Runt of the Litter

Fiction about Ravenloft or Gothic Earth
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Tadelin
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Runt of the Litter

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A gentle spring breeze rolled in across the plains, rustling the grass into flowing waves as it passed by. The wind here was much softer than it was along the coast an hour's run to the east, but it was still omnipresent during the early spring and late fall. Its effects were also seen in the leaves of the trees scattered across the plains, causing the trees themselves to slowly wave back and forth with the breeze.

It was under these trees that a keen observer would be able to spot a lone tiger lying in wait. The animals were rare in this part of the Core, and the occasional hunter would report they had seen the great cat taking down some other large game. Those foolish enough to attempt to track and trap the beast soon found that they were the ones being hunted, and while no hunters were ever killed by the tiger directly, many were left with broken bones and jagged scars from the tiger's paws. Never once did the tiger bite anyone, but also he never bothered to wait around long after disrupting the hunters chasing him.

Today no hunters would be tracking him. And this was a fact for which he was extremely grateful, for this was no ordinary tiger. The deadly hunter lying in wait under the tree was more than just a tiger. He was also a man, and today, Martin Reese was also about to become a father.

The local village had offered up a reward for the capture of the "striped menace" that was responsible for wounding so many of the village's hunters, and on his last trip into town two days ago, Martin decided now was the perfect time to make arrangements to safeguard his offspring. People in the village knew him as a mostly harmless man who collected broken and discarded weapons and armor so they could be repaired and resold, or melted down and used for something else. He also brought in the skins from the animals he and his mate killed - though he would only say that they were skins that he collected from dead animals in the wild - and these two things kept him in the good graces of the village itself. So when given the chance to capture himself for a reward, Martin could only chuckle softly.

Martin had made a point to go before the elders of the village, and ask them to give him time to "track down" the beast, and that he would "bring back the hide." While he didn't quite figure out how he was planning to carry out this charade, Martin had clearly bought himself some time with which he didn't have to worry about his children being born. From that, he set out on his next task, which was making sure that his mate wasn't going to be needing to worry about food as well.

With the sun working its way up over the eastern horizon, Martin continued to survey the surrounding land for the day's meal. He raised his nose to the wind to sniff lightly, and could detect the scent of a deer upwind of him. Martin had no idea how much longer he may have to wait for the litter to arrive today, but he was glad that he finally caught wind of something to feed his growing family.

The tall grass here in the plains made his trip upwind easy, allowing him to move ahead with little risk of being spotted. It took him a bit to get used to hunting as a tiger, given that he did most of his "food gathering" as a human in his original home, but his time here has truly affected the way he sees the world, and Martin reminded himself daily of the penance that was required. As he got closer to the deer, the antlers were clearly visible to indicate that this was a buck. From his position, Martin took a moment to check the air again to make sure that there were no other targets, especially humans. Satisfied that this kill was his, the tiger refocused on the stag, looking for the moment he needed for a single quick strike.

---

The easy part of the kill was over, and Martin released his grip on the stag's throat. He'd grown accustomed to the taste of animal blood in the years since he arrived, to the point that he finally managed to get over his cravings for human blood last year. Martin licked his muzzle to clean the blood off, and knew that he was in for a bit of a rough trip, but he had to act quickly if he wanted to move the kill while it was still fresh.

From a distance, anyone unfortunate enough to see what happened next would swear that the tiger just stood up on its hind legs, grabbed the corpse, and ran. That person would also be inciting a bit of a riot to head out here to look for the monster he reported. But there were no such witnesses as Martin adjusted his body to his median form; all the strength of his feline muscles combined with the leverage benefits granted for a humanoid form. He knew where he wanted to go, and the less of a trail left behind, the better. With a soft grunt, Martin pulled the carcass up onto his shoulders, stood, and bounded as fast as he could toward the foothills.

It only took him an hour to reach the cave he and his mate had settled into. It was a reliable natural shelter that served them well over the previous winter, and the secluded location made it more difficult for any of the hunters to find it. Martin intentionally chose a cave further back into the foothills, with the expectation that anyone seeking shelter here from a storm would head into the first cave they found, and that his cave wouldn't be one they'd use.

As he entered, Piaa raised her head to look at him and sniff the air in his direction. The tigress was clearly due any day now, and Martin had taken it upon himself to make sure she was cared for during this time. Martin had taking to calling her "Piaa" as it was the closest he could get to pronouncing her name with his human vocal cords, and for her part she accepted that. She also accepted that he wasn't a regular tiger, nor was he some strange human, but more than either. Piaa herself was also more than a regular tiger as well, and she was still learning the new limits of her abilities. Some things seemed easier to her, like hunting, where she could easily bring down any kill faster than Martin could hope for.

After setting the meal on the floor of the cave near Piaa, Martin allowed himself to morph back into his human form. The tigress made an attempt to move closer to both the food and her mate, taking the chance to tear off some of the flesh from the carcass for herself. The kill is still fresh enough, and she knew something wasn't normal about the cubs she carried, so they both agreed this would be for the best. While she ate, Martin took a moment to reach his hand over and scratch behind her ears for her before joining in the meal.
One of these days, I'm going to get it right. Until then, I guess I can just keep being a fool.
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Tadelin
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Re: Runt of the Litter

Post by Tadelin »

It was clearly several hours later as the midday sun traced a path into the front of the cave. The remains of the stag still lay in the middle of the cave, and Martin knew in the back of his mind he was going to need to clear it out soon. I'll do it before the kids arrive, he told himself. Plenty of time left before that happened by his reckoning. So he rolled his head back to the other side, and allowed himself to drift back off to sleep. Martin tried to keep his ears open for any sign of noise near the cave, and knew he probably shouldn't be sleeping, but as the only one able to really do much right now, he was often awake more hours than he was used to.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed when he finally noticed that his leg was warmer than normal. It also felt like there was a heavy weight there, enough to where Martin smiled as he imaging Piaa using his leg for a pillow as she'd done many times since they first got together. Warm, happy thoughts. These were the sorts of things that he always wanted to experience with a human woman, but could never trust them long enough.

Martin heard a low, faint growl, but the noise did little to stir him from his dreams. He wasn't even certain that the growl wasn't his own. The pressure on his leg changed, and the growl sounded again. Having heard the sound again, Martin grew curious enough to open his eyes, a lazy look still plastered on his face from his sleep. He yawned, and then suddenly winced. His leg was now hurting, and the warm, heavy pressure he felt on his leg had suddenly revealed itself to be more than just pressure.

Piaa had clamped down her jaw on his leg to wake him up. The cubs were coming, and she didn't want Martin to sleep through it.
One of these days, I'm going to get it right. Until then, I guess I can just keep being a fool.
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