Hear Me Roar
The horse cantered onwards, a solid pace but not too much for it to bear. In the distance behind, there was the vague rumbling of the galloping pursuers. She could have pushed her horse to outrun them, but there was no need. She did not have any intent of dragging it with her through the Threshold, where exhaustion and panic would be a traumatising mix.
As she got closer to the cliffside, they caught up to her, splitting in two and surrounding her to cut her off. Once the encirclement had completed, they halted their horses but dared not get off. She, however, did. Taking off the saddlebags, she patted the horse's side to indicate it could leave. It turned away and trotted towards the encirclement. Horse lovers as they were, they let it go by.
Her right hand rested on the pommel of her sword, completely relaxed but enough to function as a threat. She saw the hesitation as they tried to gather their courage. The downside of it being a combined hunt, was that they lacked a single person in charge. As they looked at each other, hoping someone else would go first, she waited patiently.
Sure, she could have gathered her Power, prepare some spells or move. That they would feel, responding in futile panic, failing to harm her. But it might endanger her horse, and she felt loyalty to it for its service. Right now, they were too focused on her to realise her horse kept trotting away in a straight line, following the suggestion she had implanted in its mind.
"Foul witch! Lay down your weapon and surrender, so you can be tried for your crimes! And pray that you may be able to earn forgiveness!" Finally, one had dared to speak. She rewarded his bravery with humiliation, scoffing at him.
"Foul witch? After all these years, that is the best you could come up with? Not disgraceful sorceress, or tainted demonspawn? Wretched bestial offspring, filthy-blooded taint upon these lands, so many curses you could have wielded, and foul witch is all you have? Your children curse better than you."
Her contemptuous rant proved a good distraction, as they were too shocked at her idle retorts to think of a move to make. The horse was still going, soon it would be going down a hill and disappear out of sight. Meanwhile, all they dared do was mumble, not knowing how to handle her lack of kowtowing, until the same man tried again to repair his shame.
"Silence! How we call a filthy criminal is irrelevant! Lay down your weapon! All, raise your weapons!" Most got their bows, others prepped their shields in case they needed to intercept her. She smiled faintly in response, before a crueler look came over her face.
"Oh, I would say the name matters. Perhaps you should have considered me a monster. Perhaps then you would have known better than to come for me." The horse was safe now, out of sight and still trotting along. "Perhaps then you would have lived."
The Power came upon her in a flash, her body posture shifting as she turned. A clawed paw the size of a horse touched the ground, as she now towered over them, looking way down upon their foolish faces. She gave them no chance to regain their wits. A single deep breath, then their eardrums burst as she let out her rage.
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