As soon as I'd hit Roth over the head, I froze. He was out cold and had a small pool of crimson-colored blood forming around his head. My first reaction was one of elation. I'd killed him. Then I heard him breathing and noticed the almost imperceptible rise and fall of his chest. He was massive. Maybe he would still die? I didn't know.
I walked over to him and pushed him tentatively with my foot. I'm not sure if I expected him to way or not, but he never made a sound nor did he move. I had no idea what to do next. Killing for my own survival was one thing and I could do this no problem. But to have killed another sentient creature turned my stomach. Well, no. It wasn't because he was intelligent, I think it was because it now meant that I was alone. Again. But one thing I did know for certain was that I had just beaten the leader of the Meh-teh in a fight. One of two things was sure to come my way: Respect or wrath. I'm not sure that I wanted either of those things. And wanting to be left alone was something I wasn't sure I wanted anymore either.
How had things gotten so bad so quickly? One day I was bathing and letting my Cat play and the next thing I know, here comes this huge beast and now my life was all but over with. He did have nice eyes.....jade. I know that they can come after me anytime they want. But I'm not leaving my home. Its all I have. I can't remember my past, so this is all I've ever known. I will defend it if it comes to that.
And with that I walked back into my part of the Forest. If Roth lived, all the more power to him. If he died, it was of no immediate concern to me. Especially after all he'd done to me and put me through.
Why couldn't he have just left me alone?
I'd made it about two steps into the Forest when I realized that I'd forgotten to wash the blood from my body. The watering hole was right there.....and it seemed only fitting for me to bathe right there in front of him knowing he could do nothing about it.
The water felt good on my body. I took my time, letting my hands explore every inch of my dark fur. I loved how soft it was. I did wince, though, every time I came across a would I'd received from Roth. I had to admire how strong he was. It was a hell of a fight, and as much I hated to admit it, I loved it. The struggle to survive, the adrenaline pumping through my veins. To fight like that, to suffer as I was now meant that I was alive. To want to fight like that meant that I wanted to live.
I found that I was no longer looking at my scars with disdain. These were something to be proud of. And then the most amazing thing happened....the pain changed. That sting that I experienced before was no longer associated with pain. Instead it was arousing. I smiled as I traced the cuts now and grew warm as I ran my fingers around the outside of bruises that were just beginning to form.
I could tell that I was about to question these things. I shouldn't be feeling this kind of pleasure right now. It was at this point my Cat interjected and reminded me that these were sensations I'd learned to relish long ago. I tried to argue but the Cat had taken full control and all I could do was let go and enjoy the experience.
One thing did eventually become clear, and I'm not sure where in my past this came from. But I was proud of the scars he had given me. I had earned them.
This whole thing was bizarre. And he had tried to bite me! Why would he do such a thing. I know he doesn't eat meat, but I thought he would at least be able to bite someone without failing. He'd succeeded in pressing his lips firmly up against mine. I can't lie, it was nice to have him do that instead of biting me. I couldn't understand it. Again, my Cat told me that he hadn't bit me, and somewhere, deep down, it was right. When you got right down to it, I had enjoyed it. I had gotten lost in his jade colored eyes. At that moment, at that instant, there was nothing I wouldn't have let him do. I'd felt a strange, yet familiar, stirring in the pit of my stomach accompanied by a tingling in my loins.
As I was remembering, I let my hand begin to massage that area and I wasn't surprised to find that I was hyper-sensitive. Words cannot describe how good it felt; the way he felt when he'd did that thing with his mouth....I knew the word for it, I think, the way my body was sore, the way my cuts and bruises ached, the way he felt....male, and then my finger slipped inside. I was nearly overcome with sensation. I was wet, and not from the water. I began to purr as I slid my finger in and out. My Cat wanted to take over here, but I couldn't let it. I wanted to feel this. To feel all of it. I wanted it to myself. I imagined that it was Roth doing this to me. Just like before, the thought of him having his way with me.....no, not having his way, but taking control. Yes, taking control was the right word. Just the thought of him taking control of me set off a tidal wave of sensation, all of which were not physical, and I nearly passed out there in the water.
I had to stop. I lied there on the bank and simply enjoyed what had just happened.
A thought struck me that stole all of this bliss from me. I'd figured out that I'd enjoyed this kind of struggle....longed for it even. And the only thing that I could ever remember giving me this kind of challenge now lie dying only a few feet away from me. I may never experience this again.
There was little I could do about it now. I went over to him and he still wasn't moving and his breath was as shallow as ever. I'd seen things in the Forest in this kind of shape and they always died. Roth wasn't going to make it. I would at least make him comfortable.
Once I wiped the blood from his head, I could see that there was a very large and deep gash along where I'd struck him with the rock. How he was still alive at this point was beyond me. There wasn't anything more I could do. I wished there was, but it just wasn't possible.
I made my way into the Forest, and, once again, I didn't go far. I was tired. Very tired. But I also didn't want to leave him entirely alone just yet. I knew that when he died, I'd be alone again. I knew that it may be a very long time before I was able to be challenged again. Not like he had. I knew that a confrontation with the Meh-teh was likely going to happen very soon. Their numbers would likely overtake me. But it wouldn't be that one on one survival of the fittest contest that he and I had.
I made my way up into one of the trees and instantly fell asleep. I awoke at nearly sunset and I had the feeling that something wasn't right. I could hear a soft moaning coming from the clearing. Roth was moaning. If he was moaning, that meant that he just might recover. He might live!
But something about the inflection of that moan told me he was in trouble.
When I got back to the clearing, there were three wolves circling Roth. One would come in for an attack and would be swatted away like a fly by his massive hands only to have another attack from behind. They weren't trying to go for a kill, they were wearing him down. They knew that he was injured that it would only be a matter of time before Roth was no longer able to fight them off. It was a feat for him to have been able to do so for as long as he had.
I was suddenly very protective of this thing I'd hated only hours before. I couldn't let the wolves kill him. If I hadn't been able to kill him, then I sure as hell wasn't going to let pack of mangy muts do the job. This was MY Forest.
I let out a scream and all three wolves turned to look at me simultaneously. The one closest to me charged. I did the same. Once I was close enough I lept into the air towards him with my claws outstretched and aiming for its neck. They sliced through his coat and I ripped out its throat as we both fell. He was dead before we hit the ground.
The second wolf was almost on top of me before I got up and he was able to tackle me to the ground. I rolled with him and ended up on top and sank my teeth into his neck, crushing his windpipe. I would have held on, but a searing pain in the back of my neck made me let go. But that was okay, that second wolf would die, just more slowly. But this last one, it was holding on for dear life. I tried as best I could to reach around and grab him, but that didn't work. I was shocked when he let go of me with a yelp.
Somehow in all of the commotion, Roth had been able to crawl to us and grab a rock (the same one I'd hit him with) and bash the wolf over the head, killing him. The second one wasn't dead yet so I bit into his neck once more and ripped it out. They were all dead now.
I turned around to thank Roth, but he had passed out once again. I went to him and cradled his head in my lap. I would stay with him until he woke. Whatever happened then would happen.
The wound on his head began to bleed again and I, instinctively, began to lick it as if it were one of my own. The bleeding soon stopped. It was fully dark now and I soon fell asleep, resting on Roth.
~~~
"Thirsty."
I opened my eyes to find that the sun was fully up. My legs were asleep and my neck hurt from the way I'd slept. It took me a second to remember where I was. It took my body only have as long to remember the fight from the day before. I was completely sore.
