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LuLu looked just as startled as the boa as she her large, demur eyes peeked from behind her fingers, fearful of rebuke. She jumped slightly at David's voice. His voice paused and shook just enough to betray some amount of anger. The rabbit's ears dipped down pitifully as a visual clue of her own guilt. Luka's scolding only served to solidify the already clear message. "I will be more careful." Her hands twisted at the hem of her jacket and that is where they stayed as the group continued to venture deeper into the jungle. LuLu's gaze feigned back. She was a bit shocked to notice that the entrance to the jungle was no longer visible due to the length of ground they had already covered.

As David continued walking, a bit a ways from Luka and Prajna’s mini-team, he took a moment to turn to Lulu, to make sure she was keeping up (how the Raevans paced themselves without feet was still something David was questioning and constantly adjusting to). When he turned around, the map in his right hand, he saw the shamed expression on the rabbit’s face and felt his own pang of guilt. Having an affinity towards both animals and females, David let out a soft sigh and extended his left hand to the Sigel, “Here Lulu. Let me hold your hand.”

He smiled, waving his map for emphasis, “We don’t want to get separated now would we? Luka was right, there are things out here like wolves and bears that would love to chew on—“Before David finished with “a cute bunny girl like yourself”, he reconsidered his words. Perhaps it wasn’t best to continue to scare Lulu into cooperation. He felt bad for having scolded her so early into the mission and she genuinely did appear guilty for her novice mistake. David rephrased, “I meant to say, there’s a bunch of stuff out here and I’m not like you guys with your powers. I’m just a regular guy. So could you please take my hand? For my sake?”

When Luka reassured Prajna that he would hold onto the flashlight, at first, Prajna felt a bit insulted that that Satyr did not want the Star’s assistance. But Prajna was in no mood to argue and so, the feeling of irritation quickly passed. Prajna even nodded quietly at Luka’s statements; it seemed as if Luka had some knowledge about roughing it. As the Star continued onward, using its elbows to push itself forward amongst the thickening brush, it wondered if Luka had been watching more documentaries like the Star had or if he had actually gone exploring. Again, though, it was a fleeting thought.

Prajna made sure to keep its gaze focused on the ground, its blue eyes darting from each branch to root to dusty pile of leaves. It had considered how easily its ribbon had gotten caught. Perhaps Dr. Kyou’s clothing had caught on some bushes too? Maybe the man dropped something as a sign for people searching for him? Prajna could only wonder, not even knowing what the man was wearing at the time of his disappearance. Its thoughts wandered about movie references such as Hansel & Gretel and television shows such as Blues’ Clues. Would they get any kind of hint or were they going to have to wander for days?

Ah.

Prajna stopped, cursing quietly as a low hanging branch scratched its cheek a bit. It turned to Luka, noting how distant David and Lulu had become now.

“Luka. Prajna sees a path” The Star pointed to a worn dirt path trailing to the left. It was nothing obvious but having focused so intently on the ground, Prajna had started to recognize the signs: broken branches, padded down dirt, what looked like makeshift rock steps. The Star wondered though, if the doctor had seen this path, would he have followed it too? Or …

For a moment, Prajna looked away from its lighter counterpart towards the darkening heart of the jungle. Or would the man have made his own path?

LuLu looked to David's hand with a quirk of her brow. So he was scared already? Had it been the snake?! LuLu felt embarrassed heat rising to her cheeks. If that was the case the girl could not help but humor the human. It would give David peace of mind and she felt responsible anyway. Her fingers laced with his. "Do not worry. We will keep each other safe."

David and LuLu were not as fortunate in their travels. Perhaps if the humidity had not covered the air in a muggy blanket the rabbit could have picked up on the human scent collected on the paths from countless uses. However, the pungent aroma of moist earth overwhelmed everything else. The path was walked by without a second glance.

As they moved deeper, the forest grew denser. The tightly grouped plants funneled the two closer. Eventually, LuLu's shoulder bumped into David. She looked up to the human and gave silent sorry before she tried to spread out again. Yet, that was more easily said than done. Each step was a struggle. The thick foliage seemed like a strong current they had to fight against to move forward. Would they end up drowning is this green sea?

Prajna thought for a moment, considering the options and what the doctor would have done himself. Seeing as he had supposedly listened to the townspeople before, perhaps following the path wasn’t a bad idea? Prajna turned to Luka and nodded, pushing a brush aside to make room for the Satyr, “Go down the path. Doctor may have gone down it too. So maybe…soon.”

The redhead looked over and only saw the briefest hint of David’s beige thermal and Lulu’s ears. There were so many vines and low hanging branches blocking the sky and the few feet in front of the Star’s own face, keeping track of the others was becoming tedious and nearly impossible. Oh well. David did not appear to be a complete moron and Lulu? While Prajna resented her for growing before it did, it did hope that perhaps the rabbit had gained a bit more insight since they last met. As it moved amongst the brush, following the abandoned path, Prajna asked solemnly, the seriousness of the situation finally sinking in, “Luka… Should I have a flashlight ready too? I mean… one of my own?”

Prajna patted its cross body bag, hinting that it had extras to use.

Meanwhile, David realized that he too had supplies he could use. As the humidity increased the deeper they trekked into the forest, David realized it was becoming difficult to progress. But with a small clearing up ahead, David turned to Lulu, releasing her hand, “Hold on. I think I know what we can use here.”

Digging around his backpack, he withdrew one of the hunting knives Jeremy had supplied. Back at camp, Prajna had seemingly neglected to take it, either intimidated by the weapon or indifferent to its potential, and so David had snatched the tool up instead. After taking out the knife, David smirked and immediately began clearing the way for Lulu and himself. The man couldn’t help but let out an “Aha!” as he sliced easily through a small bush, feeling quite empowered he had to admit. It had been so long since he had done anything remotely this raw and maculating. That’s when he heard it. A rustle. A noise. He paused, signaling Lulu to be cautious with his open palm.

“Do you hear something?” came his low whisper.

LuLu watched David intently and followed his lead. She procured her own hunting knife and began to hack away at the shorter bushes obscuring their path, careful of snakes this time. It actually looked a bit silly seeing such a seemingly timid sigel clearing forest with brute force. However, the rabbit slowly slipped into the repetitive swing to the point a primal rhythm was almost natural on her. It looked like a dance the way her pigtails swung and the feathers in her hair caught the soft breeze she created with her fluid movements.

LuLu had picked up on the sound the same time as David. She did not need to be told twice to settle down. The girl stilled, her eyes narrowed, and both ears flicked as they sought out another clue. A second rustle was all it took for the rabbit's arm to snap upward and hang with a dead weight in the air. Her finger was directed at the clearing. "It came from over there." She would need another clue before she could gauge distance.

She looked up to David. "It might be Dr. Kyou." Saying that should have been relieving. After all, finding the doctor was the sole reason they were here. However, the statement just left her feeling more unsettled. "Or..." It was still uncertain why the other man had gone missing. If this was not Dr. Kyou there was a good chance it was something they did not want to find. LuLu's instincts were telling her to draw back, run. Her left hand was poised in tense talons. The hunting knife was held in a white knuckled grip to her right. She whispered to David, "What should we do?"

Prajna was a bit irked at Luka’s sudden intimacy, its rune glowing a bit hungrily as the Satyr closed in, but the Star quickly chalked its irritation up to the humidity and overall tension. But what was this? Being followed? Prajna had to confess: it was more excited than scared. As it hastily reached into its leather bag and pulled out a flashlight, the Star tried to get a better sense of its surroundings. Lacking an animal advantage such as Lulu’s sensitive hearing and Rivener’s natural venom, Prajna wondered if it would be able to “feel” something, as Luka stated. But just as it turned to respond, it did feel… something.

Shrugging, as if to physically shake the suspicious feeling away, Prajna waited another moment to make sure the aura was gone. But. It came back.

“THREE!” Prajna screamed suddenly, grabbing Luka’s hand and flying as fast as it could down the path! The Star’s mind was racing, though the previous thrill had definitely been replaced with sheer horror. Prajna could not pinpoint whether the feeling was like that of a ghostly hand or a pair of focused eyes, if the presence was malicious or simply curious but… it was not going to stick around to find out.

Just as Lulu testified to the noise’s whereabouts, David looked over to catch the bush’s quivering in action. The man felt every one of his muscles tense. The stress was building up in his temples as he crept very quietly, attempting to smother the sounds of his own breath. He looked over and met Lulu’s purple orbs just once before returning to glance over the nearby forestry. His stormy gaze stopped when he found a thin but lengthy branch hanging just above his head. As silently as he could, the older Nao took the serrated edge of his knife and began sawing away. The branch fell soundlessly into the man’s welcoming palm, though by now the rustling had stopped.

Then David turned back to Lulu and made a clicking motion with his thumb. He tried his best to mouth the word "flashlight" a few times, without making himself look like a complete fool. Surely a Sigel would understand what the man was trying to do... right? Whatever was hiding, he wanted a good look at it. …or did he? Extra light never hurt anybody. Then…

David proceeded to beat the living s**t out of the bush with the branch, maintaining his distance the entire time while also hoping the commotion either scared whatever was hiding away or out into the open. His heart could only take so much!

LuLu's eyes grew wide as the sound of rustling escalated into a full on shaking bush, like a warning becoming a real threat. Upon further examination, there was no way this sound could come from Dr. Kyou. Did they really want to investigate more? The rabbit watched in silent horror, too afraid to make noise and attract attention to herself, as the human moved towards the possessed shrub.

Suddenly, he looked back with her. Their eyes locked, stormy grey and glistening amethyst. She quirked her head as his lips moved awkwardly in a command. Fishlick? Flacklat? Flachlot? The motions of David's mouth finally clicked in her head. Flashlight! The girl slipped her hunting knife into a pocket on her bag and pulled out her flashlight in its place. She clicked a black switch on the silver cylinder and aimed the beam of light directly at the bush.

She practically jumped out of her skin as David proceeded to attack the foliage. The girl waved one of her hands in the air and glared at the man. Her expression could be summed up as "What the hell are you doing?"