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Itaaski watched the bird keenly, tracing it with his heat sensors as it neared the earth; birds naturally have a higher heart rate and metabolic systemâ€"and more active muscular systemsâ€"than humans and other non-avian species do, resulting in a much higher temperature; thus he was able to sense its heat more clearly and at a greater distance than he would have otherwise, and he sped up to follow, carrying Okogo like the human weighed nothing. To a powerfully built creature such as Itaaski, he might as well have weighed nothing; it was no trouble to carry the human in his arms as he moved swiftly through the forest at a pace near to a human sprint, but not as fast as he could go should he choose. He was still near enough to clearly sense the avian’s body heat, shining like a beacon through the cool foliage and much smaller life forms fleeing from the both of them.
“Husssshhhh….â€? He fairly hissed it, intent and muscles tense now that he was in full alert modeâ€"there was something strange and unsettling about the way the outline of heat that represented the bird’s body was moving, and his instincts were screaming threat at him. His pace slowed and his tongue flickered in and out of his mouth rapidly over the human’s head, holding him close and moving in a half-crouch, muscles prepared to spring should they be attacked. There were residual heat signatures from the avian all over the place, and it was distractingâ€"he immediately knew where it was, though the heat had faded to a more normal signal by now.
The scent became stronger and he tensed when he saw, after a moment, a large pile of feathers shed on the ground. What in the world…? He lifted his head, looking directly at the tree where he could senseâ€"and smellâ€"the creature, whatever it may be, crouching in the foliage, and stilled, waiting to see what it would do.
Discretely his tail moved to his side and a bit in front of him, appearing relaxed but more than prepared to lift up and smash into anythingâ€"or anyoneâ€"which may deign to fling itself at him. And even though he didn’t possess the phenomenal strength that the naga from before had, Itaaski had more than enough strength to beat something a good ten to fifteen feet with his tail.
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