Tethon and the other body gaurd moved swiftly and silently, but keeping from being seen was slowing them down a great deal. If he killed anybody or if he was seen, it would surely be reported to the bulk of the army, and they might never make it to Alexia. If they tried a diversion, the scouts might spread out in that direction to find any others, and again, all might be lost.
The snake however had no such restrictions as it moved swiftly and silently through the deep brush with its brown and green color acting as a perfect camoflage sliding along without sound. It moved over twice the speed of the two gaurds and had lond since sped ahead of them.
As the snake approached the waterfall, licking the air for the scent of the female, it became obvious that the girl had already been found. It apprached the waterfall, chacking over the rocks to gauge the rocks and the water.
The snake soon turned and sped along down-river, and then with a sharp turn, arched through the air, diving into the water below.
The water was not deep where the snake dove, but instead of hitting the bottom, it steered deftly parralel to the ground, swimming upriver towards the smell of Alexia. The snake moved almost as quickly through the water as it did on land. Alexia struggled on the water floor as the snake approached. It opened its mouth as it sped towards her, and as it reached the girl, bit down on her fore-arm gripping the sword, better that she not be able to kill him whith the sword. The snake had no teeth, so no extra blood was drawn, but the snake yanked her arm harshly in the direction of its coming, still moving upriver.
The girl created quite a drag in the swiftly moving water but there was nothing that could be done to fix the problem. It now moved much slower upstream, but was close enough to the water-fall that it might not make much difference.
The pound of water on water made navigating hard under the waterfall, espescially with the girl, and the snake had almost lost itself several times, but soon it had passed the great crush and came up in the thin space between the waterfall and the rock in front of it.
There were only four feet of space between the fallin water and the rocks, but it would be enough to cathc a breath before heading back downstream, and they would be invisible to those above, and invulnerable to projectiles...
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Meanwhile, Tethon and the other gaurd were finally nearing the river. Instead of continuing out of the woods towards the water, Tethon stopped the other gaurd from continuing and motioned for them to go down river. The other gaurd did not seemed willing to change course.
Many moments and harsh whispers later, they moved downriver, the other gaurd still unconvinced...