>>6134476“I see. That makes sense, it is the best option.” Tarble replies aloud after you finish telling him of your conversation with his brother earlier in the morning. “If you need anything, let us know.”
'Will do.” you reply, Tarble giving you a wave before flying off back towards the city. Leaving you, Haathe, and your family as the only ones left. “Alright, let's go back home.”
“Are we going to have to swim back again?” Okira asks, your youngest daughter clearly not enthused by the idea. Which gives YOU an idea, grinning at the thought.
“No, not this time. Instead, this time we'll be heading back over land.” you tell her, holding up a finger. “No flying.”
“What?” She asks, looking confused. “What do you mean?”
“If you fly everywhere, it doesn't build stamina. Instead we're going to run back.” you tell her, hopping down off the roof and taking off at a light jog. “Let's go, everyone!”
To which you hear your young children all jump down and follow after you, Haathe and Meloka joining in as well. Taking off into the forest, you all make your way across the continent, dodging between the massive trees as you all make your way back towards your ship. However, about three minutes in you find yourself in an unfamiliar part of the forest, the canopy a lot closer and the area above thicker, making a far darker shaded area. Nearly twilight in this spot of the forest, you slide to a stop, feeling uneasy. Your instincts warning you about... Something, but the warning is too vague to really help.
“Dad? What's wrong?” Karn Jr asks, stopping beside you. “Is there something up there?”
“There's something... Off...” you mutter, trying to place what feels so wrong. You sense Meloka's energy expanding, activating her Energy Shell to get a better feel for the area, anything that moves she'll know it. But the forest is eerily silent. No rustle of leaves, no calls from birds higher up in the trees or in the air, nothing. As if the forest itself is holding its breath in anticipation for whatever's about to happen.
But what do you do?
>Press forward, but tell everyone to stay on high alert. Something may be watching you all>Call out into the forest that you can sense them, there's no use hiding. See if this bluff works, or if whatever's out there remains hidden>Tell Caulifla and Haathe to Instant Transmission the younger children directly to the ship, leave this problem to Meloka and yourself>Activate your Champion power once more, use your connection to New Salda to find out what's setting your instincts off>Other(write in) 