In the end I decided that I would only use those kind of tactics if I was weaker than my opponent. I finished filling my belly after about an hour of stop, and go eating. By that I mean stopping to kill wounded beasts. I killed three more while I was trying to finish my meal. They were barely alive by the time I got to them, but that didn't matter much to me since I got the same amount of XP from them no matter how little health they had left. My wings extended slowly as I stretched after that big meal.
Yawning as I let my muscles go lax afterward. I switched to infrared, and still saw that wall of heat ahead, but it wasn't nearly as hot as it had been so I started heading that direction slowly. It wasn't as risky now that I could make out the heat signatures of those on this side of the canyon. I avoided human heat signatures without much fuss. In the end I had to turn around, and head deeper in the woods simply because of the sheer number of adventurers, and military personnel that was out near the canyon helping with the clean up.
I could come back after dark when there would be less people. I could see in the dark. Humans could not. So even if they're still were people about I was pretty sure I could avoid them. I ended up looking for a good place to nap instead of bothering to hunt for a few hours, and when I found it we all settled to take a break for a while.
Ethan, and Savannah stayed alert so I could get a decent amount of sleep, and I woke up whenever something dangerous came by. When I got a decent amount of sleep I suggested going back to the settlement for the night. Ethan hesitated, but Savannah agreed right away. Savannah was exhausted because what little sleep she had gotten had been fitful. Ethan on the other hand could sense that I was up to something.
I pretended not to notice as I plodded along happily. This trip had been quite fun for me so far. I hoped it kept going this way. I also hoped that I'd get to see the bottom of the canyon. I really wanted to go down there for some reason.
I didn't understand it completely, but I knew that my instincts wouldn't steer me the wrong way. We headed back to the settlement slowly. Making sure to avoid people as long as possible so I could maintain my true form as long as possible. I switched back before we headed back into the settlement. It was getting dark by the time we crossed through the settlement gates.
I didn't like being in human form, but I had to stay in human form as long as we were in the settlement. I lingered around until Savannah fell asleep.
"What are you planning on doing?" Ethan caught me on my way out.
"Hanging out with Goliath for a while," I smirked.
"How is that a good idea?" Ethan frowned at me as he spoke softly.
"There's something down there I want," I snorted, "I trust my instincts, and they say I should go down there."
"Have your instincts ever been wrong?" Ethan spoke softly.
"No," I looked down at the ground casually, "They've been spot on."
I messaged Goliath while I was waiting for him to think it over.
"Do you have an idea of what you're looking for?" Ethan rubbed the back of his neck.
It was easier for him to speak freely with less people about.
"No clue," I looked down at Goliath's response, "But I'll know it when I see it."
"You're going to go no matter what I say," Ethan locked eyes with me, "If you don't come back alive I'll kill you myself."
"Don't plan on it," I smirked, "Survival has always been my goal."
"Goliath will be with you?" Ethan asked.
"Yep," I nodded.
"Fine," Ethan yawned, "But don't blame me when Savannah gets mad at you for sneaking off."
I nodded, and headed for where Goliath told me to meet up with him. It hadn't been hard to convince him to let me go with him. He was already scheduled to do some canyon clean up, and I was strong enough to handle myself. He'd made sure of that himself. We headed out right afterward.
Goliath put on his night vision goggles so he could see. He offered me some, but I declined since I could see fine without them. As soon as I was clear of any wandering eyes I wandered into the trees, and switched forms. Coming back to Goliath in my true form. My wings twitched as I debated on stretching my wings properly.
I didn't think it was a good idea with me this close to Goliath. He couldn't sense my emotions so I figured I might tag him with a wing if I did. It took us less time than I thought it would to get to the canyon. It was still dark out, but that didn't matter much.
"Why do you want to go down there?" Goliath looked at me.
"Something tells me I should," I snorted.
"That's it," Goliath stopped me outside of the range of the lights, "You want to run head first into the most dangerous place on the planet just on a feeling."
"It's not that simple," I coiled my muscles as I looked at the soldiers that cast shadows in the light, "My instincts are never wrong. There's something down there that I want. That I need."
"They won't let you go down there even if you switch back to your human form," Goliath looked me over, "You'll have to find your own way down."
"That's easy," I snorted.
"Once your down there head towards that light," Goliath pointed at a temporary elevator that had been set up, "I've been assigned this shift to clean up the tunnels at the bottom of the canyon."