Well...the water [i]probably[/i] won’t kill us..” Dr Wetherall concluded, peering at his suit’s readouts from the water experiment. “At least not right away. It’s chock full of microorganisms and minerals, but nothing innately poisonous to Humans or Rothians.” He sent the results to Ngata’s suit, who stooped over his left arm’s holo-readout to see for himself. “Perhaps i will have that swim, after all.” 595 smirked. “Maybe they’ll have some bathing suits where we’re headed.”

“Focus up.” Thebes ordered, the sight of his energy rifle scanning the land, water and cliffs in front of them.The trees rustled, as if whispering to one another. They advanced in an uneasy silence for a few minutes, keeping an even distance between the water’s edge and the cliff faces around the basin’s border. It wasn’t until they’d made it halfway round the lake in peace that a loud [b]flap[/b] and an animalistic scream disturbed the uneasy quiet. Acting on impulse 595 turned, locked her legs, pulled her pistol out and fired up at the object she found barrelling toward them. Several others from the team fired as well. 

A bundle of leathery wings fell from the sky. 595 stepped in front of Dr Wetherall, shooting at the object a couple more times as it rapidly approached them. However she didn’t get to see the results of her handiwork. Almost too fast for the eye to see, one of the nearby trees exploded into action, snatching the creature out of the air as it lost altitude. The fibrous tendrils of the tree engulfed it entirely, until something crunched loudly. The tree trunk then rocked back and forth, and the boughs ejected the crippled creature straight into the cold dark of the lake with a splash.

The water quickly submerged the ailing creature; it squealed as it was sucked down under the surface.