Thank Merlin she didn't try and hex him again. Whatever he snarky comments, Raine had to offer, she must be relieved to be in company again.  Strength in numbers, especially against the dangers of the forest.  He followed her cue and dropped all pretense of fighting. 

When he paused and widened his senses, he could feel what she meant.  There was tension in the air.  There were no more small sounds of critters going about their daily life.  There was a predator in the area.  It was likely that now they were being hunted because of the noise they'd made earlier.  The noise Almasy had made.  It wasn't exactly his fault.

His suspicions were confirmed when Gryfindor's eyes went wide.  His stomach clenched and he went stiff, once again trying to extend his senses.  "Don't run!" he whispered harshly.  "If we run then it will only chase us. Besides, that's the direction of the castle."  He rhythmically squeezed the handle of his wand, debating what to do next.  Finally, he decided that attracting attention was the lesser of two evils at this point.  "Shield your eyes," he whispered.  Then he lifted his wand high, put his arm over his eyes, and then created a brilliant flash of light from his wand that would completely fill the clearing.  He peered out from under his arm and blinked before looking to the edges of  he light.

Wolves.

Son of banshee!

Well if the rest of the forest didn't already know where the pair was, they would now. The wolves snarled with bizarrely human pitch and Raine flinched, finally moving her hands away to squint through the darkness left behind by Inkwood' blinding light. Oh Merlin. They couldn't stay here.

"Obex Circinatio!" she brandished her wand, pulling Ezra back by the shoulder with a free hand. They couldn't tell how many wolves there were but the shield circled round what the Gryffindor could estimate- an invisible barrier of shimmering space.

A spell that held up well against a hail of objects in lessons. Something told her that it wouldn't last as long against these wolves. The first mutt, still growling in disorientation, threw itself at them- and met the spell with a loud  SMACK. Raine swallowed as it slumped to the earth. Already the shield wavered.

The others readied themselves.

"I don't suppose you're in Locksley's class?" she glanced at Ezra wryly, stepping backwards.

"I'm afraid not," Ezra grumbled, holding his wand out towards the wolves.  Care of Magical Creatures wasn't exactly his strength and never had been.  But he did attend Defense Against the Dark Arts, as did Almasy, so between the two of them they might be able to make it out of the forest alive tonight.  Unharmed... that was another matter but they would just have to wait and see.

"Infligo! He shouted for the second time that night, this time putting all of his force behind it to blast the next lunging wolf backwards into a tree trunk.  It yelped, went down, and did not get back up.  "Maybe we should run," he admitted doubtfully.

Ezra put a hand on her elbow and pulled her around. He blasted a section of brush in the direction of the castle to drive the wolves out of their path and then sprinted towards the gap, trusting Raine to follow along behind him.

Letting her classmate pull her back, she gave the wolves a last challenging glare before breaking into a run.

They had hardly been running a half-minute when she felt her shield break while a howl cut through the trees. It pierced whichever corner of Raine's heart that harboured an odd amalgamation of fear and pride. Growls and snarls and the threat of something worse.

Why was she smiling?

"Ez...ra!" the Gryffindor called out between breaths, already slowing her pace. "Sparks[1]! I- I have this!"

As suddenly as she could, Raine stopped. Her boots went skidding over snow and mud as she twisted around with a spell already lashing forward.

"Expecto Patronum!" The incantation tore itself from her chest, like a plaster, and she felt a tremendous rush of excitement; a bubble of laughter that had nothing to do with adrenaline. The wisps that escaped threw a blue light across their tiny quarter of the forest- she saw it. A silvery tiger, crouched forward into a deafening roar .

The wolves - now within sight - had paused in pursuit, bewildered and made apprehensive by the apparition. Raine rather wished Storm had been around for that performance- she brandished her wand, breathing in for the tiger to liberate another growl.

1.	Red sparks, customary sign for help

For the love of Merlin, they'd only been running for a minute!  Already Raine decided she wanted to stop, out of breath or eager to fight; either way it was kind of aggravating.  Sparks.  Was she serious?  Call for help when they were out in the Forbidden Forest?  If they were lucky the sparks would go unnoticed.

Ezra had to roll his eyes when she cast a Patronum.  With a resigned laugh, he aimed his wand to a break in the trees and lit off a shower of sparks into the air.  He didn't want to but if Almasy couldn't produce anything useful against the wolves, they really were going to need help. 

"What exactly is your plan with that one?" Ezra asked waving a hand towards the translucent shape.  "They're not Dementors, Almasy!  Mulciberus!"  The fire whip crackled through the air and caught one of the wolves square in the side, making it yelp.  He gave Almasy a pointed look.  "I suppose you make a decent enough spectacle for distraction," he added snidely.

Like waking from a dream, she snapped to attention as the fire cut past her patronus. Already the tiger was dissipating into the snow. The quiet, falling snow. Had anything anyone heard them yet? Somehow it felt important that nobody did- Raine was struck with sudden resentment. Being rescued felt like a terrible, sullied idea. She offered Ezra a withering glance and privately wondered how he made it past the OWLs.

"They stopped, didn't they?" she shot back as her wand found itself at eye level once more, glimmering with the makings of another hex. The wolves growled, a cantankerous mingling of noises. They advanced but carefully now- aware of the danger. Good.

Merlin knew what were the consequences for harming (or killing) creatures in the Forbidden Forest but she wasn't taking any chances where their own lives were concerned.

"Caecus![1]" Raine wrinkled her nose in concentration as the light tore forward - an unpleasant curse courtesy of a certain teacher. Snapping jaws and howling in pain, the wolves tossed their heads back. She almost felt sorry for them.

Quick with the wrist, she flung as wide and forceful an arc of Concusso that she could manage.

1.	Blinding hex, Illegal except in self defence.