They had been running for a while now, Chise carefully keeping her hold onto the creature's fur, her body rocking and swaying dangerously across its broad back. She felt slightly queasy, though she understood that to let go was to die. They had no reassurance that the humans had left them alone yet, and she could even hear echoes of their cries at the edge of her hearing. She shut her eyes, both to combat the motion sickness and shut out their unkind words, trying to find something else to focus on.
"It's kind of hard...to get a good hold using your fur." Chise comments, causing the creature to consider her words for a moment, despite its fervent trotting through the wood. It's slows its pace considerably, enough so that she can sit comfortably on its back, though the ride was still uncomfortable.
"Grab onto my horns then. It's not as bad as the fur…" She hears it say, waiting for its approval before doing so, the hard substance easy to wrap around her small hands even though they were curved in places. She takes this time to ask a question, slightly concerned about their pace and the route through the forest.
"Have you any thought to where we are going?"
She hears it huff then, a familiar noise, and one that she began to understand was its way of showing discontent or maybe confusion. She couldn't tell which at the moment.
"...Away. From the humans."
"What about a place to sleep for the night?"
She was slightly concerned with its rationale, unsure if it had thought everything through in its haste to escape. Not that she had either, the red head admitted, but at least now she could put some thought into it.
"Until we find...something suitable, I will...keep going, I suppose…" It states simply, making Chise slightly relieved and yet worried. From her position on its back she easily swiveled her head towards it's flank, mesmerized slightly by its odd tail that reminded her of a large fish. Just what exactly was this creature?
It didn't seem to stick to one form like most fae did, that was for certain, and yet it could talk and learn like a human. Like a human child, she thought, an odd smile coming over her lips despite the predicament they found themselves in. She just did her best to examine the area around her, though something in particular caught her eye then.
Specks of blood, their placement haphazard along the forest floor. They were small, barely noticeable in the dim light of the moon, but she noticed a distinct pattern. It was then that she began to notice the creature's slight panting as it ran, its breaths short and fast. Was it tired? Was she too heavy? Chise considered these things as she looked back towards the four legged beast; its movements becoming slower despite its attempt to keep up their brisk pace.
"I think you can rest now. I doubt they'd chase us this far. You wounded them pretty badly, after all…" She mutters, hoping it might take her words into consideration. It's footfalls slowed, pads thumping against the ground for a while before stopping completely. It's red orbs look up at her, white skull glaring at her, making her slightly uncomfortable.
"I'm fine...We shou—" She hears it try to say, before an odd cry comes from below her. Chise feels the creature stumble forward then, her purchase on its horns somewhat loosened as she let go in surprise, it's body trembling beneath her.
"Those weapons...Made with iron, perhaps? How odd...for me to be affected so…" It mutters, Chise kneeling down towards the creature's face, a look of clear concern in her emerald eyes. She just gently runs her hand over its shoulder where it had been pierced with the arrow, feeling a small hole a few inches in diameter in that spot. Wet and sticky blood coated her hand as she felt around it, though she could not tell of the severity of the wound, the smell pungent to her nostrils, a metallic acrid tinge. She dared not push too far, lest the being yell out in pain, though she was concerned for it.
"It might have gone through your shoulder...That might be it." She explained, cupping the thing's head in her hands to look at it, not wholly sure of her assumption. She feels something touch her knees then, the sight of blood making her jump slightly. She notices the bleeding foreleg then, the fur discolored by the blood and matted against the creature's body.
It was cut pretty badly, from what she could see, and this possibly was the wound that had caused it to stop moving. Adrenaline from their encounter had probably ran out by now, the pain finally registering for the beast. It certainly looked to be in pain, it's breath slightly ragged as it panted heavily out of exertion, red eyes narrowed to no more than tiny slits from its hollowed sockets.
"Can you...make yourself smaller? More human shaped? I can't move you like this." Chise comments, guilt flooding through her at seeing the thing in this weary state. If it hadn't protected me, it could have run off on its own. Why? Why did it help me? She wonders, shoving those questions in the back of her mind. It clearly was no time for such thoughts; she needed to do something.
She feels the head in her hands tilt upward slightly, one of its eyes still in that 'half lidded' state as it examined her. She at least figured that was how it's eyes worked, seeing as it had no real irises or eyelids to speak of.
"I'll try…" It weakly mutters, the weight in her hands disappearing for a moment as she watched it dissolve into the darkness. It reappears near her moments later, it's humanoid body less larger than usual, closer to the size of a small child. Good. This she could work with. The small young woman carefully and gently began to hoist it's limp form over her shoulder, leaning against her slightly, being careful of her own bruises as well as its new lacerations.
The pair only did their best to try and move a few steps, Chise noticing that it's bloodied limb was one of its arms, limp and useless at its side. It was slow going, Chise half carrying half walking with the creature beside her, head nestled against her shoulder; mostly because it was night and harder for the red head to see, the pair often stumbling on roots or such things. That usually agitated the creature's wounds, blood dripping down it's arm, though the worst it reacted was to only make small discontented huffs through its large snout, as the two of them agreed they needed to find a safe place to rest first. Then they could tend to its wounds. It wouldn't do to have them caught unawares here; by humans or other fae. So they kept walking, eyes peeled for any signs of something they could use as a makeshift shelter for the time being...
AN: Might be a longer break while I try to fumble through a plot for this. The next couple chs might be different than usual...
Seems to be stagnating/circulating into nowhere a bit, want to get things going here...Also, Elias is small/weak here; so I'm just going off the idea he isn't impervious to iron yet. He is part fae so maybe the iron theory holds true for him too? Softer skin maybe, I dunno?