Mornings on the Beach {Aras}

[DesperateDark]

It was way, way too early when she got the call. Around 3 a.m. she had gotten a call from the Hunters, telling her that she had been handed a mission. She was to head off to the beach a fair ways east, and from there kill a cluster of Innocents responsible for the death of a Hunter a few weeks back. The corpses would go into the water instead of into her stomach this time, so all she needed to do was the killing. She was thankful for that; Aurelia was still quite full from the last mission’s meal.

And, almost like a side note and last thought, she was told that she would be given a partner to work with on this one. Guess who? Since, according to the Elders, she had done such a good job with her last partner, she would be stuck with him again. Yep, it was gonna be Mister Aras Duval. Aurelia met this information with a slightly annoyed sigh as she hung up and tossed her cell phone aside.

It wasn’t as if she didn’t like the man or wished not to see him again; she did think he was charming to a certain degree in his own mildly retarded way. It was just the fact that he had messed up to the point that he nearly died on the last mission that worried her. Their opponents this time were several hawks and a python, according to the informants, and they’d better get it right this time. Their blunder on the last mission had nearly gotten Aras killed. His job was to take down the birds, and she was to down the snake.

So with that in mind, Aurelia got up and got ready for what was to happen in a few hours time. The ride out east was going to be an hour at most or two at most, so she’d have to get there in the dark on Reyes’ motorcycle. It wasn’t the safest bet, but it would have to do. Fifteen minutes later, she was ready to get to her destination. Reyes was in the attic-made-bedroom doing something or another; his insomnia and general somniphobia prevented him from sleeping. When she asked Reyes for the keys to the motorcycle, he asked her why she was going out so early. “Hunting.” was her answer, and he didn’t question any further.

The ride to the beach went without mishap, and she didn’t fall and break her neck like she thought she would. This time, she was first to arrive on the sandy shores, and it was still very dark. The water looked completely black, and the ambiance was oddly eerie; like something out of a horror movie. Aurelia pulled her trench coat tighter around her, shivering slightly. It was cool out, and the creepiness factor was making her a bit chill.

Aurelia walked along the shore so the water was lapping at her boots, glancing here and there to either check if anybody had come along or for those imaginary shadow things in the dark. She was definitely on edge, and her komodo was restless as well. That was until she caught sight of a faint flash of white, and she picked whatever it was up, examining it closely. There were plenty of gulls around, so finding a skull of a seagull wasn’t that much of a surprise. Still it was interesting, and it took up much of her attention.

[Aras|Ofelia]

Aras was jolted rudely from his sleep by the ringing of his phone. It was dark, and the streets were silent. A quick glance at the clock confirmed his suspicions: it was not the time of day when any sane individual was awake. And it was definitely not the time of day when any sane individual made phone calls. So either Reyes was calling him or the Hunters had another mission for him.

Since Reyes did not have his number, it didn't take much to figure out who was on the other end of the line.

Did they never sleep? he thought testily. Grumbling a few choice swearwords, Aras didn't even bother to put on a false pretense of politeness when he picked up. His caller wasn't one for courtesy, either; in a brisk, curt tone, she listed everything he needed to know. Location: a secluded beach, some hours to the east. Location and timing were ideal--the place was essentially deserted, with the exception of their prey, and the ocean would take care of the issue of disposal. Targets: a python and a medium-sized flock of Harris' hawks. Partner: Aurelia Locke. He would meet her there.

Only after he'd hung up did the last bit of information sink in. With that realization, he wondered if it would be better if he simply went back to sleep right then and there.

He had her to thank for saving his life, but that didn't change the fact that their entire acquaintance could be more or less summed up with one word: awkward. And not to mention embarrassing, especially near the end of their last encounter, where she evidently thought of him as a child who was incapable of taking care of himself. He'd be the first to admit that he'd botched the last mission quite magnificently, but that in no way mollified his injured pride. At least his recovery had been rapid; he supposed he should be grateful for things like that.

Dragging himself out of bed, he drowsily gathered the equipment he would need for the mission. He took a few extra minutes to prepare some coffee; he would rather not run into a tree, or a road sign, or a moose, or a bear as he drove.

Stepping into the corridor, he took care to close the door softly behind him so as not to disturb the neighbors. He--and the Lorentzes, no doubt--had not forgotten the previous incident, and they could all do without another encounter at this ungodly hour. And Aras would much, much rather not having to fabricate an explanation of where he was going at three o'clock in the morning.

The trip was thankfully uneventful. The caffeine certainly helped--by the time he was within a couple of kilometers of the designated beach, it was no longer a chore to keep his eyes open. Stopping a slight ways off-road, he walked the rest of the way, rifle slung over one shoulder. The chilly pre-dawn wind nipped at his face and fingers, following him down to the seaside. There was little sound save for the crashing of the waves; a lone curlew strutted along the shoreline, stabbing at the sand with its curved bill in search of crabs. The water reflected the color of the sky, a deep blue-black, occasionally streaked by the white crests of waves.

He caught sight of Aurelia some ways down the beach. Her back was to him, and she was examining something in her hands. Absorbed in her scrutiny, it didn't seem as if she had noticed his arrival--but then again, she might simply be ignoring him. Aras couldn't say he'd be entirely surprised if that were the case.

Sand muffling the sounds of his approach, Aurelia did not acknowledge his presence even when he stopped less than an arm's length away from her. "Morning," he said, touching her shoulder lightly.

[DesperateDark]

The little sun-bleached skull of a seagull absorbed most of her attention for the next few minutes. Normally she wouldn't have been distracted by something so mundane, but the creepiness factor of her environment prompted her to absorb her attention in something instead of jumping at every little sound and shadow. Aurelia wasn't normally one to get spooked, but it happened on occasion.

There was a soft sound behind her, but she just thought that was the whispering of the waves before something landed on her shoulder. In her current jumpy state and the fact that she had no idea what was behind her didn't help the situation much. Her talisman only elevated the sudden panic when he flipped out, raising his head and hissing sharply.

Aurelia turned sharply on her heels and, in a basic reaction taught to her by none other then her parents, delivered a fierce backhand to whoever or whatever was behind her. Her knuckles smashed against something hard and she instantly went for her machete, whipping it out and pointing it straight at the person's or thing's face before her mind finally recovered from the panic.

"The hell? Duval!?" Aurelia lowered her machete, glaring at the man with a look that could possibly burn a hole through a brick. She decided against trying to use his first name, knowing she wouldn't get it right anyways. The Vietnamese girl finally put her weapon away, crossing her arms across her chest. "Don't sneak up on me like that! I can get jumpy too, ya know."

She turned away from him and picked up the skull she had just dropped, examining it to see if it had chipped or broken when it fell. Nope, it was still fine. Maybe she could make it into a necklace or something, it would look fairly pretty, if not in a creepy sort of way. Aurelia was never really into jewellery anyways, but she might make an exception this time. She placed it in her pocket; if it wasn't broken by the end of all this, she would make something out of it. And if it survived but she still didn't want it, then she'd give it to Reyes or Aras.

"Ah, 'm sorry, is your face okay?" Aurelia leaned up to look at his jaw where her knuckles made contact. "Seriously, you shouldn't do that. You'll get hurt."

[Aras|Ofelia]

In a fantastic replay of that night at Reyes' house, Aurelia returned his greeting with a vehement backhand that sent him reeling. The force was enough to make him take a step backward, and he reflexively adjusted into a defensive stance, arms raised to ward off any more potential blows. His talisman shrilled its displeasure, throwing an insult or two into the mix.

The machete leveled at his nose did not help matters.

"The hell? Duval!?"

He sighed and relaxed slightly when, upon recognizing him, Aurelia lowered the blade. The glare she shot in his direction was piercing enough to possibly kill (or at least paralyze) a small animal, but Aras was rapidly getting used to them. He seemed to be on the receiving end of Aurelia's glowers--and her slaps, his stinging jaw reminded him--a disproportionate amount of the time.

Probably doesn't even remember your first name, the vulture grunted. It was likely true, but as long as she was able to address him in some manner, he supposed that was enough. And she'd dropped the formality this time, at least.

The item she'd been examining gleamed white for a brief moment before Aurelia slipped it into her pocket. She then leaned forward, tilting her head so she could get a better look at his face. "Seriously, you shouldn't do that. You'll get hurt."

Biting back the snide comment that was undoubtedly his talisman trying to speak through him, he nodded and settled for a more succinct answer instead. "I realized," he said rather flatly, raising a hand to rub at the nascent bruise. With the other hand, he gestured vaguely past her, indicating that they should continue walking down the beach.

[DesperateDark]

Aras looked like he was about to say something, but quickly shut his mouth in favour of rubbing his already reddening jaw. She made a mental note to try and undo the habit of slapping anything that snuck up behind her, including random birds and Reyes. That one was going to leave a nasty bruise in the morning... Or evening.

"I realized," he said passively, still rubbing that mark on his jaw. Aurelia now felt bad about smacking him, and was about to promise to make it up to him again, but before she could say anything, he gestured behind her in a loose manner. She tensed, freezing to the spot for a moment before she realized he just wanted to keep walking along the beach.

With a wordless nod, she turned and began to walk along the water's edge. It was still very dark out, and the air was still cold, so she pulled her coat tighter around her once again. And where they to walk along aimlessly until those Innocents showed up? Aras might have had a more advanced plan already, but she didn't this time. Then, she figured it might as well be her turn to just wing it and see what would happen; her second oldest brother did that all the time. Of course, he'd nearly gotten killed multiple times doing that, but it still might work.

"So how's your arm? You feeling better?" She placed her hand on his upper arm gently, as if to make sure he was truly okay. It was a weird thing to feel like you needed to take care of people, but that's how she was brought up and the habits were long ingrained in her mind.

The silence was nice and all, but the sound of waves did get to her after a while. Her own palm had healed fairly quickly after some stitches, and they'd been removed only a few days ago. The cut left a light scar on her palm, but it was nothing too noticeable. Her talisman, on the other hand, was still grumbling about how Aras failed epically during their last mission and why had the Elders paired them up again. And of course, Aurelia had yet to hack up that mass of horns, hair, teeth and whatever else her body couldn't digest. It was not fun being a large lizard sometimes.

And oh yeah, she didn't find out last time. "You've already seen mine, so what's your talisman?"

[Aras|Ofelia]

The spring sun had not yet begun to warm the air, so despite the fact that it was well into the season, the early morning winds still made him shiver. The ocean breeze brought with it the faint smell of salt; at the horizon, where sky and water met, the darkness was beginning to subside ever so slightly. They had perhaps an hour or two before dawn.

As they walked, Aras scanned the beach for anything that would help provide cover. If it weren’t so unnaturally early, they could pretend they were doing nothing more than taking a walk. Unfortunately, since no normal person would nonchalantly stroll across the beach at this hour, no-one was likely to fall for that. In addition, it would be advantageous to get some altitude. Craning one’s neck at a ninety-degree angle was not going to improve one’s accuracy in any way.

Aurelia’s voice, though gentle, sounded odd in the near-silence. Still, he appreciated her concern, especially since it seemed to stem out of genuine consideration and not out of mere courtesy. The hand on his arm was steady and comforting—which came as pleasant surprise, especially since the left side of his face was still smarting from the slap. He hadn’t been expecting such sympathy from her, either; he could clearly remember the ‘you-are-an-idiot’ scowls he’d received the previous mission.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Looking back at Aurelia, he guiltily realized that the scar from the arrow was still there, faint but noticeable. There was a slight delay before he spoke up again. “I haven’t thanked you properly for last time. So thank you.”

A stiff gust tugged at their hair and clothing, snatching away what little warmth they had, and Aras nearly gave in to the instinctive urge to pull Aurelia closer. His talisman immediately overrode the idea with a disbelieving screech. He fancied that the bird’s outbursts made his ears ring—but of course that wasn’t possible. (More like they made his mind ring.)

In the distance, he could barely make out a large, gently sloping hill patched with grass. A copse of bushes lay near the peak. It wasn’t ideal, but it was adequate for their purposes. He wasn’t sure how Aurelia planned to take care of the python, but he figured they’d at least stay hidden until the targets appeared.

"You've already seen mine, so what's your talisman?"

“Bearded vulture,” he said, deciding it was too early for roadkill jokes. Besides, they probably wouldn’t be entirely appropriate to tell to a komodo dragon-shifter who’d had the corpses of two large cats, a bird, and a hyena for lunch not too long ago.

[DesperateDark]

When Aras reassured her that his arm was fine, she didn't know whether to believe him or not. It had been a while ago, but not that long, and he might have been hopped up on pain killers or something. A simple cut on the cheek healed faster then an arm that had nearly been torn off at the bone. Which, of course, reminded her talisman that he was the one who shot at her in the first place and nearly put that arrow through her eye, before falling out of a tree and getting mauled by a hyena, which she needed to save his ass from.

And then he thanked her for 'last time', and it took her a moment to figure out what he was really thanking her for. Oh yeah, the thing with the hyena ripping his arm to shreds. That clumsy idiot.[/b] Aurelia's talisman glowered, and she had to agree that, during the time she'd seen him, he was indeed ungainly and a bit of an idiot, but she was willing to put that aside while her talisman did not.

Following Aras' eye, pulling her jacket back around her after a particularly rigid gust of cold air, she spotted the sloped, grassy hill off in distance. It took a bit of squinting and concentration; her eyesight was pretty bad, and glasses never helped her any. So now she knew Aras planned to hide up in that hill, but she still didn't know where she was supposed to gain cover.

And there was the matter of what she was supposed to take down; a python. First off, pythons were basically huge ropes of muscle that could swallow her whole, right after crushing every bone in her body. Nasty stuff, nearly as nasty as a komodo dragon, or right up there next to a komodo. But Aurelia didn't feel like dying today, or at least not in front of Aras, and in one of the most gruesome ways possible to boot.

"Bearded vulture,"

Aurelia paused, stopped in her tracks and looked up at Aras for a moment. After his display earlier, she couldn't really think of him as stealthy or sly enough to be a spy, and a vulture didn't really suit him. It was also the fact that she had a bad childhood experience that involved a vulture and one of her favourite cats back in Vietnam. Bottom line: she watched as her favourite little kitty was eaten by a vulture, which is something a young child shouldn't see as a rule.

"Childhood memory involving a cat and a vulture ruined them for me," she said as she began walking again, catching up to Aras and his longer stride. She made sure to keep a good pace with him, even though it meant she had to walk a bit faster. "But you're adorable, so I'll make an exception." With that, Aurelia ruffled Aras' hair light-heartedly. He was lovable in a few ways, and her mommy instinct kicked in and was currently working on superseding the komodo's newly found 'I-hate-Aras' instinct. Bonus points for avoiding his name until she could get it figured out.

[Aras|Ofelia]

Her reaction to the revelation of his talisman was met with a wry smile. People tended not to receive this bit of information too favorably, though it often depended on where said people were from. In certain places, vultures were seen in a far more benevolent light. Aras sometimes wondered if there was any rhyme or reason when it came to pairing humans with their animal spirits; it often seemed as if talismans were assigned arbitrarily. There were too many views, too many interpretations. How was anyone to know which were the 'correct' ones? The spirits themselves didn't even know.

It was his turn to stop short when Aurelia reached up and ruffled his hair playfully. The gesture was unexpected in so many ways--which, of course, didn't stop the vulture from glaring daggers at the girl--but it made him chuckle, so he didn't really care. "For a giant carnivorous lizard, you aren't so bad yourself," he teased lightly.

His talisman told him to get a hold of himself and to stop grinning like an idiot. It also made a point to remind him that she'd pulled her machete on him two times already during their relatively brief acquaintance.

The sloping ground underneath their feet told them they had begun to ascend the hill, the bushes at the top a bristly silhouette barely visible against the deep blue-purple of the sky. Now that they were closer, Aras could see that they would serve as sufficient cover; the darkness would do the rest. As much as he hated it, they had to get back to business if they didn't want a repeat of the last mission. Hopefully, there weren't any gaps in their information this time around.

Their targets would arrive before dawn, probably thinking to minimize their chances of being seen. Aurelia would go after the python while he took care of the hawks--an odd mix, but it wasn't unusual for shifter groups to be mismatched like that. "Anything before we settle down to wait?"

[DesperateDark]

"For a giant carnivorous lizard, you aren't so bad yourself," His tone was just about as playful as hers, and though her talisman gave an offended hiss, she thought nothing much of it. When Aurelia took another look at him, he was smiling, probably at how unexpected and abrupt her gesture was. She was actually starting to feel good about today, minus the fact that they had some blood to shed.

The ground began to slope upwards gently, on a gradual incline that lead to some rough brush on the top of the small cliff. That was sufficient for Aras' cover, and from what she could tell, he was going to use that rifle hanging off his back to shoot down the birds. She had to kill the python before it killed her, and the situation was made all the more confusing when she had no idea which direction the snake was coming from.

Another pause as she looked out towards the water, and her komodo went into silent thought as well, ignoring Aras for the time being. She stared out into the horizon of the open water, the slim stripe of purple that lingered there signalling sunrise will come in a few hours. When the sun came up, people would begin to arrive to see the sunrise, and having a komodo wrestling a python while a man shot down some hawks was bound to attract negative attention.

"Anything before we settle down to wait?"

Aras' voice pierced her thoughts just as his arrow nearly took out her eye, but the komodo continued to think about what they could do to keep cover and not have the snake sneak up on them. Aurelia shook her head; there was not much more either of them could do as far as she was concerned. Aras might have to set up his rifle, and at that moment, there was a nearly audible click in her head as her talisman gazed down at the water. Komodos could swim.

"Good luck," She took his face in her hands, leaned up and planted a light peck on his forehead before letting go and turning towards the water. Her talisman, on the other hand, nearly had a fit over her simple gesture of wishing him luck. But the komodo was also intelligent, and remained quiet except for a warning hiss at Aras to not get any closer to her lest he risk being eaten.

Aurelia phased into her talisman form quickly, and slipped out of sight into the murky dawn waters. The hawks wouldn't be able to see her from above since her scales were dark and matched the water, while she also looked like a simple floating log from the beach. So she settled down, watching the beach intently as the water rocked her gingerly back and forth to the waves. It was a nice day.

[Aras|Ofelia]

In a move even more unexpected than the last, Aurelia brought his face close to hers and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. The vulture let loose an ungraceful, indignant squawk but otherwise seethed silently, opting to glower at Aurelia rather than rail at her. Aras barely had time to blurt a "Good luck" of his own before she turned around and began walking toward the water. He stared after the woman, bewildered.

She transformed while she walked. Moments later, a komodo dragon was crawling lazily into the waves, its thick tail disappearing into the black water. He hoped it was warmer than it looked. At least her opponent was also a reptile; the cold would make the python sluggish too.

There was nothing left to do but wait. He stood among the bushes at the top of the small bluff, looking down at the waves crashing foamy white on the beach. The vantage point was excellent. With a little more light, one could see for miles around. The darkness would work both to his advantage and his disadvantage; while he would have some trouble seeing the hawks, they would not be able to find him easily, either.

Sitting down, he laid the rifle across his lap and waited.

It didn't take long. In the distance, a cluster of tiny black specks approached. They came from the north, swooping low, catching the ocean winds beneath their wings. Every so often, a couple would ride the updrafts, soaring high above their fellows. And few minutes passed, and they were close enough to count. Six.

Then the flock no longer consisted of dark little dots; the outlines of their wings was sharp but still difficult to see against the pre-dawn sky. Kneeling on one leg, Aras took a few deep breaths to steady himself. No time to waste.

The crack of the first shot sliced through the silent air, sending the hawks scattering as they called to each other in harsh, panicked voices.

[DesperateDark]

Drifting gently among the ripples and waves of the water, the cold was finally beginning to sink in. She hoped it wouldn’t compromise the mission too much, but a reptile’s natural sluggishness in reaction to the cold was setting in. Aurelia yawned, relaxing a bit and watching the beach for any sign of movement. Pythons were big snakes, but as a komodo she was pretty big as well. She hoped that maybe the cold would make her opponent slothful as well, and it would be easier to make her moves first.

There was an ear splitting report of Aras rifle, and before the woman could understand what was going on, something fell square on her head. It dunked her head under water, and she came back up sputtering and cursing as she coughed. Realization dawned when she saw the dead hawk floating in the water next to her, bleeding from a shot wound in its chest.

“The hell!?” She turned in the water, glaring up at the cluster of bushes on the cliff. Her words came as a series of hisses, and she wasn’t expecting Aras to understand them, as long as he got the gist of what she was shrieking at him. “Duval, you idio--“

Aurelia was abruptly cut off when something smashed her in the side, dragging her under the salty waves. She immediately thought of the python, and cursed herself for taking her attention away for the single second it took for the snake to attack. She needed to get out of the water before she drowned, and her family, especially her two older brothers, would never forgive her if she died.

The giant lizard clawed her way above water, quickly getting to shore before anything more could go wrong. Aras would do his job of taking care of the hawks (hopefully) without mishap, and she would do hers. She turned as fast as she was able once she got to shore, bringing up her upper body with her front legs, rearing into an open-mouthed hiss. The bacteria infested saliva was already dripping from her open mouth when the python arrived. Its head was black; the rest of its body was brown.

Aurelia went for its throat, or just underneath the head, before the snake got out of the water. She had to be wary of her advances; a python’s constricting power could kill a komodo just as easily as a komodo could kill a python. So she continued to lunge back and forth, aiming for the underside of its neck but never really catching it there without risk of being caught.

[Aras|Ofelia]

The first hawk dropped like a stone, tumbling into the inky water below. The first had been the easiest; now that they were well-aware of the danger, the rest of the flock had begun spinning and wheeling, spreading themselves out. Their disorientation would not last long. He had little time before they restrained their animal instincts and formulated some plan of escape--or attack.

The second shot caught another hawk in the wing, sending it into an earthward spiral. The furious screech was cut violently short when it hit the waves. At the edge of his vision, Aras could see Aurelia engaged in battle with none other than the python, but he couldn't stop to observe. She could handle it, he assured himself even as his talisman reminded him to focus on the job at hand.

The third bird dived out of the way at the last moment, but the next bullet clipped the edge of its wing. In flight, even that small a wound spelled out a death sentence. Gravity would do the rest of the work.

A dreadful shriek came from above, and Aras could easily guess what it meant. His position had been discovered. The three remaining hawks were angling toward the cliff, each from a different direction. Either they wanted revenge or they had given themselves up for dead. Their motives were of no concern to him; what mattered was that they seemed determined to take him down.

He couldn't let them land, much less transform. It was easy to deal with shooting down hawk-shaped silhouettes--but if a person stood before him, he didn't know what he would do. Get killed, the vulture snapped bluntly, forcing his attention back to the present, more urgent matter. If he didn't deal with them now, this mission was going to get a great deal messier.

Clenching his jaw, he took careful aim and pulled the trigger.

[DesperateDark]

Charge, back up, repeat. She went like that back and forth, but it wasn't going to get her anywhere and she knew it. Somebody had to make the first move, and neither of them seemed to want to risk it. There was another deafening crack, and the sounds of the hawks dropping into the waves as Aras took them down one by one. The rifle was loud, and she only hoped it wouldn't attract attention, even on the secluded beach.

The python jumped at her first. Aurelia leapt back to avoid it's attack before lunging forward herself to get it's exposed neck. It ended up a double edged sword, and she caught it right under it's head like she intended. However, the python had struck back and coiled it's muscled rope of a body around her hips and chest.

The python put it's infamous constricting power to work, and Aurelia clamped down on it's neck, tearing at the reptile with her front claws the best she could. This was probably going to end up with her cracking a rib or two, but she was not going to die today. She did not want to die from asphyxiation and she did not want to die from cardiac arrest because of the pressure on her chest either.

At the moment, it felt as if all the blood in her body was being shoved into her head, and it was steadily getting harder to breath as the coils tightened. She felt her ribs bending, and knew that she better finish this little shit off quickly before it got worse. But how? If she transformed back into a human, her hands would be free, but her machete was tight against her leg. And she'd probably be crushed way easier when human. There was also no way she was going to call Aras for help; he was busy and, as her komodo put it, would end up blasting her face off with that rifle instead of shooting the python.

No struggling, it would only make matters worse. She clenched her jaws around the python's throat as tightly as she could, using her sharp claws to rip at the snake's flesh in an attempt to make things quicker. It was either the python gave out first, or she did.

Aurelia gave out first.

She actually found herself thinking along the lines of her second older brother, whom was a mongoose. A mongoose could kill a cobra and were often put into pit fights with snakes, and probably the only time she was in a life-or-death situation that Minh could actually assist her in, he wasn't there. Which was right now. Aurelia was morbidly amazed by the fact that it was possible for one's eyes to feel as if it were about to pop out of one's head.

Her limbs, with the exception of her head, went slack first. She no longer clawed at the longer reptile, but it was already bleeding a hefty amount from the tear wounds she had given it. She continued her fastened hold on it's throat, but the edges of her vision was beginning to turn black and blurry and goddammit, it looked as if she was going to die today. New plan: if Aurelia was going to breathe her last today, this python was going down with her.

With a new, much needed shot of adrenaline, she twisted her head so that the snake's head was bent chin-up before pulling backwards. Of course, the snake tried to resist, but it's own oxygen-deprivation and blood loss made it weaker. The way a snake's body is designed and built, it's spine was easily vulnerable. Breaking the spine was what she was going for. She continued to pull and twist until, with an audible crackling noise that could've been her own ribs, could've been the python's spine, the snake went limp.

The giant lizard dropped the lifeless snake, it's head hitting the sand with a quiet plopping sound. Her own head hit the sand a moment after, the python still coiled around her, now no longer squeezing the air out of her lungs. Aurelia, quite frankly, felt like shit. She was lightheaded, her vision was black around the edges and every sound was muffled. Christ, no wonder she hated snakes.

[Aras|Ofelia]

Another hawk dropped out of the sky, leaving a shallow crater where it landed in the sand below. Another earsplitting crack, and the fifth followed its flock-mate earthward.

With a wrathful scream, the final hawk abandoned all logical thought and dove recklessly at him. Aras didn't even blink, calmly leveling the rifle at the bird. The blast caught it full in the chest; it landed with a pathetic whump a mere two meters from his feet.

Lowering the gun, he looked away from the sight, turning his gaze back to the dimly-lit shoreline. One of the birds on the sand was still struggling feebly, its lament as frail as its movements. Aras shut his eyes and took a few deep breaths. It was easier to not think, and just to act. Hesitation and indecision did no-one any good. Detachment was the key.

His hands were steady as he delivered the coup de grâce.

The beach was again as tranquil as a remote beach ought to be in the early morning. The only sounds were the rolling and crashing of the waves--and the drumming of his heart in his ears. Composing himself once more, he quickly scanned the beach for any sign of Aurelia. As he caught sight of her, he broke into a run. A dark, vaguely lizard-shaped lump lay near the water, waves lapping gently against its tail. What looked like a thick brown rope was wrapped around the komodo. Neither was moving, and both were unnaturally limp.

His shoes sent up a spray of sand as he skidded to a halt. The python, head twisted at a grotesque angle, was obviously dead. For a terrifying moment, Aras was afraid that Aurelia was in the same state--and then the lizard's sides fluttered, and it became evident that she was still breathing.

"Aurelia, hold on." Tossing the rifle aside, he knelt and began to work at freeing her from the dead constrictor's tangles.

[DesperateDark]

Aurelia found herself very sleepy from the cold and the exertion of being strangled and bringing down a python. She was quite tempted to fall asleep right on the spot. The beach was a pleasant place to take a nap, and the python, being newly killed, was warm. It felt oddly like a hug. Yes, she had been told that she was morbid. However, she didn't want to be receiving or even thinking about hugs for a long while yet.

A movement somewhere in the corner of her eye; could've been the waves, could've been something those stupid informants missed again. Aurelia was too exhausted to react, and she figured she might as well be dead too if there was anything else heading her way. She didn't know about Aras, the sounds of his rifle had ceased a while ago, or at least she ceased to notice them.

There was a murmur of sound, a faint bump to her right, just out of her line of vision. Her own mind was working in slow motion, it seemed. The whole world went still for a minute, then something touched her back. The komodo flipped out and immediately took over. Aurelia was too out of breath to attempt taking over control at once, and her talisman moved the body on his own accord.

The now-truly giant lizard lunged at whoever was kneeling over them, snapping at the person's wrist first and, upon missing the target, went for the ankles. The python acted like an anchor on a boat and stopped the komodo just short of reaching the person's ankles, so the lizard raised his body on his front legs and emitted an open-mouthed hiss, threatening and forewarning.

Only after the initial jolt subside and her vision cleared did Aurelia realize whom her talisman was actually attacking. She swore and with a decent amount of energy, reigned her talisman's mentality back in and took control over the body once again. The komodo actually put up some resistance; he already hated Aras as it was and he was fully intent on going through with the attack anyways. That wasn't happening on Aurelia's watch, so she told her talisman to stuff it.

She wasn't transforming back until she was free, but she needed help with that. Aurelia placed her head on the sand once more, telling herself and her talisman to just relax.