The Veela flapped her wings erratically, but she was flying with deceptive speed, and her jerkiness made for an unpredictable flightpath. Jezebel Bain, an agent of SWORD (where she was amusingly known as The Amazon) was in hot pursuit, flattened against her Nimbus as the wind tore at her clothes and hair. They were scything through the sky above the Strandja mountains in Bulgaria, and far below, Jez could see the silver snake that was the Veleka river. Two of her squad were somewhere down there, waiting to intercept the back-up that the Veela had sent for when she fled. Agents Quentin and Rose - their nom de guerres being Houdini and Scary Mary, respectively - were two of Jez's best, and she wasn't worried about them. Still, she didn't like being away from what promised to be the main fight; she had to shoot this bird down and rejoin them. Sadly, the bird, who was notorious for her history in the Oligarchy, very unreasonably objected to Jez's plan and was weaving all over the place. Unable to get a lock on her target, Jez put away her wand and, clinging tightly to the broomstick, drew the hunting knife from her belt. Clutching and steering with her right arm, she let the broom speed up, her leather jacket flapping wildly as the air snatched at it. She spun to adjust her trajectory, closing in like a dart, but she was going slightly too fast and the Veela was still jerking unpredictably, and instead of the impressive mid-air homicide Jez had been planning on, she and the creature collided - hard.
The Nimbus dropped first, leaving Jez in a freefall for a moment, but the Veela had been hit hard and was falling too, one of her wings twitching weakly. Jez's heart was in her mouth as she grabbed at the monster, desperately trying to get a grip on her while the Veela fought to regain altitude. They wrestled as they dropped; silent but for the roar of the wind, no breath as the air tore past, one flapping wing causing them to tumble end over end, plummeting towards the thick green forest, and Jez was god-fucking-damned if she was going to die because of a VEELA. So she grabbed the bird and held on like a vice while the Veela managed to get her injured wing working. It was just enough to slow their descent, and Jez was starting to drag herself up the creature's body when they were suddenly, intimately introduced to a tree. The crash threw them apart; Jez lost track of the bird as she slammed into - and then smashed through - branch after branch, flailing for purchase and unable to get any. The pain was explosive and she gasped for air, spinning uncontrollably until - SMACK! - the ground stopped her, almost terminally.
Jez lay on her back and concentrated on breathing, staring up at the shadowy canopy of the trees that were barely lit by the setting sun. Her ribs were on fire in their special, why-did-you-break-me way, and she had numerous deep gashes from the Veela's talons. Right, she thought. Let's take stock, shall we? Multiple injuries including fractured ribs, no knife, no broomstick, and... no wand. Wincing, she turned her head to the side, meaning to look for it and maybe even stand up - but this was rudely interrupted when the Veela threw itself on her, claws raking at her throat. Jez got an arm up just in time to cover her carotid, then gave a strangled yell as the creature gouged open her forearm. No longer thinking, she smacked it in the beak - sorely hurting her hand - and then pulled her legs to her chest and rolled, dumping the bird-faced bastard on the forest floor and careening past it, landing heavily on her side. Her hands scrabbled in the undergrowth as she scrambled to get up, and - finally, an ounce of good luck! - she could feel her wand lying in it. The Veela regained her feet at the same time as a triumphant Jez, her face glowing with victory as she raised her wand.
"AVADA KEDAV- oh." Jez blinked, nonplussed.
This is not my wand.
This is a stick.
Well... balls, then.
Seemingly undaunted by the dire threat of A Stick, the bird charged towards Jez, screaming something incomprehensible in Bulgarian. As it lunged, sharp beak opening to bite, Jez dropped to sweep her leg out, sending the Veela into the ground for the third time. This time, the bird stayed down, choosing to hurl a ball of fire at the witch, who leapt out of the way and finally remembered to drop the stick. Frustrated, now, Jez was forced to retreat as the creature continued to throw fire towards her, ducking and dodging reflexively. Her mind was on other matters. She was about to sidestep again when her heel struck something hard, something that she could use; she went down on one knee to avoid the fireball, and went she straightened up, she had a heavy, jagged rock held in both hands. The Veela must have thought her enemy was too far to harm her - injured, unarmed, outgunned. She was climbing slowly to her feet.
Time stretched like toffee. Jez's heart was pounding, her body shaking and sweating, and in this long, clear moment, she was alive, and primal, and the joy of survival blended seamlessly with the rapture of winning. She broke into a sprint, toes of her boots digging into the debris as she hurtled towards the creature before abruptly skidding to a halt and letting the velocity and momentum swing her arms to smash the rock into the bird's thick skull. The Veela went down, wings and arms both trying to cover her head, and Jez - panting, her eyes shining with exultation - swung again, using the rock like a hammer as she bashed over and over, blood splattering grotesquely as the skull cracked apart. She gave it a few more swings, just to be on the safe side, and then let the rock tumble from her grasp. Spots swam in her vision as pain and exhaustion began to take their toll.
Wiping her face on the hem of her tank top, she turned from the mess at her feet and checked the sky. The river was to the west, and the setting sun told her what direction that was; she'd get Houdini to summon her wand once she caught up with them. It'd only take a few hours of hiking downriver to get to the Veela's nest, where the partial remains of six children had been found. The guilt that Jez had first felt upon finding them rose up again... but now - now she could remember the bastard's head bursting like a ripe melon.
A much prettier picture.
The Nimbus dropped first, leaving Jez in a freefall for a moment, but the Veela had been hit hard and was falling too, one of her wings twitching weakly. Jez's heart was in her mouth as she grabbed at the monster, desperately trying to get a grip on her while the Veela fought to regain altitude. They wrestled as they dropped; silent but for the roar of the wind, no breath as the air tore past, one flapping wing causing them to tumble end over end, plummeting towards the thick green forest, and Jez was god-fucking-damned if she was going to die because of a VEELA. So she grabbed the bird and held on like a vice while the Veela managed to get her injured wing working. It was just enough to slow their descent, and Jez was starting to drag herself up the creature's body when they were suddenly, intimately introduced to a tree. The crash threw them apart; Jez lost track of the bird as she slammed into - and then smashed through - branch after branch, flailing for purchase and unable to get any. The pain was explosive and she gasped for air, spinning uncontrollably until - SMACK! - the ground stopped her, almost terminally.
Jez lay on her back and concentrated on breathing, staring up at the shadowy canopy of the trees that were barely lit by the setting sun. Her ribs were on fire in their special, why-did-you-break-me way, and she had numerous deep gashes from the Veela's talons. Right, she thought. Let's take stock, shall we? Multiple injuries including fractured ribs, no knife, no broomstick, and... no wand. Wincing, she turned her head to the side, meaning to look for it and maybe even stand up - but this was rudely interrupted when the Veela threw itself on her, claws raking at her throat. Jez got an arm up just in time to cover her carotid, then gave a strangled yell as the creature gouged open her forearm. No longer thinking, she smacked it in the beak - sorely hurting her hand - and then pulled her legs to her chest and rolled, dumping the bird-faced bastard on the forest floor and careening past it, landing heavily on her side. Her hands scrabbled in the undergrowth as she scrambled to get up, and - finally, an ounce of good luck! - she could feel her wand lying in it. The Veela regained her feet at the same time as a triumphant Jez, her face glowing with victory as she raised her wand.
"AVADA KEDAV- oh." Jez blinked, nonplussed.
This is not my wand.
This is a stick.
Well... balls, then.
Seemingly undaunted by the dire threat of A Stick, the bird charged towards Jez, screaming something incomprehensible in Bulgarian. As it lunged, sharp beak opening to bite, Jez dropped to sweep her leg out, sending the Veela into the ground for the third time. This time, the bird stayed down, choosing to hurl a ball of fire at the witch, who leapt out of the way and finally remembered to drop the stick. Frustrated, now, Jez was forced to retreat as the creature continued to throw fire towards her, ducking and dodging reflexively. Her mind was on other matters. She was about to sidestep again when her heel struck something hard, something that she could use; she went down on one knee to avoid the fireball, and went she straightened up, she had a heavy, jagged rock held in both hands. The Veela must have thought her enemy was too far to harm her - injured, unarmed, outgunned. She was climbing slowly to her feet.
Time stretched like toffee. Jez's heart was pounding, her body shaking and sweating, and in this long, clear moment, she was alive, and primal, and the joy of survival blended seamlessly with the rapture of winning. She broke into a sprint, toes of her boots digging into the debris as she hurtled towards the creature before abruptly skidding to a halt and letting the velocity and momentum swing her arms to smash the rock into the bird's thick skull. The Veela went down, wings and arms both trying to cover her head, and Jez - panting, her eyes shining with exultation - swung again, using the rock like a hammer as she bashed over and over, blood splattering grotesquely as the skull cracked apart. She gave it a few more swings, just to be on the safe side, and then let the rock tumble from her grasp. Spots swam in her vision as pain and exhaustion began to take their toll.
Wiping her face on the hem of her tank top, she turned from the mess at her feet and checked the sky. The river was to the west, and the setting sun told her what direction that was; she'd get Houdini to summon her wand once she caught up with them. It'd only take a few hours of hiking downriver to get to the Veela's nest, where the partial remains of six children had been found. The guilt that Jez had first felt upon finding them rose up again... but now - now she could remember the bastard's head bursting like a ripe melon.
A much prettier picture.
