darkSpyro

Sholeh moved her ear, hearing the echo of Rose's voice humming through the hollow cavity she was resting in. She then looked below, much to her surprise, there was Rose, still alive and around. She had no doubt about it, Shadow wasn't reliable when it came to eliminating someone.
"Hey stripes! What do you think you're doing here!? You are no longer in charge. This is MY tree, and I order you to leave at once!" she said, trying to intimidate Rose. She was the last animal she wanted to see.

"Ah yes, you are just like the late Sybil. You can't do things on your own. You need others to do your fighting for you. Well then, if you play dirty, then so will I." Sholeh said, hoping that was enough to get Rose nervous. She was a bit nervous herself. When she woke up, she noticed that Warren was gone. If she survived that encounter, he was in so much trouble for leaving her alone. But anyhow, she was prepared to make an escape just in case Rose became hostile...

This made Sholeh kind of relieved. However, she still didn't want Rose around. But using her own intelligence, she was sure that she could convince Rose to let her be.
"Oh good, if that's the case, prove it! Leave at once! This is MY tree now. And this is MY forest! Or perhaps Sybil never told you that my kind is a native animal here. But of course, she needed the birds only because they could fly. And the rest of the animals, especially mongooses, were banished like garbage to that dreadful Outback just because she didn't have any use for us." Sholeh told her, knowing that Rose still mourned for Sybil. It was now at Sholeh realized that Sybil's death wasn't enough for her. She wanted to destroy Sybil's memory and legacy.

Sayan smiled, proud of how the tiger was standing up to Sholeh.

Quote: Spyroconvexity

"This is not just your forest it is everyones. Every animal deserves a piece of the island even if it means sharing land. And Sybil only banished your kind because you took bird eggs without permission. You had no right in taking them!" Rose said sternly. "And if you are going to stay you must prove to me you aren't going to do the same mistake." Rose said not afraid of Sholeh. She looked at Sayan and smiled.

Sholeh looked at Rose, then at Sayan. She completely ignored Nia, who was perching on Rose's back. This upset the cockatoo, but remained silent.
"Why shucks little Rose. Is it my fault that nature made me the way I am? I need eggs to survive. It's not like I'm a monster. Besides, the world is very full of birds. The world won't mind if there are a few that will never be born from their eggs." Sholeh explained, trying to get on Rose's innocent side. But even with that, she was still surprised that Rose was actually willing to let her stay if she let her old habits go. However, Sholeh wasn't thinking of that at all.

"True, but eggs have proteins essential for survival. We eat other things, but if we eliminate eggs of our diets, we don't last long." Sholeh explained, trying to sound dramatic. She was really hoping Rose would understand the message soon, since she was getting tired of that conversation. She was hating Shadow so much at the moment for not extracting his revenge as he supposed to. At that rate, Sholeh was very determined to let everything to Jet as always.

Sholeh wasn't convinced. Rose seemed like one with a heart too big to actually hate anybody.
"Alright then, you got yourself a deal. Now please leave. You are interrupting my beauty rest." Sholeh said, believing that if she made the deal, she would get Rose off her whiskers. With her around, she was sure she wouldn't have the freedom she wanted. If that kept up, she would have another talk with Jet...

Royal sees that his guest seems a little uneasy. However he remains with his wings over them. His golden eye gleam in the light.

"Something the matter," he asks gently.

"I must leave." Sybil answered, with her deep voice slowly but surely vanishing. The effects of the fruits were getting lost, so she wanted Royal to understand that his guest had to go. She really hated to admit it, but she felt a little imprisoned with Royal's wings wrapped around like that. She knew he meant well, and if only her voice wasn't changing in such a wrong time, she would have stayed a while and talk to Royal. There were so many things that she wanted to talk to him about...

Royal removes his wings from around her and smiles. His golden eyes gleam brilliantly in the sunlight. Stepping away from her, he lets his guest go.

"Alright then, but if you wish to stay with me, don't be a stranger."

Sybil was very glad with that chance. Se left Royal's tree rather quickly, but not running so that the eagle wouldn't think that she was running away. After being at a considerable distance, Sybil took a large piece of the fruit she had under her mask and quickly munched it. It was less than two minutes when he fruit took effect again. Her deep, Matthews voice was finally back. Now that that was done, she decided to return, in her mind, creating an excuse for that sudden urge to leave.
"Hey sir, I'm back. Sorry about that. I was feeling very cramped under that tree, and I needed to stretch." she said, believing there was no better excuse than that. However, before letting Royal a chance to reply, she spoke again, really needing to talk to him.
"Say now sir, I hope I am not being rude with this, but I heard that not so long ago, a civet made this forest a Haven, but... that she is no longer alive. What happened?" she asked, pretending she had never heard the details. Depending how Royal answered , she was sure she was going to know how he, and hopefully the rest of the Haven residents, were moving on with her absence. She wanted to know if she had created too much damage with that decision she took one month ago.

Taking eggs with permission? That was outrageous! Even though she found Rose a bit less hateful than Sybil, she was just as dominant as her. Sholeh simply couldn't be herself with Rose around. She wanted to take the eggs she wanted, when she wanted. Either way, at least Rose finally left. As soon as the young tiger was out of sight, she immediately headed to Jet once again.

"Jet? Jet darling. I know we just talked a few minutes ago, but I need your humble assistance once more." Sholeh called from their meeting spot, in an eerie kind, singsong voice. She was too convinced that Shadow was an unreliable weakling who couldn't even take on a simple vengeance.

"Oh gee, I hate to bring this up to you sweetie, but it looks like at this rate, that stranger isn't going to be the only one that needs to be taken care of." Sholeh expressed in her kind voice, before getting straight to the point.
"You see, the young tiger is just another darn Sybil. Shadow was suppose to be the one to get rid of her, but alas, I don't know what the heck he is doing, or where he is now. He can't even get revenge right! So I need you to do me the favor instead." she explained, believing so firmly that Jet wouldn't let her down.

Sholeh scratched the back of her head in confusion. Wasn't it obvious what she wanted done? Either way, she proceeded to answer calmly.
"Jet dear, I don't have the means to welcome my species home if Rose is going to follow the civet's steps. I need you to get rid of her also, now that Shadow has demonstrated that he is too incompetent for the job." Sholeh explained patiently, believing that the Komodo dragon was a ninny for not doing the job already. Maybe he wasn't as obsessed with revenge as she though. Nevertheless, it was two creatures that Sholeh wanted gone forever, so she gave Jet a choice.
"Now then Jet, I want this masked weasel and the striped little brat eliminated, just like Sybil before them. But... I can only lure them one of the time. So now... which one of them would like to snack on first?" Sholeh asked, not caring who was first. They both proved to be too dangerous for the life she wanted, so the order didn't matter.

Sybil was still with Royal, waiting for his answer. She faintly heard Jet, calling for her, but what was he thinking? He knew that he wasn't suppose to call for her by that name. Hopefully, Royal didn't heard a thing, since a civet's ears heard much better than an eagle.
"Hold that thought good sir. I... dropped something of mine when I went stretching." Sybil said, disappearing into the forest after making sure Royal wasn't following her. She swiftly went into the shore to meet with Jet.
"Jet, what do you think you're doing? You know you must not call me by that name. Somebody may hear you, expecially Rose." Sybil scolded, though in reality, she was much worried about Royal. It was very possible that he didn't hear a thing, but she was afraid that he could get suspicious with her constantly leaving.

Sholeh was returning to her new home, determined to wait a while while Jet got prepared. Warren hasn't returned yet, and there was no sign of Shadow, so she felt a bit lonely. She forced herself not to care though. Shadow was incompetent and Warren was a clumsy idiot, so she thought it was better that way.

So Sholeh was at it again... that didn't surprise Sybil one bit. She knew Sholeh had the habit of letting others taking care of those unwanted to her.
"That may seem as a problem. But don't worry. Under my Matthews persona, I will make sure Rose trusts you again." Sybil assured, knowing that Rose's distrust for Jet still hurt him. Though she was more worried about what she was about to suggest.
"Listen Jet, this is not like me at all... but... Sholeh is one dangerous mongoose. She is one to never rest until she has her way. I have banished her countless of times, yet she always returns. I can't imprison her either or she could find a way to escape, like Shadow did. So... she must be taken care of... for good." Sybil said, shaking violently. Never in her life has she suggested to have someone killed, but Sholeh was proving to be one major exception. She was even more dangerous than Shadow. But what terrified Sybil even more was that suggesting such a thing, she was lowering herself to the mongoose's level.

Sybil understood, but just before she could reply, Cairo swam besides Jet, pushing him a bit on the side. Every since he heard Jet calling Sybil, he had been spying on the pair.
"Growing soft for that miserable mongoose? How pathetic!" he insulted, believing Jet to be a weakling and a coward.
"Jet isn't reliable. I bet he even became emotionally attached to that monster... I'll do it miss. The mongoose will be out of your life soon." he said with a hiss, bearing his teeth. This made Sybil very scared of Cairo, and she even started to regret suggesting such a horrible thing. However, Cairo didn't take notice if this. His only goal was to please Sybil, and make Jet look bad and untrustworthy in front of her.

"Why is it always later? Why do we need to know their every move? If we finish off the mongoose now, the threat is over. That 's the objective, isn't it?" Cairo expressed, evidently furious.
"And don't be stupid Jet. Killing is part of our lives. We are called killer whales after all... or is it that you are starting to be on Sholeh's side?" Cairo said with suspicion, wanting Jet to confess so that Sybil would stop trusting him and would start to rely on him alone and he could have Sybil all to himself...

Cairo was about to tell Jet off once more, but Sybil interrupted him.
"Enough Cairo. Jet is right. This is barbaric. You see why I didn't ask you this? I'm sorry, but you are just simply too violent." Sybil explained, actually confronting Cairo.
"But it was your..." but then Cairo realized it was futile to discuss with the stubborn Sybil.
"Alright then, you do your little plans for all I care. Just leave me out of it." he said angrily before swimming away.

After a brief pause, Sybil talked again.
"I guess he'll never change. Sorry about that Jet. And thank you for bringing sense to me. Wanting to make you finish off Sholeh was a barbaric and immoral choice. It's just that I didn't knew what else to do." Sybil expressed, feeling ashamed of herself for bringing herself into Sholeh's level of wanting somebody dead. She was a,so feeling very proud of the great amount of moral and ethic Jet was showing, and felt every happy that she could change his old ways to the better.

"Don't worry, I'll handle that." Sybil explained, bidding farewell to Jet and retreating into the forest. It was all about warning Rose, even though she wasn't in any real danger with Jet on their side. The problem was making sure Sholeh didn't grew suspicious. By the looks of it, her conversation with Royal would have to wait. Sybil went to the places Rose frequented, and called for her in her Matthews voice.
"Mistress Rose? If you please, I must speak with you!" he called...

Sholeh had other plans. She laid down in her new home for a while, waiting for Warren to tell him her plans. But the dumb vulture was taking too long, and Sholeh was too impatient. Wether Jet was ready or not, she left the comfort of the medium tree and headed to where she saw Rose leave.
"Rose dear? Where are you? Just how far are you willing to go to continue the pathetic Sybil's legacy of slavery and banishment?" she called in a taunting way, hoping that would lure Rose to her and she could bring her to Jet.

Now, it was both Sholeh and Sybil who were looking for Rose. But who will the tiger hear? Which of the two will find her first?

Nia was on that time, close to Rose. She never left her side, but she kept a considerable distance from her, feeling like she needed some time alone. After a while, Nia believed it was time for her to return to Hunted island, knowing that her father was probably growing tired of waiting. Little did she knew that Barloc was somewhere at the Haven, looking for her...

Sybil continued searching Rose's usual spots, and unfortunately, it never occurred to her that Rose would be visiting her own memorial, but Sholeh did. The mongoose went to the beach, and her predictions were correct. There was Rose, pitifully mourning the civet she hated so much for years. She didn't know if Rose took notice of her, but either way, she went into the open, glaring at Rose, as if she was mocking her for feeling so bad for somebody who didn't deserve it.

"Oh nothing, just admiring your work. I must say I pity you for doing this much work on a being who didn't even deserve it." Sholeh taunted, with a satisfying smile.

For Sholeh, that was an outrage. She didn't like Sybil in life, there was no way she was going to pay homage for her in death. But with that revelation, it became clear that Rose didn't know that it was Sholeh the one to blame.
"Respect!? You are so thrown off. She was a manipulative, deceitful creature that poisoned the mind of others with her fake kindness." Sholeh expressed, trying to destroy Rose's positive views of her. Before Rose could lend in her own opinion, Sholeh continued.
"It's such a pity that even in death, she is still all over your mind. But you know something, not all hope was lost. The dear Jet... I managed to break her spell on him. It was I who convinced him to get rid of her. And I was there, when he gulped her down like a simple piece of meat." Sholeh said cruelly, finally confessing to Rose that Jet didn't do it out of pure free will.

Not exactly what Sholeh had in mind, but she really didn't care who did it. In fact, it was a good thing that Shadow appeared, since she didn't expect Rose to charge at her that quickly.
"Well finally! Where the heck have you been? A little more and I would have need to take the little brat to Jet to extract vengeance for you." Sholeh scolded, actually confessing what she planned. Plus, there was no reason for Shadow to be angry.

Sybil, who was still looking for Rose, heard that scream of terror. What on earth? Oh no! Did Shadow find her? Sybil couldn't think of something else. She rushed there, almost tripping several times, and when she reached the corner between the sandy beach and forest, she could see the struggling. It was just what she suspected.
"You are going to try and save her, aren't you?" A voice whispered from behind her. Fortunately, Sybil had enough self control to not be startled and blow her cover.
"Barloc? What are you doing here?, she asked, when she turned around. The cockatoo leader was looking for his daughter, when he also heard the scream.
"Man, this is not the first time I see this scene. That Komodo dragon doesn't give up, does he?" he said, remembering when he caught her with the net.
"But you, you can't simply rush there. Trust me, Komodo dragons are ferocious. It's a battle you cannot win. And believe me, if you get eaten by one, don't think for a bit you will be able to escape like with Jet." Barloc warned, knowing dragons very well. But Sybil was desperate. Surely there was something she could do. And where was Sayan?

"Yeah, sure..." Sholeh said insincerely. She did want Rose eliminated, but she didn't hate her enough to see her suffer like that.

Sybil was now in complete horror. She knew how dangerous a Komodo dragon bite was, that not being the first time Rose was bitten.
"That's it Barloc, I don't care if I die trying, but I need to get Rose away from him." she whispered, but when she turned around to look at Barloc, he wasn't there anymore. To add to her pure nervousness, Barloc was walking, right into Shadow!
"Aren't you ashamed of yourself mister Shadow? This is not the first time I witness this. You, the mighty Komodo dragon, throwing his own existence for one pathetic revenge. You are not living life because you are so stupidly persecuting this overgrown kitten!" Barloc blurted out, actually confronting Shadow. But what was he doing? Was he really trying to defend Rose? Both Sybil and Sholeh believed he had lost his mind...

Sholeh forced herself to watch, but not Sybil. She rushed to the scene to try to take the bite herself instead, but she was too far away and couldn't have make it in time. What happened next after that came in utter shock. Barloc, of all creatures, was the one that came in front of him, and took the large bite instead! But with that large gaping mouth, it was enough to take him in whole instead. Both Sholeh and Sybil opened their eyes in amazement, Sybil so much, that she didn't realized she came into the open...

Just then, Sayan came out of nowhere and jumped into Shadow-- claws out and posed to strike. "ENOUGH Shadow!," he yelled as he attempted to pin the komono down. In his attack, he hadn't realized that he had made it too late for poor Barloc.

This made Sybil a bit relieved, and finally, Barloc was safe. Sayan managed to stop Shadow for now, but Rose was still bitten and may need attention right away. She was so inside her mind analyzing the situation that she didn't noticed Sholeh running her direction, tackling her quite hard on the ribs.
"Came here to crash the party again, aren't you?" Sholeh said, as she was trying to pin down Sybil. She meant to take the weasel for ransom and make Sayan leave Shadow alone, but the heavy wooden armor that Sybil was wearing made her more resistant and even a bit stronger. Even though Sholeh wounded Sybil, she still put up a good fight. The two of them began fighting, trying very hard for one to pin the other down, but neither of them budged. It was now Sholeh vs. Sybil and Sayan vs. Shadow...