"Hey now, Ephidel, no need to make it sound like a competition." Adrian realized he's never really nicknamed the enigmatic individual, mostly due to it being a bit challenging to find a easy way of shortening his name. "I just wanna help Free vent, is all. Doesn't need to be anything serious." Adrian paused. "...Though, it would be a pretty fun match." He added with a laugh. "So!" He stood up. "You guys got anything else planned, or is Free gonna mope in here for the rest of the day?" Adrian asked, attempting to liven up the area.

"I should hope he won't. You've been healed, Ephraim, now put on your shirt and go do something productive." Ephidel chided lightly.
Ephraim chuckled. "And what will you be doing, Ephidel?"
"Oh, this and that." Ephidel waved one hand around airily. "A bit of scouting, a bit of hunting, maybe go mess with the tracking class..."

"Ooh, mess with the tracking class, I like the sound of that idea!" Adrian piped up. "Was literally thinking about checking it out earlier, before we had the...y'know...hostile encounter at the target range." He nudged at Ephraim, already assuming he wasn't planning on agreeing with participating in the activity. "C'mon Free, live a little! Hey, when was last time you were able to get the drop on your sister?" He paused. "...Well, I mean, we wouldn't get the drop on her today (cuz, it's like her thing, no one can ambush the shadowalker), but it would still be fun, right?" He encouraged.

"Come, Ephraim, what was Nycteris saying earlier?" Ephidel joined Adrian in trying to get Ephraim to come along.
"How did you... never mind, you know everything." Ephraim shook his head slightly. "She said that some R&R does wonders for soldiers."
Ephidel smirked. "So join us. You act like you're on duty all the time. You are taking time off, and that's final." He handed Ephraim his discarded shirt, waiting until he put it on to act. As soon as Anuke's son was fully dressed, roots entered the cabin through the door, wrapping around Ephraim and carrying him outside. Using a bit of paper and a pen that he found, Ephidel wrote a quick note and gave it to another root, which would attach it to the door of the main house.
"Shall we go?" Ephidel gestured towards the open door, outside of which Ephraim could be seen, quietly fuming.

The note on the door said the following:
To those it might concern:
I am placing Ephraim, son of Anuke on forced medical leave. If he is seen attempting to perform his usual duties, don't let him.
Signed, A friend.

Adrian proceeded out alongside the two, brushing his way past the massive plant vines dragging Ephraim out of the cabin. He snickered at the sight, comparing the situation to a group of girlfriends dragging their awkward friend out to the club. "C'mon boys, if we can't get the drop on Nyct, we can probably spook her students instead!" He sounded pretty excited. It was something to do, if anything. Eager, Adrian made a brisk pace towards the forest entrance.

Ephidel chuckled. "Oh, I think we can do that." Drawing his cloak around himself, he followed Adrian towards the forest. The roots placed Ephraim gently on the ground, but one kept a hold on his arm, keeping him from leaving.
"Really, Ephidel?" Ephraim muttered a curse under his breath, then gave up. If Ephidel wanted him to go somewhere, he would go, like it or not. The son of Gaea had ways of getting him to follow. "All right, I'm in."

"Cool!" Adrian replied, a little surprised Ephraim actually gave in. In the forest, Adrian approached the nearest tree, and slipped off his flip-flops. He always did his climbing better when he was barefoot. "I'll take the high road, you guys take the low? Or not." Adrian usually wasn't the one to give orders, but he knew which way he was going. Rolling up his sleeves, he began to put some of his some supernatural skills to work. He ascended up the trunk, reaching for branch after branch, hand over hand. He rested on one particularly thick branch, one obscured by the canopy. "Guess i'll try an' play the scout this time 'round..." He mumbled, checking for a clear path along the treeline.

"I'll take whatever path pleases me." Ephidel replied. By that, it appeared he meant, "an untraceable path created by bending tree limbs to my will". He walked a few feet off the ground, tree branches bending down to make a path under his feet, then returning to their usual place when he moved on.
Ephraim was left to take the place of the hunter, moving near silently through the woods. He watched his step carefully, trying not to leave footprints or break any vegetation. He could do it well enough. After all, Nycteris had taught him.

Adrian was gaining quite a bit of ground, hopping from branch to branch as he sped across the treetops. He would do well to keep an eye on the ground below, to look out for the tracking class Nycteris was leading. He thought he could've heard some commotion from a younger demigod, and slowed to a stop in one of the trees. "Nope, nothing." He mumbled, realizing there was no one below him. However, there was still a bit of commotion going on, just a lot closer than Adrian expected. A harpy inhabiting the tree didn't appreciate the intruder invading her space, and threatened for him to vacate. Adrian shushed her down in reply.

"Be quiet! You're giving away-" He realized he was being loud. "You're giving away my position!" He reiterated, this time in whispers. Taking offense to being trivialized, the bird monster lunged at the demigod, forcibly pinning him up against the trunk. "Knock it off! I'm trying to be sneaky! You're not helping!" He whined as he wrestled her. In retaliation, He blew a stream of flame into the bird's face, igniting her feathers. Blinded and on fire, the harpy slipped and fell out of the tree, her screams making adjacent canopies shiver and screech. Other harpies were alerted now, and were already beginning to zero in on his location. "Wuh oh." Seemed now would be a good time to relocate himself. He zipped away, quick to distance himself. This was why he couldn't meditate in the forest like he used to.