Companions Innocence

Padding through the snow covered ground of the forest floor, Moonlight cautiously looked at her surroundings. Her eyes had scanned the snow wearily and her gaze had only just lifted when she saw shapes moving in the foliage of leaves, to the left of her flank. As she looked to her left she drew in the scents of Siberian musk deer. At her peek she would manage to bring down these creatures on her own, but now that she had withdrew herself her mind couldn't concentrate properly. They were crowded in a clearing not too far beyond the coverage of the trees, however they weren't the shapes that were moving among the trees. The shapes that she had caught in a gleam were more sleek and prowled the ground with silence, preparing themselves to pounce out but still she couldn't see anything gaining closer to her. She shifted her gaze back to the floor and continued walking with her head held low, she couldn't escape the feeling that someone or something was watching her from the trees, but she continued to walk in the direction of running water.

At first she hadn't realised where she was going, and there was no specific destination but the back of her mind told her to keep moving forward. Now that she could hear rushing water, her thirst and huger returned and she would need to fulfill them both very soon. Speeding up her pace, she realized that the shapes were following her in the foliage of the leaves that littered the floor, but also camouflaged in the trees. Her heart began to pound against her chest and she began sweating with fear, so she broke into a run and found herself coming to a stop just before she plunged into the stream of water.

From her first glance it looked as though the water was a little stream coming away from a lake further onward and surprisingly the water hadn't frozen over. Until she leaned her head downwards to take a drink, she saw in her reflection another tiger approaching her. She froze immediately and lifted her head wearily, for reassurance that she wasn't imagining what was happening. From the reflection she saw how small she was compared to the other tiger and this one's coat had developed a lot of fur that covered every inch of its body. She envied him for having such a thick coat whereas hers could only just keep her warm in the snow-season. She also saw that his eyes were the palest blue that she had ever seen and they had a touch of gentleness within them. They were almost inviting her to turn around and press her muzzle against the other tiger. But she realised that she had no idea who this tiger was and he could be opposing her, or his eyes were betraying him and he was trying to convince her to come with him to wherever he planned on going. Until now she didn't know that he was male but she caught the broadness of his face and the small amount of fur that fluffed out from his cheeks, not only that did she notice, but he also wore a scar from a previous battle that traveled down from his left-side of his forehead to his mouth. It passed through his eye and Moonlight guessed that he was blind. After that it created a bolt of lightening-shape down to his blood-smeared lips, so he had previously eaten. He had such purposeful strides as he approached her and she saw how well fed he was. She scrunched down to continue lapping the water from the stream which finally she realised how it was more like a river. It led away further to her right until it came to a lake that was beginning to freeze over. Well at least whoever lived nearby would have plenty of water. She appreciated the drink and her mouth was soothed as it could be quenched by the water. She continued drinking until pains in her stomach kicked in.

"Who are you?" growled the tiger from behind. He didn't sound territorial or menacing but more curious. "I've never seen a Panthera Tigris Altacia look quite so thin. Your fur from your flank is hanging and your ribs are showing."

"What did you call me?" Moonlight couldn't help questioning him. She had never heard the word before. "Of course i'm thin. I've been travelling for days without rest, food or water. What else would you expect of me?" She snapped. She suddenly became more hostile of the male pressing her for an answer.

"I'm sorry to hear that and I called you a Panthera Tigris Altacia. It means Siberian tiger." He gave her a cautious glance before continuing "You pose no threat me as you are weak with hunger, but if what you say is true about travelling, why come here to where I live?"

Moonlight just looked deep into his eyes, completely contrasting her amber eyes, she was so confused. What did he mean by where I live? Does he live alone? A loner perhaps.  And why was he using such strange words? She already knew that depending on your region, there was a slight difference in the choices of words, but this was so strange but she felt comforted that someone seemed to care about her enough to notice that she was underfed and posed no threat to any other tiger in this forest. Especially in this season where the weather was harsh and prey would stay hidden. But she also felt offended at the fact that he didn't believe her. He didn't know her or her background and he was already presuming that she was a liar. Frustration could be seen in her eyes as she caught him take a step back. She sighed.

"My name is Moonlight. I've come from a village called Perseu. I'm sorry if I startled you but I don't know where I am or why I'm here. All I know is I can't return." 

"Well I can't believe that you trust me enough to tell me your name. But what is it you mean by village? I've never heard of that before. Although I guess you could tell me your story once I get you some fresh kill. You look like you might as well starve at the state your in, your going to need all your strength in the coming passing of the sun." He purred. He had trusted her and gave her faith. Thank you she muttered. She didn't deny the offer of a free meal, she knew already that she was too weak to continue walking. Instead she lay down in the snow and accepted the shivers that trailed along her body until her temperature adjusted. The male, obviously seeing this as an acceptance to his offer, bounded away into the trees. She followed him with her eyes until he disappeared from sight, then she pushed her head onto her front paws and closed her eyes, letting sleep overwhelm her. After all it was the only thing that was going to comfort her in the coming season. Now that the slumber she was in started, she began dreaming of her old home and where she was going to go. In her dream she was in her small village of Perseu, waiting for something. She knew this because the glint in her eye as she looked across the distance gave a sense of expectancy. She waited patiently, although not sure what for, in her destroyed village.

Perseu was always rich with running, prey, but now there was nothing and the village was run-down. She didn't understand why, all of the commanders had been killed by the burning light and their shelter had been turned to ash. Just a shelter made of wood was no longer there, all of the houses were the same. The tigers didn't know what was going on until the point where the wind began carrying the dust to their eyes. Many of her companions had died from the infliction's that the burns had made. Their eyes watered and they couldn't see where they were going, and as the fire engulfed the trees they were helpless. Few remained unharmed at this point, Moonlight being among them, so the stronger ones took care of the wounded and led them away from the coverage of the trees. She could still remember the scent of fear that poured off from her companions fur. The only way for them to be safe was to cross the river downstream, so she did just that. By this point her friends were becoming weaker and some of which were clearly blind. Those who were blind needed support from another tiger, so Moonlight helped Sunrise over to the river. Although just before they reached their destination, some of the tigers had collapsed from exhaustion because of their wounds. Moonlight watched as nearly all of her companions fell to the floor and their flanks had only risen shallowly. She stood their waiting and grieving for the loss of them before continuing. There was three of them left now. Moonlight, Sunrise and Gaia. Sunrise was the weakest of the three and stopped by the river and said to the others "This is not the path I choose to follow, you continue and get safely across, I will only drag you down. I promise I won't return to the burning light. I will wait by the rivers edge until I regain my strength and then I will come look for you" and then he pressed his muzzle to Moonlight's. She was so emotional by now and he had made the task of swimming the river a lot harder now because she was choking on the tears that tried to pour from her eyes. She couldn't believe that within one day she had lost everything, but she knew she had to be strong to help Gaia. So they steadily began swimming until it was clear that he was never going to make it all the way across. Moonlight began wading across to him but before she could reach, he was swept to the depths. Another companion lost and they were all so innocent. She reached the other side and glanced back at Sunrise before continuing in the trees.

In her dream she was in the middle of the camp and was waiting for nothing it seemed. The burning light around her was beginning to swell and create a circle around her. Although it was mesmerising looking into the heart of the burning light, and seeing all the colours, she knew the devastation that it causes. But before she returned her gaze to the distance a flicker in the burning light caught her attention. The flicker began to form a shape of a tigers face and she suddenly recognized the face. Gaia.

"Beware of the power that the cat possesses." he growled, menacing and fearful. She just stood in awe and couldn't help the tears that streamed down her face. Though as quickly as the face appeared it disappeared again. She was left alone, wondering what his strange revelation meant. Could he mean the one who offered her food? Just at the thought of him, it seemed to rouse her from sleep and she awoke to see the other tiger standing above her gently poking her side to awake her. Once he saw that she was awake, he settled next to her and just continued looking at her with wonder. She began rising to the sun and washed herself quickly to try to give herself warmth. She turned to the male tiger with her tongue lolling out, he just purred in amusement. He nudged her and prodded the fresh piece of Siberian weasel. She could smell the sweet scent of blood filling her nostrils, and as if in reply to his offering her stomach growled. They sat quietly and shared the prey, each taking a bite and passing it to each other. It was enough to fill Moonlight as she hadn't eaten in days. The other tiger made it seem like a snack and nothing more, although he was contempt. She realized that he was watching her again and she met his gaze, his pale blue eyes in wonder, there was something he clearly wanted to say something but was unsure if it would offend her. She nudged him to tell her and in reply he said "What were you dreaming about just then? It's just you were twitching a lot and I thought that you were struggling until I saw your closed eyes. I tried to wake you before but you were still twitching, so I called your name and you didn't reply." he asked her wearily and shyly, but also he was scared. She could tell as his voice was trembling when he asked her, he looked away almost ashamed that he had been so worried. She rubbed her muzzle against his flank in reassurance. Even though she didn't know him, she could trust him.

"I'm Aquarius by the way." he now had the confidence to trust her and give her his name, although she didn't see the problem with saying your name to a stranger, something clearly unnerved him. "You were saying before about your village and how that you traveled far. Could you tell me why you left?" She recalled the events that had happened. All the time he was looking at her in bewilderment and he reminded her of a kitten who had just heard a story from the seniors. At the same time he heard the desperation in her voice and was stunned when she came to a halt with her story. His fur trembled and he saw that some of his hairs stood on end, clearly he was angry, but did he really understand? She knew that he didn't use the same language as her but he seemed to have clearly understood the events, she shied away.

"I'm really grateful for the prey but I must be getting on, I don't know where but I will know once I reach there." she purred in calmness, she liked Aquarius and the way he trusted her.

"Don't thank me, you deserved it for the amount of suffering you've had. Although you do need rest and I sleep in a cave not too far from hear, its down by the lake and I was wondering whether you'd like to stay there the night. It would be good for you and I could really use the company." He was almost begging her by the end and she could tell that he had lived alone probably since he was born. "But if you don't mind of course."

"Of course i'll stay, its not like I have to be off in a hurry anyway. Thank you." She purred. He was kind and understood her and she would be sorry to leave his side in the morning but she knew she couldn't stay. They traveled in silence down to the lake and their paw-steps crunched in the snow that littered the floor now. The sun had melted it and it was now mostly water, she knew that snow-season had begun so it was only going to get harder here onward. She saw Aquarius ahead jumping in the remaining snow and she realized that he must still be young, not too far from 2 earth spins. So he was roughly the same age as her. She copied him and they began playing tag until they reached the lake. Their care-free and laughter filled the clearing and Moonlight stopped by the lake and took in the beautiful scene. It was so beautiful and serene here. Aquarius joined her side and then trapsed to the cave just to the right of them. It was dark and musty in the cave but it provided shelter for now, and she was grateful for that. She noticed that there was a huge pile of fur in the corner and realised that it must be bedding and where he slept. He invited her over with her tail and dropped onto the fur. She followed him and fell next to him, filling her nostrils with his scent and comforting herself in his fur. She slept easily that night and drifted off almost instantly. She had found a friend and one who she hoped would stay with her this time. Gaia, Sunrise, wherever you are protect me from the dangers that lie ahead and approve of Aquarius. In reply she saw a shooting star in the sky and settled to sleep.

That night was completely dreamless for Moonlight as she snuggled beside her new friend. She could almost relax and let herself go, feeling all the weight of grief pour from her shoulders. It was so serene here in the cave with only the sound of water tricking from the stream. It was comforting that she could hear all the natural sounds from the birds singing to trees swaying in the breeze. If there was utter silence she would worry a lot more and wouldn't be able to cope. Now as she awoke, her senses came back and her stomach growled with hunger. Her appetite had returned and clearly wasn't going to go away. She crept silently out of the cave, trying not to disturb Aquarius. As she glanced back round though, she realised that he wasn't there anymore. She looked around frantically and began panicking until she heard a soothing purr from just ahead. She swiped her paw over his head playfully and began giving chase. He jumped into the lake and she followed, the water soothing her flank. It had been sunrises since she had got to be free and not care for anything. She felt the anticipation rising but then she realised that this could be the last time she saw Aquarius and couldn't bear the pain that would come. She looked away awkwardly and he noticed her attitude change. He could clearly scent the uneasiness on her as he came closer and rested his muzzle to hers. 

"I was wondering Aquarius whether you'd like...." she trailed away and looked hopefully into his eyes. There was a gleam of excitement there and she continued "....to come with me, I don't know where but it would be great to have a friend alongside me once more." She shied away and looked awkward again. He sighed and whispered in her ear "Of course I'll come with you." Delighted at the words she sprang on him and they began swimming to the other side of the lake where the hills began to rise steadily above the rocks until the sun had fully rose above them. They pounced on one another and playfully scuffed about on the sandy shore. She hadn't had this much fun in a lifetime it seemed. If your watching me now, old companions, please take care of Aquarius, she muttered. She finished by sliding her tail along his flank and they strolled across the hills until they were at the top looking at the dawn-cast landscape.