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Inle snorted disdainfully at the question, none-too-gently nudging Paur's shoulder with her free hand. "Tell her." At the boy's hesitation, she nudged him harder. "You were so eager and happy to tell me earlier. Tell her now, Paur."

The boy's wings seemed to droop hopelessly as it became apparent that no one was going to help him. "I put Marli in a jar and stuck her in a tree in the forest," he whispered at the ground, his hair hanging down to partially obscure his face. He didn't see the look Luc shot at him, but he glanced at Nyxa as she spoke. He looked as if he might reply before seeming to think better of it.

"I don't think he'll be friends with anybody ever, at this rate," Inle said as she walked after Nyxa and Luc, making sure to keep Paur in front of her.

Paur cringed inwardly, but nodded as if in understanding. As he entered the woods, he raised his head a bit, halfheartedly joining in the search. As much as he hated the little gryphon, he knew his life, or at least his wings, would be forfeit if they didn't find her.

Inle dropped her cigarette, crushing it out with the toe of her boot before she too entered the woods. "If something happens to Luc on top of what's already happened to Marli, there won't be enough of him left to get it from you, sweetie. Thanks for the offer, though."

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Marli, meanwhile, was much too far away to hear her friend's call. She limped awkwardly, not knowing where she was going; in reality, she was closer to the settlement than she thought she was, but still nowhere near the searching quartet.

"Marli!" Inle's voice echoed Nyxa's as she searched high and low for the little gryphon. Woods such as these were full of potential hiding places, and she checked as many as she could before moving from one spot to the next. Her usual pessimism was starting to kick into overdrive, and each passing moment made her more and more sure that they would never find such a small creature.

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While the others were searching for Marli, another creature had already found her, and was stalking the gryphon as she tromped unawares through the brush. A small fox, not yet an adult but much too old to be a cub, was padding silently a few dozen paces away from her, waiting for the right moment to make his move.

Paur was trudging listlessly through the forest, not really paying attention to where he was going. He too was feeling pessimistic about the whole thing, but for entirely different reasons. As time passed, he wondered how far he would get if he just tried running away, immediately discounting that plan as he realized that he had no way to get off the island.

"Marli! Come on out, little one, no one's going to hurt you!" Inle tried calling out in Lapine. While she knew Marli wouldn't understand the words, the recollection of Marli's inquisitive stare whenever she spoke in the foreign tongue soothed her a bit.

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Marli stopped dead at the sight and sound of the Luc-wisp, her eyes widening in fear of this unknown thing. She watched him float overhead and past her, her eyes tracking him before coming to rest upon the fox. Her purring chirp was still hoarse from days before, but loud enough to hold an obvious tone of fear. Heedless of her injuries, she turned and ran, not caring as they opened up from her exertion.

Marli? Someone found Marli? The dark mood that had overtaken Paur lifted a bit at the realization that he got to live another day, and with full use of his nonfunctional wings. "Marli!" he called in an attempt to draw her closer, to see if she was at least alright; his own safety depended on hers, after all.

"Marli! Lucius!" Inle called, taking a few quick steps forward. She thought to meet the gryphon, should she be near, but stopped for fear of accidentally stepping on her. Getting her back just to hurt her wouldn't be good for anyone, so she contented herself with yelling for the hunter and the hunted.

The gryphon's run had slowed due to her injuries and the loss of blood she had sustained over the period she had been gone. Her vision grew hazy from exhaustion and pain, and she tripped, skidding to a halt on the rough ground; easy prey for the fox. Luckily for her, however, the creature had paused in his stalking at the sight of the brightly colored wisp, and the sound of the shouting voices had scared him off completely. Marli was aware of none of this, and she curled up miserably as if to hide from the wisp that she couldn't recognize, only dimly hearing the call of the others.

Inle wasn't one to run--ever, she was far too lazy and usually in no rush to do anything--but she felt that this particular occassion called for it, and she dashed off after Nyxa and Luc. It was slow going; the dying light filtering through the thick canopy of leaves overhead was hardly enough to see clearly by. "Marli? Marli, if you can hear me, make some noise!"

The gryphon was trembling on the ground, her reserves used up in that last mad dash away from danger. Her wings were splayed at her sides, a few feathers surrounding her, shaken loose from her fall--including Luc's, which sat a few gryphon-sized paces away from her. Although she was exhausted, and death, in her eyes, was certain, she'd be damned if she died without that feather in her possession. Her voice rose in her throat as she dragged herself across the ground, the sound getting louder as she crawled towards it, until she was finally able to snatch it up in her beak. With an exhausted purring chirp, she stilled once more, her twitching ears the only indication that she was still alive.

Inle's pace quickened further as she ran towards the hovering wisp--she could see Luc fine enough, thankfully--and she skidded to a halt a pace or two away from him. She knelt down, squinting in the half-light, and her arm shot out as she saw her injured ward. She scooped Marli up gently, the gryphon unmoving in her hands, and held her closely, protectively. Inle looked down at her, horrified; Marli was covered in blood, dirt, and leaf litter, a far cry from her normally well-groomed state. Inle wondered at the severity of her injuries and stood, her anger and fear draining to leave her rather tired and lost. Wordlessly, she looked at Nyxa for guidance, her normally calm and collected self being overridden by fear and confusion.

Behind her, Paur stopped, looking at the quartet from a few paces away. He hadn't yet seen Marli, but he could already tell that things weren't looking good.