Bouncing against his shoulders and holding on for dear life as he bounded through the trees, she sighed with relief.
She knew, without a doubt, it belonged to the guild, but they’d been nowhere near Ingram and Emerie’s location. Perhaps close enough to see them from a distance, but they’d likely only just been found.
Had I been alone, they would have caught me. They would have slowly and quietly surrounded her while she’d been walking. She looked behind her at the back of the Duskwalker’s skull her arse was currently sitting on top of. He was able to sense them even with such a great distance between us.
“I think you can slow down now,” she shouted once she thought it was safe.
Honestly, she just didn’t like their position. Her legs were dangling down the front of his torso, and her knees occasionally hit his chest. She was the wrong way for riding him, and she must be heavy.
“No. We run.”
Ingram forced her to lie down on his back when he leapt off a small hill, and she nearly screamed when she started floating. Her torso smacked against his spikes when she landed back on top of him, her features contorting in pain.
Screw this. She worked on spinning around so she was facing forward and in a better riding position.
She brought her knees up and under her so she could lift off his spikes, worried about destroying her clit and pussy if she sat on them. She removed her bag so she could sit on it like a saddle. Then she threw the strap over his head so it would catch around his neck; firstly, so she didn’t lose it, and secondly so she could hold onto it like a set of reins.
Only having to watch for the occasional branch that threatened to swipe her off him, since he didn’t think to avoid them for her safety, she stared at the back of his white skull.
She’d thought Ingram was freaked out, but when he revealed the side of his face by darting his skull one way to search for his path, his orbs were purple.
They weren’t red like he was angry, or white as though he was afraid.
Why is he sprinting for his life?
Emerie pulled on her makeshift reins, trying to halt him.
“Ingram, slow down.” She cringed when she was slapped in the face by a leafy branch, unable to avoid it. When he didn’t slow, she attempted to soothe him by patting his neck. “Hey, it’s okay. Calm down.”
“You said you are easily harmed. I am taking you away from the danger.”
Oh. Her lips parted in surprise, then she almost laughed. She didn’t have the heart to tell him he was putting her in potential danger by going this fast.
The wind was cutting through her clothing and whipping her hair over her shoulders. She held on tight to prevent him from accidentally tossing her off.
When she almost got bitch slapped by another branch, this one intending to cut her head right off, she ducked to get to his level. Shuffling back and laying flush against him, she gripped his horns and kept her head down to stay below their tips, since he avoided everything that was low enough to be near his horn height.
He’ll settle when he’s ready. When he knew for certain they were safe. Hopefully he’s going west.
Emerie didn’t know how long Ingram ran for. An hour, maybe two? All she knew was that he’d travelled a great distance, and it was unlikely the guild would be able to catch up to them again.
However, something pink in the corner of her eye caught her attention. She sat up and pulled on his horns at the same time, jerking him into a weird stumble.
“Wait, stop! I see berries!” she yelled.
Whether it was in reaction to her shout after hours of silence, or her sudden yank, Ingram finally halted. He stopped so suddenly he threw her forward and Emerie flailed helplessly as she flew through the air.
“Oh SHIIIT!” she squealed, as she crossed her arms protectively over her head.
An arm caught her around the waist, right before she went headfirst into a fucking tree. With her heart nearly in her throat, she looked back and found orange orbs glowing down at her.
“Sorry, Emerie. I did not mean to throw you.”
She laughed, not because she found it funny, but in mild panic. That could have been bad, like really bad. Either she would have split her face open, or she would have broken her nose or skull. Either way, she would have bled and then become his lunch.
With her back flush against his chest and her legs dangling half a metre in the air, she held onto his forearm tightly. “It’s fine.”
Ingram carefully placed her on her feet when he was forced to lower back onto his hands. She immediately bounced into action. Going back the way they came, shoving branches and shrubs, as she searched for the pink berries she’d seen.
The grin she produced was wide and toothy when she found them.
“Fuck yeah!” she cheered, curling her hand into a fist and pumping it into the air in joy. “This lilly pilly bush is huge.”
No wonder it’d caught her attention – it was nearly triple her height! It was also full of ripe pink berries. She waited for Ingram to come over so she could unthread her bag from him and start shoving as much as she could inside.
She didn’t even care that she was about to give up her saddle. She’d just use the thin sleeping bag that she removed and tied around one side of the strap. Food and water were a priority. She’d figure out his back spikes and how to not impale her pussy on them later.
“These are the berries you seek?” Emerie nodded, eating them as she picked. Following her lead, he easily reached up to take the ones higher up since she wouldn’t be able to reach. “I will search for more in the future then.”
When her bag and stomach were full to capacity, she pulled her strap over her shoulder and tucked her nearly bursting bag behind her. It was heavy, and that pleased her immensely.
“Thank you for helping me,” she said, tying her water sack where the bag and strap were connected, since it wouldn’t fit inside. “Also, if you happen to sniff out a stream or lake, let me know. I’ll need water soon.”
“You cannot hear the water nearby?” Ingram asked, pointing a claw in a random direction. When she followed his thick dark-grey finger with her lips tightening, she figured he understood that she couldn’t. “You humans are not very formidable creatures. No wonder Demons and Mavka easily hunt you.”
Her eyes narrowed into a slitted glare, unsure if she appreciated that. “Humans are smart, that’s what keeps us alive.”
“Not smart enough to not be eaten,” he argued, walking on all fours in the direction he’d pointed. She wasn’t the kind of woman to pout and cross her arms in annoyance, but she considered it. “Come. I will take you to water.”
Emerie cracked her neck to relieve some of her tension at his rudeness. She just put it up to him being a Duskwalker and not knowing better.
Especially since he’d already tried to eat her, and there was a high chance he’d probably try to do it again.
Ingram tilted his head to the right and almost made it go upside down in confusion. Perplexed, his sight turned yellow because of it. He didn’t understand why the little female was cranky with him.