Erodicilee sat in a nearby tree, overlooking the place he`d escaped so recently.

　　With a small yelp of excitement, he closed his eyes and breathed in deeply to get as much of the surrounding scents as he could. The world exploded out before him, and he shivered as he picked through all the fresh pieces of information. Various creatures were nearby, which he already knew, but to his delight, no ambushers were anywhere close.

　　He let his eyes slowly open as his tail wagged, beating against the tree. No ambushers meant he had his full choice of meals to pick from. Leaves shook as he ran down the side of the tree, and towards the metal and wood barrier that surrounded the collection of structures, the ambushers stayed inside.

　　His paws scrambled at the dirt, and in moments, he`d dug a small trench that let him squeeze underneath. A protrusion caught his fur, but he shifted until it broke away and let him through. He shook himself off, and when he was clean of the dirt, he moved towards the structure the ambusher had imprisoned him inside.

　　As he approached, his ears twitched as he heard the cacophony rising from inside. Squawking, squealing, meowing, and barking filled the air, combing with the sounds of bodies crashing against their containers. His stomach growled.

　　Briefly, Erodicilee stood next to the wall and simply smelled the air. Fear, panic, rage, and despair were prevalent, alongside a variety of different meats. His instincts screamed at him to consume them all. To feed until he was full, sleep, and then feed again. For all the world, to become his food.

　　Drool dripped to the ground as he shook, wanting nothing more than to run up the wall and into the building. Still, something held him back—a sense that this might be more than he could safely handle all at once.

　　Back and forth, the two instincts fought until he growled and turned away. That buffet would have to wait. He was missing something. Another deep sniff told him what it was, and he turned his attention further into the compound. More of those beasts he`d eaten when he`d first arrived here roamed. Their strange mooing sounds filled the air, along with the smell of their panic.

　　They had something that could help him. He wasn`t sure if it was a feature or a power, but his instincts sang to him. His inner voice demanded that he get more. That he hunt them all until nothing remained. This place was dangerous. More than anything he should ever face. He needed power.

　　Erodicilee barked in agreement.

　　"Die!"

　　His paws carried him swiftly, and he lept, tendrils of fur reaching up to drag him forward and over. He landed with a soft thump, and the beasts went mad. They stampeded away from him, tails flicking and heads pointed directly. When they hit the barrier, it bucked from the sheer numbers and fell. Not that he paid too much attention.

　　No, his focus remained on the massive struggle creature whose spine he`d just bitten through. It lay on the ground, making distressed noises until he bit out its throat. His new jaws went to work, and he devoured it. Time passed, the sheer size of the creature making it awkward, but eventually he was done.

　　Upon turning, he saw the others fleeing, though a few remained, unable to follow the pack. They limped onward or gave up and simply lay there, bellowing their agony to the sky with broken legs. Erodicilee moved in for the kill.

　　Each downed creature brought him closer to a new power. His stomach felt bloated and full, but he refused to stop. He needed whatever these creatures could give him. The instincts that sang through him demanded it, and he would listen. Power was his goal here, and he would gain it no matter the cost.

　　The image of his mother being held captive, stuffed into one of those tiny containers, flashed through his mind. He growled and moved to the next downed prey. Then the next, and the next. As he ate, the others continued to flee, but his sense of smell let him know where they were. There was no place they could run to escape him.

　　Once he`d finished devouring all the injured, he ran after the others. His endurance kept him going, and even after the light vanished, he continued to run, letting his sense of smell and his strange barking ability guide him.

　　With that, he found more of the beasts. He feasted on them, uncaring that most were near death. They stank of exhaustion or terror. It exhilarated him, and he refused to stop as he continued to pursue the full group.

　　Erodicilee didn`t bother to sneak up on them when he spotted them in the first rays of light in the sky. They stank of exhaustion, most unable to even let out their normal bellow as he approached. The stronger ones stumbled away, but the rest either couldn`t or wouldn`t run anymore. That was fine with him.

　　The sun shone high overhead as he watched the last one stumble and fall. Its enormous eyes locked onto him, and it let out a pitiful sound. Fear and despair washed over Erodicilee as he drew closer. His stomach, though overstuffed, rumbled with desire.

　　He licked his lips and bit down.

　　When he`d completed his meal, Erodicilee let out a long, loud yawn. His ears and tail dropped, and he stumbled towards a nearby hollow. It wasn`t large, but his fur tendrils sluggishly swept the area to cover him with leaves as he lay down.

　　His eyes closed, and his stomach twisted as he let himself drift off to sleep, even as his insides burned.

　　***The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

　　The ambusher hadn`t fixed his exit point, and so he climbed back inside without issue.

　　He stood on the wooden beams, delighting in the panic of those below him as he decided what to eat first. His instincts screamed instructions at him as he licked his lips. So many new powers. With nimble movements, he opened a container on the ground. It held a single creature; its young moved elsewhere. As the door swung open, it hid in the back, hissing.

　　Erodicilee barked at it before he sent his tendrils in and pulled it out. The creature struggled, hissing and clawing, but he didn`t hesitate. A single crunch to stop it from struggling, and he consumed it with ease.

　　Instincts bloomed, and his eyes burned, the shadows seeming less dark to him now. Inside, his stomach burbled, and he was sure the food was being broken down more quickly. He barked excitedly as he moved to the next cage, and the next. New powers filled him, but he found most merging with things he already had. His sense of smell sharpened, his eyes became better attuned to see into the dark, his teeth hardened, and his claws sharpened. Near the back, however, he found something new.

　　When he opened the container, he faced a spikey ball. Erodicilee sniffed the air, and his stomach growled at the scent. With careful movements, he sent tendrils inside and dragged it out. As he laid it on the ground, he walked around it.

　　He could smell fear, as it poked it, leaping back as the sharp spines poked at his paws. Erodicilee growled and moved away, allowing his tendrils to run over the creature. It was slightly too heavy for him to lift, and it didn`t want to budge. His stomach growled as he moved around it, but even when he barked and snarled, it remained curled up.

　　A whine escaped him as he climbed on top of the container. With care, he wrapped his tendrils around the creature and dragged it up the side of the cage. He winced at the screeching sound, but soon he had it on the edge. From there, he simply let go.

　　It hit the ground with a thump, and he stared down to see if it unfurled. When it didn`t, he repeated the process. Again, and again, and again. Finally, it shook, and he spotted a section of its undefended underbelly. With a yelp of triumph, he jumped after it, his sharpened claws digging into its underside.

　　Satisfaction filled him as he unfurled it, and he dug into his meal. More instincts filled him, and he knew now his fur could shift into defensive spikes, made more effective by their already changed nature.

　　He barked in joy before he polished off the rest of the creatures inside. His body burned, but he gained little. Still, it felt good to eat, to consume, and to grow. Satisfied, he turned and made his way out of the structure, ready to find another source of prey.

　　***

　　The wind blew through his fur as he stood on the roof with his eyes closed and his nose raised to the sky.

　　Erodicilee breathed in deeply, catching every scent that blew past as he decided what to go after next. Options for his next feast came to life beneath him, even as the scent of his massacre tinted the surrounding air. His stomach grumbled at the memory. Everything he`d eaten had been nearly digested already, leaving him craving more.

　　A pang of concern filled him as he caught a familiar scent coming closer. One of the ambushers` beasts was approaching, letting off its disgusting attack. Erodicilee growled and refocused on the creatures nearby. He wouldn`t have time to devour everything, and so he`d need to choose.

　　One particular scent caught his attention, and he opened his eyes. His vision extended, allowing him to spot his target with ease. It was the same type of creature he`d seen fighting when he first arrived. Others of its kind surrounded it, smelling afraid, as if they would run away as soon as he approached. Erodicilee licked his lips as he moved a little closer. If he had time for only a single hunt, then such a powerful creature would be perfect.

　　He let his fur twist, sharpening into points that glimmered silver in the light as he ran down the side of the structure. His paws thudded as he raced across the grass, and when he reached the barricade that separated his prey from him, he climbed onto one of the thick posts and leapt off.

　　The creatures scattered. Tiny versions jumped towards bigger ones, scrambling to hide before they were born away in a sea of barking grunts. Bigger versions fled too, but the largest of the group stayed. It stood in the middle of the barricade, watching and waiting for him to approach.

　　Erodicilee`s tail wagged as he approached his nose, sniffing the air to catch its scent—sweat, musk, and fear. It barked at him, straightening up as its tail thudded against the ground and its smaller front paws swung through the air. He paused, staring up at it as he let out the bark that frightened the ambushers.

　　"Die."

　　The sound hung in the air as he charged, tendrils lashing out. They missed as the creature bounced into the air and lashed out. Long, flat feet lashed out in a powerful kick, smashing against his side. Erodicilee cried out as he tumbled across the ground and smashed into the wood. His insides ached, and his instincts screamed at him to feed, and soon.

　　With his enhanced sight, he could see that he wasn`t the only one injured. Blood ran from the feet of his prey, where they`d impacted his new spikes. Every hop it made towards him appeared painful. Erodicilee dragged himself up. Tendrils moved to wrap around him even as he created more spikes.

　　A cry of pain came from the creature, and it kicked him again. This time, he curled up, tightening his fur as he moved into the smallest ball he could. He didn`t know if it was the position, but this time, he didn`t fly across the dirt. A crash sounded, and he let himself uncurl to find his prey laying nearby.

　　It slapped out, still moving weakly as it tried to attack him.

　　His stomach growled, and he moved around the creature as quickly as he could. Pain radiated with every step, his sides not wanting to expand enough to draw in air. He kept going, knowing it would be over soon. When he got behind the creature, he bit, severing the spine, as had become his go-to move.

　　Briefly, he looked into the eyes of the creature he`d been frightened to face before. One that he`d cowed away from. Pride filled him as he devoured the creature, one bite at a time.

　　By the time he was done and his legs burned with the heat he`d grown so used to, the ambushers had returned. The last of his wounds healed as he turned and fled once again. While he felt confident, he didn`t want to end up in another one of those containers and waste time.

　　This time, when he reached the fence, he jumped, his new ability carrying him easily over as he vanished into the brush. There was a smell in the air drawing him onward, one that he recognized even though he was wary. It wasn`t her, but it was something close.

　　"Mommy!"

　　Progression: Evolutions

　　360 Vision (Flies)

　　Sticky Feet (Flies)

　　Limb Regeneration (Lizard)

　　Gills (Fish)

　　Scaled Fur (Fish)

　　Digging (Wombat)

　　Enhance Speed (Dingo)

　　Enhanced Smell - Distance Increase (Cow)

　　Enhanced Stomach Capacity (Cow)

　　Word Mimicry (Cockatoo)

　　Enhanced Bite (Crocodile)

　　Echolocation (Bat)