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~~((National Yo-Yo Day - page 20 of 20))~~
The Imara Forest was truly sprawling. It filled the entire horizon, save only for a few distant mountains. He'd already seen it from the airplane, of course, but now that he was a bit closer, the sheer scale of things was coming even more clearly into perspective. The notion that the Beast could be anywhere in this place was truly unsettling--as was the notion that he might've had to wander around aimlessly if Pauline wasn't here.

She turned invisible again. 'We're almost there,' she said. 'I'm curious. Can you sense the monster's aura at all? Oftentimes, humans can pick up on the particularly strong ones, if only a little.'

They were descending now and slowing down. Hector concentrated on his senses. They weren't telling him anything especially abnormal, nor was the Scarf.

But... there was something. A vague discomfort, of sorts. As if his whole body were only a step or two away from shivering. He didn't know how to describe it. If she hadn't mentioned anything, he probably would've just chalked it up to the forest's natural atmosphere--or to the understandable unease that came with hunting an unknown creature with unknown powers.

On second thought, maybe it really was just because of that last thing.

When they were landing, he answered her. "Sort of. Feels like my senses could just be playing tricks on me, though."

'A rational thought,' said Pauline, perched amid the verdant canopy over Hector's head. 'You may be right to not trust your senses in this place. Some auras can have very disorienting effects.'

"Which way now?" he asked.

'That, I don't know,' said Pauline. 'We've entered the nucleus of the aura. The creature could be anywhere nearby.'

Hector frowned. "You can't sense its exact location?"

'As I said, some auras can have very disorienting effects.'