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Iorek was relieved to see Anya and Zeke when he and Cesc returned to camp. They had made it through the attack without much damage sustained and although their tent had met a gruesome fate, everyone was alive and partially well.

"Zeke." He smiled at the man just as he and Cesc were tugged into a happy embrace. After undergoing such pain the human had remarkably made a fast recovery. It was so good to see him like this instead of puking his guts out while he squirmed in the dirt.

"I'm so glad you're all right." The raevan reached a hand out and rested it on the man's shoulder, giving it a squeeze.

"I um...got a little sidetracked. Don't worry, nothing too bad, just ready to take a nap." He laughed as if he hadn't almost died. The gargoyle hated to lie to the kind man but he just didn't want to recall what had happened just yet. While he had survived, the memories of his kidnapping and drowning were to be his own battle. There was too much to worry about already so why should he add even more kindle to a fire right after it demolished their camp?

They had to focus on getting out of this spot and finding Kyou with as little injury to their crew as possible.

Reks followed after Cesc as he moved to check on what remained from the fire. It looked like half of the bags were nicely toasted. Their poor sleeping bags had gone through the most trauma. A disappointed sigh came from Reks at this sight, smoke still rising from it, and knew that he would not be having a comfy snooze.

Coming upon his own backpack Iorek opened it up and looked over the contents. Everything smelled like smoke so much so it made his eyes water. He pawed at the bag not only feeling for what was still in it but also hoping for a bit of warmth to have clung onto the fabric. Nope. Nothing that could heat him even for a few minutes.

Dejected Iorek slung it over his shoulders and picked up Anya and Zeke's "Here," He handed them their bags for them to check over for themselves. Even if they were in a scary jungle filled with death traps everyone still needed some sort of privacy.

"I guess if anyone is missing anything we'll just pool stuff together. We'll be okay."
As much as Reks wanted to sleep it was best for them to get out of their current surroundings and on a new path towards a (hopefully) safer area.

Why couldn't Kyou have gotten lost somewhere not as expansive and filled with frightening things? Like a mall, or a library, or even a laundromat. No one drowns shopping, reading, or doing laundry! Nor is there a crazy hunter shooting burning arrows.

Zeke relaxed when the two Frei spoke. They were unharmed, it seemed, just a little dirty and wet respectively. The vet let Cesc pass on by without a word, focusing on the damper of the two males. When Iorek spoke of seeing the raver all right, Zeke smiled to hide the feeling he was truly fighting. Jogging across the field had been fine up until he had come to a stop. Now his stomach flopped and sloshed sickly and Zeke curled the fingers of his left hand into a fist to prevent himself from gripping the spot that bothered him so. Not only that, but everything still seared where the habanero had graced him. Mouth, nose, eyes, hands...There wasn't much he could do but grin and bear it even though knowing he had swallowed some of the gunk already had him dreading the next time nature called.

"Glad to see you're all right too, Iorek." Iorek's words about getting sidetracked were obviously a cover to hide something more, but even though he was curiously concerned, the vet knew better than to pry. With a nod and extension of one arm, Zeke let Iorek lead the way back to the charred tent - taking up the rear both to save himself another round of nausea but also to hawk one into the grass in a meager attempt to clear the taste from his mouth. How he wished he had breath mints right now.

Anya turned when Cesc came up to her and she didn't even attempt to hide the frown that crossed her face, as well as the narrowing of her purple eyes.

"You shouldn't have run off like that," she left her words regarding the topic of him running off there, but nodded her head in agreement. She shared his tired sentiments fully. "That thing is still out there." They would be far better off when they were as far away from this place as possible. It wasn't preferable to leave in the middle of the night but with circumstances being as they were her vote was clear.

Zeke and Iorek returned to the campsite. Zeke went to his knees to help with the unveiling of their items, hissing through his teeth at the sight of his and Anya's sleeping bags. Perhaps it had been a good thing he had run towards Iorek in his half-asleep daze.

"Thanks, Iorek." Zeke's brow furrowed as he took his offered bag, then handed Anya's over to her.

The spider queen's frown deepened and she lowered herself to look over the contents. Luckily for her, it had been Zeke's bag that had taken the brunt of the flames, though her own bag was now more along the lines of a clutch and still sooty. The Frei had to stop at one point and wipe her fingers on the grass, but with her skin being her skin, it was only a top layer that wiped away on the green blades. The blackness that lingered caused her to bite her bottom lip in dismay but also brought her eyes to the orange-red stain she had first been given. It still stung, though the adrenaline that coursed through her dulled it just a bit. She was grateful for it.

"I think I'm gonna have to ask for a few favors," Zeke said after a few moments, looking at his group with a mixed expression of displeasure and sheepishness. "Most of my stuff is cooked." Changes of clothes, food, his spare canteens, and other supplies had been separated into piles. What could be saved was off to the vet's left. What had to go was to his right and much, much larger a heap. With a sigh the vet rubbed his temples, idly wondering if the forest was going to send someone to kick him in the nads just to add a cherry to the top of the sundae of awfulness this expedition had become. He was feeling so tired now; he just wanted to curl up and sleep and sleep and sleep but knew he had to keep awake and keep up with his role as leader. It would be hard, but he had to do it. Once he had what he could save settled - pulling a few things out of the right pile upon a second inspection - Zeke stood again, albeit slowly.

"If anyone wouldn't mind carrying my stuff, I'll share pack carrying duty." He offered a smile to the three Raevans but was speaking to Cesc and Iorek in particular there. "But I think once we're all set here, we should leave the burnt stuff in a pile and move out. It's late, but if we follow the river into the jungle, we'll at least have access to water and we might be able to find Kyou." They could come back for the litter once they found the warlock. Dr. Kyou would at least know to stay close to a water source so that was a good plan in Zeke's head. Even if getting a fire going was near impossible, they could at least try and boil some of the river water. Zeke's small pan had been blackened but not melted down. Water wouldn't be such an issue for him that way. Food would be more tricky, but jungles were cradles for life. Fruit would be plentiful and easy to carry about to boot.

"I'm ready now." Anastacia gripped her new clutch gingerly, still opposed to getting any dirtier than she already was. She cast her gaze to the two other Frei, looking for a matching response. She was so very ready to leave; but did not take point when they set out. Instead Anya remained behind the leader, wary and now watching everything as it came into view, at least until the rustling sounded out. Once more the spider queen jumped in alarm and pivoted toward the sound's origin, but instead of backing off, her exhaustion burned into a brief flash of anger and she moved forward from the group.

"I'm sick of this!"

Bushes rustling, stinging liquid flying, fire arrow shooting things in the dark...How had she let herself be wrangled onto this? Why had she come? It was late, she was overtired and hurt and most of all she was done, so done, and with that notion the Virus lowered herself to the dewy ground and flipped her wings over her shoulders once again.

"Zeke if you move I'll..." She bit her lip and focused hard on the bushes in the haze beyond. Violent threats were also unbecoming of a lady, even in a situation such as this.

"What?" The vet looked more than confused; he did not know this trick of hers though he had been a part of it many a time at home.

"Just shut up, Zeke." She cast her wings out instead of bringing them into her body like a crossed shield and rested the points upon the ground. Inhaling deeply to stem her own shaking, Anastacia closed her eyes and unfocused her arachnid quartet. Slowly the saber-like tips were raised an inch off the ground, and then thrust down again.

In the blackness that closed eyes provided, Anya watched white rings ripple outward toward the source of the intrusion and light up everything in their path. A step, a press of a hand against the ground, another shake of the bush - any movement from beyond and it wouldn't be long before she "saw" what crept behind the undergrowth.

"Nah, I don't mind. Like Cesc said, we just need you to feel better and that's that." Iorek smiled and picked up the remainder of Zeke's things. Nope, not heavy at all. For a moment Reks thought that to be a win not to be dragged down by luggage, but then that meant poor Zeke had lost a good chunk of his things. Poor guy just couldn't catch a break.

Before they headed out, Cesc was kind enough to hand the gargoyle a pretty little stone. "Oh! Thanks, Cesc." What a thoughtful guy.

Iorek fell quiet as he ran his fingers across the rock's smooth texture. For a brief second the surface put him at ease. It reminded him of the rocks back at home, far away from any murderous hunters and lurking danger.

Not about to let the kind gesture and yummy piece of earth go to waste Iorek quickly popped it into his mouth. His strong teeth crunched the rocky candy as easy as someone munching on an apple.

His body felt a jolt of energy as the food source coursed through his system. Much better. He already felt more awake and ready to continue.

But their ragtag bunch didn't get far before the sound he now related to danger was back. Everyone was suddenly on edge, especially Anya who he had to admit looked pretty frightening herself in such a stance.

Quickly Iorek took a defensive position beside the arachnid as Cesc moved to float beside Zeke. This time he thought better of rushing out to play protector. It was best to stay with the group and keep them safe in a bunch. Plus it made it much more difficult for him to be separated like last time.

Cesc had shown him not too long ago, in all his golden glory, that he wasn't to be messed with. In the stance she was in, Reks knew Anya meant business and he'd hate to be the thing her anger was directed at. And Zeke, well, he could probably handle himself even in a weakened state but it was best to keep an extra close eye on him if things got messy.

Iorek breathed heavily and clenched his fists. Right now he had to stay alert and maintain a calm state of mind. Even if the other side, the twisted beast that lurked within him, begged to charge ahead and rip whatever lied in bushes to shreds. It ached for revenge, justice, and blood but Iorek wasn't about to let it run free.

Reks remained floating beside his team. They were his main concern right now. He had charged foolishly into the enemy's hand last time. Now he had to try and play it smart. If Shep could see him now, the raevan hoped his friend would admire the strong goalie stance he took. All that training had to be put to use at some point, right? Whatever was lurking in that bush would have a hard time getting past him now(he hoped).

The ripples hit the bush and reverberated back towards their source, but the picture that the spider queen saw wasn't as she had hoped. She figured she would have seen a crisp, clear outline, but the creature was too close to the bush it hid in. The outline of it and its hiding spot blended together and she frowned as she reopened her eyes.

"It's small." Not the hunter, thank whatever power that be, but it was still something. At least it seemed like it wouldn't be a challenge.

Not yet throwing caution to the wind, the spider queen remained in her position, watching the bushes as they rustled again. Knowing that something was in there made the sound almost agonizing and the Virus felt as though a mild shock went up her partial spine as she waited for the thing to reveal itself. A few moments passed, which were slow and deafening as Anastacia became acutely aware of her heartbeat in her ears.

When the opossum broke through, the spider queen's crown widened in alarm. Then the cruel-looking appendages curled in on each other as Anya gripped the bag she held so tight that her knuckles went temporarily white. That agonizing feeling of waiting quickly drained from her form only to be replaced by another flash of anger. With a flip of her long wings she was in the air and hissing under her breath.

From behind Zeke gave a startled laugh, however the sound was most unlike his normal laughter. Strained and threaded with nerves for expecting the worst even from something small, the sound that echoed from his pierced still-burning lips was a little high and a tad too short for the man...and he knew it. Quickly Zeke pressed a fist to his mouth to stifle the sound although the action was too delayed for that. Around his fist the vet smiled sheepishly as he looked at the Frei who he had been given charge of.

"A possum," he said intelligently, dropping the hand then to continue to weakly grin, "nothing to worry about there." Except rabies, but that wasn't looking like a possibility since the creature had turned tail and ran.

Anastacia wasn't as impressed.

"Stupid animal." She snapped her wings shut with a huff. How dare it pull such a nasty trick after what they had been through. Despite the sentiment, Anya did feel relief. Just an oversized rat; nothing less and most happily nothing more than that. They could move on without much more dread.

"Yeah, stupid animal." The vet's smile took on a few touches of its normal brightness even as Zeke quickly stifled a sickly hiccup. His stomach sloshed a bit as a side effect of that gripping sensation that had held it, but Zeke considered himself blessed that nothing came up besides that little burp. Dropping his hand again, Zeke looked to his group and gestured to the stream before them.

"C'mon, let's get going. The sooner we get outta here, the better." And the sooner he could dunk his night clothes into that stream, it was just as well.

A little possum. What had emerged from the trembling bushes, something they assumed was so dangerous it launched all of them onto high alert, was a fuzzy little critter that Iorek wanted to pet and name 'George' rather than tear a part.

Whelp. That was anti-climatic.

As it scampered back into the brush Iorek doubled over in a fit of giggles. He was so relieved! Oh thank goodness.

"So much for that, huh guys? We must be quite the sight for that little thing to run away so fast."

He contained his chuckle and fell back into the group.

When they reached their new campsite Iorek did a few inspections of the area. Nothing was creeping, lurking, or stalking them this time. At least he didn't find anything crouched in any of the nearby bushes when he searched each and every one.

For the time being the team had found a safe haven.

The gargoyle did his best to stay awake and on guard as they settled in once more for the night, but spying Cesc sleeping in the tree caused a series of yawns to bubble up and out. His body ached and the longer he stayed stationary the more he wanted to 'rest' his eyes.

So the raevan got up and moving. He paced about their meager campsite like a junkyard guard dog. But it didn't last. Exhaustion guided him as he circled a small patch of land and after a few turns, prepped the ground with a few slams of his fist, and proceeded to collapse in a heap. The need for sleep had finally pounded him into submission and he couldn't resist.

When they found a new and relatively safe looking location to make their new camp, both Anastacia and Zeke felt relief despite their respective pains. All the same, the sensation was not something either of them let themselves succumb to fully. For all they knew, the thing that had attacked them was still out there and relaxing too quickly would be their undoing.

Zeke did his part to help get the new campsite up and running. With no tent and two sleeping bags short, it wasn't much of a campsite, but he told himself it did the trick. In this instance they didn't need all the bells and whistles like before, just some place for them to lay their heads until daylight which had to be a few hours out now. Volunteering for first watch - Anya, Cesc, and Iorek needed sleep far more than he did in his mind - the vet 'borrowed' Iorek's pack and after putting it on sat down against the trunk of the nearest tree. The backpack offered a little cushion and moss beneath his butt was a pleasant plus which together ended up being the vet's undoing. Try as he might, he too finally closed his eyes "for just a minute" and drifted off...though his sleep wasn't as easy as he would have liked in the end.

While Zeke helped set their temporary area, Anastacia did much like Iorek would soon do and that was survey their immediate area. She had never been a stranger to caution and with everything that had happened she was on the highest of alerts. Her flashlight had only been partially melted and still worked - if not shoddily now - and with that in hand she passed the beam over every tree, bush, and patch of tall grass she came across although she never strayed too far from the quiet glade's center where her Guardian and the two Frei worked.

Once that site was set up and Zeke called her over, Anastacia moved away from her respective area slowly and made a few cursory glances back over her shoulder. She scowled at the human and told him to keep his voice down when she passed him, taking up the offered sleeping bag that had been left out with a nod and quiet "thank you" to the Stag who provided it.

Like the rest of her team, Anastacia stayed up even after settling down, staring almost sightlessly at the canopy above her and the sky that that peeked through where it could. The events of the night replayed over and over in her head and while she tried to ignore it, the stained places on her body continued to burn slowly into her skin. She rubbed her arm every so often and turned from laying flat on her back to lying on her unharmed side. Quickly she came to consider that she would never sleep again at this rate, especially as every sound the jungle around her made seemed to be right against her tapered ears. Iorek's thud as the rocky behemoth made his nest made her heart leap into her throat and for once in her life the spider queen cowered, squishing herself down into the folds of the sleeping bag far enough so that her spider eyes were the only set looking out into the darkness.

When she realized who had made the ruckus the scowl returned and so did the whole of the Virus' face so that she might better throw a glare at the Gargoyle's curled up back.

Just him.

But with that came a peace of mind and with peace of mind came the edgings of sleep. Try as she might to fight it Anastacia did finally succumb; waking up the next day to sunlight and tweeting birds. Realizing she had fallen asleep the spider queen sat up sharply, looking around as though something could have happened while she slumbered. Cesc was a pink spot in a tree, Iorek was more boulder than Raevan, and Zeke was rubbing his eyes and looking around blearily - probably looking for the cup of coffee he knew he so dearly wanted. She had survived the night and - blessedly - with nary a nightmare to be recalled right then.

Iorek slept like a rock. During the night, the exhausted gargoyle didn't make a sound or even move. He was out cold after the long and quite frightening excursion. The raevan had become a lump in his makeshift nest. It was only until daybreak tickled at his eyes that he began to move.

But even then he was sluggish, tossing and turning a few good minutes before wearily opening his eyes. Quietly, Iorek just stared up at the sky, seeming to need a few moments to realize exactly where he was.

Then, as realization struck, the raevan leapt up in great surprise. Hurriedly his eyes darted all about for any signs of danger. The remainder of their night had been peaceful. Too peaceful. Had they fallen into a trap? Were they dragged off by the predator and simply in a queue to be eaten?

His panic fell when he realized that they were in the same spot with no injuries or trauma. They had remained safe throughout the whole night.

Although danger still lurked in the day, he wouldn't stop believing that, the scenery looked so much cheerier with the sun shining through the trees.

Slowly he settled back onto the ground and looked about at each team member. Cesc was positively glowing, Zeke resembled a non-caffeniated Lillian, and Anya just didn't look happy. But he was coming to terms with the fact that she really never did.

"Mmm morning everyone." With nothing to fear for the time being Reks took this precious shred of time to rub the sleep from his eyes and stretch the few limbs he had.

Course the phrase of 'good news' caused a jolt to shoot down his spine.

"Another tent? Really?"

He was torn between joy and fear at this news. On one hand it could be Dr. Kyou or another team they could join up with and on the other it could be just another trap. After the last incident he was much more wary of what could be lurking in the jungle. But someone in need could be in that tent and they couldn't just turn their backs. At least Iorek knew he couldn't.

"It could be the doctor. We should go check it out but, um, cautiously."