Board Thread:Role Plays/@comment-24416658-20140401010735/@comment-24487330-20140710163738

The three students were doing some damage, and Tanner and Talen's combined efforts had successfully blinded the Nevermore, but the massive avian was still very much alive and kicking. It thrashed and clawed and swiped its wings at the comparatively-small students, trying to throw them off as they clambered around on its head. At some point, it reared back, screeching in frustration, and managed to buck them off.

Almost immediately, a glimmer of light shone from the shadows in the background, and a brilliant streak of metal rocketed forth from it like greased lightning. The missile struck the reeling Nevermore and burrowed dead-center in its exposed neck, revealing itself to be an arrow with one of Talen's knives lashed to its tip. Another followed shortly, striking less than four inches from the first one, and buried itself in the skin beneath its feathery mane. The electric charges stored in the knives surged through the creature's huge body, causing it to collapse on the ground and spasm uncontrollably. This would be the ideal moment for Tanner to finish it off with a well-placed cleave with his sword.

And once the dust settled, the rest of the team would be able to see Camo standing in a gap in the treeline, covered in bloody cuts and splinters and holding his bow outward, having scarcely moved since firing his improvised projectiles.

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(Several seconds earlier...)

Camo's eyesight afforded him a clear view of the raging battle, even from a distance, and he could see that their progress was slow...too slow to be assured that they could survive it at that rate. He had to do something to even the odds, but what? Thinking back to their initiation, his arrows had not been able to cause much meaningful damage to the Nevermore they had slain, and this one was no less dangerous.

Then he thought of the knives Talen had given him, and a crazy idea struck him.

Acting quickly, he drew two of the three remaining arrows from his quiver and also retrieved a length of sturdy twine from one of his pockets. He tied the handle of one knife to the tips of each of the arrows, creating two much heavier and more powerful payloads. That was the easy part.

The hard part was gathering enough strength to nock these heavy arrows back in his bowstring, weakened as he was. He tried once, twice, thrice, all to little avail; his body was still recovering from being poisoned, and the tiny rips and other assorted wounds he'd sustained were really starting to ache as well. For a moment, he thought of relenting and leaving the fight to his more able comrades; even if they weren't doing tons of damage, they were keeping themselves alive. Thinking back to recent events again, though, made him reconsider. Didn't he owe it to them to put in more effort than this?

Hadn't Talen saved his sorry butt more than once during initiation?

Hadn't Al shown compassion for his situation and even expressed some empathy?

And just now, hadn't Tanner promised to make the same effort to keep him alive?

The answer: all of the above.

Gathering all the strength and courage he could muster, the archer put one of the improvised arrows to his bowstring again and pulled as hard as his arms would allow. After a few seconds, he finally managed to draw it all the way back, and the cam system relieved some of the pressure, allowing him to hold it there with minimal effort as he lined up a shot. His grip was shaky and his hands were bruised and cut up, but he tightened them around the bow and arrow and took aim, waiting until the Nevermore showed signs of weakness before firing the arrows off in quick succession...

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...Once he was sure that the creature of Grimm was slain, Camo's legs would buckle and he'd drop to one knee, barely supporting himself with a firm hand on his bowstaff as he fought for breath. He wouldn't dare look to his allies, not even for a glance to confirm their survival and safety; he didn't know how they'd react to his actions, but his heart and mind were in such chaos that he wouldn't really want to find out just yet...