"Come on!" Icarus' call fell on deaf ears. She was struggling against the intense hunger and thoughts that ran rampant through her mind. Then in an instant everything switched. Her adrenaline fueled body turned in the direction of the forest, and she ran. Her heart raced, her muscles ached, but she was able to keep a few paces behind Icarus. Even with his head start. Then again Shawarl was not human. 

She was breathing heavily as she was more used to sudden bursts of speed. Rather than the prolonged five minute mile the pair had just ran. "Thank…you." She panted out, as her body was catching the air it needed. The carnivorous plants on her back slithered back into her robes. She took a minute or two to fully recover. " How can you be sure that they will stop? Shawarl is unfamiliar with the way you humans think. But you are a kind one." She said as she walked past Icarus and towards the treeline.

Her body was still tense from the exertion of running. Sweat was forming on her brow even with the chill of the night. 

The creature's words fell on his ears and during their pause, she inquired how he could know their pursuers would cease their pursuit.  For him, it was a cause and effect sort of situation.  They would lose sight of them and a pursuit would continue for some time, but they would stop their efforts when it became clear they stood no hope of catching the woman-plant-thing.  In addition, neither Shawarl nor Icarus had anything that would generate light or give away their positions in the darkness, making chasing them exponentially more difficult at night.

"We hit the woods and make it deep into the treeline.  Eventually, they'll come to a point they don't want to try and chase any further and we're safe at that point," he explained, detailing the simple extent of their escape.  "We can slow it to a jog now that we have plenty of space between us, but we can't stop," he declared, returning to a modest pace only somewhat faster than a quick walk.  

He was thankful she managed to keep up with him to that point, but it was likely both of them would have great difficulty to remain at that pace.  They now had an additional mile in the gap between them and the villagers.  The torches in the distance seemed increasingly distant as he glanced over his shoulder, stepping with high knees through the slowly rising grass.  Around them, the fields of wild grass that grew was gaining in height, now up to his waist.

Ahead, it didn't seem the grass would sink back toward the earth at all.  In fact, it seemed the grass threatened to rise up even higher.  Being trapped in tall grass with a potential monster ready to consume him didn't really suit his fancy, but there weren't many options.  In pursuit of his goal, he had to escort her to the forest and leave her to her own devices somewhere the local populace would neither threaten nor be threatened by her.

Shawarl gave a nod towards the man's explanation. His reasoning was sound, and to her ears, based on experience. With a sigh of relief she picked up her own pace to match his. To her a gentle jog was a breeze compared to the mile they had just ran. Her bare feet still ached though, but she had no time or the mind to complain. The jogging still made her sweat even more, causing her to release strong smelling pheromones. To her there was no smell, but to some humans she smelled of freshly picked mint. An evolution her kind developed to lure humans in. They were often curious about what smelled so sweet and delicious. That it would lure them right into the open arms of Shawarl's sisters.

" How much experience in running away do you have.?" She inquired with an inquisitive tone. Her reasoning behind the question, to get him to slow his pace a bit. The tall grass was hindering her movement. It would often trip her up as she stepped high to avoid making an obvious trail. " Don't be afraid of Shawarl. She is not going to eat you. We made a deal, only the corrupt of heart, and she does not intend to break her oath." She added. Not just for his sake, but for her own. At any point Icarus could have turned on her. Even if he did not seem like the type to do so.

She gazed at the closing treeline with anticipation. Soon she would be free to eat the wicked and plant her seeds. Her thoughts wandered a bit while waiting for a response. Causing her to lose her footing for a brief moment, but she managed to catch herself. Though she had fallen behind Icarus by about four paces.

When her question hit his ears, Icarus was already scouting the terrain ahead as best he could, grass now rising up to his chest.  Half a mile away, the edge of the forest lay in wait, looming darkness that drowned out the pale moon light.  He was most assuredly a strategist first and foremost, not the sort to deliberately charge into battle without a plan.  In this instance, the villagers were common folk chasing a monster that had decimated and dissected several of their own for food, a crime he normally would have punished immediately and without remorse.  

"I normally don't, but we're vastly outnumbered and I'd rather not spill the blood of villagers that are seeking compensation in blood for the ones you killed.  Defeats the whole purpose of the deal.  If we leave without a trace, they won't be capable of following and although they'll spread out, they will give up when they cannot find us," Icarus explained, breathing lightly as he worked his way through the grass.

Even as he voiced his opinion on the people, the woman seemed to understand his distrust of her and she sought to reassure him.  He paid it enough heed to not outright be wary of her at the moment, but even then, another sound aside from the crumpling of grass beneath their feet caught his ear.  Howls… he thought, placing a word to the sound of it.  

Wolves were nearing them, and judging from the sounds, it wasn't a measly couple.  They were social creatures, pack hunters that grouped to take down larger prey.  He estimated a small pack in numbers, but the howls were deep, guttural, and menacing.  It seemed quite likely that they were fairly large amongst other canines of their type.

While Icarus broke down the likelihood of wolves closing on them, he was beset upon by two that lunged high from the grass.  His jog stopped as he reached up with a hand and pushed the wolf over him, gripping it by the throat and using its momentum against it.  The other caught a hold of his other arm and the small plate functioning as a bracer saved him from lacerations.  

The sheer weight of the beast brought him down as he failed to slam the other wolf with enough force to break its neck.  Rolling on the ground, Icarus reached his right hand, now free, toward his katana and sliced the wolf's throat quickly, releasing his left arm from its maw.  Now fully aware of the situation they were in, Icarus drew his longsword with his left hand and picked up to a jog once more.

"Prepare yourself, we'll have to fight our way through.  They'll try to separate us," he declared as he returned near Shawarl's side.