Shay's fear lessened when she felt the knife he'd given her. Now she had something to protect herself with and Kenta seemed confident about all this. His lack of fear gave her courage, maybe he was stronger than she thought he was.
A shifting came from above them, high in the trees. Some leaves rustled not far away. Then silence. No movement in the forest. It was a tension waiting to snap. The feeling of eyes on them, that weighed on Shay's shoulders. Creatures in this wood were not normal, she'd heard about them. Mutant beasts, larger and stronger than normal animals.
Kenta took a deep breath and tried to focus on his flame. You can do this... You can handle this... Just... Keep... "Shay-shay." He glanced at her, giving a warm, calm smile. "Stay close, ok?"
Kenta held his hands to the sides, splitting his light into a few wisps, which he rotated around them. He was trying his best to be confidant, but inside he... really hoped they'd back off from the fire.
A jaguar's snarl sounded to their side, closest to Shay before the creature ripped through the leaves and lunged down at them. It had several rows of sharp teeth, like a shark, and its eyes resembled that of a snark, beyond that, the thing moved too quickly to see any other mutations. It was but a black blur, barreling toward them.
Kenta had told Shay to stay close, but the thing was lunging right at her, and by proxy, him. She grabbed hold of his shoulder and fell threw herself backwards in the hope they it wouldn't fall on them.
When he was pulled back, his focus was lost and the flames flickered out. Shit! Seeing the large creature lunge over them, he moved his hand to strike the thing with a fireball, hitting the beast like a fastball that burst into bright orange flames as it hit. With that strike, he figured he'd either scared it off or pissed it off. Either way, he had to act fast. He grabbed Shay's hand, thank the gods for gloves, and took off running. He didn't know which way he was headed, but they couldn't stay here.
He had pissed it off. Monsters here were fearless, and this thing was out for blood. It gave a roar of pain as Shay was tugged after Kenta. She ran fast, luckily, and she did it with the ease of experience. Shay made a habit of running the track to keep her mind clear, so it further calmed her. She couldn't help but feel she'd made a mistake when she tugged him.
The beast didn't sound like it was behind them, but it had a stealthy way about it and at times, the trees above them would shake with weight. It kept pace with the children easily, again silent and waiting for a moment to strike.
Kentas ears continued to twitch in reaction to their pursuer as they ran. An occasional desperate fireball would fly and burst on a tree, but without time to stop, he couldn't aim it properly. A clearing. Some sunlight. ANYTHING! If I can see it... He held her hand tight as they ran.
There was no time. The creature fell upon them again, this time, in for the kill, digging it's claws and teeth into anything it could find. Weight sent Shay flying forward into Kenta, screaming in surprise and pain as she did.
This time he knew it was coming. His ears seeming to perk up when it made its move. He wasn't faster than this thing, but was able to lessen the blow on both of them by pulling her into him. However, this would send him off balance. He would bring his arms around her to let himself take the fall impact, and as soon as they stopped moving, he would quickly get back up, shakily stumbling his way between her and it. In his left hand, he tried really hard to focus on his fireball, which was becoming significantly larger than the ones he threw before. In its glow, he stared at the creature. He was worn, bruised, but not yet beaten. He had this determined look in his face, like there was no way he would let this be it. Everything will be ok. Everything will be fine. Everything always is. You can handle this. You can do this. You... Have to. His fire sparked about wildly.
In the light of his created fire, he could see the creature clearly. It was inky black; its fur seemed to wiggle as though alive and it moved like a large cat, graceful and nearly silent. There was no fear in this creature's eyes as it paced just at the edge of the light he possessed.
Shay was on her knees behind Kenta by the time they'd rolled. She wasn't completely aware of what had happened. For all that Shay acted tough, she had never had a real fight in her life. The quick pace frightened her. She slowly stood, holding the knife, ready. She didn't move by his side, figuring it would only mess up his concentration.
"Shay-shay, I..." He took a deep breath and smiled warmly over his shoulder at her. "I said I'd protect you, and I will... So don't worry, ok?" He looked back at the beast, biting his lip to keep his focus over fear. He sounded confidant, but he... This is the only one I hear... Maybe she can escape if I... With a sudden motion, Kenta darted forward at the monster, fireball swirling in his hand. He would attempt to strike the thing as hard as he could in its face with a hand full of fire. Kill it, blind it, stun it for a moment. Any will work, just please do SOMETHING!