Where oh where could her runes be pointing her? An animal, a feline by the look of the fresh tracks in the snow. Big but only walking on two paws. That may twig a memory in Hermione of the thief that made off with the clutch in the first place. For such a quick assault the culprit was definitely feline and definitely bipedal. But, oh.

Oh the twist that comes when she adds the magic rune to her equation. What wonderful sense. There are so many charms that can confuse the senses, alter the appearance of another in the mind's eye even if not literally as with a Polyjuice Potion. An illusion, a magic to bewitch the senses and obfuscate the truth behind lies and trickery...

Will Hermione be surprised then to see neither a cat nor her clutch this time when she spies movement behind a small tree line? Nekomata has dug out the snow around one of her caches but settled another illusion over herself to go through her meager supplies, all of which she's either stolen or cheated the base's ration system to obtain by changing her appearance and getting extra handouts.

But even her with her clever ways Nekomata is running out of options. The woman Hermione sees is as thin as anyone else these days. Rifling through a toolbox with a half eaten field ration hanging out of her mouth while she mutters darkly to herself about the cold.