Perhaps tweaking a manticore's Rose had not been the brightest idea the blight-raged raven had ever had, but the scent of the vile vegetation was enough to drive Jigano from merely mad to downright rabid, and even rationality's ghost called it a day and clocked out once that scent hit his blight-ravaged brain. In the heat of the chase he was too worried about survival to regret his decision, and once the massive monster turned around and went back to the Mathair he was too drawn by the Rose to learn his lesson and leave well enough alone. Neither 'regret' nor 'gratitude' were words in his current repertoire; most of his vocabulary consisted of "rar" "grrr" "caw" and "hiss" with the occasional mine! almost breaching the tar-soaked remnants of higher thought he still possessed.
After Remi peeled away the raven continued to fly for long seconds, certain that doom was still chasing hot on his tail feathers. Only when he heard a crunch of breaking branches far behind him did he slow enough to steal a glance back and spot the manticore retreating back to the mother-tree.
Taking the still-partially-intact Rose with him.
The raven hissed his displeasure, the blight riding him far too hard to allow retreat as an option as he turned on a wingtip and followed his foe back, albeit at a slower pace. He skimmed the ground to snag a rock in his beak before flapping once more. He angled his wings upwards, white feathers against snowy white sky until he could circle around the Mathair from above. There was death on the wind now, the scent of blood nearby speaking to another forest denizen's kill, but the aroma of the Rose held his attention more completely as he looked down upon the now-vigilant Manticore with frustrated anger.
But at least the manticore was looking in the underbrush for him and not above in the clouds. Jigano folded his wings and dropped to a branch on the other side of the Mathair, hiding like the sneaky little bastard that he was as he waited for Remi to surrender the Rose from his mouth, that toothy maw too secure a protection for his small body to pry apart. But the moment the Rose was set down, then the raven would begin his bombing run, staying high enough to avoid the reach of the manticore's cruel claws while trying to drop his rock on the damaged Rose.
After Remi peeled away the raven continued to fly for long seconds, certain that doom was still chasing hot on his tail feathers. Only when he heard a crunch of breaking branches far behind him did he slow enough to steal a glance back and spot the manticore retreating back to the mother-tree.
Taking the still-partially-intact Rose with him.
The raven hissed his displeasure, the blight riding him far too hard to allow retreat as an option as he turned on a wingtip and followed his foe back, albeit at a slower pace. He skimmed the ground to snag a rock in his beak before flapping once more. He angled his wings upwards, white feathers against snowy white sky until he could circle around the Mathair from above. There was death on the wind now, the scent of blood nearby speaking to another forest denizen's kill, but the aroma of the Rose held his attention more completely as he looked down upon the now-vigilant Manticore with frustrated anger.
But at least the manticore was looking in the underbrush for him and not above in the clouds. Jigano folded his wings and dropped to a branch on the other side of the Mathair, hiding like the sneaky little bastard that he was as he waited for Remi to surrender the Rose from his mouth, that toothy maw too secure a protection for his small body to pry apart. But the moment the Rose was set down, then the raven would begin his bombing run, staying high enough to avoid the reach of the manticore's cruel claws while trying to drop his rock on the damaged Rose.
