As the path is clear, wide, and straight, you can see that the end of it is coming soon. You can also tell that in this part of the jungle there is tons of activity. Animals skitter by you, most of them unseen. Some, however, are curious enough to stick their heads out at you before disappearing.
You hear a bit of chirping ahead, and to your surprise, a small mouse boldly passes you, her head held high as she struts pass, as if daring you to do something about it.
You consider introducing yourself, but after the incident with the Moon Cat, you've realized that not everything in the jungle can, or will, talk to you. You decide to let her pass without bothering her.
However, no sooner do you decide this, than another strange occurance happens.
A small, colorful bunny runs out in front of you. He stops dead, looking into your eyes. With a small, rabbit-like sound, he stays completely still. You stop, not sure if he's scared or trying to say something. He, however, doesn't seem to desire to speak, either.
Not knowing what else to do, you step forward to continue on your way. You get a few inches closer to him before he lets out a terrifying noise and runs back the way he came. It's strange. It's like he was dared to run out and stay as long as possible. Then again, he might have also just wanted to get to the other side but was too scared. Shrugging, you press on.
"Stop," comes a deep, rolling voice. You heed the voice's command, looking around for its source.
Slowly, there appears a giant, rather unpleasant-looking, bird. He doesn't have plumage, per se, but he does have some strong bird-like qualities. He also has a long tail and almost dragonish qualities to him.
"Scaring off all my friends are you?" he sneers. When he sits back on his hind legs, he's about three feet tall.
"No," you say, pleading a bit. You explain why you're here and introduce yourself. He shakes his head.
"Well, wanderer," he growls, still clearly not pleased by your prescence. "You've got this whole jungle talking like you're some huge wizard. You should have seen all the dares... to try to steal something from you, to talk to you, to just walk in front of you..."
At least now the actions of the other animals make sense!
You ask, "Does that mean you were dared?"
As if on cue, another bird dashes out into the pathway. He looks rather much like a chicken, but is rainbow in color. Looking from you to the other bird, he seems a bit crest fallen. "Oh," he says awkwardly.
"Hotega," says the first, "this is the wanderer. Wanderer, this is Hotega. Oh, I forgot, I am Toluce. We're glad you've come by."
"I cannot believe you've beaten me to the wanderer!" cries Hotega in dismay.
"Some of us talk to new people for more than just dares," Toluce replies. "Sorry about all this, wanderer. The end of the path is just ahead, as you probably know. I'm sure you'll find a nice exit there."
With that, the two birds exit on the same side of the path the bunny disappeared on. How strange!
