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The jungle is silent.
To the east, the land plunges down into the green, and to the west the mountains rise high above, but here there is foliage all around, and a game track, and a conspicuous lack of small mammals and birds.
You might even say it's too silent.
"Are you not familiar with the realms of cultivation? I had heard that beasts had patchy cultivation knowledge, but to not know something so fundamental..."
"All cultivation is founded on the same underlying principles; it should work the same everywhere? No matter who is using it, qi is qi."
"Qi is the profound principle that fuels your powers and which you ingest or respire to deepen your cultivation? I don't know how it feels to you; they say beasts cultivate by instinct, but humans have to do everything intentionally."
"Monsters with innate cultivation are not rare, and some of them, like yourself, possess sufficient intelligence, refinement, and honour, to join civilization. It's rare, though."
"No, I mean like me. My species. It sounds like you don't know about us at all and you are making things up based on others you have met."
She looks mostly human, but in addition to the wings, she's got claws, not nails.
Guo Rong looks embarrassed. "I have never heard of a specific breed of monsters with your precise characteristics, this is true."
"Well, we've all got magic that works like what I do and doesn't have much to do with eating things. But I'm excited to try your kind! My kind does not appear to do immortality!"
The other spear fighter would like to have a furiously whispered conversation with Guo Rong about this!
"We would be delighted to introduce you to the clans so that they can consider you as a candidate for adoption and teaching."
"...sounds great!" she says, continuing to write furiously while some of her progress is undone whenever any information is exchanged.
The unintroduced spear fighter will give her a look. This look translates as: "I've seen what you're doing. And I want you to know I've seen what you're doing. So that you can know you're being watched, if you think of trying something." It is a very expressive look.
The crossbowman has finished stringing up and blessing the jaguar and the injured woman has collected herself enough to stand up and collect her sword from where it was dropped on the ground.
"We should get moving, before all this blood attracts scavengers. We have a reasonably secure place to camp not too far away."
They'll point roughly west towards the mountains.
"Maybe a half hour walk? We'll probably have to go fairly slowly, since we're burdened and have someone injured. If you fly above the trees, will you be able to keep track of us despite the canopy?"
"Better for us to just walk. If you're having trouble, we can slow down?" Rong turns to address the wounded swordswoman. "Same goes for you as well, Zhu."
(Some of the others form calculating looks.)
They will head off, then.
While they're walking, the second spearman will try and find a chance to talk to Tireh without the others being able to overhear that well.
She does not super want to try to talk while on the move. It's hard enough to stay upright when she's devoting her full attention to it, she definitely can't write at the same time.
Then he will not get a chance to, and they will instead make it to camp with only the typical amount of trouble hiking through dense jungle poses.
The camp is a hollow set into a cliff-face with a firepit already dug in such a location as to allow a third direction of approach to be screened off as well.
The hunters will take a break on log seats, conveniently already present (along with everyone's camping equipment) before they get started with all of the camp activities that need to be done while there's still daylight.
If they go take some hours to chop wood, carry water, and butcher jaguar, will she be done scribbling?
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