The Shadows Of The Forest, Deep inside the forest lie secrets

[Cosmos]

Though he could easily allocate part of his attention elsewhere when it was needed, Quo-Bu seemed to be fixated on the antics of Jinililavati. He didn't seem to be listening to anything else, let alone acknowledging it's presence, but despite the perk to both his feline and avian curiosities, he was actually quite attuned to his environment. Still, his flowing tail waved behind him in a half-wag as he watched the girl.

Idly he began to stroke his chin with a taloned foot, until finally something managed to pull his attention away from the playful chimera. Sharp avian eyes showed a sense of unease as they turned to Aumnius, who hastily offered the girl a morsel of questionable origin. Though his culture valued generosity, to see it so soon and so suddenly made the gryphon a bit apprehensive. He did not, however, vocally address the issue, opting instead to keep the atmosphere about them calm lest something jump out at them again.

"... Maybe we should hunt, if she happens to be hungry," the avian feline said as though he was a city-dweller proposing to go to a cafe, "There's a very nice river near here."

[Kaidona]

Dark brows furrowed again from behind the strange man, a split ear cocking back, while weathered indicolite first eyed the peculiarly violet soul, and then slid to regard Jinililavati. Discomfited concern etched into Reldian’s rune-marked forehead, his feet shuffling restlessly against the grass, until a hand habitually rose to find the hilt of his falchion, the guard about which his fingers wrapped.

The jaguar-faced chimaera, in the meantime, stared especially blankly at it, leaned cautiously away from the luminescent mass, until eventually red-amber tiger eyes rose to meet Aumnius himself. Tufted ears were splayed outward, a somewhat bewildered knot in her brow, while the rest of her features had twisted into a, perhaps, slightly discomforting expression. It was a touch incredulous, a smidgen dumbfounded; he may as well have been both stark raving mad and growing a second ass from his head.

A very awkward silence had loomed over the clearing, settling over the heads of the rag-tag troupe, if they could have been called that, where it took pleasure in making at least one of them fidget. The warlord of old, being the fidget, finally raised a loose fist to his lip and cleared his throat into it, at which point Jin’s attention returned to the presented soul, and, as he could have easily predicted, she reached a clawed finger to poke at it.

Her solidity made it wiggle, to which her ears shot swiftly erect, and she reached to poke it again. Light mirth curled her bestial lip, entertained by this new discovery, and next she tried reaching in and pulling out wisps, the idea of consuming it already entirely lost on her.

Gaining a loosely dubious deadpan to his countenance, Reldian’s shoulders slumped, before he pushed bits of ultramarine from his face, his split brow arching to attain a sharp quirk. “Eh,” he grunted, daring to venture forth, “perhaps I should have mentioned that her preferred method of consumption is, rather, not taking souls, but instead swallowing live critters whole.”

Jin looked up about then, wide-eyed and alert. “Fish?”

[Serephix Vamlyn]

Aumnius nodded and stood closing his fist as it snuffed out and seeped into his hand. He turned his head to Reldian "I see." He turned and looked out through the trees peering through them slowly. "A stream sounds like a good idea. We should get going before nightfall. The shadows will grow and so will our enemies. I feel something, or many things, things that will want to take what we have." He took several steps away from Jin and stopped looking up in the sky, the clouds had grown thicker. Lightning was arching across the sky and the wind was starting to pick up. He turned to the others, "the air has a scent of death in the air, I have a feeling there will be more soon enough."

[Cosmos]

The gryphon's feathered ears twitched not once, but a very enthusiastic twice, as a single word escaped the lips of the girl. Quo-Bu leapt up onto his back paws before happily cantering a circle around the gathered group, and stopping to bow playfully in front of Jin.

"Yes, fish!" he cawed jubilantly, "We shall fish for lunch!" The now joyous feline-avian was now waving his tail about with great enthusiasm, as he was, primarily, a consumer of fish and other marine animals. Something about having an inquisitive little chimera girl to fish with ignited a sense of happiness in him, especially since he had been traveling alone for the previous few days. More people meant not only more fun, but a larger audience to bear witness to the absurdity of a phoenix splashing about in the water after fish.

He then looked to Reldian for a second, then to Aumnius, before he straightened his posture. Quo-Bu sniffed the air a few times before nodding once.

"Right, let us get moving. I don't feel quite as much danger as the swordsman, but there seems to be a storm brewing and we'd best get our food out of the way before we need to seek shelter."

[Kaidona]

“Yes,” Reldian began in concurrence, his ears twitching back as a low rumble rippled across the sky. “It would be prudent to make our way swiftly.”

“Fish!” Jinililavati chirped jovially, throwing her striped and spotted arms into the air. Settling down on her hands, she waved her smoky-clad rump in the air, calculating perhaps, before she leapt forward, bounding off into the line of trees, where the heavy shadows cast by the canopy swallowed her whole.

Staring blankly after her wake, the dark-haired warlord blinked, briefly quirking his brows. If that wasn’t a demonstration of who the leader was between the pair, he couldn’t imagine what was. “Apparently the water is that way,” he remarked, turning to regard Quo-Bu and Aumnius each in turn. A moment’s consideration later, he shifted on his feet and began to stride after the speedy lass, keeping tabs on which way her distinct scent went.

[Serephix Vamlyn]

Aumnius nodded and followed quietly, contemplating, he focused on the area around him, clenching and unclenching his hands, they were stiff and slow to respond to his mental commands. He could feel the souls flowing through his body, granting him power, but for some reason, he felt uneasy. As his boots pressed to the grass, flattening it under his weight, his mind was scanning the area, thinking of his brother, of his blade, of his abilities, and the denizens he was travelling with now. They were interesting, and powerful, but he knew he would eventually have to leave. As he had to with all those he travelled with, either they died, or another cicumstance arose. He passed into the trees, the canopy blocking light from his body, his flesh, and his eyes. The second he stepped into the thick trees, as soon as the light was taken, his blade began to emit a low glow of white light with a slightly blue tint. His blade did have it's non-combat uses.

[Cosmos]

Quo-Bu stared at the hole in the leaves the chimera girl had left. The prospect of food made him playful, and he was going to propose a race, but her head start created an unfairness in that regard. At the very least, she had rocketed off in the right direction. Wordlessly, the gryphon crouched low and remained there for a second, a single slow ripple running along his body as he readied himself. In the blink of an eye the only evidence he had been standing there was the remnants of a great wind he kicked up as he sprung himself into the air.

He took a second to survey the area above the trees. Though he couldn't see the ground, as it was obscured by thick, dark foliage, he could easily see the river immediately to his north and the approaching dark clouds. A line of heavy rain blurred the sky as it slowly made its way towards the group, but despite his affiliation with fire, Quo-Bu didn't seem to be concerned. Riding on air currents high above the ground, the phoenix swiftly soared toward the gently flowing water that cut a path through the unyielding trees.