General Content Rating: 18+

Story Content Warnings: Heavy Swearing, Blood and Gore, Death, Racism, Sexism, Ableism, Homophobia, Transphobia, Exorsexism, Child Abuse, Underage Shenanigans (Drinking, Smoking, etc.), Suicide

Current Chapter Content Warnings: None

Viewer Discretion is Advised

#12: Unnatural Instincts

Notes: A sentence written in English that is italicized in dialogue means that beast-speak is being used. It has been translated for your convenience.

A large, wounded tiger limped through the forest; breathing heavily as a sharp pain filled its hind legs. It headed towards its den.

That damn two-legged piece of meat! The creature hurt it! It won't be able to hunt for…possibly weeks now!

And if that's the case…how's she going to feed her cubs?

A few distant mewls alerted the tiger, and she rushed towards the noise as fast as she could.

Reaching the spot, she saw her den in the distance…and one of her little cubs right in front of her; greeting her with a watery mouth.

It was her smallest, the runt of the litter, and always he was hungry; always. "Mama!" yelped the little tiger as he rolled in the grass and wagged his tail; his ribcage poking against his delicate skin "Food? Is there food?"

"No, little one." Purred the mother, licking the dirt off of her cub's face. "I'm sorry, you're going to have to wait a little longer for your meal."

"…It's been 3 days mama." whimpered the cub, flattening his ears and giving his mother a pleading look. "I'm starving."

The mother tiger sighed, and picked up her cub by the neck. "I know little one." purred the tiger again as she slowly shuffled her way towards her den. "You should've stayed in the den. What if a fox stole you away and ate you?"

"But I love you mama! I don't like it when you leave!" the cub tried to justify himself, wagging his tail at his brothers and sisters in the den. "I want to be with you always!"

"You will." Answered the mother, collapsing onto the floor, and sighing in joy as her 5 children gathered around her. "One day. you'll grow up to be nearly as big as me; then you and I and your siblings can hunt for food together until it's time for you all to forge your own paths."

The runt didn't like this answer, and he pattered over to his mother's face, nuzzling her nose. "But I don't want to leave ever! What if I never see you again?!"

The mother chuckled, and licked his face. "Oh little one…" She began. "One day, when you sleep forever, you'll go to the moon. See?" from the entrance of the den, she turned her face towards the shining, rainbow moon in the sky. "A place with no danger or suffering. Everyone you love will be frolicking up there for eternity, forever happy. I'll go there too, one day, and then we can all play."

All of her cubs liked this info, and whimpered for more information. The mother, despite her exhaustion, answered the cubs' biggest question. "Who rules the moon?" She giggled softly, the image of a being of infinite shapes. A being long told and long worshiped in the forest; their name passed down from generations to generations. "The Red Star of course. They created the trees on this earth, and they created the paradise up above."

And the night for a while was filled with stories passed down from mother to cub. Eventually, story time ended; all the little tigers slept soundly.

The mother was wide awake, however.

Pain continued to course through her body, as she fervently panicked deep inside.

She can't go on like this. Food was scarce this season. She and her children were starving. They can't live off of mice forever!

She can't…she can't take care of all of these children…if she continues to try to feed 5, they all might die!

…One of them has to go.

With grief in her heart, she turned to the smallest cub of the litter. "Little one." She softly called out; trying not to wake the others up. The runt squinted open an eye; curious at being called.

"…What's wrong mama?" The runt mewled out softly; noticing her hushed tone.

"Close your eyes. You must come with me." She urged; picking up the small cub by the fur of his neck, and pitter-pattering away from her den. "I will show you a place my mother showed me when I was just a cub, like you."

The two tigers traveled through the dense forest. the cub cheered excitedly at the adventure. The mother was grave, and stoic.

A large boulder in the middle of a wide clearing; that's where she was taking this cub.

She would leave him there, and let the forest decide his fate.

Regardless of what happens, she'll have one less mouth to feed; although she hoped to The Four Stars with all her might that this one would live. She hoped they would scavenge around, barely make it past adulthood, and then hopefully prosper like she did.

She highly doubted it though. This cub she held in her mouth was weaker and scrawnier than she had ever been. The best she can expect is that whatever catches him will eat him painlessly.

They finally arrived to the boulder she was looking for, and she climbed it; setting her cub down and licking his fur affectionately.

"Oh mama! I can see the stars!" The runt meowed out when he opened his eyes. He gazed at the star speckled sky above, and wagged his small tail in awe. "They're beautiful!"

"They are." The mother muttered, giving her cub a strained smile. "They really are…" She continued to mutter as she slowly stepped down from the boulder.

"Where are you going mama?" The cub inquired in confusion.

The mother nearly shivered in guilt. "I smell prey. I'm going to scout out to find it. If I catch it, we'll be eating tonight." She glanced at the cub behind her, inches away from the trees. "So you stay safe, yes? You stay safe, and if anything tries to harm you, you run. If you can't run, you fight back, yes?"

"Ok mama!" lilted out the cub. He settled down on the boulder; star-bathing contently. "I'll wait here for you! Good luck!"

The mother didn't respond, she disappeared into the trees and, when she was sure her son could no longer see her, she ran.

She ran as fast as she could, back to the den.

Did she feel guilty to the depths of the earth? Of course she did. She just abandoned her son. But survival was a cruel mistress.

In the end, this was for the best. four cubs were more than enough.

…Ha, she could keep telling herself that until the spring flowers bloomed but…no matter how much she reassured herself that this had to happen; her heart still ached for him. One of her own children out in the wilderness. Alone…

Something caught her attention, and she slowed to a stop. she wasn't very far from her den when she saw it.

A…shooting star?

No, this was…as black as the stripes on her back. It was some sort of roundish, flying object, which hurled closer, and closer...

And closer towards the nearby beach.

As the object landed, the tigress clung onto the shaking ground with all her might, flattening her ears and waiting for the earthly tremors to subside.

It was only when the ground was steady again that she peaked an eye open, and cautiously sneaked towards the unidentified object.

It was a strange, pure black rock that glowed as dark as the night sky. As the tigress sneaked closer to the object, she was filled with more and more dread. She had a bad feeling about this thing. Her instincts were telling her to run. Run and move her children far from it.

But…strangely enough, she was also enticed by this rock. It whispered thoughts into her head. Intrusive thoughts she had before that she instantly dashed away in disgust.

You're hungry aren't you?

Who needs four, five, whatever many children? What will they do for you in the long run? They'll just go off on their own and increase the competition.

It's survival of the fittest after all.

Eat them.

She hated what this rock told her.

But at the same time, what they said, it sounded so much easier.

So much easier than prowling around every day, hunting for food that wouldn't go down her throat; food that would go to her kits instead.

But eating them? No, she would never. They're her children, she loves them dearly; all of them!

…A-all of them.

Why can't she run away? Why does she continue to crawl toward the rock?

She was in a trance, a trance that weakened her will as she stood only inches from this large, doom-inspiring rock.

She felt her life flash before her eyes, as she raised her paw, and gently pressed it upon the-

…

The tigress was no more.

What was left was a slimy black monster, sniffing and drooling for prey.

four tiger cubs inside a den, mewling for their mother; flattened their ears at the terrifying creature before them.

The monster raised its paw, preparing to strike with its long, sharp claws.

***

"Noriko!" Called out Aden, waving his hands to gain the distressed girl’s attention.

She, along with a livid Brian, rushed towards their friend as fast as they could; thanking the elf prince that led him back…well, at least Noriko did.

"Thank you so much Prince Elric! We've been searching everywhere for him!" She expressed her sincerity.

"What were you thinking man?! God did you think at all?! You can't just go running off on your own without telling us first! What if something happened?!" ridiculed a furious Brian; who bit his lip as the anxiety deep in his heart subsided.

"Where were you anyways?" Implored Noriko who, realizing that she had been hugging Aden much too long for her liking; very quickly pushed the boy away.

Aden was very eager to respond. "I watched duel between Elric and Gonzalo!" He explained cheerfully.

Brian’s attention was drawn to Aden’s answer. "Oh yeah. Alva said there was going to be some sort of duel we could watch, right?"

"Yes. I believe so." Agreed Noriko. "Did you have fun Aden?"

"Lots! Was afraid of Elric and Gonzalo causing the harm to each other, but duel was safe! They are safe!"

Brian barely contained a snort at the strangely worded sentence, and Noriko glanced at the hot-head behind her with disappointment. Brian pretended his reaction was just an illusion, and raised his eyebrow at the one-armed girl glaring at him.

Noriko turned her softened gaze back towards Prince Elric, who quietly stood by; waiting to be excused in a subtle manner. "So who won? You or Captain Gonzalo?"

Prince Elric jumped at the sudden question; surprised that they even asked. "W-well uh. I won. Although barely I must admit." He answered humbly. "Gonzalo is quite a strong foe despite his age. He is one of the three Royal Generals of the Fiorati Court!"

Elric, Aden, and Noriko gaped at this new info. It wasn’t that surprising, really. Captain Gonzalo was in charge of taking care of the heir to the royal throne of this…Fiorati country the elves come from. It would make sense for Gonzalo to hold a high position in the royal court; who else would the king trust with his son?

They were instead in dumb awe at Gonzalo’s supposed high status. Quite ironic considering they were standing in front of a prince. To be honest though Prince Elric didn’t feel like a prince. He seemed more like another teenager, like them, albeit with long pointy ears and a witch’s nose.

The awe quickly passed though, and Aden had something to say about Elric’s answer. "What talking about? You won very quickly! Tons of skill!" Aden corrected in confusion. "Gonzalo says you are strong, stronger than he is!"

"A-ah!" Prince Elric was quick to un-defend himself, waving has hands as a light orange blush bloomed on his face. "Trust me! I couldn't dare to beat him in a true fight! I still have much to learn! Gonzalo is a very humble individual!"

"And you're even more humble. To where it's almost self-deprecation." Brian stated bluntly. "Accept your victory man. It's not bad to gloat every once and a while."

Prince Elric disagreed with Brian’s philosophy, but before he could get a word in a familiar voice called for Aden, Brian, and Noriko's attention.

It was Alva, who rushed towards them, nearly tripping on a nearby stool in the process. "There you are!" She gasped out, straightening the journals in her arm. "If you have the time, I would really appreciate it if you three could come with me into my tent. I think I have a theory on what happened to the four of you!”

Noriko's eyes lit up at this revelation. Finally! a possible explanation to this bizarre situation they were in!

Brian was simultaneously filled with relief and dread. Sure, Alva will tell them what’s up, but he's not sure if he really wants to know exactly what caused him to wake up in a giant ancient temple after all.

Aden was simply excited to go inside Alva's tent. What does it look like? He wondered.