darkSpyro

Now knowing that they were safe and in peace, Peepers left them alone, going to his nest to take his sleep. The sunset was upon them, and he started to wonder where Sybil went after he talked to her. He knew how irritable she could get under an overwhelming amount of stress, so he was starting to feel guilty to choose to give Sayan and Rose that task instead of staying with her.

As the sun was setting, Sholeh was in the mood of some night hunting. She knew it was dangerous considering the warblers current hatred and the risk of Rose releasing herself, so she decided to leave the hunting at her own tree, even if it was going to be a little boring.

Crocux laughed "oh my god Sybil! you really pissed dad off. he hates the term ownership, since from his perspective you sound like a human since they talk the same way. he doesn't own anything, he's a caretaker. you have no idea how much you've offended him, in fact you just made it worse. now he's dead set on being the head caretaker he also wants everyone to discredit you so you can't hold any authority as leader now. I tried to worn you but did you listen? Noooooo, all I can say is have fun trying to fix this mess." he made sure to put emphasis on caretaker so she would get that she made a poor choice of words. "I told you he wanted to be co leader but you suggested he wanted to be the leader instead of you which made him think that you thought he was some power hungry jerk. you really need to be more careful with your choice of words towards him next time assuming of corse if he will actually listen that is." Shi looked at Sozen and said "Sozen, you can't make him change his mind especially right now. just give some space."

"Well, that's what I meant. Co-leader..." Sybil said to Crocux, but then she realized that she did forgot to mention the co in one of her statements. That tiny misinterpretation lead to all that mess.
"Either way, that's what he originally said. A co-ownership. Besides, I'm not the owner of the Haven! Whatever gives him that idea? I am just administrating it. The owners are the warblers, pelicans, seagulls, orcas, you name it. Those who live here, those who are native to this island, and that are so kindly and patiently are allowing all of us to use their home as a sanctuary, when in other places, we would be most likely considered an invasive species. Come on, isn't that obvious!?" Sybil said angrily, really loathing the way Crocux suggested Guardian was seeing her as thinking like a human, when the snake himself was even a real human from the beginning. Despite that, she was going to follow the crocodile's advice and leave the cobra alone for a while and hope he came through eventually.

After being done talking to Crocux, she addressed to Sozen.
"And Sozen, I understand you want us to talk to Rose, but please let's leave it for tomorrow. Look at the horizon. It's almost night and I don't want to take any unnecessary risks." she said firmly, though glad to have him defending her.

Crocux looked at Sozen and said "dud I was exaggerating. dad isn't a jurk like that." he then looked at Sybil "you honestly think he said ownership? please I don't believe that for a second. besides even though he was human once he hates his own kind for what they did to him. he may be a cobra now but his hatred for humans hasn't changed one bit. he doesn't care if was native or not he just wants to keep everyone alive. you can't stop him but I never said you couldn't compromise with him." Shi flew over to Sozen and said "and we will dear you just need to be patent."

"Well, I know what I heard." Sybil said, being stubborn herself. She could go to a competition with Guardian to see who was the most stubborn and would probably end in a draw.
"Besides, you must know I welcome any help, but due to what he did to Sholeh, well, I want you to understand why I'm so worried. He is too impulsive, and that could lead to big trouble." she expressed, revealing to him why she was so keen on wanting Guardian away from the major decisions if he couldn't handle such pressure without breaking up.

Crocux smiled "well he was overwhelmed at the time. trust me he wont break up. but you might be able to meet him half way like I don't know maybe a deal with him. since he wants to protect others lets make him in charge of, say Haven security, that way he can be a peace keeper and he could stay away from the bigger decisions."

Sybil still wasn't certain, but it sure beats having him in a good mood.
"Well, that COULD work. However, we'll just have to wait until he calms down. An impulsive nature like that is very dangerous here." she warned, before taking one las took at the horizon.
"Alright Crocux, I'm going to sleep now. If you find him, please have a little talk with him." she begged, preparing to leave the lake and towards her home, looking forward for a peaceful night and try to forget that terribly exhausting day.

Crocux nodded "ok Sybil I will." Crocux smiled "and sleep well Sybil." Shi sighed "ok Sozen lets go home. *yawn* it's time we went to sleep ourselves."

Sybil soon reached the cavity of her tree, when she remembered that Guardian tend to used it as a home as well. But given how upset he was,he was probably going to sleep somewhere else that night, so Sybil didn't bother looking to see if he was there. Jaerl's feeling for her seemed to be disappearing in favor of Cheryl, though she was glad by it. She kinda missed the company though, and realized that was probably going to be a lonely night. Se hoped however, that she would get over it soon, since she knew that some alone time was always important, especially with restless, tiresome days like today.

But at Hunted island, things were getting restless. Many of the cockatoos knew the unexpected patient that Whirlpool had at his burrow, and many of them didn't like it. Not only was the serval a predator, but the wombat had been neglecting most of his duties to them in order to keep attending the injured cat, who was overstaying his welcome (in Barloc's opinion). But others, like Kali, the cousins and a few more followers believed that it was Whirlpool's duty to help anyone who needed it, especially one as injured as the serval. At least he wasn't alone, that was the important part. The situation there was turning up eerily similar to what happened with the warblers earlier that day...

Guardian slunk around aimlessly feeling betrayed. not even realizing it he reached the beach and fell asleep well out of the orcas reach.

Jr slept soundly, he hadn't move from his spot since Sholeh left, it would take a mericaul to wake him up.

OOC: Out of the orca's reach?

While Sybil struggled to sleep, Cole was returning from a stroll.
"Where's the mongoose?" he asked, but Ceryl has no clue, having went to Hunted island. He then looked around and found him asleep nearby, so he grabbed him gently and put him on nos spot, much to Cheryl's annoyance. It has been a long day for everyone, so a long night was needed...

ooc: yes out of the orca's reach so it's like if they saw him they couldn't get him.

Terrence didn't stur at all when Cole moved him. as he slept he smiled, which was something he hasn't done in a very very long time.

OOC: Oh, I understand now.

That night was pretty normal, except for some unusual dry air and sudden wind gusts that made many leaves fall and gave warblers a hard time keeping their nests intact. Despite the inconvenience, many of them have mellowed down since that morning, and some even decided to respect Terrence life and give him a chance. All in all, they were more worried about the weather's changes anyway, since those sudden wind gusts and dry air weren't normal. It really was announcing that things were going to get worse from now on...

mean while...

Saris has been holding his own and so far hasn't encountered any dingos and was fortinit enough to find some food that might last him a week which he hid in the den he was staying in.

Warren was back at his forest home, wondering how Saris was doing on his own. It was too late to check on him though, so it'll have to wait in the morning. It felt good to be needed again.

Nighttime went fast for some creatures like Sybil, but for the warblers, it was one of the longest nights. The hours felt eternal for them, and some of them couldn't even sleep. As the sun was about to appear in the horizon, many left their nest early, wondering if they could recollect more food before things got really worse...

Jaerl lands on a higher branch above the one that leads into the kea's home. The young falcon seeing Cheryl going to sleep, takes off toward his own tree nearby. Once he enters his own home, he too, decides to go to sleep.

AJ:

"Really! I'm honored, you two that you would choose me. Thank you, you two," I say with a little smile.

The sun was finally appearing at the horizon, and the rays of the sun through the foliage hit Sybil right in the eyes. Se had her head out in all the movement she did inside her tree, so she woke up with a pain on her neck and cold ears due to the night gusts. She check her home to see if Guardian was there, but as she expected, he wasn't. Jaerl neither. She would worry about them later. In the meantime, since she hasn't been eating well for the last days, she was in the mood for something strong, like fish. She knew she vowed to leave it for those exclusive carnivores, but since the ones in the lake were accessible thanks to Crocux, she wondered if she could convince him to get him one for breakfast. After stretching her neck, she headed to his home...

Sholeh was also waking up, having postponed her idea from yesterday. It wasn't the same taking night strolls around your own home, since it was too boring. So instead, she once again decided to stay home. After finally getting up, she had lizards and berries for breakfast, and disbelievingly admitted that she was starting to miss Terrence's occasional visits.

Crocux slept soundly and woke up. after his morning stretches he went to see Sybil unaware that she was coming to see him.

Terrence soon stirred and woke up. He carefully got up remembering his broken leg. He slowly and quietly went to finish the lizard that Cole got him the other day not wanting it to go to waste.

Sybil continued to walk towards his home, when the rustling of dry leaves gave his position away. Despite being well camouflages, Sybil had learned to identify him.
"Oh, good morning Crocux. I was on my way to see you." she greeted, admiring how well he could hide despite his enormous appearance.

At the kea's tree, Cole was still sound asleep, more peacefully than usual. On the other hand, Cheryl was already away, but was still at her corner, glaring at Terrence as if accusing him of ruining her life by just being there. But before he could say anything to her, she turned around again, and lay down, pretending that she went to sleep again.

Terrence felt bad and not really knowing what to do he slowly went up to Cheryl. "thank you Cheryl."

Crocux smiled "good morning I was off to see you as well."

"For what!?" Cheryl said, almost yelling. She was ready for him in case he wanted to get on her good side.

"Oh, so you did..." she said, wanting Crocux to talk first, since what she was about to ask him was kinda embarrassing.
"Well, what do you want?" she asked, now really curious on what he wanted. She hoped it would be good news about Guardian.

Crocux shrugged "just wanted to see if you wanted come with me to get some breakfast."

Terrence flinched and said "you left to get medical supplies for me when you didn't have to. you've helped me when the warblers tried to feed me to the orcas. you've helped take care of me when you didn't want to. all this and you haven't asked for so much as a single thanks in return. If I was in your position I'd feel pretty unappreciated. I appreciate everything you've done for me and I don't know how to repay you. If you ever need anything just ask."

Sybil chuckled, really finding it ironical how she was about to ask him the same thing.
"Hah, well, that was the reason I was going to you in the first place. You see, well, I am really in the mood for a fish. I haven't eaten well these days, and well, since the lake is finally accessible thanks to you, I hope it wouldn't be a bother to ask you for one." she said, feeling quite happy.

Cheryl simply scoffed at that remark, and was willing to make sure Terrence didn't misunderstood her actions.
"Do you think I did all that for you?" she asked, finding the mongoose gullible.
"Well don't. If I did all of that, it's because the sooner you recover, the sooner you can get lost and leave us resume our own peaceful lives. Everything was going smoothly until you ad your suicidal tendencies showed up!" she said furiously, still not able to forgive him for stabbing himself even after all the work she and her brother went through to make him recover.

Terrence smiled still "but nether of you had to help me. you could've just left me for dead and that would've been that. but you didn't, you helped take care of me even after my stupied hairbrained ideas did nothing more then make the situation worse. no one has ever been kind enough to help me this much or at all. normally if I was badly hurt or something everyone would just turn a blind eye and not even care. I'm grateful for everything you and your brother has done for me."

Crocux smiled "I don't mind at all. last thing we need is to have our leader make poor choices because of an empty stomach. hop on, I promise not to throw you into the water this time."

Cheryl still believed that was just a bunch of worthless sweet talk, but decided to reply to him nonetheless.
"You certainly don't know keas very well." she said, letting him figure out the rest.
"Now move along. Do something that doesn't involve me." she then said, getting tired of his presence.

"Heh, I wouldn't mind at all. Us civets are pretty good swimmers." she assured, not minding a splash.
"Anyway, you're lucky. With the way you hunt, I bet you never have to worry about an empty stomach. With skills like that, you can catch anything you want. No wonder your kind is so feared." she said with admiration, still remembering the way he maneuvered those fish back at the lake.

Crocux smiled proudly "well almost anything. but even on an empty stomach we're great servivers. now hang on tight because here we go!" and with that Crocux took off at a gallop.

Terrence nodded "ok Cheryl." and with that he hobbled off to the entrance to the home to enjoy the view.

ooc: Felines I think you forgot to have the keas apply the bandages.

OOC: I thought that was already done

Sybil was holding on even before Crocux warned, knowing what was coming. She almost asked how he could run so fast with such short legs, but imagined that would be too embarrassing.

Cheryl returned to her spot to try to catch some sleep. She almost didn't sleep that night having too much on her mind, so now that Terrence wasn't bothering her, then maybe now she could recover what she missed. She looked at her brother with jealously, who looked so pleasantly asleep and didn't seem to be waking up anytime soon. Mambo on the other hand, was sitting on a branch near them to keep a close watch, havng taken on Cole's duty since he deserved the rest.

ooc: no you never said that that happened.

Crocux moved quickly and once the lake was in view he picked up his pace ready to dive in.

Jr sat down at the entrance and took in the view. he smiled feeling content.

Although Sybil didn't mind the splash, she would try to prevent, if avoidable, getting wet. She already had quite a splash yesterday, so knowing that Crocux was motivated for the dive, she got off his back as quickly as she could...

Mambo soon took notice of Terrence, and decided to greet him.
"Good morning sir. Slept well?" he said politely, then noticing that he was missing something...

Terrence smiled "morning Mambo. yes I did sleep well, and that's something I haven't had in a very long time."

Crocux dived in and got to work on catching fish.

Mambo then took notice on his lack of bandages, and figured what happened.
"Oh, you poor thing. I thought Cole put you the bandages already. Poor lad was so tired. And I bet he thought his sister was going to do it." he said in a sort of whisper, just in case the two kea siblings were awake.
"No matter. The wounds aren't that severe, but they still need treatment. Allow me." he said, as he proceeded to wrap the bandages himself.

Sybil watched from the edge of the lake, still impressed with the display. It was amazing how she could spend time there with a deadly animal such as a crocodile and be there with him as friends, when in their natural habitat, they would probably be mortal enemies.

Crocux soon came to the surface wit two fish in his mouth. he came to shore and said "Breakfast is served."

Jr let him and said "Cheryl got the bandages while Cole was busy talking with you. She's a real big help and by the time she got back with the bandages it was late so I can understand why they didn't get around to it. but it's okay I don't mind at all."

"Thank you." Sybil said politely, reallu enjoying the fish. Sus didn't know if ir was que hunger or the fact that it was a lake fish, but it tasted heavenly, even better than the ones at her creek.

"Cheryl is a good lass, but she prefers to keep things to herself." Mambo explained as he bandaged Terrence, knowing his bodyguard's sister too well.

Terrence nodded "yea I can see that. but I know she means well and she's been very tolerent of me."

Croux smiled "my pleasure." and with that he cowed down.

"Don't tell her, but she acts que way she does because she wants to be tough like Cole." Mambo explained in a whisper, wanting Terrence to understand her rough behavior.

As Sybil enjoyed her fish, she knew it was probably too big for her, and that Crocux was going to still be hungry with just one fish.
"I can leave you half of mine if you want." she offered, to prevent him from needing to hunt again.

Terrence smiled whispered back "well she has to figure out that being cold and being tough a two different things. besides I can tell she's tough but in her own way."

Crocux smiled and said "it's ok Sybil i don't mind. I've been eating less anyways. say have you seen dad?"

"Perhaps so. But leave it like that. She has a huge heart, but hates to show it. And don't tell her I said this or she won't speak to me in a long time" Mambo said, continuing the whisper as he finished up the bandaging. Cheryl was actually one of the kindest keas when in the right mood, but given her obsession to be like her brother, it was very hard to see.

"Oh, right, your diet." she said, before answering his question.
"And no. I haven't seen Guardian. He usually stays at my tree, but given yesterday's fight, I thought he was going with you. I suppose he must have stayed with Shi and Sozen then." she figured, finding no other explanation if he wasn't with her or Crocux.

Crocux shook his head "no dad is no fool. going up a mountin in the middle of the night, that could easly kill him if he's alone. something tells me he did something stupid since he has bad judgment when he gets like this but i know it wouldn't be that stupid. the only thing I could think of is the beach."

Terrence smiled "don't worry i wont say a word."

Sybil's hunger disappeared when he said beach. She couldn't eat anymore.
"The beach!? Why would he go there if he knows it is forbidden?" she asked, really hoping Crocux was wrong.
"I'm going to check..." she said, as she prepared to go there... but she has eaten more than she estimated and was barely able to walk. She struggled though, since she had to put her mind at ease.

"Good, now rest some more." Mambo suggested, leaving the extra bandage in case Terrence needed it. He still had to keep guard, so he left Terrence alone with the sleeping keas/ to rest a bit more.

Terrence nodded and decided to lie down were he was enjoying the sunshine.

Crocux went over to Sybil and said "it looks like you accedentally over eaten. I'll carry you their." He put his snout under her and tossed her up gently onto his back and started walking tho the beach wether Sybil wanted his help or not.

Sybil knew he couldn't persuade him otherwise, so she welcomed the help. As they walked to the beach, she was reminded of the orcas.
"I feel really bad Crocux. Here I am stuffing myself like a pig while those three poor orcas are starving." she said, now feeling guilty for eating that much. She knew there was nothing anything could do for them, but that didn't stop her from feeling bad.

Sholeh, after having enough of being at her tree, decided to take a walk around the Haven, paying close attention to her surroundings just in case. She by chance happened to walk very near the kea's tree in one, and took just a small peak at the colossal tree to see if there was any sign of Terrence...

Terrence slept but now his sleeping habits were back to normal and was a light sleeper. he felt as though he was being watched so he sat up and looked around. he leaned out being careful to avoid falling off.

Crocux sighed "I know Sybil. I feel bad too. luckly I brought a spar fish in case one of the orcas show up." which was true he kept a fish under his toung just in case.

Sholeh could catch a glimpse of Terrence, and that's all she needed. She just wanted to make sure that her ticket to free food was safe, so now that she got that off her chest, she started to leave before she could be spot. Unlike Cheryl, Sholeh had a rather hard heart.

Sybil chuckled a bit at the remark, knowing that only one fish wouldn't be enough.
"Do you have any idea how much an orca eats? One fish isn't going to be enough, so don't you dare approach the water to give it to them. As much, you can simply throw it." Sybil suggested, still firm in her decision to be overly cautious around the huge marine animals.
"Why did they had to be carnivores? If they could only eat at least a bit of plants, or berries or whatever. Then we could have really helped them... to some degree." she complained, knowing that the disadvantage they had was that they were too big, so no matter if they were herbivores or carnivores, they would still need large amount of food.

Crocux nodded in agreement "I know. but even if one fish isn't much it's still better then nothing." they reached the beach. Crocux lowered himself so Sybil could get off. "here we are. I just hope that if dad is here he isn't to close to the water."

"If he is, he's long gone." Sybil said with fright, imagining that the orcas, even if they were their friends, wouldn't miss the chance for an easy meal.
"Jet was an outcast, so he has been through this and can hold on. But I have doubts with the other two. I hope Guardian was smart enough to follow the signs. Nobody wants to be eaten by them. I should know..." Sybil said with a cringe, being suddenly reminded of the event that took place months ago where she had to fake her death. It was still too fresh on her memory.

By the time Crocux and Sybil reached the beach, Sholeh was still roaming around, and went face to face with Warren's tree. And there he was, sleeping. After days of not seeing him, he was finally there. Sholeh didn't know whether to wake him up or wait. There were too many things she had to say to him...

Crocux nodded "yea we better start looking before he does something else stupid."

Sybil then looked around the sand, and saw something long, and figured it was him.
"Hey look Crocux. Do you think that could be him?" she asked, really hoping it was a sleeping Guardian and not just a piece of algae that washed ashore...