<strong>The wilds of Dra Sirdu: the waning of the day</strong><br/><br/>Between the morning's travel and the early afternoon's excitement, the sun had begun to dip towards the horizon. Several hours remained of daylight, but they too would soon flee, if the entire group decided to make time for Aeryn's injury.<br/><br/>With the howls of predators long gone, the sounds of the forest descending into evening filled the air. As with seemingly everything on this island, the calls were familiar but not truly identical to those on the mainland. Most distinctive were the owls (or, given the odd mishmash that the other sighting had been, perhaps owl-like-things): they were deep and echoing, making their origins that much more difficult to determine. They also started significantly earlier in the day than one might normally expect from such nightbirds: the sun was still a few handspans from the horizon when the first, low hoot filled the air.<br/><br/>Perhaps more unusually, now that they were at rest (for however long that lasted), the wildlife seemed completely unafraid of them. Small, furry creatures darted here and there, almost running underfoot. Something child-sized and many-limbed swung from the trees branches directly above them, its quick movement and dark color making details somewhat hard to pick out. It, at least, was significantly different from anything on the mainland. If anything, its body more closely resembled the odd, rubbery things in the fishmonger's stalls that they might have seen on the dockside before departure. Some small birds even perched on branches and tree-hollows within arms reach, helping fill the air with their own distinctive songs.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Not quite</div><div class="spoiler_body"> As one might expect, Aeryn's attempts at self-help are unsuccessful.<br/><br/>Also, feel free to go after the unused-to-humans wildlife. For science (you monsters).</div></div>