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Somehow, through everything that happened, Amali managed to keep hold of the monkey he had pinned down. So long as he held this strange attacker, he felt he was really doing something useful. But it also put him closest to the creatures rambling and looking to the leopards for help. He hardly seemed dangerous now that he was subdued and everybody knew the monkey and leopards were here.. He didn't know why the monkey attacked them or if there really were a bunch of other leopards.. if there were, they could, collectively, be the monster but everybody knew they were here, that had been one of their early leads.

Hesitating, glancing around to meet his sister's eyes but not finding her fast enough once his decision was made: he waited for no consensus, no deals and simply released the monkey himself.

Mapenzi wasn't the sort to do good for good's sake, at least not often. It wasn't because she was a cruel or harsh creature, but simply because she found it difficult to trust someone, anyone for that matter, and chose to keep to herself and stick with the band of thieves she called her home, nestled in the outskirts of Albion.

The seer hyena had wandered away from Albion for a stretch of time, however, to get the feel for some freedom and space. To stray too far for too long from the few she felt safe around had her feeling exposed, but she did not wish to give in to her fears and block herself away from the world forever due to past dealings with lions. She had to move on and move on she did. When she first heard of the Greenwood Monster, she scoffed. It was silly, believing in monsters. It was when she got a twinge in her rear paw, a sure sign that something would happen, that she decided to lend a paw. It was then that she made the journey and it was now, as a rabble of contestants had a monkey and leopards surrounded, that she was beginning to regret her decision.

The tan hyena growled as the pair of jaguars closed in. She was glad Sandor was taking the initiative in addressing the pair, as she did not wish to take on such a responsibility, herself. She worried, however. They were on the leopards' turf and danger could easily be lurking. Sure, they probably could defend themselves if the leopards chose to attack, but she'd rather not get any more violent than they had to in taking the monster out.

[I AM A NEWBIE]

Hel had followed after the others, sort of paying attention - that is, enough to stay out of the line of fire. He wouldn't admit it to himself, but it was lonely, being out on the savannah on his own. Since his encounter with the little rainbow-kissed leopard he hadn't seen another soul besides his food.

And you don't talk to food.

The little monkey that had gone on a paint-spree held his interest briefly, but he was mostly hoping they'd stop for lunch at some point. He wasn't too keen on fighting a monster that supposedly killed an entire pride, but those were just stories. Only silly cubs would believe that kind of rubbish. No, he fully expected this to be a nature walk and possibly a free meal.

His hopes were slowly waning, however. They hadn't stopped, just spent all this time running around sniffing and hunting and not for anything edible. This blew. It wasn't until the foxy lady-leopard lept from her perch in the tree that he did anything more than sulk behind his comrades and nurse a growling stomach.

"Hellooooo, beautiful," he crooned, coming a little forward to mill closer to the pair. He raised a brow, and nudged a nearby lion with his shoulder. "Eh? Eeeeh? I mean, you know you're out of the savannah now, 'cos there's nothing plain about that cat. Amirite?"

Clearly the big, silly looking lion didn't heed any interspecies relationship taboos.

[I AM A NEWBIE]

Bataar jumped when the two leopards fell from the canopy above, and eyed both of them strongly. He wasn't entirely sure if they were telling the truth himself, they both looked like the kind of creature you'd think twice about engaging in a simple friendly conversation with. He widened his stance, looking from the monkey to the two leopards.

"But, if they are bluffing, there'll be enough of us to take them down." He said this quietly, though, and rather hopefully too.

Haki flattened his ears against his head. His bravery act was subsiding and his fear was begining to overwhelm him again. Ontop of that he had a nice red spot dripping down his face now. He looked down at his now red paws. "I don't know if we should trust them..." The jackal mentioned to no one inperticular.

With losing his confidence he was feeling more and more compelled to run away and hide. Hiding would do no good though; if there were more leopards there were less and less places that could be considered safe. Not being able to have a sense of safety, even if that safety is miles away... That terrified Haki more than anything else. And with him being terrified, he began to whimper.

Tahir’s snarl turned into sickly grin as Mura voiced her agreement. Of course she believed him. She was turning out to be a very useful ally indeed. He did not miss her claws coming out, and the fur down his spine relaxed a bit. He felt… well, not safe, never safe here, but well-guarded non-the-less. An ear flicked his Haki’s direction as he heard the little jackal whimper. Tahir snorted and rolled his eyes, mocking… although he had been close to doing the same only moment before.

Seeing the monkey released by its captor, Tahir scuttled back a few steps, deeper into the thick of lions. He kept his gaze above, carefully darting his eyes from tree to tree. Shadow to shadow.

“We should leave this place,” he whispered, hoping Mura would hear.

There was a slight curl on her face as excitement picked up. Having remained silent for most of the journey to watch carefully and soak in all the information she should could, Aki finally felt the need to bring some attention to her as well. They couldn’t have all the fun.

“Even if it does seem to be a bluff, caution would be advised. They are from the trees, a foreign terrain for most of us. Perhaps a bird would help our cause?”

Searching the jungles top, Aki allowed her eyes to unfocus. Any signs of movement would be best to be noticed at this point. She wouldn’t take the reins of complaining subordinate, nor the ill-thought out hero. No, she was here to give ideas and take action.