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Tai felt Kohe before she saw her, felt the closeness of her power and the raw strength laying behind it, even in her exhaustion. She felt it stronger than she felt her uncle taking from her, because the giving had felt more than natural all along. She was running blindly toward that feeling, uncaring or unknowing that Kohe wasn't there, was technically not even then, because she could feel her sister, and she trusted her sister, and that was all she had ever needed.
When Kohe appeared an instant later, Tai wasn't surprised, only relieved, and then overjoyed, all but spring toward her until --
Until Jack stopped her ten feet back with a snarl she could feel was far from balanced. Tai stopped, swallowing the whimper that rose in her throat. How had they ended up here again?
"Jack," she murmured as soothingly as she could manage. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt her -- "
'Stay back,' snarled the Venataurus. 'This is as much your doing as it is theirs.'
"So let us help. We want to help her, too, Jack." Tai didn't try to argue, both hands up in a gesture of supplication, her voice soft. She made the calm she pressed at Jack soft, almost like a mist, so he wouldn't notice. Hang on, Setta. Just hang on a little longer.
It was then she noticed the blood staining his dark fur, falling in thick crimson rivulets from his hind leg, making bright paw prints in the earth behind him. Tai frowned and stepped forward carefully. He lowered his head to snarl at her, but Tai seemed unperturbed as violet eyes combed the length of his body.
"Jack?" she murmured almost dazedly. "You're...you're bleeding. You're bleeding a lot, what happened? Is...is Kohe -- ?"
Jack snarled her into silence, his claws testing the earth beneath them, a testament to the way pain and exhaustion were rapidly fraying his temper. Kohe would be angry with him later, he knew. But let her be angry later and able to rest a moment now. None of it would matter if she did not survive the release of the rest of his clan.
'Your sister has far exceeded her limits,' Jack growled. 'If she, or any of us, are to make it from this place alive, then you must act, Shaman.' He growled again, pacing in agitation or fury or something else. Tai could feel he was not quite in his right mind, could feel that Kohe's exhaustion was pushing him to a new, dangerous place, and she could not fault him for that...though she didn't expect the same understanding from her uncle. Anxious, she turned over her shoulder and tried to give him a reassuring smile. She didn't know what he was doing for Kohe with her energy, but that last thing she wanted was for him to be distracted from it. This already felt too overwhelming, watching Kohe suffer, knowing she would have to suffer still; trying to keep Jack and her Uncle calm, trying to keep not-Eliko here, though whether those reasons were logical or personal, she couldn't tell.
It was all of it something Kohe would have managed better, but Kohe could barely sit up, and so Tai would have to do.
"Kohe?" Tai whispered again on instinct, moving forward without thinking. Jack lunged again, and this time only just stopped himself from attacking, drawing blood. Tai flinched, but didn't look away, instead pushing just a bit more calm his way. His gaze wavered for a moment, until Kohe shifted on his back, and he straightened to growl at Tai.
"Jack, please," she tried. "She's so...she's so tired, I can help her, if you just let me, I can -- "
'You don't have a choice,' Jack snapped, and Tai cringed on instinct. More than the distrust and the hatred, she felt the naked fear. He was almost desperate with it...and with trying to hide it from Kohe. Her sister was not the only one on the verge of breaking.
"Build your shield. You say you've done it before? That you were able to fell a nursing rsio? Then show me, Shaman. Prove to me you are as worth saving as your sister seems to believe. Show me she hasn't sacrificed herself for nothing."
Tai blinked in confusion. "What shield?" She was still staring at Kohe, still frozen in place, trying not to agitate Jack, trying to feed her sister and calm her uncle.
"I don't know what you -- "
'A shield!' Jack barked, the sound echoing through the valley. His heart was pounding so fiercely inside his chest, he ached. Somehow, Kohe was, to his knowledge, still conscious on his back. But if she lost control before the Shaman built the shield, he knew he wouldn't be able to defend her from his people. Not here. He would run, and she would hate him for it. But she would be alive.
'A shield,' he demanded again. 'Large enough, strong enough to contain my father and my people while we get away. They will be able to track our scent, but you will buy us as much time as you are able. We need to find somewhere hot. My people will be weaker there.'
Tai was shaking her head, eyes wide. "But I've...never done anything that large, not...not over a distance, not with...inside, all the cold, all the hate -- "
'She is running out of time.' Jack lunged so close, she could have reached up and touched Kohe. She felt his breath on her neck, hot and furious, and knew they wanted the same thing. She shook her head meekly.
"No, you don't understand. I...I can't, not like that, not like Kohe. Not over a distance. Jack, please, just let me help her, I can give her what she needs and then she can -- "
'She needs rest. Will you give her that? Or will you continue to drag at her?'
"No! No, I just...I don't know how...Kohe, Kohe, please hear me, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I can't help...You can let go now. It's okay. We'll run, we'll be okay, Kohe, Uncle Rask is here. We can fly. I'll carry you, Kohe, it'll be okay."
'Kohe has done more than enough for you. It is time for you to save your own life and hers.'
Giving herself, her energy up to Kohe, that was one thing. Tai would let Kohe take from her until Tai herself couldn't see right, even Jack would find that hard to doubt. But to stretch her power in that way? To rest responsibility for her sister's life, both their mates', and her uncle's on her fledgling power? She was not Kohe. Her sister may have had some great faith in her, but Tai knew it took far more than Hope to make a difference. She had seen that half a hundred times before.
"You don't understand," Tai said frantically, even as she tried to rouse Kohe, tried to give her more energy without really understanding what she was doing or how. That was for Uncle Rask, just like saving them all had been for Kohe. It wasn't meant for Tai, she had never been good like that, not like her sister.
"I can't do that, I can't. I...I can give Kohe my power, and she can fix it, just let me show you! I...I promise, she'll be okay, just let me see her, Jack, please..."
When Kohe appeared an instant later, Tai wasn't surprised, only relieved, and then overjoyed, all but spring toward her until --
Until Jack stopped her ten feet back with a snarl she could feel was far from balanced. Tai stopped, swallowing the whimper that rose in her throat. How had they ended up here again?
"Jack," she murmured as soothingly as she could manage. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt her -- "
'Stay back,' snarled the Venataurus. 'This is as much your doing as it is theirs.'
"So let us help. We want to help her, too, Jack." Tai didn't try to argue, both hands up in a gesture of supplication, her voice soft. She made the calm she pressed at Jack soft, almost like a mist, so he wouldn't notice. Hang on, Setta. Just hang on a little longer.
It was then she noticed the blood staining his dark fur, falling in thick crimson rivulets from his hind leg, making bright paw prints in the earth behind him. Tai frowned and stepped forward carefully. He lowered his head to snarl at her, but Tai seemed unperturbed as violet eyes combed the length of his body.
"Jack?" she murmured almost dazedly. "You're...you're bleeding. You're bleeding a lot, what happened? Is...is Kohe -- ?"
Jack snarled her into silence, his claws testing the earth beneath them, a testament to the way pain and exhaustion were rapidly fraying his temper. Kohe would be angry with him later, he knew. But let her be angry later and able to rest a moment now. None of it would matter if she did not survive the release of the rest of his clan.
'Your sister has far exceeded her limits,' Jack growled. 'If she, or any of us, are to make it from this place alive, then you must act, Shaman.' He growled again, pacing in agitation or fury or something else. Tai could feel he was not quite in his right mind, could feel that Kohe's exhaustion was pushing him to a new, dangerous place, and she could not fault him for that...though she didn't expect the same understanding from her uncle. Anxious, she turned over her shoulder and tried to give him a reassuring smile. She didn't know what he was doing for Kohe with her energy, but that last thing she wanted was for him to be distracted from it. This already felt too overwhelming, watching Kohe suffer, knowing she would have to suffer still; trying to keep Jack and her Uncle calm, trying to keep not-Eliko here, though whether those reasons were logical or personal, she couldn't tell.
It was all of it something Kohe would have managed better, but Kohe could barely sit up, and so Tai would have to do.
"Kohe?" Tai whispered again on instinct, moving forward without thinking. Jack lunged again, and this time only just stopped himself from attacking, drawing blood. Tai flinched, but didn't look away, instead pushing just a bit more calm his way. His gaze wavered for a moment, until Kohe shifted on his back, and he straightened to growl at Tai.
"Jack, please," she tried. "She's so...she's so tired, I can help her, if you just let me, I can -- "
'You don't have a choice,' Jack snapped, and Tai cringed on instinct. More than the distrust and the hatred, she felt the naked fear. He was almost desperate with it...and with trying to hide it from Kohe. Her sister was not the only one on the verge of breaking.
"Build your shield. You say you've done it before? That you were able to fell a nursing rsio? Then show me, Shaman. Prove to me you are as worth saving as your sister seems to believe. Show me she hasn't sacrificed herself for nothing."
Tai blinked in confusion. "What shield?" She was still staring at Kohe, still frozen in place, trying not to agitate Jack, trying to feed her sister and calm her uncle.
"I don't know what you -- "
'A shield!' Jack barked, the sound echoing through the valley. His heart was pounding so fiercely inside his chest, he ached. Somehow, Kohe was, to his knowledge, still conscious on his back. But if she lost control before the Shaman built the shield, he knew he wouldn't be able to defend her from his people. Not here. He would run, and she would hate him for it. But she would be alive.
'A shield,' he demanded again. 'Large enough, strong enough to contain my father and my people while we get away. They will be able to track our scent, but you will buy us as much time as you are able. We need to find somewhere hot. My people will be weaker there.'
Tai was shaking her head, eyes wide. "But I've...never done anything that large, not...not over a distance, not with...inside, all the cold, all the hate -- "
'She is running out of time.' Jack lunged so close, she could have reached up and touched Kohe. She felt his breath on her neck, hot and furious, and knew they wanted the same thing. She shook her head meekly.
"No, you don't understand. I...I can't, not like that, not like Kohe. Not over a distance. Jack, please, just let me help her, I can give her what she needs and then she can -- "
'She needs rest. Will you give her that? Or will you continue to drag at her?'
"No! No, I just...I don't know how...Kohe, Kohe, please hear me, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I can't help...You can let go now. It's okay. We'll run, we'll be okay, Kohe, Uncle Rask is here. We can fly. I'll carry you, Kohe, it'll be okay."
'Kohe has done more than enough for you. It is time for you to save your own life and hers.'
Giving herself, her energy up to Kohe, that was one thing. Tai would let Kohe take from her until Tai herself couldn't see right, even Jack would find that hard to doubt. But to stretch her power in that way? To rest responsibility for her sister's life, both their mates', and her uncle's on her fledgling power? She was not Kohe. Her sister may have had some great faith in her, but Tai knew it took far more than Hope to make a difference. She had seen that half a hundred times before.
"You don't understand," Tai said frantically, even as she tried to rouse Kohe, tried to give her more energy without really understanding what she was doing or how. That was for Uncle Rask, just like saving them all had been for Kohe. It wasn't meant for Tai, she had never been good like that, not like her sister.
"I can't do that, I can't. I...I can give Kohe my power, and she can fix it, just let me show you! I...I promise, she'll be okay, just let me see her, Jack, please..."