Instant Connection

As Cierzo padded through the plains, she kept her senses alert to every rustle and scent while she searched for an herb to ease her troubles. Maybe a bit of chamomile to keep her mind right. Or else she’d get too down-trodden and have a scolding, or worse. Humming while she did so, her eyes that were once bright now dullened by the weight of her impossible sense of loss. But she had to live. It was what her brother wanted of her. And somehow, being a part of the little group the tiger woman was forming made life… bearable.

It was then, mulling over her thoughts, that she caught wind of an unfamiliar presence. It was a male, she discerned, hesitation clouding her mind as her instincts urged her to hide. So the svelte woman did so, she rushed on panicked paws into cover.

Peeking out from behind a cluster of bushes, Cierzo observed the stranger, his dark form moving predatorily through the undergrowth. As he trotted along, his focus intent on the path ahead, Cierzo took comfort in the fact that he had not noticed her-  and he seemed to be on the hunt for something other than her at least. She watched him closely, her heart fluttering nervously in her chest. She knew she needed to stay hidden, she needed to get back to Miss Azoula and the others.

So she remained still, her breath catching in her throat as the man’s scent wafted into her nares, a sudden shock of fear entering her system as though she could smell the danger he excluded. She couldn't shake the feeling and it intensified once the man snarled in his throat – her limbs recoiling instinctively to back away, to escape- if only she had seen the branch that cracked loudly under her foot as she did so. Her heart dropped, stomach churning as her dainty skull whipped to see if the brute had noticed. Oh Gods no.

””