[hr][center][color=808B96][color=00BFFF][h2][b]T a f f y[/b][/h2][/color]Southeastern Mir [b]-[/b] The Fall, Marshland[/color][/center]
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[u][i]A half-hour later...[/i][/u]

Nikki's words were merely an ironic prelude to the grimy trek out of the boggy marsh.  They climbed out of the bog and proceeded across more solid ground in the direction of Taffy's uncle's house.  The way was still wet, muddy, cold and dark, but they still had working lights, a direction they knew would be safe to go in...and, oddly enough, they had yet to encounter a single predator vine.

This last fact bothered Taffy more than she liked to admit.  It kept her tense as they continued through the damp underbrush, and she often aimed her flashlight around her in all directions, even glancing upward at the leaves that hung heavily from the branches of the thick and twisted trees that populated this lowland area.  She and Akaeyla were up at the front of the group - while Taffy still wasn't entirely sure what to make of the red panda-bat hybrid, she had to admit that the other's intimate knowledge of the Fall far exceeded her own.  And despite how Akaeyla seemed so courteous, Taffy still wanted to stay close enough to keep an eye on her.  Taffy's physical conditioning helped her keep up despite Akaeyla's unerring agility and ability to spot trip hazards that slowed Taffy down.

The rest of the group was in a loose pack behind the two front-runners.  Yonath seemed to gravitate toward the middle of the travelers, mostly because Nikki and Xell were competing with each other to try to bring up the rear.  As far as Taffy could tell from the occasional backward glance, there was still some friction and distrust there.

[i]Mostly because Xell's got a serious mad-on for getting on everyone's nerves, and Nikki's irrepressible cheerfulness is almost worse,[/i] thought Taffy as she briefly allowed herself to be annoyed.  But in a certain way, she was glad Nikki and Xell were back there balancing each other out.  It made it easier to keep an eye on the two of them if they were keeping an eye on each other.  She didn't trust the meager medical supplies they still had to Xell, and she wasn't sure what would happen if he needed another fix.

Still, it was only another half-hour from here back to her uncle's cabin, if she was estimating the distance correctly.  They might have even made better time than she realized.  If only things could continue to go this smoothly...

Taffy swore under her breath suddenly as, [i]of course[/i], as soon as she had that idle thought, Akaeyla held out one arm in warning.  "Up ahead, behind the third bush, the one caked with the orange slime mold," whispered the hermit, and Taffy followed her gaze to the leaf-green cylindrical tube that sat just barely in view.  And, just like she had feared, it was certainly much thicker than any of the predator vines she had seen before.  Most were only as thick as pencils, and suitable only for snaring small rodents and bugs; this one was about as thick as her wrist, and ringed with bristle-like sensory clusters down its length every foot or so.  It laid well-hidden in the underbrush, but now Taffy could follow its shape through the foliage, where it was hiding in wait under dead leaves and other decaying debris.  If Akaeyla hadn't stopped them when they did, they would have tripped right over it, and one of them would be grabbed right now, with the others in probably danger as other vines would have arrived to investigate the disturbance in case there was more food to be had.

Taffy gestured to the others and pointed out where the vine was.  "Just try to step around it, quietly," Taffy hissed.  "Loud sounds or moving too fast can set it off even if you don't touch it, and we have no idea how many-"

"HOLD IT!  Hold it right there!"

Taffy glanced up, and found a scruffy-looking canid Novan of some kind crashing through the bushes toward them, from the opposite direction they were going in.  Wearing a tank top and cargo pants, as well as some kind of bandana around his head, the most important detail that caught Taffy's attention was the gun he pointed in their direction.  Taffy thought it was some kind of rifle or carbine, but she didn't know that much about guns.  It was an odd sort of moment to wish Max hadn't gotten separated from the group, but Taffy caught herself feeling that way just the same.

The Novan - maybe a coyote? - panted as he stood across from them, clearly the worse for wear as he was covered in sweat and the muck of the swamp.  "Y-you're getting me outta here," he stammered as the barrel of the gun wavered between each member of the group.  "One false move, and I'll shoot the lot of ya, hear me?"  His eyes were bulging and bloodshot, and he trembled with a fear that Taffy could smell even through the tepid stench of the bogs around them.  She suddenly remembered the other plane that had come down in the forest...and noticed a skull-and-crossbones insignia on the forehead of his bandana.  Was this one of the sky pirates?

But to make matters worse, the pirate was only another step or two away from kicking the predator vine, and it was clear he was not paying attention to it as it began to writhe slowly, as if sensing his adrenaline.  And though he stood in place for now, all it would take was one jumpy move to get the entire swamp writhing with trouble...