"He is not stopping for less than a minute to get us. First let's get out of the way by looking at the tracks, but that won't be enough. We don't know which ones are the tracks that we have made. Please help us think."
"Now what should we do?"
Before answering, they observed the tracks that showed as steps of the animal, and tried to identify which were theirs and which were of the others. There were many tracks with different directions, but none of them seemed to appear again soon. With the help of the raven's eyes, they could easily understand which were their footprints beside them or behind them. Now they had to do something to pass the tracks made by the animal. They had to mimic those tracks.
"We have to make a straight line to the second one, by following the animal's footsteps. You should follow those that are behind you. And that one is very short and belongs to you"
"Are you ready?"
They were all ready. Put their backs to that scratch of the earth, and began to make the steps of the creature. However, they had to do it carefully so that they didn't lose too much distance from the animal. The steps were short, but they didn't want to get separated by that fifteen meters of forest. If they were one by one, they would have no problem. But if the animal was going to follow them from far away, they would surely get lost in that forest.
"So far, so good. Beginning to walk... but what a surprise! "
As the animal was approaching, the instant he made the figure of his standing, right in front of them, they could see his shadow among the bushes, as it was the one that was leading him. Then, the other one was walking right in front of them.
"Look at these tracks! They are not ours! They are the same as the animal's. We must find a way out of here, right away."
The animal didn't listen to what was being said, and continued to proceed. It had to get through the fear those humans had, for they were entering his area of influence, so there were many things that could happen to them. However, what he was doing was not wrong. He didn't know they were humans walking by, and his only goal was to take the other one out from here with them. And that it would not have the agility of an animal was a detail. For he was strong enough to carry them both back to their nests... even if it would make a little burden out of his weight, and some more power out of him as he had to carry them up. But he knew how to do that. Such things were done all the time.
"Why are we still walking like this?"
"I have no idea. This is so strange. I'm sure they will cross in a few steps."
The animal, upon noticing them, sounded a warning, but only for a fraction of a second. He needed to watch them carry on, by going away from him, and coming back. Time would tell. He would see that they were worthy enemies, serious enough for him to take the occasion of them having escaped their cages to seize them. And being able to carry the other one with them was already enough. He didn't believe in the possibility of being able to take on those two creatures... in the end...
"My feet are hurting. I can't walk anymore"
"Try to carry us with your feet"
"There is no need to do that. We are to be carried by the animal!"
"It's worth trying."
And so they did. For they didn't want to spend their time looking ahead at the creature, they just tried to hold it, hoping not to be caught by the claws of the animal. Now they tried to come across the other one as quickly as possible. It was still a long time before they would pass. Fortunately, the ground was also soft and flat here, and they began to walk very quickly, towards the animal.
"We are almost there. Keep your eyes open, we are arriving soon. We don't have much further to go."
The other one, getting closer and closer, decided to observe them for a while every time they were about to cross his shadow. He wanted to avoid getting caught by them by chance, and so he was always on the lookout. But it was too late. The two creatures managed to escape. With the relief of having passed the other one, they began to tell him what they learned. They could already partly see the outline of that thing. Its shape was odd, as if an enormous star had been placed on the earth and exploded there when the animal was passing it. It reminded them of the pictures they had seen of burning stars.
"What will happen?"
"We have to go. His shadow is following us."
The animal walked as quickly as possible towards them. With that first sight, they had felt a little worried, but with a moment later, they were relieved, and they began to believe again that they would be saved.
"But now we are going to have a problem"
"What?"
"The shadow is following us. He has caught us."
However, the animal understood that the thing was leading them. So he didn't feel scared, or worried. He kept on walking forward. He knew that the two creatures were going to learn the path by jumping and scouring the plain. Not by using their eyes.
"What are you waiting for? What are you looking for? "
"Don't worry. Let's wait. We're safe with the animal"
As the animal said, they stayed still, letting the other one come by. The same thing which they had done with the one, and which had been the other's only wrong move, which would have been enough to leave them where they were if they had caught them. The animal liked to watch them. It was something that he didn't waste anytime doing. He was an intelligent animal, and his life would depend on his successful planning, which was a delicate problem that he had to take care of. He imagined what they were feeling, watching them so close. The two creatures were afraid of that, and they didn't even dare to look at him. The animal, to keep them in his sight, had to make them perceive what they were doing, and after that, they would learn to accept it.
And finally, the moment of success arrived. The animal could see the two creatures that were waiting for him. Sooner or later, they would have to rely on their eyes to see him. Although they were not looking at him, they were listening to him walk by, in the grass. After hearing that noise, they would look around. After that, they would wait for him to come by, with his feet stamping on the ground as he stood on his legs. And they would also wait for him to pass.
And after he passed, they would be free. But the animal didn't want that to happen. That's why he was telling them to go with him, much faster. It was the only way of getting out of the situation.
"Now we're lost!"
"Not yet. Keep your eyes open headstrong."
"This place looks nice. I don't think we're lost."
They were getting excited. They were getting too excited for it not being their first time. Their feelings were getting different from first, when they could see the tracks of the animal with the lights of the sun. And now, they could see how the sunlight was descending from the sky, touching the earth. And they could appreciate the azure sky, which was a something peculiar and totally different from what they had become accustomed to.
"Just keep your eyes open, and enjoy the moment. With our new freedom, we have a lot more chances of returning home.
