<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">The Hunter’s reaction to her unfortunate news was a little less enthusiastic than she anticipated. With how recklessly he acted, she was almost certain that he would jump at the chance to feel the invigorating rush of adrenaline in his veins again. He simply agreed, and with it she continued to lead the way, back toward the clearing where they started their hunt. Their arrival would have been quicker had it not been for the meandering path she carved through the woods, weaving between trees and through thick brush. Her legs pumped rapidly, carrying her over downed limbs and unruly roots. Every shrill cry of fury and every grating scrape of talons upon bark made her sprint faster, the desire to be further from harm propelled her forth and urged her to dig deeper when her body begged for mercy. Seeing the clearing up ahead allowed her some relief, a mere few seconds to gather breath in her lungs and calm the pounding of her heart in her chest. “The wire . . .” She breathed, “we can use the wires to bring it down. This space here is wide enough to let it pass through, get its feet caught. If it’s going fast enough, and I’m sure it will if you’re doing a damn good job, it should have a pretty nasty fall. I’ll use that opportunity to take it out with what ammo I have left.” <br/>
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While the Hunter setup the wires, connecting them securely from one trunk to the next, she scoped out the area, making sure to account for the unexpected. Their plan worked best if the creature was on foot, but even if it was clinging to the boughs it would be too preoccupied with the Hunter to see her patiently waiting for an opportunity to strike. Absolute worst case scenario, it spotted her-- that it saw through their plan, and they were back to running for their lives. Ava hoped like hell that it was too furious to be mindful of trickery. She was about to get into position when she saw that Wes was done, plant herself on the other side of those thin, metal strings when he grabbed a hold of her sleeve, tugging her back suddenly. There was a sharp spike of irritation, a burning annoyance that flared within her and turned to a new kind of blaze when his lips pressed to hers. She was shocked, overwhelming by a flood of intense sensations that warred with one another. Ava could barely think for the brief moment that his lips captured hers, and before she knew it was over. She was left dazed and confused, like she had forgotten where she was and what she was doing. Shaking herself, her wits returned though she was still somewhat dizzy from the spontaneous gesture. <br/>
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“We . . . W-we’re going to talk about this later.” Ava promised with a jabbing point of her finger, nearly tripping herself up on the wire since she was so disoriented. She stepped over it and took her position in the bushes, tucking herself away as best as she could while still allowing herself the visibility to watch the Hunter’s back until he was out of sight. Simply hearing the primal screech brought her back to her senses, ridding her of the haze brought on by the startlingly enjoyable kiss. Head back in the game, she opened her senses to the environment, listening while the Hunter and the beast communicated barbarically. Ava was nervous that he was giving too much of a show, riling it up so immensely that it wouldn’t allow him escape. <br/>
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The monstrous creature’s nostrils flared, able to smell blood, taste it on its forked tongue as it lapped at the air. It was close, tearing through nearly everything in its path to find that source of those taunting call, goading it and every feral instinct it possessed. A glare of green gleamed in the distance, locking onto the Hunter ahead of it. Like a bull angered by a matador’s red flag it charged, no consideration for stealth or discretion. The time for games had ended the moment it discovered its slaughtered mate, and it was being challenged, blatantly and openly. The apex predator dashed powerfully to traverse the distance between them, the intent in its menacing eyes conveying exactly what it wanted; to rip the Hunter limb from limb and feast on his dismembered corpse. Chasing its prey diligently, it let released yet another piercing shriek into the night. Ava could hear it clearly now, the noises growing more distinguished the closer they became. She adjusted her rifle against her shoulder, leveling the barrel in her grasp as she waited. The anticipation was almost torture, and the concern was even worse. “Come on, Wes . . . “ She muttered, her finger hovering over the trigger, ready for the moment he brought the ugly thing to her. </span>