Things were getting far more aggressive indeed...
"Gah!"
"GET HIM RATCHET!"
Draica managed to get close enough to the nerdy traveler, but was unable to out-pace him; her calf muscles were already sore going up and down the various slopes of the island, and at this point, keeping her pet close to her as a defensive companion was the more logical thing to do.
"No! Bad kitty- OW, SHI- Sithy! SITHY, WHERE YOU AT? WHY DO THE BAD THINGS ALWAYS HAPPEN TO ME?!"
Sithy? Who was that?
The possibility of him having a friend only made her more cautious as she was spotting something on the ground up ahead; perhaps she could use it as a weapon, or for something else utility-wise. However, the bookworm managed to barely get there first, unable to pick up the object as he ran away in frustration. Draica, unable to secure the object ahead out of apprehensiveness that his comrade could pop up and attack her. She quickly dipped under a bush to the west, while the man fled eastward... and the sound of a splash echoed for a moment.
"Ugh, what a jerk; he totally atta-"
Her words were stopped by the sudden blur of a man running by her. Ratchet pounced and made a fierce swipe at his calf muscle. The man winced.
"Ugh! Damn animals!"
"Jam! 10-20! What's going on"
His speed was phenomenal, although not as amazing as her pet's reflexive instincts. She caught her breath for a moment as that man quickly ran by her, and decided to chart her next moves to the west. Hopefully no one would dare try to attack her while she was on the beach...
To the southeast, danger was still abound.
Miho had managed to run away from that stupid cowboy - the very fact that he managed to attack her not once, but TWICE was all the more frustrating, especially given the negotiation she pulled onto him. Her stride slowed to a light jog as the pain of embedded splinters began to flare up again - that explosion from earlier hurt far more than she realized. Hopefully Mako was doing fine.
In the distance, she managed to spot Mako, who herself was pretty beat up. Her clothes, although not in tatters, was dirty and and extremely wrinkled; Mako's sleeves were stained with obvious sweat marks, and her face was red from being sunburned most likely.
"Mako! Mako, are you okay? What happened? You're not hurt, are you?"Miho asked, and slowed down her stride to a simple walk.
"I-I'm fine! Really! ...You didn't have-" Mako stopped mid-sentence and squinted. Her head turned slightly, and was now giving Miho a very curious side eye.
"...didn't have to... what?"Miho pace further slowed down to a slight limp; a splinter in her knee was really gnawing at her sense of balance. Mako perked up and extended her arm and hand to gesture Miho to stop.
"Okay, I'm really confused right now. Damp... grass?"
"What? I got ambushed and underestimated some fedora-wearing high-noon fanboy. What's there to be confused about?
"N-no. Wai- NO, WAIT. NO SERIOUSLY STOP-"
"Mako what the hell is going on with y-"
The ground gave in; a trap underneath awaited them with chipped stones and other dull (yet painful) spikes of different objects. Miho spilled a plethora of curses towards the probability of both of them falling into the same trap, let alone into another one given their circumstances.
"...sorry Miho. I tried to warn you, but... there was like, this dream - and okay, it sounds a bit weird, but hear me out. Oh, actually, wait, don't crawl on top of me-NOT THAT YOU WOULD-"
"It's fine, really. Let's just climb out and clean ourselves off." The two of them left the pit. Miho once again took another glance at Mako.
"Why are you so red? Seriously. I mean, I know that sun tan lotion was of a crappy quality but you look like a spoiled tomato."
"Oh, that - I think I got poisoned by something earlier and starting having hallucinations or whatever. I'm fine now, I basically had to wash myself off with salt water. Not my best.
"How's your hand? It looks pretty beat up. Let me see it real quick."
"It's fin-"
Mako's eyes dilated in sheer horror. What was going on? Did she have a premonition? Miho stood baffled at Mako's sudden transformation, and noticed that there was an obvious change in her. She didn't look like the commanding officer when she signed up before the deployment.
But before Miho could respond, the familiar sounds of birds and animals flying and scurrying away in panic overwhelmed the horizon before the flash of light hit them both. The cannon was relentless against both flesh and stone.
Reynold clicked his tongue again as the arm cannon quickly disassembled itself and fell apart into scrap metal. "Sorry lass... you ain't gon' run away fro' me that easy.
And underneath the soil, a woman sighed.
It was frustrating to get her dress so soiled by clay; that fall was a lot farther than she expected, and those rocks were clearly placed in a way to make it so that whoever stepped downward first would trigger a minor rock slide into the cave, without anyway to go back up the same way.
Whatever.
She hadn't spotted anyone throughout her journey, nor was she interested in doing so. After all, most of these uncivilized thugs were all in for glory or money. To her, this was a simple job; clearly the museum's artifacts were placed on this island as some sort of joke or trick, and she was not here to play around with such nonsense. Everyone so far on the island was either a warmonger, a spy, a thief, or an outcast that didn't deserve any reward.
Well, except for one, but he wasn't near her.
She quickly moved forward and sidestepped another pile of rocks, only for them to still fall downward; another rock slide, this time opening up another hole to the ceiling where the afternoon light was beginning to fade. Her oil lantern would hold up in the darkness, but she wondered if anyone else would spot her if she illuminated the area. But that question was suddenly answered by multiple echoes, growing louder and softer until one clear enough reached her.
"Patchouli? patchouli? patchouli?patchouli? patchouli?
Patchouli gave a small smile. Of course he would be down here.
