Where. Was. She?

Where was her child?

The smell was stronger now; the one that belonged to the animal who had taken her daughter. Blue had picked it up after scouring the side of the mountain. She was closer to the herds below then she had been in a long time. Her feet crushed the cold, eyes intent on the structure in front of her. There was a door, with men in front of it. But that was where the smell was coming from!

Blue bore her weight forward, claws and mouth wide open. Her shriek sent the two men back, their bullets hitting the air instead of her. One recovered, but Blue leaped for him. His throat was in her jaws and together, they shattered the weak wood into the side of the structure. Many smells hit Blue's nostrils, but she wasn't mistaken. It was here, so her child had to be too. She raised her head, called. Nothing. She called again, more urgently.

The smells brought more perception than her eyes, unregistering the strange piles that grew inside this place. Humans kept themselves inside these things?

There weren't many, but they were yelling now. Yelling and running. They did that a lot, like any scared creature. Blue followed, meeting a bigger human around the corner of the familiar truck. She was faster, twisting her claws through the wide middle. This one... this was there!

But her child's smell wasn't on him. She left him to scream, kicking at the gun tangled on her foot. Her tail knocked another over, denting the side of the truck. Their screaming was shrill now as Blue climbed over the broken body, into the back of the truck. Her eyes searched, but there was nothing! Blue arched her neck and gave a pained shriek that stunted all movement in the room.

Three humans surrounded the truck, weapons at the ready... but they all shook. This gave her a few more seconds of control. Blue's eyes narrowed, spotting one guarding some stairs. Was she up there? Why wasn't she answering? She charged as all their shots went wide, knocking the feeble human aside. Her jaws tasted soft flesh yet again, fueling her desperate rage. The meat was different then the kind in the woods. Sopped in liquid and hardly as thick or tough. It shredded easily and the many bones made little difference.

The shooting had given up, but the screaming didn't as Blue ripped an arm, sending it against the far wall. But a different scream joined, taking Blue's head up. Claws still in the human chest, she eyed the human, frozen and staring at the top of the stairs.

This was one of the small ones. It didn't move, only stared back Blue with large eyes. Frightened eyes. Good.

Blue withdrew her claws. The planks creaked under her weight, though she was unsure of her slow approach. The small ones were no faster than their full-size companions. The tiny human stumbled back, only for its legs to collapse. Blue stared down at it, sniffing for any trace of her child. Then the small one opened its mouth.

Blue started at the familiarity of the sounds. High, urgent; the cries for one's mother. The cries her own child made. It kept up its crying... while Blue only stared.

A blow came at her from the side, pushing Blue against the railing. She balanced out of her daze and prepared for a fight, only to find the mother pulling her child back. Blue chirped at her, tense and ready to pounce, but the human stayed firm. No fear, no intent of backing down. Blue recognized this... and, also, that her child wasn't here. The mother stepped forward with a harsh yell, showing her unimpressive teeth.

Nothing more could be gained here. Blue's heart fell, but she turned, leapt from the stairs and back into the truck bed. She looked back; the mother remained, barricaded and ready for her. It was a pointless defense, but she could tell this didn't matter. Blue understood this all too well and supposed was what drove her back out into the snow. She paused halfway to the nearest trees, feeling defeated. She looked back, unsure. Only that it was strange, finding things in common with the humans.