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"Christ, Richard, get that light out of her eyes!"

The blinding glare vanished just as her eyes were dilating, leaving her absolutely unable to see in the dark. A large silhouette pointed his arc light at the ground between them, but Shou was shell shocked from the glare to see much. The first one had a midrange voice with a grind almost like gravel, and the second toted a deep bass that all but resonated in her bones.

"Sorry lass... you picked a hell of a night to go hiking."

Shou's thoughts spiraled, but through the chaotic mess of her mind, she could feel Kalokin guiding her ideas into a lie, a persona. She almost didn't notice it, and when she did, she was almost angry. It was a much more subtle form of mind control, but he wasn't forcing her thoughts... just highlighting certain ones, certain ideas. She'd almost managed to get her mind in order when one had spoken, so she stalled.

"H-huh?!"

Kalokin had used illusion to mask her face so that she looked more reptilian than serpentine, and though he'd molded his essence into clothing, she could feel the wind on his essence, and it felt just like being naked. She couldn't for the life of her fight down the blush at the fact that she was bare on her ass in front of the cops that were no doubt searching for her. A burst of panic tried to leap through her, but she stomped down on it, remaining firmly in control. Kalokin got tired of waiting for her eyes to adjust to the low light and adjusted them himself, focusing her vision into razor sharp clarity.

Focus Shou. You're a hiker out on the wrong night, enjoying sleeping beneath the bare stars with nothing more than your backpack.

The clear head and clearer eyes finally managed to give her a handle on the situation. Two policemen stood before her, bodies relaxed and faces concerned. The first who'd spoken was an armadillo, but both his teeth and his ears were just a little too sharp; He looked to be a chimera, a mixed blood. The other was a hedgehog of thinner build, but the spines bristling through his backless uniform still managed to make him threatening. He had an oddly dark coloration, almost black, but he'd streaked it with haphazard red stripes that were probably dyed on. He wasn't necessarily a chimera, but it was more likely than not; the police force was one of the few organizations that was well and truly equal opportunity, and a significant number of chimera relied on them for a paycheck.

Shou disjointedly realized that she was panting rapidly, more from the shock and the trickle of adrenaline than anything else. The Armadillo frowned as he looked her over, but his voice was friendly enough as he stepped forwards and offered her a hand.

"Sorry for scaring you, girl. There's supposed to be some black scaled monster hiding somewhere in the wildlife preserve, and Richard always gets a bit jumpy at night."

"Oy, fuck you too Carnegie! Spikes aren't very good armor against a bullet you know!"

Richard had a noticeably Irish tilt to his words, while Carnegie had a rather odd accent that she couldn't quite place. It had a kind of southern drawl to it, but he didn't sound like a full blooded southern Texan. Scottish perhaps?

"Cool it Richard, I was only havin' fun. Seems only fair after you blinded the poor girl. Here, let's get you up."

His hand felt unusually warm as it clasped around hers, just as the night felt unusually cool. A side effect of her transformation? She let him haul her to her feet, surprised to feel a dragging on her back like a backpack would have given. A look over her shoulder confirmed that she appeared to have a full pack; Kalokin did good work. Carnegie spoke again as she dusted herself off.

"We're on a manhunt of sorts; some wolf girl named Shouyousei went missing up in these woods. 'tis tragic, but it wouldn't be the first time someone twisted their ankle and fell from a cliff. About a day after she was last seen, Jackie Blue Jay found one of the entrances to the tunnel networks and came back with footage of some kind of black Naga in the caverns. He looked like a nasty customer... was dripping with blood, sounded like he was eating something in the darkness. HQ put two and two together and got six, meaning we get to spend all night chasing after a fairy tale."

Richard elbowed him, interjecting before Shou could speak.

"He is not! My brother saw him when he first appeared, a Naga as black as the night sky! He was wrapped in smoke and stank like old death... poor sot had nightmares for a week after looking into his red eyes."

Carnegie rolled his eyes; apparently this was an old argument between them.

"They ain't finding anything in those caves, mark my words, all it means to me is overtime. Anyways, what did you say your name was, Ma'am?"

"M-Marilyn... Mary for short. I'm sorry, I didn't know; I was just going camping, enjoying the weather."

Richard huffed and gave her a crooked glance.

"Without a tent? Walking around in full gear in the middle of the night?"

Kalokin fed her words, shadowing her mind so that nothing else existed for a moment. He suppressed her thoughts and she repeated what he said, believing him.

"Tent's rolled up in the pack. I got up an hour or three ago and went to relieve myself, but I thought I saw something staring at me from the underbrush. It was gone when I grabbed a flashlight, but all the same, I thought I should cut my trip short. I was just walking back to my car."

Richard opened his mouth to disagree, but something blue and black flashed behind his eyes, and he swallowed whatever he'd been about to say. His eyes lost focus for a moment, until he shook his head.

"Right then... we'd better get back on patrol then, tourist parking isn't but another ten minutes away. Off we go then, Carnegie?"

The armored man looked between Shou and Richard, mouth half open with a teasing of a question on the edge of his mind. He almost felt like someone was pulling a fast one on him; something was wrong about the scene. Nevertheless, the chimera standing before them very clearly wasn't the wolf they were looking for, and even if she was lying, he didn't see it as any of his business.

"Right then... Have a care for yourself, girl, and keep your flashlight on! Don't want to spook anyone else, we're not the only pair here."

That was surprisingly easy; she hadn't even needed any theatrics. They wandered off, and she set her feet towards her car. She knew she could communicate with Kalo without speaking, but at the same time, saying the words aloud made her feel less insane. She whispered them softly though, so nobody caught her talking to herself.

"Kalokin, that was too easy... what did you do?"

I'm the best trickster you'll ever meet, and you question how I misdirected a couple goons? Carnegie's mind was strong enough to resist me, but Richard wasn't. I steered his mind like a tethered animal. Carnegie was a bit harder to fool, but I whispered soft thoughts into his mind and convinced him of the lie. I've done harder things with less time.

"I didn't need your help... I could have handled it."

That's... actually, you probably could have. I'm not much of a gambler though. You did pleasant well though, where'd you learn to act like that?

"I'm a ballerina. When I dance, it isn't just pretty. It's a story. I have to know how to use my body, my expression... my everything to convey what words can't. You learn to be a very good liar."

You were stunningly beautiful when you danced for us. You entire body and soul lived for the music that only you could hear. Oh, Khaesho sends his love, by the way. He's off the mountain and heading northwest, towards the highway. He's well fed, well rested, safe, and far from the coppers. He's out of danger, but you're not out of the woods yet. I know how to do things, but this is your world now, and I don't know what needs to be done next. What's the plan?

Shou couldn't help but notice that the admission that he needed her help deciding what to do hurt his pride a little. If she didn't think too hard, she could feel his mind, his emotions, hovering just slightly behind hers. Peering deeper, she saw thousands of thoughts scattering in different directions. Just seeing the activity made her head spin, and she stopped to lean against a tree to catch her breath.

I'm not opposed to you looking at my mind, but for your own sake, I think it's better that you not do that. Focus. Plan.

"We need to get back to my apartment... I can't just fly to the wind without even clothes on my back. I need money, clothes, a car-" and then what? What would become of her life?

All things we can get. One step at a time.

They got to the parking lot where hikers and tourists parked to walk up into the reserve. Unsurprisingly, it was filled to the brim with cop cars.

Sweet father of the earth... well, at least our choice is simple. Feel like breaking a few laws?

"Just get a door open. Should be a slider on the inside that locks it."

A glowing hand appeared inside the nearest car and waved at her. With contemptuous ease, it slid the lock undone and opened the door for her.

Stealing things isn't hard. The hard part is not stealing more than you need. Give me a moment, and I can figure out how these things-

"No need."

She slid upside down underneath the steering column and gently pulled a panel off to display the fuse box. She used her claws to uninstall the fuse box, revealing the wires behind it. She found the ignition wire, then one of the wires that went to the currently lit dome lights. A swift swipe severed the wire, plunging her into darkness, while a gentle cut nicked the ignition wire down to the copper. She pushed the "hot" wire against the ignition, then smiled as the car growled, then leapt to life.

Yanno, I have the sneaking suspicion that what you just did isn't the standard, safe, legal way to start one of these things.

"It's called hot wiring, and yes, it is illegal."

Crooked bones of the earth, Khaesho knows how to pick 'em. Let's make tracks.

Shou casually drove out of the park and down the road towards town. Every sense she had felt razor sharp; every sight gilded, every sound amplified. Now that she was calming down, she got to appreciate the fact that she was reacting to things almost before they happened.

You're welcome for that by the way. I know that you have rules and laws, but aren't law enforcers exempt to most of those?

"What's your point?"

We're driving a cop car.

She realized his point and grinned wickedly and reached for the sirens. The lights flashed and the noise screamed out a warning, ordering the cars ahead of her to move out of the way. She stomped on the gas and blazed through the streets, laughing madness to the dark moon every inch of the way.