Light in the Dark

She wasn't heavy at all, in fact he seemed to carry her in his arms with ease. Perhaps from a stranger's perspective, they seemed like an odd couple and one would come to certain conclusions. Her peaceful look on her face didn't appear to have any bruising, in fact one wouldn't be wrong in assuming she was sleeping and that this man was taking her home. Then who would this man be, his belt with its many trinkets and tools clinking with each step as he ventured through the woods searching for a way out? Maybe the man is taking his woman home.

Or maybe the hunter has caught his prey.

---

"Dimyri?"

"Na'Vi!"

Dimyri?"

Janette paced left and right, both lost in thought and sight. The darkness was overwhelming for her natural human vision, so she was left feeling useless this time, a feeling she very much loathed second to her current worries. Both Nekomata girls were shouting and circling the building, panic and dread increasing with every passing minute of silence. From the front doors came a friend with a troubled look, moving with haste to accompany the home owner.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Janette swallowed before replying to Reta.

"They can't find two of the girls, I think they're missing."

"Kuso. I hate it when I'm right."

"You can see in the dark right, you still have your sight?"

She shook her head in response. "I do but I'm not in my form. No paws means I'm at your speed, probably the only good thing that curse has."

Janette bit her lip as one of the cat girls ran towards her.

"I can't find her!" Syri cried, short of breath with panic in her eyes. "I-I can't smell either of them, I don't know!"

"Hey hey hey, look at me." She held her arms, facing her with a false look of confidence. "Look at me okay? Breathe, deep breaths yea?" She inhale slowly, filling her lungs with air before releasing to calm the nerves. After several attempts, the little kitty copied her actions, her slight hiccups and gasps of air slowly diminishing.

"Okay listen, I'll go grab some torches to help look. Stick with your mother, Reta go grab the love birds and tell them we need them. And stay calm, for all we know those two probably walked a bit too far."

"She can't, Dimyri wouldn't go out too far. She gets scared too easily." Syri whimpered, wiping a tear with the use of her tail. Emyri had been watching them for some time before locking eyes with Janette once she walked into view.

"Emyri, you and Syri go a bit further out and see what you can find."

"How do we call each other when we find them?"

"You have each others scent, yes?" Both girls nodded, with Janette feeling a bit more reassured. "Good. Then we'll whistle when we find them."

"I-I can't whistle." Syri interrupted, looking down and rubbing her arm nervously.

Her mother held her side and patted her head. "We'll stick together, I can whistle so don't worry."

"Good, now go. I'll catch up in the meantime, don't wait for me." All of them nodded, with the two kitties running off into the woods on all fours. Reta had already run inside, leaving Janette rushing into the house searching for torches to lit.

"Mom, I'm scared."

"Don't think about it sweety, just focus on finding your sister. Remember, strong face okay?"

Syri nodded, swallowing her concerns as they ran side by side.

"Wait!" Emyri shouted, digging dirt and grass to pause her momentum. Syri was not as experience, stumbling and rolling onto her side before managing to stop. Her mother pointed her nose to the sky, sniffing around.

"I think I got a scent, but I can't tell. If only we were dogs."

Syri moved closer and tried to capture that scent, finding it difficult to discern through the smell of wet grass, bark and mildew. She shook her head but her mother remained persistent.

"It's a funny smell, you don't notice it?"

Syri moved around, attempting once again to catch the mystery smell. "No, I can't-whoa!" She moved back, rubbing her nose before sneezing. "Excuse me."

Emyri beamed. "You smell it?"

"I smell something, it smells so foul like oil or something. Ew, it hurts my nose."

"That's it then, we need to follow it. C'mon, your sisters might be this way!"

She ran off with Syri still holding her nose, shaking her head and following soon. Though the smell was rancid, she felt a bit hopeful inside and the expression mom has was uplifting.

Emyri smiled as they were on route, we definitely found something!