People get scared by the unknown. They get extra scared when the unknown is very dangerous. So it is common sense for them to scatter when something unknown and dangerous kills a lot of them in the blink of an eye. They still don't relax after he is gone if they find out that it is the child of the plane that just wrought destruction among them. If he can creep up on them the first time, he can do it again.
The only time he has ever stopped is when he has to. That happened quite often. He would be running when all of a sudden, the world in front of him turns into a fiery inferno. It was always like a wall of fire suddenly appeared to block him. This wall reaches the limit of the sky and is entrenched deep into the rocky ground.
