Adam was out of the clearing now, where it would be much easier to lose him. Pepper followed into the woods, trying to keep her eyes sharp, but it was hard in the low light with the leaves from the trees shadowing her path. Pepper found herself stepping on the twisted, mangled roots jutting up from the ground, which hurt something awful when she was in bare feet...

Now there was an idea.

After all, she'd been doing stage combat for the past two years, hadn't she? She reckoned it had to be good for something. The next root in her way she deliberately caught, turning as she fell so she landed on the fleshier parts of her back and behind. She was careful of where she landed too, made sure that she was crunching down on a good bit of underbrush so the sound was satisfying. In the end it seemed like she had hit the ground pretty hard. If she were lucky, he wouldn't expect. She'd never done it before to any of them, so maybe the element of surprise would be enough.

"Ow..." she said in a dazed voice, suggesting pain in the syllable as much as she possibly could. Come on, take the bate...