The herd continued its flight down the river, seemingly running a pre-determined location. Rita was not a fan of playing with her food, but as tempted as she was to use genjutus on them, something did not feel right. It was only for a moment, but it was if something had disturbed her chakra sensory for a few moments.
It was a forest, so for now she would think nothing of it. She slinked about towards the deer only to pick up on a particular chakra spike. They were gathering around it... So that's why they were following the river in such a linear fashion. Rita maintained her camoflague when the source of the chakra spike became clear.
A very large buck, one that dwarfed all the others, with antlers the size of trees and a body rivaling Rita's own in size, staring upstream towards what it believed to be the source of the herd's scattering. Its eyes scanned the deer as if counting heads, and finding that several were missing, it snorted. Green rings around its eyes and the sudden locking of eyesight directly onto Rita gave her all the indication that she needed that she was no longer as well hidden as she thought she had been.
Re-appearing, her disguise no longer effective, Rita smirked, flaring her wings wide in challenge.
"These are yours hm? I have a friend to feed and a nest to return to. I will not be returning empty."
"You greedy lizard, must you take the whole herd? I am Cervis, and I shall bring an end to you!"
Rita was taken aback when the deer actually spoke back. His words, predictable, but the fact that he spoke back completely surprised her. Yes, some animals could talk, but she didn't actually expect-
Her thoughts would be interrupted by the Buck rearing up and slamming its hooves to the ground. At once, the forest seemed to come alive, quite literally, with wood surging out in an attempt to bind and restrain Rita.
Wood release. No time to curse, Rita gathered wind chakra around herself, at the same time leaping into the air. The effect would be her launching herself into the air, with an aura of blue around her form.
Jūha Reppū Shō no Yoroi; Beast Tearing Gale Palm Armor
The wind armor would form in the general shape of her body, granting her extended reach, increased defense, and greater aerodynamics. A filter to airborne toxins and a base for quicker execution of wind style jutsu as well, the wind dragon roared as she flew higher and higher. The wood was not shattered with her roar, though the deer herd certainly scattered about their immediate area (save for the leader). The wood, however, did not shatter, nor even buckle for that matter.
Sage mode. Rita began to legitimately get somewhat nervous at this point, focusing her razor sharp vision on one objective. She needed to seriously kill this, Cervis, before he started hitting her with something a little more difficult to dodge. Flying higher and using her chakra sensory to lock onto her quarry and his continued attempts at trapping her with wood, she would take a quick breath, and then shoot a volley of wind bullets at her quarry down below, with the intent on ripping through his flesh like fire lead bullets through cloth.
Fūton: Shinkūgyoku; Wind Release: Vaccum Sphere
No doubt Jay would hear the commotion from the moment the wood surged and Rita roared. Though roughly a mile away from the beginning of the battle, he would likely sense the origin of the struggle. Not quite as far, more like half a mile away in the complete opposite direction, he would sense another presence stirring at the sound of combat.
That roar sounded distinctly like Rita. Pyro fidgeted and temporarily retreated back into the cavern, standing atop of the small, sheltered nest with some anxiety. Rita had instructed him to stay here unless she explicitly called for him, which he had to assume she was capable of doing, and the last time he had deviated she had taken a few scales off of him.
Still, if she was in danger, he would rather risk her wrath than the fury of her human companion, or worse, her father. Pyro shuttered at the idea of what her father would do to him; getting his blessing had been easy, but that was only because getting together with Rita had been his job. Protecting her had been another, and to fail at the more important one, Pyro would need to find a desert temple very deep in the sand to escape Drago.
But... Rita was a powerful dragon. She had various skills at her disposal, she was no pushover. Unless she were dealing with an actual shinobi, she could probably handle it. Wandering back to the mouth of the cave with his wings half-extended, Pyro could see the faint sign of Rita's wind armor in the distance. Wood attempted to reach up and grab at her, and though it seemed as if the attacker was reaching in vain, Pyro still half shot into the air.
Ultimately, he decided to wait, for now. He paced about the mouth of the cavern, half an eye to the inner and half to the Outer.