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Orion glanced around, his red eyes searching the hollow while he struggled to get whiff of the offending scent, but not able to. He shifted his feet uncomfortably. "I wish that could be so," he said to Fair. "Wouldn't have to worry about wet sentinels!" Despite looking worried, he tried to remain calm, perhaps it was nothing?

Tune woke from her nap, the slight rise in activity making her stir, not to mention the swiveling of Orion's haed. She glanced around the group quietly.

Orion looked towards Hazel, waiting to see what the martes would say, or where the scent was coming from.

Forgetting his irritation with Scamp, Hazel nodded, bounding lightly over to the pile of debris settling in the back of the hollow. He inhaled to be sure, then immediately choked and stumbled backwards. Yes, the scent was rather pungent there, even overpowering, to his sensitive nose. His Martes-senses tingling, or rather, his sensory organs, informed him that no Mus could make such a stink. It was true; he’d never smelt this particular odor before; it was…stronger…bigger…

In fact, Hazel was, for once, hesitant to find out it what was exactly. Still, his unbearable curiosity soon changed his mind. “Under.” he said, flicking his still-stiff tail at the pile. “Dead-stink.”

Raine shivered. 'Dead-stink' could only mean one thing. Something was buried underneath the mess. Something rotting. Something dead. With much apprehension, the Ranger approached the back of the hollow. Better to find out what it was, but more importantly, know what had killed it. She glanced back at the two other Sentinels, suddenly almost feeling glad that they were there, before tentatively reaching out with her Will. She lifted a large pile of debris upwards. Suspending it in the air, Raine looked back, Sure, she was strong, but there was no way that she'd be able to do this all by herself.

Feathers. There were feathers. Light ones, contrasting with the darkness of the surrounding debris.

Raine couldn’t help but inhale sharply at the revelation. Her mind was preoccupied with churning out possibilities; repressing her fear suddenly seemed trivial compared to what she was seeing.

The bird that had once owned the scattered pinions must have been of a fair size…large enough to open up the possibility of the corpse being a Sentinel, though a small one at that. Regardless, the size of the feathers indicated that whatever had died would not have gone without a fuss. The unnerved Ranger’s feathers ruffled, tingling with unease. She did not want to encounter whatever had been able to kill a bird of that size, as there was a slight chance that it would be capable of killing her, too. Regardless of her self-punishment, Raine was not as strong on the inside as her steely appearance made her out to be. She was just an ex-Minder, toughened up by the horrors of life. Raine did not want to die.

Luckily, it seemed like the creature had been dead for some time. Hazel would have warned her had it been too close for relative comfort. If the killer had been a beast, it would likely have been long-gone in search of other victims. If it was a disease…well…if it was, she’d have to –gulp- …trust the Medic to know her afflictions. They wouldn't be able to say for sure until they exhumed the body.

Raine edged closer to the pile, pausing to signal her companion to remain out of this. "So...who wants to dig it out?"

Hazel shook his head franticly. He was curious for sure, definitely daring, but not...not stupid (usually). He'd leave the excavation to the 'Sentials', the Will-holders. Recieving a sharp, flickering glance from his master, the Martes backed away, retreating to accompany Scamp. In the excitement, he had seemingly forgotten his plans against the rogue Skurri.

As more of the debris is moved aside the remains of a dead and partly decomposed Sentinel is uncovered. From the size of the corpse this was quite a young Sentinel, not much more than a hatchling. Or, upon further examination, it could be a unnaturally small fledgling. There’s something unnatural and disturbing about its appearance, however, and not only due to the sorry state of the corpse.

It has the coloration of a light Wildtype, but the face is flat, distorted and the head is oddly misshapen. It almost looks like that flat-faced Spectre, only with proper Sentinel feathers. The cause of death is impossible to determine, as it appears that the freak of nature has been hidden away inside this old hollow for quite some time.

As if to underscore the horror of the moment, there's a sudden, distant peal of thunder that just keeps rolling on and on and on, as if somewhere out there, the rain has momentarily been replaced by lightning strikes. It seemed to come from the direction of the Deep Woods...