((...I just read that as the sonic alligator...))
Nichole flew as fast as she could, but she knew better than to fight the bird's instincts when it came to flying. This was his world, and she knew it. However, she wasn't against giving it a small shove in the right direction.
Finally, Yarin's ship was in sight.
She had lost track of Qodon, but whether this was because she had gone faster than Qodon, slower than her, or the alien had simply taken a different route, Nichole did not know.
<Olly, olly oxen free!> She said, landing on a fallen tree branch.