Ryu had been deep in thought when he came upon a clearing bathed in pale moonlight. He watched the way the leaves fell from the surrounding trees and then danced in the wind about him. It brought a calmness to his troubled heart. Gazing at the lunar orb that hung above him, he gave silent praise to whomever had made it so clear and full every night.
So enchanted was he by the moon and the leaves that he barely heard the growl behind him. Instintively, he rolled to his left, avoiding the deadly leap of the timberwolf. Ryu quickly dropped his things and readied his bokken. The monster before him bared several broken sticks on the side of it's head, marking it as the creature that had attacked the Crusaders several hours before. However, he was not alone. Ryu heard more movement from the bushes all around the clearing. Giving a quick scan of the area, Ryu counted at least five other wolves. This would not be easy.
He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, settling his spirit. Ryu knew that he needed to be fast and focused. The first attack came from where he expected: left side, rear. Ryu pivoted on his left foot and brought his weapon down with a mighty crack. The wolf crumpled from his head wound. That's one, Ryu thought calmly.
Ryu downed two more wolves in a similar manner. He began to change tactics and move towards the outside, his back to the edge of the clearing. Three wolves crept forward and the first was beginning to stir. Ryu knew that he needed to run, but these monsters would chase him down in a matter of minutes.
He decided that getting behind them would be a good option, try and take out their back legs. Sensei would not approve of this, he thought smiling to himself. Shouting as he went, Ryu charged headlong at one of the middle wolves. They were startled by his bold move, but stood their ground. As he had been trained, Ryu extended his arms before him and jumped, easily tumbling like a wheel over his opponent. Landing in a crouch behind the beast, Ryu twisted around and lashed out with his bokken, breaking the knee with a loud crack. "Another," he said to himself.
Rising, Ryu was struck in the side from one of the injured creatures, and tumbled into a backward roll. He felt a sharp pain from where the monster's headbutt had hit his side. A broken rib or two would be a problem. Now that the wolves had dealt a blow, they moved quicker and with more ferocity. The warrior began to sweat.
Ryu managed to dodge a couple of them, taking several cuts from their jaws. He lost his weapon when one of them went high, but Ryu intercepted the attack with his bokken. His neck was saved, but in doing so, his weapon was torn from his grip. The warrior, now unarmed, was forced to rely on his taijutsu. He knew that death was probably very close.
Twisting between and around the wolves would not last long. Finally, one of them had gotten it's teeth around Ryu's right forearm. Ryu gave a growl of pain and then lashed out as hard as he could with his left fist, right into the beast's temple. The wolf's grip loosened and dropped to the ground, unconscious.
Unfortunately, the wolves continued there assault, and Ryu was sure he had injured his hand. He tried rolling over one of them again, but they were learning. He received a full headbutt to the stomach and crashed into a tree trunk. His vision was blurred slightly. He heard the wolves moving in for the kill. Thoughts from the past sprang into his mind: a warm wind...a stabbing phantom pain in his stomach...her lifeless face bathed in candlelight. Ryu heard her name escape his lips in a whisper.
"Aysha..."
He could smell the scent of pine and sweat, could taste blood in his own mouth. He heard the rustling of the trees. He heard the wolves whimper, then the sound of retreating steps and running.
In his blurred vision, Ryu saw a splotch of pink. Then, black.