It was all fun in games until the snake decided to come out of the grass, but Amalia 's reflexes were swift enough to buy her time to change into something more dangerous. It gave the viper pause, its reptile brain uncertain how to process the change from owl to leopard, but confusion only seemed to make it madder. It coiled itself, hissing at Amalia and the wing-spread, cawing raven that tried to distract it as it debated whether to engage in fight or flight from the situation. Fight was the answer it landed on, and it tensed its coils, springing towards the large fuzzy heat source with poisoned fangs bared--
Kiada struck true, the snake sensing her shadow too late to react as large, hooked talons wrapped around it and though it thrashed, it couldn't break free until the Harpy flung it away, her aim perhaps a little off - the snake struck the tree's trunk and fell to the underbrush, stunned. In all the excitement and thrashing water, more ripples bounced outward from the center of the oasis, but with as broken and choppy as it had become near shore it was difficult to see their source.
Isuma bounded to her big sister, the little gryphlet making worried chirrups as she nosed Amalia over, looking for injuries and dampening her paws in the water as she did so. Jigano chirred calmingly to his companions, hopping up to a shaded tree branch to look out over the Oasis with eyes that were far more watchful now. We can rest here a bit, he suggested, cocking his head to see what his friends thought. But let's keep going when you're ready. This might make for a good camping place if we come back prepared. Maybe even a place to hide from Zariah, in a pinch... but I'd rather we not spend the night here tonight until we can explore it further. And maybe things will green up when we get nearer to the ocean? It was something to hope for, at least. The greater part of the day was still ahead of them, and they could fly east for half of it before they'd need to turn around.
When they were ready to take off again, Jigano left the remaining raven behind to keep watch before he launched himself into the sky, leading the way once more. Another hour, and he was getting ready to call for another break when a cool breeze began to blow, ruffling their feathers and carrying with it the scent of moisture. Urging his friends forward, the highest flying among them would see a grey smudge on the horizon, stretching as far as their eyes could see.
It took close to another hour to reach it, for the size of the storm creating that smudge was immense. Clouds, fierce and black, towered high above. Rain lashed the ground below them so thickly that it might as well have been an opaque wall. The wind coming off it blew fiercely the closer they came, and the avians would sense the wickedly unpredictable downdrafts and gusts that swirled within the storm itself like the hands of giants knocking the air aside. Offsetting the darkness of the clouds was the brilliance of the lightning that flashed among them, a near-constant display of raw, elemental power that jumped from land to cloud, and cloud to cloud, jagged forks of electricity snarling for miles across the sky. Thunder boomed continuously, deafening them with its fury as it rolled and cracked, a weapon in its own right apart from the lightning that birthed it.
I hate to say it... but we don't have time to check both north and south to see how far it extends before we need to head back. What do you think to splitting up and seeing if we can find the edges of this monstrosity? It can't possibly be natural... he finished dubiously, fighting to stay aloft against the trickles of gusts that extended even to the cloudless Leafchange sky they had flown under until that point.
If you choose to go north, turn to page 38
If you choose to go south, turn to page 43
If you have a different idea, now's your chance to jump the rails!
No posting order this round
Kiada struck true, the snake sensing her shadow too late to react as large, hooked talons wrapped around it and though it thrashed, it couldn't break free until the Harpy flung it away, her aim perhaps a little off - the snake struck the tree's trunk and fell to the underbrush, stunned. In all the excitement and thrashing water, more ripples bounced outward from the center of the oasis, but with as broken and choppy as it had become near shore it was difficult to see their source.
Isuma bounded to her big sister, the little gryphlet making worried chirrups as she nosed Amalia over, looking for injuries and dampening her paws in the water as she did so. Jigano chirred calmingly to his companions, hopping up to a shaded tree branch to look out over the Oasis with eyes that were far more watchful now. We can rest here a bit, he suggested, cocking his head to see what his friends thought. But let's keep going when you're ready. This might make for a good camping place if we come back prepared. Maybe even a place to hide from Zariah, in a pinch... but I'd rather we not spend the night here tonight until we can explore it further. And maybe things will green up when we get nearer to the ocean? It was something to hope for, at least. The greater part of the day was still ahead of them, and they could fly east for half of it before they'd need to turn around.
When they were ready to take off again, Jigano left the remaining raven behind to keep watch before he launched himself into the sky, leading the way once more. Another hour, and he was getting ready to call for another break when a cool breeze began to blow, ruffling their feathers and carrying with it the scent of moisture. Urging his friends forward, the highest flying among them would see a grey smudge on the horizon, stretching as far as their eyes could see.
It took close to another hour to reach it, for the size of the storm creating that smudge was immense. Clouds, fierce and black, towered high above. Rain lashed the ground below them so thickly that it might as well have been an opaque wall. The wind coming off it blew fiercely the closer they came, and the avians would sense the wickedly unpredictable downdrafts and gusts that swirled within the storm itself like the hands of giants knocking the air aside. Offsetting the darkness of the clouds was the brilliance of the lightning that flashed among them, a near-constant display of raw, elemental power that jumped from land to cloud, and cloud to cloud, jagged forks of electricity snarling for miles across the sky. Thunder boomed continuously, deafening them with its fury as it rolled and cracked, a weapon in its own right apart from the lightning that birthed it.
I hate to say it... but we don't have time to check both north and south to see how far it extends before we need to head back. What do you think to splitting up and seeing if we can find the edges of this monstrosity? It can't possibly be natural... he finished dubiously, fighting to stay aloft against the trickles of gusts that extended even to the cloudless Leafchange sky they had flown under until that point.
If you choose to go north, turn to page 38
If you choose to go south, turn to page 43
If you have a different idea, now's your chance to jump the rails!
