His mommy wasn`t there.

　　Erodicilee sat behind a bush, eyes closed, as he breathed in the scents of his surroundings. He smelled a trap. Four ambushers lurked nearby, hidden in the bushes, and he caught the scent of their beast further back. The scent of his mother was closer, coming from inside those containers he`d stayed in before.

　　She wouldn`t fit in there, he knew, but his instincts screamed at him to check. To go to the scent and make sure, no matter the danger. His leg twitched as though eager to move, but he fought against it, unsure what to do.

　　A growl of frustration filled the air as he watched the container, easily able to spot the white fabric that lay inside. He recognized it as the same thing she worn when they`d arrived in this new place. When they were having his best day ever. His instincts screamed harder, but still he resisted.

　　He knew this was a trap. Instead of moving, he closed his eyes and breathed in again. They carried something different from the others. Their weapons smelled harsher and less like burning. It worried him, but with his new upgrades, he felt incredibly powerful.

　　His legs tensed, and he made to spring forward when he caught the scent, and then the sound, of two ambushers sneaking up behind him. They were far enough away that he couldn`t get to them easily, but they were coming. He didn`t know how they`d found his hiding spot in the bush, but it didn`t matter. If he wanted to move, it was now or never.

　　With a bark, his back legs shifted, and he sprang forward, covering a fair distance through the air. He landed, and he scrambled forward, racing towards the cage. His plan was simple. Get to the cage, get his mother`s fabric, and leave.

　　The ambushers had other plans. Two popped up, strange weapons in their hands, barking softly as they screamed.

　　"Shoot!"

　　Erodicilee clawed at the dirt, trying to create a trench to hide in, but not quick enough. Before he escaped underground, small pricks of pain covered him as something pierced his skin in multiple places. The areas burned where they hit, and he felt suddenly tired. Around him, the world spun, and he couldn`t tell if he was digging at the earth or the sky. His legs moved, and the ambushers closed in on him.

　　Fur tendrils tried to spin to life, but he couldn`t make them stick. He whined as his head throbbed, and the humans barked.

　　"Did we kill him?"

　　"Who cares? Either the blonde gives us a fat reward for capturing it, or we get in good with the new alien dude."

　　"Fair. You reckon the cage will hold it?"

　　"I don`t see why it wouldn`t. Aint got thumbs, and the drugs will have it out like a light soon enough."

　　He tried to growl, his legs kicking at anyone who got close, but soon enough, hands reached around him. He found himself carried forward and placed inside the container. Their barks continued, but he curled up around the piece of fabric and breathed in. It smelled just like her.

　　The container moved, and he slid, smacking into the back. His world spun, and he heard rhythmic barking as they carried him closer and closer to their beast. There was a thudding sound, and then he found himself somewhere dark. Erodicilee shut his eyes, unsure what to do as he huddled around the cloth.

　　His inside hurt, and the things that stabbed him remained.

　　He curled up the best he could, shaking as his insides burned in protest. There was the sound of the beast roaring beneath him, and then strangely cold air. More muffled barks sounded, and then a gentle vibration sprang to life and shook his cage.

　　Before he could muster up the energy to dislodge them, his breathing slowed. His muscles relaxed, and he found himself unable to open his eyes. Without so much as a whine, he drifted off to sleep.

　　***

　　A sudden jolt woke him up, and he rolled over, dislodging the strange barbs.

　　Muffled barking filled his ears, and he shook himself. There was something different. He was no longer as tired as before. Now he could think. With a growl, he formed his fur tendrils, and to his delight, they manifested. With slow, careful movements, he withdrew each of the strange objects. They were smooth, and they smelled of a harsh scent he couldn`t place. Once they were out, he turned his attention to the door of the container.

　　It didn`t take long to open it, and soon enough, he wriggled free with the mommy-smelling fabric in one of his tendrils. He draped it over himself, his fur shifting to pin it down so he could keep it with him. His tail wagged at the thought of having it nearby. A comfort he could cling to while he searched for the real thing.Stolen story; please report.

　　There was no light where he was, and so he let out the strange bark that created the mental maps. He didn`t like what he found. It was small, barely enough room for more than his container, and made of some strange material he didn`t recognize. The sound leaked out through a gap, and he got a hazy outline of another room.

　　That done, he sniffed, and he found he could smell the acrid attack that their beasts often spewed out. Was he inside it? Was this a stomach, and they intended to let it digest him? He growled and shuffled about before he paused. He smelled the ambushers nearby, which meant they were inside this creature as well. Perhaps there was a way out through some of the strange material.

　　"Hey! He`s moving around!" A muffled bark sounded out.

　　Another joined in. "Don`t freak out; the drugs probably wore off. We`ll get him back to the ambassador, and it`ll be fine. We`re not far off, anyway."

　　Erodicilee paused and narrowed in on the sounds. They were coming from ahead of him, through the strange fabric that didn`t feel like metal. He closed his eyes and sniffed, doing his best to pay attention. There were four ambushers in total. Two were close by, right up against the barrier, while the other two were further ahead. They had barriers as well, but they seemed thinner.

　　Using his smell and the mental map, he moved forward and placed a paw against the barrier. It didn`t feel all that hard, and so, with a quick motion, he clawed at it. Something tore, like the time he`d tried to climb mommy`s strange red and gold fabric covering that she`d fussed over all day. He still remembered her angry barking, and he shivered.

　　The ambushers reacted similarly, but he ignored it as he continued to dig through the strange material. Then he was free. Light struck his eyes, and he blinked as he got used to the sight before him. The four ambushers were panicking, struggling with some strange device wrapped around their shoulders. One gripped something, and when he jerked, Erodicilee felt the beast move in the same direction.

　　His stomach rumbled as he took in the scene. All four of the ambushers were inside the beast`s head, close enough to bite. This was a feast in the making.

　　He got his new spike defense in place just in time as the closest ambusher lashed out. The blow had little force behind it, but the ambusher let out a guttural cry as red liquid oozed from his hand. The ambusher controlling the beast yelled, and suddenly Erodicilee found himself thrown directly into the ambusher to his left. They started screaming as his spikes dug into them. He growled, not bothering to pull himself free as he took bites out of all the parts he could reach.

　　The beast roared, upset at the fight taking place inside of it. Erodicilee growled back, leaving the no longer struggling ambusher as he went back to the one who`d attacked it. They no longer wore the restraining device and instead were gripping at the side of the beast. There was more shouting. More screams. Erodicilee ignored them, his spikes turning into tendrils that wrapped around the ambusher.

　　He dashed across the strangely springy inside of the beast before latching on to the ambusher`s throat. A part of the beast suddenly opened, and he sent tendrils towards the barrier between him and the driver. As he clung to that, the ambusher he`d attacked fell towards the ground and tumbled away to safety.

　　His stomach growled at the missed opportunity for a meal.

　　That left two ambushers remaining, and Erodicilee didn`t intend to let either of them escape. He scurried up the back of the barricade, ready to bite down, when the beast swung wildly once again. A tearing sound filled the air, and with part of the barricade stuck to his foot, he flew into the other ambusher`s face. Erodicilee tumbled down, claws scratching at whatever he could reach. When he landed with a thump in the ambusher`s lap, he looked up into the strange metal and fabric face covering.

　　The ambusher was breathing hard, and cold air blew on Erodicilee`s back as he let out his paralyzing bark.

　　"DIE."

　　Then he clawed at the ambusher`s midsection until they stopped squirming. They didn`t even take off their strange restraining device. That left him with one more, but not for long. He turned and threw himself forward. His fur tendrils shot out and wrapped around the creature`s arm.

　　Screaming filled the inside of the beast, but Erodicilee didn`t care. His focus was on stopping the ambusher before he could make the beast shake again. He let his teeth dig in, followed shortly by his claws. In moments, he`d left none of the ambushers in any state to oppose him.

　　His howl of victory filled the tiny space as all of his instincts screamed at him to feed. He did so, doing his best while the beast roared and hurtled forward. It shifted back and forth as he consumed the ambusher who`d controlled it. Then it let out a strange squeaking noise.

　　Panic filled him as he saw the tree getting closer and closer. It was going to ram into it to dislodge him. Fear filled him, and he abandoned his meal to leap out through the open cavity that swung open and shut in the breeze.

　　Pain surged through him, and his body tried to fix the damage he sustained as he rolled across the dirt and rocks below him. The beast`s roar continued as it slammed into the tree hard enough to make the branches shake.

　　Erodicilee limped forward before he paused, watching for any sign of potential treachery. None came. The beast had fallen silent once it hit the tree, and even its strange, acrid stench attack had stopped. A feeling of excitement came over him as he realized the implications.

　　He`d defeated one of their strange beasts and a group of ambushers at the same time. Power radiated through him, and he sniffed, smelling the scent of his mommy coming from the fabric still tied to his back.

　　Today was a good day.

　　The question, however, was what to do next. Now that he knew the ambushers had his mother`s scent, he couldn`t use that to find her anymore. He whined, pacing back and forth as he tried to come up with a plan. Then he stopped and stared at the dead beast and the ambushers inside of it.

　　He`d done that. Defeated them. Perhaps if he simply moved to each of her scent locations, he would find her at one of them. Now that he knew he could win, it would be a simple task, provided he was careful. His mind was filled with the idea of hunting the ambushers properly, and his tail wagged.

　　They were his prey now, and if they wanted to lure him in, he`d use that for his own purposes.

　　His plan devised, he closed his eyes and breathed in before heading to the new location. It was time to save his mommy. No matter how many beasts or ambushers he needed to kill to do it. As the sun beat down on him, he walked across the dust and rocks towards his destiny.