The Trouble with a Guilty Conscience

[kleineklementine]

Soren might not know anything about this Mistress Tareena, or what a wretch she might be, but he did know that Pepper needed to shut up. He reclasped his hand over her mouth after her last comment and gave her a sharp little nudge to say be quiet! His actions might at first seem stern or controlling, but the truth of it was that Soren was afraid. There was something about that voice - or everything about that voice - that he did not like. It felt like cold fingers reaching down the nape of his neck and instinctively he felt that they wanted nothing to do with it.

Now was not the time for Pepper's big mouth!

Soren nearly didn't breath and his grip on Pepper stayed firm throughout the altercation going on just beyond the hedge. And then it... concluded. With the gurgling choking scream of who he could only assume was Mistress Tareena. Soren's grip on Pepper tightened considerably, not daring to breath or move while the shadow creature was still on the other side of the hedge.

Through the hedge, they could just make out the form of the hollow-voiced creature stoop over what must be Mistress Tareena's body. A sickening, bubbling, suckling sound followed. The creature, Soren realized sickly, must be draining the body of its blood. It felt like it went on for ages, until the creature finally rose again. They could hear what sounded like the shadow creature sniffing the air, its obscured head scanning the area.

And just when Soren was convinced they were undetected, it stopped. Suddenly. And its shadowed head froze on the exact spot through the bushes where Soren and Pepper were.

It had 'seen' them. If such a creature could see.

[Rhindeer]

When Soren covered Pepper's mouth again, Pepper didn't protest.

Because if he hadn't, she probably would have screamed.

Instead, she only let out a frightened, breathy whimper. She had been so angry with Soren, so hurt, hated him, but in that moment she forgot she hated him. She pressed back against him for protection and clutched at his arm, fingers digging in hard, not to pull his hand away, but to have something to cling to. Because...oh Kia...had Tareena just...had it just...

Had it killed her?

Had she really promised a student for him to murder?

And then the sucking, the horrible wet slurping. Pepper's fingers dig in harder, and thankfully she was a habitual nail-biter or she would have gouged his arm. She had whimpered before, but now she found herself holding her breath until she got dizzy--or maybe that was just raw horror--and then--

And then the thing saw them.

Pepper jerked backwards into Soren, stepping on his foot in the process, and squirmed in his tight grip because oh shit, oh shit, it saw them! They had to go NOW or it was gonna suck on them, too! Especially her! She was a student!

[kleineklementine]

Fuck.

Fuck fuck fuck.

That was all Soren could think at that moment. At the moment where the creature on the other side of the hedge had seen them. It wasn't until he felt Pepper's nails digging into his arm that Soren realized that maybe he should do something... because in that moment he would love to have a magical hero come save them. He didn't want to have to do it!

Plus... how?

They were in a nook surrounded on three sides by the hedge and the only way out was through the opening that led to the terrifying creature. The only other thing in the little nook was a pedestal topped by a heavy urn. Thinking quickly - or perhaps not thinking half as much as he should have done - Soren let go of Pepper and grabbed the urn. Hefting it up, he threw it with all his strength through the hedge at the creature. As soon as it left his hands - before it even hit - he darted forward and grabbed Pepper. Throwing her half over his shoulder so he wouldn't have to worry about whether or not she was on board, or quick enough, or whatever else might go wrong, Soren ran through the opening in the few moments the creature was distracted. He sprinted as fast as he'd ever ran, taking the first turn in the garden. He heard a rasping shriek behind them, so he just ran down the next turn without looking back. Then the next. And next.

What kind of garden was this?!

Oh well, the more distance, twists, and turns  he could put between them, the better!  But Soren was getting disoriented and Pepper was getting heavy. So he risked stopping to plop her unceremoniously back down onto the ground and looked at her breathlessly. "Where are we?"

[Rhindeer]

Pepper clung to Soren as he carried her through the maze, twisting her body just enough so she could lift up and watch behind them. Surely that thing would be hot on their trail! But with the number of turns Soren was taking, she could see nothing but the hedges behind them, though she could still hear the thing's angry shrieking--and that was even worse.

Because now there was no telling where it was.

Soon, Soren came to a stop and put her down, and Pepper almost crumpled when her shaky legs threatened to buckle. She grabbed onto Soren's arm instead, and didn't even care, at the moment, that she was clinging to him.

"How should I know?" Pepper whispered back, waving her free hand in an all-encompassing gesture. "This place is a maze! And huge! I ain't never gone this deep in, fuck no. I don't like mazes."

Shuddering, she rubbed her arms as though cold. "Ain't ya never heard the story 'bout the monster in the maze? Kia's twat, this is exactly why I don't like mazes! I just never reckoned it was true! Fuck me, I shoulda been payin' attention where we was goin', now we're gonna die! We shouldn't've come in here."

She rubbed at her face, looking around at the space they were in. They'd come to a place where multiple paths converged. Any one could take them deeper in, or lead them to safety. Each one of them looked predatory to Pepper, who hated spaces that had no clear exit, and who was still in the habit of seeking out all the exits of any room she entered.

[kleineklementine]

A maze?

Soren stared at the several diverging paths that led from the point where they stood.


[photo credit: me, Sanssouci Palace, Germany]

A maze. Of course it was a maze! Each path was identical to the other. And, Soren looked behind himself, identical to the path they had come down. Who knew what led to safety and what led to death and danger. And a maze at a mage college? Soren could only guess what tricks and traps lay within it.

How had he not realized they were in a maze!?

Soren looked, wide-eyed, between the varying paths. The fear of the creature hadn't left him yet. And it was a fear so primal that it didn't even occur to him to be ashamed of it or try to hide it. "Was that thing the 'monster?'" he asked her in a hurried whisper, a bit lamely. Who cared what it was? Except, of course, if it wasn't, it meant there was another monster in here somewhere...

Or maybe that was just a story?

The hair on the back of Soren's neck stood straight up. Another shriek came from the creature. And it was getting closer! So Soren grabbed Pepper's hand and, choosing a path at random, ran!

[Rhindeer]

Before Pepper could answer, Soren grabbed her hand and ran, and she ran with him, eyes wide with terror and scarcely able to breathe past the tightness in her throat. Even though Soren was taller, she kept even with him, even if she had to take several steps to his every one.

"I dunno! I dunno if there's monsters here! Or if that's it!" she panted, her words just above a frantic whisper. "Would they keep things that'd eat students and teachers?!"

They went around another bend, and two more paths opened up. Behind them, another shriek--closer. Whatever it was, it was gaining--or at least gave the illusion it was, because due to the nature of mazes it could be near them, but separated by many walls. Pepper trembled, eyes darting about wildly. "Soren, yer a wolf! Can't ya turn into a wolf and kill it?!"

[kleineklementine]

“I don’t think a wolf could kill that thing,” Soren answered as they ran, keeping a steel grip on Pepper’s hand. “And I’m not that kind of wolf. I can’t make myself change.”

Would a wolf have a better chance facing off against that thing than a man? If it wanted students, maybe there was something specific about ‘people.’ Maybe if Soren could change… What if he had a reason, and he tried really, really hard. Could he do it? But Soren didn’t even know what ‘try’ meant in this case. He had no idea what mechanism turned him from man to wolf.

But, then, he didn’t know how a thought in his head moved his hand, either. He just… moved it. Could he just turn into a wolf?

Another shriek.

There was no telling how close it was to them through the maze, but from a bird’s eye view it must be pretty close. And it sounded like it was directly behind them. Pulling hard on Pepper’s hand, Soren took a sudden, last-minute left turn in the maze. He didn’t know what direction they were going anymore, but maybe if they changed direction, they’d put some more distance between them. Or the creature would follow them the wrong way! Doing his best to keep some sense of their bearing, Soren took as many turns as he could while still putting the most distance possible between them and the last place they’d heard the shrill cry. As they ran, the paths started to become narrower, the trees darker, taller, more gnarled, and dangerously thorny. The thorny trees continued to narrow until Soren finally had to push Pepper in front of him so they could run single file.

Soren didn’t know how long they had been running. But suddenly he realized that he hadn’t heard the creature for awhile. Had they finally put it behind them? Soren felt a rush of relief go through him. Even if it was an uncertain one. They idea that they even might be beyond the creature was enough for him for the moment.

But just as he was thinking that, Soren got tripped up on something and went sprawling forward. He took Pepper out with him and the two tumbled out of the narrow path into a large, stony, circular opening. Soren landed hard on top of Pepper. Once his head stopped spinning, he rolled off of her with a groan, kicking his leg against whatever was still caught around his ankle. That’s when he saw.

It was a ribcage.

That sent a jolt through Soren, and he looked around the opening with a new sense of urgency. The only living thing that grew here was the thorny trees, and even those looked unhealthy and stunted. At first, Soren though there were only two paths to the circular plaza: the small opening they had come through, but that looked like a rat hole compared to the large, stone archway across from it. What needed to get through something that size? But then when he looked back, the small opening they came through was gone! All that was there were the smooth, high rock walls enclosing the circular plaza and the thorny trees that  grew around them. And strewn around the walled in courtyard….

A litter of bones and skulls of the unfortunates who had found this place before them.

[Rhindeer]

"Ow!" Pepper went down hard, tumbling with Soren, and soon came to a stop with him atop her. In any other circumstance, she might have blushed and gotten flustered--hurt, betrayed, and angry with him though she was, he hadn't stopped being attractive--but right then, she just squirmed and shoved at him so she could breathe. She felt sore and bruised from the fall, but was otherwise uninjured, and right then she was so scared she didn't even register the pain.

They couldn't fall! They had to get up and keep moving of that thing would fucking get them!

"Get up!" she panted, but Soren was already rolling over, and as soon as she could move she scrambled up onto her knees.

That was as far as she got before she froze, abruptly seeing what Soren was seeing.

"Ohhhh fuuuuuck," Pepper breathed, staring out at huge space around them--and the bone-littered ground. Bones. Human bones. She could tell at least some of them were human bones because she saw several human skulls scattered about, and she felt a sudden, hysterical laugh bubbling up in her chest. She held it in, just barely, and as she looked around the space and caught sight of the huge archway, a chill raced down her spine like nails dragged down her back. This couldn't be real.

And worse yet, Soren wasn't alone in noticing their entrance had vanished.

"Ohmygods. I was totally only kiddin' about the monster in the maze shit, that's just the shit of stories and legends and whatthefuck?!" She pressed closer to Soren and grabbed onto his arm, clutching it tight enough to leave a bruise. "Ohmygods. I always thought my teachers were jokin' when they threatened to toss us in the maze if we were bad. Oh fuck. We're so completely fucked. Get up! Get up, get up!"

Pushing herself to her feet, Pepper tugged on Soren's arm. "C'mon, we gotta go!"

And no sooner had she said it when the ground began to tremble, slow, spaced apart rumbles--like the steps of some massive creature headed toward them.

[kleineklementine]

"Go where?" was Soren's only response as he stared, wide-eyed at the large arched opening opposite of them. The large, arched opening that was the only way out of the courtyard. Or, Soren suddenly thought, arena. But glancing up at the top of the stone walls revealed no revelers, no onlookers cheering for Soren and Pepper... for their deaths.

Thump. Thump.

The large, arched opening that seemed to be directly in the path of something large and heavy and headed their way! Go where indeed. An icy, airless feeling settled in Soren's stomach. For a moment it felt like time stopped, like he was in a dream, like he was just a figment in someone else's dream. That's how unreal this seemed. Being a figment of a dream seemed more likely! But then another thump rattled the pebbles on the ground around him and Soren snapped back to the present. Back to whatever 'reality' this was.

Fucking mage college!

He kicked the rib cage off his ankle and scrambled to his feet, grabbing Pepper and shoving her roughly behind him. Just in time for the creature's arrival.

The first thing Soren could think was that 'monster' was an understatement. The thing was a strange amalgamation of creatures: the hulking, humped body of a great bear; a sharp face with tattered ears and huge eyes that narrowed into a cruel, hawkish beak; scaled, raccoon-like hands with sharp, dangerous-looking claws; and a long, heavy tail like a lizard or an alligator. But the monster was easily twice the size of any of those creatures. It only just fit through the opening.

Soren backed away from it, pushing Pepper behind him as it went. Its yellow eyes scanned the stone courtyard, the nostrils just above its peak sniffing the air. Then it locked onto them.

Turn into a wolf. Turn into a wolf. Soren thought it as hard as he could. Turn into a wolf. Turn into a wolf. Turn into a wolf. Turn into a wolf. Turn into a wolf. Turn into a wolf.

Thump!

The great beast took a slow, heavy, deliberate step towards them.

Turn into a wolf. Turn into a wolf. Turn into a wolf.

Soren winced as the creature let out a loud, high-pitched cry. Nothing was happening. Turn into a wolf. Turn into a wolf. You useless idiot, turn into a wolf! He hadn't realized that he'd been backing slowly away from the creature this whole time until he bumped into Pepper. He must have pushed her right into the stone wall.

"This would be a great time for a magic trick, Pepper."

[Rhindeer]

Pepper had no good suggestions for where to go, only that they needed to get out of here! Somehow! She didn't care how, or about the logistics, they just did! But like Soren, she saw there was nowhere to go.

Except through the archway.

The archway, which was in the direction of that ominous, rhythmic thumping.

The archway, which was soon filled with a hulking beast.

It was like something straight out of a nightmare, only much, much worse, because this was real, and if they died here they wouldn't be snapping back awake. The only thing that would be snapping were their bones.

She felt a scream bubbling up in her throat, but clamped her teeth down and held it in, because it might have bad vision, it might not see them yet--and then that hope died when its bright eyes locked on them, and it let out that piercing, ear-splitting cry. It saw them, it saw them, it saw them, now it was gonna kill them, oh gods, oh--and there was the wall. Pepper's back hit it as Soren backed her up, and there was nowhere else to go. End of the line, literally!

"Magic tricks? Right, sure thing! Think he likes sleight of hand?!" she said, her voice high with fear. She clung to Soren's shirt, knuckles white from the force of her grip. "Oh! Ya mean somethin' actually fuckin' useful?! Well! Yer in luck, 'cause it looks like we both can't do jack squat when we actually need to!"

Just days ago, she'd turned a library to stone. An entire library, without even trying, when only trying to practice a different, minor spell that somehow went haywire. She hadn't known how to undo it, though, or even how she'd done it. It had just happened. Which was so not useful here! Everyone was always telling her she was full of potential and had power inside her and blah blah blah, but fat lot of good it was going to do now.

She tried anyway, because what else was there to do? Maybe she could do it. Maybe that was the trick, trying not to do it, trying to do something else and just letting it happen? She closed her eyes tight, blocking out the image of that beast slowly advancing, knowing it had them pinned and knowing it could take its time and savor the kill--ack, no, stop thinking about that! Trying to calm her pounding heart, she reached for her power, wherever it was, and tried.

Do something, do something, c'mon, work, dammit! Please, please work, please do something!

She reached for the earth, because she'd turned a library to stone, so maybe she could do something like that again! Maybe she could turn the beast to stone! Or like...like...cause a rocky avalanche! there was a lot of stone around them, maybe she could make the walls crumble! Maybe she could make an earthquake! Maybe earth was her deal! Maybe--

She felt it then, that sudden rush of power and warmth and light she always felt when she was doing something, and her heart raced anew, this time with excitement, because something was happening and maybe, just maybe, it would be the thing that saved their lives. Pepper opened her eyes.

A single flower broke through the surface of the bone-littered ground, right between the beast and the trapped Soren and Pepper, and tilted its bright red petals to the sky.

Pepper let out an anguished moan. "REALLY?!"

[kleineklementine]

Soren stared at the little red flower that sprang up in the middle of the courtyard. In disbelief. Well, he found himself thinking, it was a very pretty flower. He'd have to tell Pepper that if they got out of this. He wasn't sure why he was thinking that... If they got out of this! Soren was snapped back to the very real reality when Pepper cried out, "Really!?" The beast had been temporarily distracted by the flower as well, but Pepper's voice rang through the courtyard and its head snapped back up at them. Oh shit.

Turn into a wolf. Turn into a wolf. Why couldn't he do it? Turn into a wolf! Turn. into. a wolf!

The beast was still for one moment, its yellow eyes focusing on them, its nostrils flaring. That's when Soren realized that if they died, if Pepper died, it would be his fault. She wouldn't be in this maze at all if he hadn't come. If he hadn't stayed in hopes of seeing her. Before he could reflect on this for too long, though, the beast reared and - with a screech - charged towards them.

Turn. Into. A Wo - !!!

In the same moment, the beast reached them, snapping its beach at them. And in that moment, Soren the man was replaced by Soren the wolf. He didn't have time to wonder if he had done it himself, or if it was just lucky timing. Without thinking, the wolf left at the beast, snapping and growling. The beast reared then lunged at the wolf. But Soren was quicker. Biting and lunging back at the beast, Soren moved to the side so that the beast would follow him as he bit its legs and neck. Away from Pepper. And away from the archway that was now the only escape.

And just in case she needed any convincing - which probably she wouldn't - Soren risked half a moment to turn and growl fiercely at Pepper. The message was clear: Get out of here! If Soren managed to escape after her, at least as a wolf he'd be able to track her.

[Rhindeer]

A flower! A fucking flower! Of all things, why a flower! Tears of frustration welled in her eyes because oh fuck, oh no, she couldn't believe they were going to die because she'd summoned a flower when a beast was charging at them, ready to tear out their spines. She wanted to apologize to Soren for failing, but that would have taken precious seconds she needed to refocus and try again, because the beast was coming at them fast and maybe, just maybe, the gods would grant them a miracle.

The miracle didn't come to her in a rush of heat and magic, but rather it came when Soren changed. Right when the beast was on them, so close she could practically feel its teeth closing on her flesh--it didn't happen. No pain, no ripping and rending, but there was a lot of snarling and she cracked her eyes open and lowered her arms from around her head she gasped, because Soren was gone, and instead there was a wolf there, fighting with the beast.

Thanks, Kia, you're finally good for something!

With a panicked look his way, Pepper didn't need any encouragement to bolt.

She ran, fast as she could in her awkward robes, for the archway while the beast was distracted with the wolf, stumbling over bones and tattered clothing, the only remnants of the creature's victims. She practically threw herself through the archway, and was ready to go sprinting through the maze that opened up in front of her, but she froze and turned around.

Soren was still in there, still fighting with the creature.

And though he was putting up a good fight, he was still smaller than the massive thing.

All it would take was one swipe of its powerful paw.

Standing in the archway, bouncing anxiously from foot to foot, she cupped her hands around her mouth. "Soren! C'mon! Run!"

[kleineklementine]

Shouting was a mistake.

Soren and the beast were on the opposite side now as Pepper and the archway, but when Pepper called out to Soren, it turned its ugly, beaked head in her direction. Its nostrils flared, and it turned its lumbering body back towards the archway. The wolf had just enough time to bound out in front of it before it charged. But the wolf was nimbler and faster, skidding to face the beast halfway across the square.

Who knew how much of the maze had large enough passages for the beast to move through. He wanted Pepper out of them and into something narrow, somewhere the beast couldn't follow, before he turned and ran from the courtyard. The beast reared up on its hind legs when it got to the snarling wolf blocking its path, landing heavily on its clawed hands, nearly crushing Soren. The wolf bit into the beast's leg, latching on until it shook him off, sending him skittering across the courtyard.

Once he was on his paws, the wolf spared only half a moment to turn his back to the beast and snarl viciously at Pepper, looking every bit the wild animal. But he didn't have time to force her out before the beast swiped its heavy paw under his exposed back legs, sending the wolf skittering again across the courtyard. The beast turned to the wolf, rounding on its prey.

This was Pepper's window to get the hell away.

[Rhindeer]

Pepper should have run. She knew she should run, knew that's what Soren was trying to tell her (there was no mistaking what that vicious snarl meant), but she froze, hand against the wall, watching in transfixed horror.

Just run, she told herself. You don't owe him shit! He sold you off like your life was nothing, remember? Just go! If anything, this makes us square!

But she couldn't. She couldn't leave. She was an idiot, she was going to regret this, she just knew it, but she stayed where she was and desperately reached deep, reached for a magic better than...well...a flower, something, anything that would make that beast stop. As hurt and angry as she was with him, she still remembered how it had been before everything had gone bad.

And part of her desperately wanted to believe that Soren still existed.

Though Soren might not exist at all very soon.

C'mon, Pepper, make it stop! Do something, stop it, stop it, STOP IT! Stupid magic, work, dammit!

Soren was down again, and this time the beast would not be distracted. Soren was small, but he was fast and vicious and had proven himself an annoyance that needed to be dealt with now. It bounded to Soren and before he could get back up, one of its hand-like paws came down onto him hard, pressing him onto his side and pinning him to the ground. It roared, spraying thick strands of saliva, and raised its other paw, ready to strike the wolf dead.

"Soren!"

And that was when the flower grew.

Leafy vines burst from the ground and wrapped themselves around the beast's legs and neck, stilling its strike--not because they were even strong enough to restrain it, but because they took the thing off guard. The creature snarled and shook its head, breaking the vines, but more replaced the ones that broke, and soon the beast was distracted with trying to shake the annoying things off off as they wrapped around its muzzle and feet, roaring its rage.

Pepper had thrown away her window to escape.

Hopefully Soren wouldn't throw away his.

[kleineklementine]

What was she doing? Why wasn't she running?!

Soren didn't have long to wonder just about Pepper, though. The wolf had picked himself half way up on his paws when the beast struck. This time too fast for the wolf. The force of the blow hit him hard, knocking the wind out of him. The beast's great claws pressed hard down on the wolf's rib cage. Soren was sure that he was going to be crushed right here. Right now.

The wolf's yellow eyes glanced up. To Pepper. Who was still standing there.

Good to know, he thought as he felt the distinct snap! of one of his ribs, that his death would achieve nothing.

The great creature pulled its head back, smattering Soren with saliva. The wolf braced himself, eyes shut, for his last moments. But they didn't come. He opened his golden eyes to see the vines quickly growing around the beast. It started snapping at them, making hissing sounds of annoyance. And when that didn't stop them, it raised its clawed hand from crushing Soren to swiping at the rapidly growing flowering vines.

Soren would not miss his window. The wolf scrambled to its paws as soon as the pressure was released and ran, limping a little and wheezing a bit, over to Pepper. Once he reached the girl, the wolf nipped her leg. Not hard enough to break the skin, but hard. He wanted her out of there. Then he wheeled around, hackles raised, to ensure that the beast wasn't right behind them.

It wasn't. Yet. The beast was still fighting with the vines, but seeing its prey escaping it, it began tearing through the vines back towards the stone entrance. But Soren wouldn't move until Pepper did.

[Rhindeer]

Get up, Soren! Get up! Pepper had no time to marvel at what she'd done, and no time to figure out how she'd managed it, because all her energy was on willing Soren to get up an run! For one sickening moment, she thought maybe he was hurt too bad, that maybe he couldn't run--but then he got up.

He was obviously hurt, but he was alive, and well enough to nip her, hard enough that she yelped.

And this time, Pepper listened.

Turning away from the creature, she ran, looking behind her to see that Soren was following--and feeling her heart sink when she saw that the beast was breaking free and struggling toward them, roaring its rage.

"Aw, fuck me!" she cried, breathless, her throat tight with anxiety. Was it seriously going to chase them?! Gods! Were they like the only meal this thing had any chance of getting in the last few months or something?! She took a sharp turn to the left, had a brief thought of, Oh man, I hope we don't go running smack into that other thing!, and suddenly wanted to laugh hysterically at the idea.

Which, she actually started to do as she ran.

[kleineklementine]

The wolf hesitated only half a second after Pepper took off to run after her. The beast was slowed down by the vines at first, but with Pepper fleeing, the magic was wearing off and it picked up speed, crashing through the wide archway and thundering after them.

Soren lagged behind Pepper a little. The leg the beast had swept out from underneath him just wasn't working as fast as the rest of them. But when he spotted a small stone archway to the left, he doubled his speed to catch up with Pepper. The archway was hardly big enough for either of them and definitely too small for the beast! So he sprinted forward, shepherding Pepper through the archway.

Once they were both through, they could hear the crashing of the beast as it tried to turn sharply to follow them. Soren made it all the way through just in time to avoid the snapping of its beak-like mouth. But that was all that fit through the archway. The beast struggled on the other side, but failed to get through.

The wolf stared at it, aching ribs heaving as he panted hard, for a moment before turning, pushing at Pepper with his muzzle. No point to stick around for it to get back up!

Only question... how should they get out of here? And without running into the other monster...

[Rhindeer]

Pepper was doing more running than she'd done since she'd been snatched off the streets and taken to the mage college! And she was definitely feeling it as she huffed and puffed, driven on by Soren and by fear and desperation. She had to clutch at her side as they went, having gotten a stitch in it, and started to lag back with Soren.

Note to self, get out and run more!

Though she'd thought those days were behind her! Thanks, Soren!

Finally, though, she had to stop, and she slowed down and leaned against one of the walls, panting heavily and holding at her side. "I feel," she said between gasps, "that we're gonna end up runnin' 'round like headless chickens with no rhyme or reason. And I sure's fuck don't wanna run into that other guy. Yer a wolf now, Soren! Can ya like...use yer doggy senses and smell yer way out?"

She shot nervous glances back the way they came, because she could still hear the beast somewhere back there--and she hoped the stone walls could hold it.

[kleineklementine]

Doggy senses! The wolf gave a growl at that remark. But it was half-hearted. Being told he had 'doggy senses' was really the least of Soren's troubles at the moment. Perhaps he did have doggy senses, truth be told, but he'd never been to Arca before, much less the mage college or this maze. Just what was he supposed to follow.

Well...

The wolf paused, sniffing the air. The maze had the heavy, plant-laden scent of a garden. But a city, a city smelled very different indeed. So he kept his nose on the wind and kept them moving through the maze at a fast, shuffling walk-run. Between Pepper's wheezing and his limping, they weren't likely to go much faster. And it was better to reserve their energy in case they had another run in. So he move them through the maze, making turns that he hoped weren't wrong. Getting further from one beast, and he hoped very much, not nearer to the other!

[[OOC: Feel free to have them run into another danger, or some nice/rejuvenating bit of garden, or back out of the maze.... as you like!]]

[Rhindeer]

The maze, as it turned out, was fucking big.

They must have gone in awfully deep, because finding their way out wasn't an easy process, and even with Soren's nose pointing him toward the city-smell, well...maze's weren't a straight path through, but a winding one. And this was a mage college maze! Those probably had a few extra tricks up their sleeve.

It wasn't long before Pepper, who was not only scared at this point, but also tired and thirsty and frustrated, let out a low groan and raked her hands through her curly hair.

"I feel like we've come this way before," she said, and leaned against the wall again--this time not in exhaustion, but in defeat. This wasn't working. They needed to come up with a plan or something! Maybe start marking where they'd been. "I could swear I've seen that rock bef--AH!"

A stone in the wall suddenly sank in, and then the wall rotated and Pepper went tumbling into the room it opened.

Which, when she scrambled up onto her hands and knees...

Turned out to be a rather whimsical garden.

She stared at the swirling paths ahead of her that lead over the pond, and then looked back toward Soren.

This...didn't look like the sort of place that had anything that wanted to kill them...