Ed stretched out in his chair, back popping wonderfully as he did. He could see the first rays of light peaking in through the cracks in the shutters and wondered at that. They had been up all night playing this one lousy game. It was meant to be fun. Something to pass the time with friends. The icy one didn't like to lose. She was as tall as he was, slender and wrapped up in a light blue robe. She was obnoxious and had been following them around ever since meeting them, just popping in and out. Harassing them. Insisting on being a part of everything. It had been endearing at first, a little cute even. Not to mention the fact that having a powerful mage around who could become a dragon was a nice card to have up your sleeve. Speaking of which, that was normally a trick he would have tried. He didn't need to here though. She had suggested they start playing games a week or so before, picking games that were ancient. If she was truly as old as she claimed to be then they were most likely games from her own childhood. She had lost every game to one of the crew, night after night. Then Ed had thought hey, why not try and teach her something new? Something easier to pick up? Something they could gamble over, maybe? What a mistake that had been! Teaching her the basics had been simple enough, the seven of them gathered around the table laughing and joking with each other. One by one the others had dropped off though, too tired to continue as Shyrus insisted on rematches. The one time Ed had tried to talk her out of it had been met with the room temperature dropping drastically. She would keep playing until she won.

He thought he had her now, though. Right where he needed her. This was his fourth attempt to let her win now. Twinkle, the only one of the crew still awake and not seeming tired in the least, had taken victory the previous three times. There was no way of communicating with her what he was trying to do, not without alerting the dragon lady. That meant soldiering on. Why had she let the others beg off but had ignored his own attempts? Had he left it too late? Was he doomed now to play this game for all eternity. She wasn't even improving with time! If anything she was getting worse! He suppressed the urge to sob as she threw down two cards which could have won her the game. There was no way. She had to be screwing with him, it was the only rational explanation at this point. Nobody could be this bad.

"Listen, my friend, why don't we call it a night and pick this up again after we all rest? How does that sound? A nice little nap before coming back at it, refreshed and re energized? " The temperature dropped in the room again as those piercing blue eyes met his own. They were slit down the middle like a snake's, and she didn't blink. Now that he thought about it had she blinked at all during the whole night? Did dragons blink? What would happen if something flew into their eye while they were flying? It would cause such a mess if they… He stopped that line of thought. His mind was wandering, fatigue robbing him of his concentration. How was it, then, that he was still able to play around her so effectively? And why did she keep staring at him and not saying anything?! Oh, he needed to go to bed. It was late. Early. He hated his life right then, in that moment. The game ended with Twinkle taking victory again. Ed didn't even pay attention to the chips being slid across the table from in front of him, adding to her pile which had almost been empty just a short hour before. At least someone was enjoying themselves.

"So, are there many people like you? Dragons, I mean?" Another hour had passed and Ed was trying to make conversation now. More to keep himself awake than anything. He had dozed off fifteen minutes before and woke to an icy trickle of water running down his back. He had yelped in surprise and stopped short of saying or doing something that might have seen him eaten. He needed to find a dragon hunter. Someone to take care of this pest.

"Hey yeah Ed, why don't we take a little break? I'm feeling a little hungry if I'm honest with you." A wicked grin spread across her face, then, unnaturally large and showing an unnerving amount of sharp teeth. There was definitely something… Dragony? Draconian? Draconic? about it. Those eyes of hers were practically sparkling and he had a feeling he was being cornered. But what was he going to do, refuse her request? He could, probably. Try one more time to convince her to let him finally go to bed. Like that would work. With a sigh, he agreed with her. "That's great! Who else is hungry? Here, I can open a portal to this beautiful little place I know in Adeluna. You can hop through, pick us up some grub and hop on back. Convenient, eh?" He couldn't fault that. It sure did sound convenient. It would also give him a little time away from her. If he got really lucky he could grab himself a cat nap. Everything decided the mage stood and made a gesture, opening a gateway. The air that came through was warm and heavy with humidity, definitely not Adeluna. He was about to question this when he felt a hand upon his back exerting pressure, pushing him through the portal. He spun in place as his boots hit foreign ground, turning just in time to see an evil grin and a wink. Balls.

He took a mental inventory, his mind waking up quickly as panic threatened to ambush him. He had… Absolutely nothing. He was wearing a common set of pants and a plain white shirt, along with his well worn boots. His belt had a coin pouch attached with just a handful of silver. He had grabbed his overcoat from the back of his chair but it was far too humid to be wearing it right now. He looked around and his heart sunk even further. He had no clue to where he was, it wasn't a place that he recognized from his travels across either continent. He was in the middle of a plain. There was nothing, no landmarks he could orient himself with. There were trees up ahead though. And to either side. He sighed and ran his hand over his bare scalp. Okay. Don't panic. Just start walking and figure this out.

As the sun rose and began to beat down on him Ed stripped his shirt, wrapping it around his head and slipping on the overcoat. He wanted to stay cool, but at the same time he didn't want the sun to burn him. The trees were getting closer now and there, among them… Was that a building? He shaded his eyes with a hand and squinted, using a little magic to enhance his sight. It was a building! With a cry of joy he began to run towards it.

He was close to it when his run faltered, slowing until he finally stopped and stood there staring. What he had at first taken to be a tree next to the building was actually a tree growing through the building. Nobody had been here in years. He closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. The dragon would be back for him. She wasn't going to leave him here. By now Peabody would be awake and questioning where he was. Maybe Twinkle had already roused the others. There was a loud roar, from very close by. Ed swallowed. What could that be now?

Paradox had jumped at the chance to take a researching trip to Bakulaw Isle. She had never been to the island before and was curious to discover if the legends surrounding the place was true. It had been a brief boat ride over and hadn't taken nearly as long as she'd expected, not that she would really complain. She wasn't the biggest fan of boats anyway. She had spent that last couple days inside the fortress of the research facility helping to identify the miscellaneous animals and plants that the hunters had been able to locate and bring back alive.  Everything here seemed to have an aggressive streak, it was rare to discover any plants or creatures that didn't want to attack an individual outright.

While she had enjoyed staying inside and studying the creatures from the laboratory and their cages, she'd really been looking forward to going outside. At first, she was only allowed to venture out of the fortress with armed guards accompanying her. After some time when she had proved herself capable of her own protection against most creatures, was she able to explore unsupervised. However, even though she was allowed to wander alone, she still made sure to make some precautions. She wore a light metal armor of sorts to protect herself. She wore a metal croupiere which covered her hindquarters, with metal plating that went up to the criniere that covered the horse chest above her forelegs. She wore metal bracers on all four legs to protect them from being stung or bitten. She wore a metal vest over her human chest that extended down her stomach. She had braces on her lower arms while keeping her upper arms exposed. 

She kept her head relatively void of armor, as her large ears would make it difficult to have more than a small helmet upon her head for long periods of time. She had strapped to her flank her long bardiche in case she would need it. Once her armor was sufficiently in place, she stood before the mighty gates as they were slowly opened. With a nod and brief thank you to the gatekeepers, she trotted out of the fortress and into the natural part of the island. The metal was awkward to wear at first, but she got used to it the longer she wore it. The metal workers had engineered it specifically for her, as no other Centaurs had participated in a research study on the island before. She appreciated their efforts, as the armor provided ample protection but also allowed her to still have her full range of motion. 

It was on one of her daily excursions that she found a large field that had been previously not been documented. She made a mental note as she went along the tree cover beside the great plain. The strength of the sun here was brutal and she figured that in the metal tin that she was, it would take no time at all for her to bake. She stayed in the shade as often as she could, her hooves clopping quietly along the forest floor. Occasionally a small plant would rear back its flowered head and either attempt to nip or spit something foul at her. Her heavy foot made short work of it.

She was trotting along for a short while when she heard a vaguely human sound. She stopped and perked her ears in the direction of the sound, puzzled. There were no hunters out today. She thought to herself. It couldn't have been a person, merely a bird imitating one or something. She started walking, her ears still intent to pick up the sound.  She heard a thrashing sound, like something hurrying very quickly through brush and she braced herself, turning to face the forest. Her hand lept to her long blade and pulled it out of its sheath, holding it at the ready. Suddenly the sound stopped and she heard a loud sigh. Definitely a human sound. She turned around and looked out into the big field. Just outside the tree line was a large man with a shirt on his head and wearing an overcoat. A very odd sight indeed for these parts.

She stepped up to the edge of the field and called out to him. "Hello there! Are you alright?" She was rather curious about this, she'd never seen a person outside the fortress before, especially so far out. She didn't have time to wait for a response before she heard a loud roar nearby. She felt the earth shaking under her feet and quickly cantered over to the man. She stood next to him, holding her arm out in front of his chest. She looked towards the forest a determined look on her face. "Be absolutely still," she whispered to him quietly. She planted her feet firmly in the ground. "They can't see you if you don't move."

Ed stood staring at the crumbling walls, creeping vines, empty door and windows and tried to plan his next course of action. Would it be better to stay here, search the building and hope to find some kind of… Something that would help him wait out however long it would be before his crew came for him? Or should he return. Find his way back to where he had appeared in this place. It was possible, he supposed, that they were already back there waiting for him. That wandering off had been a bad decision. Even now they might be decided to leave without him. Just give up on finding him. His heart rate and breathing sped up and the panic began to set in. It wasn't just the fact that he was here alone but also now there was whatever had roared. A voice called out to him, distracting him and drawing him back from the edge. He looked over, an eyebrow raising as he looked her over.

He had a couple of seconds to file away key details. She was a centaur, armed and armored and out here in the middle of wherever he was. She was obviously a hallucination. Years ago he had spent time, against the will of his crew at the time, chasing rumors of a tribe of attractive warrior women. It was true that when he had pictured them they hadn't had quite so many legs, but as he gave her another appraising look, it seemed his subconscious had cooked up a centaur to embody the fantasy. He knew he had been dehydrated, but hadn't thought he was quite so far gone. Oh well, it was going something to pass the time. He put on his most charming grin and turned to face her fully. 

"Don't move, eh? Who don't you want seeing us?" he had forgotten completely about the shirt wrapped around his head and how ridiculous he must look. This was his fantasy which meant even if he did acknowledge how ridiculous he looked then it wouldn't even make a difference. This wasn't his first experience with hallucinations and he would just roll with this one for as long as it lasted. The ground rumbled and there was that roar again. Ed shot a look at the nearby trees. Was this a part of the fantasy or was this real? Another rumble, and another. Ed turned his back on the centaur and took two cautious steps towards the tree line. There was the sound of something large moving through the trees, branches snapping, trees groaning. A scaled snout appeared and Ed watched as the giant monster appeared in the open. "What the…" It was like nothing that he had ever seen before. Well, not nothing. It reminded him of a dragon, in a way, but standing on two legs and with two short arms. No wings. This wasn't a dragon then. Was it as intelligent as a dragon? Perhaps it knew Shyrus!

Ed began jogging over to the creature, waving his arms to get it's attention. He was saved!

Paradox heard the man speak and was about to respond to him when he started talking again. She looked down at him and perked her ears in his direction, her tail flicking quickly above her hocks. She opened her mouth to respond when the snout of a large reptile peaked out of the trees. She promptly shut her mouth and braced herself, slowly bringing her hand back to the handle of her blade. She was ready for anything, especially with these large creatures. She was more concerned by the fact that she couldn't sense others with this creature. If it was alone, it likely meant it was one of the predatory creatures on the island.

This made it all the more surprising to her when he ran over to the creature waving his arms to further get its attention. Her jaw dropped in shock. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. He was actually running towards a predator that wanted to eat him. She didn't know what to say. It took her a second to regain her composure before she was cantering after the man. A part of her questioned whether letting him get eaten would be worthwhile, but she decided the guilt would be too much. A life was a life after all. She pulled her blade from its sheath and held it in both hands. 

Her hooves thundered over the ground as the man got close to the creature. She saw it tense up as it was about to strike and swallow him. She leaped up over the man, swinging her blade underneath of her and catching the creatures top jaw in the hook, preventing it from closing its mouth. She landed in front of the man, her weapon still caught in the creature. Bracing her hindquarters and she reared up on her back legs. While kicking out with her front legs, she powerfully moved forward, pushing the creature back into the trees. The creature screamed in pain, as she pulled her blade out from its mouth and swinging it quickly over her head. She brought it down hard behind the creatures head, making a deep cut in its neck. 

It started bleeding heavily, but she doubted the wound would prove fatal, it wasn't near any arteries and wasn't deep enough to penetrate the nervous system. It did prove to be a serious deterrent against a future attack. She fell back down to all fours as the creature screamed again briefly before turning back into the jungle. Only after its heavy footsteps faded did she turn and look at the man. She put her blade back in the sheath, she'd clean it later back at the base. Her ears pinned back as she looked down at him sternly, her tail flicked impatiently. "Please tell me what exactly you were thinking when you thought it would be a good idea to run up to that thing?"

Ed couldn't fathom the logic behind this entire thing, the way the dragon thought was entirely alien to him. The fact that she had sent him here and waited for him to hit rock bottom before finally sending this strange breed of flightless dragon to rescue him must have been hilarious to her. For him, though, he was just happy that he hadn't truly been left here. As the creature turned towards him, staring at him with those beady reptilian eyes, he had a moment of doubt. Whatever this thing was, it was here to rescue him, right?

"Hi there, be fella…" Ed looked up, and up, and up at it. It was big. It's mouth was full of rows of sharp teeth, each one of them the size of a dagger, which were revealed as it's mouth began to hang open. He reached up, pulling the shirt from around his head as he stared into the mouth of whatever it was. "So… Er… Where do we go from here?"

Before his new scaly companion could reply and lead him to freedom, the sound of thundering hooves drowned everything out. He had a moment to glance back over his shoulder before his hallucination was soaring over him. He managed a single thought about how majestic she looked flying through the air before she landed again. He blade was swinging, her movements fast and precise and she did battle with his rescuer. That meant, if she wasn't real then neither was the giant lizard creature… Had his subconscious really picked such a form for him to see? Ed bit his lip as he watched the centaur's blade cut into the back of the creature's neck. It gave another roar before turning tail and running. Ed's jaw hung open. It all looked so realistic, the dehydration lending only a slight fuzziness to all the details. Could it be this was all real? If that were so, did that make the centaur warrior woman a friend or foe? She had sure charged in quickly.

She snapped at him, questioning his actions and leaving him speechless. He realised he was still gaping at her after watching that impressive display. He shut it with an audible click. He looked from her to the signs of the creature's retreat and back to her again, trying to work out what it was she was asking. Why wouldn't he run up to his way out of this place? Somewhere, probably in that forest right there, Shyrus could be waiting with a portal to take him back home.

"Well you see, what happened was… Er… That was a friend, of a friend, you see… And you, er, kind of…. Well anyway, Madam Centaur, it has been a pleasure but… Er…" Throughout this bumbling, stumbling little speech he had been edging closer and closer towards the treeline. Perhaps if he got there he could follow the trail that was left by that giant lizard.

Paradox pinned her ears back and squinted her eyes at his reply. She couldn't tell if he was delirious or merely idiotic. She looked down at him, wondering to herself if had suffered a head wound of some sort or had some other impairment that would cause him to lose his common sense and sense of preservation. She walked over to him slowly, careful about her movements so that he would not have cause for alarm. Her tail flickered once above her hocks in hesitancy and she looked over to the tree line. Perhaps he was drugged or under a spell of some sort. That would explain his odd behavior, but it still didn't explain how he had ended up here so suddenly without warning.

"Take it easy," she said, she stepped towards him quietly, putting her hands out to show that she was no threat. "I'm not going to hurt you." She reached slowly behind her and pulled out her canteen. She held it out to him. "Here, drink this. The sun is probably getting to you. It's just water. I promise." She waited patiently for him to take it. She cocked a back leg casually and bent down to look at him more closely. She perked ears forward in interest. "My name is Paradox, " she said slowly. "I am not a hallucination. You are on Bakulaw Isle, its an island off the coast of Parvpora. I'm with a research group doing studies and investigations into the flora and fauna of this place. We are the only humans on the island, there is no one else."

She paused for a minute, giving him time to process the information she'd just given him. She hoped the water would help clear his mind. After a short time, she continued to speak. "I just ask you to come with me to The Fortress. There are people there that can help you and can help get you back to where you came from. This island is very dangerous. Both the plants and the animals here are designed to inflict harm and pain. Being new to the island, they will be quick to pick up on your naivety and take advantage of it. Come with me, I would like to be back to The Fortress before dark if we can manage. The creatures here are very clever and at night, I will not be able to protect you as well."

She let him keep the flask and took a few steps away from him. She turned and looked back at him to see if he would follow her. Her eyes were bright and sharp but had no sign of malice. She'd helped escort visitors before and had worked with the guards on a few occasions. She preferred the scholarly research, but she could be very protective if needed. Especially with this armor now, she would be very difficult to defeat in combat. 

The centaur began trying to calm him, much like he imagined he would try to calm a horse if he was ever called upon to do such a thing. The thought was… Amusing. On the other hand, it was also the way he would attempt to calm an animal that was being led to a slaughter, too. He narrowed his eyes at her, watching her warily and feeling the absence of any kind of weapon sorely. She was armed, though, and he had seen just how capable she was with that weapon. He wasn't even going to try and kid himself here. Even if he was fully armed and at his peak there was no way he was going to be able to keep up with her. This in mind, and the fact that he wasn't armed or anywhere near peak condition, he decided that fighting was completely out of the picture. It just wouldn't and couldn't happen, so violence? Not something he was going to entertain thoughts of. That left flight. He could still run, he was sure of that. His two legs against her four, though. That wasn't going to end well. Maybe if he got into the forest, between the trees and on the uneven ground… Aid himself with a little magic… Yeah, that could work. If she didn't strike him down first, that was. That was a strange course for his thoughts to take, he could see that. All because she was treating him like an animal…

He took the offered canteen from her, in no way trusting her but at the same time not wanting to provoke her in any way. He had no idea of knowing how she would react if he spurned her offer. He was beginning to believe she was real though. He wasn't sure at exactly what point he had decided to place his faith in her reality, but there it was. It's just water. She promised. Why would she feel the need to add that, at the end there. His already narrowed eyes narrowed even further, but he made an effort to quit that as she lowered herself to inspect him. Trying to figure out how much meat was available? Or how much silver he was carrying? He stared into her gray eyes, looking for some kind of sign that would reveal her intent towards him. Nothing. He couldn't tell. She introduced herself as a paradox. Or, as Paradox. He lifted the canteen to his lips as she explained where she wanted him to believe they were, making a show of taking a drink but not letting any of the liquid pass his lips. He couldn't trust it, unless he saw her drink from it first. Even then… Where there poisons that affected humans and not centaurs? How frustrating. He had heard of this island, Bakulaw. Never saw a point of going there though, or here he should say if the centaur could be trusted, because there wasn't a huge demand for anything he had ever had an interest in smuggling. The creatures were meant to be deadly… Oh. He thought about this for a moment. The giant lizard… What if Shyrus had sent him here to die?

He lost track of what she was saying as he thought about the implications. The question came down to who could he trust more? A stranger he had met recently, a dragon who Ed was sure was a little psychotic and had been hounding him and his crew for a while now. Driving them crazy. Or a stranger he had met just now, who might have possibly saved his life. Well, that wasn't really much of a question, was it? How could he really trust anyone in this situation? He slipped the canteen into his coat pocket and followed after the centaur as she began to walk away. He had caught something about a fortress, and getting there before night. A glance up to the sky told him they had some time yet, but how was he to know how far away the fortress even was? "I am Ed, by the way!" he called out to her. Normally he would have introduced himself as the captain of one of the vessels but for now it would be best to play things close to the chest. Something in the trees caught his eye, just for a second. Had he seen movement just then? Whatever it was hadn't been close to the size of the monster the centaur had fought off, but still… He shook his head, not seeing anything. A trick of the light on his exhausted, dehydrated mind he supposed.

Paradox watched him take the canteen from her but didn't drink from it. She saw him narrow his eyes at her, skeptical likely. She didn't trust him. She didn't care, that was his deal. She was concerned mainly with getting him back to The Fortress in one piece. Which, on this island, would surely prove to be a challenge. After he started stepping in her direction and following her, did she turn and started walking back towards The Fortress. She cocked an ear back and tilted her head as she heard him speak. The first coherent and relevant words he'd said this whole time. He introduced himself as Ed. It was a relief that he felt comfortable enough to tell her his name, whether it was real or not was to be decided. 

"It's nice to meet you, Ed," she said, she glanced back at him as she walked through the trees. She picked her a foreleg over a large log, careful not to rap her hind hooves on the hardwood. She didn't want to make unnecessary sounds to alert the nearby predators. A vine on a tree tried to snap at her as if it was a snake. It "bit" into the metal on her shin and she casually leaned against it to crush it into the tree. "Be careful with these nasty weeds," she called back to him while looking for more of the snapping plants. "They aren't very particular about what they snap into."

Every so often, she'd look back to make sure he was doing alright. This was not a simple walk in the woods, here, everything was willing and able to kill, hurt, maim, or poison you if you weren't careful. At one point, she saw him about to step on a large toothed slug, under the disguise of a log. She promptly walked over and gave it a swift kick out of the way. It snapped back at her, but she was too fast, and it flew out of sight before it could reach her. She planted her hind leg firmly back into the ground before looking back at Ed. "A little bit more awareness will save you a lot of agonies later," she told him quietly. She flicked her ears back and forth, checking to see if there were any creatures nearby.

She continued onward at a slow but steady pace, stopping periodically for him to catch up and rest. After spending more time with people, she had learned that she took rather large steps in comparison and fatigued slower, as a result of her equine endurance. It wasn't a big deal and it was one she was easily able to adapt to. After they stopped again, she approached him, careful not to appear as intimidating. "How are you holding up?" She asked. She glanced at the sun, noticing that it had shifted more towards the horizon. "We will be at The Fortress very soon if you can keep going at this pace." She was quiet for a bit as she waited, turning her head suddenly. Whether it was a flash of light or a leaf falling, she couldn't be sure. "What was that?" She was ready to fight at a moments notice.
 

The centaur, Paradox, began leading the way and Ed followed her. What else was there for him to do at this point? She stepped easily over a log, which he was forced to scramble over. He glanced up at her to see if she had noticed that, hoping she hadn't. She didn't indicate that she had, and he would just go on believing that. He watched, a shocked, as something he thought was part of a tree snapped at her. Some kind of snake, surely. She seemed to be unfazed by it though, crushing it against the nearest tree as if these things happened all the time. Lucky for her she had been wearing that armor. He suddenly felt naked and exposed. She called it a weed?! What kind of weeds did that? He began looking around nervously, suddenly afraid of every plant and flower, picturing them as lurking predators that were just waiting for the chance to spring on him. Was paranoia a sign of dehydration? He thought about the canteen, licking dry lips with a dry tongue. He would hold out a little longer before risking the poisoned water. Just a bit longer.

His mind began to drift as they continued their trek through the forest. His vigilance hadn't lasted for long. He was finding it harder and harder to concentrate on the here and now, his thoughts just drifting away. He stepped on something that had a little give to it and looked down. It looked like a log, perhaps rotten judging by the texture. Paradox was there in a flash, though, kicking whatever it was aside. The log tried biting her. That was… Worrisome. What was he doing out here? She warned him, quietly, and he vowed to himself that he would pay attention from here on. For whatever reason she seemed to be trying to help him, and was putting herself at quite some risk to lead him through this forest. Unless… Why would you lead someone through this death trap… Was there really no other way? He bit his lower lip, worrying it as he continued following her again. If she wanted him dead, that would have been easy enough. So what was she up to? She began pulling away, her longer stride becoming harder to keep up with. She did appear to be trying to slow her pace, though, and stopped regularly.

It was during one of these stops, when he was finally deciding that trusting her was the only way to proceed from here if he had any hopes of surviving, when she approached him. She asked how he was holding up, which was nice of her. Something caught her attention though, off in the trees. Ed turned to follow her gaze, his reactions sluggish. Was there something there? He blinked his eyes repeatedly, trying to focus but finding it hard. Instead, he began walking over. He was sure there was something there, now. Was that an eye? It sure looked like an eye, the pupil a slit like a snake's. It was at about head height, maybe a little higher. Just… Hanging there, leaves and shadows hiding whatever it belonged to. "Hey there…." he croaked, his parched throat raw. He lifted his hands up in a calming gesture. He sure hoped it was friendly, whatever it was.

Paradox stared intently at the large eye hanging from the tree top. Ed saw it too and called out to it, but fortunately didn't decide to approach it this time. The predatory eye of the creature was enough to make the fur underneath her armor stand up on end. She didn't like the looks of this creature, not even a little bit. She hadn't seen all the creatures on this island, but she had been here long enough to know that the majority of the animals here were not peaceful or herbivorous. Not even the plants were safe to walk among most days. They too had carnivorous intentions.

This creature, judging by its ability to camouflage itself and its massive size, was probably no exception. It looked at them with an evil glint in its unblinking eye. Just as suddenly as it appeared, it pulled its large head back up into the trees and disappeared. She slowly pulled her bardiche out of its sheath again, her eyes trained on the branches above them. From its silent approach and scaley appearance, it was likely some sort of giant serpent. She carefully walked over to where Ed was standing, putting a foot in front of him, her ears flicking wildly in an attempt to hear a sound of the creature. In the sudden silence, all sounds seemed to be amplified as the adrenaline started to flow in her veins. The most dangerous enemy for a centaur was one they couldn't see.

She closed her eyes and focused on just the sounds around them. She heard a leaf flicker above them, determined where it was coming from and then flashed open her eyes. It a split second she'd shifted her weight onto her hindquarters and spun on her hooves. The mighty serpent struck down at them from the branches, its mouth large enough to engulf half her body at once. The monstrous fangs were as long as her arm. With a flash of her large blade, she brought it down across the creature's snout, leaving a large bloody gash among the green scales. It gave a shriek and pulled itself back up into the trees. 

She looked down at Ed, her eyes bright and ears perked. "We have to go," she told him firmly. "I didn't kill that thing, I only made it angry. With him being up in the trees, I can't protect you. We have to run for it, the fortress is only a short ways off. Once we get there, we'll be safe. The other guards will come and assist us if it tries to follow." She heard the mighty tree serpent already starting to follow them in the branches as she took a few steps away from Ed. "Come on, we have to go." She looked back at him, her tail flicking nervously. She waited for him and then turned and cantered through the trees. She made sure to only go at a pace that he could follow.