Downed Prey (Welded Sunset)
#204 of Short Stories
A pack of mechs lay siege to a bird atop a mountain. Magnetism gets involved.
~ The lumbering bulk of the bear frame bounded up to the treeline heavily, each footfall of the mech's pace seeming to shudder nearby trees from the roots up. The much more limber wolf frame paced in place anxiously, looking about across the clearing as though focusing on a variety of unheard voices beyond the distance. With the bear's arrival, the wolf looked up the gravel slope to the top of the mountain, framed by a slate gray sky beyond.
~ "The pack's managed to chase the bird to ground, with a few lucky hits earlier, and she's up topside somewhere.", the wolf volunteered.
~ A rumbling grunt, "Good. I pay you dogs well enough for good work. When do I get it?", the bear inquired as his pace slowed to a walk and finally a halt just inside the clearing of the mountain's base.
~ The wolf's attention never seemed to entirely focus on the bear, though the reply was prompt, "The pack is currently scouting out along the forest's edge, and we should know the best route up within the hour."
~ An annoyed grunt, "I gave you enough missiles to kill the pest; best you do is ground it. I can handle another hour.", though further complaint from the bear was cut short with the disorientation that came with the arrival of the intense magnetic field that sprang from the mountain top.
~ After the moment's shock, the bear roared down to the wolf, "You said that the bird didn't have the juice for another repair cycle!", clamoring up to his feet to bound across the broken gravel and rock of the mountain with the wolf in chase. "I'll finish this before she's back in the air.", the bear continued with the tangle of his roar.
~ The wolf glanced between the surprisingly brisk collection of armor that was the bear and the mountaintop that had sprouted massive loops of flame and molten metals along the most intense lines of magnetic force that the phoenix had laid in to generate. His pace slowed as he called out to the bear, "The pack's gotten enough pay from you already; go punch a furnace if you wish, we're heading to the next job.", his own path plodding a wide arc along back towards the forest.