He could hear the faint voice of Ellen on the radio as he continued his path onward. It seemed she was trying to keep him there longer, likely because she knew he was getting close. It was a mild distraction, but he supposed it did what she wanted, take up time, giving her the chance to continue the chase. He didn't mind, but he knew eventually she would get tired, something all of his prey would succumb to. So far this little game wasn't too bad, though he had a feeling it wouldn't be going on much longer. There was a small part of him a bit disappointed in the thought. She had surprised him the first time she had disappeared into the bayou at the Hazbin Hotel, but it seemed she didn't have quite as many cards up her sleeve as he thought.
He paused as he passed another tree with her scent on it, though nowhere near as strong as the first. It seemed she was leading him in a different direction. He smiled. He wasn't going to fall for that.
None of his victims had ever really put up much of a fight, even though it was quite literally for their life. They would simply stumble around bolting carelessly in one direction, tiring themselves out leaving nothing left to fight with. Something he knew Ellen would not do. While he still wasn't too pleased with how his last chase occurred, he would admit Ellen did indeed make it exciting. It wasn't very long, she got restless and startled easily, but she was smart, a trait it seemed none of his victims in either earth or hell had apparently.
And with the assurance that he could not do her any harm it would likely give her the chance to think things through without the concern of last minute survival instincts. Perhaps she would be a bit more risky. Fortune favours the bold, so they say.
Another wave of her scent was carried his way that had him pause in thought. Had she really moved upwind? Rookie mistake, she would be very easy to track, nothing hiding her smell. It was likely another distraction, there was no way she would be so foolish. He hummed in thought trying to figure out what she may have planned. It was possible she only ran upwind for a moment to make him think that was the direction she went only to zig zag back downwind creating more space between the two. It would be easy to figure out, if the wind was carrying her smell, then the second she had moved on the smell would fade. It did mean he would be standing in the same spot for a few minutes to see, but in the long run it meant he should catch her as she worked her way back this way.
With his decision made, he leaned against the nearest tree, taking the time to scratch more of the itchy velvette off his antlers. After a few minutes he found the smell hadn't dissipated, but gotten stronger. She had definitely moved upwind. Well, it was a bold move for sure, but it was likely one that would cost her. Pity.
With his arms casually tucked behind him, he followed the sweet trail Ellen had left for him. He kept his eyes scanning the area, ears attuned to the sounds of the forest around him. She had done a good job keeping herself at a distance. She knew if she was close enough for him to hear her, she was a goner. No matter how fast or long she could run he would catch up. Hiding her scent would be the easiest strategy, something she could do by running in circles or other maneuvers to get him temporarily distracted leading him astray.
His smile remained neutral as he hummed a cheery tune following the smell that was slowly getting stronger. He was gaining on her, slowly but surely. Perhaps she knew it and decided it best she hide instead of run. A bit of an odd choice, he knew she was a fighter, one to stand her ground until the last second. He didn't think she would hide unless it were her last choice, but maybe she cornered herself leaving her the choice of hiding or running straight into his arms. No, it was likely she was holed up somewhere betting on the near impossible chance he pass her and she could make a last ditch attempt to run.
His grin widened, catching a quick blur of shadow dashing through the trees ahead of him, heading the exact direction he was following. It seems he was correct, Ellen had found herself in a bit of pickle. Shame. He was hoping to continue this little game, though he knew it would have to come to an end eventually. She did last a bit longer than he figured she would, but with her wit he was hoping for just a bit more of a challenge.
He shrugged his shoulders, pressing on at a leisurely pace wanting to draw it out a bit longer, enjoying the knowledge that Ellen was likely waiting for him in anticipation. When the song he was humming to had finished he easily moved on to another wondering what she would do when she heard him coming. A subtle ominous calling of her inevitable downfall. There was a chance her breath may hitch, a sound he would be looking for, an oddity in the forest. He could already picture the look on her face when he found her.
He was just passing under another tree that Ellen had scented, a bit more than the last few he passed, when he came to an abrupt stop, his hackles rising in surprise. No. His eyes widened, and though he had no way of knowing, he was certain his pupils had blown out. It couldn't be. He was certain he was mistaken.
His ears continued to flick to the sounds of the forest around him looking for anything out of the normal, but it was the smell that had froze him in his tracks. It wasn't just her normal smell, not just the faint hint of perspiration, it was arousal. He blinked a few times, certain he had smelled wrong but the scent lingered, continuing to follow the breeze that lightly blew past him. He shuddered involuntarily, his feet now moving on their own accord.
He couldn't stop the salivation caused from the sickeningly sweet smell. Was she eagerly waiting for him to find her? His mind instantly went to carnal thoughts imagining her laid out waiting for him to find her, legs spread and dripping, ready to be bred.
He could feel his heart speed up in excitement, heat and arousal pumping through his whole being. His grin pulled wider as the smell continued to grow the closer he was to catching his darling prize. He didn't care that the chase wasn't as intense as he anticipated, he just wanted his little doe under his claws. He wanted to be drowned in her smell, her touch, to pin her down and have his way with her. He wanted to ensure that no one would question she was his.
Perhaps this was the plan all along, have him follow her, a chase only meant to be a ruse for what she had really intended. It wouldn't surprise him, she was one to make exuberant plans like that. He shuddered.
Shortly the brightly colour of her jacket and hat came into view, hidden in a terrible attempt behind a tree. He resisted an eye roll.
"Darling~"
He approached her only to rear back in surprise when he discovered it was indeed not his darling. She had laid out another ploy, one that he fell for hook, line and sinker. Her jacket and hat would not have produced the pungent smell of her arousal, so where was it coming from?
He followed his nose to the side of the jacket, one of the pockets. Had she left him her undergarments? He tried unsuccessfully to ignore the throbbing below his belt. His face heated thinking of how this would have felt terribly inappropriate at other time. He carefully opened the pocket in question to find a particular leaf that was absolutely drenched in the smell. She had rubbed this leaf…there? He blinked back his surprise at the situation. It only took a few seconds to realize what had been laid out for him and he threw his head back laughing at the absurdity of it. Oh she was good.
"Well played my love," he said to the air around him, twirling the stem of the sweetly scented leaf between his claws.
It only took a few minutes to figure out what she had done and despite falling for it, a small pang of pride filled his chest at her plan. She had doubled back, no other trail in the area made that certain. That also meant he had, at some point during his approach, passed her and didn't even know it.
It seemed fortune had favoured her indeed. He chuckled making his way back the direction he had come, his eyes now trying to figure out where he could have possibly missed her.
He found all the proof he needed at the base of a tree she had scented, or he had assumed she had scented it. No, now he could see that she had climbed it, fallen bark scattered around the base, a few branches snapped in her assent. He could almost map exactly how she had climbed it.
He shook his head, chuckling to himself. She got lucky, he wasn't going to fall for that again. Had he not been overwhelmed by the smell of her arousal he likely would have noticed the now obvious signs. This was the kind of game he was hoping for. The stakes had raised and his grin pulled to its limits.
"I hope you used your head start wisely my dear-" He turned from the tree making his way downwind following the fading trail Ellen left him.
"-Because I'm coming for you and you won't be getting away this time."
He was certain she wouldn't risk being upwind again. It worked well for her but she wasn't one to push her luck. That meant she was going to continue downwind, likely only making a few turns to mark trees as more distractions. If he continued straight it was likely he would catch up to her. He would still have to be careful, prey startled easily and he didn't want to tire out his little doe before claiming his prize. He would need to be careful, calculated and patient.
He moved at a hastened pace, darting through the trees with an ease that reflected the grace of a deer. His grin twitched as a few subtle waves of Ellen's smell wafted by, but he refused to lose focus. He was certain they were distractions and right now he had a fair bit of ground to cover if he was going to catch up to her.
The easiest way to tell if he was going the right way would be if he could catch a glimpse of his shadow. He was a bit surprised she didn't have it follow him. Part of staying one step ahead would be knowing where the hunter was at all times. It seemed she was keeping it close to her and that might just work in his favour.
He pressed on for a while making him realize how far ahead he had actually let her get. Not great, but the game was far from over yet. He was just starting to lose her scent when a new wave hit him suddenly.
He crouched down, claws gently brushing the ground. She had been here. Not as recent as he would have liked to hope, but recent enough to know he was indeed gaining on her. He glanced around to see if there was a reason she would have stopped here for a bit when his eyes found a branch that had been split in two.
His grin grew putting the pieces together. It seemed she had misstepped, tripping over the branch causing it to break. Another rookie mistake, and based on the light markings on the ground this one wasn't intentional. He knew exactly which direction she was going.
His head shot up as a flock of birds scattered, loudly sounding their displeasure. Something or someone had startled them, someone like his little doe.
"Oh Ellen, you were doing so well. Don't tell me you're starting to slip up now."
He pushed to his feet, continuing his quick pace, eyes glued to the spot in the distance. She would be fleeing the area quickly. It was too reckless for her to do that intentionally. She had to know he would be drawn to it. With the radios she could still make distance while drawing him in. This was accidental and likely the final act to finish this little game. All he had to do now was carefully make his way over keeping his ears straining for any sounds of her.
What could she have done to startle the wildlife like that? It didn't matter, he'd likely find out soon enough.
He could no longer find Ellen's scent, but he wasn't worried, he'd hear her in the area. He would have to hand it to her, she had not remained downwind like he had assumed she would. Instead it seemed she had turned west, and unintentionally startled the birds in her next ruse. She would have gotten away with it if she hadn't made that fatal mistake.
He slowed to a stop at a decently sized clearing with tall grass. It would have been a great spot for deer if something hadn't caused the wildlife to scatter. He turned his nose to the breeze to see if he could get a hint of anything out of the ordinary, ears twitching to a few sounds of a deer in distress, pained bleats and grunts echoing in the area.
An involuntary growl rose from his chest as a familiar smell caught his attention. Xander had been here, and quite recently too.
"Fuck!"
His head whipped to the side, eyes scanning the area to find him. It seemed he was still here. Another growl, though this one of annoyance. Ellen hadn't been the one to make the disturbance, it meant he had only given her more time to get away. He should have known she wouldn't have made such a mistake, she had successfully slipped by him, right under his nose. She wasn't this careless.
He followed the voice, it seemed Xander was a bit distraught about something. It wasn't until he was within eyeshot that he realized that despite the rut, and the past few days, Xander's smell wasn't as grating on his nerves, his presence not as problematic. Had he read something about that in the contract Ellen had written up? He shook the thought.
He found Xander standing there over a deer that was not yet dead. He had his hands running through his hair pacing back and forth, eyes glued to the deer. He was so lost it seemed he hadn't noticed Alastor approaching.
He watched for a few moments before finally addressing Xander.
"Well? Are you going to finish what you started?"
He had killed enough deer in his decades in hell to know the damage of his tentacles. Xander was clearly practicing and didn't get a fatal hit. Based on the very small blood pool the deer hadn't been laying there long.
Xander turned to face him, surprised by his presence.
"I-I didn't mean…I was trying to…I thought…"
He fell silent, gaze back at the deer, ears flattening as it let out another pained bleat.
Alastor waved his wrist, expecting a tendril of his own to put the thing out of its misery, clearly his son wasn't going to. He blinked a few times before remembering he didn't have his magic at the moment. Well there was more than one way to skin a cat as they say.
He huffed, kneeling down beside it lightly running a hand down its side, feeling for its ribs. Once situated he took his claws and pierced it deep, stabbing the heart.
It twitched a few times, the body quickly shutting down before it became still. He pulled his claws out, giving them a shake to try getting as much blood off them as he could. Had he still had his magic this wouldn't have been so messy.
"If you weren't certain you could kill it you shouldn't've tried," he chided.
Xander stammered his way through some words but he ignored them. All they were, were excuses.
He eyed the doe, trying to recall the last time he had indulged in a fresh kill. It had been awhile. With one of his bloodied claws he carved out a piece and popped it in his mouth allowing himself the savour the soft and still warm flesh.
"Oh my god it's raw! What are you doing?"
He sliced himself one more piece, this one larger than the first, enjoyed it like a fine steak prepared at a Michelin star restaurant. Such simple joys a good meal could make.
He stood finally turning to see Xander watching him with a look of disgust. He rolled his eyes telling him he had already eaten it like that before. He didn't get to hear his response, both having their heads snap to the edge of the clearing, a twig snap drawing their attention.
He didn't need to see her face, he could already picture the expression of shock, the light tint of pink flushing her cheeks.
"Is that…?"
Alastor chucked as he watched Ellen turn and dart the other direction. The chase has started and now she wasn't going to be able to create distractions or diversions.
His gaze slid to Xander standing beside him. "Don't let any of that go to waste. Whatever you and your mother won't eat I will enjoy."
He didn't wait for a response, his heart spiking as he sprinted across the rest of the clearing to dart after his prey, his little doe. She wasn't getting away this time. Victory was within reach and he couldn't help the excess salivation filling his mouth. This was what he had been waiting for and he was going to enjoy every second of it.
"You can't run forever darling, you're only delaying the inevitable," he called out, knowing the challenge would only pull a determined smirk to her face, giving her a boost in energy. Her competitive nature would only make her fight to the very last moment, refusing to yield a second sooner.
The chilled air burned his lungs, but it was easy to ignore as he continued to gain on her, the distance closing quickly. The longer legs worked in his favour, but it was the years of chasing deer in his personal bayou that really sealed the deal. Even as she used tendrils to toss branches in his path, they did nothing to slow him down.