The Forge of Dartmont(Open)

[otulissa]

(OOC: what the heck, this is the first love story I've ever written and its actually working. Present to Granny.... LOL!)
Safiya snuggled in close to Dartmont. A thought came back to mind... the Tyto Sentes snarling "You're no better than an ugly Great Horned Owl!"
"Great Horneds aren't ugly, Sentes," she murmured sleepily, and to one not following her train of thought it would have been nonsensical.

[Deleted]

Dartmont perked her head up and looked at Safiya. She had mumbled something about Great Horns not being ugly, but he decided not to press the matter and laid his head back against the wall, letting Safiya relax, allowing her to feel truly safe. He gently stroked her back with one of his wings, his mind finally coming to ease a bit. His doubt was gone now, this was his mate and he would do everything in his power to make sure she was safe and had as happy of a life as possible.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Unknown to both owls, another sat just outside, perched up in a tree, his eyes fixated on the tree of Dartmont's hollow. A grin had formed on the owl's face, knowing that he now had the information he needed to crush one of his most hated rivals.

[otulissa]

There was a click of metal on wood and Safiya straightened lightning-fast as the warrior in her took over.
"Dartmont, those are battleclaws, I am certain of it. Someone is watching us." shhe whispered in his ear slit, the bushy tufts poking her in the eye.

[Deleted]

Dartmont sat silently, listening intently, but not hearing anything himself. But Safiya was a Barn Owl, so she had much better hearing and would be able to pick up on something that he wouldn't be able to. "You weren't followed here, were you?" He gently whispered to Safiya, still trying to make as little noise as possible so she could try and pinpoint what it is that was outside.

[otulissa]

"No-one's good enough to follow me. No-one except... Sentes!" She hissed in fury on the last word. "That foul-beaked, infantile, splat-coated Pure One who thinks high and mighty of himself and intends to get me kicked out. Which is ideal in some cases, but not so ideal in others."

[Deleted]

"You might as well come on out Safiya, you can't hide yourself in there. A bring your dumb oaf of a mate with you, I would actually be interested in meeting him. It's rare you meet an owl willing to mate with one who has sworn to kill your species!" Sentes called down from his perch, quite amused with himself at the moment. For some time now he had noticed Safiya's frequent absences and had decided to figure out what she was up to. But he had never thought he would find out that Thalia's well-groomed masked owl had betrayed the Pure Ones and taken a foul Great Horned for a mate.

[otulissa]

"Quick, Dartmor, I need a weapon of some sort! Not claws, something else!" she whispered, panicked. "If he tells they'll kill us both!"

[Deleted]

"A weapon? Uhh, let me see... uhm, oh, would these work for you?" he pulled out the pair of tongs he used to move hot metal during his work. It was hard to say they were truly 'weapons', but maybe they would work for her. Dartmont didn't know who this Sentes was, until this point, Safiya had made no mention of him, or basically any of the owls in the Pure Ones. But whoever this owl was, it was clear that Safiya hated him with a passion.

[otulissa]

She snatched them and picked up a coal.
"I won't hit them if I can help it, I'll try to scare him away. I really don't want to burn another owl."
She went to the entrance, blending in with her mottled plumage. She lifted a talon and swished the tongs, releasing the coal. It shot past Sentes, just missing his head. Safiya grabbed another and another, hurling them past his body. The night was rent with the red shooting stars as they soared towards their target.

(OOC: The coals should hit trees and start a forest fire. Dartmont's forge will be mostly unharmed, but a fair few trees will fall. How about it?)

[Deleted]

Sentes watched as the coals that Safiya threw at him passed by, landing among the trees behind him. "Come now Safiya, there is no need for any of this, I just came here to talk to you." He remarked and flew on down to the ground and approached the entrance of the hollow. "You can be rest assured, I wouldn't dare harm one of our lady's most precious owls," Sentes remarked, taunting her a bit. He knew that she still held respect for the High Tyto, and that she would hate to ever disappoint her. It was this fact that Sentes planned to exploit for his own ends.

[otulissa]

Safiya gulped and took a large coal. She hurled it straight towards the owl, aimed at his facial disk.
"Dartmont, we need to get out. Not that way. He has claws. Is there another entrance we can go through?"

[Deleted]

Sentes easily stepped aside from the last coal that she tried to throw his way. It was clear that something had drastically changed in her. Under other circumstances, she would have come straight at him, talons extended, hungry for blood. But here, she was defensive, clumsy... scared. This was a beautiful sight for Sentes, for now he knew exactly how to strike at Safiya's heart. He knew exactly what to do to make her hurt.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Claws? Please, I am fairly certain I can take this guy on. I may not look it, but I've been through my fair share of trouble," Dartmont stepped over towards her, reassuring her. Partially it was his pride, he was not one to give up so easily. And of course, he would much rather stand and protect his mate than to flee.

[otulissa]

"Not this guy. If we have to fight, let me take him on. I am a Pure One." she smiled slightly. She grabbed her pair of battleclaws, silvery-grey with a simple fire-shaped motif to make them unique on either side, from the floor where she had left them. She strapped them on.
"I'm ready."

[Deleted]

Dartmont nodded to her and he himself went and strapped on his own pair of Battleclaws. First forged almost five months ago, they were fairly simple, even compared to Safiya's own pair. He had been still fairly new to metalworking, so he hadn't tried anything to difficult. But after using them for so long he refused to replace them. Too many memories were stored in these claws for him to just throw them out. "Alright, I'm ready. I'll follow your lead." He told her and gently gave her an owl kiss on her beak.

[otulissa]

"Dartmont...." Safiya murmered, unsure. Then she straightened.
"Take a coal in each talon. It could help in the long run."
Safiya dipped her talons into the coal pit and pulled ut a coal. As an afterthought, she took one in her beak as well, bathing her face in orange fiery light.