The Emerald Enclave would have been a dream come true for Izori—with its near-endless expanse of green jungle, the air alive with the buzzing of insects and the rustle of leaves in the breeze, and soft carpets of moss over the forest floor—had it not been for everything else about the place. Sucking, sinking sand; giant, dangerous insects; concealed traps, left behind by goodness knew who. These were the kinds of hazards that he personally would rather avoid if he could.

But he had heard the stories of those who'd opened the bunker and returned of how the vast leaves of oversized plants cast dappled shadows onto the earthen floor of the region, of vibrant flowers and expansive ferns whose leaves reached like fingers for the light. His life's work and passion is not a calling that Izori can so easily ignore, even if the rest of the place sounds like a horror story.

And so here he is, striding carefully through the wooded area of the bunker, the sound of his own footfalls almost entirely silenced by the soft earth underfoot. The small device he holds in one hand beeps intermittently, its holographic screen showing its progress of scanning and mapping the terrain he has passed. The process is slow, though, and the scanner's range is not terribly impressive. Izori might almost think pen and paper and his own eyes would be a better tool, if not for the fact that he can't walk and write at the same time.

The branches overhead rustle loudly as something crashes through it. Izori flinches, dropping his scanner, as…

…oh. He catches a glimpse of red-and-golden feathers. It is only a bird.

"Oh," Izori says, suddenly feeling very silly at having panicked. He stoops to pick up his device, thinking about his next move, and then—

"I'LL WRING YOUR SKINNY LITTLE NECK. GET BACK HERE, YOU STUPID FUCKING BIRD!"

"Eep!" He snatches the device up and clasps it to his chest, looking about in alarm at the sudden, harsh voice tearing through the forest around him.

He turns just in time to see a much larger shape exploding from the trees—but he doesn't have time to absorb any more of it than that before it plows into him, sending both him and the newcomer sprawling to the wet earth in a tangle of legs and wings.

"Please don't hurt me," Izori says, squeezing his eyes shut. He hefts the scanner towards the stranger. "Here, take this! Just—leave my skinny neck alone. Please."

"Um—what? Hey—shit, calm down." The voice sounds a great deal less angry now and a great deal more awkward. "I don't even know who you are."

He dares to open one eye. A pale, spotted tsabhua with an impressive mohawk is staring down at him, her expression twisted into something that is more discomfort than anger.

"You were shouting," Izori blinks, then scrambles backwards and to his feet. "I'm Izori. Resident of the Zagreus-15 Colony."

"Ah, crap, yeah. Some dumb bird stole some of my gear. Sorry 'bout that. Name's Sagitta." She rolls her eyes and lets out an annoyed huff when she mentions the bird. "Don't know how we're going to replace the damn thing if I can't get it back. Did you see it, by chance? Red and yellow, face only a mother could love?"

"Oh. That's alright." Though Izori's heart is still hammering in his chest, much like a startled bird's. "I did—it flew past, just before you came through. That way," he points with a wing towards a particularly dense patch of forest, and winces when Sagitta curses.

The two just stand there, contemplating their choice to come to this place, for a time. The leaves overhead cast stark, dancing shadows on the tsabhua's pale fur, colouring her shades of green between gleaming patches of gold where the light hits.

Izori clears his throat, "I could help, if you'd like? I'm here to help map this place, so it's not out of my way." Even though that knotted, tangled section of rainforest looks like something that might be best avoided.

"Would you?" She blinks, then offers him a small grin. "I'd appreciate that. Sure. Let's get that dumb thing's feathered arse."

Izori bobs his head and, a little awkwardly, does his best to lead her in the direction the bird had flown off. As a resident flying thing, he knows that it can easily have flown off in some other direction at any point, but he hoped that isn't the case. But whatever equipment it had stolen from Sagitta probably wasn't edible, and he saw no reason why a bird would hold on to it for more than a few minutes; even the shiniest toys couldn't hold their attention forever.

…probably. He's hardly an expert on avian behaviour.

They walk for several minutes, struggling through vine-laden branches and increasingly muddy soil. A loud schlorp echoes each of Izori's footsteps, making him fight for every step. The thought of having to turn around and follow his own trail of muddy pawprints back out makes his muscles ache. By the looks of it, Sagitta isn't having any better a time; a silvery fly keeps buzzing around her ears, not leaving her alone despite her best attempts to swat it. He chooses to ignore her choice of language when it lands on the tip of her horn and flies away before she can get it.

And then she freezes. She lifts a finger to her mouth in a shushing motion, then points ahead of them; several feet away, a red-and-golden bird perches on a branch. It's playing with some metallic piece of equipment that Izori faintly recognises, but cannot recall the exact name of.

"You go that way, I'll go this way," she whispers, "when I give the signal, we'll jump at the same time. One of us ought to be able to grab it."

Izori just nods. He wishes he had Sagitta's confidence in his own abilities to catch a fast, thinking flying object, but he doesn't mention that. He did volunteer to help, and it's not like he has a better plan.

He stows his scanner and creeps around the side, trying his best to be quiet, eyes flicking back and forth between the playful bird and Sagitta's pale shape moving on the other side of it, oh-so-visible against the deep green of the Emerald Enclave. Izori winces at that; he's certain that he is just as visible as her. Perhaps a stealthy approach wasn't the best idea.

Forward… forward… forward…

Izori can hear the rattling of the bird's beak against its stolen prize when Sagitta finally nods for them to move, and tries his best to match her speed as she lunges forward. He beats his wings to speed himself along, rocketing up above the bird. It squawks in alarm and tries to take off, nearly getting away from them before the tsabhua's deft hands snag the edge of the device.

The bird shrieks and flaps its wings frantically for a minute before letting go, giving up with a hiss and a parting peck at Sagitta's nose.

"Hey, ow," she grumbles, shaking a fist at it as it flies off. "Yeah, you'd better run! This is mine. Stupid thieving bird."

"Is it broken?"

She hums to herself, shaking the device gently and tapping a few buttons. "Just a few scratches, I think. Thanks for the help, by the way."

"Of course," Izori says, and smiles.