Days of travel had finally allowed Amy to enter the east coast. The area she'd come through was pretty mountainous. It was a strain picking a path that the wagon could fit through. Amy was tired and worn out. Entering the valley Amy had thrown in the towel. She was going to stay right there for the rest of the day. Not even bothering to set anything up she headed for the water. A refreshing bath would be just fantastic at this point. Careless of anything else in the area she stripped off the clothes, tossing them wherever they would land.
Stepping in Amy shivered slightly. The water was cold. This wasn't going to deter the woman though. She pulled the elastic from her hair and dived in. Submerged Amy dropped her guard for the first time in a while. Working with a fresh slave was hard, having to always be ready for an escape attempt. She hadn't fed the girl for a few days though, so she doubted she'd make a bolt for it. If she did, well, Amy would just have to be more creative. She had no problems coming up with new ways to discipline.
Amy hummed cheerfully as she washed the stink of the road away. Granted this land wasn't nearly as cultured as Europe, but it had charms. The folk were sweetly naive, easily swayed by her words. She didn't have to deal with crowds, and people weren't constantly bowing. She had a new group to terrorize and tame. Her tail wagged softly at that thought, images of people in pain prancing through her mind.
Alexendrea felt her eyes flutter open as she dazed around in a trance-like state, still wary from her sleep, as her long muzzle opened up in a large yawn. She came to realize that the cart had stop and the sudden change was what woke her up. Blinking the sleep from her blue gaze she glanced around and was aware that she was still held captive; there were plenty of times when she would wake and pray that everything had just been a horrible nightmare, but she still woke to the cold reality of her situation. She hung her head and tried to bite back a sob, as tears burned her eyes, but she forced herself to stay strong; she couldn’t afford to break down now and lose all hope.
Her ears pricked up at the sound of water and her head shot up, ear standing on end to catch more sounds, almost as if she couldn’t believe what she had heard. Cautiously she crawled to the end of the cart and peered out, scanning around until her eyes fell on Miss Sunders diving into a body of water. Seizing this opportunity she leaped out of the cart and darted underneath it, her mind racing with ideas at escape. Her empty stomach, hollowed out from days without food, made thinking difficult, but she was still able to come up with a quick plan.
On swift limbs she dashed forward her black lips quivering in anticipation, before she lunged at the horse’s back leg and gave it a sharp nip; she wasn’t planning on hurting the horse, just scaring it. She had learned that a horse’s first reaction was to instinctively run, and with the horse running away with the cart she would be more likely to escape, when the merchant was torn between her valuable items and a runaway slave.
Alexandrea then turned around and bolted down the path, transforming into her Secui form as the dust curled up around her. She made a mad dash around the bend away from the older Luperci’s eyes, and dove into the water, keeping her body rigid so that she hardly made a sound as she made her plunge. Now submerged, she swam deeper, swaying her hindquarters to and fro so that she may move stealthily without disturbing the water’s surface. She had been taught to swim and fish in her homeland, but was never very good at it, however now with her freedom on the line she was the best she had ever been.
The young hybrid reached out and pulled herself down to the very bottom, gripping onto a rock as she peered around her surroundings. It was strange. She was so used to a bottomless vast amount of water, with frozen mazes of ice and painfully freezing temperatures. She felt for the current and pushed off, swimming with the current; she had to make as much distance between her and the slaver.
[ooc: 492 word count.]
The horse nickered, running towards it's master. Amy had trained it too well for it to panic much. The horse had had it's spirit broken just as she was doing to the girl now. Amy snarled, her good mood broken. Who had done that? She glanced around, only to realize the slave was missing. Furious now she charged out, shredding the clothes off her body. A single outfit didn't hold much meaning to her with several others in the wagon. She tore into her secui form, running to where the wagon was.
Nose to the ground Amy trailed the scent. It ran through the bushes before curving around. She was surprised to see it lead back to the river. What could the fool girl be possibly thinking? Her scent ended in the water, making it difficult to track. Amy wasn't one to let someone escape without punishment though. She let out a whistle, before realizing she was no longer where subordinates jumped at her every word. Cursing now Amy plunged into the water herself. Every strip of civility was gone now, leaving only the monster.
When she got her hands on that girl Alexandrea would wish she hadn't even dreamed of escaping! A twisted smile curved over her lips even as she searched underneath the water for some clue of where the girl was. The current pushed her downstream as she searched. It didn't matter though. The rush was gone. What mattered was what to do when she caught up. Catching the girl, the words to speak, the punishment to hand out. Patiently Amy pushed herself through the water, ignoring the discomfort. Alexandrea would regret this attempt.
Alexandrea swam along with the current, now starting to kick as she went, meaning to gain better speed. She already had a good head start, but this didn’t feel like enough, with a chill running up along her spin. She felt unnerved and anxious, almost as if she was anticipating what was trailing behind her. She pushed off the river’s floor and shot up to the surface, while still letting the current carry her further, not wanting to slow down or stop. Breaking the surface she took a gasp of air and headed to the side of the river. Crawling out, she glanced around frantically, before making dash up the slope.
She was fully aware that if she was being trailed she was far enough ahead that she shouldn’t have been detected as she left the river. She was certain that if Amy was indeed following her, she had no way to tell if she ever left the river or not, or where she may have gotten out. This alone should give her another advantage for her escape. It never occurred to her that this may simply make the merchant much angrier when she finally did catch her; all she cared about at the moment was getting away. It was the only thing that filled her mind.
Alexandrea bounded away from the river and raced for the forest that rose from the mountain terrain, at this moment she wasn’t worrying about stealth or sneaky tricks, she just wanted to make a great deal of distance. She wasn’t fast, but as long as she held the advantage she should be able to get away; she had incredible endurance. So while Amy would have to rest or slow down, the young hybrid could carry on.
[ooc: 293 word count... as the night grows later my word count dwindles.]
Amy heard splashing, though it was far ahead. Eagerly she pushed forward, creating splashes of her own as she raced towards the source. The girl drowning was a good image. She'd have to remember that for later. The current pushed her further and further along, Amy gaining momentum with each stroke. Her thick fur weighed her down, but nothing mattered to her at the moment. She just wanted blood. Glorious and warm, painting her fur as she tore the traitor to shreds. The reason for the chase was left behind, only the need to catch building.
There seemed no end to the water. Amy reached the section that the splashing had come from, only to find her efforts frustrated again. No sign of her victim was in place. The girl could have headed further downstream or turned off to either side. Amy clambered up to the shore, shaking the water from her fur. The wind blasted against her, sending shivers over her spine. She wouldn't give up though. Amy nosed up and down the shore, trying to catch even the faintest whiff of a trail. There was nothing there.
That didn't matter. There was still the other side to check. Amy could take her time. The slave hadn't been fed for the past few days. The simple lack of food would force her to stop soon. The girl could be a day ahead or fifteen minutes. Amy would find her wherever she went. Nothing would stop her revenge. Once more she plunged into the cold water, rushing to the other side. Amy had been pushed further downstream than before, and was beginning to get cold. She pushed the chill out of her mind. Muscles protested from being forced to work through the cold, but she kept moving. Her nose was put to the ground, trailing for a scent.
She was lucky this time. It took her a while, but the faint scent of another canine was found. Amy didn't know if it was her toy, but it was a lead. If it was another hapless fellow, she'd just tear him to pieces in the girl's place. Amy followed it up towards a forest. The scent grew stronger, and she knew it was the right trail. She let out a triumphant howl as she pounded down the path, growing ever closer.
Alexandrea felt her damp fur bristle up along her back and shoulders when her ears swerved back to catch a sound on the wind, and she froze for an instant in her tracks as the fear sunk in. A deep eerie howl echoed in the distance, though some distance away it was still close enough to send chills of terror running along her white pelt. She shuddered and whimpered, before she lunged forward, now running with more desperation than ever before. She was too frightened to even wonder how the merchant was able to track her down so quickly and easily.
The hybrid dashed through the forest, her dampen fur making her scent more feint and easier for her to attempt and get away without detection. She raced through an area with pines and her senses were almost overpowered with the scent of the massive trees. Her eyes lite with hope and she began to continue to run, now taking a route with more pine; she hoped that the heavy scent would make her even more difficult to track.
Her legs ached in the agony of exertion and little use, while her lungs burned like a raging fire, but still she continued to ran, not slowing for anything. She could not let herself get captured! She just couldn’t! The very thought sent her fur on end and her nerves sparking with fear. She didn’t like to think about what the golden furred Luperci would do with her if she caught her. Feeling her body protest she let out a huff; a ragged exhale of breath past her gaping jaws, with her tongue hanging out the side.
Alexandrea skidded to a halt when she felt at a loss and completely clueless to what her next move should be. She circled about swiftly, her head darting from side to side as she searched for a way to continue, then it was at that moment that her ears caught the sound of a gently trickle of water. She leaped toward the sound, always feeling encouraged by the sound of water, as it meant that water made it harder for her to be tracked. She could still remember the basic survival strategies that she learned back at home, and she found herself now using almost every trick she heard; which proved to be very trying and difficult since this land was drastically different then her home.
The young Luperci gazed down into a rather wide creak and she felt her heart lighten slightly with relief at the sight before her. She leaped into the water, feeling herself sink to only halfway up her legs… It was shallow, but that was perfectly fine! The water was only needed to hide her scent trail. She glanced over her should, looking upstream, but quickly looked away, knowing full well that her white fur would give her away as it floated in the water. She splashed slightly as she plunged forward, moving as fast as she could downstream.
As she carried on she glanced around for the best way to get out of the stream. It would only be a matter of time before Amy found her in the creak, if she was able to track this far. She knew she would have to leave the stream, but she couldn’t be too hasty about it. She leaped up and grabbed a hold of a high hanging branch, and swung there for a moment before hauling herself up. She carefully climbed through the tree until she reached the other end of a branch. She knew that her scent trial would end at the water, and since she leaped out to grab the tree there was no way to scent when she left the creak.
Alexandrea leaped as far away from the tree as she could and landed with a slight stagger as she hit the ground. She looked back at the tree and the creak with a small smile of triumph, before she turned around and continued to run. She was horribly out of breath and losing some of her strength, but she could feel herself able to carry on thanks to her high endurance. Her stomach growled at her but she ignored it and simply thought back to the various times when she had to go hungry back at her village; she was used to it.
[ooc: 728 word count... nice!]
Amy growled in frustration as she ran up against a forest of pines. The scent clogged the trail, making it almost impossible to pick out. Amy slowed down, reassuring herself. The girl wouldn't be able to keep this up much longer. She was a stranger in the land, with no idea how to navigate it. Amy did know the land, if not as well as someone who lived here. She was used to the trees and twists, having traveled through them before. Patiently she picked her way through the trees, time ticking away. Amy wanted to run after the slave, letting the blood lust consume her, but she couldn't do that. She had to be patient. So she tracked through the trees, ever so carefully.
The scent disappeared completely at some points. Amy had to backtrack and circle, spreading wider until she caught the scent. The path wasn't always straight, zig zagging around. Her anger built, carefully taken and stocked where it would be used later. Amy's mind remained icy clear, no traces of the anger that she felt in her movements. All that existed was the predator. Her prey would be captured. She hadn't tasted failure before, and wasn't about to start.
It took some time before she came across a creek. Amy snarled, the anger let loose in a short vent. There was no way she was getting in the water again. She'd just have to trust that the slave had gotten out on this side. Nose to the ground Amy traveled through the woods, constantly being challenged by the scent of pine. It was thick, pulling at the thick fur of her secui coat. Growling Amy wrenched herself forward, always smelling, listening. The girl had gotten far ahead by now. It would take most of the night to catch up. She thought about the horse, left behind. Amy hadn't considered tying it up, but wished she had now. The horse wouldn't move on it's own, but thieves could steal it.
Her luck had held before though, and she didn't turn back. Amy's anger at the escape overrode all common sense. Circling and circling Amy traveled down stream. Just when she thought her luck had run out she smelled the girl, farther than she would have expected. Silent now, Amy slipped into the shadows, following the faintest of trails.
|
