Candidates Stand Together (Attack Thread)

[HG]

(Tags: Atlys, Laure, Lyndel, Nayza, Realan, Therion,Trelia)

Posting order: Will be established as you post your first posts. The order will then be found here.
1. HG
2. NPC Holdless
3. Rizu
4. Wolf
5. Ise
6. firebreath
7.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The sounds of the Holdless pouring into the Bowl fighting whoever was out there made her insides quiver. She sat on her bunk in the Candidate Barracks. Courage, Laure. Courage. She thought to herself. Standing with her injuries mostly healed she was still one of the smallest women at the Weyr. Thin and frail to look at she was certain they would have no trouble overpowering her. Despite this, she knew it was against her own self values to do anything less than meet the intruders head on. Looking about the Barracks she saw several of the other Candidates lingering about.

“Hey guys! We need to figure something out.” They had no weapons. They had no escape route. There was nothing to do but think about how to stay alive. “Our best chance is to stay together for now. When one of you sees a chance to sneak away and find some help do so. We’re easy targets sitting here in the Barracks but out in the open we stand about as much chance surviving as here.” She sighed.

“There will be no pity. There will be no mercy. If we are found in here, the Holdless will do everything they can to kill us. This is what they dream of. This is what they train to do.” Laure remembered as goosebumps raised on her arms. There were people outside. She knew there were. She could hear the heavy breathing of big men with weapons.

Women were generally quieter but that was mostly due to size. “Since we have no weapons, we need to be quick on our feet. Dodge as best as you can, keep moving and if they throw a weapon at you and miss it’s the perfect opportunity to arm yourself.” Laure was sure they understood but had no time for any other encouragement.

The crashing of the door happened so quickly that Laure was as unprepared as the rest of them. A large dark man came through the door and was eyeing the girls up and down, like they were bubbly pies. She hated men like that. Her eyes darkened at his glance. They would advance towards the Candidates now. She hoped the others were light on their feet.

[NPC Holdless]

The Candidate Barracks was not a number one priority to the Holdless, however Riverton wanted them to destroy the young ones too. They wanted to become abominations. The leader had mentioned on more than one occasion that dragons will die if the one they are supposed to impress is not on the Sands. Although he was pretty sure that was a lie. Dragons always seemed to find someone. Still his mission was simple. Kill the Candidates. Last night he had plotted the route he would take. The Candidates were not hard to find. They were situated so nicely in the Bowl.

Shifting his sword from one hand to the other, he warmed up his arms. The others with him seemed raring to go as well. There was plenty of time to kill the young ones. They had no one to run to for help. They were not trained like the Shield or the Dragonriders. Not yet anyhow. This would be as easy as his mother.

Laughter, a strange noise amid the clashing weapons and shields, escaped his strong mouth line. Let the fun begin. With three strokes of his blade the door into the Candidate Barracks fell into a heap of wood. The tall, dark man was ready, ready to deal death to those who opposed him. Perhaps if one or two of the pretty ones came quietly, Riverton would allow them to live. After all, he deserved a reward for killing the others.

[♥Rizu-Chan♥]

This was a nightmare, a horrible nightmare. And yet as the candidate pinched herself in a very weyrbrat childish manner, before wincing, Nayza's insides churned with mixed feelings and emotions at the whole thing.

First in Haven, and now here in Refuge. Holdless.

While Laure had seemed to take the lead in giving orders Nayza had been a bit busier dressing herself in something fitting -- throusers and a simple shirt with wherhide boots -- before strapping the wherhide waist pouch on -- the last memory of her father, along with the golden cuffs inside from her long deceased mother. There was no way in Rukbath they were getting their filthy and wretched hands on these things. Looking around the shared baracks it was obvious there really were no weapons around. Grabin one of the pillows she disposed of it, remaining with only it's cover before looking at the others.

"Going at them bare handed is suicide, however with these we could try and wrestle their weapons away. Provided the fabric doesn't tear too easily."

It wasn't much of a weapon, but it was something. Nayza had never been one to love violence, but this... It wasn't a matter of if they wanted to or not. Thefirst chance they got at getting a weapon they had to take it, and if they had to draw blood they had better do it. This wasn't just them in danger, this was the whole Weyr. The dragons, the hatchlings, the children. The whole family was in peril, they couldn't afford to hesitate simply because they abhored violence.

The sudden crash of their wooden door alerted the brunette, managing to coach a surprised gasp out of her lips before her eyes narrowed at the brute before them. His lecheroud eyes, just going over all the females in the room like they were some sort of festival morsel... It sickened her, these men were the worst of the worst. Swords were already drawn, and she could hear many more behind the big bulk of a monster standing in their doorway -- blocking the usual exit.

And this was a new place for her, she had no idea if any sort of passages existed here. Haven had harbored some in their Candidate barracks -- which had proved useful when the Holdless had swamped the place -- but, most unfortunate, the past sevendays Nayza hadn't been doing much exploring or researching of her new home. She strongly regretted it at this moment. They would have to think up a way fast to save their hides, or pray to Faranth some back-up arrived soon. That, however, seemed unlikely -- if these men were here they had probably already infiltrated the rest of the Weyr long before reaching the candidates.

They'd have to stand their ground and overcome this on their own... Just like when they confronted eggs in the Hatching Grounds again and again until they finally (hopefully) found their bonded. At least those are pleasant,even if you get mauled by one of the dragonets. she thought, smirking slightly at the irony of it all.

[wolflover1458]

This was definitely not the kind of thing Therion had signed up for when she came to the Weyr. Things were just going from bad to worse, weren't they? It could never go from great to greater, could it? Ridiculous. Well, they apparently no longer had a choice on what to do. Therion would have been happy to just have been able to get away from it, but she slapped herself out of that thinking at once. She was going to be a Weyrwoman someday, and no Weyrwoman would run off when trouble was brewing. She was going to have to stay here with the others. Hopefully they could defend themselves.

Laure seemed to be taking charge. Therion didn't care how much the girl knew about the Holdless and all. That didn't give her the supreme right to tell them all what to do. And Therion didn't need her telling them about how evil the Holdless were. She had figured that out for herself easily enough. Anyone knew that if someone threw a weapon at you you should turn it against them. And the fact they didn't have mercy was kind of obvious. Otherwise they wouldn't be such a problem, now would they? It wasn't really fair though, seeing as Therion wasn't even a dragonrider yet. Sure, she was going to be, but she wasn't yet. Shouldn't they all be trying to kill Elynth? Why did they have to mess with the Candidates at all. It seemed rather silly. Somehow she couldn't really imagine the Holdless as thinking far enough ahead as to actually remember that no Candidates would mean no new Weyrlings. The idea of them had never struck her as being that smart.

And for whatever reason, she didn't feel very scared. Some of the others seemed quite frightened, but Therion felt more annoyed than anything else. No matter what Laure said, and whatever she knew about the Holdless, it didn't really feel like they were actually going to end up hurt out of this. It would just be too unreal. Life wasn't supposed to happen like that. She wasn't going to die at the hands of some crazy Holdless. She just wasn't. They would all end up talking about this later, no doubt. It would definitely be an interesting story to tell.

One of the other girls (like Therion had time to learn her name) was suggesting they wrench the weapons out of the Holdless' grips. Like they knew how to use weapons. For defense, maybe a little, but she doubted any of the Candidates actually knew how to use a weapon. Besides, the girl had grabbed a pillow sheet. Therion hated pillows, and she didn't care what situation she was in. She was not using a pillow to defend herself, no matter what part of the pillow it might be. That was just not going to happen.

There were sounds coming from outside. Therion looked over at the place. At any moment, someone might come through. Somehow, it didn't seem quite real to her. Her head felt as though it were in clouds. This wasn't really happening. She was just imagining it; that was all.

Suddenly, a loud noise emanated, and Therion found herself seeing a very wild-looking man enter the room. Her head was still buzzing, but she had to pay attention. The look on his face was like Therion had never seen. Maybe she'd been wrong. Maybe they really were going to die.

No. She couldn't. She wouldn't. It wasn't going to end like that. It would all be fine when it ended. They were all going to be fine.

[Ise]

The Holdless had come and Refuge was being over run just like Haven had. No one would be coming to help them, they would be protecting the gold dragonet. Who cared if a handful of candidates died? There were always more. She glared at Laure, wanting to strangle the girl as she started to give orders. Dodge? That was her best advice?

Lyn pushed her frustration down though and tried to think of something a little smarter then just dodging. It was something of a relief when another girl from Haven came up with an idea. Trying to get weapons away from the Holdless with a pillowcase was equally as stupid as just trying to dodge them, but it gave Lyndel an idea. The girl ran to her bed and shook her pillow out of the case before going under her bed and grabbing at the boots and shoes she had under it. She started looking for other heavier items as well. Why couldn’t there be a few large rocks in the room? But she found a few other things to throw into the pillowcase before she tied off her small lump off objects and swung the pillowcase around a few times to test it out. Her makeshift weapon wasn’t much, it wasn’t going to kill any of the Holdless at least, but it might be enough to help them pull a weapon away from one of them.

She had finished her weapon just in time as the door burst open and a man came in, eyeing all of them up and down. A look of unveiled disgust crossed Lyn’s face. He had thought of trying to hit the Holdless in the head with her pillowcase but now decided that going for their groin would be a better bet. Of course trying to hit him anywhere was going to be hard when he had that sword. Some how they were going to have to find a way to work together if they were actually going to try and take on any of the Holdless.

[freya]

Trelia was hearing the noises and watched the others then said, "I'm not going down without a fight," as she went over to kick off a piece of wood that was inside of her trunk. She held the piece of wood ready to fight as she was dressed in a blue dress and ready to fight. The holdless would not get her without a fight and she stood with the others then said, "We do this to make sure that we're there for our future soulmates,". While she stood there one single thought got her angered that how dare they interupt her next chance to impress. Her chance at a dragon they would pay because she would not die on a holdless sword. They had been chosen for a reason and their strength of character would see them through all of this junk.

Raelan stood off to the side looking around for a weapon and couldn't believe that this was happening. He would not die today and prevent his chance at impressing a dragon. The man had went through three clutches and had failed miserably then looked around. When he went into their bathing area and found a broom. "Well this will do as well as anything," said Raelan as he went to infront of the girls and got ready to defend them. He wouldnot go down without a fight and waited for the attack. It was times like these that a dragon would come in very handy.

[HG]

This could not be happening. She wished she could think of a reason why it would be happening but the mindset of the other Holdless had always been beyond her. She was not insane or brainwashed enough to think like they did. The one in front was obviously thinking things she would rather never know about. Maybe he would keep them alive but he would keep them alive to one purpose and it was that purpose she thought was worse than death. She refused to be defiled.

Standing as tall as she could she waited to see whom the man approached first. He was not alone. There were others coming in the door behind him. She heard him whisper something to one of the other men but could not hear what passed between them. She took that moment to assess the others in the group. Raelan looked ready to fight the first man. It was up to the others to fight off the men coming in behind him. Everyone was going to have to give it their all.

Laure knew better than to think she was going to make it out of this alive. She would fight for her life and her right to be free of them. She would fight to the death rather than be tortured. With the lead Holdless distracted by Raelan she ran towards one of the other men, who seemed to be taken off guard by her assault. Not the most well thought out plan but it had worked. The man was surprised and she had gotten close enough that she could do some hand to hand combat skills she had learned. Laure had never been good with a weapon.

She took her knee and brought it up to the man’s sensitive area at which he winced in pain, dropping his weapon before realizing what that might mean. He grabbed her arm but she twisted it out of his control. Her other arm flew up towards his face, the heel of her hand crashing into his nose full force, rending him unconscious and possibly dead. The fight lasted seconds but already the other Holdless were realizing what had just happened. Picking up the weapon quickly she flung it back towards the other girls. Laure had never been good with weapons but a girl had to learn how to defend herself with her own body.

Although she had won that battle there were more men there and she no longer had the element of surprise on her side. Another of the larger men began to come towards her and she knew it was only a matter of time before she no longer had the strength to fight them.

[NPC Holdless]

The man in the lead was not amused by their little attempts at defiance Whispering to the man nearest he said, “Keep the women alive for a while if you can. Riverton might have use of them.” Course he could already think of quite a few things they’d be useful for. He would kill them or capture them and that was how things were going to go down. The smile on his face changed ever so slightly to one of determination as he saw the only man in the room come forward to fight him.

“Ready to die young one?” His voice was low and raspy with an edge. The large dark man came closer and closer to Raelan, his weapon held in his left hand. “Come boy. Show me what you’ve got?” He was teasing the younger man, trying to make him feel inconsequential. “Defending your ladies?” He asked with a loud guffaw. Before a sobering event caused his smile to fade, one of the little pretties ran past him.

What the Fall?! Must have a loose screw in that head of hers he thought while keeping his attention on where Raelan held his weapon. “Fight boy. Do it. Or the girls will have to fight me and you’ll be pathetic.” As he spoke a weapon was flung backwards towards the unarmed women. How? He wondered but refused to take his eyes off of the young man. In a fight it was better to see ones enemy at all times. The other men seemed to be filing in more so now that the one woman was fighting. The others would join in soon.

[♥Rizu-Chan♥]

(Short reply is short. XD)


Today Franth seemed to not be in their favor, as much as the brunette wished t believe they could come out of this alive. Still, it was clear the first man already had quite the... impure ideas of what to do with a room filled mostly of girl candidates. Honestly, death was sounding pretty good when compared to such a cruel an dark fate their animalistic minds were probably conjuring already.

Laure was the first to act, and taking the opportunity Nayza moved after her and to another of the men. She had never been much of a fighter, though her father had never neglected to teach her. Nayza just preffered peace over punches.

Twisting the pillow cover various times she grabbed one end firmly before flickering it in a whip like motion. The other end moved fast, catching the holdless off-guard as it smacked him in the face while he watched Laure kick the groin of his companion -- before receiving a hit to his tender parts himself, courtesy of Nayza's own knee. With a groan the man fell to the floor, cutching his loin with both hands. Club tumbling to the floor Nayza promptly grabbed it, with a swift motion smacking the man along his shoulders and knocking his lights out, before the weapon was tossed over in the direction of the sole male candidate.

"Catch!"

Really, bringing a broom to a knife fight wasn't the wisest idea. Nayza watched Laure toss the weapon of her own defeated holdless back as well to the other girls, the brunette sighing inwardly. Considering they were already further ahead they should have kept one for themselves at least now that she thought about it. Oh well... Taking a few steps she shortened he distance dividing her from the other girl candidate, deciding that if they both stuck together they might have a better chance than on their own.

[wolflover1458]

There were more Holdless than Therion had expected, and for a while she stood there, quite unable to think of anything to do. Laure and that other girl had both rushed forward though. Well, if they wanted to be complete idiots and try to get killed, that was their call. She just wanted to stay back here, where it was safer. If someone really could end up dead at the end of this mess (and she was still profusely hoping not) she didn't want it to be her. Neither of the girls ended up hurt, though. They'd both brought down one of the Holdless. And taken their weapons. Laure had picked one up and hurled it back behind her. Therion jumped as it flew back and clattered at the floor by her feet. Slowly, she picked it up and examined it. It was a sword. Therion couldn't really appreciate how it was rendered and how well it must have fit the man who had until recently been in possession of it. Looking down at it now though, she could appreciate that she had a weapon that could kill someone.

A very odd feeling flowed through her, as though, quite suddenly, the power in the air had been transferred to her. She had something to attack with. And there were people here to attack. Did she want to attack them? Laure said they certainly wanted to kill them.

And what was she doing back here anyways? She was going to be a Weyrwoman, shard it! And if she let someone else do all the fighting that wasn't exactly going to make her a glorious Weyrwoman. What if a Gold choose someone else over Therion because she hadn't been willing to lift a sword to help her comrades? No, that wasn't going to happen. She was going to help. No one was going to die. Except maybe some Holdless, and they had brought that on themselves.

With this reckless notion planted inside her, Therion steeled her courage and moved forward some. There were Holdless all over the place, and one had been steadily advancing on her. Feeling empowered now that she had something to defend herself with, Therion headed up to him quite fearlessly (she still hadn't brought herself to believe anyone could end up dead) and raised her sword to attack him.

She was quite surprised when he quite easily brought up his own to block her. Just the force of that one movement caused her to stagger backwards. Therion didn't have a clue how to use a sword, and she didn't stand a chance against someone that did know, even slightly. He came at her again, more forcefully, and, having suddenly found herself unbalanced, Therion fell to the floor. For a slight moment, she was at his feet, and Therion took the moment to swing the sword she was still holding at one of his feet. While he moved to avoid it, she still slashed a cut through his foot.

With a howl of pain, he fell back and clutched a hand to his foot. Therion didn't know why. Maybe she hurt him more than she'd thought. She hesitated for a second before taking the hilt of her sword and slamming it down on his head, hoping that was heavy enough to do some damage, and slightly less messy and destructive then slashing his head open with the sword.

His own weapon had clattered to the floor, and Therion picked it up uncertainly before scooting towards that one girl (oh yeah, Nayza. That was her. Well, with a name like that, Therion could hardly be expected to remember it, right?).

[freya]

Raelan looked at the man that seemed to want him to fight and knew that he had to defend the girls. He said, "I can handle you," then he took a nearby pillow and throw it at the man in hopes of diverting his attention. The young man saw more holdless enter no doubt wanting to get rid of potentail lifemates for dragons yet unborn. It would send a message to others that anyone who wants to be a rider would die and he wouldn't let that happen. His desire to keep his new friends safe he said, "Girls get back," and wished at these times that there we're more male candidates.

He was stuck in here with a bunch of girls that had not impressed the queen. Raelan sighed he was stuck with girls that didn't even have size or strength on their side. The candidate knew that they we're doomed if they didn't get help soon and would keep himself infront of him. A selfless nature was natural and he wouldn't let these men get to these girls because of fear of what might happen after.

.....................................................................................

Trelia on the other hand was faced with a burly man that was looking at her with a look that she cared not for. She said, "Don't come any closer," as she held her only weapon a piece of wood and got ready to defend herself. The young woman had heard stories of these men and didn't want to be left to them. Her destiny was to be a queen rider or at the very least a master farmer not left to the inventions of holdless. "Stay away," screamed Trelia as she swung the wood at him and he continued to smile at her. He seemed to be trying to aggravate her and she was getting annoyed.

[HG]

She felt and heard rather than saw the other Candidates rallying. Now they were all on the same page they had better start killing some bad guys. She was not fighting and probably dying for nothing. The woman flung herself at another man who did not see her coming. The small woman quickly dealing blows to places that were sensitive. Again smashing his nose up into his cranium, although he probably wasn’t dead, just like the other, he was certainly incapacitated for a while. Maybe he was dead though, she thought as she saw the blood pouring out his nose.

Shuddering perceptibly she moved on to another man. This one was prepared for her and much bigger than petite Laure. He picked her up like she was a ragdoll and punched her in the stomach. Gasping for air, followed by a coughing fit and wheezing he knew he had struck home with her. She tried to defend herself, when he set her down. It was in vain for every blow she blocked another one met its mark.

She was severely bruised in many places. One knock to the head and she knew she was out of the game. Laure refused to die, she refused to be violated. Reaching deep down inside of her she found the inner strength to persevere and smiled up at the man who would likely kill her. He seemed a bit confused by the smile which caused hesitation which gave her the time she needed. In his moment of pause she trust her knee to his sensitive area and thrust her hand up in his nose, crushing it. She knew very few moves but the ones she knew were performed effectively enough. Her body hurt so badly, she was not sure she could continue physically but she had no choice. It was fight or die.

[♥Rizu-Chan♥]

She was lucky Therion had finally sprung up and joined the fray when she had, otherwise the brunete realized she would have been in quite the disadvantage -- weaponless and all. As the man the other gold candidate defeated dropped his sword Nayza wasted to time in picking it up, giving a faint nod of thanks to her fellow candidate roomie before the gasping sound of Laure drew her attention.

"Shit!"

Before Nayza could get close, however, she found herself blocked off by another of the burly and idiot beasts that were the holdless, the man's sneering grin and malicious eyes cleaar enough of what mundane thoughts were swirling around his mind. Occupied as she was with the brute she had failed to hear Raelen suddenly commandeering them to get back -- had she noticed the sole male candidate's actions she would haveprobably been more than displeased.

Just because they were girls did not meant they were pretty lil' things unable to defend themselves.

"Alright, big boy, let's dance then."

While she was certainly no master at swords the girl was glad her now deceased father had spend sometime teaching her about hand and sword combat. Really, one didn't need much skill to best these single minded pack of holdless -- and inwardly the girl suspected these were jsut the "cannon fodder" of the group. No way they would have been able to lynch both goldriders back in Haven Weyr otherwise, not with these idiots.

Her first sword blow was parred by the man's own, same with the second and third. Overconfident and thinking he had this won the man lashed out with a move that left him far too expose as well as too easy to read. Taking her chance Nayza managed to dodge the attack, stabbing the brute's left thigh with the sword and arning a owl of pain on his behalf, before the much more muscular and used to combat man swapped at Nayza much liek one would a pesky fly.

The hit was quick effecting, catching the brunette off-guard and knocking the air out of her lungs (really, she wasn't exactly fighting material of physic over here) and she was knocked back a few paces, sword clattering to the floor next to her. The seering pain on her right side worried her, and inwardly Nayza hoped it was just some really bad bruising and nothing had been broken. Still, she had little time to gather herself, the man already taking heavy steps in her direction, and without much thought she simply grabbed the sword and literally flung it at the incoming brute -- more like a lance than the weapon it was really meant to be.

Out of shock more than anything the man subconciously stopped the throw the way one would usually stop an incoming book or so -- with his bare palm. Needless to say flesh isn't the best restraining steel, and quick yells of pain soon followed as his brain registered that he'd just helped impale a sowrd into his left hand. Dropping his own as he pulled out the weapon from his wound the brunette took the spare seconds to run up and kick him in the knads,much like they'd been doing from the start, and with a faint pleased smirk watchd the man bend over and fall to the ground -- before gasping lightly and turning away from the sight.

The idiot had managed to fall in the direction of his forgotten sword, tip raised from the ground due to landing on a discarded piece of wood, and successfully impaled it into his skull from the sheer force of gravity. He squirmed for a few moments from the unimaginable pain as blood oozed from the new wound, before finally th body went limp as the brain ceased any activity and life it might have had left.

With a grimace, cnsidering both swords were now bloodied, Nayza picked the one impalled on his head and removed it quickly (being, surprisingly, the less bloody of the two) before turning tail and heading for Laure. She did not want to look at that sight any longer. A wave of relief washed oer ehr as she saw the girl still alive, albeit bruised, and taking the chance no other men were close to them at the time she knelt down and offered the other candidate support.

"Come on, let me help you get further back before they notice all your bruises."

A quick eye-scan of the room revealed that there weren't as many holdless left as initially, the girls (and boy) had done a decent job to fell quite a few of them in record time. Nayza could only hope the others slowly lost will or something to keep attacking the candiates after seeing a bunch of girls own their asses.

[HG]

Laure looked around the room expecting to find some of the girls and possibly Raelen too being overtaken by the much bigger men. There was more fight in the other Candidates than she had realized. She had been the one turned into a punching bag. Everyone else seemed to be doing just fine.

She felt herself having trouble keeping steady when Nayza came over to offer her help. Laure was not above accepting help from others. If anything she appreciated the offer and responded as graciously as she could manage. “Thank you. I just need to collect myself again.” She said, her indomitable spirit shining through the pain.

As much as she hated to admit it the girl leaned quite heavily on Nayza. Suddenly a horn sounded. Really? The Weyr was winning? A smile came to her cut bruised lips as she whispered to Nayza, “That’s the signal. The signal for retreat.” As she whispered the men who remained, which were few, including the leader, began to rush out of the Candidate Barracks out into the Bowl.

“Goodbye ladies.” The large leader said before running quickly out to where more of the Holdless were fighting their way out of the Weyr. Laure felt herself having trouble staying conscious but a feeling of content mixed with relief spread through her nonetheless. “We’ve won the battle.” Though perhaps not the war, she thought to herself.

Perhaps Riverton had underestimated Refuge but it would not be a mistake he would make again. "Nayza?" She said hesitantly in a breathless voice,"We should all get to the infirmary if we can. Hopefully the Bowl is cleared out enough now that it shouldn't be a problem."

((Candidates who are injured or who would like to help out at the infirmary may now post in the Healing thread))