Danica trudged though the thick shrubbery sitting down on a log to clean the leaches off of her nap sack.

Sarah fell out the tree with a thud. She had tried to climb again, but unfortunately she had slipped on a wet branch.

"Holy shit!" Danica jumped back, startled by the random girl that had jumped out of a tree. what kind of person jumps out of a tree? she thought to herself

Sarah scratched the back of her head and smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry about that. I kind of slipped." Note to self: Don't climb in heeled boots. She stood up and brushed herself off.

"hmm slipping... from a tree... yeah that sounds kinda painful" remarked Danica what a dunce she thought

"well i'm Danica" she smiled

"Yeah, it is." What a display of cat like grace there Sarah. What are you going to do next? Trip on a ladybug? She looked at Danica and smiled back. "My name's Sarah. So what are you doing in this forest?"

"well i'm just trying to find and follow the river Styks, i'm supposed to meet a friend there but so far i haven't found it yet"

Sarah nodded. "Oh I see, well I'm just exploring the area around here. I got kind of bored earlier." Hence the climbing. Since when am I not bored anyway. She wondered about that until she remembered that there was someone else here. "Hmm, well I suppose we can both look for that place, since I don't have anything better to do."

"sure thing, i wouldn't mind company just let me get this leach off first" she grabbed onto the fat little body and watched for a moment as it tried to penetrate the chain mail on her arm, and flicked it off lightly.

"bah i despise these little things, i'd be wise for you to check yourself for them as well, especially seeing how you were climbing though those trees"

"Alrighty then!" She snickered when Danica had to rid of the leech. It's funny how they used to be the cure for everything "Yeah I hate those too." She looked around her body and found one trying to climb up her shoe. "Gah, you bloodsucker!" She ripped it off her shoe and stepped on it, wiping the remains against a rock.

Danica got up from her log and pulled out a small book with a map in it, carefully measuring out the lines and reading her compass she turned ninety degrees and look up.

"the river should be this way" she said pointing to a trail that lead deeper into the forest, "ready to go?"

Sarah looked up as she finished cleaning the remains off of her shoe. "Yeah of course." She wondered what they would run into on the way there.

"alright, lets go," Danica started to traverse the trail expecting Sarah to follow.

Sarah nodded and started to hum to herself. We're off to see the wizard. The wonderful wizard of oz! She walked with Danica and looked around. It was damp and full of leeches

A loud screech was heard over head.

Dacnica looked up and saw a Centennial Falcon Looming overhead.

there must be a corpse around here.. near by. Centennial Falcons only leave their nests to feed.

Danica turned to Sarah, "Sarah, keep your eyes open, that was a Centennial Falcon, they're one of the most vicious birds of prey known to still exist. If this one is out and about it means that there was a fresh kill nearby."

Danica remembered the first time she had encountered the bird. A chill ran down her spine. at the time she was only 6 years old, she was out with her uncle when they came across a village that had been massacred. dead bodies lie scattered everywhere, and the Falcons had began to gather, and feed upon the flesh of the villagers.

Sarah's eyes widened and looked around. She didn't exactly like dead bodies. Her family had a habit of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Death always seemed to follow them and kill whoever was nearby, Sarah was no exception.She sighed and continued observing the area as they walked.

"So sarah," said Danica trying to make some coversation, "where are you from?"

"Uhhm off the freeway, make a left to the nearest airport and fly south." She was being rather vague, but it was hard to say. She always moved around a lot and back. She was actually living far from here, staying in a hotel.