The girl crept through the woods. She examined the damp earth to find another footprint concluding that the band of people she'd been following had come this way, not too long ago either. She inhaled the thick musty smell of the forest mixed with the sweat and body odor of the people. She narrowed her crimson eyes and ducked down low to sneak closer.
They had to have started to stop for the night. The sun's light was rapidly fading as the blanket of night began to cover the world. The girl peered through a slight but unnoticeable gap in the trees to see her targets. There were two men, a woman, and a child gathered around a miniscule fire. She snorted in disgust at the size of the flame. More like a smolder in her opinion. One of the men looked older than the other so she assumed that he was the father of the younger. The young girl squirmed out of her mother's arms to move closer of the fire. The woman fidgeted nervously as the child held her hands out to warm them.
Two horses and a wagon were standing not too far from the people. However, they were far enough away to worth looting. The flame reflected in the eyes of the girl as she observed. Without any further thought she snuck around the family in a circle to get behind them undetected. A horse snorted; the girl froze. She was opposite of the horses but animals still had better senses than humans by far.
With inhuman stealth she crept faster towards the wagon. As she approached she detected another being that she had not yet taken into account. There was a small mutt chained to a stake to the side of the wagon. The girl reached out her hand and muttered under her breath. The stake in the ground began to rise out very slowly. With much patience, the girl successfully lifted the stake out of the ground without the dog noticing. She then focused her magic towards a squirrel a few yards away. Using a small stone she killed the animal and set it out a ways and climbed a tree behind her.
She hooted like an owl to inconspicuously wake the dog. Its eyelids lifted and its nose started to quiver. He spotted the squirrel and rose to his feet. He walked towards the small creature and noticed then that he was free. He grabbed the animal in his jaws and sauntered over the fire to join the rest of the family.
The girl moved quickly to dash over to the wagon and look inside. She looked for anything worth stealing and spotted some pouches. She grabbed one and opened it. Inside were some crowns. There were only a few but it was still something. She pocketed the first pouch and reached to grab another.
It was at this time that the dog started to bark. He could smell that there was something unfamiliar and possibly dangerous nearby. He started to growl and run towards the back of the wagon. The girl quickly withdrew her hand and started to run towards the trees nearby.
She could hear shouts behind her as she continued her plight towards the forest. The two men ran in her direction as the girls dashed to the wagon. The dog bolted after her as well. The girl jumped inhumanly into the branches of a nearby tree; she jumped from branch to branch until she had lost sight of the people.
The men quietly attempted to track her. She watched as they drew swords and started to make their way through the forest. The girl watched from above as they slowly picked their way through the undergrowth. Her crimson eyes seemed to glow but the people took no notice. They weren't looking up as they should have been; they were too focused on the ground looking for tracks that might lead them to their prey. She laughed at this thought: for it was they who were the prey.
When the hunters had passed beneath them she let herself fall from the tree and land on the ground without a sound. She purposely stepped on a branch to snap it in two, she kept her head down. The two men whisked around sharply and stared at her.
"It's only a girl."
"Girl or no girl, she still came into our camp," The older responded.
"You think you can beat me?" She asked threateningly as she slowly raised her head in a devilish manner. Her eyes flashed angrily as she stepped towards them.
At first, the foolish men didn't notice anything different they than caught the coloring of her eyes and went pale.
"It's… It's a Shade!" one stammered.
"Run for it!"
They both sheathed their swords immediately and ran back towards their camp.
The girl wondered fro moment whether or not she should pursue them. She decided to let them live and took the pouch of crowns from her pocket in her tunic and tossed up and down with one hand.
She didn't really want the empire to track her down. But as long as people knew nothing of her heritage it was okay. These two fools wouldn't be believed. Stories of random Shades popped up around Alagaesia but none were taken too seriously. She'd tried to understand humans for years, and the best she could come up with was that they liked to talk and gossip. They needed something to keep them occupied while times were slow.
She then tucked the memory of the two humans away in her mind and reset her mind to the pressing task: to find a way to steal an egg.