Behind the Curtain ||DISCONTINUED||

Little Human

Three days had passed since my escape. I had found shelter under a pile of boulders, and had proceeded to hunt. I got better and better, learning to stay downwind of prey, learning to keep my pawsteps light. I had tracked Blade and Tele's scents all the way to the edge of the forest, but rain had washed the rest of the trail away. I searched the forest every day, hoping they may have come to hunt, but no luck. King and his trainers still roamed the plains. They hadn't ventured into the forest, but they were getting closer.

I was lying on top of one of the boulders in a ray of sun when the call of a human startled me. I thought it was a trainer, but the sound was more high-pitched and wailing. I jumped down from the boulder and followed the sound, until I reached a thicket of trees. In the middle of the thicket, there was a tiny human cub. It was sitting on the ground, crying and wailing.

I watched it for a few minutes. I scented the air, and didn't detect any other humans. With quiet steps, I cautiously approached it. The human looked up, her eyes were red and puffy. She looked at me, and screamed. It was the loudest, most ear-piercing scream I had heard. I yowled and covered my head with my paws.

Suddenly the screaming stopped. I looked up. The human was looking at me funny. I sat up, licking my paw. She took a step forward, and I jumped back. She sat back down, and held out her hand.

I crouched down, and tentatively stretched my head forward. I sniffed her hand. I couldn't smell the tangy metal scent of the crops, or the bloody smell of the whip. Instead, I could smell the grass we stood on, and all the forest scents. I licked her hand. She made a strange sound, it was similiar to one King would make when he whipped the animals. He made a harsh repetitive sound of delight. However, this girl sounded...happy. Not mocking or hurtful in the slightest.

I licked her hand again. The same sound. She garbled more human noises, and reached forward. I recoiled a bit, but she just put her hand on my head, and rubbed it. It was the most confusing experience of my life. There was no malice or hatred, but something else. A warm feeling.

She clambered forward and smiled. A sudden rustle in the nearby trees startled me. I leapt back, sniffing the air. The little human looked at me in confusion. I could smell more humans. 

I was ready to leap back into the trees when the leaves parted. A tall human, fully grown, walked through. She was calling something. The little human smiled, and spoke in more human-speak, but she pointed at me. The woman seemed relieved to find her, until she looked down at me. Once again, another ear-piercing shriek. I covered my ears. The woman scooped up the little human. I looked up. She seemed paralyzed. 

I looked at the little human, who seemed to want to get down. I don't know why, but for some reason I wanted to help the human. I growled and stepped forward. The woman took a step back, and fell. She scooted back until she hit a tree trunk. There was no warmth in her gaze, but there wasn't hatred. There was something that came so strongly, I could smell it. It was fear.

I walked forward, and sat down in front of her. I studied her face. I looked at the little human, who smiled at me. I bent forward and licked the little human's face. As I turned around, I whisked my tail over her face, and bounded into the forest. 

I watched as the lion ran back into the woods. Marianna called after it, but it had disapeared. I hurriedly stood up. Marianna kept trying to tell me that the lion was friendly. 

"Mama, it was nice. she liked me. She wouldn't hurt us." Marianna slipped out of my arms and dropped to the ground, indignant.

"H-how do you know it was a she?" I asked. All I had seen was her claws, her teeth, how she could rip Marianna apart.

"Isn't it obvious? She didn't have a mane! Girl lions don't have manes!" She huffed.

"Lower your voice. It might come back." I grabbed her hand and began walking back toward the edge of the woods.

"She, not it. Snowflake is a she." Marianna smiled.

"Snowflake?" I asked.

"That's what I've named her! Snowflake! Didn't you see her pretty white fur?" Marianna looked up at me.

"Marianna, it could have killed you! Eaten you! Clawed you to death! I told you not to go into the woods alone." I looked around. The once-friendly woods now seemed full of danger.

"But she didn't." Marianna pulled her hand out of mine.

"She didn't claw me. Or eat me. She was afraid." Marianna stopped. It was a moment before I noticed. I turned back.

"Afraid? It's a lion. If anything, we were the scared ones." I tried to take her hand, but she pulled back.

"You were scared. Didn't you see? She was scared. Didn't you see all the scars on her back? How she cowered at your scream?" Marianna looked at me, and I could see tears in her eyes.

"Don't you remember? At the circus? The lion that jumped through the flaming hoop? And you all cheered? No one saw her scars then either!." Marianna cried, and raced back in the direction of our car.

"Marianna, wait!" I cried. I ran after her. By the time I reached the car, I could see her already sitting inside. I walked back toward the picnic blanket we had left out. As I packed it up, I couldn't help thinking about the lion. All I could remember was the danger we had seemed to be in. I put the blanket back in the trunk, and hopped inside the car. I turned back toward the city, driving along the old dusty road. I could see people in the fields, but they weren't workers. As I drove, a large man hailed my car. I slowed down, and pulled over. He walked up beside my car.

I noticed that bandages encased his torso, and he held a steel-tipped whip in one hand and a revolver in the other. I rolled down my window halfway, and he spoke.

"Excuse me, but have you seen a lion around here?"