Tiger's Blood

The bushes rattle loudly as I open my eyes instantly from my dreams. Deep growling fills my ears with suspicion. I pull a dull knife out and grip it firmly in my hand. A dark shadow slowly walks out of the bush in front of me. Glowing yellow eyes stare at my motionless body. The grey Wolf Blood bares his sharp teeth at me. He slowly steps closer to me until we are face to face. I show him my knife and scrape it lightly against his muzzle just enough so it would scare him. “Just one more move and I’ll kill you,” I warn him. He backs up and mutates into a tall, tan teenager. His dark brown eyes look at me bravely. “Ugh finally. I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” He exclaims. I look at him puzzled. “Excuse me?” I say, confused.

“You’re that special girl who killed the Lions the other day,” he smiles and raises his eyebrows. He saw me fighting…he knows… “How do you know that?” I ask curiously. “I was hunting and when I saw those Lions I hid. I was waiting for them to walk by, then you came out and ripped through them like they were nothing,” the tall black haired boy says. I study him closely. “Are you going to kill me?” I grip my knife again. “A White Tiger Blood? Why would I kill such a beautiful creature like yourself? Especially since you are the last one left,” he chuckles and smiles brightly. I look around nervously in case someone overheard. He holds his hand out to me. “I’m Noah.” I politely give him a firm handshake. “Kira,” I say. “That’s a pretty name,” he says. He rubs my hand with his thumb and I yank my hand away.

I pick up my backpack and start walking away. “Where you going? We just met,” he asks desperately. “Away from here,” I say. He chuckles then grabs my shoulder. “Can I go with you princess?” He asks. “You don’t even know where I’m going or who I am and you want to follow me?” I laugh. He scratches his head. “Yeah well, I don’t have anywhere else to go. I don’t have a certain place I’m going, I just wander around Bitotem and hunt and sleep. A ‘Lone Wolf’ you might say,” he laughs. I look him straight in the eyes. He’s no threat, I can tell, but he also knows that I’m a Tiger. If I say no he could go tell somebody about my existence. It would be better to keep him close by so I can make sure my secret stays a secret. I sigh loudly and nod my head. “Fine let’s go, but I’m not a princess,” I groan. “Well you are pretty like one,” Noah smiles and follows behind me. I roll my eyes, ignore that comment and keep walking.

I don’t even know if I can trust him. Well, to be honest I trust him more than Ethan right now. Ethan threatened to kill me if he sees me again. I know he won’t kill me. He hesitated before he said that he would. I can read through people’s actions and emotions and facial expressions. It’s not that hard to figure out. Just like how I can tell that Noah was trying to flirt with me. I’m not into flirting or dating. I feel like it distracts me from my goals in life, especially now. I hope he figures that out before I have to tell him directly. We keep on walking for a few more hours until we reach a lake. The dark pool of water glistens in the moonlight ahead of us. The lake stretches out in a large crooked oval with ridges and curves. A lonely island sits in the middle of the lake with a single tree. Noah turns his head to look at me and I sit down against the grass. “We can stop here for the night,” I say as I take a blanket out.

Noah crouches down next to me and stretches on the ground. I curl up in my blanket and close my heavy eyes. Morning comes to me quickly. I stretch my arms and rub the sleep from my eyes. Down by the water Noah is mutated trying to fish, but he isn’t doing very well. I clean up my mess and I sling my backpack around my shoulder. “C’mon Noah we have to leave.” I say. He mutates back and follows me.

Six days of traveling and I feel worn down now that I have a companion. He always needs to stop to do something from bathroom stops to hunting. This will definitely make my trip feel endless. I don’t know where we are, I don’t know when we will get to the Lions Kingdom or where Ethan is going. All I know is I’m tired from walking. We finally come to a stop next to a beautiful 30 foot waterfall that splashes down on slick, mossy rocks below.

I put my purple bag down and take some squirrel carcasses out. I rip into the flesh with my knife as Noah stares in awe at the waterfall. Since we are running low on food I’m only eating once every few days. I can go up to four days without food; unfortunately, Noah eats everything I catch. I chow down on the tender meat when I get splashed with water.

“Hahahahaha,” Noah chuckles. “Sorry hun, I’m just trying to catch a fish,” he says. I frown, irritated. The seventeen year old stands in the crystal clear water shirtless and motionless. His eyes focus on a moving object in the water. “What are you looking at?” I say. He holds up his pointer finger to his mouth then his hands disappear under the water. I watch his movements as he swiftly dove under the water and was wrestling with something bigger than a normal fish. A minute later he proudly holds up a large sized fish to me. “Nice catch,” I act impressed. “Let’s cook him up!” He says and crawls out of the clear water.

I start the fire and let Noah cook the fish. I take a couple small bites of the fish and let Noah have the rest. Noah dries his shirt next to the fire and he puts it back on. I walk towards the small lake next to the waterfall and roll the tip of my finger across the water. The ripples flow smoothly through the lake. I feel comfort come to me through watching the water lightly bounce up and down. I sit there and bury my head in my thoughts.

What would happen if to me if the Lions defeated me? They probably wouldn’t care. They’d celebrate my death. Maybe even make it a holiday and have a gathering every year and have a large feast in honor of my death. All except Ethan. Ethan wouldn’t celebrate. He would be upset or maybe feel the one responsible for my death. When I met him he didn’t seem like the kind of person who would want anyone killed, well after he tried to kill me. He did resist killing me, even after he found out my Blood. I respect him for that.

We soon leave the scenery and get back on our feet. I look around the forest to see if there was anyone following us. “Do you think we are getting close?” Noah asks. “I don’t know. Maybe, we have been walking for a while,” I say. He nods then smiles. “I have a question for you, if I may.” I

look at him curiously and nod. “Why is such a pretty and tough girl like yourself willing to fight the Lions and possibly get killed?” He asks.

“I want peace in this world. I want what every Blood wants, equality. Well, every Blood except the Lions. I don’t want anyone to treat me differently because I may possibly be the last Tiger Blood left in Bitotem. We are all Bloods no matter what. I hate that Andrew and his son want to kill innocent Bloods for the sake of them not being Lion’s or for disagreeing with them. It just makes me sick thinking about it,” I say. “Alright I was wrong. You are pretty, tough, and good-hearted,” Noah smiles with his perfect teeth. His smile gives me a feeling of joy. A loud shriek interrupts our talking. Someone else is near.