Re: Woods; Claire and Daniel
Claire's eyes adjusted to the darkness as best as they could, but her poor pupils could only do so much. It could have been a breeze that shifted the leaves, but it was too steady. Far off. Too far for her to see into the shadows, but she could hear through the eerie silence this town seemed to suffer from. A steady shuffle of crunching that forced Claire to hold her breath. Her eyes shut, relying on her hearing to lead the way. Statue still and entirely silent apart from a pesky heartbeat that thumped harder deep in her chest, she concentrated on the rustling to deduce the sound was to her left.
Determination sparked in her eyes as she looked through the trees into the darkness that faded in and out with tricks of the wind and the moon. Claire had a talent for being silent, but she was no match for supernatural hearing, and even if she was able to effortlessly dart and toe through maze of fallen leaves, there was no way for her to hide her approach. Her steps weaved and ducked behind trees, taking cover while she arced around behind where the mystery sound was coming from. Claire wanted to follow prior to intercept. Assess the target to see if it was necessary to continue. Also known as Plan 'Figure Out If That Is A Dog'.
She crouched down to get a better look at the fresh tracks. A person. Footsteps. Someone else was out here for a late night walk. Her eyes scanned the horizon through trees, hoping to catch vision of a moving shadow. There was none. There was also no sound of footsteps anymore. Claire raised slowly to her full height, concern on her face. Slender fingers easily found the grip of her blade, a calming motion when she had the feeling that perhaps she was not the one doing the hunting.
Claire followed the tracks, her pace slowed with caution as she searched for sound or sight of the one who made the trail.