Two mountains thrust themselves out of the grassy plain, incongruous with the seemingly endless flat area. Between them was a stream, swift enough to pull a man off his feet. Over millennia, the stream had worn away a deep ravine between the peaks. Sunlight slanted down past a hundred feet of stone, pocked with small caves and ledges, to sparkle on the swiftly moving water. The water ran almost arrow straight through the crevasse, leaving wide banks of stone on either side. Gradually descending down a slope at one end, the water went through a small opening at the other into endless darkness.

 

Rigger was poised at the edge of one of those caves in the cliff wall. He chattered to himself quietly, patiently waiting for his prey. He knew something would come through here eventually. . . A drop of acid dripped from his small mandible and was swallowed up by the fast current. Rigger was hungry.

Edited July 31, 201411 yr by NatronSpore

Guy Mors alongside the edge of the canyon, a few feet from the edge for safety. It was a nice day, and the ravine was one of his favorite places to be. The current made a nice rushing sound, and he loved that such a simple thing like water could create such a grand landmark. For fun, the swordsman unsheathed his blade and looked at it. It was pretty, with a nice sharp edge, simple hilt. Perfect for fighting. Of course, some people preferred something flashier, but Guy never understood that. A fancy sword didn't make you any more skilled.

Something like a smile stretched across Rigger's face. His prey was here, and unawares. But Rigger liked prey that was afraid, and to make prey afraid, he had to show himself. A drop of acid ran slowly down his mandible, then dropped. It seemed to hang in the air for minutes during the second it took to fall and land on the man's bare blade. Rigger's smile widened, glee in his eyes.

What? There was a drop of something on his blade. Guy looked as it sizzled slightly on his sword. He flicked his sword to get it off. How incredibly strange. Acid. It had fallen from the sky... Guy looked up and saw something he wished he hadn't. "Why hello there..." Guy muttered, backing up slightly. This was not a big he could squash with his shoe. He had happened upon many huge killer insects in his travels, but none that... smiled so disconcertingly. Guy sheathed his sword, and readied himself for battle. Such a motion would normally be contradictory to his purpose, but for him, battles started with his sword in the scabbard.

Rigger chittered softly, a sound that could be taken for laughter. Only one thing marred his glee: his prey was not afraid. But it was still prey, and Rigger was hungry. Raising its four scythe blades, Rigger let out a screech and leaped straight at the man, blades ready to skewer. The leap crossed the distance in about a second; Rigger had powerful legs. After his charge, Rigger pushed off from his foe, then sprayed four streams of extremely hot juices as he flew through the air and landed on the opposite riverbank. He immediately began climbing up the far wall.

Guy quickly put his sheath in front of himself to block, managing to avoid getting skewered. The insect pushed itself off of him, pushing Guy back into the wall. He recovered in time to cartwheel to the side, avoiding those... liquids. Guy watched the insect scurry up the wall. Oh no, if it wanted a fight, it was getting a fight. Guy ran and jumped to the opposite wall, landing and jumping off again quickly. He continued to wall jump to the point where he was near Rigger's position. Guy jumped from the opposite wall of his opponent, pulling his sword from his scabbard and aiming a strike with it straight at the bug.

Like many flies, Rigger's eyes were multifaceted and placed more to the side of his head. He had 360-degree vision. The human's attack did not surprise him. The human's skill did surprise him. He had had easy pickings at this spot before, but never had Rigger encountered a human possessing as much skill as this one. If Rigger wasn't a twisted being, he would have respect for the human. Because Rigger was a twisted being, he only felt annoyance. And glee, the glee of the hunt. Rigger skittered sideways on the rock wall, causing the blade to miss and bury itself in the stone. Pushing off from the wall, he disgorged a gob of sticky acid at the human, then shot the gob with a stream of hot liquid. When the two fluids contacted, a sudden, powerful chemical explosion occurred. Rigger buzzed his long dragonfly wings as he crossed the ravine in the air, wondering if his meal would be crispy or not.