "Lily, run." he said.

She didn't hesitate, she ran off into the woods, not sure which way her home was. She just knew that she had to get as far away as possible. She heard a roar and glanced behind her. The manticore had tried to run after her, but Silas had pounced. She stopped for a mere moment to observe this fight. Silas had wrapped his tail around the body of the manticore, his torso on it's back, and his arms wrapped around it's neck. His tail even wrapped around the right front paw of the beast, restraining it from moving. The manticore thrashed wildly, rolling on the ground and charging into trees, trying to knock him off. Still, Silas held onto the creature. His gaze met hers as the creature continued to thrash. "What are you doing? Run!" he yelled at her. She turned to leave but let out a gasp as the manticore raised its tail...

...and sunk it's barb right into Silas' back.

Silas let out a screech but still refused to let go. "Run!" he yelled to Lily, blood dripping down his back as the manticore removed the barb and stung again, tearing through the armor like a needle to thread. Lily's hands flew to her mouth but she ran. She had to get help. That was the only thing she could think of. Blindly running through the woods, tears stung her eyes and fell down her cheeks. She was useless, absolutely useless. She stumbled, falling to her knees in the soft dirt. She could hear the roars of the manticore and the faint hissing of Silas still. She looked around, taking in her surroundings. The forest seemed darker, the trees blotting out the sunlight. She clenched her fingers into the dirt. How was she supposed to get help if she didn't know which way to go?

She looked down, her tears falling to the ground. Silas was fighting alone, and all she could do was run. Who would she go to for help? She doubted her village would help a Naga, and even if she did make it to the village, Silas could already be dead by the time she came back with help. Her gaze looked to the dark trees above her. Silas had told her that the Hassan-syn lived in the deeper parts of the forest, where the trees blotted out the sun and only darkness remained. So, she looked to the trees, and spoke. "Help him, please." she begged to the darkness in front of her. She didn't see anyone, but if they were truly there, she hoped they heard her plea. As if in answer, a strong breeze rustled the leaves, sending some leaves to her lap. A soft hiss came from the trees, and a shadow passed in front of her.

"What do we have here?"

~/~

She lifted her head to find not one, but two Naga standing in front of her. The one who spoke, slowly lowered his head to her height, bowing down and curling his tail slightly around to the side. His gold slit eyes bored into hers, she was almost mesmerized by them. The other Naga by his side kept silent, watching her with a curious gaze. His tongue flicked out every now and then, tasting her scent and the scents around them.

Lily hadn't realized she'd been holding her breath until she spoke, a breathy gasp escaping her. "You have to help him." she begged. The silent Naga moved forward and offered his hand to help her up. She shakily got to her knees with his help, and he let go of her hand. The one who spoke tilted his head. "Help who?" he asked.

"Silas!"

Their expressions shifted to shock. "Did you say Silas?" said the one. Right as she was about to answer, a deafening roar cut through the air, followed by a shrill shriek. The silent Naga darted forward, going straight towards the sound. "Kess- Damn it!" Yelled the loud one, beginning to follow after him, before looking back to Lily. "Are you coming or what?" He demanded then slithered off without waiting for an answer. Lily sat there, stunned, before she snapped out of it and leapt to her feet, chasing after them.

~/~

Silas was pissed, since nothing went according to his plan. The plan had been simple: invite Lily out for a nice walk in the forest, and then slowly lead her to his village. Honestly, how hard was that supposed to be? Now here he was, covered in dirt with a few scratches on his skin. The damn manticore had thrown him off, and now he was having a stare down with it. His tail thumped threateningly on the ground, and his upper half began to sway side to side slowly, as he tried to entrance the beast into letting his guard down.

This brute was definitely a male. He could tell from the length of the fangs. Typically females had shorter fangs, but they still shared the same pissy attitude. The manticore had tried to bite and claw his tail after he had wrapped around the creature in order to hold it so Lily could escape. The bastard had stung him in his torso a few times. Even now he could feel the poison in his body, a horrible burning sensation from the wounds reminding him of that. Naga were mostly resistant to poison.

Mostly.

He wouldn't die from it but it would hurt like hell for a few days. Snarling, the manticore began to circle him, starting from the left. Silas hissed back, showing his fangs, and keeping eye contact. Reaching behind him, he unsheathed his swords, holding them at the ready in front of him. He coiled up slightly, moving his tail in such a way that he was sidling on the ground. It prevent his tail from being caught by the enemy, and kept him ready to strike should the manticore pounce. As he predicted, the manticore pounced, fast as lightning, leaping into the air after making a few bounds. Jaw wide in a roar, Silas screeched back and shot forward, aiming for it's belly. Just a few more inches, and he could catch it with his swords, slicing his belly and ending the terrifying beast in one fell swoop.

The manticore's roar cut off quickly.

A gurgle came from it, along with a spray of blood which flew from the mouth and onto Silas's face. A spear had cut cleanly through it's neck and pinned it to the ground. Silas spit out some of the blood that got in his mouth and he looked to the trees, his tongue flicking out to taste the air. He hissed angrily. "I had it!"

The branches rustled and cracked, and two Naga descended from the tree where he was looking. One Naga had black scales and hair like Silas, though his hair was cut shorter and was a little messy. He wore black leather armor that covered every inch of his torso save for his neck and face. At his side on a matching belt hung a sword made of bone. Although it wasn't any sort of metal, it still cut through flesh like butter. His yellow eyes glittered with mischief as he chuckled. "Seems like you were getting your ass kicked to me." The other Naga by his side had a dark bronze tint to his scales and hair. He looked at Silas with green eyes, yet said nothing. Like his compatriot, he also wore black armor, and had a spear strapped to his back. He silently moved forward and pulled the spear from the manticores neck, resulting in a disgusting pop.

Silas narrowed his eyes. "Veraldi," he said to the smirking snake, "Kess," he looked to the silent one. "Good to see you both again." he huffed. Kess continued holding his silence, taking out a cloth from a small satchel strapped to his belt and wiping the spear off with it. Veraldi, however, was the complete opposite. "You don't seem too happy to see us after five years." he pouted a little.

"How did you find me?"

"You mean besides the sound of screaming?"

"I wasn't screaming."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Veraldi..."

Veraldi caved after Silas growled at him. "Besides hearing you both fighting, a little friend of yours asked for some help." he gestured to the trees. Something was loudly crashing through the brush, before eventually running through it and into the light. Lily was panting, her hair a mess, some twigs and leaves in it. She bent over, putting her hands on her knees while trying to catch her breath. When she stood back up she looked to him with relief in her gaze.

Before they widened to horror. "How are you still standing?" she demanded. As if on cue, Silas' vision began to swirl. "Good question..." The world tilted and he thought he heard Lily yell, before landing on something hard with a dull thud. His vision blurred before quickly going black.