Dizzy Duck and Sleepy Sheep

[Therdde]

Part One

Waterfall Ledge

Characters:
Therdde - Male Duck
Dichali - Male Bighorn Sheep
Chesmu - Male Adolescent Cougar
Makya - Male Raven
Will-O-Wisp - Female Fox Squirrel

Therdde has been feeling off all day, and whatever is wrong to him seems to be exacerbated whenever he tries to fly. It's difficult enough to keep his eyes and legs steady when he's in the water or on land. The duck was attempting to get back to the lake, intending to bed down to see if the dizziness went away, but it has been a slow and arduous journey when his wings won't cooperate. The phrase 'sitting duck' seems very appropriate, as the drake has has chosen to rest near the edge of the cliff. If worse comes to worst and he nearly comes to be dinner, he can at least dive towards the river below and hope that he can hold steady long enough to reach the water down there. For right now, he keeps his eyes closed and just listens to the falling water, trying to let it sooth him.

Dichali makes his way to the water slowly. As crazy as it may be for a prey species to be on his own while sick, he didn't want to spread whatever this was to the others. With how crowded his group was that'd be all too easy if he stuck around. Thus he was in a sort of self imposed exile till he got better, if he even managed to live that long. The big horn let himself fall into laying position as soon as he reached the water. His weakness was fairly evident as he seemed like he was struggling to even keep his head up.

Therdde cocks his head in the direction of a nearby noise, and as unpleasant as the idea sounds, he forces himself to open his eyes to perform a risk assessment. The sight he is greeted with is a very listless looking ram. The duck quacks a mild greeting, far from enthusiastic, and turns his gaze back to the waterfall. His symptoms seem to fade while he remains motionless. He would expect that if his own motion were making him feel unwell, and motion would do so, but watching the waterfall doesn't bother him. He's perplexed by this, having never been so ill before.

Dichali gives a small noise of discomfort as he tries to drink the water. "Where ever did this sickness come from," he muttered once he'd managed a little to drink, "As far as I know I haven't eatten any bad grass..."

Therdde begins to shake his head, but soon gives that up. Rather, he vocalizes his response to the nearby bighorn sheep. "It's nothing you ate. I'm sick too, and I don't eat grass." Something going around? Well, obviously. The duck keeps his head turned towards Dichali now, which is easier than steadily looking between the waterfall and the ram.

Dichali peers toward the duck at that point. "I'm Dichali," he mutters, "I don't much feel up to whatever wonderful thing my name might mean at the moment though...it's like I've stayed awake for one to many nightfalls."

Therdde has no idea what Dichali's name might mean, but he can sympathize with not feeling well. He doesn't feel like he's stayed up for two long, but he does feel like he's flown in one too many circles in order to evade something, except remaining motionless doesn't solve the problem indefinitely. When he gets up, he is invariably as dizzy as when he sat down. "I'm Therdde. Nice to meet you, Dichali."

Dichali doesn't know the meaning of his name himself. If he did, he certainly wouldn't brag about it. "I wonder what's become of us," he wondered as he twitched his ears a little, "It's a bit odd if we've both gotten sick from the same thing...none of the rest of my people are ill."

Therdde would be no more likely to brag about what is really a very generic name, either, if he knew what it meant. Either way, he has never known a disease that spreads very widely across species before. Maybe it is just coincidence, and maybe Dichali did just eat something and not realize it, or Therdde did. Therdde tries to remember if he has seen anyone else ill recently, but he can't remember. Before he got sick, observing ill animals wasn't high on his priorities list. That's something predators do, looking for easy prey. "How about anyone else, outside of your people?"

Dichali says, "You're the only one I've seen lately." He then carefully eats at some grass. "But then I only fell ill this morning...I haven't had much time to see anyone."

Therdde remains where he is, watching the ram. He doesn't make a habit of hanging out with sheep, but he had to have gotten sick from someone, and a lot of the ducks haven't returned to the lake in the mountain yet. Maybe he got it while he was down in the lowlands. Finally, the mallard says, "Well, you have my sympathies. I hope to get better soon." Of course, he hopes he gets better soon himself, too.

Dichali nods to the mallard rather weak like. "You have my sympathies as well," he stated, "Maybe if I rest enough, I'll feel better enough to look around..."

Therdde manages a short laugh and says, "That's what I've been hoping for the past couple hours. I feel fine while I'm sitting still, and every time I get my hopes up that the dizziness has passed and try to stand back up, it floors me again." Nature has a cruel way of toying with animals like that.

Dichali frowns slightly. "Well I guess I'm grounded here for a while," he stated, "At least we've got company though, eh?"

Therdde would smile if he were capable. Rather, in a pleasant tone, he says, "It sure beats being alone. But if a wolf shows up, I'm hopping on you." He trusts Dichali to be able to get to a point of safety more than he trusts the idea of diving down to the river below. At least the mallard is still capable of joking.

Dichali nods at that. "You're welcome to," he states, "I just hope I have the energy to fight or run...because taking a wolf would be no problem usually..."

Therdde appreciates that Dichali didn't take offense to his statement. As such, he makes a friendly offer to the ill ram. "If you want to close your eyes or sleep, I'll watch out." Therdde isn't tired or weak. He just can't move without feeling like he's going to fall over. So he'll match a perfect guard duck.

Dichali offers another smile toward the mallard. "Thank you, though I'm not sure I can sleep," he stated, "It's nice to have the possibility."

Therdde nods, actually finishing this time, though it's hardly an enthusiastic nod. "Any time." The drake finally shifts his gaze back to the waterfall. He knows the lake is very nearby. It's just not worth the effort to make it there. Besides, now that he has a companion, he doesn't have to worry as much about a wandering predator.

Dichali twitches his ears as he carefully lays his head down to rest. Granted he might not fall alseep, but at least he can save his energy for a while... He can't help wondering how the other animals he's met are fairing about now...

Therdde hears Dichali move. A glance to the side reveals that the ram has lowered his head. In interest of honoring his side of the bargain, the duck stands just long enough to turn his back to the cliff, at which point he sits back down. It's a lot easier to keep an eye open for any predators if he isn't facing away from possible directions from which they could approach.

Dichali gives a yawn. "If we need help and I fall asleep," he said, "Don't be shy about waking me up..."

Therdde's tone when he answers is his equivalent of a grin. The mallard says, in an amused tone, "Don't worry. I'm much more keen on waking you than falling prey to some wolf."

"Yeah," the ram agreed, "I'm more keen to being screamed at or pecked on or something else minorly unpleasant than being someone's meal, myself."

Therdde's flat, rounded bill wouldn't hurt much, but he is quite capable of being very loud. And regardless of whether he could mount an effective escape himself, there is safety in numbers, especially when your other number is many times larger than you are.

Dichali would assume it's also nice when your other number has the ability to sucessfully fight off any /low/ number of predatory types due to being born equipped for that very thing too. Then again, he can't read the duck's mind, so he can't assume anything in connection to what he doesn't know is being thought. Thusly, he's just laying quietly again.

[Therdde]

Part Two
... Time Passes ...

Therdde is sitting beside the cliff, his back to it. The medium-sized bird has his eyes open and is looking out for trouble, but he's notably still and outside of his normal, aquatic environment. As if sitting ducks weren't easy enough normally, this particular sitting duck is doubly keen on not moving, thanks to some particularly pervasive dizziness.

Dichali has hesitantly fallen asleep under the duck's offer of being a watching eye. He wouldn't be so careless, but due to his sickness, he's rather fatigued. He's also exiled himself from his family in order to keep from spreading it amoung them. Thus, the ram has allowed himself into this situation of being on asleep near a water source, with only a single duck as his companion.

Three days. Chesmu has gone for far too long without decent food this time. He really must find a good way to hunt and keep his pace up. A few mice every couple hours isn't going to work. Cougars like to eat too much. Chesmu finds it ironic that despite all his patience, his own body doesn't share that virtue. So now he's stalking, walking quietly, calmly, impatiently, hungrily toward the scene ahead.

Therdde is jumpy enough when he thinks there's a predator around while he's in the relative safety of the water. This time, however, he hasn't even made it to the water before being overcome by dizziness. And unfortunately for him, and perhaps Dichali, his hearing is not as keen as that of some other species, especially over the sound of the waterfall. As such, he probably won't realize there's danger nearby until it's actually in sight. It's entirely possible a duck does not make the best guard species.

The ram twitches his ears in his sleep, yet currently seems to lack motivation to wake up. This could have been a very bad idea indeed...

Three... days. Chesmu is now veritably kicking himself in his brain for this genius idea. He's just about to give in and have another poor sampling of mice when he catches a distinct scent. Food! *Real* food! Its all his willpower to keep from bursting out and running blindly toward it. Only a fool would do something like that. Rushing out after food blindly has trampled too many cougars. He just stops and salivates.

Over the treetops that come to the bank of the river soars a black form. The angel of death, as the Europeans believe? Or the trickster diety as the natives think? In fact, he's neither, just a simple Raven out to see what he can see and perhaps score a meal. The duck near the cliff is an easy spot, and the large ram nearby is seen soon after. Makya circles back over the cliff, looking down at the pair with some amusement. He starts to call down to Therdde, to remind him of the prank he pulled on the flat-beak, but stops himself. Something isn't right here, and the Raven starts to get a strange feeling as he remembers last night's talk with the Viridian Alphas. The cougar hasn't been spotted yet, his cover keeping him concealed.

Therdde can't say he'd be happy to see the raven any time, much less now. Especially now, though, he is much more concerned with potential threats at ground level, so the flying raven goes unnoticed when he decides not to announce his presence. The duck occasionally shakes out his feathers or shifts his position slightly, and he moves his head often, if slowly, to keep an eye on the majority of the area in front of him. He's watchful, but apparently oblivious to anyone nearby except his bighorn sheep companion, who is getting the rest he desperately needs.

Carefully, deliberately, Chesmu begins to ease himself closer to the scent of ram. Can't say he remembers the last time has had a ram before. Well now he'll be able to. Another severally light steps, and he finally sees the ram and guard duck. Now then, how best to approach this. He could break cover, seeing as the ram is not awake, but there's that duck. He has no clue the duck is guarding, but Chesmu would be a fool to think a duck would keep quiet at a charging cougar. After another several minutes of calculation, Chesmu alters course, staying under cover, trying to get at a better angle to the ram. Yes... food. Meat!

Makya's keen eyes finally catch the cougar as he starts to move. The cat's tawny coat keeps him concealed well, but the Raven has a better vantage point. Folding his wings the black bird dives into the trees, coming to land close to the stalking feline. His black eyes survey the scene, taking in the position of predator and prey. Unfortunately for the ram and duck, he is drawn to side with the predator, as a kill by the cougar means a meal for him. And as such, he's true to his Raven heritage, and starts planning on how best to assist Chesmu. Two soft quorks eminate from him, loud enough to be heard by all, but soft and unassuming enough to be just part of the natural noise of the mountain. He hopes this draws the cougar's attention, since he's so close to him.

Therdde doesn't pay too much attention to the sounds of the raven. It temporarily draws his gaze, and he easily remembers the prankster bird from some days ago. He never spots the black raven, and all the better, since he's not sure he likes those particular types of birds. After this, he goes back to looking elsewhere, the cougar still blending into the rest of the surroundings and going unnoticed by the disadvantaged duck.

Chesmu is about to take a more advantagous step toward satisfying his hunger when he is halted by the sound of a raven. He stops and crouches, and begins looking for the source of that noise. What a distraction. He stays silent, however. He wonders if this raven is making such a fuss because it has seen him? He would like to think he's better than that.

Makya quietly, carefully, hops down a few branches and calls again. His tone is even quieter this time, as if he's farther away. Hopefully the sleeping prey and the watch-duck will think he's leaving, but Chesmu should notice he's closer. The bird tries to make himself as visible to the cougar as possible, without compromising their positions. He wants to help, and he has a plan.

Therdde doesn't pay any more attention to the black bird, who Therdde mistakes for having no intentions on tormenting him today, if it's even the same raven.

Chesmu is finally bothered enough to actually comply with the raven's intention. Carefully, cautioisly, he pads back toward the raven. Quietly, yet sternly, he says, "Must you make all that noise?" Ravens are strange creatures. They're just... they're just strange creatures.

Makya looks down at the cat. Likewise, he keeps his voice to a whisper. The duck probably won't hear over the water fall, but there's always a chance. "I want to help you," he replies confidently. "You're hunting, but there's a good chance you'll be made before you can get close enough to effectively pounce. I think I can help remedy that." Ravens help predators. That's the way it's been for thousands of seasons, across many miles. And in return for the help, the birds usually get something to eat.

Chesmu pauses for a moment, then sits up to look up at the raven. He can't say he's even enlisted the aid of a bird, before. But if he's going to help him snag food all the better, then he has reason to like this little bird, if only for the time he needs the food. "What do you propose?"

Makya looks back over his shoulder. He's larger than the duck, being roughly the size of a hawk, and he knows already that he could easily distract the mallard. The trick is distracting him without waking the ram. "I'll distract the duck, so he doesn't spot your approach. That way he can't warn the prey. You handle the the take down."

Only, you see, being on land is making the Mallard much less likely to engage in idle conversation with a troublesome raven. Especially being on land because he can't find it in himself to make it so far as the lake. Finally growing weary of just sitting, the mallard stands slowly, strentching out his wings and taking a few careful, tentative steps.

Chesmu looks up at the raven, then smirks. He likes the plan. A nice, deceptive approach. "Okay, you do that. I'll get to a better spot." he whispers, and wastes no more time. He's quietly, but quickly, moving to his better point.

Makya nods to the feline, then starts hopping from branch to branch, deeper into the trees. Once he's a distance away from the cougar, he springs into the air, spreading his wings and flying back out over the trees to the clearing. He makes no point to hide himself now, landing on the shore of the river some distance from the duck. He looks over at Therdde, forcing a grin, the expression mostly in his eyes. "Fancy meetin' you here," he says, his tone light hearted though he knows something is so very wrong. This is a bad situation, but food is food. It's often the misfortune of others that feeds him.

Therdde is already standing when Makya appears in the area. He has given up on moving since he stood up, though. If not for the fact that he agreed to allow Dichali to get some rest, he might have attempted to make his way out of the area. As it is, he did what he wanted to do, which was stretch a little bit. He turns his head to look at the troublesome black bird. "Ah. You again." The mallard's tone is not half so light as the raven's, and he glances back toward Dichali once to see if either he or Makya is being too loud, then looks back in the direction of Makya.

The ram stirs slightly, but otherwise still seems to be caught pretty heavily in his ill sleep.

A rustle in the trees above announces the rather unstealthy arrival of some arboreal-dwelling critter, hopping from tree to nearby tree until it's in the same one the raven was previously in, though slightly higher up. Listening in on the odd gathering of creatures, it finally reveals itself to anyone happening to trace its noisy motions to be a fox squirrel. Chittering down at the group, she seems eager to ingratiate herself amongst them.

Chesmu is ready. Oh yes, as soon as that duck is diverted, he'll have a nice helping of ram. For now, he doesn't attack, yet. Just a little bit longer...

Makya waddles his way over to the duck, head bobbing ever so lightly with each step. "One in the same. So how are ya, my flat-beaked comrad?" He keeps his voice low, but tries not to act like he's trying to keep from waking Dichali. That might give away the plan. "Seen any hawks lately?" The Raven tries to position himself so that Therdde's back will be to the ram, and the hunting cougar, if he's to stay focused on the corvid. The squirrel's chittering draws the black bird's attention, and his back swings quickly toward the sound, then back to the duck. This is perfect, a grand setup. So why is it bothering him so much?

Therdde remains exactly where he is, keeping his eyes focused on the raven as the other bird draws closer. Needless to say, he's not amused. Not attempting to pretend to be even the slightest bit friendly, Therdde begins speaking to Makya even before the raven turns back around to face him. "Don't you have someone else to go irritate? I'm a little on the busy side." For one thing, he doesn't want their talking to disturb Dichali. That wouldn't be the case if he knew there is a cougar nearby. For another, though, it's difficult to stand guard while holding a conversation.

The ram's ears twitch more. Sounds were starting to become a bit on the more common side than before, and it broght the largeish animal to stir a bit more. He hesitantly opened his eyes a bit, but was still not quite awake enough to sense any danger at all.

The black-and-white squirrel isn't the quietest creature around, but it's still likely that the ram is in too deep of a slumber to hear her eager chittering from the tree above. "Good afternoon, birds!" Will-o-Wisp cheerily cries out, shuffling along the branch as though busting at the seams with some terribly important bit of information (or juicy secret) that she can't wait to spill.

Chesmu is quite full of anticipation. If only that stupid duck would turn his back. Turn your back, duck! He stays crouched, hungrily eying the fowl. Stupid duck.

Makya's head whips back to face the squirrel again before he can respond to Therdde. His eyes narrow for a second in frustraition, but he glosses over the emotion quickly. With the pesky tree rat wanting to play chatty Cathy, Chesmu's chances of success are limited. As long as the squirrel is in the tree where she's at, all eyes are looking more toward Dichali than away. "Afternoon," the Raven calls back, still trying to stay somewhat on the quiet side. The ram is starting to stir, and opportunity is fading fast.

The greeting offered from the squirrel causes the duck to look around again, in time to see Dichali's eyes begin to flicker open. Well, at least the ram got some rest. No longer quite so concerned with remaining quiet as he was before, he returns the squirrel's greeting. "Good afternoon." Can you say, foiled? The duck sits down again, lowering his head slightly as he does. Too much motion, now.

The ill ram slowly raised his head. He was still out of it a bit, but at least he was already feeling it to be less of a struggle to hold his head up than it had been before the nap.

Ever the gossip, Will-o-Wisp scrambles further down the tree until she's no longer hidden by branches and leaves, clinging to the trunk upside-down as she peers up at the gathered folk. "Perhaps it should be a good morning to you, sir," she chirps to the bighorn ram, her tail flicking anxiously. Apparently this squirrel isn't capable of staying still for more than a few seconds.

What?! No! That stupid raven was supposed to get *all* eyes off the ram, not *onto* it. It makes it harder for him if they all see him start gnawing on the ram's flanks. He'll be starving to death at this rate.

Makya needs to get everyone looking away. He has to get the damned squirrel out of the tree, and by the bank of the river. That will keep eyes off the forest, and give Chesmu a clean attack. He calls to the squirrel, in an upbeat tone. "Don't get many social squirrels in these parts. Why don'tcha come down here, get a drink, take a load off, and chat a bit." He seems friendly enough, if you can ignore the steak-knife shaped beak.

Admittedly, not /all/ eyes are on Dichali. Therdde's eyes are rather on the ground as he attempts to focus to get things to stop moving around again, even though he's motionless. Some gaurd, but then, Dichali has started waking up. Even though he's looking down, he says, "I'd watch how much I trust that raven, but you are welcome to join us." Hold a gruge much? The disoriented mallard clearly doesn't have a very high opinion of his fellow bird.

Dichali blinks a bit as he slowly shakes his head. The squirrel's greeting confuses him in his current state. Morning? Did he sleep that long?

"Chat? Why, of /course/!" Willow responds, though she only scrambles down to the base of the tree rather than over to the lakeside - she's not thirsty. Her dainty paws held primly in front of her pale belly, she flicks her tail a few more times as she begins to chitter rapidly, as though a faucet of words had been turned on by the raven's invitation. "I just so happened to overhear a cougar talking the other day - and really, it seemed as though she was just talking to herself at first, since whoever was talking back was really well hidden in the tree she was looking at - and their conversation was really quite interesting! Have any of you heard about this sickness that's apparently been swept here from other lands?" She apparently can't intuit the illness in either the duck or ram yet.

A sickness? Makya would go pale if his feathers allowed it. His eyes widen slightly, then narrow. This sounds a lot like a creeping blackness that Silver, the Viridian Alpha Female, said she saw in a dream. He takes a step back, eyes flicking between those present, though he doesn't look toward where Chesmu crouches. He still wants the cougar to get the kill, and if the ram is sick, that would make it all the easier. He has no problem eating the flesh of the ill, it's very difficult for him to get sick thanks to him being a scavenger, but this feels more ominous than a simple virus. And a sickness does explain the very strange behavior of the ram and the duck. "No, I haven't. Care to fill us in?"

Chesmu is starting to get uncomfrotable. He really needs to eat and now they're all having a friendly chat about... some disease some guy heard from a cougar heard from a wolf from who? It's just talk, Chesmu. Just talk. Diseases are all over these lands. Creatures are sick all the time. And suddenly Chesmu finds his mind wandering off of hunting, on the idea of some cases where *he* has been sick, and it just goes downhill from there.

That's enough to get Therdde to lift his head again, to look at the nearby squirrel. Unlike the hidden cougar, the mallard has very rarely ever been sick, and never like this. He would ask the squirrel to go on, but Makya beats him to it, and just as well. The duck still stays mostly still, though now he keeps his eyes on the excitable squirrel rather than on the ground or elsewhere.

The ram seems to have been shaken out of his daze at the mention of sickness. His ears perk up a bit and he quickly turns his head toward the squirrel...which he regrets for a short moment. "Yes...please tell us more," he requested of the little creature.

"Well, apparently there's some sort of illness making its way to our region now - the cougaress seemed sad, perhaps someone close to her had gotten sick. But whoever she was speaking with mentioned that others from where the sickness came from had found some sort of /cure/," Will-o-Wisp practically gushes, as though spilling a rumor about an illicit love affair rather than a potentially dangerous disease. It certainly helps to have such a captivated audience, as well.

Makya is more than a little annoyed, but just as curious. "What kind of illness is it? And what sort of cure did they mention?" If this is in any way related to Silver's dream, he needs this information so he can pass it onto the Viridian. They have new pups, and if the pack gets the illness, it could spell the end for them. He can't let that happen to the pack he's given his alliance to, or else he'll be out of a food source.

Wait, cure, as in... This might not go away by itself? Therdde had really, really been counting on eventually finding a safe place to sleep and attempting to sleep it off, much like Dichali was doing before the raven and squirrel showed up. He keeps his eyes on the squirrel as Makya asks every question that occurs to the duck, though Therdde's interest in the answers are a little more personal. Will-o-Wisp keeps her audience capitvated very easily, apparently.

Chesmu's mind is totally lost on other things now. Sicknesses he's had, times he's been lost, creatures he talked to. Even the time he tripped and stubbed a paw. Then his mind snaps back into the situation when the squirrel mentions something sbout this disease that is scaring these fools?

"Oh, they didn't mention any of those sort of details, or at least I didn't hear them - but they did say something about it being located beyond the rivers, or something of the sort," Willow chitters, rambling a bit - even for a gossip, she can't always remember every little detail about what she's heard. After all, there's so many secrets she's learned about that she's surprised she has any room left at all for new rumors in her little head.

Dichali is also giving the little creature his full attention now. "Is that all you heard," he wondered. To think, if he had THIS sickness, he could have been near the cure the whole time. They're right next to the rivers now after all.

Makya tilts his head sharply to the left. "Beyond the rivers?" he asks. "To the east?" Traveling is much easier for him, and if he can get to the location of the cure quickly, he can insure the safety of the Viridians, and his meal ticket. Better yet, if he has the cure, then he can withhold it from those nasty Lazuli wolves. The uneducated savages can all just rot. "And what sort of thing is it, this cure? A plant, a mineral?" He voices the questions as soon as they come, not waiting for an answer before asking the next.

Therdde remains sitting, taking in everything that the others in the area are saying. He doesn't have anything useful to add as he tries to sort out what this might mean. Sure, theoretically he could search out a cure for this illness easily enough... That is, if he weren't so affected by it.

"I don't exactly know, a direction wasn't specified...but I suppose that's as good a guess as any. I don't know very much beyond the immediate lands, so there very well may be other rivers around here, or maybe you're right," Willow flounders in response to the raven's interrogations. "I don't know!" she exclaims, flustered. "Perhaps you should try to find the cougaress and ask her yourself." She's sure she'll hear of any new developments through the gossip vine anyway, might as well let him do all the work if he wants to know so badly - she's not feeling sick, after all, so it doesn't affect her.

The ram looks thoughtful. If he felt better he'd probably try to get the raven to calm down a touch. "Ahh...well," he replied, "Thank you for your information." He gave a little bow of his head and, earlier issues returning, just layed it back down instead of bothering to pick up it. "Is there anything you need done for you by chance," he wondered. After all, the squirrel may have just saved his life, he feels a little indebted.

It probably seems more than a little odd that Makya, a seemingly healthy Raven who has no known attachments, is taking such an interest in this. He doesn't make his affiliation with the Viridian well known to prey animals, as his presence may make them weary when he helps the pack hunt. "Who's the cougaress you spoke to? Any markings that cause her to stand out?" As the squirrel said, he's going to go to the source. His suspicions are confirmed by Dichali's reaction that he is in fact sick, something that the raven was sure of already, but now he knows beyond a doubt.

Therdde's vision has steadied, and he glances towards the raven. No ill creature could possibly be in rapid-fire interrogation mode like that, as verified by the more subdued manner of Dichali and himself. Still, Therdde and Dichali could possibly strongly benefit from this information, and the duck holds off on thanking squirrel until she answers this new question.

"That's not necessary, friend," Willow answers cheerily with a particularly thorough flick of her entire tail. "Thanks, though." She turns her gaze to the raven once again, glancing up at nothing in particular as she tries to remember. "Hmm...I don't believe I noticed anything unusual about her...it was getting dark at the time," she explains. "But it was near a bunch of boulders and other rocks a little south of here, if that helps you any in finding her."

The rock formations. Makya has flown over them several times and will start his search there. "Thanks, I appreciate the information," he finally tells the squirrel. He's done drilling her for now, guessing that she probably has little more information to share. He's learned a lot, a lot more than he knew before, and now he has a tool for an offensive against this darkness.

Dichali gave a slight nod toward the squirrel. He'd have to look for the cougar as well if he could pull off traveling in his state. He's sure Therdde would appreciate the effort as well. Being the self important sort that Dichali is, he felt it was his place to try and help out those of the smaller and more helpless persuasion...except when it came to hunting time. Everyone had to eat, that's just how life seemed to work. Though he'd probably try to help his friends even in those times.

"Not a problem," Will-o-Wisp chirps in response to the raven - she's not likely to hold grudges, especially since Makya didn't try to eat her or anything besides ask her a lot of questions. And she /is/ a gossip, so it's only fair to expect such. But sensing that her job here is done, she quickly darts back up the tree again, making her arboreal trek to some other location and to some other poor saps who are forced to listen to her chatter on about the latest news in the area.

Therdde echoes the thanks that Makya and Dichali give to the squirrel. "Yes, thank you" Some part of therdde really just wants to believe that this is just some standard run of the mill virus that'll burn itself out. He'd like to just take the 'lie down and not move until he feels better' approach to it. Unless, you know, he doesn't get to feeling better, at which point his solid not-dying record will come to an entirely undesirable end.

The big, black bird doesn't say anything else before spreading his wings and leaping skyward. The poor hunting cougar he was helping out is all but forgotten as he takes off back to the southwest, toward the Viridian Valley and the pack he works with. He has much to do today, and much information to relay.