The passing of the chimera was to the sound of the huge bear, harsh breaths hot out of the sides of her muzzle as she savaged the snapped neck back and forth, worrying it with a gruesome wet snarl like an immense hound with a bone. But as soon as the plated body slumped, dangling lifeless and sagging from her jaws, the bear's fury began to bleed away like a mist scattered by a stiff, clear wind. The foul taste of the blood in her mouth was bitter and she was eager to be free of it, letting the gory slime drip from her wicked incisors as she backed up a step to sniff at the thing. It was true what they said about bears. The dead thing added no fuel to her ferocity and part of her quickly lost interest.

Clarity of mind was accompanied by a flood of doubt and confusion. In moments like these it was easy to understand why some moon fey assumed the shapes of animals more and more as they aged, finding solace in the simple lives of beasts as they forgot more and more of themselves. Rilana did not know what this thing was, but she was curious. Not just about why the frothy drool from each head seemed to smell different, nor even why snapping the spine leading to one head seemed to kill both instantly, but why the creature had been so vicious in the first place. Was it truly some fell monster summoned by the shrieking man solely to bring chaos and death and terror as it seemed? It would have been a comforting explanation. Comforting because it was so simple. But as the huge bear sniffed over the oozing remains, she wasn't so sure.

Movement at the periphery of her vision caught her attention. How easily she had forgotten the score or more of men! Turning, stepping on and over the beast as she turned to face this new enemy, she let out a suspicious roar-huff and stood up on her hind legs, towering over them. Her bulky forearms hung loose down her front, the blood-soaked ravaged one a bit limper than the other. Her snout turned with her focus as she eyed the men with a stern black gaze.

Rilana had no love of black-armoured knights. She'd been a [i]fool![/i] They were all staring at her now, weapons drawn. They would kill her, even if she changed back! Or maybe [i]especially[/i] if she resumed her natural form. They would burn her at the stake. Or [i]worse[/i]. She looked past them, turning back and forth, limping on the charred leg, no different from any other scared, cornered animal. Did they know what she really was? There was no way for her to be sure.

Would she have to fight her way through? If so, she'd better start now. The longer she waited the more men would arrive.

It took a moment to realize that the biggest man...no, he was an orc, was talking to her rather than issuing orders to his fellow fighters. Rilana paused, sagging forward to rest on three legs and perhaps hear him better. His hands were outspread and she recognized the universal gesture. His eyes were boring into hers and she realized that he[i] knew.[/i]

[color=00aeef][i]Khona, what do I do?![/i][/color] she thought, not knowing if she should flee or fight.

[i][color=fff200]Do neither[/color][/i], he replied, and with his smug tone she could imagine him preening his feathers and looking down his beak at her, his ear-tufts set at a haughty angle. [i][color=fff200]You slayed the beast. Take pride in your kill. Secrecy is lost. If you run they will simply follow to make sure the snow-bear causes no trouble.[/color][/i]

[i][color=00aeef]What if they kill me anyways?[/color][/i] she fretted. Her fear on this matter went deeper than even she knew. In her mind she heard the rustle of feathers in reply. [i][color=fff200]They will have to capture you first, but we can just fly away.[/color][/i]

The moon fey was terrified, but Khona's snobbish flippancy came with a logic she couldn't deny, even if she didn't like it. She was weary, mind and body anguished and in agony. A few shuffling steps away from the gore on the field and she took a deep breath, concentrating hard to summon the energy from within, the concentration to return to her true form. It was similar to the drain she felt when working with her Familiars.

The bear blurred like a chalk drawing in the rain, shrank in on itself, and within a heartbeat or two resolved into the svelte, shapely figure of the moon elf in all her pale beauty. She was tall for a woman but still looked up at the fighters in the ring, her sapphire eyes sharp with both fear and pain in her arm. Changing shape didn't free her from the damage of the chimera's bite, and though her clothes were intact, her porcelain skin was an angry black and red mess under the hem of her reindeer-skin vest.

She swallowed thickly. Most of the weapons clutched in white-knuckled fists were wooden, but it hardly mattered. Letting out the breath she had taken before returning to herself, [color=00aeef]"My name is Rilana Aurorime',"[/color] she announced in a clear but tremulous voice as she waited tensely for whatever might happen next.