Capture. [Banora] (Cerul)

[Cloud]

It had been a long day. Nadim was perched up in a tree, lounging back on a large wide branch while Haja was down below picking away at some large flowers of an unknown variety. While he didn't care for the new world, the chocobo certainly didn't seem to have an issue with the newly expanded selection of food. She cooed happily, getting a chuckle out of the Mithra as he glanced down to observe his feathery friend. Haja really was a fine creature, easily trained, loving and loyal. She was almost everything you could ask for in a travel companion. Not much for conversation, something Nadim greatly missed. It had been almost two weeks since he parted ways with Rune, his Elvaan friend. He let out a subtle sigh before leaping down out of the tree, landing a short distance away from the still grazing bird.

In all honesty he wasn't sure where to go next. His knowledge of the world was limited before the merge, so now he had only the most basic of navigational knowledge aside from the essentials. He paced between two large willow trees with his hands behind his back. If only he could fly. Sure, there were large airships, but the chocobo never did care too much for air travel. The operators almost always wanted animals to be caged up, and Haja was not one who could be easily contained. With that out of the question, he could only keep moving on foot. Perhaps if he kept out of populated areas, keep to the woods, and then he could go unnoticed and never be bothered. It was rather unlikely to be found in such a secluded area. With all things considered, it seemed like the best option at this point. With Rune gone, travel was now much more dangerous. It almost made going home seem like a good idea.
Not that he knew where home was. The young ranger had gotten turned around so many times that he wasn't even sure which direction to start. Picking up a couple of items that were placed about on the ground, he slung his bow strap over his shoulder and glanced back to Haja.

"Haja, come. We need to be moving. This place won't be safe after dark."

The chocobo lifted her head up out of the flower patch with a slight tilt of the head. "WAARK!" she squawked, slightly irritated to leave her feast, but followed nevertheless.

"I know, I know, I promise we'll find you more to eat when we make camp." Nadim reached up and gave her a quick pat on the beak before leading the way down a small trail used by the local wildlife.


The moon was high up above shining light down onto the two exhausted travelers who lazily sat near a campfire. Nadim, leaning back with his arms out behind him and Haja, who was as curled up as she could be, quietly snoring away. It was a wonderfully quiet night, with just the sounds of the insects and the crackling fire keeping the night from being completely silent. Off in the short distance was the ruined town of Banora. It wasn't like other abandoned towns left at the mercy of nature; it was very clear what had happened there. It may have been a number of years since, the town was torn apart and blown to bits in an attack, but the scars were still clear. He sat and wondered about the story behind the attack, about the people who once inhabited the small town. After a short look-see he was unable to find any weapons of their own, concluding that they were unable to even defend themselves. Nonetheless, he was not one to pass judgment, he wasn't there and he didn't know the circumstances.

"It's so strange." Nadim looked up at the sky, letting himself fall back against the grass, sprawling out under the stars. The night sky used to be a reliable constant in his life. Where he came from the stars were brilliant twinkling guides of the night sky. If you could follow the stars, you could go anywhere. However since the merge the sky hasn't been the same, no longer a reliable constant. While these thoughts of the old world swam around in the recesses of his mind, he lost all sense of time, completely unaware of what was around him. He was out in the middle of nowhere, what could happen?

[Griever]

If there was one thing that got on Cerul's nerves, it was the way tiny, backwater towns always managed to be so invariably dull. And the fact that they never seemed to offer a good drink. And renting chocobos that weren't well-trained, and the foreign Hume-children who kept calling her "kitty", and...well, there were a lot of things that got on her nerves, but they weren't necessarily all relevant. Presently, though, her main source of annoyance came from two things: the fact that the town of Gaia was so small and out-of-the-way that the very presence of a foreign traveler seemed to incite a rush of excitement, and that it seemed to be a source of absolutely no useful information.

Though Cerul had been raised a hunter, tracking anyone after the Merge proved to be a difficult task. It had taken her over a week before she first came across the trail she sought in the rainy Burmecia, and now, not far out of Alexandria, she'd lost it again. Gaia was the nearest town in the path, so she had thought to question the residents, but, as one villager had put it, he'd "never seen a cat-person before in his life - are those ears real?"

She'd kindly informed him that she'd never seen a man who looked quite so much like a pig, herself.

Two days of travel since with no guarantee she was still moving in the right direction had done nothing to improve her mood, and neither had the local monsters, slowing her pursuit the moment she stepped off of the main roads. Finally, though, early in the morning, she had found what she sought: a set of chocobo tracks, fresh in the soft earth, joined soon after by boot-prints beside, no doubt belonging to the rider. "Found you," she murmured half under her breath, a grin spreading across her face.

Night had fallen when the pace of the tracks seemed to change, moving somewhat closer together as they had slowed, no doubt searching for a place to make camp. The moon was bright and clear above, however, providing plenty of light to keep her path by. It wasn't long before she met the faint scent of smoke in the air, and then a little further on, a pale, ruddy light that stretched the shadows of the trees out toward her. Soundlessly, she pulled one curved blade from its place at her hip, crouching low to the earth as she moved forward to the edge of the small clearing, keeping to the shadows as she peered around an ancient tree trunk. The chocobo was clear in her line of vision, its feathers reddish in the light, settled comfortably in to sleep. Its rider was just out of sight, though, even when she craned her neck far to the side for a better look. Her tail flicked out behind her, lashing the air in an irritated gesture, even as she sprang lightly across the gap between her tree and the next for a better look, landing softly on fallen leaves.

Now she could see him, though it appeared that her careful stealth wasn't necessary. The mithra boy was paying no attention at all to his surroundings, oblivious to her presence, if his relaxed manner was anything to go by. She had to stifle a laugh as she bent forward, blade in hand, her legs tensing beneath her. Oh, he'd been such a little pain to follow, but now he was making it almost too easy.

He was an interesting sight, she had to admit. No Mithran men lived in Kazham, and up until a year ago, he was the only one still to be found in Windurst. For several minutes, Cerul didn't move from her place, her curiosity getting the better of her as she watched her heedless target stare up at the sky, oblivious to all the world around him. But she didn't dare wait too long and risk him making a sudden decision to turn around, not when she had such a pronounced advantage. Shifting to the left just slightly, she sprang forward in one fluid motion to land just behind him, laying her curved blade almost flat against his chest as she leaned forward to speak almost in his ear.

"Don't move, and don't even think about trying to fight me. I'd rather do this the easy way, wouldn't you? Perih Vashai isn't very happy with you, Nadim Zhoryi."

[Cloud]

He could've laid there all night, watching the stars travel across the sky, creating constellations of his own. Nadim glanced over towards Haja, watching her chest rise and fall with each breath, wondering what chocobo's dream of. Probably something besides being a pet. It was for her own good, he thought. After all, who knows what would've happened to her during or after the merge. Noticing that the fire was dying out, he decided to go get some firewood, but just before getting up his nose caught a new scent. Before being able to process what it might be, Nadim soon found a curved blade held to his chest, making him freeze up. How, how was he found? He sniffed the air again, she was a Mithra, that much was obvious. So they did send someone to track him. She warned him not to move, and he obeyed, it wasn't as if he had much of a choice, not in the position he was in.

"So, you're here to take me back, huh?" He let out a subtle sigh, assessing the situation.

All his weapons were a short distance away, just out of reach, except for a dagger, but her positioning made it difficult if not impossible to strike. It was a difficult situation, but no matter how he looked at it, the outcome was certain; he was going back.

"I guess... I don't have any choice in the matter. Let me up, and I'll go quietly."

Nadim put his hands out to the side, showing that he was going to try any funny business. It would be foolish to make any attempt to fight back. She had the upper hand, and he had no idea her skill set. Chances were that they sent someone who was good at more than just tracking.

"Just... keep quiet, I don't want to wake Haja, not while like this. She... may get defensive, if you get me."

He couldn't help but wonder what Perih Vashai had in mind for him. He left without permission, under normal circumstances that was just a minor infraction, but he was a male, a male with a coveted bloodline. House arrest, that is what is expected. After all, they're going to want to keep him as close to home as possible, right? Things would just go back to how they were before the merge. It wasn't a life he wanted, but it was a life he could now see to be inescapable.

[Griever]

"What can I say? You're worth a nice little reward." Cerul laughed, a somewhat mocking sound, though she did as requested, removing the blade to allow him to move, though she kept it pointed forward as she circled around in front of him, her other hand resting on the second hilt at her hip. "You've been a real pain to find, you know that? It's no wonder they needed some help. By the way..." She cast a sidelong glance toward the place the weapons lay, "I wouldn't go after those, if I were you. I don't like messy situations, and we really wouldn't want to disturb the chocobo, would we?"

Despite her warnings, Cerul's manner was lax rather than guarded, and she swung the sword in her hand lightly about in careless gestures as she spoke. Her eyes remained firmly locked on Nadim, however, and as she finished speaking, she began to pace a slow circle about him, restless and still curious. For someone wanted so much back in Windurst, she hadn't expected anything quite so...docile. The skeptical part of her - the majority - wondered if it was a ploy to get her to drop her guard, but the intuitive part said otherwise, for reasons she couldn't quite seem to place. Something about the look in his eyes, maybe.

For once, completely on a whim, she listened to intuition instead, dropping to sit cross-legged on the ground in front of him.

"Why do they want you so bad, anyway...?" It was an inquiry almost to herself, though she didn't look away as she said it. Sure, Nadim's gender made him a rarity and therefore subject to a closer watch by the Chieftainess, but even with that, dragging him back by the tail was a little unusual. Her eyes drifted over the rounded marks on his cheeks, a thoughtful frown crossing her face. Because of his bloodline? Cerul almost had to laugh at that. She possessed no prestige to her name, but even if she did, she was certain she wouldn't live on anybody's leash because of it. Chieftainess or no.

Well, whatever. Not like it really mattered what Perih Vashai's reasoning was, anyway. Gil was gil, whoever it came from, whatever the reason, and he was worth a good pocket full of it. Leaning back a little, she kicked one heel into the dirt, resting her elbow up on her knee, letting the golden blade in her hand drape lazily in place. "You must be pretty popular in Windurst, huh? They don't go through this much trouble for just anyone."

[Cloud]

Nadim stood up, brushing stray blades of grass off of himself, stretching with a slight curl of the tail. He listened, listened to Cerul explain how there was a decent reward out for his capture, how difficult it was to hunt him down. Of course it was difficult, surely the merge made any sort of tracking a pain. Besides that, the tracks left by a chocobo reveal little to nothing about the rider, she would have had to get a little creative in finding him. He glanced towards his weapons the same time she did, only shaking his head in response to her warning. He had no plans to fight back, she'd cut him down before he'd be able to cross the short distance. Instead he only stood there as she circled around him, making him feel as if he was being inspected. Perhaps she was sizing him up? No, that couldn't be it, she seemed more curious than anything.

"Eh?"

He looked down at Cerul, who was now sitting in front of him. He was surprised by her sudden interest. Of course Perih Vashai had no idea why he ran off, besides what had happened during the stampede, but even that alone didn't completely explain it. No doubt perplexing to anyone who gave it some thought. Nadim had nothing to hide, so why run? It was a question he still continued to ask himself.

"No clue, honestly." He shrugged and sat down in front of her. "There are many possible reasons, a few more obvious than others. I haven't broken any of our laws, except for leaving.... Ehehe... and I don' think I was that popular. " His voice trailed off as he looked away from her to the dying embers.

"Maybe it was the Merge itself. Got my head all mixed up..." He lightly bonked the side of his head and laughed quietly, smiling. Despite the circumstances, it was nice to see another Mithra. Nadim nervously chuckled as he put his attention back on Cerul, realizing that he was speaking in broken thoughts, jumping from one thing right to the other with no in between. Sadly he could remember vividly what filled the gap.

"I think... I just made the mistake of getting too attached to my previous mate." It surprised him, he didn't expect to say it aloud, let alone think it. Nadim had given it little thought since their deaths, trying his best to block it out. He just stared at her and went on, unblinking. "A few years ago I was helping escort a convoy to Mhaura. We got caught up in the Merge. I can't even make sense of the chaos, one thing happened, then another. So much confusion. Next thing I know we're broken apart, large flock of battering rams plowed through, trampling everything in their path." He pulled his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them with a sigh. "I wasn't able to protect her... or my son. I failed them and our people... It was a conclusion I didn't come to right away however. I saw their bodies and just ran away. I kept running and running. Then the next thing I knew I was lost. Haja somehow found me despite everything, and we've been traveling ever since."

After a moment of silence Nadim forced a light smile and lightly shrugged it off, mostly an act, but it still had sincerity to it. "Things happen to everyone, bad things, good things... even mediocre things on those boring days. I've been letting the bad control my life to the point that I have no idea what my purpose is anymore. I think it is a good thing you found me." He gave an affirmative nod. "I think it is about time I go back. I just wish it didn't take so long and a huntress to show me."

[Griever]

Though she didn't make much outward show of it, Cerul listened to the whole story with attentive interest, one ear twitching occasionally atop her head in response here or there, but never interrupting. She tilted her head to one side, quiet for a moment as she continued to watch him, then shifted a little to slide her sword abruptly back into its sheath. With a weary sigh, she leaned back to fall against the soft earth, folding her arms behind her head without taking her eyes off of Nadim.

"Well, I think that's your problem. You let the bad things take over your life, and you're not really living at all. If you don't want to stay there, tell her. Gotta live for yourself, not someone else, no matter who it is. You always put the Chieftainess or some memory first, you're gonna regret it later. It's your life, you know? Too short to waste it."

Cerul had never let herself get attached like that, not to anyone or anything. People had expectations, and expectations were confining, while duties and commitments may as well have been shackles. Her whole life, she'd wandered from place to place without a destination or a goal, never tied down by anything, and she liked it just fine that way. As long as she could keep on moving, that was all she needed. The Merge was a blessing in that sense - she'd been all over Vana'diel, but this world was something new, something different, as unfamiliar as it was expansive. Even now, meeting, parting, all of it was a means to find the gil to keep going for another day.

One day at a time, that was all she needed, anyway. It was pointless to think in the long-term. At least for now.

"Hey." Cerul turned over slightly, kicking her heel into the dirt, her dull tone indicative of her opinion of that train of thought. "We're leaving early in the morning. If you're planning on getting any sleep, I'd do it now. If you're thinking of sneaking off on me, don't bother. I don't sleep when I'm working." She turned her head to gaze skyward at the stars, growing hazily obscured by a line of clouds. Not quite like Vana'diel's stars, not so familiar. There were constellations she recognized, pinpoints in the sky by which she'd made her way countless times, but for each of them there were a hundred, a thousand new lights beside them. It was thoughts like those that really did make the Merge seem strange, bringing into sharp clarity just how far removed this world was from their own. Not unpleasant, not quite. But strange.

"It's a long walk to Windurst from here, without taking that chocobo of yours. It isn't going to be a fun road, so keep your eyes open. Where you go from there, though...that's up to you. I'm not the type to take the same job twice, if I can help it."

[Cloud]

"... Gotta live for yourself, not someone else, no matter who it is. You always put the Chieftainess or some memory first, you're gonna regret it later. It's your life, you know? Too short to waste it."

Her words almost startled him. The nuances of their civilization were well known to him, but she spoke as an outsider. The wants of the Chieftainess were almost always priority in relation to everyone else's. Nadim wasn't just going to waltz back into the village and demand to do whatever he wanted. It didn't work like that. He just let out a subtle sigh in reply, throwing himself back into the deep plush grass, using his hands to prop up his head a little so he could still see her, or rather try. In the dying light her figure was just slightly darker than the surrounding fauna. Despite their enhanced eyesight, in the moonless night it was difficult even for their kind to see in detail.

He just laid there for a moment, thinking about her words. It bothered him for some reason, maybe she didn't grow up like he had? Sure, the Chieftainess wasn't too hard on her followers, so perhaps he would be able to make some request, but asking for such a thing wasn't typical. However now as not the time to worry about it, they still had to face the trip back. He had no idea how long or how far it was until they’d get home, his home rather. No doubt Haja would be happy to see familiar chocobo faces, so at least there was that to look forward to.

Then came the warning he had been expecting. It had crossed his mind briefly, just once, but Nadim wasn’t stupid. He knew better than to try to run off, even if she had been asleep, she’d be able to track him, and most likely not be so kind a second time around. “Don’t worry; I have no plans of trying to escape. Last thing I want is to nip our budding friendship~<3” He let his head fall back with a grassy thump, chuckling slightly to himself. “Don’t want the same job twice, huh? Heh, well, if that happens, I’ll make sure to make it easy for you. I might even go looking for you, if things work out that way. I wouldn’t mind traveling without having to look over my shoulder all the time. Now that you found me, I actually feel some relief. The chase is over, I can now relax. I may not care much for this new world, but I might as well make the most of it now that it’s here, ya know? Maybe see if I can find a race that doesn’t try to pet me every time I show my face…”

[Griever]

Cerul couldn't help but laugh a little at that, dryly, amused despite herself. That was Humes for you - equal parts bluntly forward and ignorant. The next one to treat her like an animal was liable to get a good punch to the face, she'd seen so much of it. Still...she pulled her knees up straighter, digging the tips of her toes into the soft earth. "Vana'diel was...smaller than you'd think. You think there's so much to it, but you get out there, really get out there, and suddenly you've seen it all. Pretty soon it all starts to look the same. Doesn't matter if it's San d'Oria or Mhaura, and an ocean's an ocean, from Windurst or Olzhirya. What do you do then, when nothing's new anymore?" She fell silent for a brief moment, staring down, into the darkness of the trees beyond their little camp, at the gold-orange flicker of the dimming firelight on the ground. "I'm glad it's changed. Things are different here. Don't know what's out there now. Don't really care, either, because it's something."

Something more. Something their world never had. Maybe that didn't mean much, but at least it gave her places to go, things to look for. Running across a world she didn't know wasn't such a bad life, really, much better than chasing nothing through the one she did. The Merge, the way she saw it, was an opportunity - no more, no less, and not something to be explained or condemned.

But what was she talking to him about it for? Nadim was her gil, not her friend, and whatever he said, she doubted that she'd be seeing him again, once she dropped him off for her reward. He could think whatever he wanted about it all, and it didn't mean a thing for her, one way or the other, because she'd be on her way somewhere else without a backward glance. With that drop of sudden realism firmly in mind, she sat up abruptly, grabbing a stick in one hand to nudge the fire's dying embers back to life. "Listen, I mean it. Get some sleep. We've got a lot of ground to cover whether or not you're tired, and I don't want to have to drag you along all day. You'll want to be on your guard in the jungle, and so do I."

[Cloud]

Nadim listened to her talk about how small the world used to be, how she had seen everything. To Nadim their world was not small at all, and even if he had seen everything, there were sights too beautiful to just dismiss out of what seemed to be boredom. The places may have always been the same, but the people were not, and sooner or later, this new world will be the same way. He didn’t say anything though, what was there to say? He disliked their new home, but she seemed to like it well enough, who was he to rain on her parade? Even if he had wanted to say something, she made sure that wasn’t going to happen. She pretty much ordered him to sleep, not that he disagreed with her. Traveling with little rest was foolhardy. “Fine, fine. I’ll get some sleep, calm down killer…”

He woke up early the following morning, the rising sun shining light right across his face. Quickly he sat up, squinting until he scooted back into the shade. All around the sounds of the local wildlife waking up for a new day were starting to fill the air. Off in the distance he could here Haja gently snoring away, still sleeping contently next to what remained of their fire. With a great yawn, Nadim stood up, stretching with a satisfied grunt. Without thinking too much about it, he strolled over and started to gather his things, packing up various supplies and weapon items. “Haja, wake up…” The mithra prodded the chocobo with the tip of his boot, getting an agitated squawk in return. “Hush up, you’ve been sleeping since dinner.”

He slung a bow over his shoulder and turned towards his captor. “Hey, you, we probably shou….” His voice trailed off as he finally got his first good look of his fellow Mithra. The armor, there was no mistaking it. She was a blue mage. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on a minute. They sent a blue mage after me?!” He suspiciously watched her from a distance. “I didn’t expect a servant of the Aht Urhgan to be dispatched on such a trivial task… You all don’t normally offer assistance…” He crossed his arms and paced, keeping a close eye on her. “Why? Why are you really here?”

[Griever]

True to her word, Cerul didn't sleep, sitting next to the fire or pacing around their little camp as the hours dragged on and the night started imperceptibly to lighten. Eventually the fire burned down once again, and she let it die, walking slow circles around the edges of the clearing as the morning mists rose from the grass and caught the pale early light. The change was welcome, dispelling the night's chill, and it gave her a chance to finally assess her prey properly - the sleeping mithra and, more importantly, the weapons in his possession. She doubted it would come to a fight, but in that event, she wanted to be well-prepared to know what she was dealing with. Cerul was adaptable, more than most, but she wasn't fond of surprises, when she could help them.

Stopping next to his small pile of equipment, she dropped to a squat, bouncing idly on her ankles as she looked it over. The bow was a welcome sight, at least, long-range, requiring an advantage that she wasn't planning to give him. Below that...she tilted her head and bent forward slightly, leaning in for a better look without disturbing the order of things. At least one dagger, and what looked like a smallish sword, half-buried beneath a satchel, and...was that a gun? Her eyebrows rose as she glanced back to the sleeping mithra. Unusually well-armed for a runaway brat - but that, she supposed, was the convenience of a mount. Still...as long as she kept eye on him, and she didn't let him get his distance on her, things would go smoothly. Cerul had taken on much more dangerous men in bar fights.

She hopped lightly back to her feet with a pronounced yawn, stepping over the bow and the sword to kick the last embers of the fire out. Lack of sleep didn't bother her, but waiting made her bored. They had a long way to go yet, and Yuhtunga Jungle wasn't friendly at the best of times; the sooner they got on with it, the sooner they'd get to Windurst, and after the chase he'd led her on, that couldn't happen fast enough.

By the time he finally woke, a short while later, she had taken a seat against a particularly large tree at the edge of the clearing, some distance from the smoldering ashes of the fire, and had spread a map from the small bag at her waist across the dirt in front of her, tracing over the route they were to take with the tip of one finger. She paid him little attention as he readied himself for travel, sparing only an occasional glance up from her planning, though her ears remained perked atop her head to follow his movements by sound; the moment he broke off to remark on her appearance, however, her entire manner changed. Within a span of seconds, the map was rolled and tucked safely away, and she was back on her feet, a pronounced scowl on her face, her fingers at the hilt of one of the blades at her side. "I'm not a servant of anyone," she corrected venomously, eyes narrowing, "and I'm sure as hell not serving them. Hasn't anyone ever told you that it's a bad idea to make assumptions on things you don't know about?" Her fingertips drummed on the hilt, impatient and irritated, and she gave her head a shake, turning her glare to some indistinct spot in the distance. "I told you what I'm here for. Windurst is paying good gil for you, and I like gil. That's all. Don't lump me in with those Immortals. I doubt their precious little Empress would spare you a second glance."

[Cloud]

“Oh-ho-oh. That’s some venom you got there.” He stopped his pacing to tighten a strap going over his shoulder. “Then don’t leave yourself open for such assumptions. If it isn’t true, then why get so upset?” Once Nadim was satisfied with the state of his possessions and equipment, he walked up to her, his arms crossed, his ears back slightly. “You only needed to explain, no reason to bitch at me for what I didn’t know. Your… kind, aren’t often seen, let alone heard of being on their own. Don’t blame me for getting it wrong.” He then stood just inches from her, his eyes narrowed; a slight growl now in the tone of his voice. “And I don’t give a damn about your gil. People like you make the world a living hell for the rest of us. No matter how kind we are, no matter the situation we’re in, you just care about the bottom coin, that’s it. There is nothing else in it that you care about besides money.”

Nadim turned away from her, not caring if her hand was on the hilt of her sword or not. He knew she wouldn’t strike him down; she wouldn’t get paid, making all her effort a waste. “Besides… the Immortals are devoid of compassion and kindness, and apparently so are you. Take a look in the mirror ‘princess’, if the boot fits.” He reached up and rubbed at Haja’s beak, trying to calm himself. He was such a fool. Despite how she had behaved the night before, he wanted to at least have a civil relationship on the way back to Windurst. She was the first Mithra he had seen in months, he missed conversing with his own kind, but now he almost feared having to speak to another female.

“Well, let’s get moving. Can’t keep your precious payment waiting, can we?” He tugged at Haja’s lead, leering towards Cerul for a brief moment before turning north. “Lead the way, you have the map.”

[Griever]

"Compassion is overrated." Cerul removed her hand from her sword to fold her arms, digging the toe of one boot into the dirt, her eyes fixed on Nadim in a sharp glare. "At least I'm not a coward. You don't get to judge me when all you've been doing for all this time is running away. And believe me..." Her voice dropped, though it lost none of its heat, "you don't want to think you know anything about 'my kind'. Most of them would've killed you by now, and that's if you got lucky."

If there was one thing she absolutely didn't want to think about any further - never wanted to think about, if she could help it - it was those Imperial slaves. Her tail lashed the air violently as she turned around, abruptly starting off toward the line of trees with one ear twisted backward. "We're leaving, and we're not stopping to camp again until we're through the jungle. If you even think about trying to run off on me, this is all going to get a lot less pleasant, so don't. Stay behind me, try to keep up, and don't get careless. I'm not playing babysitter for you or your bird."

The air in the shadows beneath the trees was cool and damp, filled with the smell of flowers and fruits that grew among the clustered flora. It seemed that nothing of the jungle had changed at all since the Merge; the paths were those of Cerul's childhood, and as she moved among the leaves in patches of dappled sun, the familiarity took the sharp edge from her anger, though she still pointedly didn't speak to Nadim, nor bother to glance back at him. Here and there, a scuffling or a flash of movement at the corner of her vision marked the presence of animal or beastman, but the encounters didn't progress to anything more. The creatures of Yuhtunga Jungle had long since learned that the mithra who hunted among the trees were best avoided, quick of foot and quicker of blade, and they let them pass without interference, running to the darkness beneath leaf and bush whenever they neared. After some time of walking, the sound of a stream rose gradually but steadily off to their right, and then the path in front of them broke into a clearing that it crossed, led into by a spring fed by a high, narrow waterfall dropping and crashing over a wall of stones.

"We'll stop here long enough to get a drink, but that's it. Don't let your guard down. There are things around here that you don't want to mess with."