Cold Toes

[Krinlith]

"And to you as well!" he called back, jumping out of the tree and shifting to his unisus form, flapping his wings and taking off in the sky, still beating his hoofs as if he were galloping on the ground. It was a force of habit at this point. Scanning the skies in front of him, he decided to opt for a less noticable form.
Landing quickly, he shifted forms yet again to that of a fox, darting quickly from bush to bush, tree to tree. He figured at the very least this would increase both his and Vineda's chances of escaping capture. It might mix things up a little, which in this situation was always fun to do.
Finally settling on a smallish bush near a quiet little stream, he lapped up some water to quench his thirst-being splashed with water from a pelican wasn't quite what he had in mind- and laid down next to the bush, trying to keep low. Now to play the waiting game.

[Songhue]

One last twitch of her wings and the shift was complete. A small, coal black snake demon fluttered where the fae had just been, sharp poisonous spikes trailing down her spine and rough, spined wings keeping her afloat. She almost seemed to swim through the air, small and light as the assassin was.

Moving silently, she wove her way through the brush, listening intently for anything that didn't sound like a natural part of the forests and planes of the foothills. A couple foxes flit across her vision and vanished, making her grin slightly. Her sight was limited in this form, muted colors keeping mostly to black and greens, but her smell and hearing was superb.

Sparkle's hooves clipped the earth nearby, making her turn in that direction. She had lost track of the foxes, though the way one bush in particular moved made her think she was rather close to at least one. Sparkle snorted at the sight of her, whinnying out a laugh as he tore across the plane and dashed between a few trees.

"Now this will be a challenge," he called back. Trying his best to keep silent, he slipped through the few trees and shrubs, heart thumping slightly as he strained to listen for the silent, flying snake.

[Vineda]

Vineda stopped abruptly - mind-stride - as Sparkle tore across her path, calling out. She couldn't tell if he was talking to her or not, but she felt more and more uneasy. His fast pace told her she should definitely move on, and she skipped from her easy trot straight into a ground eating gallop. She wove through the trees, trying not to stray too close to any of them.

Having no idea what to expect made her worry, but she knew the fae had taken bird shapes before, so she added the skies to her scans of surroundings and took extra measures to pass through the brush with as little effect as possible. The pads of her paws quieted her steps and she was careful not to ruffle any branches as she passed or to pant too loudly. She'd be darned if she would let herself get caught so quickly! Her foxy grin had faded and was now a look of utter concentration as she attempted to remain unseen. She hoped Shadow Flame was being careful!

[Krinlith]

As Shadow Flame laid by the bush, he felt a rumbling, that of heavy hoof beats. Perhaps it was Path or Sparkle that was on the run, but if they were on the run it might suit him best to get a move on as well. Quickly getting up, Shadow Flame started off at a slow trot, scanning the ground for anything suspicious. His ears were perked, listening intently to his surroundings.

Perhaps moving faster would better suit him. He quickened his pace to a run, darting from tree to tree, bush to bush attempting to remain unseen and unheard. It was wise of him to take such a small, quick form as this. This way he could move about relatively unnoticed and make quick escapes when he needed to. Plus he was closer to the ground, which made it easier to run fast.

Something about the energies permeating the air made him uneasy, something he had not yet experienced among these friends he had made. He quickened his pace to a full out sprint, weaving around trees and jumping over leaves and branches. He would not be caught so easily, this sly little fox.

[Songhue]

A small smile twisted her mouth as she snaked through the air, hovering in the lower branches of a tree for a moment. The smells the scattering creatures stirred up were indeed interesting.. And acted as an obvious trail for her to follow.

But who to target? Sparkle knew her in this form, knew to move slowly and mask his scent, allow it to mingle with the trees and streams. He would prove to be the challenge, perhaps Vineda as well. This new one, she didn't know him well enough as of yet to be certain.

Part of her wanted to go after Sparkle to continue some of the previous games they had played. She wanted to see how much he had learned, how hard he would be to tag. But she had to remember the others as well.. It wouldn't do to leave them out of the hunt.

Flicking her mace-spiked tail tip, she twisted about in the air and went for what was currently the most obvious target - the madly running fox that stank so strongly of her new friend Shadow Flame. She followed his scent like a shadow, wings hardly making a sound in the air as she strained to see an opening in the brush he ran through with her poor sight, waiting for the opportunity to dive and change the title of It.

[Vineda]

The air around her made her skin positively crawl, and it mattered not how fast she ran. It was very nearly terrifying! She had no idea if this was part of the game of if she should be warning her friends and high-tailing it for somewhere safer.

Her pace had gradually increased, though still silent as a shadow she stayed. But the russet fox startled ever so slightly as she came face to face with another fox! She knew right away that this fox was male, and he didn't smell like Songhue anyway. So she felt safe to take a guess and exchange a quick word with him.

"Shadow Flame? I think it's you..." She mumbled quietly, distractedly. All of her senses were reeling with the creeps in the air. She kept them all on full alert, ready to move... "I like not the feel of the air right now... Be very, very careful. Do you think this is Songhue's doing? Or something far worse?" She shivered quickly and kept scanning her surroundings.