Daine's voice pulls and pushes at Almondine, trying to drag her away. But her boy doesn't hear it, she knows, and she can't leave him. So she's stuck, somewhere between going to him and going toward Daine, as the thing that looks like a man but isn't stalks her boy. She growls instinctively without moving, eyes darting between the thing, her boy, and Daine.

When the thing grabs her boy's throat, it takes her longer to react than it should, still wanting to go and wanting to stay at the same time. They have moved away from her, the thing and her boy, and by the time she is able to make her legs obey her again, her boy is no longer there.

She is confused, and wants to search for him, but the thing is her first priority. She jumps even as her boy's body drops, a growl deep in her chest pushing its way past a pain she cannot name.