Alone
I know it's a bit corny guys, and please be nice with any comments at the end, constructive only please. If I have any interest, I'll continue this, otherwise, I'll move on to something else.
This story is set in a world where felines are outcasts, hunted down by the canine society. There are rebels felines who fight back, forcing a war between the two species.
Most people have one name. It's a symbol of identity, who you are. You are given it at birth, and it's the one thing you carry all the way through life, something that belongs to you and only you. Sometimes it's something nice and normal, like Jonathan, Matthew, or Elizabeth. Or maybe even something different and unique, like Sienna or Archer. I was named after the place of my birth, the trees nearest to the wolf village. Always been proud of my name, you see. It's the only thing I have left of my family. My mother called me Sylvia with her last breath, before they came. I found out that it meant forest later; maybe it was to keep my birthplace forever in my mind. I never told anyone my name. Because then they would know, and they would take that away from me too.
Some people have a second name. This is more like a nickname, nothing as serious. Sometimes it's just a shortening, so John, Matt or Lizzy. But it can be a bond between two people- lovers often call each other sweet words which only they understand the true meaning of. You can have names for your friends, little in jokes, but that's not what I have. That's not what I have at all. Somebody else gave me my name, and I really didn't have any choice in it. They know me here as Gatta. In their language, it means servant, slave. And that's all I have here- I would change it if I could, but...I know that will never be possible.
My life is monotonous. I live in a village full of vicious canines, and if you're a feline, you are marked as prey. There are only two of us here, a sweet little snow leopard, only a small cub, and me, the tiger who came of age only today. When the entire community is snowy white, the little cub blends in. Neva's a male, and they're moulding him to be just like them. Training him to be a spy against the felines- I can't even be mad at him, but he'll end up as a traitor. It's almost impossible to tell he isn't of their type already. But me? My stripes stand out, and with a mainly male community, my curves make me an immediate target. Even the females of the pack choose to attack me, annoyed at the attention that their males give to me instead. If I could change my body, shrink my shape, I would, but instead I feel the pain of being an outcast.
I've always had the gift of my memory- when thoughts are all you have, you learn to savour each and every one. But that's part of my curse at the same time. I can remember parts of the day I was born, my mother's last moan as the wolves slit her throat. She was already covered in blood and it seemed so unimportant as she bled there on the ground. They didn't want her- she was old, and weak. But me, a young kitten they could mold? Two paws had roughly grabbed me, and stuffed me in a dank bag, smelling of rot and mould. How were they to know I was a girl? On a hunt, there was no chance to check. I don't know just how many of my kind they killed- I just know how lucky I was.
Of course, these aren't the thoughts they've fed to me. If I didn't remember that, I might have bought into their lies, about how I had been born from a monster. They told me I was worthless, a lower life form than the wolves. I was useless for nothing but serving, so that was my job. If ever anyone in the clan called on me, I had to run, and do it without question. They had few morals, but before I had come of age, there seemed to be an unspoken rule that I was not to be touched. That didn't mean the wolves all followed that rule, but...it kept me safer than I thought I would ever be. But now, after today? I don't know what will become of me. I've heard ominous whispers, as I've walked through the village. Very few of them treat me like a sentient creature, but there's one or two feline sympathisiers. I would always go to Jothi's house whenever I had time. She's the nurse of the village, and she sometimes gave me a bite to eat, and a better place to sleep than my pathetic excuse for a home. Caring is in her nature, and she was the one who told me all of the cultures and traditions. If not for her...then well, I think I'd have accepted my fate years ago.
It was there I had to go now. Becoming of age was a rite of passage in this village. If I was lucky, then maybe I'd have my own ceremony. But my life hadn't exactly been full of joy so far, so I didn't hold up much hope. But to get there, I had to walk straight through the rest of the village, and that was something I always dreaded. Brushing my fur clean, I crawled out of my hole. That's all I lived in- a small hole dug into the ground, with pathetic pieces of bark as a cover from the rain. They didn't care if I got covered in mud, or lived in squalor. I had been lucky last night. Only soil covered my back, and at least my hole was mine. I could always clean myself in the nearby river afterwards.
It was too early for many of the wolves to be up. They were, by nature, mostly night creatures, and because of that I had come to prefer the day. There was nobody to order me around, and if they then couldn't find me at night, I was free. They couldn't torture me as much for never being there instead of being disobedient and refusing. So I tiptoed around the camp, avoiding the light sleepers and the ones I knew were up late. Felines are known for their grace and agility, and a tiger like me was a prime specimen. I was fast, and delicate, tall and elegant. Sometimes I couldn't help but daydream, what would have happened if I lived with my race. Could I have been special, made something of myself? Chosen my own mate, and lived a life of luxury? I sure would have worked for it. But dear fortune never seemed to favour me.
I swung into Jothi's hut from the roof. This was my normal way of travelling around- wolves were so sure of themselves, and they never thought to look up. Her hut was luxury to me, made of twigs and straw and mud and whatever else. It was warm, and cosy, and as I entered, she was there, waiting for me. It was obvious she had known I was coming- I was finally of mating age, and I would need to know what was in store for me. She wasn't afraid to spare the details, and I loved her for that- I wanted to know everything I could about the beasts that captured me. As I entered, landing gracefully on the mat, she rose from her wooden seat slowly. She was getting on in years now, and she had never been lucky enough to have children. I think she thought of me as her own little girl; and she was definitely the closest thing I knew to a mother. We shared an unspoken bond, but we kept it hidden. The tribe would have punished her if they knew just how much she gave me.
In silence, we embraced, and it was quite a while before we could bare to let go. Motioning for me to sit, she turned away, going towards her well stocked cupboards to find me something to eat- I must have been getting thin again. I suspected she might have just not wanted to look at me, using the food as a poor excuse, but one that we both accepted.
"So, little Gatta...You are not so little any more." Her voice cracked slightly, as she began to speak, and I knew then that this would not be easy.
"Jothi, speak, and speak quickly. If my fate is to be so dire, then let me know it instead of forcing me to create my own torture in my mind."
She nodded, and turned around to face me. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she pulled a new seat up next to me, while handing me a small fish she had been saving for days. I had only ever had fish once before in my life, when I raided it from the chief's personal stocks. I got a full moon's cycle where I had to walk on all fours, around the camp like a feral beast. I was deprived of all food except the bare minimum to keep me alive, and my labour was doubled. Carrying water, cleaning huts, and any grunt work, if you could imagine it, I had to do it. It's incredibly hard when you are humiliated in such a way, and my muscles soon ached after the first day. I learnt never again to steal, as the punishments promised to only get worse.
I held the juicy fish tentatively, before devouring it- the taste was intoxicating, and I couldn't resist. Jothi sat there in silent, watching me, and when I was done, she sighed, and forced a smile. "We must be quick now, my Gatta. I have so much to tell you, and not much time. I have always tried to avoid talking about what happens in our culture when someone comes of age, because of the painful background it has to the feud of our species. But I must tell you now, otherwise you will not understand at all."
"The war between the felines and the canines has been long and arduous. I trust you know most of this. You know it started over territory, and then it expanded to almost elimination of your species. This feud has been going for almost 200 years now, and it had been 70 years or so since felines were deemed sub-canine."
She talked so brutally, so freely. It was easy to let myself forget that she herself was one of the winners, a wolf herself. It lifted my heart to see that there were those who were willing to work together- as much as I hated my captors, I never wished to be just as bad. Harmony seemed to be the only way for our race to survive. Even though we were more agile, canines had brute strength, and with their sheer numbers, we didn't have a chance if we wanted a complete change.
"But that's not all. For a time after canines took control, they kept felines as slaves, as you are now. Canines had a perfect life, until the felines started to disappear. They would run, run away, wherever they could go that wasn't populated by canines. Their favourite hiding places seemed to be into the trees and the forests, up high where the canines refused to climb- you know you have this natural advantage over us. But the canines soon grew wise, and they started to hunt them down, at night. And the few that remained in their company were bred, and their kittens were taught from birth just how superior the canines were, scared into following the order they were born into."
"Meanwhile, the canines were trained by their chief, told just how much better they were then the felines. You cannot hate us for what we have been taught, as we are conditioned from birth with superiority. It takes a strange one to break from the mold, but that is what I'm trying to do now, with you."
I couldn't help but stop her now. Her tale had left so much confusion in my mind, as how could I not hate those who had tortured and made my life a living hell? "Jothi, Jothi! How do I cope, what should I do? Is there any way to break through to them, and show them just what peace could do?"
With sadness, she shook her head, a tear dripping down her muzzle. "You have not heard what I am about to tell you. None of this relates to you just yet. But you must know. For years later, hunting became an important activity, a way for the males of a pack to come of age. They would have a ceremony, and all the males wanting to earn their place int he pack would be released. The first one to return with the carcass of a feline would take his place in the pack, and the rest would have to wait for the next ceremony, twelve moons later."?
I hadn't noticed just how I had become to shake. A feeling of dread had started to grow inside of me, and I closed my eyes, nodding for her to continue.
"But about 20 or so years ago, it got difficult to even find a feline. And so the rule changed. Instead of killing, it changed to capturing. The plan was to breed you, make the species anew, completely conditioned as a slave race. There were a few before you, but they died from malnourish. We were complacent, and thought you could survive on much more than you could. And then we took you. You were the last we could find for a long time. We started using feral animals for the ceremony, but all hope rested on you. If there are more felines out there, they are hiding away from us. I don't blame them."
"And then, a few years back, we found little Neva. And the chief gave us our orders. He was to be raised as one of us, and then, when he was old enough, he would breed with you. You would be forced to repopulate your entire race, and then they would be taken, and raised by wolves as inferior. It's why you have never been touched, kept pure for this purpose."
"But still, this isn't the end. It was recent that a new alpha challenged our leader. He took him on, and won. And he doesn't agree with this, he doesn't want a complete new race of felines. He wants them eliminated. And instead, as slaves, he wants a new race to be bred, half feline and half canine. They would be inferior, belonging to neither culture. He wants you to be breed with the best of our tribe, while Neva is saved for our most fertile females."
She stopped now, letting the news sink in. We both sat in complete silence, while I looked down, thoughts colliding in my mind. I couldn't escape- I had tried that years ago. It had not ended well, and I had always wondered just why I was so valuable to them. Well, now I knew. I was just a means to the end for them, and they couldn't afford to lose me.
"A-and...what does that mean for me?"
"At the ceremony in only a week, you will be released into the wild, and given a short amount of time to run. Nine of our strongest teenage males will then be released after you, and they will hunt you down. The first one to find you..."
She trailed off, and I needed no explanation. I could tell in her face that it hurt to tell me this, but I couldn't help it. Standing up suddenly, I lashed out, and scratched her viciously, my claws fully extended. She cried out, blood trickling down her face, and I recoiled in disgust at myself. I had never hurt Jothi, never. And now, I could see the horrified look on her face, and I had turned into a monster myself.