The bit of vegetation Blackberry managed to find was some bits of grass, but the few mouthfuls she took had her spitting them out. They were drying her mouth out and stabbing at her tongue. There was no way she could sustain herself off of this shit. And she wasn't exactly fit to go wandering around the other areas of Hydra right now. She needed food, and fast.

She'd been avoiding using it, mainly in case any of the predators around could sense magic and because it made her look absolutely ridiculous for a time, but she couldn't see any other option. She touched the ground with one of her claws and summoned the magic she'd only used sparingly and, right before her eyes, a large, hearty, sparkling banana popped silently into existence. Immediately, she leaned down, opening the sweet fruit and chowing down, eating in large mouthfuls, her back to the edge of the canyon and her eyes roaming around in case anything was trying to sneak up with her while she ate.

Unfortunately, now that she'd used magic, it seemed like one of the spiders had caught onto her. She finished off the banana with a few more bites before beginning to creep away, leaving the banana peel behind. Her feathers were sparkling now, an after effect of the banana, so she pressed herself further into cover to try and mask the glow. She needed to find a reliable spot to cover herself so she could get a bit of rest - and wait for the sparkling to go away.

Behind her, she could hear a quiet scuttling, a rustle as something parted grass and bush.

Should she look behind her, she would see a Spire Spider, shimmering blue in the dim light. Having been drawn to the magic use, it nonetheless found no magic user; only a banana peel. Not knowing what this was, the Spire Spider was now displaying at the banana peel: its abdomen waving at it, hypnotic waves of its legs doing absolutely nothing to hypnotize the empty peel.

The goose was safe from the spider, for now.

@Blackberry

Blackberry carefully glanced back for just a moment, long enough to see the spider approaching the banana and not giving chase to her. She sighed with relief and continued on, putting distance between her and the preadators, trying to find for herself a good nook to take a short rest. It was going to take longer then she thought to find the quillmouse and her leg was hurting worse then ever.

After about a minute of walking, she found what could be the perfect hiding spot - a crevice in the wall leading to a small, protected cave, big enough for her to sit comfortably. She carefully slipped inside and immediately flopped down on the ground, panting. She was tired, but at least her stomach wasn't screaming at her and the water in the banana had stopped her from feeling like she was going to die of thirst.

Now she just needed to rest for a little while.

She closed her eyes and turned her head back, laying it on top of the feathers of her wings. She stayed like that, drifting into a light slumber for what ended up being around an hour.

Her scent, particularly so necrotic, was easily-followed. And the Spire Spider found her in a dead end, tucked away in the darkness. When she woke, she would find it in the entrance to her little hole: its abdomen flicking up and starting its hypnotic sway, standing between her and the 'safety' beyond. Looking for more than a moment was sure to draw her to her doom; and the creature was large enough, too, to defend itself.

@Blackberry

Blackberry suddenly jerked away, feeling a little refreshed from her nap, but the instant she turned for the exit, she realized that she'd fucked up. Seriously fucked up. The spider was standing there, now, swaying and flashing in front of her. She closed her eyes immediately and looked away, breathing heavily. This was really really bad. She didn't know what would happen to her if she looked for too long, but the Collector had warned her against it so it probably meant death. But it wasn't like she could just slip by.

Which meant she only had one option left.

She opened her eyes for a fraction of a second to look at the spider, just to get its location, before closing them again, and launched herself forward, aiming to stab her beak into any part of it. She stumbled as she went, her bad leg cramping, but her sharp beak was still ready to slash or stab at whatever was in reach.

The Spire Spider's forelimbs flailed upward as the goose lunged, the little hooked claws reaching for its prey.

The size of a medium-sized dog, it was nearly double Blackberry's weight, and didn't hesitate in lunging for her. Legs aimed to tangle with her, to wrap around her as hooked fangs lurched for the goose's throat. They scraped briefly over feathers and then into the air, though the spider fought to maintain a hold.

Blackberry's beak struck home, regardless, tearing along the carapace; silvery-blue blood trickled out, metallic, over the pin-sharp bristles that coated the spider. Wherever these bristles struck her they would tear free, and any bare skin on her was likely to find them embedded in the flesh.

As soon as Blackberry felt her beak strike, blood was flowing out. Her eyes were closed and she couldn't see the color but revulsion was quick to rise in her throat. It wasn't like before at all - she would have laughed over the spider's pain, she would have reveled in the blood that was flowing from its carapace, but now it made her sick and threatened to throw her back in time. Desperation, however, kept her in the present. And pain as some of the bristles stabbed into her skin.

She hissed and flinched, the lingering desire to keep fighting leaving her in an instant. The spider jerked forward, its fangs brushing over her feathers but not breaking skin. It was an utterly terrifying moment but she didn't hesitate after that. She lurched and pushed forward as the spider tried to get a hold on her, aiming for the right of where she'd struck so that she could escape between its legs, opening her eyes for just a fraction of a second so that she was able to see for an instant where she was going.

@Game Master Dark

The spider, as Blackberry shoved past, struggled and failed to snag a grip. Hooked feet briefly scraped over skin and feather; fangs lashed out again as the spider was flipped over backward by the violence of her passing. It missed, and lay flailing behind her in the crevice, affording her a precious few moments to escape.

@Blackberry

Blackberry didn't waste a second of her time, stumbling away from the cave, mind moving at a mile a minute. She didn't feel the pain in her foot anymore, so pumped up on adrenaline, but it gave out a few times as she fled from the spider. Still, she picked herself back up and ran. She ran through the shadows against the wall of the ravine, only slowing down once she was sure she'd put enough distance between her and the spider.

The pain was starting to come back and she limped, almost dragging her wounded leg behind her. She couldn't keep going on like this. She needed to find the quillmouse soon or her will was going to collapse.

@Game Master Dark