Burn it.

The tunnels were horrible. Ignis did not consider it an exaggeration, or a lie, or anything else. They were one of the worst things he had ever encountered on the islands. They were cramped, and musty, and the airflow was horrible. The three flyers were struggling to even fly down it, and had resorted to walking at one point as the dead air pushed against their wings.

Ebon and Jay were ironically much better suited for walking the paths than Ignis with their longer back legs, strolling ahead as the tapejara cursed and struggled behind them. The two shared an amused glance- finally their boss was getting some comeuppance- before pausing as green light shone ahead in the tunnel. Fresh air- finally.

Ignis was the last to reach the entrance, pausing to stretch out his wings with a low groan as he raised them into the air. “What the…” he trailed off. 

The tunnel had led them to some sort of large dome. Green was spread out as far as their very advanced eyes could see, thick, raging trees and vines making their way up the sides of the dome. The blue sky overhead occasionally flickered in places, revealing the deep ocean beyond it. Some bits of metal poked out- human facilities, long overcome by the green. Still. This place was at least partly functional for the sole fact that the dome had not given way, pouring tons of seawater in. 

“What is this place…” Ebon gasped, Jay echoing it with one of her own. They had shaken down several oviraptors in order to finally get the information they needed, but this… this was beyond what they ever expected.

“Look! Feathers!” Jay hopped her way over to a small pile of gravel near the entrance, nudging at it with a wing. Several colorful feathers laid across the ground, footprints leading away towards the jungle. “Seems like this really is the place where the oviraptors are coming from.”

“Footprints too.” Ebon noted, only to freeze. “I…I dont think those are oviraptor footprints.” Deep in the soft ground lay footprints much larger and rounder than the narrow oviraptor footprints. 

Ignis shoved his way past the two, lowering his beak to the footprints before placing his own wingarm beside it. His footprint did not go nearly as deep down as the mystery one did. “It's big.” The tapejara raised his head back up. “Or heavy. At the very least.”

“Do you know what made them?” The two young tropeognathus looked towards Ignis hesitantly. While the older flyer was… insane, to say lightly, he was far from dumb. And he had experience, which the siblings lacked.

Ignis clacked his beak a few times, before shrugging and letting out a low hiss. “Similar to a dacens footsteps, or a styracs, but different. Flatter. Deeper.” After a moment, he shrugged. “Whatever. Lets get to the forest. That must be the way we need to go, and it goes up far too high to go over.” Jay and Ebon groaned lowly. The jungle was menacing from a distance- and they doubted it would get any better once they got closer.

And indeed, it did not. As they flew through the air, the pressure seemed to increase. A horrid scent wafted from the darkness between the trees- where the tunnels had been musty and moldy, the jungle was humid and far too sickly sweet. Jay gagged loudly, shaking her head with a hiss. 

And the misfortune didn’t end there. As soon as they entered the jungle it became clear- it was far too dense for them to fly. Every which way they turned had some kind of branch or leaf blocking their path. With a frustrated clack Ignis landed onto the ground, hissing in disgust. The ground was sticky and muddy under his wings, clogging up his feathers. “Great.”

As Jay and Ebon landed beside him, a branch broke. The three froze. There, in the foliage- something shifting. Something red and glowing shoved its way into the foliage- and it was then the trio learned just what had made those prints.

The Euoplocephalus came to a stop in front of them, huffing loudly as it eyed them up. They did the same. Dark red and spikey, covered in black stripes with an orange head. A orange tail club lashed behind them, sending dust and dirt into the air wherever it hit. But by far the strangest thing was the glowing red armor along this back- dark red metal draped over the body, black rubber keeping it attached to the body. That was far too much armor in Ignis’s opinion. “I am Raya. State your business here, trespassers.”

“We just want to pass through- please, will you let us?” Ebon spoke, dipping his beaked head forward. His wings fluttered anxiously- that tail club would be no joke. Jay at his side backed up a few steps, out of range of the club.

Raya sniffed, a smug look entering her eyes as she smiled. “I pity you, small armor-less creatures. Should you bow and dance for me, I shall let you pass.” Jay and Ebon shared a glance, shrugging. Might as well, better than-

“Never!” Ignis shrieked, feathers bristling. Jay and Ebon looked on in horror. “We shall never bow to you earth crawlers! Mud covered beasts!” He considered to spit insults and vigor, becoming more and more creative.

Raya clearly did not enjoy the insults. With an enraged bellow she turned, swinging her tail club right at Ignis. Jay and Ebon shrieked, jumping into the air and flailing around in the cramped foliage. A vine wrapped around Ebon, sending him back to the ground. 

Ignis jumped into the air, dodging the club attack. Letting out another loud shriek he dove, landing onto the back of the large herbivore and barely avoiding any spikes. With the sound of scratching metal he dug his claws in, using his beak to tear and peck at the armor as Raya bellowed in annoyance. “Coward!”

Jay landed beside Ebon, grabbing the vine with her beak and freeing him. “Run!” She gasped, nudging him up to his feet. “We can't fly- just run!” The two quickly booked it, weaving their way along the narrow passage and climbing what they couldn't avoid.

“What about him?” Ebon shot back, but even then he couldn’t bring himself to stop. The tapejara had picked this battle- it was up to him to finish. Jay quickly picked a large tree, using her wings to climb-fly her way up and huddle into the foliage. Ebon joined her, the two nervously staring back the way they came. 

Ignis hung on tight as Raya thrashed and jumped, frantically trying to shake the annoyance off. No matter what she did, however, she could not get him off; he was far too used to this manner of attack. 

With a loud honk the herbivore attempted to bash herself against a tree- but Ignis was prepared. He launched himself into the air, but Raya had no time to adjust her course. With a loud thud she smashed into the tree, several of her spikes becoming stuck in the wood. Ignis shrieked loudly in victory- while he wished to stay and finish the job, it would take too long. Still. He couldn’t help but leave some parting words.

“Pathetic.” Ignis spat. “Truly dirt beneath my wings. Soon this jungle will be burnt down to ash- it and the horrible plants and creatures it hides. And it will be your fault.” With one last mocking laugh he swooped away, leaving the cursing herbivore stuck. Now to find his companions… they had a job to do.