FSE

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formerly SoFurry search engine

I heard it before I saw it. A twig snapped as we walked down the deserted stretch of trail, and an arrow flew past me. It ricocheted off of Kharjo's armor and continued into the forest. A chorus of yells echoed from the forest around us. About a dozen men walked out of the forest, creating a loose circle around us like vultures around a corpse. Most were wearing no armor, though two stood out in steel.

" You're one lucky cat, but that ends here" one of the steel clad men said. " There is a rather large sum of gold on your heads. I'm not sure what my employers want with two Khajiit, but I'm paid to kill, not to ask questions."

With that he stepped back and said in a commanding voice and a wave of his hand "Alright, new guys, you're up. Go get em." Four Nords stepped forward. Kharjo and I stood back to back, shields raised and swords at the ready. Our opponents looked pitiful. No armor, iron axes, and slightly skinny. They split into two groups, two attackers for each of us. I kept my attention on the two attackers facing off with me, knowing that Kharjo was more than a match for his two.

They shuffled forward, seemingly unsure of what to do. I jumped forward so Kharjo would have room to fight and to see them scurry back a few steps. After a few seconds of regaining their confidence they nodded at each other and attacked. Both struck at the same time with their axes raised. I raised my shield to block the attacker on my left and parried the axeman on my right. Before they could recover, I pushed forward with both arms. My sword sunk into his chest, while i pushed the second away with my shield.

I unsheathed my sword from the mans chest, and watch him stagger and fall backwards. His comrade let out a yell at his friends demise and charged at me again. Just as he started to bring his axe down, I crouched behind my shield and stepped forward. He collided with it, and using his momentum, I flung him over myself. He landed face first on the ground in a heap. I stood over him as he struggled to get up and thrust my sword into his neck. His body went limp.

I looked towards Kharjo and saw his two opponents lying on the ground. I nodded at him and we both returned to our back to back stance. One of the steel clad men spoke up again, nearly yelling

" Are you KIDDING ME? You guys couldn't kill these two cat's? You deserved to die. Come on, lets get this over with." With that he and the other armored man drew their weapons and advanced towards us. They were much better armed than the previous men. Steel swords and shields for both of them, in addition to actual armor. As they neared us, they lowered their stances and split up to surround us. I took a few steps forward as I did in the last fight. He stood there doing nothing. Looking over his stance, it seemed like they were also better trained than out previous opponents. He held his shield in front of him and stood slightly sideways so it would cover most of his torso. His sword poked over the shield towards me, almost like a spear.

Without warning he charged forward, and I counter charged. My body shook as our shields collided. I felt myself get pushed back a few inched by his bigger frame. He stopped pushing after a second and started swinging. I stayed on the defensive, blocking or parrying his attacks and trying not to run into Kharjo. On one attack I was able to smack his sword with my shield and strike at him. My sword met with the steel of his armor, and it stopped there. I pushed him but the sword couldn't get through the armor.

A fraction of a second later he recovered and swung his sword at mine. The blades collided and bit into each other. The handle was ripped out of my hand and flew a few feet behind him.

"Game over, cat." He grunted renewing his attack. He started using brute strength and began wailing on my shield. I tried to think of how to get my weapon back when an opportunity presented itself in front of me. I saw a gap in his armor where the thigh protector met the pelvis plate. My hand darted to my leg, unstrapped my dagger, and plunged it into the opening.

The resulting scream was music to my ears. He tried to step back, but nearly tripped. He gave me another opportunity which I cashed in on. His sword hand was above his head like he was going to swing at me, so I swung forward as hard as I could with my shield, connecting with his wrist. I heard a crack and renewed screams from my opponent as he dropped his sword with his now awkwardly bent hand. I swung once again with my shield and backhanded him. I used my last weapon to finish him off. My open hand reached for his throat like I was going to choke him. His eyes went wide as he realized what was happening.

I extended my claws which met with little resistance, and yanked them towards myself. Red rivers sprouted from his neck as he brought his own hands up to stop it. He fell to his knees and I stepped back. This fight was over, so I walked around him to recover my sword and assist Kharjo.

I picked up my sword and turned to a picture I will never be able to get out of my head. Kharjo was holding his stomach, which had a sword protruding out of it. He fell onto the ground as the other attacker withdrew it, staring right at me. My blood went cold at his laugh, then it boiled. I let out a roar as he started to walk towards me with a smile plastered on his face. His mouth opened and started to move, but I didn't hear any of it. I hurled my sword at him, which he sidestepped, but kept following with his eyes. I ripped the shield off of my arm and threw it too.

He looked back just in time to be hit between the eyes by it. His helmet flew off as he fell to the ground. Before he knew what was happened, I was on top of him. My knees pinned his arms down as I let out another roar. All I could see was red as he struggled under me. I extended my claws and sat there for a second to let it sink in for him. Then I attacked. My claws ripped into his face again and again.

"Don't you ever touch Kharjo ever again" came a yell from my muzzle_._ I only stopped when he stopped squirming, and by then he barely had a face left. I slowly stood up and surveyed the area around me. All of the remaining attackers were slowly backing up.

" Come on! Come on!" I yelled as I beckoned them with my bloody paws. " You! Come here!" I yelled at one of them as I started towards him. He immediately turned and ran. Everyone else soon followed suit and fled into the forest. I stood there for a moment, panting, before I ran to Kharjo's side.