Singles and Pairs (2) [discontinued]

Jeremy

Perched upon the diamond-shaped leaf of a colos tree, I waited for a sign of quarry.

I hadn't moved an inch since setting the trap that morning—even clutching my tail to prevent it from swishing against the leaf. The trap was simple; a spiked branch pulled to the point of strain by a golex vine. A tiny bird carcuss served as bait, though based on the repugnant odour it emitted after a day under the sweltering sun, I doubted its effectiveness. My stomach hadn’t received real food in days and even I didn't want to go near it. 

The blood-red sun had begun its lazy descent behind the horizon, marbling the sky with soft swirls of pink and orange. This was usually my cue to retrieve the bird and climb the colos tree to the top, where it was safer to sleep. My distant feline heritage might have afforded me night vision, but I was still woefully human where it mattered. There wasn't much that cat ears and a rebellious tail could do in a fight.

Seconds from dismounting the leaf, I spotted a shrub twitching on the jungle floor. Once. Twice. My heart drummed against my chest as I raised a blade to the vine.

A white mouse scurried from the bush and beelined for the bird-bait. I swear, I almost laughed. Though it would have been one of those maniacal laughs that ended in real tears.

In all of Marokaw Jungle, I had attracted the only creature smaller than the damn bird. I should have deterred it with a hiss, but there was something oddly charming about the way it frantically pounced on the bird in its haste to devour it.

Just as I lowered the blade, my wildest dream exploded into wonderous reality.

A gem-hound stalked out from around the bush, leathery nose low to the ground.

My eyes and mouth flew open to maximum openness. I wasn’t even convinced they were real until seeing one for myself, and even then, I was questioning if maybe I had finally keeled over from starvation. The creature before me was legendary. Not a single day went by in the village without some lunatic yelling theatrical stories about the elusive gem-hound, or a kid pranking his friends by pretending to have seen one. The details changed depending on who was telling the story, but something remained consistent throughout all of them: the reason it would only appear during twilight. The sun blinded its milky eyes during the day, and its shocking blue fur glowed brilliantly in the moonlight, leaving a narrow window for it to leave its sanctuary without putting itself in danger. Some tribes believed that by consuming its flesh, you would absorb its spirit and extraordinary aptitude for survival.

Not only was I lucky to even witness one, the mouse was luring the gem-hound directly towards my rig! My mind calculated the glorious possibilities; the look on people's faces when I triumphantly returned to the village with a gem-hound slung over my shoulder, the ability to trade its meat for anything I wanted . . . 

The gem-hound lowered itself even further to the ground, pale eyes transfixed on the mouse like beacons of predatory intent.

“Is he seriously talking about sushi?”

“Huh!” I gasped aloud before I could stop myself. The gem-hound raised its head and bolted into the trees. With a startled squeak, the mouse shot in the opposite direction.

I almost fell off my leaf-perch. I heard the voice inside my head as clear as my own thoughts, yet it was female and completely detached from my own consciousness. I scanned the jungle floor, knowing full well that the voice had been spoken inside my mind. Except, last I checked, my mind only contained me—and that was more than enough to be getting on with.

Get a grip, Jer. You’re tired and hungry. Your mind is playing tricks on you.

It was the only explanation. Although, I had never heard of a word such as ‘sushi’ and couldn’t imagine how my brain had invented it.

I scaled the colos tree to the very top and threw myself onto a comfortable looking leaf, lamenting the lost opportunity to completely change my life forever.

In the distance, the gem-hound howled into the night. Perhaps in anguish of its own squandered kill. Perhaps to taunt me. 

A smile took me by surprise. I knew without question or reason that somehow, somewhere, my path would cross with the gem-hound again.