[center][img=http://i59.tinypic.com/szzdwm.jpg][/center]

Eh, it was just a tree. It looked absobloomilutely like all the trees in the forest. Oi, but maybe Leila was scared of trees? Poor girl. This entire trip must be one roller coaster ride of bad foliage after the other. 

[i]"Est, that has got to be the ugliest tree I've ever see—HOLD ME AND NEVER LET ME GO!"[/i]

“Wah!” Est dropped his rifle on his foot when Japhet suddenly shrieked and jumped into his arms. The soldier dropped his comrade almost immediately, though the mechanic didn’t seem to mind falling on the cold rocky ground- at least, not when Breeze and the others were chortling at his reaction. 

“Oi! Leggo of the hostages! Blech.” Est managed a halfhearted warning in support of Japhet who seemed to enjoy threatening Nympha with his nonexistent military might. That was about it, really. If he didn’t know any better, he kinda shipped Japhet and Nympha.

But yeah, things escalated quickly. The witch girl said she would curse them and then this unholy noise came from within the forest as the earth trembled beneath her feet. Est was more exasperated than panicked. 

“We could’ve [i]not[/i] summoned the turtle dragon if y’all just kept your bloody traps shut!” He howled over the commotion as their group struggled to reposition and advance at the same time. “Left flank! Got it! Anyhoo, it’s a turtle! A flipping turtle! Why are y’all twisting your bloomers at it!? The thing’s a slowpoke if I ever seen one!” The nobody continued yelling at whoever wanted to listen out of pure disbelief at the chaos that was happening. Goshdarn that Nympha. This was all her fault, wasn’t it!?
Oh you know what, there were so many things happening that nothing made any sense. Seriously. 

There were even bats! The accursed things rose from the ground like a fog of death and high-pitched noises, and Est, acting out of reflex, whipped out his pistol and began shooting at them. One by one, the members of the horde assaulting him and Jasper dropped to the ground, but his ammo wasn’t infinite and some were actually flying close enough to slap him in the face.

[i]Whap![/i]

“Ow! Oi! I’m on [i]your[/i] side!” Jasper’s slap was strong enough to dislodge the bullets Est had gathered in his palm, and the spare ammunition fell to the ground and rolled away into the dead grass. Great. Just sodding great. He returned the gun to its holster and handled his rifle instead. If the turtle dragon broke through that shimmering barrier, then he’d stay back and fire at the chinks in its shell. They didn’t call him a sniper for nuffin.

[i] “Hey Est, any reason why this little indention would be generating heat like this?”[/i]

“Naw, and I don’t want to find out. Who knows if it’s a portal to the bat underworld?” The soldier quipped as they finally reached the three, Harper and Leila sprawled on the ground thanks to a domino effect which the girl might be able to explain in more detail seeing that it was she who was on Ran’s back. “Well, no dilly-dallying! Let’s go!” He pulled Harper and Leila up and covered the rear of the group as they ran- or hobbled- towards the others.

“Hey! Is that the big tree we were supposed to go to!?” The silhouette of a tall, very wide tree ate whatever little light they had, though Est wouldn’t have noticed it if he didn’t peer at the skyline to see if the turtle dragon was breaking through the shield. It was nigh impossible by then to notice the tree that was towering above all the others, though it was some distance yet.