Tigress's story

The dark rainforest was silent except for the quiet patter of rain as it slipped off the thick leaves and onto the ground. It'd been long since I'd had a decent meal, and I was starting to worry If I was going to starve to death. I couldn't help hoping it'd all end soon enough, CRACK! I was launched off of my paws as I opened my eyes to see such a horror so great that death didn't sound like such a bad idea.

"But mom!!!!" I complained impatiently. This was NOT the day to lounge around in the afternoon sun. "I'm COMING." I could hear how exasperated she was with me after pestering her for the whole morning. "Yes!!!" I squealed. I quickly bolted down the small dirt path that'd been carved out in the ground from the many generations of tigers that had passed here. My own ancestors. It's not like I'd pondered that long though. I was tumbling down the hill that led toward the river. I heard my mothers voice faintly call from a distance " Don't go to far!" I could hear the worry in her voice, so I slowed down. Finally she caught up with me and slowed to a stop, not that she could go any slower. "Tigress, what am I going to do with you?" she said exasperated while panting. I rolled my storm-grey eyes. It always annoyed me how she worried to much. Raring to go, I bounded off down the dirt path again. I could feel the ground sloping down toward our place.

When I was even younger then I am now, my mother took me to this tiny dirt clearing. It was surrounded by the river which we thrived off of, and encircled with thin and dry trees and grasses. There was even a little bit of a ledge with small tunnels I can still fit into. Those were the better days of my life. Before my dad went missing, and before they came.

They were aliens to us, ones that carried thunder in a stick, or thundersticks as we tigers called them. They were like tigers in a way, their pelts came in many colors, ranging from pale white fur, or skin, to a dark rich brown. We called them the takers, because whenever they came to the rainforest, they always took something from us.