Use my nose.

I was a bit leery about using any power, especially when I had no way of recovering what I lost, but frankly it was better than wandering around and losing my way. I brought what energy I had left to the surface and let my true form assert itself.

I thought back to the day I took Kali, the power that allowed me to find her corpse-puppet. I felt a fire light in me, burning my reserves and leaving me in a similar place to where I'd been on that first night so long ago. I grasped my gut, feeling my protruding ribs, and almost missed it.

Smoke.

I wheeled about, breathing deep, and set my eyes to the west.

I stalked forwards, ashen and black-veined, with curled horns and cloven hooves. My black talons were curved and keen, and my cock swung heavy between goat-like legs. There were difference compared to before, my shape growing more demonic the more I embraced it. There was a small tail now, like a deer's, and the fur was as silver as my hair. The black veins seemed to have a pattern now, thick and even and nearly symmetrical, and my body felt a size larger.

The lingering smoke grew stronger as the day grew long, and by night I felt as though I was only an hour away from it's source. But, as I approached the source a new scent joined the smoke. It was foul and acrid, and it beat upon my hunter's instinct. Warning bells sounded in my head, and I tensed my claws in anticipation.

I was in the territory of something else. The scent was a marking, and the warnings were clear; claw marks, deep enough to make my talons look like a children's toy. I leaned in close to the nearest tree, looking over the gashes.

"No, focus," I breathed deep, closing my eyes. "Focus, you idiot."

The scent was complex, and for a moment I feared it was beyond the demon's instincts. Then I applied reason, and looked again at the slashes. "Two scents, two pairs of claws."

I looked around, considering my options again.

After using up so much time and energy to reach this place, was there any profit to leaving them be? Was there any real chance I'd find something to eat by leaving? Could I risk it? Could I just leave my life to chance?