Face first into the trees

[Roger Smith]

It did not take overly long, at least by Adam's standard of keeping track of time, before he began to notice something. Well, something aside from the profoundness of how thoroughly he had gotten himself lost. It was faint, and among all the other general sounds of the forest....jungle....fucking mass of trees and wildlife associated with them that he almost missed it entirely. It was only a figurative lifetime -- and a literal decade or two -- of paranoia and always expecting the worst that even brought it to his attention at all.

It was enough to bring him to a halt, staring off into the trees blankly. "Y'know....if I didn't know better, I'd almost say we found something aside from trees."

"NAK."

"Yeah, seems kind of far-fetched, but there's gotta be something living out here."

"NAK."

"Yeah, it could be violent."

"NAK."

"And carnivorous."

"NAK."

".....and very big."

"NAK."

"Look, okay, I don't wanna get eaten either. But I'd also rather not find out if it's literally possible to die of boredom. Or from over-exposure to trees."

"NAK."

"Yes, I promise if I am about to be eaten I will use the last of my strength to throw you as far away from whatever ravening hellbeast is chomping on me. Now please be quiet."

Moving as quietly and smoothly as he could, given he was....well, floating, Adam continued forward, through the trees, and toward the steadily-increasing sounds of what he recognized all too soon as some manner of confrontation. Probably a physical one. And a violent one. And from the sounds of it, most definitely an aggressive one.

"NAK."

"Yeah. It doesn't sound like a ravening hellbeast. But there might still be someone getting eaten."

"NAK."

"I'm the one that can fly. Remember that."