The young man started to bark at the huge tiger, his leg twitching in agitation. The tiger continued to move forward.
"Zari, come out!" Came Eder's booming voice again.
As if suffering in pain, Zari howled and curled his body. He held onto the frame of the cage and knocked his head repeatedly. Eder furrowed his brows and jumped on him but Zari seemed to have found enough strength to push him in his tiger form.
'Argh!'
Eder's body got thrown across the cage. He landed on his four legs but had to extend his grip deep into the ground to steady himself. He growled and Zari started to bark and pounce on him. He stood up and shrunk to his human form, all geared in a glistening white and gray armor. He opened his arms to receive the blow of Zari's attack and they exchanged some punches.
Eder's moves were calculated and careful but with the wild random attacks of the muddle headed Zari, the finds some difficulty fending him off so they battled for awhile. After what seemed like an eternity, Zari's knees gave out and he howled like a madman. He punched the floor and collapsed. His body trembled as he struggled to keep himself awake, his eyes warily fixed on Eder's tall body as he walked towards his shaking self.
'Ruff!'
'Ruff!'
He barked. Eder shed his armor and it shrunk on his body leaving only a bodysuit that clung to his body. He walked in a slow steady way as he heaved heavy breaths. Unable to move his body, Zari continued to bark. Black fur glistened on his body and his nails started to grow longer.
With bruises and cuts on his body, Eder walked up to him and massaged his aching arms. He opened his mouth and blew something shining out. It looked like a lustrous pearl about the size of a grape and a soft glow emits from it. He looked back at his wife and saw her busy watching over the awakening Huan, the ice covering his body starting to crack again.
Latini's felt a gaze directed towards her and saw her husband looking at her. Her image flickered and after a while, an empty glass container is being thrown towards Zari's cage.
'Blop.'
The glass container entered the cage with ease and did not crash. Eder stretched his hand to firmly catch it. He continued walking towards Zari.
"Zari, it's time. Wake up." He softly said. Zari did not move. He continued to lay on his stomach and breath heavily.
"Zari." Eder probed.
'Grrrr.'
A low growl is heard and Zari lifted his head, his eyes still a growling red. With some rest, he gained control of his limbs and in an attempt of a final fight, he sprang and lifted his fist for a punch. Eder did not dodge the attack. Instead, he kept moving forward and before Zari's punch could land anywhere in his body, he raised his hand and an invisible barrier seemed to receive the blow from the punch. Something rippled in the air and Zari got tossed to the side.
As he breathed heavily, Zari's eyes cleared up and its redness starting to darken. The black fur from his arms still flickered but this time a translucent black suit seemed to cover his body and it also flickered like his fur. He lowered his head and exhaled sharply as the pain from his wounds entered his senses. He supported his body with his arms and slowly looked up.
"Zari." Eder called out again. The young man blinked and opened his dry mouth.
"Captain." He muttered and his body swayed as his eyes slowly closed. Light flew from the outside and the familiar red coat steadily positioned itself under Zari's falling body and caught him.
Eder let go of the glass container in his hand and it floated in the air as he left it aside. He walked towards the passed out Zari and held his head with his two hands. A black smoke escaped from his mouth and stayed suspended in the air. Eder grabbed the glass container and placed it next to the smoke. Slowly, the black smoke entered the glass container and moved inside like a whirlpool. Once it settled, the smoke turned again and took the shape of a small sphere then it rotated inside the glass container consistently.
Zari's body twitched and blood oozed from his wounds. Eder brought the glowing pearl over and led it towards the fainted young man. Wisps of light came from the pearl and entered his body, healing his wounds and giving him vitality. As the pearl did so, Eder stumbled back and blood trickled from the side of his mouth. He coughed and forcefully swallowed the blood from his throat.
He knelt on one knee and continued to watch Zari recover from his wounds. Satisfied with the result, he smiled and showed his blood-stained teeth as his body swayed in weakness and he closed his eyes.
On the other cage, the gray hawk was able to get out of the ice that covered its body and he angrily flew out to attack. Latini lifted her foot to step inside the cage but saw the weakened state of Eder from the other cage and her eyes widened in shock.
She lifted her arm and gave a strong smack towards the approaching hawk and it fainted from the force, making it drop from the air. Latini's image flickered and before Eder could drop to the floor, he's already in her arms, tears and worry showing in her eyes. Wiping her tears, she looked back towards the hawk that's suspended in the air. Huan's naked body is sprawled in the air as it slowly dropped. She gestured and the red coat that held Zari unwrapped itself and flew towards the dropping Huan. He landed on the floor of the cage and he immediately fainted. Latini breathed a sigh of relief when she saw this.
Sniffling her tears, she slung one of Eder's arms over her shoulders and she dragged him out of the cage. Once out, she closed both cages again and threw each a glass container with light on it. She walked towards the door and gaining access, she went out.