Glorious

Runners ~Chapter Five: Redcloaks

Takoda would not take up the cloak again.

-Takoda-

Takoda had no clue as to why Xanthe and the other Sadres were missing. The generally stayed near the mouth of the cave, never straying to close to the sun. The only reason to go this deep would be if there was a threat. Takoda released Kovo, although the Great Beast made people uncomfortable, he made Takoda confident and right now he was lacking in that field.

Takoda spins around at the sound of Kirat releasing a shocked noise. His eyes had yet to adjust to the darkness of the cave and the only indication of an attack was the thump that came right after. A muffled groan follows the thump, and a bright flash of light and honk indicates the release of Ninani.

"Kirat what happened?" Tasha asks, concern laced in her voice.

"What do you think!" Kirat practically yells, "someone is here and trying to kill us!"

As if to prove his point someone sweeps Takoda's feet out from under him, causing the small boy to hit the ground on his back, releasing a loud moan as he loses his breath. Kovo roars loudly, pounding his chest and nostrils flaring, but the attacker was gone just as quickly as they were there.

Cabaro appears with a roar, letting Kirat lean on him, "where did they go."

"Rowan!" Tasha calls down anxiously.

Rowan's voice echoes down the dark stone, "one sec, I'm almost done finding fl-" the sentence cuts off and Rowan skids down the floor, as if someone rammed into her, bolting up right away and running away from the spot.

"Please tell me you have light," Dawson pleads, but Rowan shakes her head.

"I have the torch, no flint, and I don't know who attacked me. It felt like a tail?" Rowan says, it ending in a question of disbelief, "just stay ready."

"Who's attacking us though?" Takoda questions, "the Oathbound would kill us instead of just waiting."

"Then let's not wait," a small female voice says, sounding creepy in the echoing cave. Takoda, once again, lands on his back, but the culprit was nowhere to be found.

"Stop that!" He yells, realizing with a flushed face that the command only works on siblings, not people trying to kill him.

A person flashes into existence in front of him, appearing with no warning. In the darken tunnel, features were hard to decipher, the person appearing as a blacken shadow, the sun causing the blindfold. One thing was obvious.

The person had long ears, positioned at the top of their head. The ears twitch, a sign that they were attached before the shadow drops a sphere, disappearing with a flash of blue, allowing Cabaro to leap right through them and onto Takoda.

Takoda crosses his arms and winces waiting for the lion's teeth and claws, but they never hit, instead a pained yowl erupts from the golden creature, Kirat yelling out an offended, "hey!"

Takoda opens his eyes to see Kovo standing over him, hand outstretched, hinting at the fact that the ape intercepted the lion by backhanding him.

"He was going to kill me!" Takoda defends, standing up to face Kirat who looked more than angry at the Great Beast's action against his spirit animal.

"Can we focus on whatever the heck the person-thing dropped!" Dawson intervenes waving his arms. Something drops down from above, a thick rope trailing behind them as they knock into Dawson, sending the boy sprawling on the ground. The person leaps into to the wall, barely missing Rumfuss's tusk. The thick rope curls up and the person is gone, almost like the eared one.