Day 39: Short Sight

Nukka gasped, instinctively retreating several steps for protection out if urgency. Her paw accidently stepped on her kitty's tail, forcing Emyri's eyes to fly open with a painful mewl. Nukka covered her mouth quickly before she could scream or yell, hushing her and pulling the Nekomata back with her. Emyri felt stunned with the Grizzly carrying her by her head, her paws unable to feel the stone floor as she hovered in the air looking outward.

What caught the Grizzly's attention, the Nekomata quickly followed as the heavy fog within the blizzard grew thin and easier to see outward. Several figures were walking by, seemingly rather large in width and looking quite fat. A small squint and Emyri could tell they were merely wearing several layers of fur coats to handle the strong weather. Someone was panting audibly behind her, she could almost hear the Grizzly's heart race and suddenly she began to understand why. It wasn't the sight which spooked her, it was their scent. Or rather, the Grizzly scent they carried wrapped around them in the thick fur coat they wore.

Patting her arm to signal her, Nukka swallowed heavily and descended the young woman until she could touch the floor before letting go. Wiping her mouth clear of any shedded fur, Emyri turned back to see this woman engulfed in fear, shivering and pressing herself into the wall. From the looks of it, she seemed close to experiencing an attack unless Emyri did something quick.

"Hey, hey Nukka. Look at me."

She refused, perhaps ignoring her or never having heard her at all. Her eyes remained focused on those men walking outside as her body continued to tremble uncontrollably. Stepping closer, Emyri climbed up the woman's thigh and placed both her paws on either side of her face, turning her so that they could face each other.

"Press your paw on my chest."

"W-What?" She replied, her eyes quickly darting to look back outside.

Emyri shook her enough to keep those eyes back on her. "Just do it, and don't look away. Look at me."

Nukka nodded, lips pursed and heart thumping through her fur. Slowly and carefully, she pressed her paw against the cat girl's chest, which felt like she could touch both of her breasts with one touch alone. Keeping focused, Emyri leaned into her paw and inhaled through her nose.

"Can you feel my heart? Nod if you can." She nodded, this was to keep her quiet and calm, not wanting to demand much of her and instead keep her a participant without putting her on the spot. "Feel how it beats? Now feel yours. Stay with me and breathe slowly. Like this."

She inhaled slowly through her nose, choosing to exhale through her mouth after a moment of holding it in. Upon her third breath, Nukka began to mimic her breathing, and although slow she could feel her heart begin to relax after several minutes of repeating this maneuver. Once she felt better, she leaned in carefully and wrapped her arms around Emyri in a warm bear hug, making her blush. It felt nice and it seems like she learned to control herself better compared to the last hug she gave.

"Okay okay, you can let me go now. Thanks, but you won't like what I have to say next." Nukka whimpered but nodded. "Yea, we need to follow them."

"She's scared." Nukka admitted, hanging her head when a small paw pressed onto her cheek and gave it a sweet caress.

"Just stay close by, once we arrive I'll walk in and see what we can do." She remembered what her friend Zimi said to her, treat her like she has the softest heart made of jelly. Something about her feelings being her delicate center, and that keeps her going each day. She also mentioned that Nukka suffered from a severe lack of sleep, which explains her odd and sporadic behavior. They began walking back through the snow following the snow tracks before they disappeared in order to stay a safe distance from those men.

"Nukka, when did you get hit by that arrow? Or stinger, I mean."

"Oh, she doesn't like that day. She felt so tired, she closed her eyes for one minute and that minute turned into several days. We know because too much changes outside to think her nap was only a little while. She woke to feel a sting behind her, saw people just like when she was with Momma. Still can't find Momma, can't smell her anywhere."

"That's okay Nukka, don't think about that. I'm sorry I asked, where did you doze off when they found you?"

"Same place you slept just now." Emyri swallowed, she meant to say they slept in the same location where she was struck by an arrow with before? Makes sense, the cave was pretty sudden for her to find without being familiar with it. That's why she couldn't sleep before, she's scared to be caught sleeping. Damn, I was too harsh to her before, I see that now.

"Nukka, I'm sorry I was mean before. I had no idea the stuff you went through."

"No, not me. Nukka."

"Right, tell Nukka I'm sorry for being a jerk before."

She nodded, coming to a stop when both girls found the village at last. Emyri held Leone's cloak tightly around her for warmth, focusing her eyes on the sight. The place looked familiar but was left in poor condition, parts of the roof had been blown away and some rooms simply caved in under the conditions. It almost looked abandoned, but the trail sent them there so it couldn't have been.

"Stay here, Nukka." She looked back to see Nukka burrow herself into the snow, concealing herself and camouflaging with her snow white fur to look like part of the environment. Amazing, wish I could do that. Turning back, she stepped hastily to the familiar food shed she had broken into before. Inspecting the rear, they had patched up the loose wood from where she and the others snuck in through. Cursing, she heard the door creaking loosely and slamming into the frame due to the wind. It was empty, all of the food had gone with only frozen food stains and snow inside.

Frowning, she decided she would need to risk inspecting the other buildings around them. Empty, empty... most of these places were empty. Heck most of them were left open too, one particular room had some loosely nailed wooden chairs thrown around and laying on their side. They were small sized, much smaller than the average human. She pushed a large roof tile aside on one particular room which was locked, dropping inside without making a noise. Thank the gods for fluffy soft paws.

Her eyes scanned the area, noting the wet footsteps that stained the cold wooden floor and led to a room behind her. Two double doors were slid shut with a sliver of space between them, allowing her to part them open a tiny bit for her to peak inside. She gasped when suddenly she could hear the stretch of a bow and arrow aimed behind her head.