Anika stared at the girl, swaying a little on her twisted ankle, and then winced when her ankle twinged violently. "Hell Hounds... I'm running from Hell Hounds. Blast it... They'll follow your scent now, too."<br/><br/>Turning to face back the way she'd come, she frowned. She could hear the howling, but could almost swear that it wasn't as loud as before. She wasn't willing to take the chance, though, and carefully shrugged from the girl's grip, despite the fact that her leg gave out and she landed hard on the ground again, her leg pushed out and away from her body to accommodate her ankle.<br/><br/>She glanced at the girl, and then huffed. "You need to run, and fast. I'll do my best to hold them here, but just the fact that you'll have my scent on you will have them chasing you, too-first chance you get, you need to jump into some kind of flowing water, a river or something similar that's wide enough to break the trail. It's the only way they won't find you if I can't hold them here."<br/><br/>Even as she spoke, she was checking her guns over for wear and tear, her magic sinking into the metal and repairing it even as the bullets began to glow. With her weapons back in top repair again, she eyed the pavement before her. There was a crack in it, and she didn't hesitate to shove a hand inside to find the dirt beneath.<br/><br/>Thorny vines erupted from the ground in front of her, creating a gnarly, convoluted thicket that would keep most enemies from getting close. Then again, Hell Hounds weren't just any enemy...