A figure crept into the corner of Adam’s vision and he stilled.

The hunter was moving very slowly in the shadows, silently following the path Adam had made through the forest. Adam took in a slow, deep breath as he took the hunter in.

He was tall with broad shoulders, thick thighs and arms, clad completely in black and blue, and had a red stripe across his face, half-obscured by a curtain of long, ink-black hair. He stood there, listening. Waiting. Adam stayed right where he was, looking around for anyone else – no runners or hunters insight. At that, Adam looked back at him and eyed the marking across his eyes.

Red meant he was a higher-ranking officer in whatever order the Zerric had, Adam knew enough about them to know that. A high-ranking officer usually didn’t have to participate in the runs. They were usually given human offspring from pets of royalty as gifts to tighten political connections.

To have one here meant that this hunter was in for a challenge. 

It meant he was looking for a challenge.

This hunter, Adam was sure, was going to be his Number Four.

When he was certain the hunter was secure in his peripheral vision Adam dropped his gaze to look around to scan the floor and make sure there were no twigs to break under his foot as he carefully worked his way toward the next tree, moving excruciatingly slow to avoid making any sound.

Adam was making good timing, moving centimeter by centimeter away from the hunter when he saw him moving carefully forward toward his bush, sniffing the air. Shit! He was catching on. 

The hunter reached forward into the bush and pressed a large hand against the tree Adam had just been leaning on, his head tilting slightly as Adam waited just out of arm’s reach. Once the hunter moved forward into the bush, causing the branches and flowers to rustle, Adam moved out, the hunter’s hushed sounds of moving forward masking his own of moving back.

Adam glanced around to make sure that he and the hunter were still alone and saw that they were, and once he was sure he wouldn’t be snuck up on he hurried his pace, alternating between checking the ground and checking to see the hunter wasn’t about to move forward swiftly.

Suddenly the hunter came out of the bush and Adam moved to get around a tree, stopping there to rub his sweaty palms against the wood. The hunter was moving forward faster now, following Adam’s path exactly and Adam had to focus now on putting more distance between them. The hunter was far too close for comfort, and as he seemed to be a superior tracker than most, that meant Adam had to watch himself – and get his scent on everything.

Adam went to work on that, rubbing his wrists on everything he could, slowly working around a large circle around the bush. The hunter stayed ten steps behind Adam until the larger male realized that he had made a full circle and stopped to try and figure out what the game was, lowering his chin and frowning to think about what had just happened.

He was listening, and listening hard.

Adam took the opportunity to try and get as much distance between them as possible, focusing on the ground as he tip toed through the woods, trying to get his scent on everything as he zig zagged around, making another larger circle in the hopes that it would make things a bit harder for the hunter as the hunter slowly followed, careful to be absolutely silent as he tried to hear Adam’s equally silent steps.

As Adam was finishing his third larger circle Number Four abruptly stopped caring about being quiet. He was moving swiftly, tearing through the forest as he quickly tracked Adam’s steps. As soon as he was far enough away Adam changed tactics as well, focusing on getting as far away as he could, as fast as he could, and as quietly as he could without drawing the other’s attention.

Adam stopped occasionally to change direction, ever mindful of the direction of point B, which he was beginning to see as the better choice. He couldn’t hide from this one. The goal for a runner paired with a great tracker was to maintain a good distance at all times, the greater the better. Only problem was that this guy was fast. Like, real fast. He might have been as hilariously blind as all the others, but he made up for it with agility. How they could navigate without their eyesight, Adam would never know, but it never ceased to amaze him.

No matter how hard Adam tried, the hunter was always nearby, and that was enough to get him anxious. He had to keep his wits about him, but with someone as intimidating as Number Four, it was hard. This one was different, that Adam was sure of. There was no hesitation in his movement, no pausing to try and figure out where his prey had gone besides that one pause. This hunter knew where Adam had been and he was determined to follow Adam’s tracks.

Maybe it was all pretend, though – maybe that was Number Four’s special little talent. Maybe he was good at putting on an air of ease, like he wasn’t worried, like he wasn’t lost. Maybe he psyched out his opponents that way – because he sure as hell was psyching Adam out.

Adam usually didn’t panic, it wasn’t really in Adam’s nature, but he was beginning to now, and that was dangerous. If Adam panicked and got sloppy, It could cost him everything.

And Adam wasn’t about to let that happen.