[color=D6CC88][u][b]Riverside[/b][/u]

Amuné cringed as the stranger lifted his hand again, preparing to leap out of the way.  Why did he want to kill Ethan?  He was a Magi like they were!  He shouldn't be one of the bad guys.  It didn't make any sense.  But Ethan came at the man from behind, and the water ended up directed at him instead of the child.  He was hit, and then he was being drowned, but Wyth, obeying the command of his girl, leapt at the stranger, trying to sink his teeth into the man's back.  The man dodged, but Wyth circled, looking for an opening.  The cat was focused on the person threatening his assigned charge, and when attacked, dodged neatly aside, avoiding the water without difficulty.  Still, he wasn't able to get close, because the man's defense was too good.  Still, Ethan was able to tackle the Magi from behind and knock him over.  Wyth saw the water coming yet again, and both he and Ethan moved away, the moorcat snarling.

Amuné watched the fight.  She was terrified, but she wasn't going to leave without Ethan.  But this Magi -- he didn't seem tired at all, even though he'd done so much magic.  Too powerful, she thought.  He's just too powerful.  We need to get away -- all of us.  "I'm not leaving without you Ethan!" she called, her voice unsteady.  But how could they escape?  Her mind presented the image of last time, when they'd ran from the town after Ethan flung the men into the wall.  "Cecil!  Can you get Ethan?" she asked, hoping this would work.  "Wyth!  Come!"  The moorcat's ears swivelled towards his girl, and he came, landing at her side.  His fur was damp and he had the distinct odor of wet animal, but Amuné didn't care.  She grabbed hold of the thick fur at the base of his neck and jumped up.  Knowing what this meant, Wyth lowered himself enough that she could swing herself on his back.  He wouldn't be able to do this much longer, as she would soon grow too big for him to carry, but for now it still could be done.  "Take Ethan and run, Cecil!  We'll go ahead."  And with  a whispered word in his ear, the moorcat started forward, heading straight for the attacking Magi, his girl crouched low on his back as she might ride a pony.  She was reaching deep within herself, trying to tease her magic loose to where she could grasp it.  The man sent a waterspout at them, followed by frozen shards.  Wyth dodged the waterspout, but when the projectiles shattered against the stone of the bridge, some of the pieces hit the pair.  Wyth's thick fur absorbed most of the damage, but blood welled up on Amuné's shoulder where one of the shards sliced her.  They reached the man, but instead of attacking, Wyth planted his paws and leaped, passing right over him, and continuing on across the bridge.[/color]