the actual chase was by far his favorite part of this whole game, but it was all the toying with his victim he got to do beforehand that really made it all the more satisfying. most things were like sex, he'd found. it felt good to rush straight to the best part and exhaust yourself going all in from the jump, and there were times where he got carried away and simply bulldozed through to the finish line as fast as he could, but for the most part, he did try and take his time when he was able, savoring each new catch for all they were worth. of course, some folks the mcdermotts brought in just didn't have the stamina to keep up with them, and it was always bittersweet bringing things to their climax before he'd gotten his fix, but there were always more fish in the sea. more pigs in the woods, too. though he wouldn't necessarily describe it as such, he was proud of effie. her resilience was something to be applauded, making her all the more perfect to toy with like this, and he could only hope they could make it last. once her head start had ended and it was time for him to take off after her, duncan had to make a conscious effort to pace himself, slowing his sprint to a brisk gallop after several yards, both to prolong the chase, and to put more of his focus on tracking her. his senses were sharply trained to pick up on the smallest of details within a split second, honed from years of hunting game with his father, and then eventually the family patriarch taught he and his siblings to utilize those same skills to hunt a more entertaining form of prey. freshly trodden down leaves, broken branches, disturbed foliage— they were all things that might've gone overlooked by the untrained eye, but he clocked them immediately, following the little trail of clues effie had inadvertently left behind in her haste to put as much distance between them as possible. "hereeee, pig, pig, pig," he hollered into the woods that stretched out before him. from his gleeful tone, you'd think they were engaged in nothing more than a lighthearted game of hide and seek, and for him, it certainly was a game. one she had no chance of winning, but he sincerely hoped she'd try, just to make things more interesting for him. after only a minute or so of weaving through trees and carefully dodging gnarled roots, the sound of snapping twigs and rustling brush in the near distance ceased, and duncan slowed all the way down so he could strain to hear any sort of noise that was out of the ordinary. the tracks she'd left behind had veered off towards a thicket of trees, and so he followed suit, his own movements slow and quiet, barely creeping along like a tiger stalking its prey. he had to be more careful now, as he figured the relative silence meant that she had decided hiding was her best bet, and that meant he had to slow down and keep his eyes peeled. luckily for him, the heavy amount of foliage meant that it would be difficult to traverse through the area without trodding over plants and fallen leaves, leaving behind an even more clear trail to follow than before. all he had to do was take his time, and there's no way he could miss her. after following the tracks for a few yards, they inevitably led to a particularly large tree, duncan's lips curling up at the edges as he approached it slowly. "lil' pig, lil' pig, let me in... " he called out, closing the space until he was stood just on the other side of the tree's huge trunk. "or i'll huff, and i'll puff, 'til i blow your house in!" if he really wanted to, he could've caught her by now. hell, if he'd wanted an easy catch, he wouldn't have set her free in the first place. what duncan was really interested in was the struggle for survival in whatever form her instincts chose to take, and he wanted to give her plenty of opportunities to try and fight for her life. @prophvtics