Alya had decided to change her tone to a more energetic one now that it had just hit midday. Similarly to the way she performed her music in the Surly Stump, she started to skip down the road, doing the occasional spin. Her hair bounced as her bare feet propelled her. Her wolf companion followed suit, affected by the influence of the music, skipping playfully down the road with his Mother. Little did Alya know that a gryphon was headed her way, remaining oblivious to the incoming creature and druid.

Just as the gryphon approached the pair of travelers, Echo stopped and began to growl at it. Unfortunately for Alya, her lack of awareness caused her to lightly bump into the large creature that had appeared before her. She stumbled backwards slightly before bowing apologetically at the cat-bird. She hadn't actually registered that it was a beast until she looked up at it, since bowing had become second nature to her due to her usual clumsiness. She took another timid step back as she stared at the gryphon. It wasn't that she was afraid of it, she was just unsure about what to do now.