2
Raja
The rainforest was quiet.
After a light drizzle in the afternoon, the skies cleared and darkened for the evening. Rainwater trickled from the broad-sided leaves down into the ferns cluttering the ground. Only with a sharp eye could one see the three leopards prowling in the undergrowth.
The chief wished them one final goodbye and offered a prayer for success. Now, Koto, Bodi and Zumi were off on the hunt, following the boar’s musky trail. I lingered behind at first, wishing them off with a fake smile and a wave. I made sure everyone saw me. But once my father retreated to his hut for the night, I was off.
Even in the cover of darkness and with the added camouflage of my pitch black coat, I still needed to be careful. As big cats, we had sharp night vision. My movements were slow and cautious. Unlike any other time, I didnotwant to draw any attention to myself.
I knew every inch of our village like the back of my hand. I had a mental map of every tree, every vine, every opening in the canopy - all intricacies I needed now to accomplish my task.
Tracing the path in my mind, I began my route, leaping from familiar tree to tree. My claws dug into the bark and I carefully timed each jump to make minimal noise. Soon, I neared the boundary of the village.
My heart raced. I was really doing this!
As I made the final leap to clear the space between a tree inside the village and a tree outside the boundary, a wave of excitement flooded over me. I was breaking every rule my parents set to protect me - and I felt good doing it.
I landed. I was outside the village now. I didn’t burst into flames or instantly fall and break my bones. I was alive, andfree.
But I knew I had a job to do. Not letting my excitement get the better of me, I focused and picked up the scent of my clanmates up ahead. Mixed in with their scents was a strong, musky one - boar. I licked my lips and continued on their trail.
Koto, Zumi and Bodi’s scents diverged. Instantly I knew they must have split up. Leopards were solitary hunters by nature, and even though we were shifters and often worked as a group, that powerful instinct still kicked in. My eyes flickered below, gauging whose scent trail I should follow. At first, I almost decided to follow Koto, since he knew the boar’s scent most intimately. But from experience, Zumi always brought in more kills. Nobody ever walked into the village with more game meat than her.
One thing I hadn’t anticipated was that leaping from tree-to-tree was a lot more physically demanding than just running on ground level. I grunted heavier with each landing, and my muscles began to burn. It was true I spent a lot of time climbing trees, but never with this much distance added. I growled to myself, feeling once again that being treated like a glass doll had taken its toll on my life.
A branch snapped in the undergrowth.
I stopped, muscles tensing. The sound came from slightly ahead. I leaned through the leaves and peered sharply towards the noise, hoping to see the cause with my night vision. But the rainforest was too full of foliage, vines and tree trunks. I was too high up.
Carefully, I lowered myself on the tree.
Something snapped again. This time, a resoundingcrackthundered through the rainforest. My skin tightened with anticipation.
A loud, primal squeal split the air.
A chill ran down my spine. It wasn’t just any pig’s squeal - it was obviously from a huge, frightened animal. Had the others found it already?
I wouldn’t wait to find out. Bunching my muscles, I leapt through the canopy, getting closer to the sound.
Then, I saw it.
My claws flexed in awe and excitement. An enormous animal crashed through the low-hanging branches below. Coarse silver-brown hairs carpeted its thick body, and two intimidating tusks jutted out from its face. Koto wasn’t lying. This was no small boar. It was easily twice the size of a normal adult male boar. It was the ultimate prize.
AndIwanted to be the one to kill it.
Judging by the lack of thrashing, none of the others were on the boar yet. It must have known predators were around, but wasn’t threatened by them. Until now, it had no reason to be - it was huge, armed and dangerous. But we were leopards - expert killers - and there were four of us.
And I had the biggest advantage of all.
With adrenaline pumping through my veins, I locked on visually to my target. My tail lashed in excitement. All I had to do was jump down and bite.
If I could kill this boar, my whole life would be different.
I leapt down from the branch.
Wind streamed harshly through my whiskers. My claws extended and my body braced for landing on top of the beast’s back.
