The Last Hunt (Adventure, possible other tags)

With every step the respective party members would make, more ripples would appear in the water, spreading out until colliding with the other ripples to disturb the water. Slight squelching sounds would also sound out with every step as the mud and water was displaced by the walking, still, progress was progress into the swampy area. Then suddenly, a very large splash sounded off to the groups right, loud and large enough to create many a large ripple and actually be audible. Yet when the group would look over, all they would see was the slowly returning to stagnant waters.

Aerv sighed as he continued carefully walking over the bog. "You would've had it, but you ponies wouldn't have a chance to make peace with dragons." Aerv answered Nuria, concentrating on the ground in front of him. "Apparently you didn't listen before, so lemme repeat it for you: That bird is sacred among a few tribes and they would never agree to sign a peace treaty if you kill it. That good enough of a reason for you?" he added before stopping and turning his head towards Sharp. He was unsure if she was being serious or just trying to stop Nuria from whining, but hedecided to say something about it just to be sure. "We are not killing things here if they can be avoided or are something that dragons like. We're not here to start a war, we're here to hopefully make peace." he told Sharp before continuing his moving.

Aerv suddenly stopped again as he heard ripples and suddenly looked in the direction of a big splash. "Sharp.. climb on my back and hold tight. Rest of you, follow. I think it's best to avoid ground here." he said before spreading his wings. "And Nuria, don't stay behind and try to kill it." Aerv had a feeling that it was a must to add that last bit, seeing as Nuria's mind was all about killing things. He honestly found it impressive that she went for so long without attacking him.

“What? It’s true. Wings are useful. Maybe not as useful as magic, when you take things like versatility into consideration, but, useful nonetheless.” Sharp said in reply to Star’s taunting with a shrug. The sudden splash caught Sharp off guard, and she gave a startled ‘eep’, immediately looking towards the origin of the noise. Blushing lightly at her cry, she awkwardly made her way atop Aerv on request. “Does this make me the first dragon rider, Aerv?” she joked in an attempt to put it behind her.

Star rolled his eyes at Sharp. "If magic is more useful then wings, why isn't there a spell to make the user have wings for a short time or something? There's practically-." He was cut off by the loud splashing noise, his ears perking it. He quickly turned his head to the right, looking around. He pressed his lips together and frowned. "Avoid the ground? Don't have to tell me twice." He didn't say nothing about Sharp's little cry, nor her joke afterwards. He just perk his ears and eyes peeled for anything moving.

Nuria begrudgingly followed Aerv, her impression of him not helped by the apparent lack of concern for their personal safety she saw. If she wasn't allowed to defend herself, then she may as well feed herself to the next monster she saw. She gave Sharp a glare and growled, she was getting tired of that one's remarks as well. The only one she didn't have a problem with seemed to be Star, and he was... Remarkably trusting...

He ears turned at the sound of the splash and she started to fly above the water as well, keeping below the canopy of the trees so she wouldn't have to deal with the Roc again.

The swamp offered no reply to any of the conversation that was occurring, at least not for a while. After the group took to the air, the waters went almost entirely still and nary a sound past their flapping wings could be heard. Even the wind seemed to have died down in preparation for what was to come, and yet still, nothing seemed to move or disturb the almost tranquil waters or muddy ground. Time would continue to pass, and whatever had bothered to cause that commotion continued to remain hidden, an act that was slowly getting ready to be replicated by the sun as it too continued to sink and now as it approached the horizon line, the swamps seemed to be the place where the group would be spending their first night in the dragon lands.

Aerv flew slowly, trying his best to avoid trees, his large wings causing enough problem in this forest as it was. He merely shrugged at Sharp's question about her being the first dragon rider. When the sun began setting down, Aerv insisted on flying a bit further. He was planning on setting up a camp close to the edge of the woods and swamp, so they wouldn't have to accidentally be lost in the woods if something were to attack them, though seeing as they were progressing slowly, he somewhat doubted they will reach the edge before the night. He did not intend to camp on the ground either. Aerv would lead the group to the first big and strong tree he could find.

"Alright, this night might not be so comfortable, but better safety than death, I say." Aerv said as he landed on the strong branch. He lowered himself enough for Sharp to be able to climb off his back without falling off, as they were at a good height. "So try to make yourself comfortable as much as you can and try not to fall off. We will make up for the lost sleep some other time, in a safer place." he added as he lay down on the branch, his claws gripping it tightly.

Nuria grumpily found a part of the tree that would support her weight. "We wouldn't have to hide in a tree if we had just killed that stupid bird..." She grumbled to herself, making herself as comfortable as one could in a tree. She kept her things close, especially her spear. She had a feeling she might be needing it. Or not, depending on how many creatures Aerv was going to just run from.

Star had taken off the cloth that he'd wrapped around his eyes to protect them from the sun when he noticed the sun was just on the horizon. He looked at the tree Aerv had brought them to for a moment before looking around. He let out a sad sigh and looked up at the canopy. "Nope." He muttered to himself before picking a branch and laying down on it on his belly. He let his hooves hang down before the tree and grumbles, rolling his eyes at Nuria once more. This...was not going to be a good sleep. If they were sleeping on the ground then he'd be fine but a tree is not suppose to be slept on. What he wouldn't give for a cloud so he can lay on it right now. They were nice and soft and meant to be lapped on...kinda. He grumbled to himself and tried to get comfortable.

Sharp carefully climbed off of Aerv, politely thanking him for allowing her to ride with him. “Right. Don’t fall off.” She repeated. After giving the branch they had been standing on a few trial jumps, Sharp was confident enough in its integrity to lay down. “Nuria, we aren’t hiding from the Roc. Surely you noticed the squelching ripples in the mud? Sleeping on the ground would be akin to inviting whatever that was to dinner.” she told the grumbling kirin. “At any rate… good night.”

With the group in the tree, the night would pass by fairly smoothly for the group. Sure there were strange and alien sounding creatures that made all kinds of noises during the night (Aerv would recognize at least some if not all), but nothing bothered to invade the tree or try to topple it down, and then with the morning sun came the the first rays of light that tried to pierce the swampy canopy. Above and through the holes in the tree cover, the group would be able to see a cloudy but still fairly bright sky, a premonition of rains to come if there ever was one. And down below, the swampy landscape continued onward for a ways, but it was rather tranquil as the waters had few if any ripples.

Nuria woke with a stretch, nearly falling off the branch, but clutching onto the wood with her claws to stay upright. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and made sure none of her things fell before carefully standing and looking around. "Good morning, everyone." She greeted the group.

Star continued to sleep, snoring slightly. He didn't react whatsoever when Nuria greeted the group. Around his barrel and the branch he laid on was a clothed, tied tightly. It would have appeared he had tied himself there to make sure he didn't fall off at night. He smiled in his sleep, clearly having a nice dream. "I promise...I will..." He muttered under his breath before snoring rather loudly.

Aerv would wake up a good few minutes after Nuria, but would not be completely responsive just yet. He would start by slowly opening his eyes and yawning, outstretching his limbs while keeping his lengthy tail coiled around the branch to prevent from falling off. Those who would look at the said branch could see more than a few claw scratch marks.

"Good morning to you too." the dragon would respond to Nuria before yawning again. He looked around at Star, Sharp and Nuria before focusing his view on the forest again. "It seems like a warm morning..." he commented before looking at Star and Sharp again, smiling at them. "Now for the two to wake up... You ought to eat something." he said to Nuria before going silent again and patiently lying on his branch, waiting for Star and Sharp to wake up.

Sharp had slept about as well as anyone could sleep on a tree branch, that is, almost not at all and in uncomfortably short bursts. Between worrying about falling and a hyperactive imagination that turned every itch into an insect, the scholarly mare had fallen into a sort of sleepy haze, one she was brought out of by her fellow dragon hunters' waking.  “I hate mornings.” Sharp groaned, getting up from the hard surface she had slept on and stretching her sore muscles.

And with that the nice, calm, quiet and peaceful morning came to an abrupt end as the tree the group was residing in shook very hard, very suddenly. Loud cracks and snaps could be heard as well as the rough splashing of water as the roots snapped and the tree started to fall. As it tipped over farther and farther, it's branches came into contact with other tree's branches, creating a very crowded space full of tree limbs, vines, and leaves. Down below, the cause for the collapse could be seen clear as day. A fight had suddenly broken out between a VERY large snake (I'm talking it's bigger around that a pony stands tall), and a massive alligator, and in their initial meeting, they'd crashed into the tree that the group had decided to camp in, and a few others as well.

Star's eyes snapped open as the tree they all were on shook. He was then momentarily blinded by a beam of sunlight shining down through the canopy. He shut his eyes and bit down on the cloth that tied him to the branch he laid on, pulling to undo the little knot that tied the cloth. He tried to stand and kick off from the branch but lost his balance, slipping off the branch. He flailed in the air for a moment, opening his eyes slightly to see as his wings spread in an attempt to stop himself from falling. What a way to wake up... He thought to himself, growling around the cloth held by his teeth.

Aerv quickly dug his claws into the large tree branch as it shook, making sure he couldn't fall off it, and then looked around for others. He somewhat doubted that some of them would fail to keep their balance, and as he saw Star almost fall, he placed his tail underneath the thestral so he could step on it and gain some balance while the dragon focused on making Sharp float with his magic, making sure she couldn't fall off either while slowly hoovering her over to his back. He swiftly looked at Nuria, knowing that she will probably want to fight them again. She wants to fight every bloody thing.... Perhaps it was almost a bad idea to bring her along? he thought before looking down at the two combatants. "Well, it's a good time to be going now, we can at least fly above the trees today. Unless our Nuria desires to decide a victor of this fight! I do not recommend it, though." he said and chuckled, hopeful that Nuria will understand it as a joke and won't go down to actually fight. He did not want any injuries on this trip.

And just as soon as Aerv said it, Nuria was darting past him, her bags in one claw and spear in the other. "Screw that!" She shouted, making her way up to the top of the canopy. What the hell kind of place was this? Giant birds, giant snakes and giant lizards?! Who would want to live in a place like this?! She turned back to look at the others and ensure that none of them were going to get caught in the fight.

“Yup. Definitely hate mornings.” Sharp affirmed, floating within Aerv’s telekinetic aura. She looked down out of curiosity, wondering what could have possibly caused the tree to shake so roughly… she immediately regretted it at the sight of the bucking massive snake and (not as terrifying, but just as large) alligator. She stared at the thing for a solid five seconds as Aerv pulled her onto his back, eyes wide open. “Damn nature, you’re scary.”

Sharp assume a comfortable position atop Aerv, briefly thanking him for saving her the teleportation spell she would have had to cast to ensure she safely made it onto his back.

With the departure of the group from the two combatants locked in their life and death struggle, a victor would remain unknown, and with them breaking back through the trees and into the open sky above, it would be rather easy to see where the edge of the swampy forest ended. It would be a fairly short flight in the direction they were supposed to be going and once that was done, there was an actual grassy plain before them with a few gentle hills. Also strangely enough, it seemed for the moment that nothing was really chasing after the group. Eventually though as the group would work their way across the field, they would come to the end of the grass as it ended rather abruptly with a sheer cliff dipping down into jagged spires and desolate winding passages for quite some distance ahead.

Star blinked as Aerv's tail caught him before he fell. He sighed in relieve and quickly tied his cloth around his eyes. He then took to the air, shaking his head. "You hate the mornings? I should hate the mornings more! My sleep was interrupted by this." He gestured with a hoof down at the snake and alligator. "Let's just get out of here." He said flying above the trees after Nuria. He looked around the sky for a certain giant bird before spotting a few clouds. A small idea formed in his head as he quickly flew around to gather a few clouds. He then flopped down on them, hugging the fluffy clouds. When they found out where they were going and started flying, he'd start flapping his wings and follow, still laying on the cloud. Was this really necessary? Not really...But he was woken up suddenly and was sleeping on a branch all night. He was going to enjoy the fluffy clouds as much as he could for now.

As soon as Aerv saw Sharp make herself comfortable on top of him and Star take off into the skies, he too spread his large wings and looked at Sharp on his back. "Hold on, now." he warned her before suddenly taking off into the air, quickly reaching Star and Nuria's altitude. When he finally did, he smiled at both before before slightly increasing his speed. "You know, Star, I sometimes envy you pegasi. I too wish to experience sleeping on clouds, but I'm not that lucky. Then again, there must exist a spell that lets a non-pegasus being walk on clouds, right?" he said and chuckled, looking at Sharp on his back after asking his question. The dragon was hoping to get a confirmation from the unicorn of the group. After a few more flaps of his wings, he closed his eyes and began to glide. "Then again, this is also one way to sleep if you know this land well enough... or at least know there's no mountain coming up in front of you." he said and again chuckled, after a few moments opening his eyes again and gaining a bit more altitude.

Sharp couldn’t help but wonder which of the two oversized creatures would win their death battle. Her money was on the snake though. She continued her musing as Aerv gained altitude, and it had taken the mare a moment for her to register that Aerv had asked her a question. “Huh? Oh. Yeah. Probably. I’ll look into it when we get back to Canterlot. Say, Aerv, how far are we from our destination?” she asked the dragon.

Nuria took a breath and let herself relax for a moment as it seemed they were finally in the clear for now. She looked at Sharp when she spoke and couldn't help but quip. "If we get back to Canterlot." She said, clutching her spear close. She looked out on the horizon and observed the landscape. She didn't dare think about what could have been lurking there. "Hopefully not too far. We'll wind up dead by the time we get there."