Salvage

Amy opened her eyes and stretched. Her sinewy body unwound from its slumber as her mind booted to its normal waking routine. Outhouse. Pump some water to drink. It was the finding a can of edible food that was proving to be a problem this morning. As she rifled through the stacks of empty cans, she found to her dismay to have eaten all of them over the course of however many days she'd been holed up in her shelter. She'd hastily commandeered an old abandoned cabin in the middle of some wooded piece of nowhere, reinforcing the walls with what scrap she could muster to shield against the wind. Not that it was particularly cold anymore, but when December hit, the winds started blowing hard enough to pick a Jinko up and carry her off if she wasn't careful. And Amy was careful. Mostly.

A sigh escaped her lips as she realized she'd have to go foraging for food. But where. There was a convenience store up the road, but that looked picked absolutely clean. If she could drink gasoline or diesel out of the storage tanks, that'd be a different story. She hadn't smelled any particularly delicious animals for a month now. Either she'd hunted them out, or they could smell her now and avoided her area. Which left the Supermarket. Yup, no doubt about that one. She could make it when the wind storms died down for the evening, then just barely get back before they start again in the morning. How much longer would the wind storms last though? She did the mental calculations, resulting in: February 14th. Seems like they'd last another two weeks, and be done at the beginning of March. Yup, no doubts about it, she'd have to hit the Supermarket. It'd be a difficult nut to crack though, as the place was swarming with Ushi-Oni. Amy knew she could deal with one or two Ushis, but there were at least thirty on, around, or near that place nearly all the time.

Her mind settled, Amy began the task of getting the supplies and bags she'd need to bring home food. Her backpack, some water in whatever containers she could seal, a little bit of camo paint she managed to find left over from whoever lived here before. Not that she was that worried about the Ushis seeing her (their sight in the dark wasn't that great), but better safe than sorry, and it's not like anyone else had any need of it.

Cracking open what functioned as her door (and had previously been part of some other house's roof), she saw that the winds had finally died down, and she could set off. Shouldering her pack, she did just that, immediately leaping for the nearest tree and taking off to the trees to avoid detection from whatever might be out there. Not that she smelled anything. Better safe than sorry. Same song second verse.

After some time, she reached the clearing outside the Supermarket. She took a drink of her water, then smelled the air. The stink of Ushi-Oni was strong, but not so strong as to indicate their full force. Four, maybe Five Ushis total in the massive structure. They'd had the same idea she had, and had ventured outside their home to places unknown. Apparently humans purchased "Wal" in this "Mart". Nonetheless, Amy felt her chances increase substantially. No way she'd have to evade more than one or two at a time, and even then, if she smelled right, they were sleeping. Something else bugged her though. Some other scent. Not Ushi-Oni. Not food. It was like nothing she'd ever smelled before. She felt herself....drawn...no, no, food, food was the priority. As soon as the sun hit the horizon, she made her break across the treeline towards the supermarket. One subtle leap, and she had the side of the building, a quick sweep and she knew the roof was clear. She sniffed the line to find what she was looking for. Canned foods. East side of building. Not the rotten foods that lay in the open bins. Whatever those primitives were planning for that, it didn't work out. Finding an opening, Amy opened the "skylight" as the primitives call them, and dropped down. From the smell of things, the Ushi were sleeping, and she could faintly smell the cans waiting for her.

She swiftly, but cautiously, made her way over to the short, wide cans. Irritating as they were to open, they held the sweet, succulent water and food she loved. Each pack of four she stuffed in her bag was another day or week of food and water she didn't need. She reveled in the excess. Whatever drew the spider cow monsters to this place was another matter, but she was always drawn to the cans which were always in ample supply. As her bag drew full, she closed it, prepared to make her getaway, when the smell came again, so strong this time. What was that. It smelled better than the cans. She drew closer to the southwest corner of the store. So strong here. So....tempting. There, an Ushi slept, near some sort of satchel. The smell drew Amy closer, so close. What was in it? It smelled so sweet. Quickly, she grabbed the bag, then leapt for another roof opening. As her claws clung to the opening, a sound issued from the bag she'd stolen from the Ushi. A whimper issued forth, like when she'd sprung upon some small creature, issued from the satchel she'd slung across her midsection. Amy froze, glancing back at the sleeping Ushi. It's sleeping form, however, showed no disturbance, so she continued her climb. Reaching the roof, the satchel whimpered again. Freezing, and holding the small satchel steady, Amy froze, some deer in the headlights pose struck. No click clack of claws on cement, no flying furry spiders moving. Must be Amy's lucky day, she supposed.

Reaching the side of the building, she gently climbed down the building to not disturb whatever was in her precious smelling satchel. Each handhold was taken with the utmost care, not to disturb this charge. The smell came and went however, luckily minimizing itself as she crossed over to the trees, making her escape optimal and her chances of chase minimal. Nonetheless, she took a more indirect route back to her shelter, crossing a couple of creeks and narrow bodies of water to hopefully throw the scent trail off.

Satisfied that she wasn't being followed and that the Ushis weren't in direct pursuit, Amy tripled back to her shelter, her food and treat in tow. Crossing the threshold and replacing her cover, she set down the bag of cans and focused her attention on the sweet smelling satchel. Whatever it was, it was worth stealing, and she'd probably have to move in the next week to make sure the Ushis didn't find it or her. Gently, taking care not to hit her massive claws on the satchel, she opened the satchel. Inside was.....

Some sort of small creature. Still breathing. After a few gentle proddings, the creature opened its eyes. Intelligent, blue eyes graced Amy's. Still small, but intelligent and inquisitive. A small mouth moved. "Hello".

Amy recoiled. The thing spoke. The delicious smelling thing wasn't a food. She found the wall with her back, and froze. She knew how to talk. She did. Didn't she?

"Do you know how to talk?" The precious prize said.
Amy found her voice fleeting, but still there. "Yes, I can speak"

"Oh, wonderful!" The prize said. "Those monsters were scary, but I'm glad I'm here with you. Where are we?"

Amy glanced about, unsure of how to describe their abode.
"This is my shelter, for now. It's not home though. It's just shelter."
"Oh, well, that sounds much better." The prize responded. "I'm John, and those monsters carried me from my home. It's....it's..." The little prize began to stutter and pout it's lips in a way that made Amy's heart ache. "I don't know where home is." The prize....John began to sob softly. Little John softly wept, sitting up in the satchel Amy had set on the floor with abandon.

Amy, distressed by this little, welcome intruder, began racking her brain for ways she could comfort the....it had a name. For ways she could comfort little John. Something, something....oh! Those treats she got from the market!

She rummaged in her bag, pulling out one of the cans and a bottle of her water she'd packed for the trip. She thrust them at the small...John, in hopes that he'd be satiated.

Amy recalled the date, and a calendar she'd seen once upon a time. "Happy....Valentine's Day?" She muttered, handing over the bottle of water and a can of Fancy Feast.

The...Boy. That was the word she'd heard used to describe...humans this way. The boy took the can and bottle, and his face immediately lit up as if she'd turned the sun back on. Amy's heart began to flutter. The two finished the night snacking on the can, and talking about their homes.

As the delicious Feast worked on her, Amy felt her eyes grow heavy, and felt herself move to her nest, prepared in a corner of the cabin. She'd not settled long before she felt and smelled the little John climb onto her, and settle against her hardened abdomen muscles.

"Good Night, big sis Amy."