She nods as her eyes start to flutter closed, "Okay Rhy....love you." She says softly even as she drifts off to sleep in her wife's arms.
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Having gone to bed so early, Rajni felt that she and Shamara had plenty of rest by the time Ashram wakes her up for her watch. Remembering how intense the fighting was, and how tired Tesia seemed after using so much magic to not only fight off those stupid bastards, but heal them as well.....she decides not to wake them from their peaceful slumber. They looked so cute all cuddled up together, and she could see the darkness under the druidesses eyes lightening somewhat as they rested.
She wondered for a bit if that's what it would be like when she got back home to Dillon. If they would look like that when they slept together. Remembering the night she spent with him sent a shiver that ran all the way from her spine down to her toes. Making sure everyone has at least one cover over them and that they're all sleeping peacefully, she goes up into the tower to spend the rest of the night with Shamara and keep watch over the rest of her companions. She was used to the night and staying up didn't bother her at all.
Once the sun started coming up she climbed back down out of the tower and went to rekindle the fire that had turned to warm embers through the night. Shamara stayed right next to Rajni, never leaving her side for a moment.
As the sun comes up and she awakens to the feel of Rhy's arms around her, it vaguely dawns on her that Rajni never woke them up for their watch. Sitting up slowly and carefully as not to disturb Rhy she looks over at the fetchling as she puts more wood on the fire and re starts it.
Rubbing her eyes she says quietly, "Rajni.....why didn't you wake us up? Did you stay up all night by yourself?"
Hearing Tesia she finishes putting the wood on the fire and turns to face her with her hands on her hips, "I didn't wake you because you both looked exhausted and I already had plenty of sleep. Plus I'm used to being up all night so it's not a problem, especially since I fell asleep so early yesterday evening. You feel better though right?" She says just as quietly as Tesia.
Not having eaten the night before her stomach gives a dissatisfied and rather loud grumble as she thinks about Rajni's question. Though she felt pretty hungry now, she otherwise felt much better than she had the previous day. Much of her weariness was gone and her head felt much clearer. Rubbing her head she kind of gives Rajni a small smile, "Sorry Rajni, I guess I was even more tired than I realized. I do feel quite a bit better now though."
She waves a hand dismissively, "Ah...it's okay. Don't worry about, just glad you're feeling better. Just make sure you both eat well this morning so you're not starving before lunch time."
She nods as she gently runs a hand up and down Rhy's back, caressing her soft flesh.
Turning away from the couple she takes her bow and goes with Shamara to try and find some tracks of something that she can actually kill for a decent breakfast, while not straying too far from their camp.
Having trouble actually seeing tracks in the immediate area where there was so much activity she goes just a little further into the jungle and uses her knowledge of the kind of things in nature and what she might find in this kind of environment to see if she can find something worth tracking. She looks for signs of breakage in the brush and other natural signs of something that she can hunt safely.
Rajni finds a squab that would only feed Rajni. Rajni only finds signs of dinosaurs in the jungle.
Not willing to kill something unless it would feed all of them, she leaves the squab be and heads back to camp. At least she knew now that she wouldn't find game to hunt in this jungle. It takes her a little while to make it back to camp, but she gets back after making her way through the dense growth.
"Well...not a whole lot in that jungle except more dinosaurs and tiny squab...so if I'm gonna find game to kill, it's not gonna be in there." She says pointing towards the jungle.
Clara wakes up, says her prayers and puts on her armor. "When I thought we were just chasing these guys, I opted to go the volcano. Now there may be an innocent person in danger. I think we should go north now."
"I agree with Clara. The Volcano isn't going anywhere, but there's no telling what might happen." Alethiro piped up after a long time inner contemplation.
After she finishes her morning prayers and eats she listens to the others, "I'd have to agree...I couldn't deal effectively with whatever is going on at the volcano, knowing that there might be someone out there who needs our help. I think we should follow them North too and try to save whoever they dragged up there, if at all possible and stop them from doing whatever horrible thing they're up to, cuz I'm pretty sure whatever it is isn't good."
She nods, "Yup...pretty much the same thought here." She says after taking care of Shamara, Balladier, and eating a little herself.
"Then it seems we're pretty much decided then," Ashram says. "Unless Rhadaya objects."
The cleric gives a grin as if to say 'You know she wouldn't'.
"Because that sounds likely." Rhadaya says with a chuckle. Having carried out her morning meditation while Tes said her prayers, the sorceress sits beside her wife as they eat. "Who knows how many others might have fallen prey to the mat this point."
She nods, "Okay...so kickin' some bad guy ass it is then....that is once we find them of course and see what they're on about."
Clara nods. "If anything like those guys last night, probably not anything good."
She nods, "Yeah....kind of my thoughts exactly, but it would be nice to know exactly what we're up against if possible before they spot us. They're walking pattern and way of fighting suggested trained soldiers, and where there are soldiers.....there's usually an army." She says before taking a drink from her waterskin.
Shrugging she says, "We'll just be careful, they have a good lead on us though so we should probably head out soon before we totally lose their trail."
"Right," Ashram says, finishing his rations.
Putting his mace on his shoulder, "Then let's get going."
Chuckling a bit she says, "Okay we'll get going, just as soon as everyone's ready and we have things put away." She says as they finish up eating as well and she gets up to clean things up and pick up their bedding.
Moving to aid in the packing up, Rhadaya double-checks her gear, ready to resume their trek, a new sense of urgency added to their mission.
Rajni goes around and checks to see who needs help packing stuff up after getting her own things together and packed away back in the sled. Looking around she says, "I think we about got everything right?" She makes sure the fire is out and puts dirt on top of the still smoldering embers to make sure it goes out completely.
Clara nods. "I'm ready."
"Me too."
"Then let's get to it." Rhadaya says giving her wife a wink. "Same formation as yesterday, daylight hours?"
She nods, "You got it babe." She says as she takes up the front with Clara.
You walk north for a couple of hours before you reach a primeval lagoon. A small island sits in the middle. You see some movement on the island but you see no way to cross the water.
Looking at the water she shakes her head, "I don't like the looks of this." She thinks for a moment and then says, "Let me change and take a quick fly over of that island and see what I can see. I'll also try to look for a way to cross that lagoon safely." She gives Rhy a quick kiss on the cheek before turning into a normal sized raven and taking off into the sky gets to a good altitude where she can observe the land below her. She surveys the area as she flies over head and looks for anything that might help them cross the lagoon, she looks at the lagoon itself, as well as the island as she flies over it and circles back around to get back to the others.
Tesia sees several serpentfolk on the island, herding people towards cages. A distinct area has been marked off. The druid can see remnants of some building there. The serpentfolk seem quite interested in it to the point where they pay no mind to the bird spying on them. Tesia sees that there are a couple of rowboats on the shore of the island.
Circling back around she heads back for where she left her friends quickly.
She changes back before almost touching down completely, but doesn't fall as her feet hit the ground. She then relays all of the information that she gathered in her fly over.
"That's everything I saw, I'm wondering if I can turn into something big enough to either bring the row boats over here, or if Rhy can manage to fly over...maybe I can carry the rest of us over? I don't know what they're planning on doing to those people they're putting into cages, but it can't be anything good and we need to stop them."
"Yes' love I can fly over on my own. I can only do it for about nine minutes at a time but that should be enough to get over there and engage. Maybe if I start laying down lightning and wind I can keep them busy enough to give you time to get everyone else over and land safely." Rhadaya suggests.
She shakes her head, "No...I don't like the idea of you dealing with them for even a short time alone. Laying down cover fire is fine, but only if you can do it from a distance. If they're all kinda gathered in a spot I can do something from the air to aid...but only if I don't catch the innocents in it. If I change into that one huge eagle, I'm pretty sure I could carry everyone over at the same time. As long as Rajni can hold onto Shamara while holding onto me."
This time Rajni shakes her head, "You don't have to worry about Shamara, I won't risk her again like that. I am going to have her stay here and guard Balladier, where I know she's less likely to get hurt. Are you sure you can carry all of us at the same time though without risking yourself?"
Rhadaya slips a comforting arm around her wife as she protests the idea. "It's okay honey, I'm used t stuff like this. I can use mist as a cover if it will make you feel better. I was thinking of hittent them with an Ice Storm then thunder and lightning on any that seem tougher. They won't be able to see me in the mist."
"With Shamara staying until we take care of them and can get a boat back over we have a better chance of this working." she looks into her wife's eyes seeking to allay her fears. "I promise I won't take unnecessary risks."
She nods though somewhat reluctantly, "Okay...just...just be super careful. There were several of those bastards down there, but there's also innocent people down there in cages. I want us to fly in at the same time, should we hit them from different directions though? It might cause a little more confusion that way. I'm sorry...I'm not much for tactics and strategy, just whatever gets the job done the quickest with the fewest casualties."
Looking at the others she says, "Alright, we'll need to decide what direction we're both approaching from. As Rhadaya is laying down some cover fire to confuse the enemy I'll try to get us in there quickly and with little fuss. As soon as I touch down, I'll need all of you to get off of me quickly so we can spread out to take out the enemy as quickly as possible. Oh...and hold on because I'll be flying in fast. How does that sound?" She asks, still feeling a little uneasy about the whole thing. She didn't get an exact count of everything and just a general location of where the people were. She had no idea what was in the structure, or what exactly they would be facing once they got to the island. She just knew that they couldn't abandon these people.
She holds up her hands in a non threatening manner, "Okay...first of all, it sounds like you're freaking out a little bit. So, just take a deep breath, relax, and realize that you're not gonna be out there alone doing this. Secondly, realize that Ms. Rhadaya would never...ever do anything that would intentionally bring harm to someone that's innocent. So, that being said...you're gonna have to trust her to make good decisions and do what's best for everyone. Lastly, realize that sometimes plans don't always go as planned and that even if they don't...we're still gonna kick their asses and free those people...cuz that's what we do." She takes a step closer to Tesia, but keeps her hands down, "Everything is going to be okay, but you need to believe it. No doubts, no fears....just say, it's going to be okay..no matter what."
Ashram thinks for a moment. "Three of them gave us problems. How many are there, Tesia?"
"A specific number would be nice," Clara agrees.
Taking hold of Rhy's hand she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. Letting it out slowly she says, "Okay....it's going to be okay...no matter what." Opening her eyes she seems a bit more relaxed as she looks over Rajni for a minute, "So...when did you get so smart?"
Rajni just smirks and shrugs her shoulders as the others ask their questions.