[Though he doesn't show it, Remus is quite pleased that Alfie doesn't try to stop him from chasing after the ghoul. It shows how desperate he is to put an end to this trouble, he thinks: if push comes to shove and they end up in a tight corner, there's a good chance that he'll at least listen to Remus's advice before taking action. That's more than could be said for some of his clients in the past - and it's always best to face a dark creature when you are not working at cross-purposes with your partner.
He finds that he doesn't need to slow down at all to let Alfie catch up with him a few steps down the aisle. In fact, once the bigger man has caught up to him, he needs to move faster to keep pace.]
It will try to create another mess in order to divert our attention. Then it will hide somewhere else.
[He runs quickly through what he knows about their quarry in his mind: chameleon ghouls are ambush predators, lying quietly in wait for prey - insects or spiders, usually - to walk by before transforming into their natural shape and attacking. Sometimes they destroy woodpiles or old stacks of discarded items in order to scare out potential prey, but only when they are so hungry that they can't afford to wait. That's clearly not what's happening here, not to a single ghoul with an entire warehouse full of small pests to feed on, and not on a daily basis. No: what's happening here is more like play, much like a kitten practices hunting by chasing string, or a puppy chews on its siblings as if killing prey. This ghoul is a juvenile, and it is causing all of this trouble out of an instinct to hone the skills that it needs to survive.
Luckily, that gives them an advantage. A juvenile ghoul, while more or less the same size as an adult even from an early age, is still not very strong. Even if it uses its natural magic to push down shelves, it can't move anything really heavy. That might allow them to guess where it is headed next.
He stops as they come to the first intersection between aisles, the path opening up to allow them three different directions to choose from.]
Tell me, where are there more glass containers, like the ones that broke back there?
no subject
He finds that he doesn't need to slow down at all to let Alfie catch up with him a few steps down the aisle. In fact, once the bigger man has caught up to him, he needs to move faster to keep pace.]
It will try to create another mess in order to divert our attention. Then it will hide somewhere else.
[He runs quickly through what he knows about their quarry in his mind: chameleon ghouls are ambush predators, lying quietly in wait for prey - insects or spiders, usually - to walk by before transforming into their natural shape and attacking. Sometimes they destroy woodpiles or old stacks of discarded items in order to scare out potential prey, but only when they are so hungry that they can't afford to wait. That's clearly not what's happening here, not to a single ghoul with an entire warehouse full of small pests to feed on, and not on a daily basis. No: what's happening here is more like play, much like a kitten practices hunting by chasing string, or a puppy chews on its siblings as if killing prey. This ghoul is a juvenile, and it is causing all of this trouble out of an instinct to hone the skills that it needs to survive.
Luckily, that gives them an advantage. A juvenile ghoul, while more or less the same size as an adult even from an early age, is still not very strong. Even if it uses its natural magic to push down shelves, it can't move anything really heavy. That might allow them to guess where it is headed next.
He stops as they come to the first intersection between aisles, the path opening up to allow them three different directions to choose from.]
Tell me, where are there more glass containers, like the ones that broke back there?