Ian couldn't tell where the presence was coming from so he looked around to see if anything was near. A cold sweat started forming on his forehead. Whatever was looking at him was too far for him to see.
After a few seconds, Ian could tell that whatever was looking at him was not giving off bloodlust. It wasn't even giving off a threatening aura. Ian stopped looking around and focused on finding the direction he was being seen from.
Eventually, he determined the presence was coming from the direction he came from. He turned to face that direction and began to run towards it.
Kevin was over 100 meters away. When he saw Ian turn in his general direction, he said to himself, "Damnit, he noticed me. How does he do that?"
Ian may have known what direction Kevin was in, but he did not realize that it was Kevin who was spying on him. Even so, Ian bolted towards Kevin's location.
Kevin didn't want to get caught snooping around so he too started running. He ran at top speed to get away. But little did he know that Ian was slowly closing in.
Kevin must have forgotten, but the forest is Ian's natural turf. Ian specializes in hunting and fighting in the forest terrain. Because of that, Ian had special skills which he developed in the forest. A few of them allowed him to travel faster.
In the past, Ian wouldn't be able to keep up with Kevin or Emmett. But now that he had his gauntlets, he was closer to their power than before. Even so, Ian was not as fast as Kevin or Emmett, at least if they were on even terrain.
However, this was Ian's turf, and if Kevin hoped to escape, then he had to run at top speed. But Ian was already behind him. Kevin turned to see how close Ian was only to see something frightening.
Ian was hopping, swinging, and bouncing off different trees, rocks, and other pieces of terrain. He moved like a wild animal. It was so effortless the way he moved.
After a few minutes, Ian fully caught up with Kevin and pounced on him. Kevin had no hope of dodging Ian so he just accepted his fate.
When Ian landed on him, he pulled out a dagger and placed it against Kevin's neck. Ian hadn't even noticed who he had captured. It wasn't until Kevin said, "I give, I give. You win, Okay?" that Ian noticed who it was.
When Ian finally realized who it was, he asked, "Kevin? What are you doing here?"
"I came to see what you were doing. I saw you go into the forest after you dropped off your last load and so I followed you," Kevin said.
Ian looked angry and said, "Why did you think that was a good Idea? You know I like going into the woods by myself every once in a while."
Kevin slowly pushed away Ian's dagger with one finger and said, "Well, I thought you were going to meet up with us after your last load but I guess not."
Ian got off of Kevin, put his dagger away, and said, "Next time, don't follow me. I have my own things to do that I don't want others getting involved with."
Kevin stood up, dusted his clothes, and said, "Well, you should be better at sneaking around."
Ian gave Kevin a very tired yet annoyed look. But Kevin had a point. Ian should have been more careful when he went into the forest.
"I saw your little hideout. What are you doing out here anyway?" Kevin asked.
"I was dropping some stuff off at my hideout. But it's not much of a hideout now that you found it," Ian said.
Kevin gave Ian a suspicious look and said, "Is that so?"
Kevin and Ian didn't say anything. They stared at each other for a few seconds. After a while, Kevin said, "You're hiding something else. Even If I found your hideout, you would try to deny it ever existed. The fact that you're telling me it exists means there's something else."
Ian was going to say something but before he got a chance, Kevin bolted towards the hideout. Ian followed soon after.
The two of them ran at top speed but Ian was slower. Knowing that, Ian began to use the terrain to boost himself forward. Kevin turned around for a brief moment only to see Ian once again bouncing and swinging around to catch up with him.
However, Kevin wasn't going to let himself get captured like that again. He yelled out loud, "You may be faster than before but there is still one thing that separates us apart."
Ian heard what Kevin said and asked, "And what would that be?"
Upon hearing Ian's question, Kevin said, "You have speed and strength, but you still can't use elemental abilities." Afterwards, Kevin blasted himself forward using his wind abilities.
The gap between them started to get bigger now that Kevin used his element. If Ian didn't do something, Kevin would beat him back to the hideout. He didn't want Kevin to find the black pup, but at this time, there was nothing he could do.
Suddenly, Ian got an idea. He looked around for a long vine. When he spotted one, he grabbed it off of its tree and began to tie it to the handle of his dagger.
Once it was secured, Ian threw the dagger into the air. Afterwards, he pushed himself off a tree with all his might, making sure he timed it perfectly so the dagger would be in front of him when he bounced off the tree.
When the dagger fell in front of him, he roundhouse-kicked it towards Kevin. The momentum from him pushing himself off a tree plus the power he put into his roundhouse kick was enough to send the dagger flying towards Kevin at faster speeds.
Kevin saw the dagger come towards him so he dodged the incoming attack. However, Ian wasn't aiming for Kevin.
When Kevin dodged the attack, the dagger continued forward into a tree. After the dagger landed in the tree, Ian pulled the other end of the vine so it would stick out straight.
Kevin finally realized what Ian was doing but he was too late. Kevin tripped over the vine crashing into the ground. He tried to get up but Ian had already caught up to him.
Ian stood next to him with an angry face. He was not going to let this slide so easily. He grabbed Kevin by the collar of his shirt and stuck him onto a tree with his dagger. Then he proceeded to tie him up with the vine.
"For someone who's very perceptive, you never seem to notice a trap until it hits you," Ian said
"I'm good with emotions, not other things. That's why I can tell when someone is hiding something, Ian," Kevin emphasized.
As Ian continued to tie Kevin up, Kevin said, "You know this won't be enough to hold, right?"
"I know. I just want you to stay here long enough for me to explain," Ian said.
Kevin was going to say something, but when he saw Ian's face, he knew Ian was being serious. This was not the same type of serious as when he was fighting or cooking. This was the type of seriousness some would have when they were about to say something important.
Once Ian finished tying Kevin up, he sat down in front of him and said, "Kevin, I need to be honest with you. The reason I don't want you going to my hideout is because there is something there that would upset you. I'm not ready to show you what it is since it could jeopardize our friendship. However, if you insist on seeing it, I will show you. But I just want you to promise that you won't act up and attack."
Kevin took a moment to process what Ian told him. He didn't know what to expect if he chose to go see. The fact it could ruin their friendship made Kevin hesitant.
After a few seconds of thinking, Kevin said, "Okay, I promise not to overreact."
After Kevin said that, Ian stood up and said, "Follow me," before heading towards the hideout.
As Ian walked away, Kevin yelled out, "Hey, you could at least untie me."
Ian didn't turn to face Kevin. Instead, he continued walking forward, waved one hand in the air, and said, "Didn't you say you could get out of those easily."
Kevin had an annoyed look on his face. He could get out of his restraints but he didn't want to use his power to free himself.
Seeing Ian get further and further away and not turn back to get him, Kevin finally decided to free himself. He stretched his arms out to expand the vines. However, Ian tied him up too tightly, making him use more strength than usual. Eventually, Kevin burst out of his restraints and ran to catch up with Ian.
It didn't take long for Kevin to catch up with Ian. But once he did, he saw they were standing in front of the tree that stood above Ian's hideout.
Ian turned to Kevin once more and said, "I can't emphasize just how much I need you to stay calm so please try not to overreact."
Kevin did not say anything. He just shook his head and followed Ian into the hideout.
Seeing that Kevin agreed with him, Ian jumped down into the hideout to show the way. Shortly after Kevin jumped down but missed the landing, so he fell on his ass.
When Kevin stood up he was surprised to see how empty the hideout was. He expected to find a bunch of random loot and materials Ian may have collected over time. But all he saw was a small pile of clothes on the ground.
Ian saw the disappointment on Kevin's face and said, "To tell you the truth, I just found this place and was going to turn it into a hideout. But then you had to go and follow me. So much for keeping this to myself."
"Okay, so I understand that you didn't want me to find your hideout. However, THERE IS NOTHING HERE!" Kevin let out his frustrations. He thought that if Ian was willing to fight him to stop him from reaching the hideout, then there must have been something important or valuable there. But seeing as there was nothing, he thought it was weird for Ian to try and stop him from reaching the hideout.
Ian understood Kevin's frustration and was going to say something, but before he could get a chance, the pile of clothes began to move. Kevin immediately noticed the movement and turned to face the pile of clothes.
"Ian, what is that?" Kevin asked as his guard went up.
Ian placed a hand on Kevin's shoulder and said, "That is the thing I didn't want you to worry about. Now I need you to calm down and let me explain."
Kevin did as Ian told him and exited his fighting stance. He watched carefully as Ian walked over to the pile of clothes, preparing for whatever came next.
Once he was in front of the pile of clothes, Ian removed the shirt on top of the pile, revealing the black pup. He slowly picked it up and turned to show it to Kevin.
Kevin was a bit confused at first. He wasn't sure what to make of what Ian was showing him. He looked at the black pup trying to figure out why he would freak out after seeing it.
Ian saw the confusion on Kevin's face and said, "I guess without context you wouldn't freak out." Ian took a deep breath before saying, "Remember how my dad told me to kill all of the pups we found in the cave? Well…"
Kevin looked like he just woke up. His brain seemed to be buffering as he processed the information he was told. Once it all finally clicked, he said, "Wait, so does that… you mean to tell me… Ian… this isn't a very fun joke." Kevin's face became serious at the end.