darkSpyro

That's it. Keep it up. Sybil yelled in her mind. It would have been much faster if the other orcas we're around, but Jet would have to do for now. The heat of the morning sun came very welcoming to Sybil, but she knew that reptiles needed that too to regulate their temperatures. She has seen Skaliscin do it many times. If Shadow was around, she knew he had to be somewhere high and visible to receive the sun.
After cleaning herself up, Sybil was determined to find Shadow, and that vulture that helped him. She trusted that Shadow wasn't going to be able to find Sayan's den, and if he did, she was sure that he would defend Rose. But if that could be avoided, then better. The den was considerably far, so Sybil started to yell in a volume where it couldn't be heard there.
"Shadow! You cheating lizard, I'm right here! I escaped all by myself, unlike you! You will never find Rose anywhere, and the bridge is going to be destroyed!" she said, partially loud.

Sybil managed to resist the intense urge to get to Sayan and Rose. What was worse, it was morning already, and the morning sun was rising too fast.
"Come on Shadow! Afraid of me?" she called, trying to taunt him and lure him away to the beach...

Angus was still sound asleep, but Barloc gradually opened his eyes. He was rather surprised they were still alive, sleeping at the reach of not one, but two predators. He was keeping an eye on the awake Rose, while still pretending he was still sleeping.

Sybil was growing desperate. She knew that Rose was use to wake up first thing in the morning, so she was praying this time to be an exception. Her plan was to lure Shadow into the beach... and have Jet transported to Hunted Island and throw him once again into the hole. But... How would Jet react if he saw Shadow, or vice versa? There were two things that were proving to be problematic; first, Shadow was under the impression that Jet was enslaved, something that she never mentioned to the orca, second of all, Sybil gave explicit instructions that if Shadow was ever chasing her, get to that risky secondary plan she had if the hole didn't work. She didn't have any idea what will Jet's reaction will be. But putting that aside, it was vital that she found Sahdow.
"SHADOW! YOU COWARD! SHOW YOURSELF!" Sybil yelled, far more louder than before. She realized that it was a little too loud, but it was too late. All she could hope for was that nobody, except for Shadow, heard her...

Still in his pretend sleep, Barloc heard the very faint sound of Sybil's yelling, but he wasn't going to let Angus alone with those two.

Just when Sybil yelled, there was another one who heard her.
"Woah miss Sybil? You just have waken up half of the birds..." a voice said. It was... Peepers! After a few weeks with his traumatizing encounter with Shadow, he was completely recovered... but when he heard Sybil, he heard his name, loud and clear.
"Shadow... he's here... isn't he?" Peepers asked, with Sybil sadly nodding. But it was then she realized something important;
"Why am I yelling? I have birds to aid me." she realized, seeing how pointless it was to yell.
"Peepers, Shadow is somewhere around here. Sorry if I wake the warblers, but this is important. That lizard will not rest until he has killed Rose. I need... I need the warbler's help to find Shadow before he can find Sayan's den." she explained. Peppers didn't need to hear her twice. Flying off, he gathered some of the awaken warblers and ordered a perimeter, so that each different warbler could explore the forest and find him. Sybil returned to the beach to wait for the news, relying completely on the tiny birds now...

Sybil could see how Jet was destroying the bridge successfully, but that was too much work for one orca. She could see that he was a little halfway , but there was still much work to be done. Luckily, the rocks used to build the bridge were scattering around the ocean, so it wasn't necessary to remove them. After a while, Sybil couldn't tolerate Jet being so overworked like that.
"JET! That is enough! Rest for a while...and come here!" Sybil called, looking behind her towards the forest to make sure Shadow wasn't spying on her. She was hoping to get some news from the warblers while Jet arrived, but it looked like it was proving difficult tracking him. She was quite furious with the situation. How hard was to find a Komodo dragon anyway?

Sybil lowered her head when she saw him tired like that. To make sure Shadow didn't hear her in case he was spying, she whispered so lowly so that only Jet and herself could hear what she was saying.
"I... need Shadow to return to the trap today. I need you to do it. It's vital. But how? We can't do it by force, or he will bite, and the bite is poisonous." Sybil resumed, believing that, with the orcas away, Jet was the only animal that could overpower him, but if Shadow managed to bite him in the struggle, he could die. Before Jet could reply, she said more;
"Shadow knows that you are working for me... but I... I made him believe you are enslaved... just in case." Sybil confessed, not knowing how would he react, she said one final thing.
"I'm sorry I did that. I... did it to taunt him. But... it could be to our advantage. With the bridge destroyed, Shadow will need an orca for the ride. How can we make him trust you again?" Sybil finally asked, wanting to avoid that scary plan B if possible. She was hoping Jet had a better suggestion, if not, she had no choice but to blindly trust him.

Before Sybil could reply, a warbler with messy feathers approached her to hand her a report.
"Miss, the Komodo dragon was located near the swamp, on a rock." the warbler told her, gave a salute, and wait for new orders.
"Thank you. I'll find him. And you Jet, wait for me here. I will lure Shadow here... if you are OK to meet him." Sybil explained, hoping to make Shadow come to the beach without her being there. Otherwise his remaining trust for the orca could be shattered...

"Well if that's the case, then we'll have to make him want to return to the island." Sybil said seriously, already coming up with a plan. She then turned to the warbler with the messy feathers, and started to whisper to him. Jet couldn't hear. With the order cleared, the warbler searched for his mate, and once they were reunited, he explained everything. They went to the swamp, very near to where Shadow was. Only a few yards away from him.

"Darling, did you hear? Miss Sybil wants us to move to the other island. That tiger is already there." the messy feathered warbler said.
"Yes, I heard. Apparently, there is a Komodo dragon here, the same one that nearly ate poor Peepers. I can't believe we have to move because of a stupid lizard." she mentioned.
"Yes, I know. The miss told me there was no other choice, though I don't understand why she moved the tiger so soon. She was the first one to go." the warbler then responded, faking ignorance. The entire conversation seemed very normal, with just a slightly louder tone of voice from them for Shadow to hear. They both pretended they didn't know Shadow was there...

The warblers acted surprised, ready to fly away. However, the male didn't know about the enslavement. Sybil never enslaved anyone, and Jet seemed to be working of his own free will. However, he quickly thought of a response.
"Of course! Miss Sybil would never enslave anyone... but Cairo would." he responded, wanting to make Shadow believe that Jet listened to Sybil only because of him. The only problem was that, neither he nor his mate knew that the other orcas were away...

Back at the beach, Sybil briefly talked to Jet;
"Now listen, if Shadow asks, Rose is away at Hunted island. You brought her there by force. I said that if you didn't, I was going to tell Cairo on you." Sybil quickly commented.
"Now then, to find the tar hole, you go a little far right to where the bridge was. It's right at the edge of the jungle." she then explained, trusting that Jet would throw him there once he brought him to the island. She then proceeded to go to the rock formation where she gazed Light Beach. There was a hole there where she could hide, trusting that the salty rocks would cover her scent. Unfortunately for her, she washed the tar off a little too well, making her scent stronger than usual...

"Well, think what you want you big monster! I hope you get what you deserve!" the female yelled, flying away before Shadow got really mad.
"Darling!" the warbler with the messy feathers called, but she didn't return. He then turned to Shadow.
"Enslavement... hmm... Yodel talked a lot about that..." he said, but more to himself than to Shadow. He then went after his runaway mate.

By the time Shadow called, the two warblers were already away. But another one approached. It was, surprisingly, Peepers!
"No need to shout you! We are just waking up." He scolded.
"Well, I see that the rumors were true. You are here! Too bad for you, since you are only wasting time." he taunted. Unlike the other warblers, Peepers did know about Shadow's vendetta against Rose.

Soon, Sayan began to awake and stretch out. "Morning Rose.," the Amur leopard said as he stepped out of the cave.

Ugh! Can't Angus wake up already so we can leave?. Barloc said in his mind, still listening closely to the two cats. The stubborn cockatoo still didn't trust them, even after spending the entire night within their reach.

"But I won't let you this time. I was careless back then, but not anymore. I'm fully recovered!" Peepers informed, with a lot of spirit. He was very lively for a middle aged warbler.

"I wasn't." Peppers reply. Being around Shadow disgusted him, so he wanted to leave that place.
"Well then, I got a lot of things to do believe it or not. Sorry I can't say it was a pleasure." he then said, flying away, rather slowly to see if Shadow was going to reply. If not, then better. He wanted to see how Sybil was doing.

Angus was still sound asleep, and Barloc was tired of pretending. He opened his eyes, giving a glare to Sayan and Rose.
"I'm going to get breakfast..." he said bluntly, flying to the next tree available. He didn't like those seeds as much as the ones home, but it'll have to do. He didn't get his eyes off his nephew while he ate. Angus wasn't one to wake up early, and he had a very deep sleep, which caused Barloc a lot of trouble with his flock's tight schedule.

"Yes.. surprisingly well.," Sayan replied. Having Rose there and believing that Shadow was now trapped made for a rather peaceful night. "I see this place can be comforting to many.," he then said looking at the peacefully asleep Angus.

"Don't even think about it!" Barloc warned, misreading Sayan's intentions when he looked at Angus.

"Relax Barloc. You're both perfectly safe here.," Sayan then said looking up at the eating cockatoo.

Barloc partially believed him, since nothing happened to them that night.
"I must admit I'm impressed you resisted the urge to... hunt last night. But still, I'm not taking any chances!" Barloc claimed, being simply too stubborn to admit that Rose and Sayan were friendly.

Just as Peepers left, to the other side came more visitors. It was... Sholeh and Warren! Crash landing as usual, the clumsy vulture received yet another spank from Sholeh, which he didn't seemed to mind.
"Here Monseiur Shadow. I brought to you Mademoiselle Sholeh." Warren greeted, glad that Shadow was still in the same place he left him.
"Leave the chivalry for later Warren." Sholeh scolded. The vulture's exaggerated manners irritated her.
"So... Shadow, we meet again. Sorry I'm late, but a few dingos wanted to talk to me, but those dogs couldn't find the words. They just rambling, so I dumped them. I'm afraid we can't rely on them much." Sholeh explained, knowing the little pact Sahdow made with the leader.
"But hey, now I'm here, ready to listen." she said, though she knew Shadow was after the same thing as before, and she wanted so badly to get back on Sybil for the humiliation on the beach.

"Interesting. And what is your plan, may I ask?" Sholeh asked, very curious. She was usually the one who came up with a plan, but this time, it was Shadow who had one. She was more surprised when she expected something concerning Rose, but he wanted far more than that.

"Ok, you already established that. But the question is, how do you plan in pulling that off? How to bring them against themselves. They are too loyal to that Sybil. She even brought that stupid Jet against you, hasn't she?" Sholeh said with a smirk, wanting to embarrass Shadow for that failure.
Warren remained quiet as the conversation took place.

"Agreed.," Sayan said to Rose. He then turned his attention back towards Barloc. "Look Barloc. You, the keas, the cockatoos... you are all considered friends here. We won't hurt you, nor do we want to.," the Amur leopard said trying to reassure him.

"Certainly. It's like you saying you will blindly trust a random human again." Barloc assured, giving Sayan a little taste on how he felt.

Sholeh found so ironic how he wanted her to formulate a plan, when it was his idea in the first place. However, she tried her best to come up with a plan.
"Well, it seems certain that we won't be able to bring the orcas against her, so we need to try the other approach; the birds." she said with a mysterious air, before continuing.
"Now, your escape may be to great advantage. They will start to question the safety Sybil supposedly provided them." Sholeh explained, believing that to be a base of the plan. She will have to build the rest along the way.
"Now, tell me something; is it true that you trapped Sybil in the very same hole she had you in?" she asked, needing to know. Warren told her about it, but he wasn't there when she escaped, and Sholeh didn't believed it. It was too good to be true.

"A trap you say?" Sholeh repeated, though for some reason, that still wasn't enough for her.
"Sybil is one tricky civet. If she escaped that trap, she will no doubt find ways to escape the others as well." she specified, and continued.
"If she can't escape, then she will find someone to help her. That's how her, poisonous charm works." Sholeh then explained, no doubt showing how much she hated the civet.
"Sybil has allies. So we must make allies of our own. Now then, do you have any idea how that imbecile civet got Jet against you? I doubt her hateful charm was the only thing that got him on her side." Sholeh then concluded, meaning to have Jet on Shadow's side again, but also find a way to make him pay for his betrayal.

"I see..." Sholeh said as she pondered, with Warren lowering his head a bit.
"Quite a facade, don't you think? Sybil pretends to be nice, just so that she can use them later. Birds for messages, orcas for transport, very clever." she resumed, determined to make Sybil look like the bad one.
"So now, in order to make Jet... and the whole island against her, we need to make them view this facade. And I know just how to start." Sholeh assured, heading to the beach, but turning to Shadow and Warren before getting out of sight.
"Warren, you stay here with Shadow and assist him as much you can." she ordered, heading to the beach.

Once there, she paced around the shore, not even caring if one of the birds saw her on the way. Instead of calling Jet, she waited for him to appear in front of her. Thanks to Warren, she knew that the other orcas were away. If only that little piece of information didn't came out of the civet...

"Indeed I was. But I just came back here to see how you were doing." Sholeh said kindly, pretending she didn't bear a grudge.
Seeing the bridge and Jet's exhausted condition, she immediately could tell what was going on.
"Aww, I see dear Sybil is overworking you while Cairo and the others are away. Yes, I know they are away. Sybil's bird friends are quite the gossipers. Can't keep something quiet." Sholeh explained quickly, before Jet questioned her on how she knew that.
"But I understand. I really do. You feel like you own Sybil something due to her kindness. But as you can see, she is always nice to everybody, and yet, she gives a lot of work. I don't know about you, but if I was that kind to somebody, I would expect kindness in return, not slavery." she then finished, with her usual mysterious air and hoping to create Jet doubts in his mind about Sybil's persona.