Kat's eyes widened as the world slowed. She looked over towards the flaming fist and started to plan. Taking in as much detail as she could. The fist itself was clearly burning a familiar purple, and under that it was frosting over. It seemed frozen solid, but the arm was continually extending and seemed to imply this couldn't be the case.
At the moment, there was nothing but the soft leather of Kat's wing between that fist and Minor, or herself. *Ok, what can I do here. I don't have a lot of time to move out of the way… and I'm not sure I could anyway. I'd have to stretch out my wings and use them if I wanted to change my course at all*
*And the trees have been a large issue with that the whole time, now add into the mix the fist of a Nightmare and it's basically impossible for that to help. I think I'll need to do something better than just having my wing block it.*
*I could maybe use my tail? Enhanced with energy it might be able to stop it from hitting Minor… but I don't think I can absorb that much kinetic energy so I'm likely to just go flying. And isn't that the crux of the issue?*
*I also think just abusing my flexibility is doomed to fail. That fist is going right for my centre of mass, so I can't move it around too much. Should I just try and take the impact on my legs? Perhaps… but I might end up slamming into a tree if I can't watch where I'm launched.*
Kat bit her lips, she was running out of time to debate the best course of action. Without knowing any better way to go about it, Kat brought her feet up and pushed them out to the side.
She wasn't fast enough though, and the fist was going to strike too high. Twisting her back instead to protect Minor, Kat let the fist impact her in the small of her back. She managed to squeeze her tail in between the strike though, and made sure to keep it alight just in case the Nightmare was going to try twisting her.
As the fist slammed into her, Kat heard a crack, before getting launched away. Kat started to panic and instinctively tried to twist herself around to see what damage had been done to her back. But she was able to swivel without pain.
Confused, but undeterred Kat tried to correct herself. Flaring her wings out Kat pulled herself into a stop… though not quite fast enough. Slamming the side of her head into a nearby tree, Kat let herself bounce off slightly and tried to get her feet under her.
She stumbled a moment before heading off once again, trying to get away as fast as possible, hopefully leaving the Nightmare in the dust. Kat wobbled slightly as she ran, but made sure not to hit anything.
Minor was looking a little green from the rapid changes in velocity, but she didn't complain, only wrapping her arms around Kat so that she was less likely to fly out of her arms. *That was too close… but I don't think I hear it chasing us anymore do I?*
Kat couldn't help it and took a glance behind her. There were only trees. She couldn't see or hear any sign of the Nightmare "Is it gone?" Kat whispered to Minor, unsure if speaking aloud would lead it to them
Minor replied, also keeping her voice low. "I don't know. Remember I can't feel them nearby in the last few scenes. I doubt we did enough damage to destroy it, but if we are lucky it's enough to get away"
Kat nodded as she ran. She was careful not to go too fast and start creating gusts of wind as she moved, trying to further reduce the chances of being found. And like that, the pair managed to head back towards the clearing, but, when they got closer Kat had to slam her feet into the ground letting her boots catch under one of the roots to halt her in place. Wrapping her tail around a nearby tree to prevent herself from falling over, Kat felt the strain on her body, but let it pass. It was necessary.
Instead of pristine trees with green leaves and vibrant brown bark, that showed the health and care this forest of trees seemingly received. It instead looked like the black ink from the Nightmare had started to infect things.
Everywhere Kat looked was signs of its passing. The trees were now a dark black, with leaves that dripped ink onto the ground, slowly spreading across the floor every time a drop hit the roots.
Kat sucked in a deep breath. *We aren't at the clearing yet. I think there is still a bit to go but… can we make it through this?* "Minor what's the plan?" asked Kat
"Can you break through the trees here?" asked Minor
Kat nodded "I… I think so. It might be a bit hard to keep my wings from clipping the branches but if I'm careful it should be alright. Do we want to back up a bit though? It will take some time"
Minor nodded. With that as the signal Kat spent a good thirty seconds backtracking. She was unwilling to risk the ink spreading while she was halfway through breaking the trees. Finding a spot where said trees were slightly further apart and would allow for some flying if she was careful, Kat checked her energy reserves.
They weren't doing well. All added up she had around a quarter left. It seemed that fiasco with the Nightmare put her worse off than she thought. None the less, Kat got working. Flying upwards and setting a medium sized section of the canopy on fire, making sure it was large enough to fit her wings comfortably.
Kat repeated this process twice safely, before she heard a roar in the distance. Kat froze in place, letting her wings take her back to the ground. She shared a look with Minor who hurriedly gestured for at the last layer of the canopy.
Kat bit down on her lips in worry. *I've been trying to pace myself but I'm still running low on energy. I'm just barely above the levels required to knock me out.* "I don't know if I can Minor. Breaking that last layer might be enough to cause my body to stop working" said Kat
Minor frowned, glancing back where they heard the roar from. It was some distance away, and the heavy thud of its feet couldn't yet be heard, so they were safe for a time. The question was how much. "Is it safe to rest on the canopy?" asked Minor
Kat grimaced and said "Well, I don't know anymore. I'd have thought so, but seeing the mess the Nightmare left behind and infected the trees with, I can't say that I still believe that"
Minor frowned but nodded. All the while the tension in the air was beginning to rise. Kat could just barely hear the sounds of the repeated, thump, thump, thump of the thing's feet some ways off. It still wasn't clear if they were being followed though.
Sadly, an unexpected threat approached. Kat hadn't been watching the ground properly, and now as she examined the clearing for a sign of the Nightmare catching up movement in the corner of her eyes caused her to freeze completely. Focusing on that spot she saw the inky taint of the nearby forest spreading to their tiny clearing.
*What! It wasn't moving that fast! How could it have caught us!* Kat nudged Minor to get her to face the direction of the ink, and the kitsune's face paled. "Kat, we might have to risk it" hissed Minor under her breath.
Kat grit her teeth and checked her reserves more closely. *It's enough… I think… I can bust through… probably… but… I'm not sure how much more I can do…* Seeing Kat's worried face Minor gave a suggestion "Cut a smaller hole, just enough for us to squeeze through and maybe jump all the way up with your wings flat against us"
Kat bit her lip and examined the gap. *It might just work. I need to fly to keep the flame burning and turning everything to ice, but… if I just need to slam through the last layer once… I might be able to manage*
Kat nodded, and started to fly up carefully. Trying to ensure that she made as little sound as possible when she flapped her wings. Carefully, inching her way close to the gap in the canopy they'd managed to make so far. Kat let a small ember blaze to life on her finger as she carefully applied it to the leaves, making sure to supply it with enough energy to spread slightly and freeze them solid.
Gritting her teeth, Kat had to make sure the keep tight control over her fire so as not to waste any more energy.. Even as the last of the designated leaves started to freeze, Kat was worried.