[ WP ] you are walking through a forest and feel a sudden pain in your chest . You collapse as your skin starts to darken , hardening and cracking , a scaly pattern forming along with a very leathery feel . Your bones are heard breaking and shifting in some sort of metamorphosis

Danaë had tried to throw the hunters off her tracks. It was difficult. Thus far her aunt had predicted her every move. Like a giant chess game in which her aunt held all the power, she had cut of Danaë's attempts at retaliation before any had fruit. Now it was just Danaë. Alone. In the woods. Leading her aunt's hunters in a merry chase. 
 
 They were n't far behind. She could hear their calls, and felt the blood rush to her face when she discerned their words. Having them catch up to her was not an option she could afford. 
 
 With nimble feet, Danaë cleared a pile of fallen trees. As yet another branch tore at her skin she charged through the pain and deeper into the forest. It was clear why the hunters could track her so well, she had little time to obscure her path. Her priority was speed and distance over concealment. 
 
 The changes were subtle at first. The trunks she dodged were growing larger. The ground beneath her feet was softer and a healthy blanket of moss covered the floor. It was close. The one place that her aunt could n't account for. If the hunters knew what was good for them, they would n't follow Danaë here. She tucked her head down to avoid a low hanging branch. Soon. She just had to last a few more minutes. 
 
 Her face flushed again as she heard the men invite her to'join them'. The sour tang of blood in her mouth made her realize she'd bitten her lip in frustration. Turning her head she spat into the shadows, trying to clear her mouth. Several heartbeats later, she spotted it: the border, rather large boulder on the edge of a brief clearing, just ahead. Danaë did n't stop to think about the impending consequence. She would accept it when it came, so long as the hunters did n't get her. 
 
 The first few steps past the rock and nothing happened. The delay was misleading. It gave her hope that she'd have time to take shelter on the other side of the clearing. It also caused her to panic a moment. If nothing happened to her, how could she guarantee her aunt's pawns would n't follow? Danaë let neither of these thoughts paralyze her legs. 
 
 She'd just about reached the other side when it struck. A pain through her chest, simultaneously coinciding with numb feet. Danaë slipped, landing heavily on the uneven moss. 
 
 For a second she was disoriented. The shock of her collapse caused her brain to erase all memory of her flight. Then it was back. She scrabbled at the twigs and stones hidden beneath the green around her. She was so close. So very close. 
 
 It was a struggle to pull herself across the floor of the clearing. There were no good handholds, the moss just ripped away in her hands. Even now, the pain in her chest threatened to sabotage her efforts. Finally, she managed to roll enough to the side that she was n't in the immediate line of sight coming into the clearing. 
 
 Which was good, because the numbness was spreading.
