[center][img=http://i.imgur.com/QQbEM8x.gif][/center]

Arin slowly took a few steps backwards as the beast approached him, now somewhat lit by the lantern in his hands. Never in his life had he ever witnessed a creature as ferocious as the one before him, he was almost paralyzed by its presence, the snarling of the wolf only made him feel that much more agitated. 

[i]TICK . . . . TOCK . . . . . TICK . . . . . TOCK . . . .[/i]

The sound from beneath coupled with the owl desperately trying to keep the group away snapped Arin back into reality. He took a step backwards and fell onto bottom for the second time. To his dismay the floor beneath him began to tilt, coincidentally towards the wolf. Even in the dire circumstance he couldn't help but find that bit odd. Arin rolled off of the platform, carefully keeping the lantern close to his chest, and stood up just in time to see Randold throw Anise out of danger with valor. 

[quote=Randold]
RUN! YOU HAVE TO GET MOVING RIGHT NOW!
[/quote]

Without hesitation, Anise sprinted down the faint path and within a moment she was gone. Arin turned and to his curiosity, watched as Hania hung on the edge of the now tilted metal platform. Randold held his ground against the beast. As Arin watched the events before him, he suddenly felt hypnotized by his own thoughts. In his hand was the lantern, shining brightly. It was their only source of light. They were pretty much dead without it. Dark thoughts overcame Arin's thought process, the urge to leave both Randold and Hania to their deaths was excruciatingly heavy. He wanted to turn around and run, not because he had too, but because he [i]wanted[/i] too.

As Hania screamed and Randold held his ground, Arin let his ill mind take over. He turned and sprinted down the same path as Anise, holding the lantern up high as he did so. The fact that they couldn't investigate the area further disappointed him, but maybe he could return soon. To both find clues, as well as admire Randold and Hania's corpses. 

It didn't take long for the young man to catch up to Anise. He wasn't exactly athletic but there were a handful of physical activities that needed to be done in Mayloom to keep him relatively in shape, at least enough to run through a forest. Slowly the young man came to a stop a few feet from the princess, who was now resting on a rock. 

"Anise," he said aloud, and cautiously began to approach her. The light from the lantern illuminated her face. He bent down to observe her condition. "Are you hurt?" By now his ill mind was in full swing. Arin admired her presence in the lanterns light for a brief moment. The two of them were practically alone in the forest, he could murder her pointless life now and nobody would know. Not even Randold or Hania. He could simply say she was mauled by a creature. The idea was utterly provocative but Arin's face remained blank. 

"Can you walk?" He asked in a worried tone, keeping his thoughts hidden.