Crusoe
Crusoe had spent the day searching for two things.
The RainWing village,
And the entrance to the secret Night kingdom.
One of these he kinda DIDN'T want to look for.
If you can't guess which one of the two, here's a hint:
Which one would YOU not want to go to?
The sunny RainWing village, inhabited by peaceful vegetarians?
Or the Night kingdom, where you'd be killed on sight, or if you're lucky, interrogated and having your throat slit, being interrogated and being tossed in the lava, or being important enough to be tossed into the dungeon?
GEE, THAT'S A TOUGH CHOICE.
(For those who couldn't get this from my crazy string of sarcasm, it was most definitely the Night Kingdom.)
He'd tripped over his own tail multiple times already, and was beginning to see why stealth should be advised by now.
Because, you know.
NightWing assassins creeping about in the jungle that'll kill anyone who's not a RainWing.
Which Crusoe had happened to remember the second he heard a howler monkey scream, making him almost jump out of his scales.
Or WAS IT A HOWLER MONKEY?
He didn't want to think about that anymore.
I should find the RainWing village. I need a map, and I'll be lucky if I can find one ther-
RIGHT, THEY'RE ILLITERATE.
I guess I'll just go there for some food. I oddly haven't seen any fruits that I recognize, so I can't list the ones I HAVE seen as safe.
And I really don't want hallucinations because of berries.
I'd probably end up sneaking up on a NightWing and hugging him.
Which would be pretty funny to see, but less funny to experience.
And hey, who knows, they could teach me how to fly. That'd be nice to know.
He tripped over a bank, landing snout-first into a cold, mucky stream.
A tiny purple-blue frog sat on a small rock in front of him, looking at him with a strangely happy expression that looked a little bit like this:
^w^
Crusoe inhaled deeply.
That better not be a poison dart frog.
The frog turned toward him on it's rock, as if it intended to leap onto his snout.
Uh, no, mister frog. I think I'm good.
The frog crept closer.
NO, NO, mister frog. NO.
Crusoe clawed at the mud beneath him, his claws only slipping in the muck as he tried to get up and run away.
NONONONO
The frog turned around, and leapt from his rock to another, eventually leaving Crusoe (Supposedly) alone.
…
Okay then.
He stood up, seeing that the small stream was only a few feet across, and then slipped on the muddy sludge he was standing on once again, awkwardly sprawling his front legs out in front of him.
Ow.
He stood up again, spreading his wings for balance as he stepped out of the muck.
Yikes, I hate that stuff,
He thought, looking down at his mud-caked claws.
Crusoe shrugged, then washed away the grime in the stream, watching the mud disperse in the water like swirling dust in the wind.
There. A little better.
A shiver descended down his spine.
No. No way. There could be-
It felt like someone was watching him, much to his distress.
I made enough noise during that thing with the frog…
He eyed the deep foliage fearfully, then turned around and ran.
Whoever it is, I can't fight them.
They'll be too fast.
Either that, or I'm running from a confused RainWing, that probably hasn't even thought of following me…
Which I highly doubt.
Crusoe tripped over his tail again, his snout becoming covered in dead leaves.
Alright, this is getting ridiculous.
He thought, just as the sound of a hollow movement swooshed over his head.
ACK
He stumbled back to his talons and continued running.
WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT
He leapt over a fallen tree, then quickly stopped and hid underneath.
The sound of falling talons pounded past him, continuing in the distance.
I think he's gone.
Crusoe cautiously crawled out from under the tree, swiveling his head left to right, looking for any NightWings.
I think I'm good.
Yeah, he jinxed himself.
Talons suddenly fell upon him from above, clawing for his neck.
"AAAAAHH, GET OFF ME!" Crusoe yelled, intentionally doing a somersault to crush whoever was on his back into the ground, coming up unsuccessful, as the NightWing had leapt away in time.
Crusoe didn't take the time to examine him or her, whoever it was was trying to kill him.
The NightWing leapt at him, batting away Crusoe's talons and slashing a gash into his neck.
He froze, slowly reaching up to his throat. He looked down at his talons, coated in his own blood, as the world fell away into darkness as the last thing he saw was the NightWing's grin of triumph.