Panther Park If I made it too hard for you, maybe you should've changed it

@Aningan

She had done better lately. She hadn't left the hollow in weeks, but no matter how hard she tried to ignore the way she felt there, today had just been too much. She needed a break again and had been unable to resist the urge to wander. Before she realized what she was doing, she found herself heading in a familiar direction to a familiar forest. Just to make sure. 

She was unsure how many times she had been here searching for signs of her missing children. So often that she had her own route through the dense trees. The scent of prey had shifted some here. Something she hadn't scented in a long time filled her nose, and she stopped to inspect the familiar droppings on the forest floor. Deer. She almost couldn't believe her nose, and if she hadn't had the proof right at her paws, then she might have put it off as wishful thinking. But just as strongly came the scent of cat. That had always been a staple scent here, which was why she continued to risk searching the area. If her kids made their way here, they would be easy prey, and she might be able to save them from a terrible death. 

She lifted her head and scanned the trees. She always felt like she was being watched here, and she had never been able to figure out if it was just her survival instincts or if she was actually being stalked. Shaking out her thick coat, she began to move again, lowering her nose occasionally to search for more signs of where these deer might have gone.