She saw them burst out of the earth, twice the size of a griffin with twice the ferocity, apparently. Rae's panic was beginning to translate to Shadow, so she shut her eyes and guided him only with her voice.

And then they were inside the gym. Rae opened her eyes and glanced around her. There were about five people in the building, with their griffins, and the students were just as wide-eyed as their animals.

One older guy seemed to be hurt; the griffin standing over him looked anxious and fericiously protective. There were two other girls; she recognized their griffins but not them.

"Is...is this where we're supposed to be?" she croaked hoarsely.

The dark haired girl - Shyral, she remembered - stood up immediately. "Yes. Although I think we're the only ones here so far."

Beak swerved again. It was obvious that these new animals, what ever they were, were deadly. A few of the elder students had taken to the air, determined not to give up the space they had flown in with out a fight.

So far only five of the New animals had been taken down to a loss of seven Griffins. It was horror. Half a dozen Riderless Griffins came fly out of no where. It must be the ones that had been at the stables, from teh way Beak had reacted it showed the Griffins hated these new animals.

** I don't mind at all! I was going to try and get shyral in the loop anyway**

Shyral looked around at the group.
Slyten pranced, squawking impatiently. She noticed that all the griffens well enough to fight were all restless.

She looked around at the griffens, unsure what had got into them. She went to the door and gasped.

"Guys... we have fighting out here. There's big beasts..."

Everyone looked up at her, confused, and looked out the windows.

Shyral watched a riderless griffen get thrown to the ground. She straightened, and beckoned to Slyten. The girl called Rae stood, a little shakily, and rose her voice. "They... They came. They were going to attack me and shadow... I only just got here."

Shyral nodded and strode for the door. "I'm going to help. Come, Slyten."
Robyn called from behind. "I'm coming too!"
Shyral turned, and looked over Sunclaw. "Is he up to it?"
Robyn looked at her griffen, who rubbed his beak against her.
Shyral leapt onto Slyten, not waiting for a reply.
With a powerful beat of his wings, they launched headfirst into the chaos.

Aqua watched as the others took flight. Why did she get stuck as the nurse while Jon and everyone got to fight?

She clenched her fists and turned to the fainted boy. Now that the creatures were busy with the fighters, the gym was safe.

"C'mon, Corrith." She said. Her griffin walked over and allowed her to mount him. "I have a feeling there will be alot of injured riders."

They flew out into the battle, dodging griffins and monsters alike, while diving for the ground. She found that seven griffins had fallen, along with their riders, and some of the stable griffins were injured.

Aqua sighed. No dead, yet.

*Sorry I've missed a lot, but that's how I roll..haha*
Name: Jessibella
Age: 13
Gender: Female
Hair: golden-yellow
eye: ivy-green
year: first
clan: claws

Griffon: Mascella
Color: golden-bronze
eye: bright, yellow-green
gender: female

"Go away Sel," Jess moaned as she rolled over. Her griffon sqwaked loudly and Jess sat up. "Exams," she breathed as she leaped from the bed and threw on her clothes. Breakfast was done, and the exams had to be at least half way through by now. "Darn it. Come on Sel!" She hopped on the griffons back and they flew straight out the window.
She wasn't worried aobut the exams, just missing them. She had it all down; why else would she be in this school at 14? First years were supposed to be no younger than 18. The youngest rider there was Jess by a long shot, followed by Raelyn. Jess didn't really fit in, but she was ok with that. She had skills, and that was enough for her.
"Miss Belle, you are late!" the teacher snapped as Jess landed on the soft grass.
"I'm so sorry, I slept in. I honestly..."
"I don't care why your late. It's your turn, everyone else has gone." Jess nodded, and hopped on her griffon, determined to get everything perfect as she took off into the crisp air.

Rae gnawed her lip as she watched Robyn and Shyral mount their griffins and take to the skies. A shudder rippled through her body at the thought of facing the beast, but at the same time sitting in the gymnasium was driving her crazy. "Okay, Shadow," she whispered. "You up to this?"

Shadow screeched a definite "Yes" and fluttered his wings in anticipation.

"Wait," a weak voice called. Rae turned and saw [rider with the broken arm - sorry!] getting to his feet, cradling his arm against his chest. "Wait, I'm coming too," he announed, mounting his griffin with grace, considering he was only using one hand.

Rae swallowed hard and nodded, and the two of them burst out of the building together.

Suddenly Rae noticed a lone figure in the flight field. The girl was small, smaller even than Rae, and the griffin looked young as well. And there was a wolfish beast heading straight of the both of them.




(hope you don't mind, writer_chick_13! I was craving action )

Shyral looked around her, gasping at the chaos. Suddenly, a Wolf-beast swooped in beside her and swiped at Slyten. Slyten swerved, calling a challenge, before speeding back, talons outstretched.

Shyral suddenly wished she was a second or third-year, with a bow and sword. First years were judged to clumsy and inexperienced to use them. Which, for Shyral, would be perfectly true on land. With her feet on earth, all grace and speed fled her. Upon a griffen, though, she was as fast and sure as a snake.

Slyten connected with the beast, driving his talons deep into the wolf's back, seeking to crush its spine. The wolf bucked, howling and growling, throwing slyten and shyral around like rag dolls. Yet Slyten hang on, slashing with his beak.

Shyral clung to slyten's back, unable to help her griffen with his foe. Slyten flicked his head up, his beak shiny, splashing her with the crimson blood of the beast. Shyral looked at it in disgust, but didn't move. To move was to fall. To fall was to die, as the fighting pair span faster and faster towards the ground. Again Slyten struck, and the beast struggled, slashing slyten across his flanks, narrowly missing Shyral. The beast screamed as Slyten crushed his back, and finally went limp. Slyten let the beast drop, and righted himself, slowly flying back to the gym, his sides slick with blood.

Aqua managed to get most of the fallen riders to safety, but the griffins were another story. Their bulk was too much for Corrith to carry for more than a few dozen yards.

"Dammit! I need help!" She yelled. A few stable griffins heard her and sped to the ground, but her outburst attracted the wolf-beasts, also.

Jacob looked up. He didn't think he was in the gym any more. He didn't know where he was. "It must be a dream." He looked over and screamed. Aqua was just...frozen in time. He tapped on her arm. She didn't respond. "Time must have really stopped." He walked outside to see an entire battle scene frozen in mid fight. A griffin with it's claw right above one of the creatures heads, a rider falling off onto the ground. "Wow..."
"I know." Jacob whirled around. An old man stood right behind him.
"Who are you?"
"I'm the one who brought you here."
"That didn't answer my question."
"My name doesn't concern you, but what I have to say does. Though the others think you're just some weakling, you're not."
"Yeah right...then why do I keep passing out at the sound of the screechs?"
"Take off your college pin."
"No...the rulebook says I have to keep it on at all times."
"We're not in time remember?"
"Oh..."
"Yep. So take it off and look on the back." Jacob did as he said and looked at the back. A green slash mark was on the back.
"What the heck is that?"
"That is the slash mark of those beasts. It can subdue the wearer by draining them of their energy when one of their own roars."
"Clever..."
"Yes and I wonder why they chose you....I will talk to you later. Stay alive." And with that he dissapeared.
"Wait! How do I get-" He was cut off by the sudden roar of noise. Time had begun again.
"Rogue!" His griffin ran to him from her hiding spot. "Time to kick some monster butt."

(No, i don't mind!)

"Oh my god!" Jess cried as she stedied Mascella's flight pattern. "What is that?" she shouted to one of the ohters.
"It's a Wolf-Beast! Quick, get back to the school walls!" he cried back before flying away. Jess wasn't the type to stray away from danger, especially not something this amazing. Her brother had taught her well, and she had dealt with bigger things than these; of course, she also was allowed to use weapons at home. She didn't have time to ponder this because a wolf-beast pounced at her. Sel, being the amazingly graceful beast that she was, swerved to avoid being hit. That's when Jess noticed him.
A boy, obviously quite a few years older than she was, was lying on a cliff below her, panting heavily. "ARe you ok?" she asked as she leveled with the cliff.
"No, I can't get up. I think my legs broken, and my griffin fell..." he replied quietly.
"Stay here Sel," Jess said, jumping off of her griffin and kneeling next to the boy. "Here, put your arm around me. What's your name?" she asked, trying to keep him distracted as she lifted him up and put him over Sel's back.
"James. What're you doing?"
"Helping you." she answered bluntly as she climbed on behind him. "Sel, go!" she shouted as another wolf-beast jumped at them.
"Are you sure your griffin can manage? she looks kinda small," he asked worrieldy, trying to sit up. Jess pushed him back into his original position.
"Don't move, you'll hurt yourself worse. Sel will be fine, she's strong for her size."
"just like you?" he asked. she blushed, and turned to see where Sel was going.
"Sel, the fountain, where we started!" Jess called out. Sel landed and Jess helped James get off.
"Jess, what do you think you're doing?" a teacher asked as she rushed over to help them.
"I'm helping. I'm not just gonna stand by and watch."
"I won't allow it!" the teacher snapped, but it was too late, Jess was back on Sel and in the air. Jess reached behind her and found James' sword; he must have left it behind. With the new-found weapon in hand, she rushed back to the battle field.

Robyn and Sunclaw wheeled about in the sky, dodging the beasts, slashing whenever at whatever they could. Sunclaw flung himself upside down and whirled around in a twist, avoiding a beast that aimed its talons at them.

"Sunclaw!" Robyn yelled. "Go that way!"

The griffin obeyed, and hurtled towards another beast that was busy shredding a riderless griffin to ribbons. The smell of raw flesh and blood hit Robyn's nostrils, and sent her stomach churning. And she felt rage. Furious, blinding white anger at the beasts who were destroying griffin and human alike in their mad slaughter.

Sunclaw's talons ripped into the beast's sides, and came away bloody. It fled, screaming in agony, and Robyn laughed. She leaned over Sunclaw's neck and peered down at the ground below. It was so far away that all the people below looked small and insignificant, removed from Robyn's world in the sky, her battle that awoke such a fierce, killing joy in her heart that it transformed her usually blank features into a mask of ferocity.

She sent Sunclaw spiralling up into the sky, then plunging down to meet more of the beasts that were emerging from the earth, like maggots wriggling free from rotting meat. Twenty metres above the ground, Sunclaw engaged with another beast - a whirlwind of slashes and shrieking cries that rang in the air. The beast was badly wounded; it turned to flee, but then darted back, and flying too close and too fast to avoid, it slashed at Robyn with its claws; then crying out in its own pain, fell to the ground.

Robyn reeled, dazed by the suddenness of the attack; her hand clutched at her side, and when she brought it away, the fingers and palm were bright with blood. Her own blood, she realized, and with the realization, a wave of nausea hit her. No pain yet, only a dreadful, blank numbness. And shock, shock that this had happened. Before, with the arrogance of humankind, she had assumed that she would come out of this unhurt. Pain happened to other people, but not to Robyn Harrow.

Sunclaw felt her slip sideways, and dipped down to the ground, landing gently. Even so, Robyn fell off, hitting the ground with a soft thud. The grass tickled the side of her face, like her mother's fingers stroking her skin. Dimly, she was aware of Sunclaw screeching. She had heard a griffin cry out like that before - when its rider had died; and now she wondered why Sunclaw was doing this.

Robyn managed to lurch up onto her knees, her hand still pressed against her side, in the soft and vunerable part between ribs and hip. Through her fingers, she could see her blood streaming down onto the grass, making a bright, deadly stain that spoke of death, and pain, and war. Around her were wounded griffins and their riders; above her were griffins and their riders fighting to keep themselves from becoming like those on the ground.
Absently, Robyn wondered which ones would succeed, and which ones would fail.

Sunclaw pushed at her with his beak, and she fell, rolling over onto her back. She could see the beautiful, soft gold of Sunclaw's feathers, the liquid, shining gold of his eyes as he looked at her. His eyes were bright as jewels, bright as the sun for which she had named him. They filled her world, becoming too brilliant to look at.

"Was it worth it, Sunclaw?" Robyn asked; and even her voice did not seem a part of her world anymore. It belonged in another place, where the students still battled in the skies for their lives and freedom. Sunclaw lowered his head, and Robyn could no longer see his eyes. There was nothing left in her world when the shining brightness of Sunclaw's eyes had left her. Nothing left at all.

Riders and griffins were dying all around her, but Jessibella ignored it. She had become accustom to death, something that happened after living in the swamp lands for far too long. Soemthing that happens after losing your parents and friends to swamp beasts. Besides, jess was too busy fighting for her own life and that of Sel to worry aobut everyone else. She swung around, killing beast after beast; at one point she actually jumped off of Sel, onto a wolf's back, slashed it's throat and jumped back onto Sel, no problem. She felt all powerful soaring through the air like this, like she could do anything and no one could stop her.
She saw another boy fighting nearby, and fairing quite well compared to everyone else.

Jacob swung a huge axe at the beasts. "DIE YOU CREATURES!" He slashed through the first few, cutting them to bits.
"Jacob!" He looked over his shoulder. Aqua was bravely fighting off several beasts.
"HERE!" He threw a blade at the nearest creature. It went right through the creature leg.
"Thanks...I almost was.."
"Don't worry about it. We got to go." He got on Roguefeather.
"HELP!" Jacob looked up. Mr. Palmer, the science instructor, was holding on to a ledge while a beast swung his claws above him.
"Don't worry!" Rogue leaped up into the air. Just a little further...HE streched out his hand. "Grab my hand!"
"I'm trying-" Mr. Palmer shrieked in fear as the beast slashed his hand.
"NO!" Jacob rushed down the side of the building to try to save his teacher. He grabbed Palmer.
"Thanks." A massive roar shook the campus. "More of them?"
"No worse. Look!" They looked over to see a massive beast smash through a wall. "One big one!" Jacob looked down to see a young girl run towards the creature.
"Jessibella!" Mr. Palmer screamed, "Come back!"
"Who's Jessibella?"
"An A-student that's a little cocky...but most of the time has the power to back it up. This time I don't think she does." The girl keeped on running. Jacob set him down.
"I'll stop her." Jacob flew ahead, faster than he had ever gone before. "JESSIBELLA!" The girl flew into the air on her griffin, heading straight at the massive beast. The creature roared a flew a claw at her. "NO!" Jessibella and her griffin fell to the ground. He dragged the bodies over to a safe area.
"Please be alive." He took her off the dead animal. She was breathing but injured bad. Really bad.
"MEDIC! MEDIC!" A griffin with a red cross on it's side flew over.
"Who's injured?"
"THIS GIRL YOU BLOODY IDIOT!" Jacob screamed.
"And the griffin?"
"WHO CARES! SHE'S INJURED!" Jacob started to cuss random words. For some reason he felt responsible for what had happened to this little girl. He would do anything to help her.
"I'm sorry but there are a lot of injured folks and we may not be able to get her in right away."
"SHUT UP! JUST GET HER THERE!"

Slyten screeched, changing course.

"What? You're injured we have to go back!"

But Slyten wasn't going back into battle. Shyral looked down and swore.
"Robyn! Oh... god..."

She looked at the scene below her. Sunclaw was screeching pitifully, mourning the motionless girl. Blood pooled around her, and a gash in her side dripping slowly, feeding the puddle.

Shyral swore. "Slyten, get down there!"

Slyten hardly needed encouragement. In spite of his injuries, he reached a respectable speed and landed well enough.

Shyral ran to Robyn's side, and sobbed. She was dead. It was too late.

She turned back to Slyten, trying to focus on those who could be helped. A gash ran his whole left side, pouring blood.

"Oh Slyten... look at you." Slyten croaked pitifully. Shyral felt tears run down her cheeks.

She patted his head, noticing the usually bright bronze-brown feathers looked drab, and limp.

"What did we do to you...?"

Shyral placed her hand gently on Slyten's neck and started the long walk back to the infirmary, trying hard to forget the girl spread on the grass, her griffen keening beside her.

Aqua was panting and Corrith could hardly keep steady. She couldn't see past the dripping blood and sweat that became caked to her face. A constant drizzle of Wolf-beast and griffin bloodhit her as she struggled to pull the dead and dying away from the scene.

"Aqua!" Someone screamed. Aqua turned to see a gigantic wolf-beast flying toward her at extreme speeds.

Without thinking, she drew her sword and drove it threw the beasts chest. Adrenaline pulsed through her as the beast fell limp. An enormous wolf-beast burst through the wall and Aqua's sudden rush took over with intense ferocity.

"Corrith!" Aqua held out her hand as Corrith took flight. She felt the leather touch her hand and she was yanked into the air, sword at the ready.