Pauline
*Hjalmar hated the swamp. The mercenary mucked through the swamp, every so often stooping down at some footprint or a broken branch. He had to make better time than this. The bandits who carried off his client's family surely where fools for running off into the swamp. He chuckled, he guessed he was a fool for chasing them, but the man offered good pay. He shifted into the form of a very large wolf, and started sniffing the air. He could barely make out the sent of the bandits. He was on the right trail.*

*The shapeshifter continued down the route. It was easier to traverse the swamp in wolf form he noticed, and he lightly tread from strip of dry land to root to more dry land, avoiding the water. Even so, he still hated it. His wolf form was that of the Winter Wolf, a rare breed of dire wolf adapted to cold climates, not the hot weather of the swamp. He wouldn't stay long. Get the target, dispatch the bandits, get out. And goodness he hated mosquitoes.*
Johnny
Nature is wondrous in the ways it can communicate with the world, The Blackwater swamp is no different. When a branch is broken the swamp knows, the murky water is disturbed, the swamp knows, and when someone new enters the swamp knows...


Violet eyes pier through the canopy of the thick willow staring down at a man as he transforms into a wolf and heads inside deeper into the belly of the swamp. A big smile would slowly begin to stretch onto a young Dryad's face as she whispered to herself, "Oh boy some entertainment." Like a ghost in the wind, the Dryad would move through the swamp following the Wolf just out of sight and due to her scent being the same as the flora of the swamp out of smell. 


Using a small bit of magic she would summon a strong gust of wind that would just barely push the wolf not enough to make their trip or fall but just a smidge so that they would get their front leg stuck in thick mud that fucking **REEKED**!!!!! 


Aralynn had to hold her mouth shut as she giggled softly to herself knowing that the little inconvenience might get a reaction from the wolf.  She watched on with excitement to see what the wolf might do now having its leg engulfed in mud that smelt for lack of better words like ass.
Pauline
*When his leg stepped in the mud he immediately yanked it back out, cursing under his breath. He did his best to ignore the horrid smell, being used to the battlefield bad smells where the norm, and kept going before realizing something. That strong of a wind this far in couldn't be natural. He first smelled the air then looked around, couldn't see or smell anything different, but he thought he heard a giggle off to the left. After looking in that direction but seeing nothing, he kept on going, deeper into the swamp.*

*He stopped after a few paces. Could he be going crazy, no probably not. That wind had to have been artificial, any natural wind would have been stifled with all this thick vegetation. He stopped and started searching the surrounding area, looking for movement. And listening for any out of place sound. It would be difficult to hide.*
Johnny
Aralynn smiled widely seeing the small amount of annoyance on the wolf's face. She missed messing with people although her pranks were nothing more than childish fun and no one ever got hurt she normally enjoyed them more than the other person. Then again no one has entered her Swamp in years... Decades maybe. She saw the wolf standstill and knew that they were definitely looking for them but Aralynn needed to get one last prank before she was going to be caught. 


Holding back her squeals of laughter she summoned a ball of ice-cold water that quickly dropped on the wolf's head. At that point, she couldn't keep herself from bursting out and began to laugh as hard as she could looking at the wolf. 

Looking to their left half-hidden behind a black willow tree Hjalmar would see a gorgeous dryad woman; With had elf-like ears, stunning violet eyes, skin that reminisce of the greens and browns of the murky waters that make up the swamp, straight hip lengthed hair that was made of willow vines and cattail plants, and curves like a forest goddess. Aralynn wasn't wearing any clothes, not that she needed or cared enough to own any. And knowing that the wolf saw her she would give him a heartwarming smile.
Pauline
*Contrary to the intent of the dryad, the water actually felt good to the wolf, cooling it down in the insufferable heat. He shook off the excess water, and hearing the dryad laughing he turned and quickly spotted her. Realizing it was just some local playing tricks, he rolled his eyes as he sniffed the air to catch the scent of the bandits. The trail was fresh, but lead up into some trees, likely as a route above some unseen body of water. After double checking that it was the way he was supposed to go, he shifted back into human form, and began to climb the tree.*

*He quickly got up a few feet to a wooden platform crudely nailed into the tree. He must be close to a large body of water, as an old rope bridge stretched out, and he could see a clearing partway across. "This must be the trail" He thought, and he examined the bridge, making sure it would support his weight. Satisfied, he grabbed hold of a rope handrail and began to cross slowly.*