(OOC: Don't forget to ping me next time ;) I apologize that this took awhile. I'm on a tablet.)

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A shadow fell over Makia. She looked back again with a frown. Miles was rising up on his hind legs and he was very, very big. His yellow eyes gleamed. Suddenly, Makia felt very small.

"...So other than myself and swamp slugs, what do you eat?"

Wait, what? Makia blinked. Was he not going to eat her? Yes, that was definitely agreeable to Makia.

She stopped and cocked her head for a moment. She didn't understand all of Miles' swamp mannerisms. Apparently, baby Aurleons are known as slugs. Makia made a note to remember that in case it came up again.

"I like meat," she said finally, turning to continue forward, "and fish. But the fish in the swamp taste like...tasted like rotten leaves."

She made a face to herself.

"There is no fish I would not prefer otherwise."

Makia looked at Miles plodding along behind her. She wondered if he could even catch a fish.

Makia made a small leap over a crack in the earth that was slowly sucking in mud. There was no sign of life for...hehe, Miles. She bent down and put her beak to the water that was pooling in the pitted ground. It had none of the crisp, refreshing taste of snow and all of the taste of mud and diseases. Something wriggled away underneath the hazy surface, but Makia knew better now.

Time was passing too slowly and the sun was too hot. A bug landed on her beak and Makia snapped angrily at it as it spiralled away. It's happy glitter almost seemed obscene for a place like this, like a smile in a thunderstorm. She snuck a peak at the lizard and he seemed perfectly fine. ******. She swiped at the bug with a claw with as much spite as she could muster out of her arm.

Makia tried to occupy herself by jumping over all the cracks in the ground. As she came down, her arms would slip and she would splash belly first into the mud. It was beautifully, refreshingly cool, even if it tasted horrible. As she rolled past another crack, she was happy for the second time that the water was so murky; she couldn't see how disgusting her feathers must be.

And then, Makia caught a new scent. It was the scent of... not-swamp! Makia wasn't sure exactly what the new smell was, but it definitely wasn't swamp and that was good enough for her. It smelled something like a lot of crushed wet grass and, in the far, far distance, sounded like running water.

Fresh water. Fresh not-swamp. Unconsciously, Makia began walking faster, forgetting that Miles was behind her. She forgot the pain in her body. Then she was bounding in the shallow mud, barely noticing the green shoots sprouting tentatively from the ground, that quickly grew taller and taller until Makia was fighting her way through clumps of reeds, her claws grasping onto their thick stems. She tore her way through one final bunch and nearly fell into the river.

The river. The river full of cleanliness and...yes, shiny silvery shapes that darted through her reflection. Makia was almost drooling as she opened her beak.

A sudden splash rudely interrupted her. Makia looked up to see a powerful, hulking Morkko expertly catch a fish in its jaws. The bear lowered its head and their eyes met. The Morkko growled deep in its throat and took a step forward. Makia shrank backwards.

Oh, the crushing disappointment.

Makia swivelled around.

"Miles?" She called.

The draeyl listened to her go on a bit, making a semi-agreeing expression as she went on about fish. Primary a carrion eater, he had only eaten the scraps of fish mostly left by Aurleons. He was not patient enough to bother trying to catch them fresh. Silently, he wondered what would be considered grosser to someone out outside perspective - the fact that he ate disgusting things, or that Makia couldn't stomach them and wretched them up.

"Fish is alright," he responded, his voice more of a mutter and not really sounding all too interested, moreso just something to say. "I prefer eggs." Yes, eggs... delicious, gooey blobs of deliciousness. He didn't even mind if they were close to hatching, a little crunch never bothered him. The lizard salivated slightly thinking about them, his gaze watching the featherball bounce about on the cracks and in the mud, even dragging his own belly though the mud at one point and releasing a pleased growl before picking himself back up on his hinds.

As Makia got ahead of him, Miles didn't bother to pick up his pace. He was busy trying to get back on his rear claws without using his bad front leg for support. She wouldn't go too far, he figured.

The sound of rushing water perked his interest slightly as he trudged along, wondering if there would be reeds to chew and maybe a few frogs to snap up. Maybe the fisher would even find a few extra and he could try her favorite meal.

"Miles?" The draeyl grunted, hearing her voice ahead. "I'm coming, I'm coming. Don't rush m-" he paused as he came over the small rise near the bank, spotting exactly what had Makia calling his name. "Oh."

Miles stood still for a moment, yellow orbs locked on the morkko, narrowed to slits. His nostrils flared angrily as he realized what was happening. He wasn't exactly friends with the feathered creature Makia, but she was, as of right now, assistance in his survival. Which meant he was going to keep her alive and hopefully un-maimed.

A reptilian bellow came forth from his throat, issuing a challenge to the bear. He hoped his size would be enough of a deterrent, but if it wanted to face off, he'd face off.

"Get behind me."

(OOC: Oh, poor Miles. Hope away as much as you like but everything hates you now. There will be yet more scuffles to come. :D)

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"Get behind me."

Yes. Yes, doing that now.

Makia scampered off to the side as the two beasts glowered at each other. Miles, at his full height, towered over even the Morkko, which didn't look so sure of itself anymore. Then, the lizard let loose with a thundering bellow that had Makia's feathers standing on end. Even the Morkko's eyes widened.

What an excellent opportunity to grab some of those fish!

While the titans faced off a few feet away, Makia crawled over to the side of the river and her bright eyes blinked at the silvery streaks twisting underwater. They were smaller than ocean fish, but they were fat and full, and some looked like they were carrying roe. As they adjusted to her presence, their flitting movements slowed.

With an involuntary cry of triumph, Makia struck at the water with her claw and snatched out a plump, wriggling fish. Its scales glinted in the midday sun as it squirmed in her grip.

Fish.

And then there was a cry of indignation and Makia nearly dropped her prize. She looked up to see the Morkko's gaping jaws lunging towards her. Damn, it was a lot faster than it looked. The Morkko thundered past Miles and stopped abruptly in front of Makia. Its squinty little eyes glared at her.

"My...fish..." it growled, "My...river. Get out!"

Makia's heart was pounding. She looked into the Morkko's tiny, beady eyes, then at the beautiful, glimmering fish. Then, she looked back at the bear. It was an average-sized Morkko. Nothing to shake a stick at. Besides, Miles stood behind it, while she stood in front. Perfectly flanked.

There was no way she was giving up the fish.

"This fish?" she asked innocently. She lifted its lifeless carcass as if to showcase to the world.

And then she ate it.

"Miles, help me!" screamed Makia as she bolted away from the Morkko's first blow. Behind her, she could hear its angry roar rousing the birds from the reeds. As its heavy paws connected with the ground where she stood just a second ago, Makia could feel the vibration tingling in her claws.

Without looking back, Makia leaped onto a bundle of reeds and sprang into the air, flapping furiously with her aching wings. After she was confidently high enough in the air, Makia let herself glide back towards the scene of the crime, hoping Miles had done something in that time.

No, no, no, no, no!

As Makia watched helplessly from the air, Miles tackled the Morkko as the both of them tumbled in the water. But there was nothing she could do.

Makia felt her heart wrench watching every fish in the river flee far, far away.

Miles looked like he was having as much trouble keeping the bear down as his head up. Makia briefly debated the merits of both chasing after the fish or of helping him out. It was a fairly easy decision: if there were more Morkko encounters in their future, she would need his bulk to hide behind.

Makia angled downwards into a shallow dive and felt gravity take over. She drew in her wings and stretched out her claws. On impact with the river, she sent a sheet of water spraying into the air.

Makia's talons hooked into the Morkkos shoulders, and with her momentum, together they plunged into the deep river. The heavy Morkko sank easily, flailing its paws and spitting out frothy bubbles, screaming curses that echoed futilely in the cold water. Makia felt her feet lightly touch the smooth riverbed stones. Scraggly water plants waved out of her way.

A dark shadow passed over as the Morkko wrenched itself free of her grasp. It pulled itself upwards in strong, measured strokes. Makia pushed herself off the bottom and scrabbled her way after it.

Both of them broke the water's surface at the same time, but the Morkko was already halfway across the river. It turned its head to roar at them one last time before paddling over to the far bank. As it pulled itself up onto dry land, the thick river reeds flattened like grass under its weight. The Morkko sniffed at the air, shook the dripping water out of its fur, and then plodded away.

Well, Makia counted that as a win, even considering there wouldn't be another fish in this stretch of river for hours. Still, it provided the two of them ample opportunity to rest and nurse their wounds. The reeds looked like they would make for quite a comfortable nest. Makia didn't know how Miles nested. Perhaps in a hole in the ground.

That's right, Miles. Was he still alive? Makia turned back to check.

(Uh, I'll keep my char far away because I'm kind of stuck on what reply...AGH!)

Light filtered through the lively green leaves dotting the sides of the rushing river Gaia was at. Gaia sat upon a cold rock, gazing into the clear water, viewing pebbles and stones littered at the river bottom. Staring at her not too perfect image of a female lupora, she glanced away, hoping to find an interesting event behind her back, which of course, was just a dumb and useless idea.

(I'll finish this later. GTG from the computer.)