Ensign Ivalyan Keros- To Splat, or Not To Splat

[Ivalyan Keros]

((En Route - Approaching the Orion Perimeter, Drakos Prime))

Leda: ::whispering:: We're almost there. I can hear… some kind of movement. There's definitely something going on down there…

Sylvax: You're right. ::His voice remained low.:: That's too much activity to be routine.

Willow: They are definitely using the natural ambient sounds generated by the forest to conceal their movement. You wouldn't notice unless you stopped like we did.

Ivalyan ::eyes tracking the treeline, voice low:: That's a level of discipline that d-doesn't come cheap. Either someone trained them well, or they've had a lot of practice not b-b-being found.

Gods she hated heights. She’d heard the jokes in academy, but being tall did not mean you enjoyed splatting. 

Leda: There's a way down over here. If we're careful.

Sylvax: I see. ::A beat.:: By "way down," you mean "gravity-assisted descent."

Willow: I would suggest finding an area with a steady slope and sliding down on our backs.

Ivalyan: ….Sure. 

They would have continued forward with the descent, yet Leda with her ears sharper than most, hesitated again, listening intently to the distant activity below.

Leda: Are they… do they look like they're packing up camp?

Sylvax: Either they're leaving... ::A small pause.:: Or they've suddenly decided they don't want anyone finding whatever they've been doing here.

Willow: It could be a combination of those ideas. Perhaps they are leaving because they do not want to be found. Or, it could be an altogether relocation. Either way, we won't know from this distance.

Ivalyan ::quietly:: If it's a relocation, they'd b-b-be moving the important things first and leaving the rest for last. ::watching the activity below:: Worth n-noting what they grab and what they don't.

With that, there was nothing left to do but go down and find out.

Sylvax went first, testing each handhold before committing his weight, forcing himself to move methodically rather than quickly. The rock face was steeper up close, less a controlled path and more a negotiation with gravity that required constant agreement from both parties. Loose fragments of stone shifted under his boots, sliding away with soft, disappearing scrapes into the forest below.

After a single tense inhale, he completed the descent, signaling up from the geound, river flowing, birds squawking impatiently somewhere below.

Sylvax: Is everyone alright up there?

oO As long as I get to STAY up here. Oo

She flashed a thumbs up. 

Willow: No one's moved. I'm coming down after you. I suggest moving over.

Ivalyan ::calling down, breath catching slightly:: F-fine. Just admiring the view. ::she does not sound like she's admiring the view::

Haukea navigated herself to Ryden's previous starting point, finding secure footing, lowering her center of gravity, before sliding down in a single steep, fast slide that ended with her nearly plowing into Sylvax before he stepped clear.

Willow: ::brushing dust from her clothing:: If we took out the harrowing circumstances, I may have considered that fun.

Willow: ::shouting up to Ivalyan and Leda:: Make your way down. Then we can travel around and see what they are doing at the camp.

Ivalyan ::already testing the first handhold:: Copy that. ::glancing at Leda:: After you — you're better at this than I am.

Leda gave a short nod and started down without hesitation, years of navigating Drakos Prime's terrain showing in every placed foot. Ivalyan followed more carefully behind her, attention split between the rock under her hands and the treeline below — and whatever was waiting for them once they reached it.

Willow/Sylvax: Response

Once the last of them reached level ground, the group fell back into formation, moving now along the treeline rather than above it, the forest's noise no longer a mystery but a cover they intended to use for themselves.

Willow/Sylvax/Leda: Response

Whatever the Orions were doing, they wouldn't be doing it unobserved for much longer.

Willow/Sylvax/Leda: Response

Ensign Ivalyan Keros

Counselor

SB 118 Ops

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