After recovering from the dizziness, nausea, and subsequent vomiting from doing around 80 consecutive backflips in a row, Seffyroth had made it out of tunnel P. Seffy had thought the tunnel was the hottest place he'd ever been in. But the heat from there was paltry compared to Hydra. The only thing that came to mind in comparison was the heat from the awry power beam.

Seffy was struck by the want to go back, but he refused. Heroes didn't turn their backs on people in need. And the person in need right now was himself. He would endure, no matter how difficult things became! There was no turning back. Eventually the dunes became interspersed with rocky ground, and the canyons loomed ahead.

Seffy flew ahead, touching down on a cliff edge with finesse. His eyes darted around, searching for evil and/or villains. No nests caught his eye, and he continued the search. He searched the maze-like ravines for what felt like hours.

His throat became more dry as time went on, his tongue like a weight in his mouth. He considered looking for food when he spotted something. Another bird took flight from somewhere, and it was large. Its silhouette dwarfed his own. But this was it!

Once the bird was off, Seffy flew the direction the bird had taken flight from. His destiny awaited.


spk thk

@captain (I remember you saying you wanted to post captain in here, so tagging you in the thread!)
((Leaving out any description of the nest if you wanna describe the area !))

The Eyehooks nested atop the canyon walls. Not along them, no; not on the dusty, narrow trails half-broken into crumbled dirt that wound their way up to the tops.

They nested on the plateaus themselves: on the broad, open, sun-baked stone plains above the canyons. Tangled, wiry nests of tumbleweed brush were woven into sharp, round shapes some ten or more feet wide, and the noisy Eyehooks screeched and flapped about them. The ground up there was littered with the bones of prey, and chased-off enemies, and the abandoned quills of Quillmice, and the husks of torn-up Scorpions and giant spiders. The whole place looked like a dead, blinding-bright killing ground.

Approaching the nests to search them would be difficult: there were some eighty of the birds on the plateau above, and there was no guarantee that this was even the right mesa to begin the search at.

@Seffyroth Gryphon

After the time he'd stubbed his hoof trying to do magic, Captain hadn't been too enthusiastic about using his powers again. But as the days dragged on, scorching day after freezing night, the calf was longing for his own little crevice more and more.

Now, as he huddled miserably beneath the shadow of a rock formation, Captain was making those selfsame wishes. A crevice to shield him from the blazing orbs! A crevice to protect him from those accursed vultures! A crevice to--ARRR, WHAT IS THAT!

That was a bird, but many times smaller than the eyehook vultures that menaced the area. And why did it seem to be reflecting flashes of pink light as it flew? Surely that couldn't be right. Captain dared peek out from the shade, squinting upwards at Seffy. "Blimey, ya reckless ol' sea dog," he muttered, then shouted: "OI, WHAT DO YA THINK YER DOIN'?! YER GOIN' TO END UP IN DAVY JONES' LOCKER IF YA KEEP FLYIN' ABOUT WITH THE VULTURES LIKE THAT!"

@Seffyroth Gryphon

Seffyroth's approach had been well and truly quiet. The Eyehooks hadn't even noticed him yet; he wasn't near them. The bovine below, on the other hand...

Captain's bellows drew a couple hundred eyes. Dozens of hungry Eyehooks snapped their gazes downward, and one thought rippled through them: food.

In a cloud of battering wings they took flight, some feathered and some leathery, some black and some brown. But as a flock they blocked out even Hydra's bright light, diving down to find Captain beneath the shadow of the rock.

First one Eyehook spotted him in his meagre shelter--then another, and their screeching drew a third, and fourth...

Captain must roll to hide from, flee from or otherwise escape the nest of Eyehook Vultures. He must not have open air above him if he wishes to survive. A failure will put him into further danger. Seffyroth may interact however he sees fit: the entire nest is diving for Captain.

@Seffyroth Gryphon

ARRR, those dang scurvy dogs noticed me! That'd teach him to try to look out for others! And now that they'd spotted him beneath his rock, a little bit of shade wasn't goin' to stop none o'them! "Errr--!" he scrambled to run away, "--I be needin' to get movin'! See ya!"

Captain charged from the meager patch of shade, making it quite a distance away from the rock in his haste before realizing--there were no crevices in sight, and now he was even more exposed. Foolishly, he hesitated, debating whether to set a course back for the rock or continue and hoped he could find something before the vultures tore his eyes out, leaving him with all the less distance from them.

Finally making a decision, Captain scrambled to race away again, nearly tripping over his own hooves. But they were flying faster than he was running, and there was still no shelter within reach.

Content Warning
This post contains potentially sensitive material:

gore

The Eyehooks descended like a black cloud: shading out the orb-lights above, sweeping in with a cacophony of screeches and clacking beaks as they fought for a prime feeding spot on the calf.

Talons raked for his eyes. Beaks tore at flanks and ribs. There was nothing of fun or adventure in this: these creatures aimed to kill--no, to consume; killing mattered little. Captain could be alive or dead; they would eat him either way.

Running out into the open was not an option: they would kill him there. Eat him. If only he could find a place to hide, before too much damage was done...

Captain is being actively attacked by a flock of Eyehook Vultures. He can make one more roll to attempt to somehow escape this flock; a failure will result in severe injury (including the damage of at least one eye) or a return to his chrysalis.

@Captain

Content Warning
This post contains potentially sensitive material:

gore

Captain bleated like a goat as the Eyehooks caught up to him. "ARRR, YA SCURVY DOGS!" he cried as talons tore into his flesh, leaving gashes that quickly welled up and overflowed with blood. The calf swung his head wildly as he ran, leaving himself feeling more than a bit dizzy from the combined motion and blood loss. If it could at least give the vulture a harder time getting at his eyes, though, that'd be worth the dizziness.

There were still no crevices he could easily fit into in the sheer cliff faces nearby, but Captain really needed one. Fine; he'd make his own shelter. Captain bellowed wordlessly at the nearest rock wall as he stumbled toward it. There was magic in it, magic that could maybe widen a crevice or create a rock fall that could block off a space from the vultures. Anything to escape their ripping beaks and talons.

The spell was not a strong one--but given the crumbled rock above, it was enough.

...Just enough. Barely enough, as the Eyehooks came screeching in, careening off the shattered stone. Captain would slip in, and the Eyehooks would be unable to follow the calf, though it didn't stop them trying: for nearly twenty minutes they would scream and batter at the rock-fall, talons lashing blindly into the gap--but hitting nothing.

Eventually, they would grow hot, and tired. Eventually, something else would draw their interest: and, one by one, they would fall silent and flap away, leaving Captain in his new (and crumbled) den.

Captain is now safe for several hours or until the end of this thread, whichever comes first!

@Captain

Captain lurched into the shelter, a few stray stones stinging as they bounced off his hide. Then the rocks were piling up, blocking off the way outside save for a narrow gap that allowed in rays of orb-light and the nefarious talons of the vultures. The calf cowered away from them, pressing himself to the back of his makeshift crevice and flinching whenever a rock seemed to shift. Would they make it in--? Would they manage to move the rocks, and descend on him while he was trapped?

They would not. They gave up, eventually, leaving Captain to gingerly examine his wounds in the narrow space. The bleeding had mostly slowed to a near-halt, if not stopped, by the time the vultures left. But judging from the red streaks on the surrounding stone and how shitty he felt, it probably would've been better if it'd stopped a lot sooner. But Captain was alive, at least, and another set of paranoid blinks assured him that both eyes were still in their sockets. He had survived another day.

exit