darkSpyro

"Warren, can you please find Shadow for me? The idiot is leaving me with all the work." Sholeh said angrily, though Warren was more surprised that she actually said please. He went high into the air, though not as usual since he didn't have good night vision. The spectacle of Light Beach was so lively, it was even seen from there. He knew he had a task, but he wanted to know what was that beautiful light.

Hiding inside the foliage of a very dense tree, Warren watched the lights, but then was in shock on the many animals that were there. Birds, orcas, and even Rose and that leopard. It was like they were honoring something, but he had missed the speech, so he didn't knew what that was about. Remaining on that tree, he stayed a little longer to see what was that all about.

Warren was disappointed that he couldn't see what the reunion was all about, since most of the birds, including Yodel, went their separate ways once the speech was over. Very few stayed to see Light Beach, but they left after a while. Warren, after having enough and remembering his task, left too. Only Peepers remained there.

The spectacle remained there all night. Just a few minutes before dawn, Light Beach was fading away very slowly, like a firefly that was losing it's sparkle. I would be the last time that year that it was going to be lit, almost as if the bioluminiscense was was giving one last respect to Sybil.

I was at Hunted island where things were shaky. Sybil couldn't sleep a wink last night, and neither could Mambo. He still couldn't fly in that state, so they vowed to look at the rising sun until their bodies gave in to the exhaustion. They really hoped they didn't sleep too much, since they always wanted to take advantage of daylight as much as possible...

Sayan stayed up as well, supporting and keeping an eye on the tiger. The leopard watched the very last of the light beach, in honor of Sybil.

Mambo had enough flight power to go at least to the cockatoo tree. Both he and Sybil stayed in the former kea tree. Sybil went to get some breakfast for herself, since the kea leader was too particular with food. She looked at the direction of the Haven from the jungle's edge, wondering how everybody was doing and how did her memento go...

After a quick breakfast with the cockatoos, Mambo felt with energy. Believing that Rose was wondering why didn't he assisted the memorial, he said his goodbyes to Sybil.

The civet began to feel very lonely, but that didn't lasted long when the two cockatoo cousins came to give her some company.
"Man, this has been the weirdest week of our lives." Angus commented, not even wanting to mention the details.
"Not weird, awesome... and a little dangerous." Nia then said, with a different tone than that of her cousin.
"You know miss Sybil, it would be awesome if you could recreate that scene with Jet, you know, the one..." but Nia didn't need to say more. Sybil knew what she was getting at.
"Nia! Please, do you really think that was a pleasant experience!? I'm telling you, it was done with risks. I am not going to do it again!" Sybil scolded, wondering why Nia insisted so much with that.
"I'm sorry, it's just that it's so awesome that someone can actually survive getting eaten... come on, please? Just one more time? I'll ask Whirlpool for that special grass you mentioned. Please?" Nia said, practically begging. Sybil just rolled her eyes, and Nia misinterpreted this as a yes.
"Alright! I'll go get Whirlpool!" she said exitedly, flying off...

"...Wait, WAIT! NIA!" Sybil called, reacting rather late.
"Ugh! Your cousin is so weird!" Sybil complained to Angus, obviously irritated.
"Oh no, she's not weird, just extreme. And I'm afraid she will bother you quite a lot until she get's her way." Angus warned, knowing his cousin very well and how spoiled she was.

Quote: Spyroconvexity

"Sayan could you call Cairo? I want to learn how to swim." Rose said.

"Certainly.," Sayan gently replied with a nod. The Amur leopard then walked out to the edge of the beach. "Cairo! Are you there?!," he called out.

Nia reached Whirlpool, who was feeling rather active that morning. She asked for the grass, and fortunately for them, they didn't need to venture int Tasmanian devil territory to get it. That was one of the most used medicines Whirlpool used. So he had plenty of them reserved underground and locked up in a way they won't spoil. Nia needed a major dose, but didn't told Whirlpool why she wanted it. Using the same trick she tried with Sybil earlier, Whirlpool gave him the grass without questioning her.
"Fine, here it is. Now it's up to me to fin Jet and fast. Oh how I do hope he agrees with this." Nia said with a sigh, meaning to use her adorable es once again so that he would obliged. She then flew into the ocean, calling for Jet.
"Mr Jet!? If you could please come? This is very urgent." she called, not knowing that there was somebody else out there doing the exact same thing.

While the crowd of spectators dispersed, others staying to give their regards, a few small voices were heard in the bushes behind, in the forest. Their diction was incomprehensible, but Speckles was pulling both Voracivenom and Skaliscin towards the memorial, insistently urging them in a pained, urgent tone. Upon seeing the event, the two were shocked.
Rumors had circulated throughout the Haven, but they didn't know what to think, and didn't know what had happened. When Speckles had come out of the blue, blabbering about hearing the beginnings of Rose's speech, they quickly made their way to the beach. Now that they were there... what could really be said?
The two serpents looked at each other, each others thoughts equal in composition. Approaching the memorial in silence, the three stopped right at the front to see honorable words left in the sand and the beautifully patterned arrangement of gifts, including the algae heart left in the center. As the sun was rising from the depths, and most of the animals had left, Speckles tugged at Skaliscin's scales and told her an idea. The three collected seashells of black, gray, and white patterns, and arranged them into a sentence.

Remember why we're here.

Only Peepers took notice at the unexpected guests gazing at the memorial. He did recognized them, and wondered where those two snakes, plus the little Velvet worm have been the entire time. Of course, he didn't ask them. He knew most of the animals of this Haven only wanted peace and tranquility, so they go their separate ways, but with news like that, it was only a matter of time before all the remaining sanctuary residents found out...

Quote: Spyroconvexity

Jet heard Nia and came fast. "Yes? What's wrong? Is Sybil ok?"

Rose was kind of nervous that she wants to learn how to swim.

"Yes, she is, indeed. Listen... I want you to do something. Sybil already agreed to it, so there's no problem. I will tell you once we arrive." Nia said, not wanting to give the details. A scene like that she wanted to see with her own eyes, and she expected Jet to agree as well.

"Cairo! Rose needs you!," Sayan called out again. The Amur leopard looked back at Rose and could see how nervous the tiger was. "Don't worry... I'm sure you'll do fine.," Sayan gently said.

As Sayan kept calling, but there was no reply, Peepers then approached him.
"Hey Mr. Sayan, sorry for interrupting, but, I was wondering..." he said with a sigh, meaning to tell him about the serpents and the Velvet worm, but imagined that it wasn't necessary, since the news were going to spread sooner or later.
"... I was wondering if you could be on miss Rose's side from now on. She is a little too young to lead us now... but, can you act as a sort of minister for the Haven?" Peepers asked in a low voice so that Rose wouldn't hear, believing she would grow a little offended if she misinterpreted that.

Quote: Spyroconvexity

Ooc: The memorial words are written on the rock.

"Arrive where?" Jet asked.

"Why, to my home of course, the other island." Nia answered, not knowing it was called Hunted island now.
She flew excitedly to shore where Sybil and Angus were, getting a little ahead of Jet so that he wouldn't ask questions.

"... Please tell me this is a joke..." Sybil said to Angus, upset, recognizing Jet at the horizon. Angus nodded, knowing that when Nia wanted something badly, she almost always got it. She wasn't going to leave Sybil OR Jet alone until she sees that faked death with her own two eyes. Sybil was starting to regret so much explaining everything to Nia....

"Don't worry Mr. Jet. Rose and the others are far away on the Haven and we are here." Nia assured, though she wondered if he was talking to her or to himself.
"Listen Jet, I want to see... I want to see for myself..." Nia proceeded to explain, but Sybil interrupted her.
"Young Nia here wants us to recreate the scene from yesterday morning." Sybil explained unenthusiastically, seeing Nia as insane for wanting to witness something like that...

Nia wanted to see something incredible, and she was determined... until she saw Jet cry like that. She never expected it was that traumatic.
"Now look what you've done!" Angus scolded, feeling really sorry for him.
"I'm sorry Mr. Jet. I didn't have any idea it was that awful for you... it's just that it seems so incredible... I... even brought a full dose of that grass..." Nia explained, still wanting to witness it, but not wanting to force him. Sybil hid her face out of embarrassment on behalf of Nia, and looked at Jet, hoping he would forgive her. Nia stayed put, not knowing what else to do...

"That's it! Aunt Kali will know about this outrage!" Angus threatened, flying off.
"Wait Angus! Mother doesn't have to know! Please WAIT!" Nia begged, flying off after him.
Sybil watched them for a while, and then she approached Jet.
"I'm so so sorry for that Jet. Nia is just so young and wild. She doesn't have any idea what she does." Sybil explained, hoping he would understand. Just the innocence of being young and curious.

"I imagine..." Sybil said with a small smile, which then turned neutral. She almost looked like she wanted to confess something, but in the end, she kept it to herself.
"Well, once again, sorry about Nia. She made you spend energy for such a silly thing... but anyway, do whatever you want... and... well... if you can, let the others, especially Rose, know that you are still on their side." Sybil commented, not wanting Jet to feel like an outcast like she was feeling at the moment with the cockatoos. However, after a brief moment, it began to be obvious that that particular comment was not what she originally intended to tell.

"Nothing you should worry about, it's nothing serious. Now then, you can leave if you want. I know orcas can't be in the sun for too long." Sybil said, giving the sun as an excuse in order for Jet to leave. What was bothering her was personal, and hoped Jet didn't grow too curious. She was so upset with herself for not knowing how to dissimulate her thoughts very well. Her face and body language always gave her away when something bothered her, and hoped Jet didn't make a big deal out of it.

"Whew, at least he respects." Sybil said with a sigh, not wanting to share that personal thought. But her partial desire to tell Jet demonstrated that she has learned to fully trust him, and that is something that made her feel happy. Heading into the jungle once again, she hoped not to bump into Nia, still embarrassed by that earlier. Angus was right, she was wild and quite unpredictable, and hoped they would get along much better, eventually, once all hat was forgotten. But Angus was going to accuse her, so Sybil headed to the cockatoo tree to make sure Nia didn't get scolded...

Back at the Haven, the last bird you would expect in Sybil's memorial was there. Yes, it was Yodel. He had read those words a lot of times already, but his expression was almost impossible to read. Was he sad? Angry? Upset? Maybe cruelly happy? Probably not even he knew how he was feeling. Sybil was killed? How? That was something he wondered ever since he heard Rose's speech. Even though he imagined that Shadow was the one to blame, in his mind, he was kinda hoping that Sybil's death was Rose's fault somehow, since he disliked her much more than he ever did Sybil.

Quote: Felines

As Sayan kept calling, but there was no reply, Peepers then approached him. "Hey Mr. Sayan, sorry for interrupting, but, I was wondering..." he said with a sigh, meaning to tell him about the serpents and the Velvet worm, but imagined that it wasn't necessary, since the news were going to spread sooner or later. "... I was wondering if you could be on miss Rose's side from now on. She is a little too young to lead us now... but, can you act as a sort of minister for the Haven?" Peepers asked in a low voice so that Rose wouldn't hear, believing she would grow a little offended if she misinterpreted that.

"Yes..," Sayan quietly said with a nod. The leopard whispered in a concerned tone, indicating that he felt very much the same.

"I don't know.," Sayan said looking out at the ocean with concern. "He should be here by now, but he's not responding.," he then said looking back at the tiger.

Before reaching the cockatoo tree, Sybil saw Angus on a branch, eating some berries from a brush.
"Hey Angus. Where's Nia? You didn't accused her, did you?" she asked, very worried.
"Of course not miss Sybil. I did that to scare her. We never do that to each other." he explained with a smile.
"He went to find Mr. Jet to apologize." he then explained, to Sybil's relief.
"Terrific! Now then Angus, will you accompany me to your house? I could use your help with something." Sybil said, with Angus feeling very happy that she actually asked his help.

Nia was flying around the orca waters, trying to locate Jet.
"Mr. Jet? Can you... forgive me? Please, I didn't knew you felt that way. I'm sorry! I hope that you don't hate me." Nia yelled to the horizon, hoping that he was nearby to hear that, and not caring if anybody else heard. She was feeling too ashamed with herself to meet Jet face to face...

Nia was very grateful. That all she ever wanted. However, she was still curious.
"Oh thank you Mr. Jet... Hey, but... if you change your mind... well... if you don't want to do it to miss Sybil... then... I volunteer... for the experience..." Nia said, stamerring. If Sybil could do it, why couldn't she? She didn't realized it, but she was obsessed with that situation.

Cairo in the meantime, was spying on the pair from a considerable distance. He has been spying on Jet for a little while now, and he was exptremely jealous of Sybil's growing attention with him. He then was starting to regret ever leaving the territory. He then heard Rose's calling, and decided that he needed to leave that bad habit, so he headed to the tiger.
"You called little lady? Finally, at least someone here appreciates me.." he said the last sentence between the teeth, still jealous, but grateful that with Rose calling him. That made him feel useful.

"Oh, swimming you want? That's a first. You know, it is the females that teach the young ones to swim, but that doesn't mean I can try. After all, you are now the mistress." Cairo said with pride, glad to feel useful. After all, he didn't knew that she meant to ask Jet at first. Though it hurted him a bit the fact that he had to pretend that Sybil no longer was with them.

Nia gave a small gasp when Jet agreed. She was very sure he would decline after the way he cried with Sybil, though she assumed that he loved Sybil too much to want to repeat that with her in particular."you, you really mean it Mr. Jet? Wow... I... I have the grass. But... if you don't anyone to see, then I suggest we do it behind those rocks over there. I will bring the grass right there now." Nia said with enthusiasm. She was indeed an oddball for being exited for something like that, but the fact that she was going to experience what Sybil experienced made her believe that she was going to understand the civet better, as well as learning to be as brave as her for going thought that.

Nia heard him, though she wasn't going to let that happen anyway. Luckily, Sybil was away in the cockatoo tree, with Barloc, Angus, Kali and the rest of the cockatoos. They were all helping Sybil build a better disguise than the plain leaves she had as a mask and a shirt. It was a disguise that was going to cover all of her unique spots, and she was even thinking of cutting part of her ear's hair so that they wouldn't resemble that of a civet. It was a troublesome job, and Nia's parents wondered where Nia ran off to, but after a quick explanation from Angus, they decided to give her a little freedom for once, trusting she wouldn't get into any trouble now that Shadow was at the Haven and not there. If only they knew what she was up to...

"Ok Mr. Jet. Here is the grass." Nia called, having receiving help with that heavy load from the clueless Whirlpool, who believed that one of the orcas was simply in need of that grass. Convinced by Nia that she wanted to make the delivery alone, he left without question.

"Nonsense! Are you saying that my Sybil chose poorly? Look what she did! She befriended many animals, made of this island a blessed sanctuary and never stopped giving hope to animals...worldwide. She even gave the keas a well deserved chance to shatter that awful reputation they had! If she could do all that, then there is no doubt she chose the best successor!" Cairo commented, full of inspiration, and not even realizing he saidmy Sybil, which would embarrass him badly. He was proud of his quick thought speech, but was a little bit furious with the civet for making Rose suffer for her apparent death. He had grown very fond of the tiger, very much like Mambo.

"Come in. Remember, you don't fight the water. You don't need to struggle. Act as if it was the most normal thing in the world. You don't need to move your paws quickly to swim. Do it smoothly as if you were floating." Cairo instructed, watching as Rose came deeper into the water and getting ready to help her if she started to drown...

Nia entered Jet's mouth, but as she saw it closing in on her, she had second thoughts.
"Wait!" she yelled, coming out before he closed it completely.
"I can't do it! I... was sure I could... but... I... I'm not brave like miss Sybil." she said, trembling and almost crying. She wanted to experience that shocking event to herself, but she got too scared and started to feel ashamed.

"Remember, lungs are filled with oxygen. Float, don't fight it." Cairo still instructed, noticing how Rose was beginning to struggle.

Nia just lowered her head out of embarrassment.
"Man, how did miss Sybil did it? It's so hard to believe that she planed ahead for something as extreme and scary as that. I really wanted to see it for myself, but... you must really love Sybil for not wanting to repeat that..." Nia said with a sigh, feeling ashamed of her behavior earlier.
"I wish I could be as brave and intelligent as her." Nia then really admiring Sybil and even feeling a little jealous of her. Little did she knew that Sybil would have probably be as scared as her if she wasn't tied up and gagged when Jet washed her away towards him.

Seeing how that didn't work, Cairo went underneath her and got her on his back.
"I see that method doesn't work. Listen, I will swim with you, but I will start to submerge slowly, and you be ready to float. Remember, be calmed and don't struggle." Cairo suggested, realizing how hard it was. Those swimming lessons were making him see the hard time the females of his kind went though teaching the young ones to swim when they are born.

Jet's words gave Nia the courage to try it once again. However, knowing that she will probably have second thoughts if she entered voluntarily, she decided to force herself by using another method.
"I think I know how this can work... I will fly low around these waters, and you will try to catch me." Nia suggested, trying to see it as a friendly game of catch me if you can when it was actually more like predator and prey.

Sayan watched closely from the edge of the beach, wanting nothing more then for Rose to succeed. "Don't worry-- you can do it!," he said encouraging the tiger.

Cairo submerged until he couldn't feel Rose's paws on his back. Instead of rising, he stayed underwater, watching Rose from above him, and getting ready to help her if she showed any kind of dangerous struggle.

Nia thought about it for a moment. She didn't knew how orcas hunt, but she knew they were the top predator of the ocean. However, she wanted to go along with it. It was now or never.
"I want to... but I want it to act as if it was real. I will try to dodge you." she finally said, flying off around the water, trying to be playful but acting as if she was escaping a predator that really meant her harm.

Cairo went above, watching how Rose was happily swimming for the first time.
"You see? You did it! Was there ever any doubt?" Cairo said with pride, believing he has done something amazing instructing Rose like that.

Nia was submerged into a darkness she found terrifying. The sensation of being swallowed was no fun at all. There was an intense heat, and even though she held her breath, she didn't get a good gasp. She was breathing, but with a lot of difficulty, much like what happened to Sybil.
"Oh my goodness... so this is how miss Sybil felt? Jeez..." Nia exclaimed, though more to herself, since she doubted Jet could hear her. She was full of adrenaline.

With bad timing, Angus was flying around, looking for his cousin.
"Nia!? Come on, you have been out for too long. We need to help with the costume!" Angus called, knowing that she must have been somewhere around there, looking for Jet to apologize. He didn't saw Nia, but he saw the splash that Jet made when he caught her. He recognized the damaged dorsal fin, and went immediately to him.
"Hello Mr. Jet. I hope I am not intruding, but I'm looking for my cousin Nia. She was looking for you to apologize for that embarrassing fiasco of this morning." Angus politely asked, not even wondering what was that splash all about.