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Zeke gave a mighty yawn and stretch that ended with the veterinarian rubbing at the back of his neck. He had burned last night and today he ached. His neck, back, and legs were all sore and stiff and the human couldn't fight a grimace as he wiggled his toes in the boots he had kept on when they had made their move to this new spot.

When I get home... His thoughts were interrupted by another yawn. When he got home he would take the hottest shower he could stand, scrub himself (or more like have himself scrubbed) pink-skinned, and then ask Brad for a long massage. A meal could be thrown in there somewhere but even that came third to a shower and having the kinks worked out of his muscles.

When I get home I'm not leaving my room for a week. Anastacia freed herself of the sleeping bag and rolled her shoulders to free some stiffness in them. The bag had been a godsend when Cesc had offered it to her after the untimely demise of her own, but the ground beneath it was not as plush nor comforting. Overnight that softness the sleeping bag offered seemed to have diminished and it left the spider queen grumbling inwardly but also missing the bed she had left behind.

After lofting herself in the air, the Virus proceeded to pull her little pocket mirror from her bag, sighing to herself when she saw that part of the glass had been blackened by the fire. She dared not wipe the soot away - and winced just looking down at her fingers and her arm again - but proceeded to pick small amounts of sleeping bag material and stuffing from her hair. She did this quickly, lest someone look over at her and see the effects of her spindly crown and anything it rested upon at night.

When Cesc's cry rang out, Zeke and Anastacia looked up at the Stag. Zeke was up on his feet immediately, beaming up at the pink Raevan. Immediately his mind went to the positive aspects of this discovery. It could be another team to party up with or even Dr. Kyou himself! It took a few moments for Zeke to remember that caution had not been thrown to the wind. For all they knew, the tent belonged to someone not so friendly. All the same, he knew they had to check it out.

"That's great!" The closer he got to the Stag, the more the Dawn Raevan's passive power affected him. It was a positive though; draining the soreness from his muscles and waking him up fully. He grinned up at Rhedefre and turned the expression onto Iorek with a nod. "I agree. We can just scope out the place. If it's anyone we know, then we're golden! If not..."

"If not, we don't even think about going anywhere near it."

Zeke turned and there was Anastacia, floating behind the trio of men with her arms crossed and her expression firmly set to stony. A tent was good news, that she could not deny, but with last night still fresh in her mind, going forward into something that wasn't even hinted at being friendly was not on her list of things to do. Anya passed her gaze over each male in question, ruffling her wings as she did so.

"We don't need a repeat of last night."

Her guardian's smile thinned slightly at her words, but he nodded all the same.

"She's right." There was no denying the truth in her words. He looked around their meager camp and tried to figure how long it had taken them to set it all up last night. Time hadn't been a factor then it seemed; he couldn't recall. "We should pack up first, just in case. If it's not another team or Dr. Kyou we'd be better off just having everything on our backs so we can keep going immediately." The quicker they could get away from a situation the better. Even if this turned out to be the good news they could use right now, he had to keep his team's safety at the forefront. No crazy tactics, no running in with arms wide open, just a quick scope and then going from there.

They could do that. No problem.

He wanted to go check out the tent. Really he did. But Iorek also wanted to close his eyes and be swept away for another trip into dreamland.

Too bad it would be very unbecoming of him to whine and cry that he needed just a few more minutes of rest.

Yes, the good doctor could be in that tent and the whole point of this trip was to find him but the longer Iorek stayed awake the more he wanted to reconnect with sleep.

His body creaked in protest as he rose up from his comfortably worn nest. The ragged ribbon that unfurled from the raevan's form dragged at the ground like a child would their feet in protest. As much as Iorek wanted to stay put for just a wee bit more, he dutifully moved about and gathered what remained of their things.

With Cesc holding onto Zeke's bag for the time being, Iorek secured his own on his back and set about collecting some rocks to nibble on as they made their way to the tent.

By the time they arrived he devoured each and every stone that had been in his grasp. The pieces of earth cleaned his system like little maids and restored what energy they could to the tired raevan. After all, he was supposed to be alert and ready to lunge at any moments notice. Who knew what could by lurking in the tent. With the luck they had it was probably their good friend Mr. Hunter.

Slowly and carefully he crept through the surrounding area. As Iorek drew closer to the tent his eyes swept the area for harmful booby traps and helpful clues. This time, he hoped, they would have some kind of success.

Keeping low in the bushes he hid behind, Zeke waited for several minutes before acting. Finding Iorek and Cesc in their respective spots, the veterinarian sought out Anya - finding her with her eyes closed and her wings outstretched in that fishing-like posture she displayed last night - and slowly stood up from the brush.

Their had been no signs nor sounds of human life from the campsite. Birds twittered from the trees and the morning insects buzzed annoyingly, but there wasn't even a snore coming from this place. With his eyes on the tent, the human gestured to the two males to keep down and scooped a sizable rock up from the ground as he tread forward. With his knife currently who-knows-where, the vet wasn't about to go in unarmed.

His precaution quickly proved to be unneeded. The campsite was deserted and this was proven to Zeke as he cautiously pulled the tent's flap back and revealed nothing living. Supplies, food, and other needed things greeted him but there was no person of any sort. All the same, he didn't call the Raevans to him. Crouching down, a backpack that had been left behind kept the vet's hands busy especially when Zeke procured the wallet. When he saw the ID card inside, the vet's eyes widened and he forgot about that this was supposed to be a silent recon.

"This is Kyou's!" Zeke shot to his feet and waved the wallet to the bushes surrounding him. The look on his face was shock, but where a glimmer of a smile should have been at finding a clue there was only an open mouthed gape to the team he led. With the campsite clearly abandoned, the warlock's wallet was not a happy find. The vet felt it in the pit of his stomach and like last night the organ flipped sickly. What the ******** happened here...

As she hid in the brush like the opossum had last night, the solid white silhouette that was Zeke appeared in the dark before her closed eyes.

What is he doing?! Anastacia frowned. This was supposed to be just a look! Zeke getting up and going forward was not what had been agreed upon! All the same she kept mum, watching her Guardian step around the tent like the thing would suddenly come to life and take a bite out of him. The only good thing about his sudden divergence from the plan was that she could also see the layout of the campsite in her power's granted way. And it was disorderly to say the least.

The tent lopsided and covered with what could have been leaves if it wasn't torn since the top was so jagged. The fire pit was surrounded by stones with half burnt logs in its center. A few things lay scattered about though Anya had no name for their shapes against the ground. One could have been a stick for all she knew, but regardless even she knew that this was not a place that was lived in. Still, it made her uneasy. Lived in or no the area had a vibe to it, one that made the spider queen want to retreat from the area and avoid it completely. Of course it could have just been the jungle in its entirety. Anya didn't stop to consider that as the reason, especially when Zeke suddenly jumped up from his crouch and practically bellowed into the sky. She winced at the sound of his cry. Up until then, the silence had pressed tight against her tapered ears.

Opening her lavender eyes and adjusting them and the other four to the light of day, Anastacia rose from her stake out point with a proper scowl on her face.

"Could you be any louder?"

Zeke seemed to realize his error and his voice dropped as he replied.

"Sorry! Just...Look at this!"

When the rest of his team neared he held out the wallet. Kyou peered up at them from his tiny photo; well groomed, bespectacled, horns and all. Looking from the doctor's ID to the team he led, Zeke looked as uneasy as he felt.

Anastacia's gaze went from the photo to roaming around the campsite. The weird vibe increased and her crown stretched out wide with her own alarm as the situation became clear.

"What happened here?"

"I don't know, but from the looks of it..." He hated to say it but knew he had to. Gone was the idea that the good doctor's satellite phone had run out of juice or that he had a 'too engaged in work to phone in' moment. The best case scenario had just gone right out of the window. "Kyou hasn't been here for awhile and when he left he didn't go willingly."

Lady luck had finally remerged for this band of searchers. The area and tent itself was safe. Their latest nemesis, the Hunter, had not reached this area. They were, surprisingly, safe. For now.

Iorek hung back to watch as the rest of his group went through Kyou's tent searching for clues.

The tent looked very fragile and weathered. Nature had not been kind when she sought claim over the man-made structure. He knew it was best for him to not go inside and seek out hints of human life. Thanks to his size he'd be like a bull in a very small, very damp, China shop.

When Zeke produced the wallet Iorek did move forward to get a better look. He wiggled into the crevice between Anya and Cesc to catch a glimpse of their bonus clue.

So this was Kyou's tent!

"Thank goodness." Reks relaxed just a tad. This had to be considered a positive find until he realized they were still missing one important factor.

Dr. Kyou.

Immediately Iorek's eyes darted to the ground and looked for any signs of old footprints or even -gulp- dragged trails in the mud. But if the tent had been here for so long any kind of tip like that probably would of faded by now.

Where could he be? Was he okay? It looked like he had just up and vanished without a trace as to where he went.

He mentally cursed at their newest wall that sought to prevent them from progressing in their quest. Although his anger didn't have too much time to brew thanks to good old Cesc.

What an amazing gift the stag possessed. In a single swoop, just by touching the wallet, he could tell that Dr. Kyou was alive and what direction the man headed off in.

Iorek expressed how impressed he was with a whistle. "You keep impressing me, ya know? That thing you do is amazing, Cesc. Now should we grab anything else from his tent or do you think he'd just like the wallet?"

Because Kyou was still out there, alive and well, and Iorek bet that he'd need some things from his tent. But there was no way he was going in there to scrounge about and possibly break something. Nope. Someone else could be the hero mantle for that job.

When Cesc dove into the tent and started rifling around like a man on a mission, Zeke and Anastacia both watched with matching looks of confusion on their faces. Zeke was unaware of the Frei's soul's powers and Anastacia simply found her companion's behavior far from the norm. Silently she lofted one brow as Cesc reappeared and snatched the wallet from her Guardian's outstretched hand. The other one soon followed as the Stag pointed himself like a compass arm and told them Kyou would be found that way.

"Are you sure?" His peculiar actions and his assured tone were not something to doubt - Cesc being Cesc after all - but if Anastacia could shorten their stay in this hellhole by any means she intended to do so. The last thing she wanted was to be led around by the nose into deeper s**t with no results.

Zeke had to nod in agreement, although he focused more on the pink-haired Raevan's words that Kyou wasn't dead than the direction the warlock would be found. Although they weren't out of the woods just yet, simply hearing 'He's not dead' took some of the tightening weight off the vet's shoulders. He relaxed, if only a little, and with that on his mind Zeke almost forgot about the final member to his team. When Iorek spoke up, the raver gave a little jump but again nodded to what a Raevan had said.

"I think we should take everything that can be useful. Kyou hasn't been here in awhile and we can use everything we can get." The tent, the doctor's sleeping bag, and the first aid kit in particular for everyone with Kyou's bag and food for what was sure to be mainly his own use.

"I agree."

"Then let's get packing."

---

Zeke hefted Kyou's backpack onto his shoulders, grunting a little as the weight settled between his scapula. He looked over the campsite that was now picked clean and packed away amongst his team, frowning just a tad. The empty sheath had not been lost on him but despite the signs that pointed to foul play, Cesc's assured tone and certainty still kept a little fire of hope lit in Zeke's heart. Gone but not dead, and with a direction to be found in to boot. The raver turned to his team and offered each one a little smile in turn.

"Everybody ready?"

"I am." More than ready. They only had so much daylight.

"Lead the way, Cesc."

Iorek smiled as the team gathered to collect the various leftover goods that belonged to Kyou. "Alright! We'll get everything together and move out after. I'm sure he'll appreciate being reunited with this stuff later on."

Plus, if they were the team that found him now they'd have even more tools to keep him looked after until help arrived. He wondered how long it would take a team to reach them once a flare was set off. A cold shudder skittered down his neck at the thought of being out in the wilderness with an injured Kyou and no one reuniting with the team until days later.

Just as he was imagining the horrors they could face if such a problem arose, Cesc was at his side and removing his backpack.

Oh right! He was supposed to be packing, not thinking about a possible worst case scenario which, he realized now, would be not finding Kyou.

With Cesc's help Iorek folded and squeezed as much as he could into his backpack until it could barely close. Concerned over not being able to fit each and every item excluding the tent Iorek removed the stones he'd pack to eat. Quickly he gobbled them up as he played tetris with blankets, camping goods, and a first aid kit.

- - -

By the time they had ventured a good deal into the in the jungle once more Iorek was regretting his decision to fit as much as he could into the backpack.

It wasn't the weight that was bothering him but the change in species.

For you see, Iorek had transformed into a turtle. At last the Lab had a turtle raevan on their hands. Unfortunately this specimen was not as cool as Iorek had hoped. He had become creature reduced to bumbling through the vines and leaves all the while avoiding tumbling over. One wrong move with this loaded bag and he'd be face first into the mud.

To reduce team complaints like obstructing view and backpack-in-the-face, Reks took his position at the end of the line.

As they made their way over hills and streams, Iorek would glance to the sky every few minutes in case the glare of a flare joined the natural blue. Who knows when Kyou would be found, but for everyone's sake including the good doctor, he hoped it was soon.

The struggle through the ever thicker jungle was not lost on Zeke. Having changed into a fresh pair of clothing before departing their campsite, the veterinarian was regretting his decision in the back of his mind as the air became claustrophobic and oppressive in its humidity. Sweat dampened his yellow t-shirt in the front and back as well as under his arms thanks to the fire destroying his antiperspirant. Brambles and other snagging vegetation ripped at his jeans and boots, trying to trip him up. He kept his balance for the most part, only stumbling once over an upturned root while he tried to free his right leg from a particularly clingy vine.

That hot shower he wanted? He wanted it times ten right now.

Anastacia was feeling the effects of the humidity and tightening quarters but was not phased by Zeke's plight on the ground. Once or twice she had wondered what it would have been like to have legs. Many times more she merely wanted hips to drape a gown over, but now she was seeing how ungainly the former appendages were in situations like this. Where she could float over a downed tree, Zeke had to go under, around, or sometimes even over - and struggle while doing so.

Their leader was quickly becoming a nuisance rather than an asset. Needless to say, she did not wait up for him as Zeke fell behind as a victim of circumstance. They were close - or so Cesc was leading them all to believe - and she was not waiting longer than she had to. The only time she made pause was when a crash and inhuman gasp came from someplace behind.

Despite his situation and knowing full well he was at a disadvantage, Zeke remained in as good of spirits as he could but also mostly unwilling for aid to get around obstacles. "Don't worry I can handle it!" and "Nah there's no problem here!" were quickly becoming the most used phrases in his vocabulary, but in the vet's mind he really didn't need any assistance. Downed trees weren't so tall or wide that he needed to be airlifted, brambles were easy enough to get out of, upturned roots were easy to avoid if he kept looking down here and there, and then the tightening trees were easy enough for his frame to slip through if he sucked in his stomach a little bit. He was fine, no need for concern, just keep on leading Cesc! Kyou was far more important.

Of course, Zeke did put some pride into his unwillingness to be helped and everyone knows that comes before a fall. Scrambling up a jungle tree that had to be eons old with how massive the thing had to have been before it had been taken down by age or a rogue lightning strike, Zeke managed to get the cuff of his jeans hooked on a stump of a branch as he started to slip himself down. A startled sound left his lips as his body turned and he was left dangling upside down. Adrenaline coursed through his veins in that moment and carried its flaw of not thinking things through with it. The vet struggled to pull himself up, aiming to grab an unbroken bough just to his left in order to free and right himself. Once and then twice to no avail but with the old moniker of 'third time's the charm' in mind he tried once more.

Third time ended up being the charm to get him down, but not in the way he had planned. The hook that held him ripped clean through the denim and the raver plummeted. On the way down he turned a** over tea kettle and landed hard on his back. The wind was more than knocked out of him and Zeke clutched the grass beneath him, gasping hard for air.

"S-S-Son of a...a b***h!"

The cry from her Guardian made the spider queen pivot in midair and draw closer to get a clear picture of the situation. A spot of yellow amidst dark greens he wasn't hard to find and when he came into focus she found Zeke sprawled out gasping and looking bewildered, but otherwise unhurt.

The vet ogled her as she hovered over him, seeing her as though she wasn't really there while he tried to collect his lost breath.

"What happened?"

"I...Fell." Cesc and Iorek sure to be behind, Zeke tried to get up but failed. His smile was beyond sheepish then and he looked pained if only because he had to ask for help instead of turn it away this time. Hindsight hit him like a backhand then and berated him for not calling for his teammates when he found himself in the predicament he had been in. Had he done that, it said, he wouldn't be stuck like this now. "Help?"