darkSpyro

"Hey Rose.. it's Sybil.," Sayan said sitting next to the tiger. He gestured at their presence, surprised.

"Hey guys..." she said unenthusiastic, remembering that she had to tell the news sooner or later. But then she remembered she had company, and introduced the margay and thylacine to the two big cats as cheerful as possible to mask her worry.

"Oh right... guys, this here is AJ, and here we have Stripes. They have resided at the Haven for quite a while, but they live very far away. But they have come to visit." she explained, sneakily putting her paw over her mouth while looking at AJ and Stripes so that they would keep quiet about the ordeal at the outback. She could just imaging the big scold waiting for her if they talked, since she believed Rose and Sayan still haven't forgive her for faking her death so cruelly and certainly won't appreciate her still risking herself at such degree that next time, couldn't be fake at all.

Sybil let the silent AJ be. She thought that his ordeal in the outback has been too much for him, when what was happening was that he was most probably missing Odette and all of the dingos that were so nice to him.
"You guys get acquainted. I will escort AJ to his home." she said, hoping to have a small talk with him. It seemed that nobody noticed her small limp from the pact earlier, which was a good thing. She wasn't ready to explain anything yet.

I shyly smile and wave at the two big cats. Taking a deep breath and swallowing, I speak. My deep midnight blue eyes sparkle in the light.

"Hello," I reply shyly, before going completely silent again.

Sybil was glad that at least he said hello, yet there was much to talk about. Escorting AJ to her tree, Sybil spoke.
"AJ... I don't know for how long you have been kept there, but I'm sorry. Things have been... difficult here at the Haven, and you as well as others have sheltered yourselves a bit too much." she expressed, sorry to know that so many of her guest that she hasn't heard of in a while, and if they were in trouble, she had no way to know unless a bird announced it. She was happy though that AJ could be recovered, but expressed to him that from now on, he was going to live near her, where she could keep an eye on him always.

AJ:
"It's alright Sybil. I know all about the War, Ivor's bravery and his death and everything else. I don't mind living nearby you, if that is what you would like. I am sorry I caused you so much trouble, Sybil," I say, quietly bowing my head.

Sybil looked the other way around, wondering how on earth did AJ knew about the war if he was being captive. Did he heard it from the dingos? She decided to dismiss it as something the dingos found out about from the border of the Haven. The gossip of the birds could be heard even from there.
"Well AJ, feel free to choose any tree from nearby you like, as long it is about 200 yards from here." Sybil said, finding that a reasonable number. She also forbidden AJ to go near the border of the outback.

"I already know what tree I'll live in. It is the one that you always see before you enter and when you leave yours. Also if you are wondering how I know about "The War" well, word travel fast on the wind and no I learned about it before my time with the dingos. Anyway, I'm going to go to my tree and rest for a bit, then we can do whatever you would like to, Sybil," I say with a shy little smile as I slowly walk over to my tree.

The tree AJ chose was perfect for Sybil to keep an eye on him. She could feel his unease, but wanted to dismiss it as a simple case of trauma rather than a genuine care for his former captors. With all that over, Sybil entered her tree and laid down, terribly exhausted. She wasn't sleepy, but couldn't get up either. She then looked at her wound and realized it was not as bad as it looked. It was a scary ordeal, but it was over now. Once again, she let her herself trust her long chain of luck to take such a risk.

"Wait.. be careful out there and know that we are here if you need us. If you need anything.," Sayan said. He knew how solitary the thylacine was and he knew the importance of breaking that solitude.

OOC: I will let a few days pass in order to make a few changes and make things more interesting.

Several weeks had passed from the fateful war against Shadow and his army of Komodo dragons. AJ was rescued, but Sybil couldn't forget the promise she made to the dingos. She had been clearing a path all by herself for them to enter, so she was really busy those days. Peepers was the only one she trusted enough to give such vital information, and it was him who took care of the occasional journeys to the outback to see what the dingos were up to. Thankfully, food was pretty abundant on the outback for the time being, so there was no need for them to enter the Haven. However, some of them really liked the idea of trying new foods, and now that they were having access to the Haven, Sybil's promise may soon arise...

"Sure.," Sayan said with a smile. He was glad to see Rose getting over Ivor's death and glad to see that the tiger still honored his memory.

"Sybil, the dingo leader has requested your presence." Peepers said from the branch she was standing on, trying to get some fruits before getting back to work.
"Ooh, what does he want now?" she complained bitterly, hating the dingo's den. That was only the first time she was summoned, but after her first visit, she didn't like the place.

After ordering Peepers to check on Sayan and Rose, she was a bit more calmer knowing that they were distracted. She headed to the outback, and while she was more sure that the dingos wouldn't hurt her, she was still uneased. After a reunion that lasted about twenty minutes, the dingo leader gave as his final word that she would have to make good of her promise of the free access. Sybil had no choice but to comply, but she was so angry that the pack wanted the access out of the greedy desire of trying new meat rather than a lack of food in their home.

"Ugh! Stupid dingos! Who do they think they are? Of course, taking advantage of a promise I was forced to make!" Sybil complained to Peepers once she arrived at the Haven, furious to the blood. The warbler tried to console her, knowing that Rose or Sayan were going to question her if they saw her acting that way. The only thing that eased her down was the promise that the dingo leader made to enter without being noticed, and that they would hunt in the wetland, far away from the forest where most of the Haven residents were living in. It was a good thing that the opening she made was big enough for a dingo to enter, though a bit tightly, but that would have to do for them. She was tired of expanding that terrain.

Sybil was heading to the entrance when Peppers stopped her.
"Miss please, you have been too stressed these last couple of weeks. It's not healthy. Please, take some time off. Little Rose and Mr. Sayan are having a grand time at the beach. You should join them. I'll keep an eye on those dingos." Peepers said kindly, convincing her after a while of persuasion.

Sybil then headed to the beach, but instead of entering the water with the two big cats, she decided to contemplate them for a while, hiding behind a palm tree. Looking at them so happy and finally resuming their calm, content lives after the turmoil of the war really was refreshing for her. She needed that. Peepers in the meantime, was doing his usual job, unaware that he too was overworked, but he was too kind hearted and loyal to Sybil to take the time to notice.

Sayan jumped in the water, splashing the tiger cheerfully. He smiled without knowing it... having more more fun then he usually had.

Below the playing felines, something was below the water, stalking the pair. A great amount of bubbly water suddenly surrounded them, catching Rose and flinging Sayan high up in the air. However, after the leopard was caught too, it turned out that it was none other than Cairo himself, who decided to join the fun.
"Heh, scared you guys huh?" he said with a mischievous smile, having both of them on his back. Sybil was left open mouthed. It was so rare to see Cairo getting that playful, but it shouldn't have been a surprise. After all, without the responsibilities of the pod resting on his fins, Cairo had less stress, and more time to spend on the shore with his dear earth friends.

Cairo responded by splashing her with some little water via his blowhole.
"See? I can be fun too." he said, shocking Sybil yet again. He usually behaved that way towards her and some of the younger orcas, so it made her happy that he was expanding his reclusive playfulness to others.
"Come on miss Sybil, don't make me get to you." he said with a grin, preparing to beach himself and catch her if she didn't get into the water. Getting motivated, she swam towards the humongous orca, joining Rose and Sayan on his back.
"Come on, want a ride or play tag? Nothing can get away from me." Cairo asked, really looking forward to play. It was almost as if he reverted to that young, ecstatic orca Sybil met long ago, before establishing the Haven.

Sybil was a bit exhausted from all the running around she had done for the past few weeks, and when she decided to play, she hoped it would be something more stationary, but not wanting to disappoint Rose, she played along. Civets were pretty good swimmers, and with all the exercise she has gotten, she could keep up really well with Rose.

Cairo decided to simply watch, since he could catch them very easily and it would be an unfair game. He did paced around, remaining near them and giving little rides to Sayan, who was probably still a bit shaken after the big fling he gave to him earlier.

OOC: Whew. I'm glad the RP is getting back to it's normal, active self

Sybil did tried her best, but the closest she could be to Rose was just a few centimeters of her tail.
"Oh never mind Rose. You win." she said panting after almost fifteen minutes of chase. Sybil had become faster with exercise, but Rose had much taller paws and tigers were great swimmers by nature. Cairo smiled at how overworked Rose got Sybil, unaware that she was already like that long before.

For Cairo, it only took him about ten seconds to catch Rose. Cairo was incredibly fast for someone so big. Of course, he needed that for his hunts.
"Heheh, too easy." he said teasingly, swimming circles around Rose. Sybil was pleased with this behavior, and hoped Cairo could show this side of him more often in the future.

It was fun for a moment. Cairo was a marine animal, so he could swim very fast. He decreased velocity to give Rose a chance, but while swimming away from her, he almost hit her hard with his tail, prompting him to stop.
"Maybe we should play something else." he said coming to a halt, extremely worried about what he almost did.

It was hard to think of the perfect game. Tag was proving too dangerous for someone of Cairo and Rose's size. He initially thought of taking something and hide it so Rose could find it, but the beach was a giant place, and finding anything could take forever.

"I think I got it!" Sybil suddenly said after noticing Cairo getting depressed about not having a suitable game idea.
"How about we place ourselves at the shore and you try to catch us as quietly as possible?" she suggested, making the matter similar to how orcas beached themselves to catch seals.
"That's sort of like tag, and it will help us develop faster reflexes." Sybil then said cheerfully, referring to her, Rose, and Sayan if he was willing to play as well. Many times that Cairo has greeted Sybil, he has approached her without her realizing he was near until only a few yards away.

Cairo settled Sayan near Rose. He was starting to feel a little bad for the fling earlier, since he might have overdone it. It was still a bit difficult for him to assimilate that many who walked on ground had less endurance than his species.

Cairo nodded, with Sybil explaining the rules of the new invented game.
"Well then Sayan, if you decide to settle in, then this is all we need to do; we'll simply pace around the shore and be alert. Cairo is very silent when swimming, and if we all pace, we won't know who will Cairo target first." she explained, encouraging Cairo to be sneaky and unpredictable, which was something he could do very well.

Cairo retreated into the sea before Sayan could reply. He didn't plan on targeting him anyway, since he felt the leopard had enough chasing. It was either Sybil or Rose then. As he left the shore, he was admiring Sybil's idea. Indeed that was a game where they could develop faster reflexes and be more alert, but at the same time, it would help his hunting abilities. He wasn't getting any younger after all, and his ability to catch seals wasn't as successful as before. He only hoped that Jet didn't showed up, believing he could ruin everything. Even after all that time, Cairo still hasn't learned to completely accept him.

Nevertheless, Sayan participated anyway not wanting to disappoint Rose. "Let the games begin.," he said with a smile.

Sayan followed, pacing along the shore and keeping an eye out.

Cairo waited almost twenty minutes before deciding on a target. He could see Sayan in a much cheerful spirit, but decided he would go after him later. It was still either Sybil or Rose. Both girls were very near each other, so it would be the perfect opportunity to be unpredictable, since they wouldn't know which one of them he was after.

"Well now, Cairo is really taking his time." Sybil commented to Rose, though she was sure that he was still waiting for them to lower their guards. Sybil looked at sea, and she couldn't see a thing. Cairo was there in front of them, very well hidden underwater. At a speed that would make a swordfish proud, he swam towards the two of them, giving them very little time to react, but wo was he targeting?

Initially, Cairo was targeting Sybil, but soon decided to capture them both. He first caught the jumping Sybil in his mouth, followed by the retreating Rose.
"Oh yeah! I still haven't miss my touch!" He said between teeth, having them trapped. It wasn't very common for him to catch two targets at once, so that really raised his spirit.

"Two at once.. good job.," Sayan said laughing as well.