Jay stared hard out at the rain, focusing with all of the bird senses that he had. "No, I don't think this is just the eye. The smell is fresh behind us. Besides, I don't think this was the sort of storm that has an eye. If we make a run, I'll do my best to navigate but I can't make any promises," he stated. Still, he already had his wings spread, ready to get the hell out of here. Both this outcropping and this menagerie in general. It was time they made some progress on their journey.

~~~

Meloreia watched August with narrowed eyes as he flew away, musing on the parrot's words. "Indeed it would but what would be the harm in that?" She stood there another few seconds before turning away, almost seeming to vanish into the thick foliage that matched her attire. The last of the storm clouds ended with her, leaving a false sunny sky overhead.

August kept hidden in the trees for about fifteen minutes, just to make sure Meloreia was really gone, before moving out. He decided to meet up with Mrs. Mouse rather than take his chances alone with the (supposed) storm again. Maybe she could help him find another solution to finding Scarlet and the others again...

He gave a firm nod to himself, and swooped down from his perch with his next goal in mind.

Scarlet barks in agreement, "Well get on me or Hunter and let's get out of here. Jay all we are asking is you try your best."
She was just as ready to leave their hiding place as the other two were.

"I always do my best," Jay affirmed. He jumped onto Scarlet's shoulders and pointed a wing toward the west, back toward the way they'd come. He couldn't be certain of the exact route they'd taken, but he could at least start with a basic direction. "And even if we can't find the others, at least we can explore. We still need to find that witch's secrets!"

~~~

Mrs. Mouse, Gray, and Dew moved through the bushes, onto a flatter grassy area. Wildflowers bloomed around them, a live oak creating a grand centerpiece. "Hm, a meadow? It's so hard to navigate in this place. Wasn't that grand room we were in before a mix of all the terrains? Or was it a jungle?" She hummed as she pondered this. Perhaps she was getting a bit too old if her memory failed her this often. "Ah, either way, the view from some trees aught to help us out a bit!"

"I'm afraid I can't climb trees." Grey barks heading closer to the tree nonetheless, hoping that Mrs. Mouse wasn't getting too old for this. "This whole place is a jungle," Grey uses an idiomatic expression to describe where they were in a joking manner, "So I wouldn't be surprised if the grand room was in a jungle."
***
"I think the witch enjoys her space, if she is using rain to drive us away." Hunter notes, heading the way Jay pointed.

August soared above the trees, eyes narrowed as he searched for the mouse and the wolf. "Hello?? Hello!" He called, avoiding using names in case the witch was still nearby. He hoped Grey and Mrs. Mouse would recognize his voice.

Scarlet agrees, "Alright then where would you recommend going to discover the witch's secret?" She starts walking westward at a quickish pace.

"Oh bother..." Mrs. Mouse sighed. "We should really make friends with more tree-climbing animals. Being stuck on the ground is so limiting. Next time, it ought to be a tiny tunnel or door that needs going through. Then I'll feel better about my small size. I guess I might be able to work my way up a tree if there are a lot of vines to hold onto though." She inspected the area before grasping onto a wispy branch hanging almost to the ground. The higher up she got, the more of the forest she got to see and the more she could hear over the din of other insects and such.

Which brought her a very different sound. "Is that...someone calling our names?" She tilted her head and worked her way up a vine while trying to ignore the possibility of falling. "Who's there? Mrs. Mouse and Gray are here!" she called out.

~~~

"That might be true. Or if she didn't want us to see her face," Jay mused. The witch seemed so threatening at times but she hadn't really hurt them. Only trapped them. "Do you think it might be that we would recognize her if we saw her?" It was a strange thought, but this was a strange place after all. "If that's the case, we should go back to exactly where she threatened us the most. That means we were getting close!"

August beamed when he heard a shout in reply. "Oh, thank goodness..." He mumbled to himself, angling his wings amd tail to circle towards the familar voice. "It's me, August! Stay where you are, I'm coming!"

Scarlet goes back in the direction of the place where the witch had threatened them most, "I certainly hope you're right Jay otherwise we might have walked into a world of trouble."