Young Writers Society

Chapter Three

“Good luck to you, Arilia.” Shagro said gently, dipped his head to her. Arilia nodded her head to him, smiling gently. Rao and Morro sat beside her, waiting. As she turned to leave, they stood up and followed her. When they got out of the cavern, Morro trotted forward to lead the way.

They wriggled out of the hole beneath the root and moved on. The forest was brighter than it had been yesterday. Arilia enjoyed the breeze that whispered through the leaves, throwing her silver hair off her neck. She breathed the air in deeply, suddenly remembering hunting through the Sky Forests with her sisters. Arilia halted in shock.

She remembered the Sky Forests. Not much of anything else, but everything that had ever happened in the Sky Forests. Arilia’s legs started to tremble again, just as they had when she had first woken up. Her knees buckled and she fell. The two big cats bounded forward and sniffed her, nudging her with their noses.

“I’m fine. I just can’t walk at the moment…” Arilia gasped, reaching her hand up to Rao’s shoulder. Rao shoved his huge head under her and tossed her across his shoulders. Arilia pulled herself weakly up the right way and leaned onto Rao’s neck, breathing hard.

“Now we can run. Hold on.” Rao said. Arilia wrapped her arms as far around Rao’s neck as she could and held on tight. Rao bolted off. They streaked through the forests. Arilia kept her eyes closed, listening. They ran for a long time.

Arilia finally felt Rao slow to a trot. She opened her eyes and looked around. They were in a different kind of forest now. Arilia slowly pushed herself further up by her shaking arms and looked around. The place looked familiar.

“Rao, where are we?” Arilia said sleepily. She was exhausted, even though she had been riding the whole way. Rao lay down, tucking his legs under him. He was breathing hard.

“Halfway there.” He panted. Arilia slid off and Rao collapsed on his side, his mouth open to drink in the air. Arilia sat with her legs tucked under her.

“So, where are we?” She asked. A huge hunk of dead meat fell down in front of her and Rao. Arilia jumped and scrambled back. Rao leapt up, letting out a snarl. Morro leapt down from a tree and landed on his paws, bending his legs to take in the shock.

“We’re in tigers’ territory, all right. I hope they don’t mind us hunting on their grounds.” Morro said, ripping a hunk of the piece of meat. Rao ripped half off and began to gnaw on it.

“It’s to feed the white tiger, right?” Rao grumbled, swallowing a piece. Arilia began to tear at the meat, trying to rip off bite sized pieces. She chewed slowly this time, thinking.

“What if they don’t recognize me?” She asked. Rao looked at her.

“They will. We didn’t recognize you because you’re not ours.” Morro said. Rao stuck his muzzle back into the meat. Arilia didn’t exactly understand that last line, but she was too hungry to question. She tore the meat apart and ate every single scrap she could find. She had been starving. Now she was full. When everyone was done and Rao and Morro were cleaning their muzzles and paws off, Arilia asked, “What’s so bad about the tigers?”

Rao licked his paw a couple more times before answering. “They’re the fiercest fighters. They can bite a capybara ‘s neck once and kill it. They’ve battled lions before and won.” Rao said darkly, licking his face again. Arilia froze, thinking of the way Morro had scratched up Leo. If tigers were fiercer than that… Arilia shuddered.

“They won’t hurt you, though.” Rao assured Arilia. Arilia was still nervous. Morro saw her nervousness and said, “Would you like us to try and teach you how to slide?”

Arilia looked at him. She shook her head. “I have to figure out how to do it by myself.” Rao watched her for a moment, and then twisted his head around to clean his back. Arilia raised her eyebrows at him but didn’t say anything. Then she looked down at her amulet, holding it in her hand. The white tiger on it brought back slow, sluggish memories.

The feeling of falling sideways, which she knew didn’t make much sense. Then she was liquid steel. She was a super version of the giant tigers that ruled over the other cats by force. The lions weren’t the kings anymore. Tigers had taken over.

Arilia shook her head, dropping her amulet. She took a deep breath and looked around. Morro suddenly looked up, his ears perked. Rao looked up too. Arilia didn’t hear anything. “What?” She whispered, worried. Both black leopards leapt to their paws and hissed, the fur on their backs rising. Arilia leapt to her feet and looked in the direction they were looking into.

There was a cheetah that was running as fast as it could. Two giant, powerful tigers ran after it, their lips pulled back in a snarl. The cheetah’s face was full of panic as it ran from the ferocious tigers.

Morro and Rao leapt in front of Arilia as they got closer. One of the bigger tigers broke off and tackled Rao. Arilia screamed as the two big cats hissed and spat at each other, raking their claws along each other’s flanks, biting each other’s necks, ripping clumps of fur out. The tiger pinned Rao down and lunged at his neck, but Morro leapt on top of the tiger, knocking it over.

Arilia ran over to Rao, who was lying on his side, panting hard. His whole right side was matted with blood.

“Rao, are you okay?” Arilia asked, feeling tears threaten.

“Help Morro. You can stop the tiger,” Rao rasped. Arilia looked back at the two cats. They were fighting even fiercer than Rao and the tiger. Arilia held up her amulet and said firmly, “Stop!”

The amulet glowed brightly and the tiger froze, staring at it. Morro threw it off and pinned it down, snarling. “No, Morro, wait. Let her go.” Arilia said. Morro let out a growl but stepped off the tiger. The tiger came forwards and then dipped its head below hers. She looked at her shamefully.

“Why did you attack my friends?” Arilia asked.

“White Tiger, Mistress Tiger… We thought they were intruders. They hunted on our territory…” The tiger whimpered.

“Only because they had to feed me. Tell me your name.” Arilia commanded.

“Singa, of the Sunset Tigers.” The tiger said gracefully.

“Go, get your friend and tell him to bring the cheetah here. Don’t kill it.” Arilia said. The tiger streaked off. Arilia turned to Morro, who was holding a mangled paw above the ground, hissing with every limp.

“Are you okay?” She asked.

“My paw’s not gonna make it. But that’s okay. My days as a hunter were coming to an end anyway.” Morro sighed. He fell to the ground with a tired thud and began licking his paw clean. Arilia turned to Rao, who was still breathing hard. “What about Rao?” She asked gently.

Morro pulled himself over to the wounded cat and started to lick his side off. “I think the blood just got spread out. It might be just one scratch.” Morro grumbled between licks. Arilia watched for a moment before she heard a rustling in the trees. She turned and saw Singa and the other tiger come in. The other tiger had the cheetah hanging by the scruff from his jaws. Arilia looked at them in horror. Had they killed it?

The tiger dropped the cheetah in front of Arilia. The cheetah let out a small whimper and looked up at Arilia. Its hind right leg looked like it had been chewed on. Its back and neck was covered with blood. Arilia bent down and stroked his big head gently. The cheetah was shaking violently. Arilia stared at it with pity, and then thought about her amulet. She held it in her hands and imagined the snow cheetah, white lion and snow leopard that were her sisters.

“Meht laeh, heal them." She whispered in the ancient language that the Angel Cats had used for so long. The cheetah became very still all of the sudden. The blood disappeared. No scars were left. Morro looked down at his paw. It was fine. Rao sat up, all traces of the fight gone.

The cheetah rolled onto its belly and looked up at Arilia in thanks. The tigers watched grimly. Arilia looked at the cheetah.

“Who are you and why were you on our territory?” She asked. It sounded right. This was her territory. Not the tigers’. The tigers simply lived there. All of this was hers.

“My name is Malio. I came to give a message.” The cheetah whimpered, stumbling to his feet. Arilia looked at him.

“What’s the message?” She asked. The cheetah looked at her seriously.

“The wolves are coming.”

Hisses immediately erupted from all the big cats. Arilia held up her hand and they fell silent. “Why?” She asked.

“They have decided to rebel. They think that the cats have ruled for much too long. They think it’s time for them to rule.” Malio whispered. Arilia gulped.

“Who are the wolves?” She asked Rao. “They are the enemies of the clans. They don’t belong here. They cannot rule. They have a punishment for even breathing in too much air.” Rao growled. Arilia stared at him in shock. Wolves brought a shiver to her spine. Arilia looked back at the tigers.

“No one will be attacked until they come to see me. If you find someone, bring them down, but don’t harm them if you can help it. Bring them back to me and let me talk to them.” Arilia said. The tigers dipped their heads. Arilia turned to the black leopards and the cheetah.

“You all may go.” She said. Rao stood and came over to her. He pushed his big head against her chest. Arilia laughed. “You come and visit whenever you like.” She said gently. Rao nodded. “Good-bye, Arilia.” There was a kind of longing in his voice. Then they left. The three big cats ran off. Arilia looked back at the two tigers. They were waiting patiently.

“Take me back to the camp.” She said. The tigers stood up and looked at her. “I can’t slide. I don’t remember everything quite yet.” She said apologetically. The tigers dipped their heads. Singa lay down again and Arilia climbed onto her back. It was a familiar back. She felt much more comfortable on it then she had any of the other cats. And when they ran… Arilia felt as though she had come home. She let her hair fly off her neck and her dress billow out behind her like a stream of silver.

And she flew.