Raccoon leaped from one tree to the next, scouting ahead through the thick jungle, and trying to make sense of the path before him. The humid air of the nearby coastline led into a dampness for the jungle overall, giving the place a tropical climate that he'd long been accustomed to. The brown bear had grown up in a jungle much like this, indistinguishable from the wild beasts that had raised him. In the way of clothing, he still was, save for the pink Chao plush he currently wore as a backpack. Despite the comforting familiarity of the environment, however, even he was having trouble making heads or tails of the way ahead.
"See anything yet?" Came a yell below him. The source of the yell was Jack, a red wolf decked out in a black, yellow, and white battlesuit. In many ways, Jack had served as a mentor and friend to Raccoon since he left his original home. "NO!" Raccoon growled out in a facsimile of normal speech. He wasn't really able to get out more than a syllable at a time, but he doubted Jack could see him using sign language from this distance, so the attempt was necessary.
"!" Said Cyber, a cyborg canary whom Jack seemed to share a bond that Raccoon didn't fully understand, but still appreciated. The grey bird was the first in a line of cyborgs called "ECS Units," which the three of them would NORMALLY be hunting down and freeing...But such work often required a lot of traveling, and it's hard to maintain resources when hunting down such leads on your own. This had led to them needing to join up with the Restoration, a humanitarian effort that would sponsor them in exchange for the occasional "volunteer work."
Such was the reason the three of them now found themselves on the tropical Yuzu Islands, where the locals had begun reporting the presence of a large creature roaming the deeper parts of the jungle and disrupting various farming efforts for the local village. It was their job to track it down, identify it, and if needed, neutralize it.
"!" Cyber said again, resting the massive backpack she had volunteered to carry down to sit on it as she got a rest. Jack nodded, understanding her electronic speech. "Alright. Raccoon! We're taking five!" he yelled up, prompting Raccoon to jump down to the ground below and sit down, equally as exhausted. "I don't get it, none of these maps line up. It's like this place was MADE to get lost in!" Jack complained, checking his holographic maps for the billionth time that afternoon. Cyber was about to speak up in reply, but Raccoon suddenly heard something and began growling as he detected a presence nearby. "What is it, buddy?" Jack asked, reaching his hand towards the energy sword on his back. Behind him, however, a pair of yellow eyes peered across from the shadows, their owner locking onto her target.
"YOINK!" Said a light grey blur, swinging by on a vine. The three turned their attention to the trees above, where a young, marbled cat in a grass skirt took just a moment to slip on the hat she'd stolen right from Cyber's head. Cyber instinctively put a hand to the top of her head, letting out a panicked, "!" as she did so. "Hey! Get back here!" Jack called out. The cat just blew a raspberry at him before swinging deeper into the trees.
The cat leapt and swung from tree to tree, careful to keep the prize she'd just earned securely on her head. It wasn't that she truly cared for it or anything, she just didn't like random tourists in HER jungle. Clearly, THESE people needed to learn the rules! She laughed as the wolf and the funky looking bird tried to pursue her on the jungle floor below, too slow to keep up with her obvious prowess, calling out desperately for her to stop...
But wait...Weren't there THREE of these guys?
Her answer soon came as the brown bear appeared before her, giving a mighty roar that startled her enough that she lost her balance, sending her tumbling through the tree she was in, branch by branch, until the bear caught her by the wrist just before she hit the ground. She flailed desperately to get out of his grip, but his strong hold wouldn't budge. Nearby, the stolen cap floated safely to the ground, having been lost in the tumble. The wolf picked it up and gave it to the bird before approaching and addressing the cat. "Hey! No fair, sneaking up on me like that!" The cat cried out in anger, still struggling, to no avail, to free her wrist from the bear's grasp. "All's fair when dealing with a thief, kid. Didn't your parents ever teach you it's not nice to steal?" The wolf replied, crossing his arms and assuming a stricter tone. The cat's countenance notably fell at the mention of parents. "No, I...I don't need them anyway." She stammered out quietly. "...Right." The wolf said, clearly picking up on her change in tone, and softening his own. "Well, I'm Jack, the one you're going to apologize to is named Cyber, and your new best friend over here is Raccoon." He continued, gesturing to himself, the bird, and the bear respectively. "What's yours?"
"Wouldn't YOU like to know?" The cat replied, giving some more futile pulls to Raccoon's grip. "Now let me GO!"
"Apologize, then we'll let you go." Jack stated firmly. "Ugh! Fine, I'm sorry, okay? I won't do it again!" the cat said, before muttering, "to YOU" under her breath. Jack gave a nod to Raccoon, who released his grip on the cat's wrist. She immediately started rubbing the area under a small leaf bracelet. "Yeesh! Who taught YOU how to handle a lady? That HURT!"
"Well, maybe that'll teach you to respect the property of others. See ya around, kid." Jack said, before he, Cyber, and Raccoon began walking deeper into the jungle. As they did so, however, a sly smile creeped across the cat's face as she recognized an opportunity to regain some of her lost pride. "I wouldn't go that way if I were you!"
The group quickly stopped in their tracks, and Jack let out a frustrated sigh. "And why, pray tell, would we NOT want to go that way?" The cat leaned casually against a nearby tree. "Well, if you REALLY wanna know, there's this BIG patch of REALLY nasty plants back there that can swallow you whole! Oh, and over there?" She motioned over to another path. "Big snake I've been tryin' to lick the past few weeks, but I warn ya, he's a fighter! Might be a she, come to think of it."
Spinning over grandly to another area, as if she were some professional dancer or the grandmaster at a circus, the cat pointed at yet another path. "This one is MOSTLY safe, but there's this fork in the path where you'll REALLY want to go to the left...Or is this the one where you wanna go to the RIGHT? There's also one where you just keep moving forward...I don't know, I usually just know 'em when I see 'em." Jack groaned and rubbed his forehead as he realized what the cat was implying. "-Looks like we could use a guide.-" Cyber whispered to Jack. He gave an "Mmm-hmm" in defeat. "Well, since you know this jungle SO well, would you PLEASE guide us through it?"
The cat brought her hands up to her chest in mock humility. "Why, of COURSE, mister! Since you asked SO nicely!" She did a quick skip over and forcefully started shaking Jack's hand. "I'm Marbles, by the way."
"...Sure thing, kid." Jack said, coldly, as he and Cyber started walking down the safe path. Raccoon started to follow, before Marbles jumped up on his head and put her upside-down face in his. "By the way, just so we're clear," She started, before popping the claws in one of her hands and showing them off. "I could've easily scratched your eyes out back there. I just didn't because I find you interesting." With that, she hopped off of Raccoon's head, gave him a saccharine smile, and then ran off to catch up with the group. Raccoon just stood there confused for a second before he too joined the trek.