The pretty man gave a flash of pain before vanishing from Gilda's sight. She couldn't see him, but she could certainly hear him and definitely smell him. Somehow he even…smelled pretty, which to her, meant an outdoor, musky scent. Or, was it the wolf that liked those things? Gilda tried not to dwell on it.

She didn't run but carefully walked down the hallway. Her ears twitched as she picked up the soft sounds of footsteps. She doubted her opponent had learned from the same place she did, but she was a little impressed that he also displayed a level of silence that faintly reminded her of the wolves. Gilda shook her head. She was getting distracted again.

There was only one door in the back, and if he fled out of it, all the better. He'd have to contend with the strings then, which Perse had set up all over the perimeter of the house besides the front. He'd be sliced to bits if he didn't know and ran out. Unfortunately, that would likely lead to the better of two options if the other one was her catching him…

Suddenly, the back door opened, then quickly closed. She ran the last few feet there and opened the door, peering outside. Nothing. No rustling of grass, no screams of pain, no body covered in cuts lying in the backyard. The only thing she heard was the wind blowing, and the only scent the still damp earth from yesterday. She growled. She should have realized. He'd doubled back and used the door as a feint. Slamming the door, she prowled back inside, her first thought to check the stairs, to see if the man was providing backup to one of the others.

But then, why did she pick up his scent nearby?

Backing up, she stopped in front of the open space into the kitchen, sniffing. Yes, the scent came from in there. What, had he stopped to get a snack? She took a silent peek inside.

Only to have a flour bag explode in her face.

She coughed, sputtering as the white powder filled the room. Her snout sneezed a few times, always a pleasant experience when her face was now elongated. Growling, she took a step inside, eyes watering from the flour. Surely, he couldn't be that far if he'd thrown it.

Suddenly, a spice jar slammed on a counter, scattering its contents over the top and the floor. She was far enough away, however, that the smell didn't affect her that much, although she could tell from the faintly sweet scent and red dust that he broke the paprika. Where…where was he? She hadn't seen a hand throw the spice jar, so he must still be invisible. What was his goal? Annoy her? He couldn't even aim properly.

She got her answer after a moment, when about a dozen other spice bottles crashed over the same countertop space, mixing in an unholy concoction. Then, the air twisted.

And all dozen of those spices tornadoed right at her body.

Gilda howled. It stung and burned and inflamed all at once. Her eyes watered, her nose went ballistic, and her fur itched and itched. She couldn't decide whether to sneeze, hack, or scratch first. Stumbling forward, she crashed into the countertop, causing her to get up on all fours as she shook and sneezed. Where was he now? She tried opening her eyes, but more spices got in and she couldn't bear opening them again. She tried smelling him, but with all the new scents up her nose, it was difficult to distinguish individual ones.

So she stopped smelling and trying to see and started listening. Even in-between sneezes, she picked up another sound. The soft clinking of plates…

He was right behind her.

She dodged as a plate came whirring down towards her, smashing into the ground. Her ears perked up as she avoided more plates (hopefully not Perse's nice ones) but eventually came to a skidding halt in a corner. She could imagine that now all around her were broken plate pieces that would make it hard to escape, especially given her lack of vision.

"I would think you should transform back now…or surrender," a silky voice spoke. She clamped her fangs together. No. She would not be bested by him. She still had a job to do, and she would do that until…until she died? Would he seriously kill her if she continued? From observing him before, she certainly thought he was capable. The real question being…did she want to die for this?

Before any other morbid questions filled her head, a different calamity occurred.

Namely, the ceiling fell on her.