The largest of the bandits let out a pained groan, the wind knocked from his lungs, and struggled to force himself back upright. He wasn't nearly fast enough, this time; he'd barely managed to sit up when the follow-up blow from Jarvan's flail clocked him cleanly across the side of his face, and he went straight back down.<br/><br/>Which still left three. As if in answer to the nguruvilu's thoughts, there was a loud blast from the treeline where Kital and her prey had disappeared only moments earlier. The matsuba came soaring back out of the undergrowth, and slapped directly into the trunk of an inconveniently-placed tree. She dropped towards the ground for a moment, but caught herself before she hit the dirt. She was more angry than injured.<br/><br/>"<i>Oh, that's it!</i>" She shouted back in the direction she'd come, then swelled up her cheeks and fired back a high-powered blast of water. She followed up by coiling her body once more, and launched herself back out of sight.<br/><br/>Meanwhile the archer had dropped into a crouch, her knife held defensively at the ready, her other arm held back to counterbalance. Slowly, stealthily, she began to slide a second knife loose from behind her back. The bandits' young victim looked on, sprawled in the dirt amongst her belongings where she'd been thrown, and her eyes narrowed. Her hand had ended up only centimetres from a heavy, iron pot. She took hold of the handle, gripping it tightly, and began to carefully get to her feet. Her father, seeing the movement, slowly shook his head and tried to catch her eye, mouthing "No".<br/><br/>She didn't see, or she chose not to.<br/><br/>Springing to her feet, the woman rushed suddenly forward. The archer, her eyes focused on Jarvan's charge, only barely noticed the new threat in time. She whirled on the spot, bringing her knives around as the young woman swung the iron pot with all her might. There was a flash of steel, a spray of blood, and the pot fell to the ground. The young woman staggered back, clutching at her arm.<br/><br/>The archer's eyes were entirely off Jarvan and the nguruvilu. It was the moment the little fox snake had waited for. Her jet couldn't hit the bandit in the face, exactly, but it did strike her in the back of the head. She was knocked reeling, completely off-balance, and wide open to Jarvan as he covered the last few steps between them.