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“In my bag, yeah,” Vaughn called back. He walked carefully around towards the back, keeping low. He slid reached around, shifting through his duffel bag. He pulled out a long, clean looking rifle. He snapped the cartridge into place, loading the gun. He quickly jerked his arm away as a bullet flew by him. “This should work.”
Waving to get Avery's attention, Dylan made a little hopping motion with his hands, then pointed at her. He pointed towards the hood of the truck.
(Distraction. Up front.)
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Seeing Dylan's gestures, Avery nodded and started to change shape. After a moment, she was completely shifted into a large, silver lioness with golden eyes. Giving both of the guys a look, she said, "Don't do anything stupid while I'm out there," and moved to the front of the truck.
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“Do you see any of the shooters?” Vaughn asked Dylan, not having too good of a view from where he was.
A round whizzed past Avery's ear three full seconds after she left cover. Then another as she ducked back (Because I imagine she's smart enough to do that.)
Dylan counted out three more seconds, then noted with satisfaction that he had the timing down. The sniper was keeping Avery pinned, and he had a rhythm. Dylan gave Vaughn a thumbs-up.
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"You know, the longer I stand out here–" Avery ducked again, dodging another bullet that nearly grazed the top of her head. "–the more likely I am to get hit. So whatever you're going to do, could you do it quickly?!?"
Dylan raised a shadow shield in front of Avery, attempting to give her some respite. "Vaughn! Take the shot!" he shouted over his shoulder.
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Vaughn crouched down, using the side of the truck for a bit of cover. He looked through the sight, one eye closed as he spotted a man on top of a hill. After taking aim, he fired two shots, the man jerking back and falling to the ground. “Got him!”
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Avery let out a relieved breath as the shadow formed in front of her, and as soon as she heard Vaughn's shout, she shifted back into herself.
"That had better be it," she said.
"Don't kid yourself, Avery," Dylan said with a cheery smile, "We've got such a big following, I'm surprised we didn't meet this sucker sooner. Ah, well."
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"Maybe I should scout ahead. Check for anyone else like him," Avery suggested.
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“You are going to get shot if you go off alone,” Vaughn called back to Avery from where he was putting the rifle away.
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Avery stood up and walked around to the passenger side of the truck.
"Well, if I get shot at least you'll know someone's there," she joked with a small smile.
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“Very funny,” Vaughn responded, chuckling low to himself as he slowly shook his head.
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(Bumping.)
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(Bumping.)
Dylan was up and moving to intercept Avery the moment she opened her mouth. He gently blocked her path with a line.
"No, it's not funny. I'll go."
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"What? No. I can go," Avery argued, shaking her head. "I can shapeshift into something inconspicuous and check around."
"Avery, you think they're flying blind here? For all we know, they're taking out all the animals in the forest because they already know what you can do." Dylan shook his head, trying to keep resolve in his voice, "No. It's too risky, and I… we can't afford to lose you."
With that, he turned to leave.
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Avery stood, rooted to the spot at Dylan's words. Did he really think they'd be killing all the animals around them? Just to get to her?
He stuttered.
Yeah, Aves, he did. You already know he cares about you.
But…
But, what? He cares about you.
I can't think about that right now! I've got a mission to deal with!
Shaking her head to clear it of her raging, confusing thoughts, she reached out and grabbed Dylan's arm to stop him.
"No. Dylan, no. Seriously, I can do this! I know what I'm doing. I've had these powers for almost two years now! And before you tell me you've had yours for longer, how long have you been using them to save people?" she asked. Her eyebrows were scrunched down, but not from anger, it was more like concern.
Dylan froze when he felt Avery's hand take his arm. He turned to face her, about to explain why he wanted to go rather than her. He stopped short.
Am I really going to let her get killed? She can take care of herself. I've seen her. She doesn't need me over her shoulder every second. But am I willing to take that risk?
Slowly, Dylan relaxed and stepped aside. As Avery began to pass him he stopped her, "So much as a stray round, you hop back here. Ok? For my sake."
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"Yeah," Avery agreed softly, nodding. "Trust me, I won't get hurt. Not when I've got a mission to do and people to live for."
She gave Dylan a small smile before reaching into a pocket and pulling out her mask. After making sure it was on tightly, she started to shift back into a lioness. What better animal to prowl around the African desert than one that lived there?
Once she was fully changed, she ran ahead.
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(Bumping.)
Dylan watched her go, tight-lipped. The urge to just run after her was overwhelming, but he did his best to keep his feet planted.
"Vaughn?" He called, not looking away from the road Avery had gone down, "What sort of damage did he do to the truck?"
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“Few dents on the outside of it, and I’m pretty sure there are some big cracks on the windshield, but it should be drivable,” Vaughn called back to Dylan, walking around to the front of it to look over the windshield.
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Avery stalked through the tall, tan grass and sparse trees. Her ears twitched at every sound, every piece of grass that cracked beneath her large, padded paws. She could hear heartbeats of the animals around her, but she forced herself to ignore them. She had to ignore the instinct to hunt, and simply stick to her plan: scouting ahead to make sure it was safe.
Something snapped to her left, and she froze, dropping down onto her stomach. She peered through the stalks of grass, looking for whatever (or whomever) had made the sound. An antelope jumped past her, and she let out a sigh of relief, getting back to her feet.
A loud crack sounded through the air, and a bullet grazed her side. She shouted in shock and pain, though it sounded more like a roar. She changed back and collapsed on the ground, holding a hand to the place the bullet had grazed her.
(How far did she get?)
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(A few hundred feet? Idk, exactly. Far enough that she wouldn't be immediately visible to Vaughn and Dylan, but close enough that they would hear her.)
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(Bumping.)
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Vaughn tensed when he heard a gun shot, then a roar. “Dylan, I think that was Avery. Come on,” he said quickly, taking off in the direction she had gone, gun in hand.
