NOVEL NEXT Chapter 2 ‘The Tiger and the Fox’
A chilling wind brushed against Leion’s body.
It was cold.
‘Where am I?’
Mind still slow, Leion attempted to grasp his surroundings. Rapidly blinking, his eyes slowly came into focus. He was in a desert? A frozen one seemingly in the midst of nothing. Snow stretched as far as his eye could discern. Only a dead tree greeted him as he turned around and made his final confirmations.
‘Ugh, that doesn’t feel right’
The movement felt off. Something was wrong; something was seriously wrong with his body. Gazing down, the usual sight that greeted him evaded his vision. In its place, was what only could be defined as superbly strange.
Fur.
Leion was completely covered in thick, pure white fur. It bore similar stripes to those of a zebra, yet its texture appeared to be more composed of that of a polar bear.
‘What the hell!’
Leion stood up, or at least attempted to. When pushing up to stand, his legs bent awkwardly before quickly giving out and causing him to fall back. Leion lay in the snow. A man didn’t have to be wise to guess what happened.
‘What did that thing turn me into!’
It was one thing to punish a person, but to steal their humanity too seemed like an act to rub salt in the wound.
‘Why me?’
Leion wasn’t a bad person. Sure, maybe he was a little lazier than the average, but that couldn’t mean he deserved this!
‘Is it so wrong to just want to sleep?’
All his life, people tried to motivate him to do more. To be more. Leion didn’t care for them; he couldn’t. No matter how much they pushed their ideals on him. The only thing he ever desired to do was to sleep, to dream. Dream of the impossible.
The words of the entity rang in Leion’s mind.
‘Hard labour’
For those dreams, he was condemned. Sentenced to create a life, a story someone else found amusing.
‘Ha… like I’d let that happen!’
Leion was no stranger to avoiding situations like these. If he wasn’t, how could he have enjoyed his old life? This entity was just another person on his long list to avoid. Heck, it wouldn’t be hard, especially considering, by the way it was talking, it wouldn’t be here.
‘That aid though…’
Perhaps the most concerning thing at the moment. That entity apparently sent something to “guide” him.
‘Not much I can do now regardless…’
Not that he wanted to, and anyway, in the event the “guide” came, Leion could always just leave or hide.
‘Hehe, this might actually be not so bad?’
Leion was evidently not a human anymore. Nobody but himself should bother him.
‘Yeah…’
Maybe this whole thing might’ve been a blessing in disguise.
Sauntering awkwardly on all fours, Leion made way to the dead tree. The newly designated bed. Everyone knew the best sleep you could get was under a beautiful tree, irrespective of whether it was alive.
‘I guess I miss tasting food’
In the end, there was one thing the Lands of the Commons lacked. Good food. The thing second only to blissful sleep. No matter how creative Leion was, he couldn’t imagine taste.
Finally reaching the dead tree, Leion settled beside it. His body seemed too curly in an instinctive manner, as if sensing his intentions.
Relaxed, Leion decided.
It was time to sleep.
A deep guttural roar woke Leion.
Two days had passed since he first opened eyes here.
Stretching his body, he prepared to practice walking again. It should’ve been obvious to him given all the clues, but Leion was still surprised when he finally internalised the fact he was in the body of a tiger, a white one.
Hopefully, the body was nothing like the ones he knew.
Starting to walk circles around the tree, Leion let his mind wonder. The sole thing he could for entertainment once awake. Was he still on Earth? He assumed so when he first awoke but threw that idea immediately out the window once he gazed upon the tree carefully. Upon closer inspection, what he once thought of as simple bark appeared to be silver like the metal. The tree, which didn’t look as dead as before, was secreting a substance that was hardening on its bark.
Unless there was such a thing on Earth, Leion doubted he was still there. It was like the tree was creating a barrier against the cold. The cold that was steadily getting harsher as the days passed.
Stopping his walk, Leion couldn’t help but let out a satisfied roar.
He was getting this stuff down pretty fast. Escaping the aid sent was going to be a piece of cake.
Laying backdown next to the tree, Leion decided to head to his happy place once more.
Eyes closed, he readied himself. Slowly sleep came over, and—just when it was about to seize him—a rumble echoed in his gut.
‘Ugh’
Leion was starting to miss the Land of the Common. For the past two days, hunger combined with the distant agitated roars to ruin his sleep. If he didn’t solve at least one of those problems, he wouldn’t be getting sleep.
‘Where would I even find-’
Leion’s ears perked up.
Something was close; he stood
Scanning his surroundings revealed nothing but vast snow.
‘Agh, I think I might be a little on edge’
Calming himself, Leion gradually laid back down.
‘Hehe, I just hunger really does bring-’
The snow moved. Leion stood up once more. Several figures were heading his direction.
‘Are… those foxes?’
It certainly looked like it. Counting, there were about four snow white foxes, with one leading.
‘Mother and cubs’
Foxes didn’t hunt in packs.
‘Hehe, wrong opponent’
Leion was a tiger. Have you ever seen a tiger lose to a fox? He should just scare them away and try to go back to sleep. Taking a deep breath, Leion started to muster up a roar. This body did have a use after all. Letting out the roar, Leion watched as it had its intended effect.
The foxes ground to a halt and mutely observed him.
‘Scram already and stop wasting my-’
Suddenly, one of the cubs broke out from the group and began charging towards him.
‘W-What the?’
Backing up, Leion watched the cub grow closer and seemingly bigger.
It was only when it was directly upon him did he comprehend the lack of a sizeable difference between them.
This was one big cub.
A deep roar reverberated throughout the mountains.
The master was unsettled.
Nestled deep within a burrow, a quaint little fox hid from its gaze. Three young cubs snuggled against her, allowing her to provide the warmth they so desperately needed.
It was a difficult time for the young family.
The worsening temper of the master bore heavy on them. The last two days had been rough. Already they had been forced to move twice due to deteriorating conditions. Heading lower and lower to warmer weather. A real strain after the sudden loss of the male caused the fox the need to hunt. There was not much prey this low.
The fox slowly got up, awaking her young cubs.
They needed to head lower once more.
Crawling out of the den, the fox patiently waited outside for her cubs. One, two, three, and they left. Stalking down the mountains once more. They passed an anomalous amount of creatures as they descended. Every being on this mountain sought to avoid the wrath of the master. No leopard, bear, nor wild beast could resist its might. For, its might, was the only thing previously bringing prosperity to these unforgiving lands.
Lower and lower the fox went with her cubs. The terrain before them changing as they descended. Lustrous small silver trees gradually became more numerous, replacing the veiny, sparkly white behemoths. Finally, making it to the clearing that separated the mountains, the fox paused and attempted to hunt. This giving birth to a small succuss in the form of an inattentive bird.
The fox quickly had her meal before leaving. It won’t be long before the whole mountains felt the wrath of the master. She needed to find the exit before it was too late.
Continuing her march, the fox walked onto the barren land.
A whine brought the fox out of its trance. The youngest of her cubs was begging for milk. An action that seemed to prompt the rest to complain as well. Searching for a suitable location to rest, the fox made way to the only thing that stood out. A silver tree. Beckoning her cubs with a yelp, the fox walked to the tree.
Slowly arriving, the fox sensed a calming presence nearby the tree. A strikingly familiar one. Cautiously approaching the tree, the fox finally saw it.
Stood next to the tree was a cub.
The cub of the master.
It let out an invitingly cute whine.
Before the fox made a move, the youngest of the cubs bolted in the direction of the cub of the master. Unprompted, the remainder of cubs followed suit. The youngest of the cubs arrived first, tackling the cub of the master. Shortly joined by its siblings, the fox cubs proceeded to playful nip and bite at the tail and ears of the cub of the master.
Livid, the fox ran and chased away the troublesome cubs.
Grabbing the dazed cub of the master, the fox hid her a little way away. If anything were to happen to this cub, no creature alive would be spared. Something needed to protect this cub and, in turn, every creature on this mountain and below.
It was the lone way to save their lives.