Sorry. Just... sorry. It's almost like it brings me pleasure to procrastinate.

Alright, here's the plan. Just hear me out.

Peri felt the urge to groan and punch something, but given the elven Riders sitting literally close enough to touch, she had to refrain or doom their entire effort to failure. Nick would be imprisoned for the rest of his life and they would join him. Maybe they'd even get to share a cell and go nuts from confinement together. Now there was a cheery thought.

Whenever you introduce a plan with 'hear me out', it's guaranteed to be insane and possibly suicidal, she thought. She wanted to lean a little to the right for the sole purpose of giving Hadin a dead stare, but she feared the slightest movement would attract the attention of their hunters. Honestly she was surprised the elves hadn't detected them by their heartbeats or the sound of them blinking.

I second that, Esteba piped up from wherever she was hidden (Peri actually wasn't sure).

Hear me out! Okay, we have to get these guys away from here before the dragons get back from hunting. Raj and Datia might be pursuaded to hold back, but Vagero will just swoop in and rip everyone limb from limb.

Peri pressed her lips together to hide a smile and waited for Hadin to continue. There was a long pause during which the two male elves studied a collection of bushes very closely, but after a moment they moved on and Hadin continued.

Esteba, how far away can you reach to influence the animals around here?

Hm, a good distance. If I had time to meditate, maybe five miles. Do I have time to meditate?

No.

Alright then. Spurt of the moment, the best I can do is a mile. Is that enough?

Not nearly. What if we lent you a little juice?

Two, maybe three.

That's good. Peri, you in?

Peri winced as one of the elves put his foot down three inches away from her hand, which was barely hidden by the thick brush she was currently hiding under. A root or something was jabbing her insistantly in the ribs and there was a branch caught painfully in her hair, but she didn't dare move.

Anything to get out of here without another bounty on my head. I've got enough of those amongst nonmagical humans.

Good. Whenever you're ready, Esteba.

Now's as good a time as any. Go for it.

It was no easy task, opening her mind and energies to Esteba while keeping a careful screen between her and Datia that acted as a sort of numbing agent on their bond. It didn't cut it off completely- that took way more power than she had access to- but it pointed Datia's attention away from whatever her bondmate was doing. The last thing they needed right now was three pissed off dragons swooping in with fire blazing from their mouths. Peri was careful to keep a small supply of magic within herself to keep the bond numb, but the rest of it, every ounce, she handed readily to Esteba. She could distantly feel Hadin's contribution joining hers and mixing within Esteba's mind, but she couldn't sense a single thing from Hadin himself. Ever since the unsuccessful jailbreak at Hljödhr Andlát, the Rider had been careful to keep his mind hidden from her, even more so than usual. Either he was just being careful (unlikely), or he was still feeling the betrayal she'd seen after they'd fled the prison. And he had every right to, she knew, but she wasn't quite sure how she was supposed to make it up to him. She'd never had any friends she'd liked and trusted well enough to care about their feelings. Her relationship with Nick was easier than breathing and it was proving stronger than anything the world could throw at it. Only Nick could drag across all of Alagaësia. Even when they argued, they always somehow made up without ever saying anything to each other about it. Hadin and Esteba were literally the first friends she'd ever had where she had to work to earn their friendship. So to say she was out of her depth was an understatement.

As Peri and Hadin poured their magic into Esteba, their magical powerhouse, Peri began to feel the effects almost immediately. Her limbs started weighing more and an aching sort of tiredness crept over her. But she continued to offer up more, until she had almost nothing left. Finally she'd offered up everything she had, and with a snap she broke contact with Esteba's mind. She didn't sag visibly, but her muscles went slack without her command and she wanted to press her cheek to the earth and sleep. She waited for something to happen, anything, but nothing did. It took her a long moment to realize Hadin was probably still dumping his power into Esteba's head. While Esteba slowly gathered power about herself, the two elves searching for them were coming closer and closer to where Peri lay hidden. And, although she wasn't sure, Peri swore she could hear ever-so-faint wingbeats beginning to sound from the east. She wished she could tell Esteba to hurry her ass up and get them out of here, but she feared breaking the elf's concentration and for that reason she remained silent. Instead she was forced to watch motionlessly as a blue-haired elf walked up to the very bush that was hiding most of her body. The only thing that was keeping her from being discovered was the enchantment Hadin had hastily thrown over the three of them upon the elvish pair's approach. For a moment everything hung in balance like an overripe fruit on a branch, swaying precariously in the breeze. Peri's fingers twitched nervously and a bird called in the distance, but the elves stood frozen, as if they were listening to something faint. And then the fat fruit fell. Both elves flew into motion, but it wasn't to pin Peri to the ground. Instead they bolted off through the trees, moving far faster and more gracefully than any deer Peri had ever seen (she hadn't seen many). Within five heartbeats the only thing remaining that spoke of their presence was the occasional rustle of a branch. And then that too was gone.

Still, it was ten long minutes before it was deemed safe to move and Hadin gave the all-clear. Wincing, Peri gratefully lifted herself off of the root, which proved to be a rock instead, and wiggled out from underneath the bush. Hadin dropped suddenly from a nearby tree, where he had been hanging in a cluster of lush, green leaves, and Esteba joined them seconds later, brushing dead leaves from her shirt. Peri had no idea where she'd come from. For a moment they only eyed each other, making sure the other two knew just how close they'd come to capture. Then Hadin gave a quick, snorting laugh, and they broke into nervous laughter.

"I take it back," Esteba said to Hadin, looking slightly weary but otherwise unaffected by the exertion of influencing animals miles away. Peri wished she could recover that quickly, but she feared only being turned into an elf would fix that problem. "Next time you start with 'hear me out', I'll listen."

Hadin grinned, and he didn't look that tired either, but that could just be his natural ability to run on next to nothing. He gave a shallow bow in their direction and regarded them smugly as actual wingbeats began to approach their location.

Peri… came Datia's low growl, the one she only used when she was severely pissed.

"Shit," Peri whispered, and from the looks on the other Riders' faces they were thinking along the same lines.

"Should we run?" Esteba asked.

"I think," Hadin said slowly, like he was working out how far they could get if they started sprinting now, "we should resolve ourselves to a quick and violent death."

"That's a horrible plan," Peri said flatly, even though she knew there was no point in doing anything. Datia wasn't going to let her out of her sight for the next year.

Oh, it'll be a lot longer than a year, iet ilian.

You know, it's usually comforting when you call me that. Now it's just terrifying.

If I didn't love you so I would eat you.

"I didn't say it was a great plan," Hadin countered a little too defensively. "But it's really the only one we've got. Unless any of you have developed the power of teleportation."

"Can people do that?" Peri asked, for a moment excited that she would one day be able to teleport.

"No," Hadin and Esteba answered simultaneously. The looks they gave her told her she should have known better. Peri opened her mouth to defend herself, but just then Datia dove through a gap in the trees above and landed with a spray of dirt with one foot on either side of Peri. Hadin and Esteba backed hurriedly away as smoke boiled out of the dragon's mouth, but no fire caught. It was a fact that Datia was growing increasingly sensitive over.

"Dat-"

Peri didn't even get to finish her bondmates name before Datia rammed her head into her side, sending her sprawling into the dirt.

"Hey-"

Not one word from you.

"But we handled it-"

Not. One. Word. With each razor sharp thought a spark leaped from Datia's throat, but still no fire. One of these days though, Peri was going to push her that far. The dragon's blue eyes were narrowed to furious slits, but she said nothing more. It seemed she was content to pin Peri to the ground with her gaze while the slower, bigger dragons caught up. A loud thud a short distance away announced the arrival of Vagero in the clearing nearby, and Esteba walked off in that direction like a child being called to be scolded by a parent. It would have been funny if Peri wasn't in the same situation herself. Raj arrived moments later, squeezing his bulk in beside Datia and glaring at Hadin as the boy suddenly doubled over, his hands flying to his ears. The forest was silent except for their breathing, but it seemed Hadin heard more.

I should roar in your head too.

Please don't.

A low growl was all she got in response.

At long last Hadin relaxed and tenatively took his hands away from his ears, and Datia stopped glaring quite so hotly in Peri's direction. Esteba approached through the trees and it seemed like the majority of the dragons' rage had been spent. They were going to love this next part then. After long moments of silence, Hadin abruptly launched into their plan for rescuing Nick.

"We can't go in through the main entrance, not without broadcasting out location to every Rider looking for us, but luckily there's a couple side entrances we can use to get inside. One of which we are sitting right above. There's just, um, one problem."

Hadin paused, probably to steel himself for another ear-splitting roar that only he could hear, and then blurted everything out at once.

"Theentranceisn'tbigenoughfordragons."

To put it simply, hell broke loose.

If you think for one second that I'm letting you leave me again, you are either dillusional or drunk, and I don't care if we have to kill every single Rider and dragon standing guard at the main entrance, we are not splitting up, do you understand me?

Datia-

Do you understand me?

Datia, shut up and let me talk. I have to get Nick away from these people. I'm the one who got him into this mess and if I don't, I… I won't be able to live with myself. Not everything can be solved with ripping people apart and killing anything that stands in your way. I'm a thief and a smuggler, and now I'm a Rider. You're never going to be able to keep me safe, no matter what you do. And especially not while Nick is still imprisoned, because I swear on my dagger I'm not going to rest until he's either free or dead.

Iet ilian, I don't want to lose you. Datia's voice almost sounded broken, like a child who'd been betrayed by someone they loved. Peri felt her resolve weakening as she stepped forward, placing her hand on Datia's cheek.

What does that mean?

…my happiness. Oh. Peri swallowed past the sudden tightness in her throat and hugged Datia's head to her. The tiny dragon that had crawled from her egg just a little while ago was now big enough to carry her into the sky, but in Peri's heart she still thought of Datia as young, someone that needed protecting.

Datia, iet ilian, I will never leave you. We're bonded, forever, but this is something I have to do.

I know. I know. But know that if you die, I'm going to hunt down every single person who's ever wished you harm and I'm going to kill them all. Datia pulled her head back and Peri could tell from the look in her eyes that the female was deadly serious.

I pity their souls.

Peri turned to survey the other two Riders, one hand remaining on her bondmate's cheek. Hadin was perched bareback on Raj, a slightly pained look on his face, and Esteba was flat on her back off to the side, but expressionless. It looked like Raj and Vagero were a little harder to convince, or maybe Hadin was still reeling from the mental roar. Datia gave an ill-tempered snort and withdrew, going to curl up around a cluster of trees nearby and watch. Hadin glanced over and gave a small smile, but otherwise didn't move. Peri stood there for three minutes before the exhaustion from before caught up to her and she went to sit with Datia. As time stretched on she became aware of the fact that every moment they wasted here was a moment further they had to run to catch up with Nick. She wanted to leap to her feet and take off into the tunnels alone rather than sit here and wait for Hadin and Esteba to argue with their bondmates, but she didn't even know where the entrance was. Hadin did, but he'd been conservative with information as of late. She had no choice but to wait. Thankfully it wasn't long. After eleven minutes Esteba sat up and gave an affirming nod to both of them, then stood and headed off in Vagero's direction, presumably to prepare for the upcoming pursuit. Hadin slid down from Raj three minutes after that.

"Alright, bring only the weapons you can use well, and some food. We're traveling light."

Peri nodded and they began to prepare. The first thing she did was unstrap her sword from her waist and secure it to Datia's saddle, knowing better than to think she could use it successfully in battle with elves and trained Riders. Instead she began shoving knives into every place she could, making sure to line each blade with a sedative that would take almost immediate effect once it entered the bloodstream. A few she lined with a lethal poison. She left her bow and took her pearl-handled dagger, shoved a small amount of food into an equally small pack, and stripped off any clothing she didn't need. From what she understood, they were running, and she'd learned well on her runs with Hadin that any fabric at all was going to be hot as hell once they got moving. She kept her pants and boots, since the boots had a thicker sole than her mocassins, and on top she shed everything but a forest green tank top. The pale skin of her shoulders was only a shade lighter than her face, but it was the difference between pale and blindingly so. Lastly she pulled her long black hair over one shoulder and began methodically braiding it, tying off the end with a leather cord and tossing it behind her. Honestly she wasn't sure why she kept it around anymore. It blew itself into a rat's nest when she flew, stuck to her neck when she ran, and provided any assailants with something they could grab onto and pull. Blowing a stray wisp of hair out of her eyes, she ran over everything she had and put a few daggers back, then turned to her companions. They looked like they'd been ready ages ago. Of course.

"Ready?" Hadin asked, and she nodded. He turned and led the way a few paces, then crouched down beside the gnarled roots of a crooked tree and reached down beneath one. One short word later, a small cleft appeared in the ground and Hadin turned back to regard them both. Surprisingly, there was a merry glint in his eye, and it was actually quite infectious. Peri couldn't help a small smile as he opened his mouth and asked, "Ready for a run?"

With that he climbed smoothly into the cleft, vanishing in half a second and quickly followed by Esteba. Peri climbed down after them, but she paused just before she lost sight of the forest to look back at Datia.

Godspeed, iet ilian, her bondmate said, a look of worry and maybe a little eagerness on her draconic face. Come back to me.

Always.

And with that Peri slipped into the earth after her friends. The final moments of their hunt were approaching, and Peri was more than happy to play the wolf that killed the lamb. The shepherd should have know better than to threaten her pack.

Who's ready for an entire chapter about running?! Literally no one! But that's what you're getting next anyway.