Anya shook her head slightly, trying again to calm herself. She didn't know why she was so scared... it was strange. She should feel comforted to have Sage with her, someone who had the slightest idea of how to deal with this. But she didn't want him getting hurt just so she could go home again. If she was right, and these people wanted money, and she had gotten caught, then she would go with them willingly. It would save unnecessary bloodshed. She tilted her head at him for a moment. What an odd question. It took a moment or so for her to realize that was an opening to get away. "Oh... Yeah, I've kind of figured it out." She shrugged slightly, pursing her lips as the sound of footsteps started up again.

Sage grunted and jerked his head in the direction of the road ahead of them. "Then let's see it," he told her and started to jog slowly. After a few places, they were out of range enough for him to mutter "Breathe in through your nose and out with your mouth. Slowly and keep it steady. You can keep up a faster pace for longer than way. Keep your steps smooth and steady too. Don't lurch around, it used more energy." He knew the people following them couldn't hear that, so it was fine to say. They had picked up the pace again, though, and while they were still following them, they were slower, a bit more cautious about what the two teens would do.

Anya nodded slightly and tried to do as he said. In truth, she had never been very athletic. Sure, she was quick enough for someone whose most exercise was walking up and down a few sets of stairs every day, but her breathing proved to become an issue the longer she ran. Despite breathing as instructed, she began to feel that she couldn't take in a full, deep breath. Like her breathing hitched and was getting left behind. It made her panic a little more, feeling as though she couldn't get enough air in. Due to this, her steps shortened and lowed, causing her to fall back a little. She just tried to keep herself moving... she wasn't sure if they were going to go along some sort of alternate route to get to the castle and lose them, or if they were just going to go straight there. One thing for sure, she didn't want to lead them right to the tunnel, where they would be able to sneak in easily.

Sage noticed Anya was tiring, so he slowed down slightly, though he didn't drop back to a walk quite yet. He wanted to get into a clearing where they could clearly see their attackers coming. They were almost there, she could stop running soon. But for now, she had to keep running. He heasitated a step to fall in line next to her and reached an arm out so his forearm touched her stomach lightly. "Expand your chest, not your abdomen. Keep your abdomen tight and it'll help. Not much longer and then we can walk." He knew she probably wanted to stop sooner rather than later, so he would only make her run to the field. They could figure out how to get away from there. He figured she wouldn't want to go straight back to the tunnel...if the people following them knew where the secret entrance to the castle was they would do all sorts of harm.

The girl nodded, although in her moment of excessive panic she had grabbed ahold of his upper arm, almost as though she was trying to stabilize herself as she caught her breath again. It felt like her legs would collapse under her... like she wasn't even using them anymore. She didn't reply to his help... she couldn't. Talking, about it would waste whatever breath she could take in. They hadn't been running long, but they had for sure been running hard. She had never thought running required any skill, but this proved her wrong. It was almost embarrassing. Like she didn't know how to breathe. She was having someone teach her how to do it. God, she was useless. Eventually, though, she managed to figure out what he meant, and her breathing started to level out again, meaning that more oxygen was getting around her body and her steps finally got a little stronger again, though they had just entered a small clearing by then.

Sage was a bit surprised when she had grabbed a hold of him, but let her use him for support as they ran....he knew she wasn't used to this. When they got to the clearing he kept her jogging until the middle of the clearing and then stopped. He pushed her forward, though. "Keep walking or your muscles will sieze up and cramp," he instructed her. "And put your hand above your head so your chest stays open and you can catch your breath." He showed her what he meant by that before gesturing for her to start walking. "Go in circles or pace somewhere nearby. But no more than ten feet away from me." He scanned the forest for signs of the people chasing them. They could leave, but Anya was tired, and they would catch up to them. No, better to stay here and deal with them directly. She had figured the whole running thing out, though, and that would serve her well.

Once they stopped, Anya's first reaction was to stop and hunch over on her knees. She felt sick. Physically sick. She started to get her breath back towards the end of their little run, but now she was thinking about it more. The thought that she couldn't breathe, had made her spiral more than what was necessary. She knew it wasn't particularly helpful for her to have grabbed ahold of Sage, for if she had tripped or something he would have gone down with her, but on the same hand, she probably wouldn't have made it to the clearing at all if she hadn't. The girl put her hands on the back of her head as instructed, trying to slow her breathing down a little. At some point, she had started to cough, though, she had tried to stifle them so as not to be another cause for concern. She glanced up to Sage, trying to keep her walking going for another few minutes. "Sorry," she croaked, her voice a little hoarse. She was sorry for so much. About Lizzie, about leaving, and even for getting them chased, if that was her fault. But right now, she was mainly sorry for slowing them down and potentially making things worse.

Sage scanned the forest and then glanced over at Anya. "Its not your fault. I wanted to stop here so we can see them coming. I don't like running, I'm a fighter. I'm better at close contact fighting than slipping away and losing people." It was true, and if he was being honest, the anger burning his chest wouldn't go away...he needed a fight. He needed to get roughed around a bit. Maybe it would knock him back to his senses, because while the fog had lifted a bit, it wasn't completely gone. And he had Anya....he would protect her, and he was even more willing to die for her now than ever. Although if he died she would be taken, so he couldn't allow that to happen.

Anya's breathing had started slow down after a short while of pacing back and forth, although now she had started to feel the chill. She could deal with being cold, though, it wasn't her biggest worry as of then. She was more concerned about what was about to go on. Would there be a fight? God she hoped not, she just wanted to slip away back to the castle, but that didn't seem possible. This must have been planned, and with her being up in the castle again for so long, that was probably where they had expected her to be. If she went back, then everything would be just as they planned again. She shook her head at Sage, her eyes dark and vexed. "It is my fault, I shouldn't have come out. You have enough to deal with." It was true. If she hadn't come out, then none of this would be happening. She most likely would have been taken quietly and everything would be sorted out in the morning. By now, it was quite obvious they both knew what was going on, so whoever these people were most likely aware of their knowledge too... perhaps that meant they would back off, or it might just make matters worse.

Sage snorted. "It's not your fault. They've been following me around for a while. We don't actually know they're after you. I just don't want them finding the castle. That's why we're here, where I can see them if they come." He could tell the people had stopped, though they were watching and talking. Waiting, planning, he supposed. He scowled. "They're just standing there," he complained. Then he made a face. Fuck it, if they won't come to him he'd go to them. He started stomping back towards the forest, picking out his targets.