---

---

“Slow down, it’ll take a minute for it to suppress him.”

The youth took another swig out of the bottle. Looking on with obvious frustration.

“No doubt that one will resist like a maaifoedie. Damn fox don’t seem to care, but it is not trying to warp me. Not like that thing in you. ” He took another drink, “Others will come or they won’t, we run into trouble we just stop taking meds and let that other part come out, ja nee?”

---

---

During Taffy's time at the Medical Institute at Colosse, she had been taught to look out for signs of drug addiction, particularly the symptoms of Halocaine delirium - which was an all-too common ailment among soldiers who had been subjected to hasty treatment in the field by inexperienced field medics. She had treated a few such patients during her practical exams at Colosse, though she had not advanced quite far enough to reach the point to be trained for long-term care of such victims of vice. The young medical student had always felt a mixture of pity and disgust for addicts, and an underlying resentment against them for letting a drug get the better of them and thus require outside help. She knew it was more complex than that, but not being an addict herself, she didn't understand how someone could let a substance take such control over their lives.

And yet, there were cases she had seen where it seemed almost like the drugs were the only things that kept demons at bay. Not literal demons, or so she thought at the time, but merely the demons of the past for these tortured souls. Taffy wondered how ethical it was to let such individuals suffer during treatment, which often required imprisonment and isolation, rather than just let them take the drug and remain a functional and productive member of society.

But when she saw those red eyes glinting at her from Xell's eye sockets, for the first time, she realized that demons weren't strictly metaphorical. This wasn't some Codus manifestation, this was something far deeper...and more evil than she had ever thought possible.

She drew back, one arm protectively gripping the strap of her backpack as she tried to decide whether to run or to fight. It was a very instinctive reaction that went past her usual responses; like seeing those red eyes triggered a deeper, more basic self-preservation routine that her more civilized persona thought not to exist, or at least buried under enough layers of evolution that it would never see the light of day again. And in that critical moment, it was very possible that Xell might have attacked her, and what happened after that would have determined the fate of this small party before they had even made it to her uncle's cabin.

But it was Yonath who had stepped in, and while Taffy did not like the idea that the young boy was packing drugs, she realized that for the short-term, if they could suppress or contain whatever it was that resided inside Xell, it would be safest for all of them.

It was when Xell mentioned the others that Taffy finally broke her stare away from Xell, glanced around the small grove - and uttered a small but colorful swear under her breath. That idiot! she thought, referring to Max. He just gave us the slip, didn't he?! He heard that blind seer say that stuff about the pirate on his tail, and he must have decided to play hero by keeping away from the rest of us. If the pirate doesn't know we've met, then that should protect the rest of us...blast that hedgehog!

She didn't know why this made her so angry, but it did. So she swore silently to herself a few more times, then realized that Max hadn't been the only one to leave; Nikki had slipped away, as well, after the brief exchange between her and Yonath. I hope she's okay - she didn't seem like the kind of customer who'd let anyone get the drop on her. Blast them both, anyway!

Then it hit her - she was angry because she knew that she couldn't wander all over the Fall to look for Max or Nikki. If I try to follow them, I could drag us all into one of the hazards of the forest, or run into a monster, or maybe that pirate...and I'd end up dragging the rest of these guys with me. I don't really care that much about them, but I'll be darned if I'm not going to at least try to do the right thing by them and get as many of them to at least enough safety where they can make their own decisions on where they'll go after that. I just have to hope that Max and Nikki can take care of themselves.

Then she realized that the bat-winged woman had been standing by all this time, and without thinking, Taffy walked back over to her and asked, "Hey, have you seen-"

And facepalmed as she realized what she was asking of a blind person. It did not help that the woman smiled as if amused, and Taffy's cheeks burned with embarrassment. Brother, this is gonna be a long night, isn't it?

"Look, never mind," Taffy said with a snarl, breaking through the awkward pause as she faced. "I'm taking these guys with me to my uncle's cabin. I really don't know why you showed up and said the things you've said, but I don't care. You should come with us, this is no place to be at this time of night."

Taffy's voice carried far into the night, so she was sure the others could hear her, but she was ready to move as soon as she got her answer from the mysterious night herald. Come to think of it, she still didn't know her name, either...

"And if I guess right, you already know my name," Taffy blurted as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "But what's yours?"

---

---

Having given her answers to the questions she'd been asked, Akaeyla had watched the reactions of each individual with interest. Whilst her longest- and most varied- answer had been to Yonath, his reaction to it was about what she might have expected, though deeper-running than simply that. There were times Akaeyla especially wished she didn't see quite so much of the truth as shedid, times like now, when she'd had to give Yonath the bad news he'd partially known, partially suspected, confirming it as true. Perhaps she could have lied to him, but he would have been all the less happy when he realised the truth. There was another reason she hadn't resorted to that though, one much simpler than anything Yonath might say or do: Seeing the truths to people meant seeing and knowing the truth of her own nature too, and if she'd lied to Yonath, she'd have to have been prepared for what she would see next time she looked in a mirror.

Nikki, for her part, seemed decidedly displeased with the use of her full name, remarking pointedly that she preferred the contraction of it. She brightened up however, at the prospect of encountering an armed pirate. Then, as she headed after Yonath and began a hushed conversation between herself, him and Xell, the Lotori girl took it upon herself to thump Max in the shoulder, informing him bluntly that that she held him responsible for... about everything. Focusing a little upon the girl, Akaeyla smiled a small smile to herself at the truth she saw behind the words and actions. Some things required far less than her strange sight to see; at least if you weren't the one affected by those very things! Max however, did not take well to the tidings she'd brought him, taking it upon himself to slip away into the night as the sudden distraction caused by Xell took up everyone's attention. Without turning her head, Akaeyla looked towards Xell, regretting it almost the moment she did so.

The Draconi looked haggard and ill, as though something was eating away the very substance of his being, his eyes now red instead of blue. What concerned Akaeyla however, wasn't that but rather what she saw at a more than natural level. His aura, at this moment, was drastically different from before. Before there had been an undertone, a suggestion of murky, desolate colours within the aura, but now those colours dominated the aura, seeming to seep into his skin and leech away his very being. The Draconi was under the influence of something far more powerful than simply drugs, something not altogether natural. Unfortunately, as Akaeyla was only too aware thanks to her form of vision, the supernatural was only too real, and Xell bore the hallmarks of being seriously afflicted by it. When Yonath stepped forwards and offered the Draconi a dose of some medication he had on his person, it seemed to be a relief for everyone, Xell most especially... a relief that was short-lived as the Lotori girl, recovering from the fear elicited by Xell's red eyes, noticed that both Max and Nikki had moved out of sight and uttered some particularly vehement words under her breath. The reaction was partly anger, partly frustration, partly concern: She knew that she couldn't hike all over The Fall looking for those that had vanished and was concerned for them.. in Nikki's case, she wasn't far away, but Akaeyla was aware that the girl couldn't see that. She was frustrated that the two would just go off like that, and particularly angry and concerned that Max had chosen to go off alone, putting himself in particular danger to keep danger from catching up to the rest of the party. Despite all that, the girl's take-charge instincts.. or maybe just natural stubbornness, Akaeyla judged it a fifty-fifty split between the two... had her getting ready to continue on and get everyone else to safety. At which point, the Lotori seemed to remember that Akaeyla was still there.

Watching with her customary impassive expression, Akaeyla had to stifle the urge to laugh or crack a joke, despite her ordinarily reclusive nature when the Lotori began addressing her with the words, "hey, have you seen-". Watching the young woman facepalm, Akaeyla managed to limit herself to an amused smile in response to this, having to redouble her efforts not to laugh as the Lotori's cheeks burned with a blush that might have added to how pretty she was, were it not for the snarl she used to recover from it.

"Look, never mind," the girl said through her snarl, breaking the awkward pause that followed her question. "I'm taking these guys with me to my uncle's cabin. I really don't know why you showed up and said the things you've said, but I don't care. You should come with us, this is no place to be at this time of night."

"And if I guess right, you already know my name," the young woman blurted as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "But what's yours?"

deciding the girl had enough on her plate already, Akaeyla did a commendable job of keeping any hint of laughter from her voice as she answered the question. "You guess correctly, Taffy Tanner," she remarked calmly, "as to why I said the things I said, I simply had some news to give to Max, and I answered the questions presented me as they were given. I expect, of all of us, I'm probably the one least endangered by the perils of The Fall presently, but I won't argue the point. As much as I'm a hermit, and would happily head back into The Fall alone, I don't ignore a generous offer made under trying circumstances. As to my name.." Akaeyal paused momentarily to give Taffy a polite bow of her head before continuing, "Akaeyla Wildgrove is my name and it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance".

---

---

Xell looked on dumbfounded at the Youth's words. His eyes followed the motion of the otter boy taking another swig of the bottle before continuing on with his statements. Hearing the poison swish so vividly within the bottle. Senses were acute while the Draconi was still on the ground. Mind wheeling from the nagging tug of war between the dark nature residing within him and his true self.
He was also trying to process what the youth meant about a fox and a similar past time event perhaps. He could he possibly relate to what he was going through right now?

Xell was still anaemic and shaky when he rose from the floor with a wince on his face. Eyes a persistent red colour despite the hallucinogene being momentarily quelled.

"Dude come on... I'm not a weapon," Xell appealed with open palms as he turned to speak to Yonath. Trailing off as he tried to regather his littered thoughts. The weathered appearance on the once pristine Draconi was pitiful.

“For what it’s worth…” he looked away and scratched the back of his head, before looking back and forcing a sheepish smile “thanks for the fix!”

The smile disappeared as the Draconi took a side step and turned half his torso to get a sideways glance of the latest newcomer to their entourage. The red panda girl. Standing there quietly and appearing to be on the opposite end of the spectrum in temperament compared to Max. That being said, his body twitched as despite the masked façade looking back at him, the ominous stare felt oppressive in some ways. She portrayed a demeanour of friendliness, but even he felt she could see more than what she was letting on. For a second, his eyes glinted an even brighter shade of red, the longer he looked at her.

He finally managed to hear her name as herself and Taffy exchanged them. Akaeyla Wildgrove. The Coon invited her to join them on their journey.

Xell gritted his teeth and turned back to face the group. Or at the very least, what was remaining of them at this point. Yoni still had the drink in hand, Akaeyla stood there perpetually composed, and Taffy was giving the Draconi a wary look. That of concern and confusion, etched with a judgemental frown.
“Ha! Bet I make great practice for your sick patients,” Xell broke the silence, pointing at her shakily as he met her look “please don’t look at me like you’ve just laid an egg!”

He sighed. Facepalming for an intense few seconds. The jig was up. The skeleton was out of the closet and the Draconi was beginning to reach his limits in trying to suppress it.

“I’m sorry…” he continued to stare at the ground. He wiped some of the blood off his jaw from the blood clot he spat out earlier “I’ll save the story for a rainy day.”

He looked back to the group with a more sombre calmness. Head tilted with placid observation and perhaps even bittersweet defeat.

“If you guys ever see him, you really should take measures.” He said, trembling as he forced out the words “it’ll take more than knives and
copper heads to deal with it though.”

He looked away and focused on the endless horizon of dark fields and gauntly trees. Deep in thought.

“We should find Nikki… I don’t think we should leave her out here alone. She's just a kid too.”
It was then he felt a wave of guilt wash over him. All she'd try to do since the group first got together was to look out for him. Certainly it seemed that she believed that he was crazy. Even a hypermaniac that she, too, was wary of. At least she was sticking his company out.

“And maybe not Max either…” he sighed reluctantly. Starting to walk off, nodding towards Taffy to lead the way.

---

---

Vague rambling warnings from a drug addict of something hiding inside of him certainly didn't make things any easier for Taffy as the group formed up again...well, as much of the group as there was remaining, here in the darkness of the forest. But what rankled Taffy more than the guilty looks from the Draconi, was his bringing up the very subject that Taffy had fought to convince herself that was a lost cause, at least for now.

"I don't want to leave them behind, either," Taffy said as she began to lead the way toward her uncle's cabin from Sculpture Copse - she estimated it wouldn't be more than a half-hour away at the rate they were traveling. "But looking for them in the dark might get us lost, or attract predators, or worse - it might bring that pirate down onto our heads, and since they'd only be looking for Max, there's no telling what they might do to us. If they haven't rejoined us by the time we get to my uncle's cabin, we'll look for them in the morning when there's enough light."

Taffy sounded reasonable enough out loud, but her insides felt like betrayal jelly as she led the group onto a slightly wider dust-ridden path into the trees from the copse. She knew that if they didn't find the others before they got to the cabin, it was more than likely they wouldn't survive until morning to be found. The only consolation she had was that she could, at least, get the rest of this sorry group situated more safely until it was light enough to let them go on their way.

But the otter kid...Taffy didn't understand much of what Akaeyla had told Yonath, but she did know that he was basically orphaned and didn't have anywhere to go. The Lotori girl didn't consider herself the motherly type, and she hadn't made any plans to have any kids until later in life, but she wasn't sure what to do. Adopt him, or put him up for adoption? The latter option felt like a sort of betrayal, but how the heck was she supposed to go to medical school and pay room and board for a kid like him? Maybe her uncle would be willing to put up Yonath at his place until-

Her left ear pricked up as she heard a shearing slice noise, then the sound of timber creaking. Someone grabbed her backpack with both hands and yanked her backward, a move that kept her from getting crushed by the huge tree that fell across the path with a tremendous crash that seemed to shake the whole forest. Taffy only barely kept on her feet as she glanced backward to see that it was-

"Nikki! Where did you come from?" The obvious relief in her voice helped temper the accusative tone that Taffy let leak through, in her haste and reactive anger from being nearly flattened.

The nekomi girl let go of Taffy. "Why so surprised? I wasn't that far away from you guys, you're lucky I caught up just in time to keep you from going pancake! And that wasn't an accident, look!"

All Taffy could see on either side were tall grasses and underbrush, bushes and vines, rocks and weeds; but her eyes caught a glimpse of the stump of the downed tree, which was so clearly sliced with a cutting implement that she could count the rings from where she stood.

Things weren't adding up, and that made Taffy scared - and angry. "Okay, whoever's out there, you better show yourself right now, or I'll come out there and kick you in the-"

She stopped as she her flashlight beam fall onto a tall figure that loomed in the middle of the path. It was a Miran with ragged blonde hair, and equally-ragged black jeans and a long white overcoat, left open to reveal an ugly scar seared across his muscular chest. In one hand, he held onto a long pole tipped with a wickedly-curved scythe blade, a weapon deceptively simple in its design, without decorative marks or symbols. In the dimness of the branches that blocked out most of the moonlight above, the pale figure looked almost like a symbol of death himself, and he stood with his head lowered just enough so that his bangs hung over his eyes, hiding them from the group.

"Little, furry, animals," the figure said, in a sing-song voice as he swayed from side to side, the minimal light somehow managing to glint off of the scythe blade. "Which one of you is Max Stone? It would be ever so convenient if one of you were him, then I could leave this dreadful forest to the bats and to the moles."

"Who wants to know?" asked Taffy, sounding gruff, but her heart felt like it had leapt up into her throat. This guy sounds like a real maniac...

"Oh? So one of the animals talks," said the new arrival with a chuckle that set Taffy's hair and tail fur on end. "I don't usually talk to animals, but since you can talk back, it's only polite to introduce myself. I...am Hermes Carrion, and I am only interested in finding Max Stone."

"Careful," whispered Akaeyla to Taffy in an urgent tone. "He is dangerous, far too dangerous. There is poison in his mind."

Well, gee, tell me something I couldn't figure out, thought Taffy to herself. Out loud, she lied, "We haven't seen anybody like that, sorry - maybe you'll have better luck elsewhere."

"Pity." Carrion's voice truly carried what sounded like a heavy burden as he lifted the scythe to both hands. "Oh well, I'll continue the search..." There was a momentary pause, then his whole frame shook with an almost sobbing laugh that echoed into the trees. "Oh, I nearly forgot! No witnesses...not even animals like you."

Carrion's head lifted, and Taffy felt a true shock of fear go down her spine as she saw the complete madness glittering in the Miran's eyes. He raised the scythe higher, and a moment later, the blade ignited with blue fire that clung to it, swaying as if it was a banner caught in an invisible breeze only it was affected by. He began to advance toward Taffy and the others, with unsteady-looking steps that reminded Taffy of zombie stories, yet she was beginning to finally catch on to what Akaeyla had already seen with her blind eyes. The feeling of danger was close, practically radiating off of this bizarre Miran.

We can't fight him, Taffy thought. That's magic he's using to empower his scythe...so if he's this insane, and still able to focus enough to use magic, then there's no telling what he'll do. No, scratch that, no doubt what he'll do if he gets close enough to us - if that tree couldn't take a cut, then there's no way we can!

"That way!" she shouted as she pointed sideways into the forest. A desperate idea sprang into her mind, and she wanted to enact it before she lost her nerve - or her head. "We'll lose him in the underbrush! He can't swing that thing around with so many obstacles around!"

Out of all of them, Akaeyla probably knew what Taffy had in mind, but there were no protests from any of the others as they rushed into the forest off of the path. Taffy didn't know why they were listening to her, and maybe they weren't, but as she ran off after them, she glanced back to see that Carrion was suddenly increasing his stride as he curved off of the path into the thick forest greenery. And, as if to spite her, the Miran swung his scythe to cut cleanly through the vegetation that barred his way and begin to set it on fire. This provided more light for the group to see by, but Taffy felt like she could've done without that at this point.

"Keep running!" she called out, turning her face back forward. Don't look back, she told herself, that's how people die in the horror moving picture shows, because it slows you down, remember? If we can only get to the cliff, then at least we can-

Her thoughts were broken off as the first shout of surprise ahead told her that one of the others had fallen over the edge of the cliff. Closer than I thought, Taffy realized. We have a chance, then.

"Don't stop!" she shouted. "Jump, it's the only way to be safe!"

By the time she reached the edge of the cliff, she could only dimly see Xell, Akaeyla and Sashrya gliding down with their wings through the almost impenetrable gloom that led down the cliffside into a deeper area of forest. Yonath and Nikki were nowhere to be seen - neither of them had wings, so they had dropped more quickly into the deep forest below. Taffy nearly skidded to a halt, her body resisting the lunatic idea of leaping off into the darkness, especially knowing what lay down there. A quick glance behind her, however, revealed that Carrion was still close after her, his scythe pulled back for a swing. His face was a mask of horrific glee, twisted far out of proportion, his eyes and lips open far too widely to be comfortable.

Taffy jumped. Carrion swung, and Taffy felt the swish of the wind as the blade sliced through the back of her jean legs, barely missing her legs, and she felt sudden heat as her pants caught on fire. The raccoon fell, her arms pinwheeling as she dropped into seeming oblivion, and-

SPLASH!

Taffy struggled to the surface of the dark and murky swamp water and gasped, then wiped her face off as best she could and glanced upward toward the top of the cliff. She could see the Miran looking down from the top of the cliff, crouched down and holding the flaming head of his scythe like a torch. But at this distance, she knew all he could see was the almost impossible gloom from the swampy mangrove trees that surrounded the little pond, a darkness that seemed far deeper than it naturally should have been. And after a tense minute, the Miran turned away and left.

Taffy let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding, then splashed around as she retrieved the flashlight she had lost during the fall. Fortunately, it was still on, and she was able to get it before it sunk into the mire. She lifted it up and pointed it level with the water, looking around for the others.

"Guys? Everyone okay?"

Taffy, for her part, was unharmed; the fire had gone out the instant she hit the water, and the soft mud at the bottom of the pond, combined with the water itself, took just about all the brunt of the fall, just like she had anticipated. Her clothes were scuffed and scratched, with a few tiny rents, from rushing through the thick underbrush; and now they were wet on top of that, and clung uncomfortably to her in cold patches. She was soaked, dripping wet and getting chilled from the air and the stagnant water. And it kinda smelled bad here. But she wasn't hurt, and she still felt like everything worked. What was even better, the Miran hadn't come down into the swampy depression in the forest after them, so she only had to account for the one danger she had gambled might have been able to stop the marauding madman before he caught up to them.

After everyone was accounted for, Taffy explained herself. "Okay, we got away from that guy, but now we're in a small swamp valley in the Fall. We can still get back to my uncle's cabin from here, but we have to be very careful not to disturb any predator vines. You'll know them when you see them; they're like green rope with sensory bristles ringing them about every foot or so, and tipped with a sharp lamprey-like mouth. They're part of a larger organism, and they'll grab you and drag you all the way toward the core. If the core's maw swallows you, it's a long and grisly death as the vines enter every orifice in your body and suck your guts out an inch at a time. Most of the cores are only big enough to eat bugs or small mammals, but the one that lives in this swamp is big enough to eat any one of us...at least, last I heard of it, and that was a couple of years ago. If it hasn't died, it might even be bigger.

"If that lunatic had followed us down here, we would have just had to run for it and count on the vines grabbing onto him before they grabbed onto us. But now that we don't have a maniac trying to lop our heads off, we can get out of the swamp carefully. It might be just another hour, and then we can all get into nice, warm beds after a hot bath."

Of course, Taffy could tell that Akaeyla already knew about this place; from what the blind hermit had said before, it sounded like she actually lived out here in the Fall, maybe even deeper than her uncle did. With her help, it might be possible to avoid getting even deeper into trouble than they already were.

---

---

The otter had already vanished into the brush when Nikki emerged.

When the time came to run he shot through the brush, after getting snagged several times and watching the others start to pull ahead the boy snarled in frustration. Lunging into the open with all his strength and darting forward, still being hampered by the leg.

The frustration came again, like fire licking up the wick of a candle. There was something warm, something familiar about it, suddenly he felt a bush catch on his shorts and spin him mid run. The dark forest kept spinning before fading from view, the boy passing out before even hitting the ground.

---

Their pursuer moved almost tauntingly along behind them, watching them all dive off the ledge. He sauntered close as green light ahead began to fight with the blue firelight from his scythe, two viridian stars shining at the creature from ahead, over the edge. The scythe's flickering light catching the origin in a tree overhanging the hidden valley. The otter was kneeling on the limb with poise that seemed very foreign to his usual self. The gritty emotion driven looks of annoyance and anger replaced with a condescending gaze of quiet preeminence.

He stood without breaking his commanding eyeline, movements fluid as if his injuries suddenly had no significance, then spread his arms to either side and let himself fall backward into the pit as the starlight glow faded from view.

---

"Guys? Everyone okay?"

The otter woke up sprawled out in the mud hearing Taffy barking. His muscles burned, it felt like he’d run a marathon, he lay staring up at the ledge piecing things together for a moment before groaning loudly. Yonath struggled to get up yelping out, “Yo! Who fokkin threw me off the cliff? Coulda fokkin killed me!”.

---

---

Nikki plunged into the forest, frustrated and for no good reason. Why did Justin have to go turn into such a bigot anyhow? She could still see his sneering expression, hear the disdain dripping from his voice when she'd come to visit him during his break. She knew people often changed in college, found new friends, started doing new things, but she'd never thought the two of them would have that problem. They'd been high school sweethearts, and even if they did break up eventually she was sure they'd still be friends. Whatever crowd he'd fallen in with, they must be pretty rotten.

Doesn't make it the kid's fault, Nikki, she reminded herself, finally coming to a stop. She'd not travelled all that far -- she could hear the murmur of voices, and the occasional glint of light came through the trees. They were moving again, it sounded like, and she quietly kept pace. For the moment she wanted to sulk, and she wasn't interested in dealing with druggies, bigots, or assorted nuts. It didn't take long for her temper to cool, and by then it'd turned into something of a game. How long, she wondered, before one of them noticed her? Could she get all the way to the mentioned uncle's house before they did?

The noise of a blade on bark followed by straining wood meant danger, and the nekomi took all of an instant to figure out where it came from. Above them! She lunged out of the darkened brush and grabbed Taffy by the backpack, letting momentum carry the pair out of the way of what was not just a falling limb, but a whole tree! It wasn't windy enough for trees to be falling over.

"Why so surprised?" Nikki asked, gold eyes bright. She'd been right there, after all. It seemed they hadn't spotted her, but the game was up now. "You're lucky I was, or you'd've been a pancake. And it wasn't an accident, either -- look!"

Cat-keen eyes had no trouble making out the cleanly sliced stump, and suddenly it wasn't a game. No, it was much more interesting, especially when the menacing stranger loomed ahead of them. Nikki melted back into the shadows, and quickly slipped off to the side. Her heart pounded in her chest as the man sprang forward, his expression sending a frission of fear through her. There was crazy, and then there was this guy.

She needed no convincing to hoof it out of there. The forest was little hindrance, and she had experience running on difficult terrain. The blue fire was an interesting touch, but not one she wanted to get too near. She managed to spot the cliff before reaching it, but instead of going over as Taffy exhorted them to do Nikki shifted into a cat and doubled back at canopy level. She wasn't going to leave anyone behind if she could help it. If someone ran into trouble, she could jump out and distract the reaper fellow just long enough for them to get away, or even help them with the jump -- she had no fear of heights and the natural agility that let nekomi mimic the animals their shifted forms resembled.

Yony was the last one over, though he looked odd right before his dive. She didn't question it, more interested in making good her own escape. She charged the edge, threw herself into the air and shifted back as gravity took hold and left her stomach behind. A gleeful whoop escaped her on the way down, echoing through the trees as she plummeted downwards.

---

The smile didn't leave her face until she hit the muck. At least she'd avoided the deepest part, but the way she had to land to absorb the impact sent goop splattering up her legs. "Euyuch!" She leaped away from it, wrinkling her nose in disgust. Mud wasn't bad exactly, but unexpected mud was unwelcome.

Tabby started checking on people, and Nikki made her way over to where the lutroi boy lay looking up at the cliff with a dazed expression. His words made her blink. "Nobody threw you," she told him, sloshing close enough to grab his hand and pull him upright, and then a little more to get his feet free of the sucking mud. "It was pretty cool, really. I wouldn't have though you the sort."

...

---

---

Xell had to rub his dry eyes as he watched the events unfold. A tree capsizing which narrowly missed squashing Taffy had it not been for the swift actions of the Nekomi girl. That being said, he was also relieved to see she was ok. Even cracked a joked about her momentary disappearance and her heroic move.

Still, it became too clear too soon that the trunk failing and giving away was all but a deliberate act. The coulprit who was revealed by Taffy’s flashlight just after she demanded the whereabouts made Xell’s blood pressure drop to nauseating levels. His knees and legs were riveting violently and beads of sweat began to streak their way down his face.

“…it’s Jack… it’s Jack the ripper…!” he uttered softly, the 2nd phrase drowning out with a defeated laugh.

’Jack’s dead you idiot!’

“No… I can’t hear you!” he writhed, shaking his head to momentarily escape the lapse into the dark subconscious.

He listened on as Taffy continued to talk to the scythe carrying hulk. His tone belittling them as soft, furry little animals. The scythe swinging back and forth which would cast glints of moonlight in their direction. He proceeded to ask which of them was Max Stone.
Xell looked on with a pained look and mouth ajar at the attitude Taffy gave him with her response.

‘Who wants to know? She says…’ he thought drearily. Her tone giving away her real emotion.

It appeared after the negative answer that the hulking Miran was about allow it and let them be. All but for the pause and feigned wounded laugh that followed which made Xell step back a bit. His breath contained in his throat which knotted it up painfully.

He suddenly turned on them. A wild look with a voice declaring that there were to be no witnesses. Not people. Not animals.
[i[But witnesses of what?[/i] Xell thought with a panicked look.
Everyone’s faces mirrored that of a hare staring back at car headlights.

The Draconi groaned as everyone turned around like fleeing antelope in attempt to escape the murderous Miran who was out for blood.

‘Xelly Xelly Xelly.’

His mind was spinning as the panorama of fields and ugly branches appeared as blurred and distorted decaying shapes for his vision. Eyes plummeting another shade of red as the constricted pupils darted all around.
He wasn’t sure what the others were thinking but somehow knew no one would make that mistake to look back and slow down their pace. One slip up really could cost their lives.

He could begin to taste acrid lactic acid in his throat whilst his lungs felt taut. Being beat like counting bodies like sheep to the rhythm of the war drum.

"Don't stop!" the Lotori shouted. "Jump, it's the only way to be safe!"

The rest happened in slow motion as Xell’s feet gave way to gravity. He would be stumbling head first into the void below would it not be for the fact he was able to flex his ulcerated wings and glide with a gradual descent.
He could not make any head or tail, nor shape or form of what was below them. All but for a few splashes of what sounded like viscous ground matter.

‘You’re such a fool. Jumping off a cliff because your friend would gives this all a new meaning,’ he heard the voice again.

He felt his wings tremble. The ulcerated lesions suddenly opened up to multiple red corneas with slit like irises. The glare of red illuminating the way to his damning fall.

Xell gasped as he turned to look at either wing mid-flight. And then down again. Seeing where, or rather, what it was everyone had landed in.

Just one pothole amongst a horizon of indefinite marshy swampland. Even during this hour he could see clusters of mosquitoes buzzing around and swimming slug like leeches in some areas where the water was more dilute.

Things are only going to go downhill from here. Once you see what really lurks beneath. The voice taunted.

Xell snarled as his feet slowly but surely sank with his feet knee high into the bulbous mud. The smell causing him to pinch his nostrils.
He folded his wings in. No one needed to see the monstrosity that spawned from his failed accessory limbs.

He looked on and shone a torch on Yonath. Listening as he asked who pushed him off the cliff. He then looked on as Nikki responded with saying that no one had pushed him off the cliff. Adding that she admired his courage.

“Glad you’re ok…” Xell walked over to offer him a hand. He felt somewhat guilty. Maybe if he hadn’t offered him a drink earlier, his landing would’ve been smoother. Although he wasn’t sure what happened just after they ran off from Carrion.

“So, I hear there are bigger things to be scared of down here,” Xell said after he heard Taffy talk about vine like creatures that could invade every bodily orifice and ensure a painful death “is our fate really better down here than it was up there?” he turned his head upwards towards the cliff.
“Seriously… an hour to your Uncle's house? With all due respect, do you even know where to go from here? The rest of you guys are a bit unnervingly calm considering we’re in the dark, treading through 2 feet high tripe water in the middle of a fucking swamp with maggot tentacles out to violate our insides!!!”

---

---

He gave the woman a sideways look of utter confusion before shaking his head to both throw the water out of his hair and clear it. “You are fokked if you think I’m going fall for that. That blerrie whack to the head I got klapped me out again! I ain’t na damn kid, just say ya drug me along!”

“Glad you’re ok...”

The otter stopped, hearing the man speak, and looked over at the oddly scaled hand. It was obvious he was hesitant to touch it, after an awkward moment the boy grabbed it as if ripping off a band-aid. “Least the dop ya lent loosened the muscles up. Prolly woulda snapped a leg without it. … Dankie.”

---

---

"Thought I might have to," she agreed readily. "Not all that many can handle a jump like that. I'm better 'n most." Nikki spoke with obvious pride. "But if I had, I wouldn't knock you out for it. Why should I? And it'd be rather rude to dump you in the mud while you were out, yeah? Not sporting at all!" She wiped the worst of the dark gunk from her hands onto her pants, making another face. "Might be a bit much even for me, really. Look at this mess!" At least everything in her bag was all but certain to be fine, though she didn't dare open it to check. She'd just get goop inside, and once wet got in all bets were off.

Xell was making a fuss, but his final comment brought her head up to blink at him. Swamp? Maggot tentacles? She couldn't help it. She cracked up. Of course it was a little dangerous -- or what would be the point?

---

---

Akaeyla watched as the other members of the group re-grouped, briefly wondering if she should feel guilty or relieved at not being as mud-enslimed as some of them were... having wings and her strange sight that was unaffected by the differences between daylight and darkness was an advantage. Unfortunately, the other things her unnatural vision discerned made it more a burden than a blessing. She wouldn't have needed it to have seen that the Miran, Hermes Carrion, was crazy and dangerous, but the fullness of what she had seen, especially when she'd seen his eyes, had been enough to make her blood run cold. She might have tried her hand against his, even when he'd revealed he'd possessed magic, but for her knowledge of the nearby marsh, and the fact that Taffy had known of it as well- and suggested it first. Going up against a madman out for blood probably would have seemed crazy to the others, and Taffy likely would have tried to stop her, so it was perhaps just as well that things had turned out the way they had. Idly, Akaeyla wondered how such a confrontation might have gone, had it been just her and the Miran, for she wasn't entirely defenceless herself.

When she'd made the decision to become a Fall Hermit, she hadn't done so lightly. Her father had been a military man at one point in his life and had trained her to the fullest of his ability in self-defence (armed and unarmed) and survival. That wasn't the only thing he'd done to provide for her survival though: beneath the almost knee-length jacket she wore, Akaeyla had a pair of long knives strapped to her belt, useful for someone living off the land.. and effective weapons as well. The choice of knives over a gun, or other such weapon was a matter of simple logic: If you lived deep in The Fall, you needed a weapon that was constantly 'loaded' and didn't need costly ammunition to replace. A hermit who lived off the land didn't make much by way of money after all.

Akaeyla broke from that train of thopugh as she watched the others, at the same time taking a look at herself. The run through the undergrowth had been easy enough for her, and her clothes were unscrathced, though her boots were slightly muddy thanks to the marsh they'd retreated to. Nikki looked thoroughly disgusted at being splattered with mud as a result of her landing, but was otherwise unharmed. Yonath seemed fine, although the firey fox-like spirit creature that dwelt within him seemed to have been responsible for getting him off the cliff and into the marsh... something he presently had no recollection of. Taffy had acquired a layer of mud, but was unhurt, Sashyra similarly seemed undamaged and Xell... Akaeyla had her concerns about Xell. He'd felt, if possible, more fear than the others when the Miran had shown up, the man seeming to trigger a past, traumatic memory. Then there was the thing that possibly none of the rest had witnessed in the darkness- the many crimson eyes that had opened up upon the Draconi's wings. His aura was presently in turmoil, the colours that might be his usual or normal self being incessantly buffeted by those murky, malignant colours that whorled through his aura like maelstrom, drawing everything in. Small wonder he was finding the going hard. She listened as Taffy spoke up, and as the others reacted, her expression its usual impassive neutral as she did so. Nikki certainly hadn't lost her commendable sense of humour and spirit of adventure, managing to chuckle at Xell's assessment of their situation. Xell, for his part, seemd glad Yonath was okay, but understandably negative about their present circumstances. Taffy was... cautiously optimistic about getting to her uncle's place and letting that focus her thoughts and actions for the moment. Yonath was, from what Akaeyla could tell, not too terribly concerned about things happening right at the moment, since he already had so much else to handle. With her usual gentle voice, Akaeyla addressed Xell's remark.

"I can't speak for the others," she informed Xell, "But I'm calm because I have to be. If you think not being able to see because it's dark is a problem, try and imagine how that is when you're born blind. Keeping my calm means staying alive- a case of literally blind panic, out here, equals certain death. There are things in the Fall that truly can smell fear and none of them are things we want to encounter. If you want to panic, please either leave the party or keep a lid on it until we're somewhere a bit safer than here; everyone else wants to survive. In addition to that, both Taffy and myself are familiar with the vines that infest this particular marsh- we can help you avoid them, and avoid getting violated by them... but we can't do that if you don't keep it together". Having said her piece, Akaeyla waited to see what response, if any, that would yield, already taking in the surroundings and idly wondering to herself just how soon she might be able to get back to being a hermit... spending this long around people, with the amount of truth she had seen already (and was bound to see if she lingered) was already beginning to feel uncomfortable.

---

---

“Oh er… no problem…” Xell said letting go of the Otter boy’s hand just after hoisting him up “guess some Dutch courage deserves more credit.” Though he wasn’t entirely sure what happened with Yonath’s fall.

The Draconi lowered his head with a glowering pair of eyes after hearing the Nekomi laugh at his expense. It appeared as of yet that nothing in life appeared to phase her. That in spite of the odds of survival that somehow fate would always willingly work in their favour. Or at least, this is the impression he was picking up.
He reached down and planted his hand in the viscous marsh.

“Glad you find this so amusing.” He plucked his hand out again and focused his attention on the ooze and mudstick that insiduloulsy dripped off his fingers.

“You’ve obviously never, truly, had your life put at risk, have you?” he turned look at her as he shook the rest of the slick off of his hand.

“…or maybe you have,” he continued shrugging with his hands out and rolling his eyes “but not enough make you appreciate the value of life.”

‘Says the drug addict,’ a red eye opened from a hidden fold of Xell’s wings, giving off a red flare.

but really, you can’t preach to others considering where you last came from.

Before Xell could interject with the voice in his head, he found himself waking up to reality and what appeared to be halfway through someone speaking. A voice he hadn’t heard much of as of yet so was quite surprised to see it come from bandage head panda.

“If you want to panic, please either leave the party or keep a lid on it until we're somewhere a bit safer than here; everyone else wants to survive. In addition to that, both Taffy and myself are familiar with the vines that infest this particular marsh- we can help you avoid them, and avoid getting violated by them... but we can't do that if you don't keep it together.”
The Draconi gave the panda femme a look as if the atmosphere could be cut.

He opened his mouth to say something. His eyes glowing a more volcanic fury of red. But then shut his mouth to dismiss any train of further thought or action.

“Ok… ok… Miss Muffet… do lead the way. I’ll stay at the back of the group and watch your backs,” he mock saluted whilst falling back.
As the group started to move forwards, the Draconi drifted off again in deep though. All fear and anxiety folded into a look of suppressed emotion and a masqueraded, sinister smile.

---

---

The laughter faded, the last of it leaving as Xell accused her of being foolish. But a smile lingered on her face as she blinked at him and then lifted her gaze to the cliff above. "Oh, Iunno, I'm pretty sure that guy meant to murder us," she said, tone only barely less flippant. "I've no interest in dying -- I'm no fool. But a little danger is what makes you feel alive!" Her amber eyes gleamed. "'Sides, this is how I see it: the worse things are, the more you gotta laugh. What's the point of being miserable over stuff you can't control, or paralyzed with fear over what might happen? 'Snot like that helps any. Life is for living! Might as well enjoy it, yeah?"

---

---

A half-hour later...

Nikki's words were merely an ironic prelude to the grimy trek out of the boggy marsh. They climbed out of the bog and proceeded across more solid ground in the direction of Taffy's uncle's house. The way was still wet, muddy, cold and dark, but they still had working lights, a direction they knew would be safe to go in...and, oddly enough, they had yet to encounter a single predator vine.

This last fact bothered Taffy more than she liked to admit. It kept her tense as they continued through the damp underbrush, and she often aimed her flashlight around her in all directions, even glancing upward at the leaves that hung heavily from the branches of the thick and twisted trees that populated this lowland area. She and Akaeyla were up at the front of the group - while Taffy still wasn't entirely sure what to make of the red panda-bat hybrid, she had to admit that the other's intimate knowledge of the Fall far exceeded her own. And despite how Akaeyla seemed so courteous, Taffy still wanted to stay close enough to keep an eye on her. Taffy's physical conditioning helped her keep up despite Akaeyla's unerring agility and ability to spot trip hazards that slowed Taffy down.

The rest of the group was in a loose pack behind the two front-runners. Yonath seemed to gravitate toward the middle of the travelers, mostly because Nikki and Xell were competing with each other to try to bring up the rear. As far as Taffy could tell from the occasional backward glance, there was still some friction and distrust there.

Mostly because Xell's got a serious mad-on for getting on everyone's nerves, and Nikki's irrepressible cheerfulness is almost worse, thought Taffy as she briefly allowed herself to be annoyed. But in a certain way, she was glad Nikki and Xell were back there balancing each other out. It made it easier to keep an eye on the two of them if they were keeping an eye on each other. She didn't trust the meager medical supplies they still had to Xell, and she wasn't sure what would happen if he needed another fix.

Still, it was only another half-hour from here back to her uncle's cabin, if she was estimating the distance correctly. They might have even made better time than she realized. If only things could continue to go this smoothly...

Taffy swore under her breath suddenly as, of course, as soon as she had that idle thought, Akaeyla held out one arm in warning. "Up ahead, behind the third bush, the one caked with the orange slime mold," whispered the hermit, and Taffy followed her gaze to the leaf-green cylindrical tube that sat just barely in view. And, just like she had feared, it was certainly much thicker than any of the predator vines she had seen before. Most were only as thick as pencils, and suitable only for snaring small rodents and bugs; this one was about as thick as her wrist, and ringed with bristle-like sensory clusters down its length every foot or so. It laid well-hidden in the underbrush, but now Taffy could follow its shape through the foliage, where it was hiding in wait under dead leaves and other decaying debris. If Akaeyla hadn't stopped them when they did, they would have tripped right over it, and one of them would be grabbed right now, with the others in probably danger as other vines would have arrived to investigate the disturbance in case there was more food to be had.

Taffy gestured to the others and pointed out where the vine was. "Just try to step around it, quietly," Taffy hissed. "Loud sounds or moving too fast can set it off even if you don't touch it, and we have no idea how many-"

"HOLD IT! Hold it right there!"

Taffy glanced up, and found a scruffy-looking canid Novan of some kind crashing through the bushes toward them, from the opposite direction they were going in. Wearing a tank top and cargo pants, as well as some kind of bandana around his head, the most important detail that caught Taffy's attention was the gun he pointed in their direction. Taffy thought it was some kind of rifle or carbine, but she didn't know that much about guns. It was an odd sort of moment to wish Max hadn't gotten separated from the group, but Taffy caught herself feeling that way just the same.

The Novan - maybe a coyote? - panted as he stood across from them, clearly the worse for wear as he was covered in sweat and the muck of the swamp. "Y-you're getting me outta here," he stammered as the barrel of the gun wavered between each member of the group. "One false move, and I'll shoot the lot of ya, hear me?" His eyes were bulging and bloodshot, and he trembled with a fear that Taffy could smell even through the tepid stench of the bogs around them. She suddenly remembered the other plane that had come down in the forest...and noticed a skull-and-crossbones insignia on the forehead of his bandana. Was this one of the sky pirates?

But to make matters worse, the pirate was only another step or two away from kicking the predator vine, and it was clear he was not paying attention to it as it began to writhe slowly, as if sensing his adrenaline. And though he stood in place for now, all it would take was one jumpy move to get the entire swamp writhing with trouble...

---

---

"'Sides, this is how I see it: the worse things are, the more you gotta laugh. What's the point of being miserable over stuff you can't control, or paralyzed with fear over what might happen? 'Snot like that helps any. Life is for living! Might as well enjoy it, yeah?"

“Yeah… I guess…!” Xell growled in response to Nikki’s comment. Continuing to step through the soupy marsh which was as comfortable as trying not to step on an ulcer under his foot.

‘Well… isn’t SHE just a ray of sunshine?’ that ethereal voice resounded through his mind. Causing the Draconi to check his surroundings, even though he really should’ve been used to this by now.
I could change that. Help her learn how complicated life can be.

“Don’t think even you could dampen her spirit.” Xell sniggered with a red glint in his eye. But then wiped the smirk off his face instantaneously as a shadow draped his face.

Xell bit his lower lip at the unwelcome welp that arrived within the bogmarsh scene. A canine novan gawking creature with a wired look in eyes. Frolicking in the muddy wetlands with a gun wavering in an almost drunken manner. Shouting at the top of his lungs. He looked like an asylum patient who had escaped a methadone clinic.

Xell stopped to wonder with what borrowed time the sorrowed mongrel spent in these pits. Hours. Maybe days? However much time it may have been, it appeared chronic anxiety and shackling fear had driven him to irretrievable insanity.
Xell stood with a fatigued open mouth as his eyes crawled from the grubby novan arrival, to Taffy. Where he appeared to be making his way.
‘Well, this just go interesting.’ The voice sniggered in his head.
Almost as if Xell’s eyes got forced, his eyes fell upon member to member on the group as the beast spoke. It took over and forced him to speak in a tone so calm, so tranquil and well spoken, but with an air of deception that may make one feel uneasy.

“This got VERY interesting indeed!” earning the attention of everyone, causing the group including the newcomer to turn around.

“A forlorn Coon who acts as tough as nails to cover her pain. Blinded by goals, outcomes and expectations of others when really she’s just running from something. Ha, micro manager.”

The draconi smiled with gnarled teeth as he turned his attention to the otter novan, and then addressing other members consecutively. The howling wind blowing grit passed them.

“A fallen kid whose guilt is consuming him so much he can’t even decipher what his purpose is anymore. What did you do, urchin? You’ve got the weight of the Universe on your shoulders there.”

“A forest guru who’s blind but SOMEHOW knows her way. Not very sus at all… is it?” his voice sang with amusement.

“…a run and gun hog who coulnd’t take the strain…” Xell mused out loud “an abomination of a bird girl…”

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten about you, rainbow and sunshine. That’s one pair of glasses to look through… what are you going to do when it all comes crashing down? Go running off with the Unicorns?” Xell laughed hysterically as he looked at Nikki.

“You can’t join us by the way! We’re full!” Xell pointed at the scruffy Novan newcomer, before clasping the air as if squashing him to dust.

The novan looked on, shaking deliriously with the gun by now pointing at him.
Before he could pull the trigger, he found himself tackled to the ground by the Draconi who leapt up into the sky with his elongated wings and dove head on to knock him into the swamp. Bubbles surfacing through the black murk as the reptilian novan dealt him fistfuls.

A huge gasp was heard as the canine found himself lifted from the mud by the scruff of his neck. His body dangling as Xell’s teeth and eyes could be seen from his muddied silhouette. Holding the gun in the other hand.

“Now we have some bait for our pest problem!” Xell turned to the group “a reasonable sacrifice, would you say? Hahahahaha! Just say the word and I’ll throw him!” the Draconi leaned his head towards the vines that were moving more than ever.