Beams of fading light illuminated the small room where the ambusher held him captive.

　　The food and water bowls that sat in his metal container glinted, and he glared at them from his hiding spot under the soft circular mat. He smelled the meat, but it was off, dead, and he refused to eat it. Desperation had made him try the water, and he used one of his tentacles to reach out to scoop some up. It tasted sweet, and he`d drunk his fill before returning to his darkened spot.

　　His attention moved to the container next to him. Inside was a collection of creatures that smelled strange. Fear, exhaustion, hunger, and adoration came from them in different amounts. The smaller ones stumbled around, their furred bodies crashing into each other because of their closed eyes. They let out strange squeaking sounds while the bigger one watched on. Every so often, the tiny creatures would latch onto the big one.

　　Erodicilee stayed in the corner of his container. When he tried to move, every creature started screeching, hissing, and slamming against the bars. His ears ached at the sound, so he stayed where he was. He knew what happened if the surrounding beasts got too loud—she would arrive.

　　The ambusher who arrived to check on him was smaller than the one who`d stalked him outside. They wrapped a strange brown and green piece of fabric around their bodies, though she wore a circular object on her head like his mommy. Her barking was soft, and her movements were slow as she handled the other creatures. She smelled unfamiliar scents, and she opened and closed the cages without fear.

　　He noticed that she, like the first ambusher here, didn`t carry any of the weapons the others used. That didn`t mean he planned on letting his guard down. Escape was a priority. His mommy remained trapped, and he couldn`t stay here. From his hiding spot, he watched as she toyed with the metal stick attached to the entrance. An idea came to him, and he let his fur spin into tendrils as he copied her motions. A twist, then a tug to the left, and that opened the portal to the containers. When she opened one that hung above, in which round things flew about, making squawking noises, his stomach grumbled loudly—too loudly.

　　Her attention shifted, and he withdrew his tendrils as he watched her with his one eye. She moved forward, a hand running through the long red fur that fell around her head. After baring her teeth at him, she lowered herself towards him and started barking in quick, high-pitched bursts.

　　"You haven`t touched your dinner or breakfast? I`m not sure what Granny called it."

　　Erodicilee growled, hoping that would be enough to scare her away. Without knowing what other weapons or beasts she might have at her disposal, he needed to stay safe. His attention flicked around, looking for any chance to escape.

　　"Do you not eat wet food? I`m not surprised. Granny said you were a dog, but I knew you weren`t. You`re like a fantasy creature! Are you a fairy? They have cute pets. Oh no, are you a pixie`s mount?"

　　A deep sniff gave him the scent of concern and excitement from the ambusher. He barked, hoping the louder sound would work where the growl hadn`t.

　　"Oh, you are! Granny said she found you in the fields. Did you see how Bessie had her accident? Granny said that she`d gone now, but I didn`t see her mommy come."

　　His tendrils shifted as the small ambusher continued to bark at him, and he watched her. There was no fear smell to her, no anger. Excitement and joy filled her.

　　"Maybe you`ll like this?"

　　Erodicilee watched as the crumbling, delicious-smelling brown object slipped into his container. It landed on the floor with a clunk, and he drooled in delight. The scent was familiar, close to the treats his mommy fed them. Was this ambusher on his side? Did it know where she was? How else would it know what he liked?

　　With tentative movements, he wiggled out and nibbled at the end of the treat. It crumbled in his mouth, and he swallowed. Then he started taking bigger bites until there was nothing left. When it was done, he darted back into hiding.

　　"So you`ll eat those? Yay! Granny has tons. I`m going to make sure you have the best time until your mommy arrives to collect you."

　　His ears twitched at the single bark he recognized in the mass of sounds—mommy. So she knew where his mommy was! Erodicilee paused, unsure of what to do. He knew he could fit his tendrils through the holes in his container, but he doubted it would be enough for a creature this size.

　　An idea came to him then. His mommy always gave him more treats when he did certain things. She would coo, and her visitors would laugh, and he`d get picked up and played with, and she`d feed him treats until he got sick.

　　With a bark, he flopped onto his back and wiggled his paws in the air while opening his eyes as wide as he could. The reaction was immediate. A familiar set of barking emanated from the creature, who slapped their appendages together, making a loud, repetitive sound. From his spot on his back, he watched another treat fall and hit the ground.

　　"That`s your last one!" The creature barked, and she backed away. "I`ll need to talk to Granny."

　　When she vanished from sight, Erodicilee grabbed the treat and dragged it back into his hiding spot. He gnawed at it, savoring the taste as he listened for her return. It didn`t come. When he finally finished his meal, he once again started practicing the motions. If he could escape the container, he`d be able to follow the ambusher to wherever they`d imprisoned his mommy.If you come across this story on Amazon, it`s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

　　Did she have her own cage? He hoped not. She always smelled bad when she was stuck inside for too long. Nearby, he heard the shuffling of the other creatures, and his stomach growled. They would make good power boosts for his escape, too.

　　Erodicilee gave a joyous bark as he curled under the fabric to sleep. He needed to be well-rested for his plan to work.

　　***

　　The ambusher returned, but this time with the bigger one he`d spotted outside.

　　He could see similarities between them, but their smells were different. While the smaller one remained excited and happy, the bigger one smelled wary. Unsure why the bigger one was here, he stayed mostly hidden under the sleeping material.

　　"You said he came out for you?" The bigger one barked, his voice deeper and with a slight edge to it. "On his own, or did you bribe him?"

　　"I didn`t bribe him, Granny! He didn`t eat his food, so I tried to give him a dog treat. That worked."

　　With a grunt, the bigger one lowered herself down. "Hmm."

　　Erodicilee stayed quiet and out of sight, not wanting the bigger one to get close. While she didn`t carry a weapon, he couldn`t smell food on her either. That meant she wasn`t here to feed him.

　　"Did you send those photos?" The smaller one barked.

　　His nose twitched as he smelled the treats she had on her, though he couldn`t see them. A part of him wanted to crawl out to spot them, but he resisted. They might have other weapons he couldn`t spot through the small hole he`d left himself. Plus, the ambushers could appear from nowhere. That meant the possibility of an ambush remained high, and he couldn`t take that risk.

　　"I did; no one has gotten back to me yet. Try feeding him again."

　　"Ok!"

　　He rolled on his back, wiggling and shuffling as she dropped the treat inside. In a few bites, he devoured it before rolling back to his feet. There he wiggled and ran about, letting out soft barks. His mommy loved watching him run, and he hoped the same would be the case for these creatures.

　　The smaller one made the right sounds, and even the larger one bared its teeth.

　　"If we discover him, do I get to name him?" The smaller one looked up at the bigger one, appendages clasped in front of her.

　　The bigger one made the barking rhythm he was familiar with, and so he reared up onto his back paws and pushed his front two together similarly to the smaller ambusher. She whirled around, mouth open, as she started clapping. He fell back on all fours, watching the bigger one, whose scent remained wary.

　　"Did you see?" she squealed.

　　Erodicilee watched as the bigger one moved its head up and down before slowly standing up. With slow movements, she placed another treat into his container, and he gobbled it up. Its stare never wavered, but it made no hostile moves as it walked away.

　　He spent the time between the smaller ambushers` visits trying to move the rod to his portal.

　　His fur could wrap around it, but he found it difficult to shift to the side as required. With the narrowness of his cage, he couldn`t get it moving. A growl escaped him, which set off the other creatures. Hastily, he withdrew his fur and returned to his hiding spot.

　　To his relief, neither ambusher turned up to check on the sound, though the smaller one turned up again.

　　The first time she carried an object covered with strange colors and a handful of treats. She set both on the ground before leaning forward.

　　"Hello," she barked.

　　With hesitation, he moved out and shuffled back and forth. She bared her teeth and picked up the colored object. He darted back into hiding, unsure what the device was. He heard the rhythmic barking sound, followed by more structured versions.

　　"It won`t hurt you. Come back out."

　　The sound of a treat hitting the container`s floor sounded loud to his ears, and he peeked out. It lay there, but the strange object remained clutched in the smaller ambusher`s hands. He growled.

　　"Come on, it`ll be okay." The barks were softer, and he crept forward, using tiny strands of fur to drag the material with him. When he was close enough, he lunged forward, taking the treat and retreating.

　　Erodicilee chewed as he watched her through the small gap he`d left open. He growled as she leaned forward, and the object changed. More colors, but it didn`t shine any light at him.

　　Excitement wafted off her as one of her appendages tapped the object in various spots, her barking quick. "See, is this where you`re from?"

　　When he didn`t make a sound, she moved to a different display of colors. His attention drifted to the treats, and his stomach growled. He barked.

　　"Oh! You recognize this one? Good."

　　She reached over, grabbed a treat from the pile, and dropped it into the container. Erodicilee jumped, overjoyed, as he understood the game. His attention fixated on the colors, and he barked as soon as they changed. Another treat. Bark, treat, bark, treat. He rolled onto his back, happy and full, as the small ambusher put the object behind her. Then she reached out and placed her hand on top of the container.

　　He yipped and shifted to his paws before he walked up the side of the cage and sniffed at her appendages. His mommy had hidden treats there before, and he smelled their scent. With delicate movements, he licked up the crumbs. When the appendage was clean, he returned to standing on the floor.

　　The ambusher`s eyes were wide, and she started quickly barking and gesturing at him. Erodicilee stared up at her for a second before returning to his spot under the fabric. It appeared that the game was complete.

　　Soon he heard her leave, and he returned to trying to make the portal work again. His fur tugged and pulled to no avail until he gave up. Light still streamed inside the room, but he ignored it and took a nap, his belly full.

　　Perhaps the small ambusher would return, and they would play the game again. A part of him couldn`t help but admit that he liked the games she played. Perhaps his mommy would play with him too when they reunited?

　　With that thought, he let himself drift to sleep.

　　Progression: Evolutions

　　360 Vision (Flies)

　　Sticky Feet (Flies)

　　Limb Regeneration (Lizard)

　　Gills (Fish)

　　Scaled Fur (Fish)

　　Enhance Speed (Dingo)

　　Digging (Wombat)

　　Enhanced Smell - Distance Increase (Cow)