The bolt slammed against the chain with a crackle of energy that sizzled in the air. Nothing. At least it had not appeared as if anything had happened. The metal had been powerful indeed holding up two other bolts before breaking. By then though Palagus had arrived landing in the cobble stoned streets.

Claws clicked off the stone as it stalked down the town's street, head cocked back it inhaled the air as if scenting for food then saw her not too far off and instinctually flexed it's leathery wings.

Palagus had been a dragon! With a body nearly the length of two horses not counting it's thick powerful tail it's scale were a dull crimson in coloration while the inside of his mouth had been orange giving rise to Sharpe dagger-like teeth.

It took powerful blasts in order to break the chain. The village was well prepare to bind her for this occasion. Each bolt sounded her attempts to escape with a loud crash as dirt and dust fly everywhere. Finally with the chain broken, she could finally free herself and get out of here. Unfortunately, she was too late. Palagus had arrived.

Kanoe's eyes grew wide as the sight of the red dragon. She stumbled backwards, instincts telling her to run far away from it. It took several screams of her head to finally get her legs to move. The witch stood up on shaking knees as she ran in the opposite direction of the massive creature. She needed to get out of this open area and find a place to hide, preferably away from this village. But this was a dragon we were talking about. This thing was probably faster and no doubt stronger than her not to mention it had wings and could fly. The situation was looking more and more hopeless.

No one responded to the noise as it was clear that everyone expected something to happen and did not wish to be made an inadvertent victim. So she managed to free herself of her restraints, the chain shattered and pulled free of the loop on the ground.

But Palagus arrived. His eyes, a deep orange in color, cast themselves down towards her and just stared at her for a moment. That had been until she ran, which seemed to snap him out of his little stupor. Like a dog chasing a car he leapt up and took to the air, powerful wings beating on occasion, dispelling the air as he came forward towards her. Had she eased away slowly she might have faired better though the movement itself might have been a trigger.

This one was different. For starters she had not been sitting there for him to feast on her, though from the glint of metal still around her wrists it was safe to reason that she had broken her bounds some how.

He had been quick, not even braking a sweet as he rushed up to her, though he had not blasted her with fire from aloft, that had been something in her favor at least. He figured that there had been few places that she could go reasoning that the villagers would have their doors locked.

She would be set upon before she could make it to another settlement. Maybe, just maybe she could make it to a barn at the outskirts of town. He had not been too manuerable in flight, quick as she would tell given that she had been only 20' or so ahead of Palagus at the moment. Straight lines had been easy for him to zip down and make up time and distance ...

Kanoe ran as fast her bare feet could take her. A hand was used to keep her torn dress closed as she made her way towards whichever buildings were closest at the time. She knew that the villagers have left her to her fate and would just have to rely on the sharp corners and brief amounts of cover the houses provided against the pursuing flying dragon.

She did her best to escape the dragon's gaze by turning corners and staying under any over hanging roofs. There was no chance of escaping through running alone. The witch would have to rely on quick changes of direction as she gradually makes her way towards the only shelter available in the village.

It was going to take alot of luck and skill if she was to have even a sliver of a chance of getting out of this in intact. She doubts the dragon would let its prey go so easily. Kanoe's heart was pounding rapidly in her chest. Her body ached with hunger from fleeing first the castle, then the hunter, and now a fire breathing dragon. Things could not get much worse.

It had been quick, it's vision quite good like a bird's. He lost her from sight here and there and as she had zig zagged about the streets she lost the dragon for a time as it had to adjust and do long loops to cover the ground that had been lost to it.

She could spot it from time to time in the air.

It seemed to make a guess as where she was fleeing towards. He landed atop off a building, watched her run for a minute or two then took to the air again, landed on another roof and waited for a bit before taking to flight once again.

In this way he did not have to waist all that time correcting for her change in direction. Had he know more about the sociology of the critters he would be ran through options in his head ... churches, warehouses ...

But he did not deem it necessary to waist his energy when he did not have to so he let the little one run though he did not let her get to far ahead before pursing, landing and resting then pursuing again knowing that Kanoe would tire before long ...

It did not take much effort to notice the pattern in all this. The dragon was reading her direction and merely waiting for her ahead. So be it then. She continued running until she heard the familiar beating of wings. She then immediately ducked under an overhang and waited for it to fly by. The witch then ran in a different direction, moving in a sort of zig zag between the various houses to limit the things sight further when it finds out that it guessed wrong.

That still left the problem of getting to someplace to escape. But now she could move a bit slower, turning it into a game of hide and seek. Running frantically would only attack its attention. She was just going to have to be careful and try to evade its detection for the time being. When the dragon begins searching for her, she can try and make a wide roundabout route to the barn and try hiding there.

Her plan seemed to work, evading the gaze of the dragon for the time being by duck beneath an over hand. It landed and waited patiently for her to return to his sight but it had been a full 2 minutes or so before he grew suspicious.

He dropped down to the street level, using his wings to brake his fall. Empty. There had been no one or thing beneath the over hang causing him to hiss out in anger. He leapt up taking to the air as he circled about the city, keen eyes working as they searched her out.

And then he saw her, or rather a glimpse of her arm after what seemed like 5 more minutes or so of searching.

Landing near that spot to have a better look at things so that he would not miss her again he kept his distance as he crept along the cobblestone streets. He patiently bid his time as he shadowed her at a great distance, his eyes spotting her creep into a barn.

Waiting for a few minutes he sprang up into the air and flew towards the barn. He circled it at first towards the rear pf the building. Fortune seemed to on his side that he did so first since there was a small door to the rear of the barn, a door that he would have been hard pressed in getting though. That and most barns had not possessed rear exits.

Nearby had been a wagon that he easily moved to the door blocking it since it opened outward. He then circled back to the front of the barn, looked towards the city to ensure that his prey did not bolt from the barn then proceeded in as he clawed opened the door wide enough to get through.

Kanoe spent a few moments catching her breath once she entered the barn. She heard something being dragged infront of the door she entered from. The dragon had caught up quickly and was now working on trapping its prey. The sound of wood snapping filled the room as the beast proceeded to claw a new way into the building.

The witch was running out of options. She moved to one of the stalls filled with hay and made her way to the wooden wall. She channeled her dark magic, slamming a powerful bolt into the wall hoping it be enough to punch a large hole. Once the beast sounded like it was inside, she would then hide in a pile of hay making it look like she escaped through the hole she just made.

If she could not trick the beast, she could perhaps cast one final spell before the thing finally eats her. There was no place else to hide and it would no doubt catch her if she tried to make a break for it from this barn.

From outside the barn his head jerked up like a dog hearing a sound. Concentrating he listened before pawing opened the barn door. His claws clicking off the floor, sniffed at the air as if to get at her sent then scanned the interior of the building before making his way over to the hole in the wall.

It had been large enough for a person, not him of course, though he widened it by pulling at it's edges then poking his head through. He looked this way and that as if he had been searching for her, considering where she might flee to. He pulled his head out of the hole then pause as if he had been thinking.

Her scent had been strong here, his eyes scanned around him once more then focused on a portion of hay. He sniffed the air again, yes it had been her scent. He trotted over to this pile, looked for something that d could have deceived his senses like her gown cast aside but did not see that so prodded the hay with his tale while watching it.

The monster was now in the barn with her. It looked around a bit before it began to track her down by her scent. Kanoe's heart was pounding in her ears as she remained in the hay. The witch was nearly at the point of just shutting her eyes and wishing this was just some horrible nightmare. There was nothing else she could do now but remain perfectly still like a scared rabbit as the dragon's tail pokes and prods at the hay.

Her mana flared as she continued to channel. If nothing else she would make herself as less appetizing at possible. Alone with everyone and thing against her, magic was her only friend and protector. The witch held her breath as the beast continued to search for her. It was only a matter of time now.

After a moment it stopped, it's tail hitting something solid in the hay, a clawed hand swiping aside the hay to uncover that object as a grin stole over it's scaly features. It hissed softly, it's voice deep and low as it rumbled out of its chest.

"There's no way in hiding ... don't you know that I've won the state championship three years in a row now?"

He mused, obviously joking about that. His eyes blazed with want as his stomach churned in hunger. It had been anything but a brute. It had a language and it possessed intelligence. Furthermore there had not been any trace of an accent as he spoke given testimony to the fact that he did not possess one he must have been fairly familiar with the speak of the locals.

The woman gave a sharp gasp as the hay was blown aside. She glared at the creature as it gave its snide remark. Speaking or not, it does not matter to her. This thing was here to eat her and she was not about to sit by and let it happen.

Kanoe extended her palm out towards the dragon as she quickly chanted the words of magic. Wisps of shadow gather into a bolt and was quickly released in a blast towards the monster's head. It was doubtful her magic could make a dent in this mystical creature but it was all she had to work with. Knowing this would annoy the creature, she was already chanting another spell as she gathered another bolt in her hand. She was fighting for her life here and was not going to hold back due to fear.

Head snapping back from the force that slammed into him he had glanced upward at the ceiling momentarily until he had realigned the position of his head. He growled showing rows of sharp dagger sized teeth and saw the dark energy pooling up in her hands again.

He swatted at her with his tail as a horse would use there own to swat away flies. Now he could have used enough force to brake bones but pulled his punch so to speak, annoyed by the bolt that had been flung in it's face he had been playing with her like a cat does with a mouse before growing bored and just killing it.

Being hit was like a slap in it's face, his eyes narrowed as he glared at her with his eyes, he prepared to pounce to leap towards where ever it was that her body had landed.

His eyes danced over her body, whether it had been the fact that her gown had been torn opened in places revealing more of herself or the fact that he was just drinking in what he was going to feast on was anyone's guess, probably the later. He was a dragon after all, a different species altogether and possessing a different mind frame then your typical human ...

Kanoe cried out from the impact of the dragon's large claw. Her world turned upside down as the blow sent her off the ground and tumbling to the opposite side of the barn. The witch groaned in pain as she hit the earth a final time, half rolling to her side. Her torn dress hung loosely to her shoulder with majority of the fabric nowhere near her nude form. She was still shaky as she slowly rolled and tried to push herself up on her hands and knees.

The heavy steps of the dragon came closer. "Ugh..." she groaned against as she forced herself up onto her knees. Her entire body throbbed with pain from the blow and tumble she just endure. The world was still tilting as the witch struggled to regain her concentration. This thing was toying with her, playing with its food. Slowly, the woman tried to crawl away from the sounds of the beast's footsteps. She had to get away, escape somehow before it was too late.

It followed somewhere behind her as it landed heavily on the floor of the barn with a thud, the walls shook given the vibrations that it's landing caused. It had watched her attempt to crawl away following behind her slowly.

Then before she could get to far he had placed a clawed talon upon on of her shoulders, gripping her tight enough to halt her forward progression. But she could not see him now unless she had strained in doing so, another claw gripping the other shoulder while his long neck bent forward, a long reddish pink tongue coiled out of it's jaws to tickle against her shoulders before she heard a soft clicking sound, a moment later she felt something pressing between her thighs, the dragon growling softly as this happened.