The Tropical Mystery

[Dakota]

Watching Liam she realised what he was about to do, her mouth hung a little open, when she saw the rock being turned into a sharp missile, then seeing it launch through the air hitting the scorpion bringing a blood curdling scream from it, she just about cheered.

Turning to Liam again, she realised he had used up his strength and was having difficulty pulling the vine back to fire off another rock. "I'm coming Liam" Misty yelled , and pushed herself off the spot she had been rooted to, to reach his side.

"ok I'll take this one, I think I watched how you did it, you ready... stand back so I don't hit you as well."

Misty grabbed the vine between her teeth, flinching a litle as she felt it pull into her gums, Stepping backwards feeling the vine pull tighter, she released the rock aiming at the scorpions remaining eye, the motion of it made her fall over. As she hit the ground she heard another scream leave the creatures mouth. panting she waited to see if it was going to topple.

Misty blinked watching in horror as nothing happened. She swivelled around to Santiago, yelling " we have to attack.....NOW...GO..."

Again she threw herself on the scorpion. From the gaping wound in its neck she saw a large pulsating vein bulging forth. Misty didn't hesitate, she sunk her teeth straight in deep, gasping as the murky froth surged out covering her face and dripping down her body. Gasping for breath, she felt her claws start to slide away, not being able to get traction in the liquid. Sliding back down she felt herself fall back onto the ground, where she lay stunned and covered in filth.

[Dakota]

POSTING for CUBBYKOVU


Koji sat there feeling squeemish at all the blood that poured from the now dead scorpion, the smell was making him feel sick.

Bringing his head up he watched as first Misty ran off then Tefnut and the red maned lion followed her. where are they all going, they're leaving me behind, I don't want to be alone. Rising quickly Koji ran around the scorpion so nothing touched his paws, and charged after them all through the bushes.

Skidding to a halt, his eyes widened and he gave a little moan, there in front was another one. Koji didn't know what to do, he wasn't very good at fighting. Standing there panicking, everyone was getting hurt, and the thing was still alive.

Looking around he saw them one by one getting hurt, then the lioness called Misty slid to the ground. oh no, what do I do..what do I do.....

GO NOW .. reached him..''are you talking to me, I can't ....'', he looked around for santiago but couldn't see him.

Looking at the huge insect, Koji knew it was upto him, taking a gulp of air, he closed his eyes and ran straight at it, he didn't know what he was going to hit, but he thought maybe seeing it was injured, he might be able to push it over. He felt his paws slide on some wetness as suddenly his body connected hard with it. Koji kept on pushing hearing a terrible scream fill the air, he wanted to cover his ears to block it out.

All of a sudden he heard this whooshing noise, as he felt whatever he was leaning against give way. Sliding to the ground, he felt the earth give a small tremble and he lay there, not wanting to open his eyes to see what was happening, but everything seemed to have gone quiet.

[Liam]

Liam saw Koji topple the large creature over. He was releived for a brefi moment until he saw the scorpion's pincer act on one final impulse to try to eliminate the one who pushed the scorpion down. He acted on impulse and placed Uru on the ground safely, then darted to where Koji was and pushed him out of the way. He had just made it. If he acted slightly later, Koji would have been killed.

[Dakota]

Misty lay there watching as Liam ran straight towards the scorpion as it toppled. The Pincer was moving dangerously around aimed at Koji, who was still lying there with his eyes closed what's Liam trying to do, he's too small to attack the thing.

Eyes wide in amazement she watched as Liam ran to Koji and pushed him out of the way just as the pincer swung down to strike him. Pushing herself up she went and stood in front of the now dead scorpion, looking down on it lying there in its own filth, starting to decompose just as quick.

Stepping back she turned to where Koji lay with the cub standing over him, limping slowly till she stood in front of him.

"You saved his life Liam, you acted so fast, even before Tefnut and myself could think of anything, I....I'm amazed at how brave you were."

Reaching down Misty bought her paw up and pulled the cub towards her and held him in a warm hug, rubbing her cheek on top of his head. Dropping her paw and moving back a little, she glanced around, taking in who was still there and who wasn't.

"Dunston, come over here where we can see how bad you are hurt ", Misty slowly made her way past to where Tefnut was still lying quiet on the ground.

Dropping down to the ground, she moved her head beside Tefnut, afraid of what she was going to find . Quietly she called to her friend "Tef.....Tef...can you hear me, please speak to me, we need you......you have to be ok...please Tef "

[Liam]

Liam was glad he was able to help. After all, the group here were his closest friends, he could not just be in the sidelines. Was it truly bravery? Or just instinct and luck? Or both? He spoke..sort of. His voice was still disabled, so only his mouth movements were hints as to what he said. He then felt himself brought into a warming hug and felt the warmth of Misty's cheek rubbing against the top of his head. He went back to Uru and put the hornbill onto his back so that Liam could continue being Uru's transport.

He then saw Tef and went to her, worried for Tef's life. He could tell she was trying to will away pain, so he nuzzled her softly, trying to comfort her. He heard Tef's pulse as he nuzzled her gently and knew he should tell Misty. He used one of his short claws and wrote in the dirt. 'I think Tef is going to be alright. I could hear her pulse.' was what he wrote. What he failed to notice was that his left-front leg was drenched with blood. Whether this was his or the dead scorpion's, he had no idea.

[Kirsui]

Tefnut kept her eyes closed, aware of the danger she put herself in by doing so. If the scorpion attacked her, she wouldn't know before it was too late... She had given up on trying to stand, her legs wouldn't carry her anyway. And so, by keeping her eyes tightly shut she tried to fight the rising headache.

"Tef.....Tef...can you hear me, please speak to me, we need you......you have to be ok...please Tef "

The liopardess opened one eye and gazed at Misteeca. She felt a nuzzle, knowing that it must have been Liam. A faint smile came to her lips as she shut her eye again.
"I'm all right, Misty", she said.
"Just feeling a little... dizzy..."
She let out a sigh and lifted her head slowly, opening her eyes to look around. She had to blink them several times before, pushing the dizzyness away.

And as she saw the scorpion dead, she couldn't help the smile.
"I hope there's not more of those around", she said, looking at Misty.
"We need to talk", she said, lowering her voice.
"We have to decide what we'll do now... You know, with the missing hunting group and so..."
Shaking her head with another sigh, Tef finally pushed herself up from the ground and managed to stand on her own.
"But first, lets get to somewhere uh... 'safer'. I don't want to spend more time around these corpses than necessary."

[Dakota]

Watching Tef as she pushed her exhausted body up from the ground, Misty was ready to leap and catch her if she faltered.
"How about you just stand there for a moment till the world stops spinning, while I go and get Koji and Dunston, they don't seem to be moving."

Stepping back past Liam and Uru, Misty padded quietly over to the lion "koji....are you ok, it's safe now". Not getting any response, she lowered her self down to the ground and gently touched him ,keeping her voice low she tried again "Koji ?"

Feeling him shudder under her paw, she realised how truly scared he was, "Koji, you are safe, we are all safe, thanks in part to you being so brave". Rubbing her paw on his back soothingly Misty tried again "listen around you, all is quiet, the scorpions are dead, they can't hurt you anymore. Come Koji you have to trust me, we need to move away from here and find somewhere safe for the night, we aren't going to leave you behind, but we have to go."

Moving away from him, she watched as he finally got to his legs, his head hung low along with his tail why do I feel like a nursemaid flashed through her mind, sighing she moved back to him and gave him a quick nuzzle "You are doing really well Koji, how about you go over by Seleter and Liam now ".

ok, one down, now where's my friend Dunston. Turning she saw him just standing there watching her. Letting a welcoming smile touch her face, she returned his gaze holding his eyes with hers. She spoke three little words, waiting "Are You Ready?"

[Liam]

Liam had been having some difficulty keeping awake. After all that has happened recently (and prior to this) he had been left exhausted. He could not let his exhaustion overtake him, so he kept his eyes open as long as he could, but when he felt they were getting to heavy, he bit a slight part of his mouth to jolt himself awake. It was...odd...but at least he could stay awake for the rest.

[Dakota]

~~Posting for Cubbykovu~~

Koji slowly dragged his paws over to where the adult Liopard lay. Staring at her green eyes, he lowered his head looking away. I don't know if I like her she's angry with me.

He saw from the corner of his eye a small lion cub,it had a strange bird sitting on his back. Koji was even more confused now, he didn't know how he had got here with these others, the last thing he remembered was lying by the river sleeping, then when he woke up everything looked different from before.

Trying not to start shaking again, he watched the lioness move to someone she called Dunston. As she walked koji noticed with interest she had a circle of blue dots on top of her back leg, matching with3 dots of the same colour under her left eye.

Quickly he plopped himself on the ground and waited, all he knew was that to be safe, he had to stay and travel with them all, or else he felt he would die some horrible death in this evil jungle. Giving a litle sob he buried his head in his paws trying not to let any noise escape and waited for what was to come.

[stonefur25]

Dunston limped over to Misty, his hind leg was bleeding profusely.

"I'm glad you guys came so quickly," he told her as he slumped down on the ground. "I don't think I could have gone any longer with that thing."

Dunston scanned the clearing, making sure everyone he knew was there, especially Liam. "I can't believe this place exists," he thought aloud. "There has to be something that's letting these creatures grow to such large sizes, and I really hope it didn't affect snakes..." his voice trailed off at the thought.

"I'm sorry," he said to Misty, "I'm rambling on here. I'm not used to company."

[SVelasquez]

"We need to get you out of here, I think I might have to carry you - your injury looks too serious for you to be standing." Santiago recommended as he walked over, the breeze blowing his red mane around, sending a few strands in front of his green eyes.

Once the breeze died down, Santiago shook his head so that the strands of his mane were back behind his eyes where they belonged. He looked around carefully, making sure to pay special attention to where danger could be lurking - that scorpion may not have been alone.

And that's what worries me... Santiago thought as he returned his attention to Dunston and Misty.

[Dakota]

Misty watched as Dunston slowly walked over to her, seeing him limp badly her inspection travelled down his leg. Her eyes widened at seeing blood flowing freely again he's reopened his wound while fighting, which means he's feeling weak

Hearing Santiago beside her offering to carry Dunston, she was about to refuse. But looking back at the lions face she realised he was near exhaustion as well.

"I think that might be for the best, you're stronger than me and I'll need to carry Liam, and we need to move away from this carnage, and nows a good time. How about you lower yourself and I'll help Dunston on"

With a bit of pushing he was resting on Santiagos back. Holding back a small smile, it was a sight to behold. Moving away back to where Tef was standing more steadily now, Misteeca nudged Koji with her paw "Come on, up you get, we're moving now and YOU ARE coming with us. At saying that she lifted her eyebrow at Tef and gave a small shrug as if to say 'well we can't leave him, can we !'.

Leaning down to Liam, " I need you to climb on my back, you are so tired, you need to rest for a little....come on"

"Tef you ready ? we'll walk together, that way we can talk as we go....and we can find somewhere up ahead to bathe and rest safely for the night......what do you think?"

[Liam]

Liam knew he could not argue, even if he had his voice. He followed Misty's order obediently and tried his best to stay awake, yet being on her back had seemed to allow his exhaustion to overtake him. Within seconds, he was out like a light, unable to be aware of future situations for the time being.

[stonefur25]

Dunston almost denied the ride, but he knew he would be more of a hassle if he was too stubborn. He semi-grudgingly accepted the ride, feeling rather embarrassed. "Don't stare," he said, casting a glance towards Misty, followed by a slight grin.

He could still feel the blood pouring out of his wound and he was beginning to feel light headed. He knew he had to stop the bleeding somehow, but they needed to get away from this battle ground in case more scorpions would be coming.

[Dakota]

Misty stood there getting used to the feel of having Liam plus Uru on her back, giving a little wiggle of her self she adjusted his weight.

"Don't stare " came across to her from Dunston. Giving him gentle smile she reminded him " I didn't ask you not to stare when I clamboured out from under those trees not so long ago, with all my paws going in every direction."

"Well we're all ready, lets move slowly, then we can take care of all our wounds and rest.

[Kirsui]

"Tef you ready ? we'll walk together, that way we can talk as we go....and we can find somewhere up ahead to bathe and rest safely for the night......what do you think?"

The liopardess nodded slightly at Misty. It had taken her a bit longer to clear up the dizziness than she first had thought. That, and that she was feeling tired. She didn't remember when was the last time she had had a good rest... It apparently was before she had joined this little group.

Sighing slightly, Tef looked up at the others, seeing they were ready to move on.
"All right", she said.
"Lets stay close to eachother. Follow me."
And with that she turned around and headed back to the path that the group had used before the scorpions attacked. She kept her ears perked up, sniffed the air to sort out the scents, gazing from side to side in search for possible danger.

This went on for a good while. From time to time Tefnut looked back to see the group was following and that no one was left behind. This got to her nerves, to keep track of possible dangers, and to keep the group together. If she hadn't known before, she surely knew now how the group leaders must feel.

Then, after a good few minutes of walking, she stopped, a huge smile rising to her muzzle.
"Look, everyone!"
She stepped forward, through some bushes into a clearing in the jungle. There was a small stream of fresh water on the other side, the water of it was so clear that one could see every stone on the bottom. There was even grass on this area, and it was much more fresher and softer than the plants of the jungle. And when one looked up, one could clearly see the sky.

Tefnut smiled as she stood in the middle of the clearing. The sky.. she was glad she could see it after traveling under the trees for so long. And she now saw what time of day it was. Stars were sparking at the deep dark sky, and an almost full moon gave enough light to the clearing to see properly around.

At that moment she felt like crying out of happiness, so glad she was to see this place. But she didn't, and turned around to see the others instead.
"Lets rest here and clean up, ok?"
She smiled at them all and headed then to the stream. She looked at the water with a huge smile, and then crouched down to drink. It tasted as fresh as it looked like.

Truly, she felt that they would be safe here.. atleast for one night.

[SVelasquez]

"Trust me, the only reason I offered was because the amount of blood loss from your leg looks like you're dying." Santiago grunted as Dunston lied across his back. It was the truth, though, Santiago may not have offered to give Dunston a ride if he looked like he could walk on that leg.

"Now we need to get him out of here, I think we should split up, one other with me and the rest in another group." Santiago said knowing that if they split up, then the group was less likely to be in extremely grave danger if another scorpion showed up.

[Dakota]

Misty walked along slowly, even though Liam was still a cub and light, she felt every step of their way. She didn't realise just how exhausted her body was after all that physical contact with the two scorpions, now she just felt battle weary and worn down.

Looking ahead she saw Tefnut sniffing her way through the jungle I'm glad we are together, we seem to work good alongside each other. Letting a small smile grace her muzzle, Misty was about to call out to Tef, when she happened to overhear Santiago talking to Dunton.

Her head whirled around so fast it made her dizzy, she felt anger rising at what she had heard, opening her mouth she let her opinion be known.

"I Can't believe what I just heard you say, did you get hit on the head so hard by a scorpion, that you have lost your senses...again ?" Misty scowled at him, hearing her voice start to rise again.

" You want TO SPLIT UP THE GROUP.....because you think we will be in LESS DANGER !!,, you have been with us for what one day now, after we saved your hide and this is the only option you can come up with ?"
"If you would like to split from us, please feel free, but you will be by yourself, Liam and Dunston are staying with Tefnut and myself."

Pausing Misty was about to call to Tef, when she saw the liopardess had led them into an oasis in the middle of the jungle. Surveying all around her, Misty couldn't believe such serenity could exsist, after all the chaos that had happened.

Glancing over at Santiago, Misty then ignored him and moved forward towards the sparkling water, lowering her self down so Liam could move as well, she turned her head gently towards the cub "Liam, we are here wake up, I need to look at your wounds and get them healed" While waiting for him to stir, she again turned back to the red maned lion. Softening her stance towards him and she met his gaze .

"Could you please bring Dunston over here by the waters edge I need to care for him as well, he looks a little worse for wear the poor thing,and if you would like me to look at any wounds you may have.... you know in case you would like to split and carry on by yourself ?"

Misty left the question hanging in the air between them just waiting..

[Liam]

Liam had awoken to Misty's voice. He did not make any noise, yet he rubbed his eyes tiredly and yawned an inaudible yawn. He was still tired but he was shocked to see the surroundings. A...a safe zone? He did not know what other wounds he might have, yet his front left leg had sustained a deep wound from the scorpion's pincer when he tackled Koji out of the way. He was unaware of this as he knew that a few flesh wounds were nothing compared to what was happening.

[stonefur25]

Dunston scrambled off of Santiago's back, a little afraid he'd take off with him still on his back. He limped over to the waters edge to let Misty look over his leg wound, but he did want to see what Santiago was going to do. Hopefully he would choose his path quickly so this tension wouldn't hang around everyone, but Misty was right, and he intended to stick with her if Santiago decided to walk off.

Dunston took a few laps of water, trying to focus on what this group needed. "We're gonna need some herbs to keep off infection and-" he lost his train of thought and caught himself as he almost fell over. "Focus," he forced himself to think, "I remember now! Comfrey, it has broad leaves and bell shaped flowers. You can chew the roots to make a type of poultice that helps soothe and heal wounds." He laid down on his side trying to block the pain in his leg.

[Kirsui]

Tefnut rose to her feet and glanced back over her shoulder at her friends. She lifted an eyebrow curiously. Something clearly had happened between Santiago and Misteeca, for the lioness did her best to ignore him. Narrowing her eyes suspiciously, she listened as Misteeca spoke to Santiago.

"-- you know in case you would like to split and carry on by yourself ?"

Tef turned her head away and fought o hide her chuckle. So Santiago had offered to split up the group? She sighed and shook her head, gazing at the stream momentarily before she turned to Dunston.
"Comfrey, huh?" she spoke with a faint smile.
"Give me a sec and I'll see if I can find that one. You could try to clean up your wounds with the water while I look for the plant."

She followed the stream to the edge of the clearing, beginning then to follow the edges in search for this plant Dunston had described. She had to circle around almost the whole clearing before she spotted the plant with broad leaves and flowers that looked like bells. It wasn't on the clearing, but it was close enough so that fetching it wouldn't be dangerous.

So, the liopardess stepped out of the clearing and dug her paws to the soft ground, digging the plant up. There were several of them around her, and so she decided that it would be best if she took a few more with her to the others.

[Dakota]

Misty watched as Dunston slowly pulled himself over towards the waters edge to be by Liam. About to help them wash their wounds, she looked back up towards Santiago, just standing there.

"Santiago....I....just wanted to say thanks for helping us all back there, I'm not sure what would have happened, but we worked together as a group, and we came out alive."

Turning her back on him, Misty looked around for something she could use to scoop water out of the stream to wash their wounds with. A small smile graced her face when she spotted large curled up leaves lying on the ground. Moving over she picked up the largest with her mouth and moved towards the water.

Stopping again, with a sigh she turned to see the red maned lion still in the same place as before. "Santiago, would you like to come and get clean and have a drink as well, I'm sure you need it as we do "

why do I feel guilty with him standing there alone .. placing her paws in the water Misty, looked over her shoulder. "You coming ?"

Feeling the water soothing her body, as it lapped against her skin made her close her eyes and breath in. Dropping the leaf, Misty plunged in and under vanishing from sight, then water splashed up and she came to the surface. Blinking away droplets that clung to her eyelashes she slowly opened her eyes and gazed at Liam and Dunston with a grin.

" Now its your turn, once you're better that is."

Reaching over she used her paw to coax the leaf back towards her, filling it with water, she moved first to Liam, and gently poured it over the gash in his leg. It took a few turns
to remove the dried caked blood and other debris that had taken hold, but finally it looked clean. Refilling again, laid it in front of his muzzle so he could drink as much as he needed.

Moving quickly she took hold of another leaf and did the same for Dunston, till his wound lay bare and open. Moving back she let them rest " We will wait for Tefnut to come back with those leaves for healing now "

Sitting down behind the cub and Dunston, Misty was about to let her body relax, when she realised why it was so quiet. Jumping up, she looked all around Oh lordy How could I have forgotten about koji

"KOJI,.....WHERE ARE YOU ?"

[stonefur25]

Dunston flinched as Misty helped clean his wound. It was kind of nice to be with a group instead being alone and helpless like when he was at his old home, and it was definitely better than being stranded in the jungle.

Dunston found himself becoming quickly lightheaded from the blood he had already lost, and his leg was threatening to bleedout again. He rested his head on the ground and just tried to stay awake. He knew he had survived worse, but this cursed jungle just seemed to make everything so much worse off, probably just because of the sense of fear everything within it seemed to have.

"I can't believe I finally found a family, just to end up becoming such a burden for everyone," he said under his breath only to hear Misty call out for Koji. Dunston hadn't even noticed he was missing.

[Dakota]

Misty had just jumped to her feet and was standing beside Dunston, scanning the area with her eyes, all she could see was Santiago, sitting apart from them all, slightly glaring at her by the looks.

Just as she was about to yell again for koji, she heard ' I'm a burden for everyone' reach her ears. Looking down sharply, Misty could see that he was in alot of pain and was trying hard to stay awake. Glancing around aagain she still couldn't see or hear koji, knowing she couldn't go anywhere till tef came back Misty lowered herself down by Dunston.

"what on earth makes you think you are a burden to us, so you are injured, but you only got that way by helping us all. I probably wouldn't be here, but dead covered by all those trees if it wasn't for you saving me. So stop thinking like that , ok ?, you wil be back on your feet soon and we'll carry on ....together".

Misty rubbed her cheek against his watching as Dunston was trying to force him self to stay awake. "just relax and close your eyes for a second, tef won't be long"

[Kirsui]

Having enough of those plants gathered, Tefnut carefully picked them up to her mouth. She stood still momentarily, listening to the sounds of the jungle, sniffing the air for possible danger. She heart and smelled nothing else than the usual sounds and scents of the jungle.

With relief, the liopardess walked to the clearing and over to Dunston, placing the plants to the ground.
"Here", she said.
"I picked up as many as I could carry in my mouth..."
She took a step backwards, streching her sore muscles like a cat would after a nap. She stared at the stream, a smile playing on her lips as she stepped to the water, walking to the middle where the water was touching her belly. She sighed, the smile still on her face as she lowered herself down, letting the cool water flow around her and relax her body.

The water was cold, though, and it didn't take long before her toes begun to feel tather numb. She stood up again and walked to the shore, then a bit away from the others to shake the water out of her fur without soaking her friends. She glanced over her shoulder at the scratch she had gotten from the scorpion's pincer. Smiling faintly, she let it be. The water had cleaned it up enough, and it would heal well without treatment.

[SVelasquez]

"I think that splitting up to get out of here would be perfectly logical. I mean, Dunston and I will be slowed because he's injured and I highly doubt you want a giant scorpion to put everybody in grave danger for two lions." Santiago said gruffly as he looked at Misty.

He may have been new to the group, but Santiago knew what he was doing, he's planned a similar strategy before when he was wandering and that strategy went of without a hitch. He really didn't need anybody he just met giving him attitude about his ideas, and his patience was starting to wear out very fast. Needless to say, Santiago was about ready to snap at Misty.

[Kirsui]

Tefnut's eyes widened at what she heard Santiago say. The liopardess turned her head at the lion, her green eyes wide in amazement. She couldn't believe what she heard him say!

And so, before Misteeca could do anything, she acted.
"Are you out of your mind?!"
Really, Tefnut couldn't stop herself. She had had enough of attitudes and dangers for one day... Hah, she perhaps had had enough of this all for the rest of her life!

And she laughed, but it was not an amused laugh.
"Split up?!" she said, taking a step closer to Santiago.
"You want us to split up? Because it's logical?!"
She stopped when she was right in front of him. She might have been a bit shorter than the male lion, but her angry glare and her flashing eyes held no fear. She could take care of herself...
"Listen to me now, and listen well, because I will not repeat this..."
Her voice came out mixed with a growl.
"Do you seriously think those creatures will leave us alone if you take Dunston? Because I know they won't! I fought with giant spiders earlier in this jungle, and they didn't leave us alone before we left their Dens. I fought with plants that tried to choke us to death! I watched a friend being swallowed by ground! I ran from trees that just fell on us!"
She paused, glaring at Santiago.
"And just a moment ago... I fought with two giant scorpions... with the help of Misteeca, Dunston, Liam... yourself! So do tell would you be able to kill a giant scorpion if one attacked you when you're with an injured lion? Could you, when to kill one a moment ago it took three, no four adults?!"

She growled at him, sinking her pure white claws into the ground. She didn't know when she had extented them, but she knew that if she didn't keep them pushed to the ground, Santiago would recieve nice scratches to his face.
"You will take no one from this clearing!" she said, her voice filled with authority.
"If you even try, I will make sure that is the last thing you ever do."
She paused again, letting her words sink before continuing. She held her head high, and was clearly meaning every word passing her lips.
"You will either stop being ridiculous and and do what you're told to do... Or you will go, now, alone, and NEVER come back to us when you're being chased by who knows what this jungle keeps inside."

[stonefur25]

Dunston was busy trying to chew the roots into a poultice when he overheard Santiago talking about splitting up and he heard Santiago mention his name. "Whoa, don't speak for me here! If you're going to talk about splitting me up from the group, I'm going to get in a word here and I'm telling you right now that I am NOT going to split away from Misty or Tefnut."

Dunston went back to work with his herbs hoping that Santiago would stop trying to drag him with on this suicide mission of his. Satisfied that his Comfrey root was ready he grabbed a nearby ball of moss and soaked it in the poultice. "OK, it's ready. Who needs this first?" he asked. He wanted to take care of the group before he worried about himself.

[Dakota]

Misty had stood there listening to the nonsense flowing from the lions mouth, her claws were unsheathed, and a growl was about to leave her mouth. Taking a step towards him with her eyes flashing, she suddenly stopped as she heard Tefnut launch into her tirade against Santiago.

She moved then standing beside her friend, letting a smirk appear on her muzzle she watched the expressions flit across his face, it was amusing almost to think that he would want to take on two females, who had been through so much and it had made them so stronger physically and mentally.

" The same goes for me, Santiago, whether you like it or not, Dunston and Liam aren't going anywhere without Tef and myself, so maybe you'd better have a rest and think about your options."

Turning Misty looked at Dunston, giving him a grateful smile at his reponse. "thankyou, and maybe you would like to help Liam, then we will get you comfortable and use the poultice on your wounds."

Suddenly Misty thought about Koji again, shaking her head and starting to move away, she turned to tefnut " Koji....he's so quiet we forgot all about him, I thought he was right behind us, now he's no where to be seen, I have to go and have a look. I won't go to far..ok .."

With a paw in mid stride Misty turned towards the opening where Tefnut had just pushed her way through, ready to run, when an almighty shreek filled the air, sending shivers down her spine. please no, not again, not now .

Moving back so she was in front of the two wounded, Misty stood there, claws at the ready, pawing the ground and her teeth bared. A slow growl came from low in her throat and her eyes widened,....the bushes and plants moved and suddenly Koji came crashing through whimpering, tripping over his paws he fell to the ground at their feet, his face pushed into the ground and his body trembling.

Misty pulled herself back up, and just stared, then slowly looked at Santiago and Tefnut, and to her shame a small grin moved across her muzzle.

[Liam]

Liam winced slightly at the cool water running on his wound. It stung, yet it relieved it in the long run. Liam stood up and smiled at Misty. He was worried about Koji aswell and looked around. He then heard what Santiago said about splitting up the group. He looked at Santiago, knowing that there was absolutely no way that splitting up was going to help. He went to try to say something out of instinct before Misty cut him off. When she mentioned the part about Abeni, he was filled with an intense sadness, but kept it hidden.