Shalan bolted through the trees, agile on her feet. She darted between the thick trunks of the trees, he body shifting gracefully to displace her weight as she moved quickly. Behind her, she could hear Keiro's heavy feet, and she kept her breathing steady. Gods, he was fast. She'd underestimated his agility, as a human and an aged, though not elder, man. 
Her eyes straining on the landscape before her, fleeing as fast as she could. She arched around, closer to his house, then changed quickly and ran deeper into the woods, climbing a hill in hopes of slowing him down, flying down the other side.

When she turned around, Keiro wasn't there. It didn't encourage her. Still worried he'd just taken himself out of sight, Shalan kept her feet moving, once more arching toward the barn in which her sword lay. There was a chance Keiro knew she'd come back for it, but if she were, at the very least, able to get there first, she had a chance. 

The barn came into sight, and Shalan stopped, leaning against a tree, panting. She didn't see Keiro, and there were no footprints near the door. Catching her breath quickly, Shalan darted for the barn door, yanking it open and rushing in, her ears straining for any sound.
Quickly, she went to the little bed, tearing off the blankets to access her belongings, shouldering her satchel and pulling her sword to her hip. Without a second thought, she was out the door again.
It was then that she smelled the smoke in the air. For a second, she thought Keiro had let his home catch fire, but it was too strong, too .... different. This was no hearthfire. 

[i]So that's why he gave up chasing me,[/i] Shalan realized, happily jogging back into the woods. It wasn't twenty meters that she stopped again, glancing over her shoulder. 
[i]The child.[/i] Shalan pursed her lips. [i]She's why he took off. She must be near whatever is on fire.[/i]
With a groan, Shalan turned back around and jogged toward the direction the smoke came from, taking a detour to hide her sword and satchel inside the barn again. The child shouldn't have to suffer, and, despite her current disagreement with Keiro, he had helped her.