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[img]https://i.postimg.cc/L5r26P82/Star-Fox-Final.png[/img]

[color=5edaf6]Level:[/color] 5 (12 -> 13/50)
[color=5edaf6]Location:[/color] Sandswept Sky - Crown of Sand
[color=5edaf6]Word Count:[/color] 958 (+1 EXP)
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The ‘dragon hunting’ excursion couldn’t have ended in a more timely manner, for the three that had carried it out were already being lifted to the plateau by the time Fox and company made it back  to the edge of the barrier to catch them on their return flight from afar. In part, they may have had the conversational delay to thank for the ground team’s tandem progress in the meantime, and the distance and wait of retrieving them for subsequent progress made by the Thieves in their advance. On that note, as Poppi and the Queen crested the cliff with their respective passengers, Fox received a call from one of their new “honorary” allies ahead.

[color=5edaf6]“I read you,”[/color] he answered, verifying the working order of their newly established line of communication. Necronomicon then summarized their route and destination for them to follow, giving them a specific mark to look for in a ‘Sphinx,’ whatever that was. [color=5edaf6]“Got it. We’re on our way, now. We’ll be right behind y-”[/color] Fox went aback in a surprise take as Tora caught him off guard, crowding him to talk into his headpiece after faintly picking up on the Persona’s speech through the other end. Just as well, since he at least thought to ask the proper question of what a ‘Sphinx’ was.

As little sense as it made in concept, at least by the description, Fox was confident they could put it together when they saw it. Though, she was gracious enough to offer that she wait out front for them just in case they didn’t. [color=5edaf6]“Understood. We won’t keep you waiting.”[/color] With that, Fox was off by the way he last saw the Thieves heading, expecting the regathered Yellow Team would follow minus the need to direct as much, thus he abstained to as he began to march.

Through the obscuring sandwinds, the resulting inability to fly in them, and the visually samey nature of the ruined streets they passed through, it proved difficult further on to gather a solid sense of direction. Tora forged ahead, and soon found a path wrought with obstacles--possibly the one Necronomicon mentioned, but none of them could be sure short of crossing it to the other side. With a long history of putting his own aerial mobility to use where his continued survival and forward progress was concerned, Fox had little trouble at all finding his way across the suspended obstacle course. It was mostly a matter of skipping some of it in long, horizontal strides of air dashing, at one point timing a jump to lure a harassing Skullcrusher into dropping through the crumbling floor at his feet as he left it, kicking off of the face of an obstructing Walleye to maneuver around it, and just altogether ignoring the distraction of the Cymuls and Ergotroks, refraining from so much as entertaining the latter with a pulse of his Reflector.

At the end of the path lay the temple described to them previously, indicated doubly by the presence of the girl-turned-saucer outside waiting to greet them. She led the Team in at the thirst-driven behest of Tora, through an expectantly gloomy inner sanctum that the Thieves no doubt fought through in their absence, to a contrastly lavish, pristine pool hall where they now resided in respite. They were even adorned in decidedly casual attire as opposed to their masks and adjoining outfits, suggesting that their purpose may be more expressive rather than a means to conceal their identities. Though, perhaps the absence of a real name was all that mattered to them on that end.

At Skull’s direction, Fox took his needed drinks from the designated pool before rejoining the others around the swimming hole, but not in it. He wasn’t exactly dressed for the occasion, nor set to strip down accordingly, on top of having the added layer of fur that would take extra time to dry off, even in the sun, while it collected sand in the meantime. Mona, if no one else, might understand as much, even if he was comparatively advantaged by the allowance to go conventionally nude.

While they were still on a mission, Fox had no desire to cut short their revelry by urging them onward, even if he didn’t partake in it himself. Besides the brief intermissions of downtime between travel, most of them haven't had much honest opportunity for rest since Alcamoth, and more still had been at it for longer than that throughout the same day. It did them more good than not to take advantage of the moment while they had it to recuperate at their own pace in preparation for what lay ahead.

A thought occurred to him then; one not terribly reassuring. For an abandoned temple, the place in which they now resided was conspicuously well-kept, he thought. Not even a dusty surface presented itself. As for the provisions and camp setup, unless the Thieves had some manner of conjuration magic or the like (not that Fox would be able to distinguish or understand as much) that allowed them to summon or manifest them as needed, as per their outfits, that could only mean one thing to him: someone was there already. The arousal of his suspicions stopped him just ahead of taking a seat in a shaded area of the central platform overlooking the pools, almost thinking to ask Joker how much of it was there when they arrived before thinking the better of it. He opted instead to let them relax while they were down instead of putting them on edge, while he took an independent shift on watch for them, keeping a calm lookout for anything on the off chance he happened to be correct in his assumption.