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The screams. The screams. The tiny temporal could barely keep her head up in her half-sleep adrenaline fueled daze. She wriggled, but the sharp pricks of pain intensified. Whatever had grabbed her certainly was not letting go. In the growing distance the bellows and calls from her mother rang out into the dark. Anger. Desperation. She tried to call back. I'm here, I'm here...

The wind whipped at her ears. It should have been her learning the skies, not being hauled through the forest. The Hell suddenly stumbled and fell forward with a grunt, sending dirt spraying every which way. For a moment her eyes opened wide, hoping that this was her chance!- but after a few sloppy steps continued on. She wailed, the most pitiful sound; it was lost in the wind.

So there she hung for what seemed like eternity while her kidnapper ran. Her frail voice had screamed itself hoarse. She had barely noticed when the wind finally stopped, when her body touched the ground below. Her nose smelled pine needles and dry mulch. What was coming next? She was so certain she was going to become lunch. Any minute now she would be lifted again and-

A snuffle. Something just as large as what had stole her away came close suddenly; it was not the thief. A nose pushed against her tired little body, but she did not have the strength to even cry out for it to leave. More, smaller footsteps were heard then and suddenly paws and noses were pushing against her. She found the voice to squawk at them, finally opening her eyes and staring another young, distinctively Hell kage in the face. The baby balked and skittered, prancing away from her and behind what must have been its mother. Although the Temporal cringed away from her, it was not her who had carried her away from her parents; a larger male Hell stood some feet away, heaving for breath. Their coats were a silky blue-black, blending into the shadows with little effort.

"Ssshe's too light, how are we sssupposed to hide her like thisss?" the female hissed. The male cowed away from her.

"The other wasss white," he growled quietly, "And I almosst didn't make it out! Would you rather me have returned with nothing? That human took our other child, we cannot afford to be picky!"

His words seem to have struck a sore spot, as the female went quiet. The child temporal cried a single, wailing note as she moved close, lifting her off of the ground gently and bringing her towards what must have been their den. It was tucked between gnarled roots and stones and lined with cozy, warm moss.

The Hell mother plopped the baby into a pile of moss and lay down at the entrance, blocking the way out. The tiny Temporal cried again, finally curling to face the back of the cave. Periodically she let out a soft, pitiful sound. As frightened as she was, her aching body was warm. These strange kage had not eaten her yet. Until she grew larger, there was nothing that could be done unless someone came for her. Her belly rumbled quietly, empty.

She was going to be trapped for a long time.

Blu cried out for her mother. She could hear the frenzied calls getting further and further away as she was carried off by the unknown kage. She tried to wriggle free but the grip on her scruff only increased. Her desparate calls soon turned to terrified mewls. She was desparately tired but as soon as she began to nod off she was jostled again or the teeth would shift and she would once again be forced back to the reality of her situation.

She had no idea how long it was before she was released and flung to the ground. She fell with a hard thump and was dazed for a few moments. The fur on her scruff was damp with the kage's saliva and, she realized with horror, something red and sticky that came from the plafes that hurt the most. She fought the urge to close her eyes and instead focused on getting to her feet. She would wait for an opening and run back to her mother. They couldn't have gone far it had only been a few hours... or days... or years... Having not yet learned the concept of time she hadn't the faintest idea how long it had been. She tried to get a handle on the growing despair. On her own must be better than stuck with this unknown kage.

For the first time since being pried from her mother she was given the opportunity to see her kidnapper. The kage was completely unlike her mothers. The most striking difference was the distinct lack of wings. Blu had no idea what it could be but she didn't really need to. Whatever it was, it was bad news. The thing, it wasn't a kage certainly, said nothing. It was knealing next to a stream tearing through a rather large fish.

Blu's stomach rumbled. She squeaked and stared down at her tummy. She'd never felt so empty. What an odd and scary sensation. Her stomach growled again and she began to really let the weight of her situation hit her. The empty feeling in her tummy spread upward and became a lump in her throat. She choked on a quiet sob. She heard a harsh voice in her head so unlike her mothers', "Quiet." This only made her heart heavier. Her sobs grew and soon she could hardly breathe. Her stomach growls and frenzied were practically cacophonous in the still, quiet morning. She felt a slimy splat as fish hit her on her nose. The harsh voice came again, "I said quiet! Eat that and stop your whining."