The desert's edge. It appeared as a threshold of life. Arid winds and mountains of rolling sand dunes broke against a cliff of tropical trees and grasses, filled with bird calls and animal life—an utter contrast to the nigh uninhabitable sandy wasteland beside it. Issith held no love for the desert or the jungle; one was too hot, too dry, the other terribly wet and muggy. It was in this neutral ground that she was truly content. Though, fate saw that something was always around to upset her.

“That lizard was too dry—ugh!” She moved a sharpened twig through her canines, in the shade of a palm tree. “I need some alcohol.” She sighed, tossing the twig away and leaning back into her arms, curly, soft hair draping over the sand. Her brownish-yellow scaled tail, hued like the landscape around it, lay outside the tree's shade, absorbing sunlight. This weather was just like back home. Maybe she'd stay here forever?

No, no—there was work to be done, and without the gold she earned from it, there'd be no more nights at the tavern. No more 'good' food (she could eat meat raw, but was slowly becoming accustomed to human-cooked meals). No more beer. Back in Sevhan, her homeland, priestesses weren't allowed to drink alcohol. She thanked the Gods she wasn't there anymore. Getting chased out by her older sister seemed almost like a blessing, now. Almost.

A voice caught her ear. She let her forked tongue slip between her lips and grunted at what she tasted in the air. “Humans.” She grumbled, turning to lay on her side. It wasn't long before more voices joined in, and 'thuds' of metal on wood echoed through the sparsely-vegetated desert edge. Issith's slit opened with a glare in their yellow irises.

The naga's movements over the sandy ground were effortless, and created a twisting pattern as she moved. On her back a cloth-wrapped package hung, the same color as her tanned clothing. This was the focus of her present 'job'; to deliver whatever it was to a trading outpost in the desert. She'd be leaving presently—right after she gave the bastards who disturbed her peace a piece of her mind.

Through thicker underbrush the human smell became stronger; as did the look of irritation on her face. The 'thudding' was louder, and a new smell clutched the wind: fire. “Wanton, thoughtless destruction of nature! All to upset my napping, and peace!” The naga bellowed, unstrapping her shiny mace from her side. Of course the humans were doing this to annoy her. Everyone was out to get her.

Issith slithered into a freshly-cut clearing, having been cleaned of trees about a week earlier. Further along were newly-cut trees and stacked lumber, as well as a small brush fire. A number of sweaty, tanned humans labored about the clearing. No one noticed Issith until she shouted.

“What the hell are you stupid humans doing?!”

A number jumped with a start, while other just turned gawking. Being startled during work was one thing, but by a naga? They were rare enough as it was, let alone in Arda. A couple dropped their axes. Issith pounded her mace against an outstretched palm thoughtfully. A turban-sporting man approached her. He was a bit over six feet. Her height.

“Miss naga, I'm not sure what the problem is, but we're merely logging. It is our right.” He answered, firm in tone, seemingly unafraid of her. Issith was unfazed.

“Ohh! Is that so?” She started. “I hear this land's under the protection of a certain echo-friendly lord! That logging is strictly forbidden! That this here's a case of destruction of private property!”

The turban-wearing man stumbled back. “N-now listen here, you goddamn-” Her fist connected with his head, slamming his body into the ground. The other men, having watched the whole thing, advanced upon her.

“I could care less about these stupid woods, but you had to go and interrupt my relaxation, didn't you?!”

[ooc] So sorry it took me so long. ^_^; I had to leave the computer for a moment of time before I could finish. =]

[bic] Dead, the animal lay, quietly on the ground atop its feathered back. Its beady eyes were closed and its wings spread out, undeniably broken from the massive fall it had to endure to land on the forsaken ground and kiss its fate. The end of a precise arrow stuck out from the poor bird's chest, an arrow that was not her own, but of a human hunter's. She could not understand how those creatures could kill such innocent life without a blink of an eye; they were merciless abominations with their two legs and crazed physical characteristics.

Slowly and carefully, the living creature stepped over the one that was demised, four times in total, one for each of her travel-worn hooves, and continued on her path to no where in particular. Her eyes of gray flickered about the scenery, sometimes coming to hide behind her long, black hair, gray visible amongst the otherwise pitch-black strands. She did her best to keep optimism and say that it just added to her beauty, rather than exaggerate her age; she did not want to be seen as "old", even though she had to suffer the title when around those whom were blessed to be of younger age.

Her eyes were not the only things her hair managed to obscure from view at times; the pointed ears of her kin sometimes managed to poke through her wavy locks, but sometimes the jungle of mass managed to hide up to the most tip of the sense-sensitive flesh. Her face was also hidden from view at times, mostly hidden by shadows of both her surroundings and her hair. She did not have the best face structure, nor did she pretend she did; her face was strong and fierce, quite the opposite of her personality.

Her chest also managed to remain from view at some points, but whenever the breeze blew past and toyed with the strands playfully, one was able to see that she wore no top over her bare, human-like torso. To wear such material to obscure something that was not a necessity to hide was just wasteful, unnecessary, and unseen of in her like. It was just not done unless one had the most deranged, personal desire to do so. To each their own, of course.

Groaning, the creature rolled her shoulders, her steps coming to a halt as she gazed out at the openness of what was to come as the desert. She was facing westward, her hind-haunches facing towards the Taurai Woods. This would be one journey, but she was ready; she was always ready to travel across the lands, always until the day she was to meet her own demise, much like the poor bird she had just briefly met and had been honoured to share the presence with as its spirit left its body.

Sighing, the female centaur trekked forward, the sound of her hooves muffled against the new ground that had already begun to appear parched and dry. Her black tail behind her wooshed soundly as she marched on quietly, a blank expression as she traveled underneath the heat of day. She would soon rest, then continue on during the evening and night, rest again, and pick her path back up at dawn. She was ready for it.

When she finally arrived at the edge of the desert, Aerona could not help but to allow a small smile cross her slightly parched lips. However, it disappeared almost immediately; was that smoke she smelled on the wind? Oh, those dreadful humans again! Why did they always have to corrupt nature in dreadful ways? Why could they not just leave nature alone by its lonesome and go about on their own way?

Frowning, Aerona quickly hurried towards where the stench of fire lead her, the sound of a foreign, loud noise ringing in her keen ears and she neared her destination. She soon slowed and came to a halt when she was able to gaze upon the scene, her careful eyes skeptically analyzing with care what had befallen.

Ah, so there were humans behind this! No, wait; they were not alone -- a naga was here! Of all creatures the land created, a naga! Quietly, Aerona creeped back, her eyes narrowing even more as she paid close attention to what happened as a fight ensued, not daring to interfere unless true danger arose.

( S'okay. ^__^ )

The men stalked forward—a dozen or so axe and shovel wielding humans—until they were in arm length. Issith didn't move. Her mace rested on one shoulder, while her free hand sat at her hip. Punching the foreman of the group seemed to calm the naga's nerves. Watching the humans' eyes, she could tell they didn't want to fight; really, now, this was just a small crime after all, and why risk one's life for it? She was under the same mindset.

“Now,” the naga started, brushing a tuft of white hair from her face, “The lord of this land doesn't need to know about this little entrepreneurial endeavor, does he? No, I don't think he does.” She seemed gripped with indecision for a moment. “Ohh. But there may be an award for me, if I did report you all, wouldn't there? Yes, I think so. And I'm just so low on gold right now...” She flashed the men a dangerous glare.

At once they were emptying their pockets, placing whatever coin they possessed in the woman's outstretched hand. After she was satisfied they had given her all they had, and their foreman was coming to, Issith placed the coins at her belt and waved her hand behind her, as she left them. “That will do nicely.”

Metal on wood echoed through the jungle again. This time it didn't bother Issith, though; no, not now that it was complimented by a jingle of coins at her side. “Imbeciles.” She muttered under her breath, exiting the clearing. Something caught her eye, however, and she turned. There was movement farther in the woods. A deer? She wondered, hungrily. Mace already in hand, she stalked forward. It was likely deafened by all the noise—an easy kill. A flick of her tongue brought an odd taste to her mouth, however. There was smoke, humans, the baking of leaves in the sunlight, and something else. Not a deer, though there was a hint of fur in the smell.

Issith stopped. What could it be? It was stronger, now, and not a moment later she stumble upon something she'd never seen before. It was something like herself, except in place of a tail a horse's body sprouted. The creature was such an odd sight that Issith nearly dropped her mace, gawking as she was. There were so many strange races in Arda—far different from the naga-dominated Sevhan.

After a moment, mace still in hand, she recovered. Her eyes thinned. Had she been spying on the naga while she 'negotiated' with the humans? Undoubtedly. What a wretched beast!

“Speak if you can, creature.” The naga spat, brandishing her weapon. “I'm called Issith of Sevhan, and if you were spying on me, you'd best have good reason!” Was she preparing to ambush her? Was the horse-girl aligned with the despicable humans? Most likely!

The centaur's misty eyes stayed on the scene as the small fight ensued, consisting of the creature so much like herself punching one of the two-leggeds to where it lost consciousness. Her bushy eyebrows furrowed as she noticed that, instead of punishing the retched beings, the naga instead demanded for something else. Afterwards, the humans were allowed to continue with their evil antics, and Aerona felt as if she were dying inside as she heard the ringing, foreign sounds once again.

Lifting both of her hands, Aerona, placed them over her hair-obscured ears, glaring around before beginning to back up and leave. However, before she could get too far, she froze again, smelling the creature from before heading in her direction. Quickly, Aerona lowered her hands to her shortbow and swiftly pulled an arrow from her quiver, nocking the arrow and pulling the yew back gracefully, ready to attack if the creature opposing her dared an attack.

She moved her right hind hoof back a step, bracing herself as her black-and-gray tail tossled, showing her anticipation as she waited for her "enemy" to find her. Once the other was in view, Aerona pulled her arrow tighter, her sharp eyes never leaving the strange creature.

"Aerona speak of her own free will, not for Issith's barbaric demand," Aerona spoke fluidly, a hint of an accent hinting at her English words. "Aerona of Linolna was not spying on you, but was simply seeing if Issith of Sevhan proved to help the lands Lady Nature has given us. Obviously not, Aerona thinks," Aerona continued, anger flashing in her eyes as they narrowed even more, now a glare as her tail twitched behind her again.

As she held her weapon at the ready, the female centaur could feel her long, dirt-crusted, yellow-tinted nails digging into her calloused, rough hands. For the moment, it was just a dull feeling; quite annoying after a moment, actually. She only bled from such incident a couple times before; she had learned long since how to be careful when holding her weapon, seeing as how she lacked the knowleadge of how to make the nails shorter or less piercing.

"Aerona would like to know why Issith did not kill those who were destroying Lady Nature's beauty. Perhaps Issith is not against, but with the judgement?"

Whatever this creature was, it had an advantage on the naga; she could likely get two attacks in with her bow before Issith closed the distance between the two, and even then, it wouldn't be hard for the four-legged horse-woman to out-run her. Fighting wasn't in the naga's best interest.

The girl's response was awkward-sentenced and muddled by accent. It appeared that common wasn't her first language. That, or she was dumb. Or illiterate. What else could Issith think? The thing wore no clothing, spoke in strange tongues—preached of something called 'Lady Nature'. For a moment Issith was reminded of the slave pits of Sevhan. Idiot slaves who could barely speak, let alone take orders, who drudged about mining ores deep below the world's surface. As a young child, she had accidentally killed one. But it wasn't her fault. The beasts were so weak. It was there fault for being that way.

Aerona, as she introduced herself, appeared to hold a grudge against mankind as well, if only because of its frequent conflict with nature. Perhaps she was in the employ of the lord of this land? As a ranger? Whatever she was, it became quickly apparent that she wasn't happy with Issith's handling of the destructive humans. But who cared? The naga walked away with some extra coin, unscathed. She also showed those bastards who was in control here. It was an overall lucrative move.

Issith's frown deepened as the girl questioned her motives. Her lips opened unconsciously, exposing her fangs. “Don't think me a coward for my choice not to kill them. I could have if I wished.” But all she needed was another bounty on her head. Another night in jail. All her possessions stolen, once again, and her life nearly taken by 'justice'. No, no more murder. Aerona probed at the naga, looking for her stance in regards to the humans, and nature. Issith gave a short laugh. “I despise humans. They're so much less, it's sickening.” The urge to give her opinion about nature popped up, but the tip of aerona's notched arrow silenced it. She could have cared less about 'Lady Nature' and the environment, but the horse-girl wouldn't likely take that well.

The logging crew's successive noise continued through the air. It was like a primitive tribe's ceremony: the 'thudding' of drums, roaring of the center bonfire around which they danced. Their shouts bounced through the trees. Issith was too fixated on the horse-girl to take notice, however. She flicked her hair with one hand, and replaced the mace at her side. “Do what you will with them. I'll take no part in it.” She turned. I have other matters to attend to.”

All of a sudden, the forest went silent. Issith turned her in curiosity. All signs of the logging crew had suddenly died down to nothing. Little did she know, a company of soldiers under Lord Turcott—owner of these lands—had found and surrounded them (after seeing the smoke from their bonfire). The logging foreman, knowing his case was lost, was quick to surrender and offer one bit of information: that a female naga was nearby who acted as the leader of their group. A lie, sure, but that's what the mullet got for breaking his nose.

(Don't be afraid to describe the soldiers or whatever. =P)

[ooc] Ehehe, alright. =] Sorry if my post sucks. x[

[bic] When the words finally escaped the other creature's mouth, Aerona was able to glimpse the fangs as she listened carefully, the frown remaining on her face. Not a coward, huh? Of course not; she was a lot worse! Who could ever spare the lives of those abominations, other than their brethren and those allied to the kin. Would this creature be of such a title? If so, then she felt -- no, no, she knew -- that she would have to kill her in order to end these demons' destruction.

The deafening sound continued on and on, very repetitive and unending. It was almost lethal sounding; she wanted to just shrivel up and die as she listened to the two-legged beasts destroy what Lady Nature graced upon them. How dare they take that away from those who actually appreciate it! It was not their place at all.

"Issith will be a part of it if Aerona so wishes, for she thinks that Issith is a part of this. Issith may be allied with the two-leggeds, Aerona thinks, but secretly, for she did not kill the demons when they deserved it, Aerona believes." As soon as the other turned her back to Aerona, the centaur let loose her arrow, allowing it to whiz past the other creature's head, having aimed in that spot. "Do not turn your back on Aerona," she warned darkly.

Suddenly, the numbing noises stopped, the resonance aching her ears to where they rung painfully. Quickly, she grabbed another arrow and notched it, once again aiming at the naga in front of her. Out of the corner of her eye, her head turned slightly, Aerona watched to see if any of the abominations had actually stopped to come hunt them. Well, that was also very doubtful, seeing as how they were dumb, air-headed creatures and surely would never have noticed them over the atrocious racket they were making.

"You, go and have a look around. No, no; only yourself; we cannot risk another person at this beast if this man's words are true," the leader of the company ordered. The unlucky soldier bowed his head and quickly hurried off, his hand nervously at the hilt of his sword, slowly and quietly sliding it from its sheath as he stalked about carefully.

Issith turned as silence passed over the jungle, but found herself staring at the slick shaft of an arrow, embedded beside her in a tree. She flinched and spun around to face Aerona, the horse-girl. Her eyes narrowed. I'll turn my back on who I wish! She growled in her mind. To think that the girl believed Issith to be aligned with the humans! What a conclusion—how far from the truth she was! But, for someone so vehemently aligned with nature, not killing the humans was, in fact, siding with them, and the naga found herself on the wrong side of an arrow's tip. A fresh arrow. The girl was quick on the reload.

The naga watched her adversary. She didn't seem too intelligent, but to judge on one's appearance and speech was foolish. Still, she had to calm the horse-girl down. “I'm not in league with those humans.” She answered, holding her contempt in check. “Nor am I with nature! I am my with myself.” Of course, there she was, recently dealing with the humans—would Aerona think her a hypocrite? She wasn't one. I robbed those bastards for all they were worth. Issith remarked in her mind. If she could do the same with trees or other vestiges of nature, she'd likely do that, too. The naga shook her head, letting her white, curly hair move over her shoulders. “Just calm down. The humans are your enemy! Kill them! To shoot a passerby, who has just robbed your enemy is foolish!” Her voice was rising with anger. The arrow stuck in the tree at her side was unnerving.

A scent crept through the air, into the naga's mouth, over her sharpened teeth. It was human. A quick glance to her side reassured herself of this; it seemed that a human blue-robe and dull armor was watching them. The naga wondered how she didn't notice the gleam of his unsheathed sword earlier, but placed the blame on her heated emotions. She couldn't have been gladder, though. He would be her scapegoat.

Mace already in hand, she presently turned (with slightly exaggerated motions, to assure the horse-girl she wasn't throwing the mace in her direction) and flung it at the human, who did all he could to move—but in the end, was caught in the hand, knocking his weapon into the underbrush.

“Now's your chance! See—I'm your ally! Now kill him!” She pointed frantically at the man, who gripped his hand and turned, desperately making his way back to the other soldiers.

Still keeping wary of her immediate surroundings, Aerona focused a great portion of her attention on the female creature before her. As she studied her in the silence, her freshly-notched arrow at the ready, Aerona could not help but to compare the other to the creatures her family used to hunt for the fun of it, especially the males of her kin. The hunted creatures were quick and clever, always a fine catch if you could manage one. Aerona herself never found the festive very enjoyable, especially as she usually failed at catching one of the things herself.

Snapping out of her thoughts quickly, the centaur furrowed her eyebrows at what the other said about being in league with the humans. Then she went on to say that she was with herself! Well, now, this was an utter puzzle. If you had no business to anything but yourself, then why stop to bother those pesky humans? If they were not what you were against or for, then why not leave them for another who happened to be for or against them? Such a stupid creature, Aerona was sure of.

"Issith confuses Aerona," the female creature could not help but admit. "However, Aerona is not one for games and tricks, especially for Issith's puzzles. Aerona asks of Issith, why did Issith bother the two-leggeds if she were not for or against them?" Then, a small smile crept over her parched lips, contrasting greatly with her stern face. "Ah, but Aerona has done nothing to harm Issith, let alone shoot her. Aerona does not see an arrow pierced from her chest, as if she were the dead bird from a couple days ago, or the poor tree Aerona just had to shoot at Issith's expense! Creatures of Lady Nature's beauty should never speak so wrongly."

Her eyes immediately flashed over to the human that stood a good distance away, sword in hand. Then, the depths widened as she watched in awe as Issith attacked him with her weapon, injuring the two-legged. Her attention flickered back and forth between the two, before she finally made a quick decision and, redirecting where her arrow pointed, let it loose and watched as it struck the abomination right in the neck. The human fell, its front kissing the ground, and as she watched, Aerona quickly drew another arrow while muttering under her breath a prayer to Lady Nature.

Once the arrow was notched, the centaur quickly scanned the area of other humans before turning back to the other female creature, her arrow pointing at her once again. She would soon run out of arrows, but hopefully she would not have to endure such a dangerous dilemma.

They were back to exactly how the situation had been before, but now, Aerona noted, Issith had no apparent weapon; she had thrown her previous weapon to the human, aiding in disabling it and making it an easier kill. However, it did not prove as a smart move now that an arrow was aimed at her for the third time.

"What makes Issith an ally of Aerona?" the centaur asked calmly, beginning to ponder if she could actually put a small amount of trust in the other creature. At least, enough to where she did not have to keep an arrow constantly aimed at her.

Could this backwoods creature understand the concept of coin? Of currency, and the deception of others in its favor? No, not likely. How could the naga begin to explain the intricacies of society to one who was shameless and wore no clothing (even naga women were required to do so), and could barely speak the common tongue of this land! Of so many lands! Even the people of Sevhan predominantly spoke it. So the naga said nothing. Not yet. In place, she attacked the approaching human, and watched in dark glee at the centaur turned her weapon on him instead.

She did it! She killed him! The naga silently laughed. To think that the horse-girl did have it in her. The 'thunk' of metal through flesh—an eruption of blood as it pierced his neck artery. But, blood lust aside, it was time for the naga to gain the upper-hand. She fumbled through her side, reaching through the folds of her skirt, and the belt that tied it to her waist. But her hand felt nothing. “What?” She gasped, staring down. Her throwing daggers—where were they? Oh! Idiot! She nearly smacked herself. The daggers were gone, just like the rest of her equipment. All had been lost at the hand of a certain Lord Bronsen, who didn't take lightly to the naga (drunk at the time) breaking a chair on his face. All she had was her mace. The mace she had just discarded.

Looking up, she found herself in the same situation as before, albeit weaponless, and wishing she still worshiped the naga goddess whose name she dared not speak. That had been the source of her magical prowess. Had been. She could hardly handle cantrips, now.

“An ally of Aerona?” She echoed, thinking fast. An idea hit her. “Why, didn't I prove it to you just now? I threw my weapon away, leaving myself defenseless, if only to prove my friendship!” It was somewhat true. She left out the part about distracting the horse-girl and hoping to stick her with a fist full of throwing daggers. But even now she wondered if she would have attacked like that. Aerona seemed to share something with the naga—a hatred for mankind. Issith's was more scorn than anything, but this girl seemed to detest the creatures, perhaps even viewing them as game. She hadn't recognized the incoming human warrior who worked for the lord of this land. He was just another nature-hating human to her.

The naga continued watching the horse-girl, even as a human voice echoed through the woods. “Jeeensssoooon! Hurry up!” Was 'Jenson' the dead human? Undoubtedly. The man apparently had allies. The crunching of footsteps filled the jungle. “Would you shoot me? We can't dawdle here much longer. Let us flee for now, and continue this elsewhere.” Her voice had strangely lost contempt or anger; that insolent tone it often carried.

Her smile had long-since faded from her face, being replaced by the small frown as she kept her pale eyes on the other. Her tail swished again behind her, and something around the area made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, goosebumps running along her skin and forcing her body to shudder slightly. She shifted a step before tightening the string where her arrow was notched in her bow, steadying her arms once again so she held the weapon up properly.

Then Issith began to speak, answering Aerona's previous question, and so the centaur listened and paid great heed to the words. An eyebrow raised a fraction in her curiousity as the words were tossed about in her mind, an expression of uncertainty arising upon her face. She knew she could not trust the creature, especially since she was so unpredictable; she had attacked and helped encourage Aerona herself to kill the human from just moments before, after all! Such a sly creature, she was...

Before her thoughts could continue, Aerona heard the echoing voice of another human, calling for one of its kin, supposedly. Her head turned in the direction of where the call was coming from, but she soon returned her attention to the naga, her eyes narrowing as she studied her for a moment.

In order for them to escape unscathed, she had to put some trust into this other being...However, she knew she could not do such a thing; she was such a sly creature, and was therefore unworthy of any amount of trust. She could always just stay there and let the humans come and gain their prize, but then again, Aerona just did not work that way; she was completely against all humans, and so she was not going to help them in any way.

"Fine," Aerona said after a moment, quickly putting her arrow back into her quiver and looking about. "Then Aerona and Issith must flee now." Watching Issith for a moment, Aerona soon turned away and began to head off, not going extremely fast, but just at a decent speed where she figured they would hopefully not be seen by the humans.

A thought crept through the naga's mind as she watched for the centaur's response. So far, Aerona had not let her guard down once; she also seemed to hold onto all suspicion towards the naga, despite her excuses and lies, that perhaps even a normal person would have believed. It hit Issith (somewhat late) that her uncivilized adversary was of normal intelligence; that her speech and appearance belied the girl's true nature. A dash of incredulity touched Aerona's face, while the battlemage wondered if she should make a break for it while she had a chance. The arrow protruding from the dead human's neck, just a few yards from her, put that thought to rest.

After what seemed like an eternity, during which the other humans could have appeared at any moment, Aerona tersely agreed. The naga sighed in relief as she replaced her arrow at the quiver hanging at her back. Issith said nothing—she chose to slither to the dead human instead, grabbing her one and only weapon (which she vowed to never carelessly toss away again), and twisting her tail through the underbrush, propelling her towards the retreating centaur. It was at this moment the sounds of footsteps exploded into successive shouting, unsheathing weapons, and metal on wood—arrows impeding themselves in trees around the two.

“Blast it!” The naga bellowed, maneuvering through the trees and brush. “Bastard humans!” Issith's confidence and anger were quick to return, even after such a dangerous situation as with the centaur. The humans were running, but by straining the muscles in her tail (and glad to be so athletic, despite her drinking problem) the battlemage slowly increased the distance between her pursuers. Twice she felt thuds against her armored tail—undoubtedly arrows—and a stinging at her side convinced her that she'd been injured; but the adrenaline rushing through her veins compelled her to push on.

It wasn't long before the two broke the the brush and came to a freshwater, boarder-jungle stream. Its bankings dove downward at least a few feet, such that it was almost unnoticeable until one was right at its edge. Issith slid down the sandy bank with a yelp, splashing into the water. It was almost up to her waist in depth. The water was cooling and refreshing, especially on the naga's sore tail. She looked to see where her companion had landed, and cringed as water hit her side. Moving her shirt revealed a broken arrow.

“We should head downstream a ways before continuing on land.” Issith said, pulling the arrow from her side with a flinch. She was already moving. The naga's trail would be easy to follow, given its width and distinctive pattern upon the sand; as such, moving down the river a ways and discreetly crossing on a plant-covered bank would provide their best chance of escaping.