Vaux Down

Sentinel Island - Haven
JP with Omni and Lorem

Gonyaul strained and even turned his head, as if that would help, as would a puppy dog trying to decipher the words spoken between them. Each time a phonetic chain of syllables was uttered, he did his best to parse them together into something that he could make sense of. Alas, he couldn’t even come close to figuring it out. He was able to read their body language and tone, that was at least something; however, it was mere scraps compared to the main course. Then he suddenly recognized a word, just enough to give him hope to keep trying, only to dash those hopes on the rocks as once again he could understand nothing of their content.

Then his focus took an immediate turn as the warrior woman approached him. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of her advance yet. It didn’t seem threatening, but she seemed aggressive by default. He decided to stay calm, give them the benefit of the doubt. To verify his decision he glanced quickly at the old woman. She had no malice in her micro expressions.

And then he felt himself getting yanked like a rag doll up to his feet. His hands came up and gripped onto Draza’s forearm to balance himself. She had lifted him slightly beyond his height, which had him tiptoeing and reaching for the ground for a few seconds before succeeding. Before he could make further sense of his predicament, he felt his midsection laid bare. What on earth was going on?

His midsection was lean. He looked underweight. It had been from the surviving in the wilderness, recently coming back from infection induced illness, and the days of scarcity they had put him through. With each breath and squirm though they would both see the shifting of well defined and strong abdominal muscles. It was a testament not of bulging muscles, but a very strong core.

Gonyaul was slightly distracted by the old woman inspecting him and her sudden words. He could feel the punch coming, like a wave in the ocean about to crash on the shore, as the force progressed in her body.

His midsection was vulnerable and he didn’t have enough time to brace before impact. Gonyaul experienced an abrupt contraction of his abdominal muscles, attempting instinctively to shield the vulnerable area. A sharp intake of breath followed immediately, as his body responded to the sudden trauma.

The impact radiated through his torso, jolting internal organs and disrupting the natural rhythm of his breath. Gonyaul doubled over, grappling with the searing pain, as his body instinctively attempted to protect itself. Nausea and dizziness accompanied the sensation, while the impact reverberated through his nervous system, momentarily stunning him.

In the aftermath, the beautiful Gonyaul struggled to regain composure, gasping for air and grappling with the lingering discomfort. His equilibrium had been disrupted and he quickly crumpled onto the ground in a fetal position. He managed to look up at Draza, with an expression that was inquiring of the reason of why that assault was necessary.