Hoot I. - Rexalia Scouting

Romana closed her eyes and relished in the calmness of nature around her as her feet carried her deeper into the forest, her mind and quest clear. Behind her, another two rexals steps echoed on the crunchy, stick and branch-littered pavement made out of leaves and weeds, following her with obedience that was unlikely for both characters.

Deimos and Volseviir walked at a fair distance between each other, with Deimos in the middle and Volseviir in the far back. The way they both tracked along was almost telling the story of who they were with purely sound. Deimos' steps were heavy and strong - one that an inexperienced rexal could easily confuse with a bear, while Volseviir's were silent and measured. While Deimos did not bother to try not to step on loud branches that could give away their location, Volseviir avoided making a sound. He carefully watched each of his steps, his eyes scanning the ground with care as he was enjoying nature as much as Romana did, and examined for any sort of footprints left in the mud.

"We should be close..." Romana finally spoke, breaking the silence as she looked back at the two, significantly larger than her males behind her, before setting her eyes back on track. She was looking for a sign of owls - feathers of pellets, anything really that could possibly direct her to the abandoned owl hatchling she was notified about. She was not a bird sanctuary owner by all means; she was raising and training ravens and hawks exclusively, but from time to time, whenever someone informed her of avians being in trouble, she would render aid. She did not mind walking into the woods to try and find them if needed. However, this time around, unfortunately for her, she was stuck with an enormous tick under the guise of Deimos. The armoured rexal had shown up at her place not too long ago, almost demanding that she she relinquish one of her birds to him for reasons that he did not specify. Alarmed by this, she refused, saying that she was only willing to hand over a bird to those who she knew deserved them - a mistake by all accounts, for Deimos took this as a challenge and decided to stay around, wanting to prove himself.

When he heard that Romana was about to embark into the darkness of the forest, he offered to tag along - which Romana accepted out of anxiety more so than anything. To keep her mind safe, however, she quickly contacted one of her acquaintances, Volseviir, to join them, hoping that his presence would deter Deimos from doing anything shady. She did not trust him and for a good reason.

"What are we looking for again?" Deimos asked in a grumpy tone, shaking one of his front legs to try and get rid of a wet leaf stuck on his palm. He did not like the climate, or the nature that was in the Dome. As a Posian rex, he yearned for the cliffs and the storms, the wildness and ruthlessness of the wind - and the Dome had none of this. He felt sickened by the clear, undisturbed smell of the woods, and it kept reminding him that all of this was nothing but a fake to the real world out there, a dream somehow made reality.

"An owl hatchling. The last information I have is that they saw it at the base of the Great Oak Tree", Romana mumbled, trying to temper herself to not show her annoyance.

"A hatchling would have surely died by the time we got to it, no?" Deimos asked, only to get a deep growl to come from behind him. "You have anything to say? If you do, you better spit it out", Deimos replied back with sudden coldness, looking back at Volseviir from over his shoulder.

Volseviir's nose wrinkled at Deimos' ignorance and cruelty, and he bared his fangs towards the ocim rexal's direction to show his distance. However, no actual words left his mouth.

"What's the matter? Pheasant pecked your tongue?" Deimos teased with a deep chuckle.

"He is mostly mute.", Romana informed him matter-of-factly, stopping her march just for a second to face the rexal behind her. "I would not underestimate him if I were you. He is one of the most talented hunters of the Dome - he can and he will find anything that we are looking for. I'd say you should follow the example, keep your mouth shut, and keep your eye on the price. A man of your standing can certainly understand this simple request, no?" she said, pushing his nose against Deimos's with great struggle. She had to stand on her hind legs to be able to do so.

Deimos was taken aback by the sudden resistance coming from Romana, only to then find amusement in it.

"As you say do, little pepper", Deimos chuckled in response.

Behind them, Volseviir watched the events unfold with an eye roll, only for him to then suddenly freeze as from the corner of his eyes, he spotted something that caught his interest. He silently and carefully approached the item, observing it carefully before concluding that they had finally found the clue that they were looking for. The tiniest of owl pellets, surrounded by a single, soft feather. His ears perked up as he listened to the environment, closing his eyes to try and get his mind aligned with the breathing of nature. How the wind whispered and bent the grass, to hear how a nearby rabbit dashed and stomped as the sounds coming from Romana and Deimos alerted it. After a while, he slammed his tail to the ground with a force that caused the leaves below it to take flight, immediately catching the two bickering rexal's attention, pointing at the palette, before beginning to walk forward.

"What's his deal?" Deimos asked with a raised eyebrow, swatting away some of the flying leaves that were assaulting him while flying down.

"His deal is that he found what we were looking for. Come.", Romana ordered as she began to chase after Volseviir without questioning him. She would not call him a friend, but she had a deep running respect for him and his hunting skills. If he had found something worth following, then she would sure as hell not question it - not especially when their time was short, and the hatchling could be in danger.

Deimos groaned but decided to follow. Not like he had a choice and as much of a hard ass he was, he was still not a fan of being alone in an unknown forest.

The trio walked in silence for a while, with Volseviir leading their charge with a lowered head and following a trail that seemed all too invisible for both Romana and Deimos. And then they heard it. A small, weak chirp came from one of the nearby brushes.

"There you are..." Romana thought as she quickened her steps, following the sound with newly found motherly instincts until she arrived at the source. Amongst the leaves laid a small owl - a bit older than a fresh hatchling but still too young to be alone.

"I don't see a nest nearby..." Deimos hummed as he looked towards the luscious crowns of the trees, squinting his eyes as god rays sprinkled through the leaves to offer just the tiniest amount of light for those below. Volseviir nodded in agreement as he himself could not find anything that was reminiscent of a nest. Quite odd, considering the trail they have been following.

"I guess you are coming home with us then..." Romana whispered to the owl as she oh so gently scooped them up, making sure to check for any signs of injury that the creature might have as she did so. Once she was sure that other than the emancipation, it was alright, she began to follow their trail through the tall grass, heading back to where they came from, her world now being nothing else but the small avian in her hands.

"Is she always like this?" Deimos asked Volseviir with a sigh, only to get a shrug as a response before Volseviir began to trot after Romana, not wanting to be left behind.

"Bloody trench dwellers..." Deimos cursed under his breath before catching up to them.