"I saw an opportunity to escape in the chaos," he confessed with a tone of quiet frustration. "I didn't plan on running into a Lumanlisc in the woods."

She stared at him with trepidation, heart hammering against her chest. The dark pressed in on them and the creatures it brought along were stirring - she could feel it in the air. But the fact that the man in front of her was entirely mortal didn't make him any less of a threat. And he didn't even know what was going on... which put them both at the end of a fraying rope. "Gio, listen to me please and go back to the Hold. It's not safe out here."

At this, he scoffed. "You want me to walk myself back?"

She opened her mouth to answer when the woods behind them began to move. The trees rustled urgently, the ground beneath them shaking. Roo turned her head towards the noise, horror in her voice. "Run. Run! Back the way we came!"

"What is it?" He urged, ducking in response to the sudden burst of movement.

She picked up her skirt and hurried forward, grabbing his hand as she passed him. "We're about to be--"
And then came a bellow. Roo blanched, running faster as the trees behind them began to topple over.

Giovanni spared a glance behind them but kept pace with the woman, wondering what the hell he'd gotten himself into.

She kept running but veered away from the Hold, instead moving weaving between the trees to the right, her hand laced in the Sangrian's as she led him. They couldn't bring the creatures straight to the Hold, but she wasn't sure where Rhea was relative to their current position - catching sight of their escaped prisoner had thrown their plan completely off. "We need to hide," she pressed her lips together, glancing back at him. He'd escaped - he was clearly far more capable, and far more dangerous, than she had ever assumed, but... "... we need to cooperate if we want to survive the night."

"Tell me what's out here." He insisted as they made their mad dash through the trees.

She didn't get to. At that moment, the trees beside her burst forth, erupting into splinters with a reluctant groan. Out of the dark bounded a creature weeping viscera, red with blood and screaming. It towered over the two of them and that was when Giovanni realized that it wasn't one creature, but two - beneath the rider was a warhorse, spitting and kicking and chuffing with bloodlust. They surged forward, heading directly towards the pair.