If he hadn't been busy running for his life, Blank would have buried his face in his hands. "The [i]plan[/i]," he said with exasperation, "was for me to distract this thing while you and the others run and hide, so I could meet up with you later. You chasing after me is exactly the opposite of what you were supposed to do, and now it's too late for you to go back." He stopped for a moment to find and launch another rock at the creature, making sure it didn't lose interest in him. Even if Nikki was following him, the other two could still find safety.

"There's almost no chance I can fight this thing." He said as he started running again. "It [i]flies[/i] Nikki, and I don't have a bow with me. If it landed, I might have a chance, but it doesn't need to be anywhere near me to kill me. In an ideal world, this thing is powerful but stupid, and won't realize that. More likely my best chance to escape it was being alone." He stayed silent for a while then, focusing on the ground in front of him and trying to think of a new plan.

"Just keep running," he said eventually. "Once we lead it away from Sera and Blin, it might eventually decide to find easier prey."