The instant that Beta saw the doppelganger sprint away, it gave chase, thundering across the ground and tossing up bones in its wake. Dammit, it should have been sneaking when it approached to not alert her of its presence!

Some ways away, however, it realized that something was missing. It could no longer smell the cat, even though it was following her trail perfectly. It slowed to a halt and narrowed its eyes, turning back to the pile of bones that the cat had emerged from. Some kind of magical trick, huh? She was good! Definitely a good training partner. With one more glance at the disappearing doppleganger, it turned and stalked back to Wilder's actual hiding place.

Ruby-Beta was smart enough to know that, as soon as it gave chase to her double, she would have went to a different hiding place. So now it just needed to find her new hiding place. But it hadn't seen her slip away - time to catch the scent trail again.

Its nostrils flared and it sniffed around the hideout until it caught two trails. One leading back towards the path she'd taken to get to this place and one leading the other direction. It paused, now, deciding to prepare itself before it went after her.

It began to stalk forward, quietly, slinking towards the place it had pinpointed at what was most likely Wilder's next hiding spot. It didn't know for sure, but she couldn't have had time to move too far away and the trail was leading in that direction. Quietly, lightly, it began to creep forward, careful not to alert the cat to its approach this time. If she thought she was safe, then perhaps she wouldn't have some other trick up her sleeve.

Unfortunately, as soon as Wilder appeared out of the back of her hiding spot, Beta had its eyes on her, crouches and hidden, watching her scamper away and pick a new place to hide. Ah, perfect - now it knew, for sure, where she was hiding. Unless it was another duplicate, in which case it would feel very foolish for falling for the same thing twice.

It snuck towards her hiding spot, quiet and careful, until it was right outside of the hole. There, it crouched and waited, careful not to let its shadow cast into the hole for the cat to see. When she tried to come out, it would have her then.

Beta was fully expecting to catch her, then, but with a single spell it was thrown back with a cry. It crumpled into the bones many feet away and instantly leaped to its feet, furious that she'd been able to outsmart it again. But then it realized that she was still there. Just standing there, exactly where she'd been before. It strode forward, then, easily catching up back to her. She tried to turn and make a run for it, but, exhausted as she was, she didn't get far before Beta lunged forward and grabbed her scruff, pulling her back.

"Got you," it hissed with a short laugh. "I win!"