Bloodred Tigrean
TilcaraPet Overlay By:
RyouMinion Overlay By: User not found: luminusy
Story By:
RyouName Meaning: The act of protecting someone from harm
The slim crescent shape of the moon gleamed down through the thick trees and undergrowth of the swamp, it's thin light just enough to light the tunnel-like exit of a time-worn path that lead to a cramped clearing. Any other night, the wind would be screeching through the tree branches above, clouds marbling the moon's illumination of the ground. Tonight, however, was different. The silence rested among the swampy surroundings like a heavy blanket. Not a branch snapped, not a creature stirred.
But as a lonely, thick cloud trailed its tendrils across the moon, darkness prevailed. Only one with eyesight of supernatural accuracy could have seen the silent figure land with the softest of thuds from his perch in a nearby live oak. His massive paws brought him soundlessly to the edge of the path, and he let out a long, bone-chilling growl.
The silence loomed again, the figure's growl lost in it's depths. The figure retreated to the center of the clearing, sitting down on the spongy earth. As the moon prevailed over the last tendrils of the fog, his appearance became clear for the first time.
His body was long and thin, covered in thick fur that shown silvery-black in the light. His shape was distinctly feline, with rounded ears and a broad muzzle. Blinking his sapphire-blue eyes, he looked about the clearing, waiting for his companion.
His name was Shielding. He was a panther, and he wished he could say he was descended from a great line of outstandingly famous aspects of his kind. But his past showed otherwise.
Shielding was an orphan. He had never known his father, and his mother had died protecting him from a vicious male seeking their territory when he was so young he could barely know what was happening. Instinct told him that if he stopped to mourn he would die, too, and he ran as far as he could. He traveled at an unrivaled pace until he collapsed from exhaustion. Laying in this very clearing, he somehow managed to survive until morning.
As soon as he awoke, the massive oak tree gracing his visage beckoned to him, it's low, thick limbs seemingly put there simply for the purpose of being a place for panthers to lounge in the weak morning sun. And so, he did just that, remaining astonishingly still for hours as he awaited his chance.
Finally, it appeared.
Almost too late in the morning for it to be thought acceptable, a very young doe stepped casually out into the clearing, sniffing the air cautiously. Of course, Shielding, though young, had instinctively moved downwind from where he expected prey to appear. So, suspecting nothing, the overgrown fawn began to graze away at the untrimmed grasses and wildflowers in the marshy clearing. Tensing his muscles, Shielding pressed himself deeper into the shade of the oak, readying himself for the kill but awaiting the right moment.
As the doe, more assured of herself by now, paced deeper into the center, she found herself closer and closer to the tree from which her assailant waited. Unaware, her dainty hooves brought her very near to Shielding's reach.
Lead by instinct alone, the young panther pounced.
Had he been any smaller or the doe any larger, he would have failed miserably. But, as luck would have it, their similar ages and the element of surprise was in Shielding's favor. He successfully brought her down after a brief struggle, and consumed her quickly.
New strength building inside of him, Shielding decided to make the unusually thriving swamp his home. He prowls the terrifying darkness of the thick undergrowth and canopy, leaping down onto unsuspecting prey. And yet, he only kills enough to sustain himself. In fact, he lives for the thrill of protecting the weaker swamp dwellers, whether that means to devour them before they become a nuisance or shielding them from the many dangers awaiting in his habitat.
Shielding is, in short, unpredictable, yet respected. Feared, but adored.
Shielding's Art
X by
starbornX by User not found: somniorum
X by User not found: musouka
X by User not found: quin
