Gina didn't really expect her arrow would take Katherine down. But she hoped it would at least cause some damage, enough for her to stop leading Daniel back to the town. What happened was not what she had been expecting, but at least it worked for something. And the arrow penetrating her hand after being shot and missing was due to sheer luck.

Her luck didn’t last long, though.

It took Gina a while to notice that they were dangerous close to being in public. Katherine wouldn’t call too much attention. At least not more than a girl with an arrow in her hand would. Daniel, for that matter, was a whole different case.

Gina felt her heart race, and her palms cold with sweat. She needed to act. Now or never. And it had to be now. “I’m so sorry”, she murmured, before preparing another arrow. This time, she didn’t aim at Katherine. She aimed at Daniel, and shot it as quickly as she possibly could, before she had a chance to change her mind.

Her brain had already calculated possibilities. She knew the arrow wouldn’t kill him - she had been careful to shoot somewhere non-vital, after all. But it would at the best case scenario be a distraction to give her time to lead him away. At the worst case scenario, it would anger him enough to dash after her. Either way, she hoped she could guarantee his safety, and the safety of the whole town, even at the expense of her own. “The needs of the many overweight the needs of one”, she whispered to herself.

Rationally, Gina possibly knew that she should have gone for a kill shot. Emotionally, though, she doubted her ability to do so. That beast there was still Daniel, after all. And Gina knew she would be unable to live with the idea that she had injured him seriously in the off chance that happened. The beast’s gaze made the young woman shudder a little. For an insane moment, Gina imagined that she would become the beast’s prey to make up for the lost one.

When the beast’s fur rose and it started moving in her direction, Gina swallowed hard. She bit her lower lip as the creature pulled out the arrow. That had to have hurt. As the arrowhead slipped from inside Daniel’s flesh, Gina watched the wound it had left behind. She nodded softly to herself. It seemed to have the right amount of silver to wound. Making a mental note that she would need more to kill, Gina sighed and tried to focus on the current situation. And it didn’t really seem like a good one.

It seemed like it wasn’t going to be her time just yet, though, as something distracted both the beast and herself. The sound broke her heart, but they couldn’t stay there. If they did, Lord knew what could happen. Maybe to her, nothing. But to him? Gina didn’t want to think about it. Taking a deep breath, she looked to the side of the creature and then held out a hand, pleading with it. “Please, follow me back to the forest”, she murmured, fear and tension pouring out of her and tainting her natural scent. “Please, you need to trust me and follow. Now”, she murmured, hoping the creature understood either her words or the urgency in her voice and taking a few steps back, waiting to see if she would be followed.