OoC: Apologies for the wait. I had no intention of getting mutilated by a basketball.

Sometimes you can find a needle in a haystack, if the needle is laughably conspicuous. Winona had all but given up hope of finding the demon when a searing red figure flashed before her, chased by a madly panting dog. “Did you see that, Cassidy?” she asked, completely forgetting her ploy to remain invisible.

”I sure did.” he replied just a little cynically, “now follow him, quickly!”
Winona didn’t need told twice. In a second she had summoned a disc of air and sped off towards the commotion.

The dog was still barking, although her prey had seemingly vanished. Winona lifted herself on an updraft of air to inspect the big-roofed building he had landed on. It was a chaotic sprawl of bumps and chimneys, with acrid thick smoke being exuded everywhere. Someone – even as big as the lizard – could easily find a good hiding place. Winona hurriedly summoned a gust that ushered away the thick lulls of smoke.

The building was bigger than she thought; a terrace, by the looks of the feeble drops that were characteristic to a slanted row of houses. Finding the dragon-man would be positively hellish.

”Why not flush him out?” Cassidy asked inquisitively. Winona didn’t dare reply, just in case the thing was listening. She silently thanked the heavens for Cassidy’s inability to speak. The girl nodded once and grabbed Cassidy tighter, preparing for a spell. In seconds the inferno was pulsing out of her body, sending ripples along the rapidly heating ground. She allowed a stifled giggle before retaining her dour demeanour.

The seconds passed slowly as they waited for something to happen. When it didn’t there she could think of two explanations: the man had fled long ago, meaning Winona had simply wasted her magic; or, he was resistant to heat and didn’t feel a thing when the flames rushed over him. The first seemed more likely, but Winona wanted to explore some more before abandoning the search.

Winona cleared the fug again with another wisp of air then began her search. Laboriously, she and her cat checked every crevice for a sign of the flaming demon. It was to no avail, until Winona heard the slightest crack of a tile from behind her. She turned around swiftly, just in time to see the demon sprinting toward the building’s edge.

“Stop!” she cried frantically as she reached for her magic. “You are under arrest!”

The man didn’t stop running for the end of the trail; Winona wondered why he didn’t fly away. Did he too wish to remain inconspicuous? The human clothes certainly hinted towards that hypothesis. But Winona discarded the thought, allowing for more important things. She instinctively threw a ball of water at the man, freezing it just as it clasped around his arm. He seemed to struggle as Winona flashed towards him. He was right at the edge, only seconds from escaping her grasp.

Reaching the end of the roof, Winona barely caught a glimpse of the lizard sprinting down an alleyway. ”He has a few tricks up his sleeve, Cassidy,” she commented.

”Shut up and follow!”

She grudgingly obliged.

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