Dueling Knights 2

Wisteria took the vines she had acquired and quickly ran around the Euoplos. Doing what Cassidy wanted, to help tie them up.

It took but a few moments for Wis to use the vines. Being small was a huge perk in order to be swift. Moving her small body across the Euoplos with the vines, in a criss-cross way, nearly making a figure eight between the two of them. The vines collected were much longer than she anticipated.

Moving away from the tied up Euoplos, she looked over towards the others as the adrenaline and iron scent of the blood continued to fuel a part of her she had no idea existed.

Without any words, Wis swiftly gave a nod of acknowledgement. Her body tense but ready to fight more if she needed to help them more. A soft smirk tugged at the edge of her beak.

The Euoplos struggled even more than before; being on their backs was hard enough for them but to be tied up like a roast hanging above a fire, was even more difficult.

“...”

With the Euoplos hobbled and forced to move together, it reduced their target down to one. One with two clubs, but it was a single monolith nonetheless and Cassidy felt a spike of adrenaline surge through her body. She felt like she was about to drool with the excitement of having the upper hand again and flashed her teeth at the panicking knights. She ducked to the left, rushing under the sandy Euoplo’s belly and striking out with her forelimbs before darting back out again. She could only deliver glancing blows, the real crushing damage would come from Hazard but the phrase ‘death by a thousand cuts’ existed for a reason. Her eyes skipped over the plates and armour, looking for more soft flesh to strike at. The more she attacked the less attention they paid to Hazard, who was still kicking out on her back to avoid the green Euoplo from causing serious damage.

That was her first goal, to give Hazard space to get back on her feet and keep that club away from her. Like last time she grabbed the tail with reckless abandon, feeling the shudder through her jaw as her teeth hit the plates. She dug her claws into the dirt and pulled back, the hard surface scraping against the serrated edges of her teeth and making her wince. She huffed through her nostrils and managed to pry her eyes open, locking gazes with Hazard. The Cryo seemed mildly stunned but got the picture quickly, getting to her feet and shaking herself. She was ready to be back in the fight and Cassidy let the tail go, seeing another tooth go with it.

“...”

“Thanks boss!” Hazard called out over the ruckus as she too watched a tooth dislodge from Cassidy’s jaw. The sight of this made a strange anger boil within her chest. She was usually so calm, unhinged and erratic maybe but calm in her insanity. This was a feeling she knew only from facing down her father in heated arguments about the Atlanteans. Harnessing her emotions she charged forward, what little caution she usually used was gone to the wind. 

Clamping her jaw over the Euoplos face she crushed the cow skull it wore on its head. Bits of bone splintered upward and into the roof of her mouth causing her to release, she shook her head to shake off the pain, bloody saliva flicking across the grass below her. She could feel some bone still stuck in her but it would have to wait, so she brought her head down for another bite, grabbing now onto the stout creature's neck. The sandy Euoplo let out a cry of shock and pain flicking its club around frantically trying to land a hit on the dark Cryo. Cassidy was agile enough to duck out of the way but Hazard took a hit to her side. Thanks to the angle it wasn’t bone crushing but it would be a bruise for sure. 

Her pain fuelled the rage inside her and she began to fight harder, she remembered the green euoplo on its back and knew she had to flip this one too. She pulled back and then slammed her side up against the euoplo, the angle not quite right and  she felt the spikes on the side of her target dig in painfully. “Argh!” She growled, not giving up her progress as the heavy creature began to tip. “A little help.” Hazard growled through gritted teeth.

“...”

Wisteria’s purple eyes were wide in amazement, watching the others fight the Euoplos. Scanning the area with just her eyes, she was trying to figure out the best way to stop those clubs from moving and hitting one of them!

Within seconds, she noticed part of the vine between the two of them had sloughed off some. Wisteria picked up her pace and bobbled her way to grab it with her beak. She maneuvered swiftly, while the others were fighting them. Her body tense but able to be quick.

The vine wrapped around one club, Wis lept to the other Euoplo’s tail as she allowed the vine to drop, and climb down then up it again. She repeated the motion twice. Any more than that would be risking the vine from becoming loose again.

Their tails now closer together, the clubs nearly rubbing together; the top of one club was pushing hard onto the bottom of the other.

Wisteria stepped back, but was ready to step in again if she needed to. Waiting and watching for cues from Cassidy or Hazard. She hoped that tying up their club end of the tails would assist in the fight! Even if she was not physically fighting herself, yet.

“...”

Wisteria’s quick thinking had completely hobbled the Euoplos, leaving them completely open. Cassidy hurried to the sandy Euoplo that Hazard was pushing and delivered a swift kick to its chest. That seemed to be enough to swing the motion in Hazard’s favour as the gritty Cryo pushed through the pain and flipped the battered Euoplo onto its back. Grabbing the rest of the vines from Wisteria, Cassidy hurried to tie the front and back legs together on each of the stone knights. She let out a loud sigh when she was finished, having finally incapacitated them fully. She was about to roll them onto their fronts like she had with the others but something stopped her. She felt the ache in her jaw, felt the blood trickling down and the gaps where the teeth had sat. She turned slightly and saw Hazard, breathing heavily and bleeding even heavier, bone from the sandy Euoplo’s helmet still lodged in her mouth. A flare of anger burst through Cassidy, making her hiss in rage and startling the Cryo.

“What’s wrong, boss? Something coming?” Hazard asked in concern, not paying any heed to her injuries as she looked around.

“Nothing, just a little sore, that’s all,” Cassidy hurried to calm her. She looked once more to the stranded Euoplos before she tied their beaks shut. “Let’s go, the prison is completely clear now.”

“You’re not gonna flip them like the others?” Hazard asked.

“I’m not,” Cassidy confirmed coldly, “We have work to do, and we need to get your mouth looked at before it gets any worse.” Not waiting for the others to follow, Cassidy returned to the main entrance of the prison and kicked the door until the latch blocking it splintered and broke. They were in.