Thar Shaddin

Giving Shade a few final scratches, Ari stood, much closer to the guard than before. I have an idea. She pouted at him. "Girl? I am not a girl, am I?" She ran her hands down her sides to rest again on her hips. She turned away from him, feigning hurt. She stepped a few feet away from him, boots crunching in the snow. Ready? she asked Shade, looking over her shoulder toward him, though she kept up her pouting.

"I bet you could not even find one 'girl' without your pet, could you?" She turned her nose up at him, huffing a bit. "No, you could not, could you? Just like all the other men around here, clueless."

"Hey! I could track you without breakin' a sweat, even without this mutt!" the guard declared as he gave a sharp yank to Shade's leash and sneered. "I'll even show ya! I'll tie him up, he wont't untie himself and I'll catch you no problem! Pah!"

Shade just couldn't believe this idiot. This guy was seriously an IDIOT. He raised an eyebrow at the newcomer and gave her a wolfish grin.

Nice.

She smirked a bit, stepping toward the brute again. "You really think so? Fine. You will give me one hour of a head start. If you are as good of a tracker as you say, perhaps there will be a reward waiting for you." Just saying this made her queasy, but she needed someway to control him.

Ari looked down at Shade a moment. If he was tied up, he would still have the collar, which would be no good. "I will take your pet with me, to make sure you do not use him to find me." She knelt down beside him and pretended to tug on the collar. "This is enchanted, no? Will you remove it, so I can be sure you are not cheating? She reached up to touch the guard's hand gently, head tilting in question, lips still held in the slightest of smiles.

"I... I'm not so sure." the man answered slowly. "I'm not suppose to let him out of that collar...."

he glanced nervously at Shade how simply sat and stared back. The guard grimaced and glanced at her unsure. Shade stared at him for a moment, waiting hopefully for the response. Sure enough though, the guard sighed and nodded.

"Alright. Here. You keep an eye on the big fella, alright?" he said reaching down and pulling the collar loose. "If he goes missing I'd get killed."

Ari scratched at Shade's now collarless neck, nodding. "Do not worry. I will not let him out of my sight!" She stood and patted her leg as one would do to a dog. "Come on," she called and began to walk away. "See you soon!" She waved, and then began to run, trusting that Shade would be close behind. It did not take long for them to get deeper into the forest, where the light scarcely reached the ground and it seemed to be dusk, though only moments ago the sun was as bright as ever.

Stopping a moment to catch her breath, Ari looked back at the path they had taken. Master tracker or not, the man could easily follow their footprints in the snow. Closing her eyes, Ari searched through the forest, finding a herd of deer a half mile away. Cover our tracks? she asked, and smiled when she felt them coming closer, ready to ruin the trail with their cloven hooves. Ari turned to look at Shade. "I trust you can understand when I speak plainly, yes? You are a shifter, so can you take human form? We should climb. We will not leave a trail if we are above the ground." She gestured to the tall, ancient trees surrounding them. Even with their help, Ari still hoped the man was not truly a master tracker. She hates the feeling of being hunted.

Shade hesitated, unsure if he really wanted to be running around naked in this cold. Still, it would be easier to climb if.... if he had claws. My half form. He felt his blood race as he grinned up at her, his mad look growing across his face as he braced himself. Then, he started the shift.

One thing he liked most about his half form was it's shifting time was cut in half. The agony that shifted his bones and the tears that burned in his eyes were the same but it didn't last as long. This shift lasted nearly two minutes before he staggered to the snow, gasping in an attempt to catch his breath.

He glanced up at her through his black and white vision, his nose flaring and his ears pressed back. Slowly he raised himself to two legs and let loose a rumbling growl.

Let's move.

Ari took a few steps back as he began to shift. She had lived with shifters before, but she still cringed as she heard the sound of his bones cracking and reforming. Looking away, knowing he would be naked, she began to take off her coat so he could use it to cover himself, but his growl stopped her.

She stared at his new form, half beast and half man. She had never seen her shifter family do anything like it before. The silence dragged out as she watched him for a moment too long. "I.... Yes. Let us go," she finally said, and jumped up to grab the lowest branch of the tree they were near. She swung herself up and reached for the next branch. They would have to get high enough so they could reach the branches of the next tree, so they could actually travel.

Ari did not wait for him, knowing he would be close behind, if not in a position to actually pass her, with his claws helping him to grip the branches better than her weak, human fingers.

Shade hopped from branch to thick branch, careful not to use his claws unless absolutely necessary. They would leave marks and they were going for stealth. He looked up at her, careful to aim just below her yet not close enough he'd knock her off the branch. No, he'd much rather be just below in case she fell.

He paused in his climbing to peer around him, hearing with slight bewilderment the little tromps of a herd of deer. Where had they come from? He glanced over at Ari hesitantly, wondering if she'd summoned them like she tried to do with him. He eyed her a bit more warily. She may have helped him, but what else was her powers? He'd have to keep his guard up.

He tightened his limbs, leaping higher than before to catch up for the time he'd stopped.

Yes, he'd keep an eye on her. If she was a threat, he'd run or kill. If she wasn't, he'd run or stick around. Either way he had a chance for freedom. He growled pleased. It had been ages since he'd been able to do as he wanted.

Ari continued upward to the higher branches. Here the were crossed with those of other trees, and she carefully made her way in the next on, and then the next. They would have to get down again soon, or the tracker would only have to glance upward to spot them. She reached her mind out into the forest until she came to the dull, slow minds of some fish. A river. If they could get to the other side of it from the trees, they could easily lose the guard.

Coming back into herself, Ari realized she had not moved and quickly scrambled to start again. "Just how good of a tracker is he?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder at Shade. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye and glanced downward, grinning when she saw her deer hiding their path.

"There is a river close to here. We can use the trees to get to it and then cross and make a run for it. Sound good?" She swung herself to the next tree. Her boots met the next branch with a hollow thump. No good. The dead branch began to crack and Ari quickly grabbed the one above it with both hands, pulling her weight from the lower branch. The last thing they need was a broken branch to point out there path like a road sign.

Shade held back a moment as he watched the deer below, unnerved by their simple movements of fearless obedience. Something was up with them, no deer would go near a shifter. Not a werewolf shifter anyway. He gave a low growl before turning and following her with a grunt.

He is a good tracker, but his arrogance costs him much. Shade answered gravely, his voice now deep and gruffer than before. He will overlook small things because he believes he needs no guidance.

He watched as she gripped a branch, the one beneath her groaning. He growled and leaped past her onto a thicker and sturdier branch, turning to offer a clawed hand in assistance.

He'll be distracted for a while but the river may not be the best choice. The cold will get to you before he does, and I cannot keep you warm for long. he pointed out with a huff. So unless you can grow fur I would not suggest that.

Ari hesitated a moment before taking Shade's hand, careful of his claws. She quickly reached up to get to a branch level with the one he was on, using his hand as support. The moment her feet were sound, she dropped his hand, wrapping her own around a branch again.

He was right about the river. True, the tracker would not last long in such icy water, but neither would she. Closing her eyes for a moment, she tried to think of a plan. Ari was running out of ideas. No river, unless she was not to be an icicle. No ground, or they would leave tracks. The trees would not help for much longer either. They would be too exposed. "I am guessing his arrogance means he will not simply give up, no?" She sighed, opening her eyes again. They needed to get moving, but where? "You know him better than I. How can we shake him?"

He's arrogant. He won't retrace his steps because he already looked there. Shade growled as he glanced around. You can summon creatures right? What if we go around him then follow, using the deer and other creatures to cover our tracks? Wolves maybe? You can ride my back and no human prints will appear.

Shade snorted a little as he glanced at her and woofed lightly.

You choose. I don't know your powers or limits.

Could she do another summoning? Ari knew bringing a whole pack of wolves was out of the question. The nearest pack she could sense was nearly five miles away and her head was still pounding from summoning the deer. She stared a him a moment when he suggested carrying her. She knew it was smart. They would move faster and there would be one less set of tracks. But still...

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. Will you follow us please? Just for a little longer. We thank you for your help. she said to the deer. They seemed unsure, especially with the scent of the werewolf still in the air, but she felt an agreement slowly moving through the herd. Thank you. she said again, smiling. "Alright. We can circle around him on the ground and go back the way we came. The deer will follow." She let go of her branch, hesitantly extending her arms to him to be picked up. "Do not drop me," she said through clenched teeth, already eyeing the ground warily.

Shade snorted at her distrust but remained gentle, picking her up and shifting her until she sat tight atop his forearm. He waited until she quieted before his ears pulled back and he snapped at the air, growling a little as he focused on the run. Crouching, his hackles rose and he leaped hard off the tree.

Landing with a heavy thump, his tail wagged briskly as it knocked powdery snow sideways. He glanced back at it for a moment before walking on two legs, his ears tuning in to the deer. They were close, so close he smelt them. Impressed he growled , wondering what other kind of powers she had.

He glanced down at her, ears now pricking as he peered down at her weary face. Huffing gently he tucked her close to his warm fur, picking up the pace in an attempt to warm himself and eventually her up. He didn't even glance back to know the deer followed him in a heavy thick herd.

The woman was just amazing like that.

She whimpered a bit when he jumped down, the air rushing around and whipping her hair around. For an instant she could have sworn she was choking on her stomach, but then they hit the ground and it returned to its proper place. Letting out a held breath, she let her arms wrap around his neck as he held her, her face flushing slightly.

He was so warm. She could feel the heat from his body even through her thick winter coat. Ari kept her eyes on the deer so she would not have to look at him. Yes, the warmth was nice, but she felt utterly humiliated, being carried like some girl-child by a complete stranger. What a sight they must have been to an onlooker.

"Where are you planning on going?" she asked. Looping back on the guard was all well and good, but they would need a place to hideout for a while to be sure he had given up.