[ he manages to wrench out of his grip and escape. it's slow to recover from being thrown off, and he manages to get some distance as he goes deeper into the forest, where the leaf-cover becomes so thick that it gets dark, and there are a lot more roots and probably ivy and bushes and stuff underfoot. it makes it hard to run. if he looks behind him, he can still make out enough to discern thdir figure pursuing him, less deterred by the uneven ground given the fact that it's floating

and if he looks back ahead of him oh god there's another one ]