[hider=Status]
Location: With the party.
Health: Lost limb, busted face, missing eye, and fatigued.
Inventory: XXX
Actions: Be the shield, collapse under his fatigue.[/hider]

With the scaled one relatively safe behind him after his little fight with the guards, 9 continued his vigil of the rear. However the suicidal beef man was doing a good job of being a distraction and 9 wasn't about to stop him from meeting its creator. There didn't seem to be any more guards coming through the hole and for that 9 was grateful, while the bad men fed him relatively well as to keep their prize healthy for potential buyers 9 had lost too much blood and spent too much energy on an ability he shouldn't even have yet. What that meant to 9 he did not know, he would have to bring it up to the Queen when... if he made it back. 9 wasn't sure if he even wanted to go back now, he failed at his soul purpose. The only thing he was born for was to protect his siblings and his Queen, he failed the first part and that brought him here.

The whole thing made 9 sad, his feet dragged as he faltered in his determined advance towards his new found allies until he stopped completely. Looking back at the battle that raged behind him, 9 supposed he could go return to it and fight until his eventual death as the onslaught of guardsmen eventually took him down with their seemingly infinite numbers. However his grief thoughts were burned out of his crown as light exploded into the dark tunnel through the opening behind him. Turning towards the light, 9 was momentarily blinded but recovered quickly with several blinks. When his vision returned he saw death rain from the sky towards his allies.

At the sight of his new allies potential deaths, 9's protector spirit awoken once again with a vengeance. Giving a fierce snarl, 9 moved with a speed he didn't know he could posses in his current state and ran ahead of his allies. Being as careful as he could, as to not step or shove them out of the way, 9 stepped out into the open and turned his back to the hail of death that came from the sky. [b]While some had defended themselves from the hail, most had not and that was reason enough for 9 to become the shield he was born to be.[/b] Normally arrows wouldn't be able to pierce his hide but the extra momentum given to them by falling was enough to give them the extra push they needed to push through his chitinous back. They didn't get very far however, just the heads really but it was enough to sap 9 of his strength. 

Thankfully for 9 the arrows died out as yelp of pain filled the air as many men on horses let loose their own brand of death from their bows. Giving thanks to the Queens, 9 began to falter in his stance as his strength finally left him. 9 half hoped that his allies would leave him, it didn't look like the new horsemen had brought a wagon and there was no way that he would fit on a one of those running beasts. Besides, 9 was really tired and from the looks of it his allies were safe. [b]Before unconsciousness took him, 9 took solace in the fact that he was able to fill the role of protector one last time.[/b]