Shilah felt better when they reached the edge of the gulley. He quickly worked his way into it, marveling at the beautiful summer flowers that grew everywhere in the gulley. Shilah looked behind himself to gauge the clouds. The worst of it seemed to be behind them. He could see the cumulonimbus beginning to rise but the wind was still out of the south so hopefully it would push the storm right past them.

He grinned at Hyperion. "Welcome to Fern Gulley. One moment, if you don't mind." Shilah to had a map he was working on. He pulled out the piece of hide and flopped it on the ground. Heat flushed to his face as he realized it was the drunken treasure map he'd made. Spirits above… he quickly flipped it over to reveal the fresh side. Dipping a claw in a small satchel of walnut ink he sketched the opening of the gulley and a rough border with the prairie. The dry hide quickly drank it in, drying moments later. "I um… I don't suppose you were at that rather wild party on the beach some time back, were you?" Shilah hoped he hadn't made an idiot of himself but he likely had. He still wasn't entirely sure what had gone on in the gaps of his memory.

Alright, if the Prairie was going to get a wall of grass as its identifier, then this place was going to get flowers or something like that, because it was overrun with the stuff. Even though flowers weren't his thing even Hyperion could admit it was pretty. And it was certainly better than the thorns and tangles of Gambit Briar. "It's pretty," he commented as he stepped into the greenery and began to poke among the flowers. "My sister would love this. She's a healer and I bet there's a lot here she could use." Hyperion thought he recognized some of the plants, but he wasn't sure. Cissy would know best.

He watched with hawkish intent was Shilah used ink - ink!! - on his map. Firstly, did everyone who wandered "well" make maps? Secondly, why hadn't he thought of ink? Dang, he was going to have to put more thought into the wayfinding thing. While his efforts hadn't failed him too spectacularly yet - he was still alive, after all, so win? - he certainly lacked the finesse of his two travelling companions. Their skill seemed to be serving them well. They knew what they were doing and Svala had offhandedly dismissed his question about being lost like she couldn't imagine such a thing. Their casual confidence had him paying far more attention to the landscape than he usually did.

Shilah mentioned the party and Hyperion, mistaking his reserved question for genuine interest, enthused, "You bet I was! It was wild, wasn't it?" He shook his head as though he couldn't believe all the things he'd seen and done that night. "I slept like a baby the next day. What about you? Did ya," he shot Shilah a sly look. "Have a good time?"

Shilah tucked his map away as they continued through the gulley, the walls rising on either side. He nodded. "Oh yea, most of the wolves I've met in this gulley ended up being healer's." He had no sense for plants. Birds scattered as he passed a nearby shrub, taking off into the air. Their chirping seemed to echo all around him and the wind was still going but once the gulley walls rose up above them the air became calm and still.

Shilah pranced over to a large boulder that stuck out precariously into the gulley, almost taking up half its space. Ok, well this ought to be marked. He unfurled the map and quickly sketch in a circle, connecting it to one of the lines that formed the gulley wall as he chuckled about the party.

"Wild is one way to put it. I slept great but spirits the hangover! I've never been so sick in my life." He'd had a terrible headache and his stomach threw a tantrum whenever he tried to put something in it.



Shilah chuckled and winked at Hyperion. "Well, that's one way to put it. Apart from one incident involving puke let's just say I enjoyed the company, men and women alike. What about yourself?" His thoughts in particular drifted back to Akna. He knew they'd made out… he wasn't entirely sure how far it had went but she hadn't been in heat so… had she been in heat? Uh oh…

Dutifully Hyperion followed after Shilah. He was only a step or so behind so his shoulder was even with Shilah's ribs, but it was enough for any outside observer to know immediately who was calling the shots in this temporary partnership. The map alone was enough to prove to Hyperion that Shilah was navigation god; he'd follow him off a cliff without hesitation believing firmly that Shilah knew what he was doing. As they walked Hyperion marveled at the scenery. He hadn't come this way originally so this was all new to him. The walls jutted far up over his head and were fat with vegetation of all sorts. In places the path narrowed down to mere inches and he was forced to briefly walk behind Shilah. In others the vines overhead nearly blocked out the cloudy sky.

Speaking of the sky, Hyperion turned his attention towards it once more. It looked like the storm was well behind them, which was perfectly fine with Hyperion. Again, season of hail and all that; mother nature had already tried to skin him so if he could help it he was going to try to avoid giving her a second chance at a maiming. He was glad it was clearing up; now it felt like there was less of a rush to get to safety, which meant he had more time to talk orgy with Shilah.

Hyperion groaned in sympathy when Shilah mentioned puke. Even if he wasn't the one to do it and he'd just been around it, that was a mood killer. Oh man, what if he'd gotten puked on? He murmured his sympathy for the hangover too. His had been rough, but he'd known what to expect and dutifully eaten a groundhog. Something about the greasy meat seemed to help. "You did, eh? Good on ya. Me? Oh, yeah I had a great time. Rode a shark around and then wrestled it out onto the beach." He smirked over at Shilah. "Got to enjoy the company of others too."

Tangles of plant life clung to the walls of the gulley, seeming to grow all the way up it. He eyed a rabbit for a moment that scurried away into a nearby burrow. He wasn't hungry but it was good to know there were prey about. He imagined deer wandered through her on occasion as well. The sky above them was clearing into a lovely blue as they neared the end of the gulley.

As Hyperion spoke he stared. "I'm sorry, what? You rode a fucking shark?" He squinted at other man. "Are you pulling my leg?" If that was the case then he was sorry he missed it!

Shilah paused long enough to get his map out again and mark the end of the gulley. Really it was a rough estimate at how long it was. He didn't have any way to take exact measurements. Putting his items away he grinned and gestured to the southeast. "There it is, there's the beach." It carved a dark shape along the ocean shore.