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Now, with the brunt of the group already after the monkey, Kimaji was in a predicament. She couldn't have kept up with even the slowest of them unless they ran deliberately slowly so she could do just that. At the same time, she hardly wanted to be left behind!

So with an exasperated little sigh, once she was sure things wouldn't be so messy that anyone would step n her, she hurried off along the path made by all the running beast. At least, with no one around, she could make some conspicuously high jumps over obstacles when she needed it, which helped save time. Hopefully she wouldn't end up lost!

It seemed like tree climbing lessons were wholly off the table, as the group chased after the half-crazed monkey and left the rather obstinate leopards behind.

Hel considered staying behind briefly - but what if the sorry looking critter was running FROM the monster, instead of toward it? That decided it for him. He put his feet to the dirt, leaping forward and trying to gain on it despite his massive bulk. He did NOT want to be the lasty-lion on this little stroll. He managed to stay toward the middle of the group; near enough to the front to keep an eye on the 'prize' as it were, but far enough behind so as to be able to turn and run the other way in case of danger.

"I know he's a stringy old monkey but..." his stomach grumbled as he trotted along, "can't we just take a bite or two? It's not my prime choice for last meal, mind you, but I don't like facing inevitable peril on an empty stomach."

He made a frowny-maw.

Haki was moderately slow to react to the monkey's fleeing. He was to consumed in fear to pay heed to what was happening in reality. Arguing with himself as to turn around and try and leave the forest or keep exploring with the group... However, after about half the grouping dashed away, Haki relized he was being left behind. "W-wait up!" he called and applied a heavty burst of speed to attempt and catch up to his travelling buddies.

It had become very clear very quickly that Jifumba could never be centre of attention in a group this big. He had attempted to start one of his little games, and it had failed miserably. As a result, the dark grey leopard had returned to the shadows of the canopy, so as to watch everything without anyone else obstructing his sight.

He was careful to keep himself well hidden when they reached the leopard troupe. He didn't see what the big appeal was of living in groups, and so at that point he preferred to keep himself hidden. A low chuckle emanated from the darkness, accompanied by his seemingly endless grin. The antics of the unstable old monkey amused him greatly.

When the monkey took off, he couldn't help but give chase. Although he was surprisingly agile for his chubby frame, he struggled to keep up with...pretty much the entire group. After all, he was travelling through the trees instead of across the ground. Still, it was all in good fun. He couldn't not follow, as he was far too curious to see how everything was going to play out.

With the old monkey stopping, Veru finally caught up to the forerunners of the group. He could be fleet-footed on desert terrain, but this woodland ground was rough on unexperienced paws. At this rate, he was going to be nursing rope burns from vines for the next month! Not to mention whatever caustic substance was in that red goo that still marred his [admittedly fabulous] face.

"Now where did that addled little fellow go?" the white lion mused. They were in a thicket, although you could hardly tell with the great trees stretching out their branches. Veru treaded lightly, remembering the monkey's ominous warning before the chase had begun. So this was the bad place, huh? It didn't look so bad.

At least, not at first.

As the others slowly fanned out to look for the old fellow, Veru moved through the thicket and over a fallen log. It was only then that he could appreciate Ngdere's epitaph. "Over here," he signaled the group.

Past that log and down a grassy slope was a bizarre sight. Several large, giant trees had been knocked to the earth, the trunks splintered into jagged spears. On what trees that hadn't been topped, deep gashes had been dragged into the bleeding bark. The ground was torn up until it was mostly raw soil and stone. The old monkey must have been here at some point, because many of the slashes had been painted in or obscured with red paint.

It wasn't the scene of an attack. This was the scene of rage.

arrow Maybe something around here can tell us what made the monster so mad?

As you search, roll a dice 1-10

1. A broken branch flung against a stone.
2. A bone buried in the disturbed earth.
3. Some of the old monkey's writing. You can't read it, but it seems elaborate.
4. A stone split in two.
5. Nothing of note. Well, other than all the trees all over.
6. A snake slithering by! Better leave him alone.
7. A hidden hole in one of the still standing trees. It looks like something is inside!
8. At first it looks like some of the spilled red paint. Then you realize its actually blood!
9. Nothing of note. Well, other than all the trees all over.
10. A bird nest that fell out of one of the trees. All the eggs are smashed, but it looks like it was deliberate.

Jahina stared in shock at the scene before them. She wasn't sure where to even BEGIN... She swallowed, then stepped carefully across the invisible line into the carnage. Everything was so... Horrible looking! She swore there was silence all around them, but she wasn't sure. Maybe she was just tuning the birds out... Or maybe they were actually gone from the area, afraid to touch this place that seemed so dark and ANGRY. The orange cream lioness picked a spot, beginning to search as the wing-marked red lion went to another area. She suddenly let out a horrified cry, reeling back. "BLOOD!"

Moshi had started to look, only to get distracted by the cream orange lioness's cry of blood. Okay, that was... Creepy. He went over, ears dropping as he stared at it. "Yeah, that's... Kinda creepy..." He then looked over, noting that someone else had found something a bit more interesting and less disturbing. He abandoned the blood to go over. "What'd you find?"

Tahir broke away from the black lioness when the group slowed. He kept his ears on both Rimma and Mura as he loped into the thicket. He was uninterested in finding the monkey now that they’d reached ‘the bad place.’ His nerves were hyper aware and his fur pinioned across his body. It smelled like anger and pain here. The fallen trees fare have Tahir the shakes.

“What creature is so powerful to do this?” He’d only ever seen elephants known down full grown trees. Certainly and elephant couldn’t get so deep into the jungle? And no elephant had claws to make scratch marks.

Something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. Some unusual writing. He slunk toward it, head low. The words were ineligible to him, no matter how much he cocked and turned his head to read them. Monkey script.

Tahir glanced back at the group and barked,” Where’s that monkey gone? I’ve found some writing.”

The writing that the coward dog had found interested Sandor, but he was not really the literary type and would not have been able to read it even if it had been sensical, and so he did not linger over trying to make anything out of it. He would leave that to people who actually stood a chance of learning from it.

Of more interest to him was the bloody find one of the others had made. It was definitely blood, and not more of the acerbic red s**t, so that was good. He guessed. Though maybe the red s**t might have been useful to them in tracking the killer. He wasn't ruling it out as a possibility.

His own searches did not turn up anything out of the ordinary, which was frustrating, but with everyone around him stomping everywhere before he'd even arrived it wasn't a surprise either. He was really much more of a solo tracker, given his druthers. In the future he would remember this hunt and use it to remind himself of why he did not work with other Jedi.