Suddenly she stopped. Kimiko looked back to see Clay lying on the edge, spattered in mud, hanging on to the back of her top. Kimiko reached up and grabbed his arm while Clay started pulling her up. Then there was a weird noise, like a straw sucking at what's left in a glass. Clay paused and looked behind him. "What in tarnation-"
Part of the mud that Clay was lying on broke off the edge, taking Clay and Kimiko with it. It was a long way down. Fortunately the mud hit the bottom first, giving them a soft landing. It was unfortunate for the person the mud, Clay, and Kimiko all fell on. He fought until he was able to force his head out of the mud, gasping for breath and spitting out mud. He didn't get much air since both Kimiko and Clay were lying on top of him. "Please- pthoot- remove your- pthoot- gigantic selves from- pthoot- on top of my body." A familiar voice croaked.
"Oh! Sorry Omi!" Kimiko and Clay scrambled off of him. Clay tugged Omi out and wiped him off while Kimiko helped him get air back into his lungs.
"Well the gang's all here." Clay and Kimiko turned to see the speaker. Raimundo stepped out of the shadows, smirking unpleasantly at them.
Kimiko growled. "Raimundo."
"In the flesh." He replied, mimicking Wuya and increasing Kimiko's anger.
If he felt any regret at all for what he did, he sure didn't show it. Kimiko took a few steps back, leaped into the air, and sent a flying kick at Raimundo. "No, wait!" Omi yelled.
Once her foot was a couple inches from Raimundo's head, Raimundo simply waved his hand, murmured "Wind." and Kimiko was blown up and away. Kimiko's fury turned on herself. Yeah. He'd been practicing. In fact, she'd been the one to point that out. But she was too mad to be embarrassed.
The gust pushed her out of the trench and into a rose bush, undoubtedly the result of wood nymph magic. "Stupid wood nymphs!" she yelled.
"Couldn't agree more." a gruff voice growled behind her.
Kimiko tried to see who it was, but the thorns made it difficult. She thrashed out at the bush, but it seemed every time she moved she got pierced. Suddenly the bush vibrated and the world turned upside-down. Then everything went round and round while thorns scratched and stabbed every inch of her skin. Abruptly the thorns released her and she was hurled onto the branch of a redwood. It was soft bark, but still. "Ow." It hurt just to move.
There was a growl from below. Despite herself, Kimiko opened her eyes, glanced down, and instantly wished she hadn't. Not because of what she saw, but she was already dizzy after that merry-go-round-bush ride and looking down made her feel worse. She nearly rolled out of the tree. She did manage to see a wolf circling the tree when she looked down. She recognized it as the one that helped save the goblins. Same rusted copper colored, snarled, thick fur and golden green eyes.
If she had the Star of Hanabi she would roast that flea-bitten rabies carrier to a crisp. But she didn't and she was too dizzy to fight it herself, so there was nothing to do but wait until her head stopped spinning. From the looks of things, that wolf wasn't going anywhere. It would be there when she was ready to make it road-kill. She closed her eyes and rested. She heard the wolf scratch and gnaw at the bark and hoped it got splinters.