Who's the real monster?

Encounter

          They were walking again, last night the man had introduced himself as Odoviar. He told them of how he had been kicked out at young age when his family found out he was gifted. He had survived in the woods and had been flying in his swift form when he was mistaken for a crow.

          He described how crows were hated for their supposed ability to bring bad luck; when one was encountered, they were quickly killed. He had been able to make it deeper into the forest but hadn't been able to turn back to his human form to pull out the dart.

          Odoviar was making good pace despite his injury, though he had to rest about every hour as he had still been exposed to some of the poison. They were currently walking across a wide road and chatting with each other lightheartedly. Talen noticed it was hard and flat, the implications of that escaping him.

          As they were halfway across Pixie cracked a joke that had them almost keeling over laughing, "Why did the chicken cross the road.. to prove to the possum it could be done!"

          Talen sobered up first, he looked up still chuckling then froze, his whole body went stiff, and his tongue went dry. There were five knights on horses, staring right at them. Pixie saw them next, she went mute and quickly flew into a Talen's bag, quivering.

          Alerted by Pixie, Odoviar backed away slowly to the woods, the memories of his family kicking him out flew to the front of his mind. In his mind he was weak again, defenseless, unable to use his powers.

          Talen looked at Isabel last, her eyes were narrowed and she had a determined look on her face, With Odoviar trembling on the ground and Pixie safe in his bag. There was no one to help them but themselves.

          Isabel took the initiative first, "What can we do for you men!" she shouted towards them. A wicked smirk crawled onto the leader's face, similar looks on the rest of his group.

          He gestured towards her. "I want you. Then when I'm done with you, I'll have some fun the rest of them." He pulled out his sword sneering, "That Skamelar behind you looks like he needs to learn his place."

          Talen grimaced, he knew enough to know that they couldn't run. They would undoubtedly be caught quickly as the knights were on horseback. He couldn't leave Isabel and Odoviar alone, he only had one option.

         He caught Isabel gaze, she mouthed silently, "Are you sure?" He nodded quickly. She immediately pulled a dagger out of nowhere and threw it into the center of the leaders forehead in a smooth motion. He fell off his horse with the ghost of a smirk on his face, still taunting them in his death.

         At Talen's shocked face, she said, "What, I had plenty of time to practice." Then winked before tossing a long sword towards him and pulling out her own shorter one out of two scabbards he hadn't even seen.

         She then whirled around and sprinted towards the now rearing horses and the panicked knights. Talen seized the sword from the air and followed after her, his pack left on the ground behind him.

          Talen was locked sword to sword with one of the knights, sweat pouring down his face, this is one of the moments where he wished he could use his second pair of arms to assist him like the rest of his kind. He was quickly losing strength. He didn't know if he could keep fighting.

         He glanced over at Isabel quickly. She too was locked in position, he had to do something before the knights overcame them. Suddenly, the pressure released, and his opponent fell to the floor, bleeding from a wound on his temple.

         A trembling Odoviar was standing in front of him with a large rock clutched in his hand, fur sprouting from his arms and legs. Before he could process that he heard a yell and quickly looked to see Isabel burst from her position, pushing her sword deep into her opponents chest. He fell backwards as she pulled it out and dropped it with a clang. Breathing heavily, she sat on the ground, smiling faintly.

          Realizing they had won, Talen allowed himself a moment of relief, before he gathered everyone and set up a temporary camp away from the road. He worked to clear the bodies, as they were still either tired or too shaken, Odoviar was still trying to turn fully back into a human after his half shift.

          Once he had buried all the men together, he sent the horses galloping away, hoping they would find a safe place. Although they were used by those madmen he had a soft spot for the hooved beasts, with eyes that could peer into your soul.