darkSpyro

"What are you talking about now?" Angus asked innocently, hoping to buy enough time. He found too cruel how Shadow was simply toying with him and didn't get it over with.

"Home... go, now." Whirlpool finally said to Nia, noticing how the little bird was strangely still full of energy.
"Aw come on Mr. Whirlpool, this is fun. Besides, I want to help, and I don't want to leave until I find out what makes these aquatic plants grow." Nia confessed, believing Angus was safe and sound back at the tree...

Angus wasn't sure if he was being tricked, but was Shadow letting him go to deliver a message? There was only one problem...
"Um... sir? My father... is dead. Uncle Barloc, aunt Kali, and my cousin Nia is all I have left." Angus tearfully explained, hoping that if there was heart in that particular predator, he would definetly let him go...

After much discussion, Whirlpool finally managed to convince Nia to go home.
"Alright already! I'll go. Man, the few times I have a little time away from my parents and you order me too." Nia said, upset, though Whirlpool managed to keep firm and not let himself be manipulated by her sweetness. Nia flew to the tree, though after a while, she was feeling cold and was now looking forward to the warmth of the leaves...

Angus understood the confusion. Nia and him were even confused as siblings from time to time.
"Oh... but what do you mean by making a name of himself? Uncle Barloc is already well known. He is even known in the other island." Angus said, rather proud of his uncle.

Nia came to rest on a nearby tree, just yards away from where Shadow and Angus were talking. The sound of the wind in the foliage didn't let her hear the conversation...

Now Angus was even more confused. Why would he want his uncle Barloc to be feared.
"I'm afraid I don't get it sir. Why do you want my uncle to be fearful? He's not a dictator, you know." he assured, losing his fear in Shadow and recovering movement, but he was so interested in the conversation that he stayed.
But, at that moment, Nia was done resting, and headed to the tree. Because it was dark, and leaves were concealing Shadow from where she was flying, once she noticed Angus, she landed, right on top of Shadow's head! As silly as it sounded, she confused the dark silhouettes of his head with a tall branch.
"Hey Angus, I thought you were sleeping. Cold night I must say. I don't see anyone. Everybody must be very deep within the hollows of the tree." Nia thought, with a speechless Angus trying to point out where she was standing.
"What's wrong with you? You look like you've seen a ghost!" she joked, making fun of him and not understanding the signal...

Back to where Whirlpool was, he received not one, not two, but three visits. It was Ami, Cairo, and his badger companion. Coincidentally, both the orca and the seagull arrived at the same time, taking the wombat by surprise.
"Oh, Cairo, you here?" Ami asked, also surprised."
"Ami? What are you doing here? Did Sybil sent you?" the equally surprised orca asked. Ami then proceeded to tell her orders.
"I agree. Shadow has become too much trouble. That's why we're here, Whirlpool." Cairo explained. Whirlpool understood, but getting Shadow to stop being a threat was not going to be an easy task, not even for him...

Nia landed right besides Angus once Shadow shook her off.
"Angus, what the heck!? What is this joker doing on our tree?" Nia asked, furious, and not demonstrating fear like Angus did. She was more daring and spunkier than her cousin.
Angus, who finally understood Shadow, responded Nia.
"Isn't it obvious? He is establishing himself as the leader Nia. He's banished our family, and is doing the same to us." he calmly explained.
"Is that so? And you're going to let this jerk bully us like this!? Well let me at him!" Nia furiously said, as she stupidly launched towards Shadow to give him a slap on the snout, only to be stopped in time by Angus, who grabbed her by the tail.
"Nia please, let's just leave!" A terrified Angus begged, trying to push her away. But Nia, like her mother Kali, was simply too fond of the tree, and refused to leave...

Angus started to pull Nia, but she won't budge.
"No way cousin! No matter what you do, I'm staying here!" she stubbornly said, not moving an inch. Nia was stronger and sturdier than her cousin, so there was nothing he could do.
"Please!" he begged, as he continued pulling. But he realized it was futile.
"Fine then, you do what you want, but I'm leaving!" he finally said, getting tired of her stubbornness.
"Listen Mr. Shadow, just tell me in what direction my family went and I'll disappear." he asked, at the same time signaling the Komodo Dragon to try to be patient with his cousin...

"Hah, as if you could do something to me!" Nia responded, actually challenging him.
"Somebody will stop you, and it will be easy. I heard about you wanting revenge on the tiger that visits us, and every time you can, you fail miserably." she said to humiliate him, horrifying his cousin.
"Look Nia! It's was his doing! Now don't be stupid and let's go!" Angus ordered furiously, showing Nia the areas where Shadow plunked his feathers. Nia looked carefully, but to her surprise, Angus left her alone after she inspected. She then looked at Shadow and backed away a little, but she was finding it hard to leave the tree. She was really starting to hate him...

Nia remembered that her father despised predator because she lose her uncle, Angus's dad, to one. She wasn't going to let him go though that again.
"You win this time, but this isn't over you bully! Someday, someone will give you right what you deserve!" Nia warned, before flying off after her cousin...

"Alright then. Cairo! Oh wait, he's injured. Any orca out there?" Sybil called, not knowing that Cairo was on the other island with Ami, discussing the Shadow problem.

Meanwhile, the two young cockatoos were heading to the direction that Shadow pointed, until Nia wanted to head the other direction.
"Why are we listening to him!? He probably pointed to the wrong direction so that we can get lost!" Nia complained.
"What other choice do we have?" Angus asked, though realized she had a point.
"I'm going with the keas... no wait, better now. I will go to Sybil and tell her about this outrageous mutiny!" she said, heading to the Haven. Angus, not wanting to be alone, decided to follow her.

OOC: Its still night while all of this is going on, right?

Once Sybil called, the same middle aged orca that helped Rose across earlier came.
"You rang?" he asked, swimming very slow. He had quite a full belly.
"Oh. Listen sir, if it's not any inconvenience, I will like to head to the other island." Sybil said, seeing this particular orca must be very fond of eating.
"Whatever. Climb." he said indifferently, though Sybil associated it with drowsiness.
"Rose, you stay here. Go with Sayan. You have risked yourself too much." Sybil ordered, as the orca, who did recognized her, swam away just in case she jumped.

Somewhere at Hunted Island, Kali was feeling exhausted and cold. She couldn't fly no more, and she feared that she was lost. She landed on a rather skinny tree, trying to get some sleep and continue in the morning, when she could see better.

Barloc on the other hand, was arriving at the tree yet again. It was a very long trip, but he managed to get to where the tree was. He landed right on top of the tree a very skinny branch. He could see that Shadow was still there, and he gave a glare from up there. He wasn't planning to stay there for long though. After a quick rest, he was going to find his family...

Angus and Nia arrived at the Haven, but nobody was at the beach to greet them.
"You were here before Angus. Do you know where she lives?" Nia asked, when she got distracted with the nearby Light Beach. It had more sparkle, and it wasn't illuminated by algaes.
"No time to get distracted Nia. I don't know where Sybil lives, but let's call." he suggested, pulling Nia to go with him, to which she obliged after a while.

Barloc, who already rested, proceeded to leave the tree, taking advantage that Shadow probably didn't see him perched there. He decided to look for his family in the kea tree, imagining that Angus and Nia took refugee there once they found out about Shadow. But he was exceptionally worried about his wife though. He could have sworn she was following him when they left...

Quote: Spyroconvexity

Rose noded and went to Sayan's cave. After awhile she found Sayan still sleeping. She gently nuged him. "Sayan wake up."

Sayan groaned, slowly getting up. "Is something wrong?," the leopard asked seeing a look of concern on the tiger's face.

"Hey! Sybil! Rose? Anybody there?" Both Angus and Nia called, hoping there weren't any dangerous predators there like back home.

In the meantime, Sybil arrived on Hunted Island. Cairo, Ivor, Whirlpool and Ami were on the other side of the bridge, so Sybil couldn't see them. The sound of the wind didn't let her hear them talking either.
"Thank you mister. Please inform Cairo of my whereabouts just in case." she said.
"Whatever." he responded, as always, not noticing the group either, as he retreated.

Now that Sybil was there, she was deciding wether to visit the keas or the cockatoos. Unfortunately, since the kea tree was much further, plus Barloc was the ultimate authority as far as she was concerned, she decided to head there. Although she had that unpleasant patch of missing fur on her chest, courtesy of Shadow, she has encountered him so many times and survived that she was beginning to have a lot of faith on her luck and ability to escape that she almost didn't care if he found her again, if only she knew his current residence...

Sayan nodded, hearing them as well. "It sounds like you have company.," he said stepping out of the cave to take a look. "We're over here!.," he shouted getting the cockatoos' attention.

The two cockatoos were relating on the branch of a shrub when they heard the voice.
"Hey. Somebody is answering." Nia said, as she followed the voice, with Angus following close behind her. Carefully, they approached the place where they heard Sayan.
"Who's there?" the more cautious Angus called, stopping Nia from approaching too close. He didn't recognized the voice, but Nia did. It was the same leopard she played with when he first arrived to her home.

At Hunted Island, Sybil arrived at the tree with no problem or delay.
"Whew, finally, no Shadow." she said to herself, relieved, as she looked up the quiet tree. She almost called to Barloc, but she didn't want to wake the others, so she climbed up.
"Barloc, hey Barloc?" she called in a whisper, not knowing in what part of the tree he lived.
"Where is everybody?" she said after a while, finding it too strange that she didn't see any sleeping cockatoo as she searched for the bitter leader...

Ivor has since been dropped off by Cairo and following the scent of Sybil for a while. Seeing her climb a tree he remains hidden in the undergrowth. He watches as she talks to Shadow.

OOC: Read the last post. Sybil is on top of a tree. It's not possible that he popped up besides her.

At the kea tree, Barloc arrived, hoping to find his family there. What he found was something else; the cockatoos who ran away during Shadow's attack.
"Oh our dear Barloc. You're safe! You wouldn't believe it. A Komodo Dragon just attacked us! He..." a frantic cockatoo mother said, approaching him, when Barloc interrupted her.
"Calm down, I know all about it. We are taking refugee in a faraway tree." he explained, trying to calm her down.
"Oh Barloc, these cockatoos told me all about it. Such a tragedy! We are trying to form a rally to expel the dragon from your tree." an approaching Mambo said, noticing his distress.
Barloc was grateful, but he was still too worried. He didn't see Kali, Angus or Nia anywhere, and he didn't dare to ask them if they were there somewhere...

Quote: Felines

The two cockatoos were relating on the branch of a shrub when they heard the voice.
"Hey. Somebody is answering." Nia said, as she followed the voice, with Angus following close behind her. Carefully, they approached the place where they heard Sayan.
"Who's there?" the more cautious Angus called, stopping Nia from approaching too close. He didn't recognized the voice, but Nia did. It was the same leopard she played with when he first arrived to her home.

"I'm Sayan! Don't worry-- I'm a friend and Rose is here too.," Sayan called out. He looked back in the cave, motioning for the tiger to come out.

"Yah, I remember! I knew it! You're the gentle spotted giant." an ecstatic Nia said, recognizing Sayan. After seeing him, Angus recognized him too.
"Oh yeah. I remember too." Angus then said, approaching now without caution.
As Nia was recalling the first meeting, Angus got straight to the point.
"Hey mister, this is one major emergency. The Komodo dragon just banished us from our tree, and he is proclaiming himself king." Angus explained, showing his bald spots.

Quote: Spyroconvexity

Rose soon came out of the cave. "I know. I've formed a plan to trap Shadow and stop this." Rose said.

"You have?" Angus asked, very curious.
"Great! I hope it's a good one Rose! The nerve of that guy, throwing us off from our own home like that! No wonder dad hates predators too much... I mean, the evil predators of course." Nia quickly corrected, realizing that she was, after all, facing predators, though without evil intentions like Shadow.
"So what is the plan? Does Sybil knows about it?" Angus asked, with neither he nor Nia knew where she was at the moment.

Quote: Spyroconvexity

When Sybil called out Shadow answered. "Welcome back my tasty friend."

At the former cockatoo tree, Sybil was extremely close to falling off when she heard Shadow from behind.
"YOU! How the... what the... you can climb trees?" Sybil asked astonished, refusing to believe what she was seeing. She was hiding her chest out of embarrassment and fear. So many times she hid from Shadow in the trees, and now he revealed he can climb them.
"What do you want?" she then asked, noticing now there weren't any cockatoos around. Unlike her previous encounters, there was nowhere for her to hide or run, and the fall from the tree was almost eight stories high...

Quote: Spyroconvexity

"I've devised a kind of hidden trap that will restrain Shadow and keep him from breaking free untill we can build a very strong cage to keep him in so he won't hurt anyone ever again." Rose said. "We will need to dig a deep enough hole so he cant get out then we get some tar to keep him restrained." Rose said.

"I know the perfect animal to help us with that." Nia said, very sure that both Sayan and Rose knew who was she talking about.
"Yes indeed. I only hope we can find Uncle Barloc and tell him. Shadow threw away everybody, and, I'm afraid he might have tortured them like he did me." Angus said, still remembering the trauma. At least he was grateful that Shadow decided to torture him instead of eating him.

Quote: Spyroconvexity

"Just wanted to let you know that I am now the new ruler of Hunted Island." Shadow said with a flick of his toung.

Judging by the lack of cockatoos, it was no doubt Shadow expelled them. She was even afraid he might have eaten some of them when she saw some of the scattered feathers.
"I can't believe you waited this long to show your ability to climb trees. But listen this, you... you won't rule anything or anyone. Nobody will follow you." Sybil said determinedly, trying not to let Shadow intimidate her, but it was difficult. Not being able to hide or run meant that Shadow could do anything to her, and she won't be able to dodge him like last time. Either way, that didn't stop her from trying to crush his twisted dreams for domination.

"First, you tell me what you did with the cockatoos." Sybil demanded, barely believing he was actually letting her go.

Sybil wished he could face him in battle and get the tree for the cockatoos, but knew she wouldn't stand a chance. She decided to listen to him for once, taking advantage of his good mood.
"You aren't reigning over anyone Shadow. I will find a way to get this tree for the cockatoos. I may not have the strength to battle you, but Rose will someday." Sybil warned, waiting for him to step aside so that she could get down...

Sybil kept a watchful as she passed besides him, being cautious in case he decided to attack.
"I will come back!" she said before she decided to climb down...

Now Sybil was sure of her luck. There was no escape for her that time, and yet Shadow let her go just like that. Was it because he was a diurnal hunter and wasn't in the mood? Or was it so that she could deliver the message? One thing was for certain; Shadow made her clear that he wanted dominance and conquer. But that was one thing that she wasn't going to allow. He headed to that beautiful waterhole where Whirlpool cured Rose of Shadow's bite, nearly getting lost in the process. It was almost daytime by the time she arrived.

At the Haven, Angus stayed behind with Rose and Sayan, as his spunky cousin returned to Hunted Island to search for Whirlpool.
"Oh my, finally, the sun is rising. I thought this night was never going to end!" he said to the two cats, making it clear that he didn't sleep the entire night, worrying about his family.

Ivor follows Sybil and pops up beside her. Brushing dirt from his whiskers and fur, he climbs out of his hole. Gazing up at her with his sky blue eyes he smiles.

Sybil, who was almost sound asleep, was startled and confused.
"Ivor? You? What are you doing here on Hunted Island?" she asked, him being one of the last animals to see there. She wondered what kind of business he had there, and if that wasn't the first time he has been there.

Thunder lumbered out of his den as the sun began to rise. He yawned, showing his enormous choppers.

The sun continued rising, but many were still sound asleep. Barloc was one to rise early in the morning, but due to yesterday, the keas convinced him to stay and sleep, with the promise that they would search for his missing family.
Kali was somewhere at the northwest of Hunted Island, resting on a skinny and rather putrid tree, trying to get up and find his husband and the others.

At the shore, Cairo and Ami finished discussing about Rose's plan to stop Shadow when they realized how late it was. Ivor was gone, but Cairo was going to send someone else to be nearby once he decides to return.
During the conversation, Whirlpool now knew the unfortunate events that happened to his poor cockatoo friends. He didn't know that Nia was on her way to find him, so before heading to his waterhole home to help with the trap, he cautiously returned to the cockatoo tree to see from below the greedy, Komodo dragon that everybody kept talking about. It was quite big, and he hated how he was just sitting there, enjoying himself as if he was king of the world...

Whirlpool noticed that Shadow saw him, so he was kinda grateful that the lizard simply decided to ignore him. It was no doubt Shadow was taking it easy. In his mind, he was indeed ruling them, but the wombat knew better. It was nearly impossible to kill a Komodo dragon, so as the plan established, there had to be a way to trap him. But Whirlpool was sure that the hard soil where Sholeh was trapped in wasn't going to be a match for those powerful claws, so there's gotta be another way. As he head back to his waterhole, that was a thought that was tormenting him. He believed that he was the only one who could dig. If only he knew he wasn't the only one...

Just as Whirlpool was digging his way home, Nia arrived at the waterhole, finding, to her surprise, Sybil conversing with an animal she has never seen before.
"Sybil? You are here? Why Rose didn't told me?" she complained, believing Sybil didn't want to return after that close encounter with Shadow. She then gazed at Ivor.
"Who's this? Another digger? He looks a little like Whirlpool." she said, as she inspected him curiously.