15
Alba
Alba could smell the rabbit across the grassy field. She could hear it's every move. She could almost taste it in the air. She looked up at the big Iberian Lynx standing above her, her mother. Alba stood proud, happy to finally be taken on one of her mother's hunts.
"Now, watch very carefully, dear one," Her mother said to her, "Rabbits are fast, but they will never outlast us in the chase. We are faster, we always overtake them."
"Can I get him, Mommy, can I get him?" Alba asked, rolling over cutely and flailing her paws in the air.
"Not this time, little one, but soon. Very soon. Now, watch."
With that, the large Lynx dashed away from where she was crouching, in quick pursuit of the rabbit. The rabbit ran as fast as it could, getting a head start on the Lynx as she sped through the field. It was a classic chase of cat and mouse, the two running in circles around the plain, Alba's mother moving closer with every curve.
Alba couldn't tear her eyes away from the race. She found herself silently rooting for her mother. She felt the adrenaline kick in as her mom moved in for the kill. She felt like jumping in, being a part of the action, aiding her mom in anyway necessary. But, she knew that it wasn't necessary: her mom was the world's greatest killing machine.
The large Lynx bit into the soft coat of the European Rabbit, shaking it swiftly to break it's neck. Alba jumped for joy, her head just barely peeking out above the small bush as she did. Seconds later, her mother padded back over to where she had left her cub, and laid the animal down.
"And that, my child, is how you kill a rabbit." She said to her daughter. Alba ran over and nuzzled her mother roughly.
"You're the greatest huntress in the world, Mommy, and someday I'll be just like you." She said, playfully rolling all over the larger Lynx's paws.
"You won't if you don't eat you dinner before it gets cold."
Alba immediately jumped up and started to bite and pull at the pelt of the kill, having no real success. Her mother leaned her head open and ripped a jagged strip of fur off of the meal, and they both began to eat.
Suddenly, there was a loud Bang! Every animal in the area jumped. Alba ran away from the noise, heading into the thicker brush, but turned around quickly. Alba's mother wasn't behind her, she was still by the bush. Worse, she was lying face down in the dirt, and a large red pool was widening around her.
Alba stopped, panicking, her heart racing faster than it ever had before. Quickly, she ran back to where her mother lay, fighting her way through the crowd of animals fleeing the scene. She began to tug on her mother's ear, trying desperately to pull her back into the brush. The bleeding lynx's head turned, looking at her daughter with clouded eyes.
"Don't stand there, Alba. Go, run, get away from here!" her mother said, sounding weak and dizzy.
"No, Mama, you've got to come with me! We have to get away! Both of us! Together!" Alba cried through clenched teeth as she ran behind her mother's neck, pulling on the numb bunches of sin on her back.
"No, Alba, you've got to go, now." Her mother now sounded too weak to shout, and her eyes were half-lidded.
"Mother! Alba!" Came a voice, calling through the confusion. Another Lynx ran down the hill and through the brush, searching frantically. His eyes settled on the two behind the bush, and he ran over quickly. Once he arrived, he saw the blood pooling all around his mother, and knew what had happened.
"Mother, no…" He said softly, nuzzling her cheek.
"Take your sister, Elías. Take her and run from here. The poachers are coming."
"Mother, I—"
"Take her now!" The mother lynx's breathing was heavy as she said it. A fit of coughing hit her, blood spraying from her mouth in flecks. Elías hesitated, but he knew what he had to do.
"Goodbye, Mother…" He said his voice shaking as he picked his sister up in his teeth.
"NO!" Alba screamed, kicking frantically and scratching at her brother's face as she tried to return to her mother's side. But, Elías was too strong. He knew what was right for his sister. He turned from their dying mother, and ran.
"NO! Mama! I love you, Mama! NO!" Alba shouted as she was taken away from her mother, and her mother taken away from her. The last thing she saw of that place was a man in light khakis carrying a long, black stick kneeling beside her mom, and smiling.
Alba pounced on the Mouflon, tearing into its neck with ravenous passion. She was hungry, and had not seen a rabbit or duck all day. Unfortunately, it seemed that many of her favorite foods were becoming scarce these days. She kept her mouth clamped tight over the animal's throat as it struggled, and then became still.
Alba laid the horned beast down on the ground, thinking in her head the mantra taught to all the Lynxes, sending her apologies after the Mouflon and into the afterlife. Normally, she would not have killed something so large, so that no part of the animal would be wasted. But, hard times were upon her, and all of the Iberian Lynxes in the whole of Spain. Alba bowed her head and tore open the carcass, releasing the aroma of the warm meat, steam rising in the chill night.
"Do you mind if I join you?" said a voice in the bushes. Seconds later, a large Red Fox revealed itself to her. Alba's first instinct was to hackle up, and prepare for a fight. Foxes were known to be nothing more than thieves, taking what they were too lazy to kill themselves. This Fox, however, didn't seem threatening at all. In fact, he seemed very at ease. Then again, Foxes are born liars, and it could all be a trick.
"Why are you here, you thief? Decided to take my game from me, I suppose? Well, not today." Alba said, snarling fiercely, "I've worked too hard for this meal, and I'm not going to lose it." Her claws began to peek out from their sheaths, razor sharp and thin.
"And, there we have something in common." The fox said, padding forward a little. "Both of us worked tirelessly for a meal today. We both began to track the same animal. The difference is, however, that only one of us got the Mouflon."
Alba snapped, jumping over the food before her. The Fox jumped back to where had been standing previously, a safe distance away from the Mouflon, and the flashing teeth of the angry Lynx.
"You were still hunting on my land, which is enough for me to kill you right now. In case you haven't heard, food is a little tight around here these days, and everything you kill in this area brings down the chance of my survival. In that way, you would kill me, so why should I spare you?"
"Food is tight for everyone, not just you. Maybe a little sharing is in order, here." The Fox said, tilting his head to the side.
"I don't have to share with you. You're nothing but the competition. Maybe it's time I eliminated you." Alba said, stepping forward one paw at a time. The Fox began to look for a way out, but saw nothing around that would slow the Lynx down fast enough for him to get away. Then, the Fox's eyes lit up as he his head back to face Alba.
"You Lynxes practice a sort of ritual every time you kill. You only kill for survival. You don't like to kill something just for sport, and yet you aspire to be great hunters. Quite a strange tradition, you know."
"Talking about my people is not the best way to convince me not to kill you." Alba said through clenched teeth.
"But, you can't use that entire animal. I could help you with that." The Fox said slyly. That stopped Alba in her tracks. The vagrant did have a point. She wasn't going to eat any more than her fill. The rest would rot. It was a horrible waste of a life. With a long sigh, Alba turned swiftly and darted back to the Mouflon carcass.
"Very well, then." She said, glaring at the Fox, "A temporary truce, for the sake of conservation."
The Fox took a moment to calm himself, to take a deep breath. He had just narrowly escaped a very dangerous situation. There was a low gurgling sound from his stomach that brought him back to reality. He was hungry, and desperately so. Eagerly, he padded toward the meat, a meal compliments of a gracious host.
Alba leapt toward the fox in a flash, her teeth inches from his face. The fox stumbled backward in fright.
"As a fox, I cannot trust you near my hard earned catch, even for conservation. I know all about your sly ways. You will not catch me off my guard." She said, her eyes burning with a vicious intensity. The Fox was speechless. One moment, they had had a truce, and the next he was shunned once more. Alba swiftly turned and began biting at the kill. The smell of the cooling flesh intoxicated the Fox, and he felt tortured. He turned to leave, when the sound of the tearing stopped. A second later, one of the Mouflon's hind legs landed near him. She had not been teasing him at all, but serving him.
"Eat, and rest. I expect you to leave my territory by morning." Alba said, walking around the kill so she could watch the intruder as she ate.
"Many thanks." The Fox said before tearing into one of the thick muscles. He swallowed mouthful after mouthful of the delicious food before speaking again. "It is a custom of the Foxes to introduce yourself to anyone you would eat with. My name is Che."
Alba scoffed. "Every fox's name is "Che.'"* She said, taking another mouthful of meat.
"Hey, now, I am observing your customs. Why not observe one of mine?"
Alba sighed loudly through her nose. "Alba." She said, muzzle-deep in her meal. There was a small expanse of silence.
"You know, Alba, I think we would make a good team in these trying times. You know, two noses in two areas, a greater chance of finding a good breakfast." The fox said, breaking the silence. "We each bring what we can find right back to this clearing, and split it right down the middle."
"Breakfast for you, dinner for me. I am not nocturnal. Besides, how can I trust you? You could return with nothing and take half of my kill every night." Alba said, tearing into the last leg of the Mouflon.
"It would still benefit us both, as you are forced to hunt big game, and cannot eat it all yourself."
Alba stood and stretched, looking over the remains of her dinner. She was full, and yet there was still meat on the animal.
"I will consider it." Alba said, looking at the Fox with hard eyes. With that, she left the clearing, running back into the brush toward her den to sleep away the night.
Alba watched the birds in the trees from her perch on the sun-warmed rock. The sun felt good against her face as she relaxed, resting her face on her paws. She had been lucky that day and had found a lonely Hare nibbling away at some grass. As a result, Alba was a full and happy cat, at least for a while.
A familiar scent reached her nose. Inwardly, she smiled. It had been a long time since he had visited her.
"Elías." Alba said, not moving an inch from her resting place. "Long time, no see, brother."
"Yes," said Elías, padding over to his sister, "It is good to see you, Alba."
"And what brings you all the way from the other side of the valley?" Alba asked, lifting her head slightly to get a good view of the brother she hadn't seen in almost thirteen months.
Elías looked behind him slowly, as if signaling to someone. Sure enough, someone did step out of the brush. A cub, no older than a month or two, stretched its head out from behind a bush. Alba sat up, looking directly into its hazel eyes.
"Her name's Ema. Her mother was killed by feral dogs on the far side of the valley. I took her in." Elías said without looking back to Alba.
"Is she the cub of one of your mates?" Alba asked quietly.
"No."
"Then, why take her in? Why give up your right to solitude?"
"She reminded me of you." Elías said, looking down at his sister. It was a little over two years ago when their other had been killed by the poachers. Two years since he had taken her under his wing, to finish up the training their mother had began. It had been an awkward role for him, one that males generally did not play, but he had made it work.
"What does this have to do with me?" Alba asked, still looking at the cub.
"Your territory is in the area with the most abundant food. I have to teach her to hunt. You are the only one here that I know." Elías said, turning toward her completely. "Can I teach her here?"
"You are my brother and my mentor. How could I say no? Kill something you can share."
Elías nodded and began to walk to Ema, but stopped. "I was wondering, are you every going to leave your territory? Are you ever going to find a mate?"
"Maybe," Alba said, laying her head back on her paws, "But, not this year."
Elías nodded once more, and then left, Ema padding along softly behind him.
Alba walked the outer track of the land, sniffing around for any source of food. So far, all she had smelled was a cluster of rosemary. She was nearing the end of her search, having gone full circle, when she caught a strange scent. It wasn't food. It was another cat, no, another Lynx. She sniffed around more, catching the scent in her nose. She ran after the trail, following it as it curved it's way through the grassland brush.
The smell grew stronger, fresher, as Alba neared the other Lynx. She knew it was close. It would pay for trespassing on her land, of that she would make sure. Alba slowed to a stop. It was very close. She walked slowly, smelling the ground carefully, until she got the direction. Looking n that direction, Alba spied a rock outcropping, just big enough to hide someone from the elements for a night. She crept forward, ever so slowly, keeping her senses alert. Then, she caught a new smell, faint but instantly recognizable: human.
Suddenly, not knowing what she would find, Alba approached the outcropping with a different kind of caution. The kind brought on by anxiety, by fear. Her head poked around the corner, and she was surprised by what she saw. It was a cub, a little male by the smell. He looked alone and scared, and shied away from the probing face of the larger Lynx.
Without thinking, Alba opened her mouth.
"It's alright, little one. Do not be afraid."
"They took my Mama!" the cub said, curling into a corner under the outcropping.
"Who did?" Alba asked. "Who took your Mama?"
"The Men." The cub said, his breathing hard. Alba quickly realized that he needed to calm down, or he would pass out.
"What's your name, little one?" Alba asked quickly. The cub continued to snuffle into his own shoulder, curling as far as he could into the corner. "What's your name?"
"L-Lalo." The cub said to her.
"Okay, Lalo. I am going to help you out as much as I can. You are going to be alright. You're safe."
Lalo ran to her as she said it, nuzzling against her stomach. She wrapped her paws around him, comforting him. He would need it, too, Alba thought. She had known, even before he had told her, who had taken his mother. She knew that his mother was dead.
Che waited for the Lynx in the clearing. It had been two days since they had had their little meal, and Che had come back bearing whatever food he could find with him each of those two nights. The same could not be said for Alba. It was that third night, the final night that he would wait for her, that she finally showed up.
"I've got a couple of Rabbits, how about you?" She asked immediately after dropping the food down in the clearing.
"Uh, a chicken." Che said, confusedly. He had expected her to show up angry at him for still being on her land. Actually, he hadn't expected her to show up at all, but this new scenario was completely the opposite.
"Well, it's not much, but it'll have to do." Alba said, kicking the rabbits into a pile with the chicken.
"Excuse me, but, aren't you supposed to be angry or something?" Che said, shaking his head swiftly.
"Normally, I would be. But, today your trespassing is more like a blessing in disguise." Alba said, tearing open each carcass carefully.
"Um, did I miss something?" the Fox asked, scratching behind his ear with his hind paw. Alba ignored him, turning away, and motioning toward the food with a quick jerk of her head. Immediately, Lalo ran out from behind some of the taller grasses on the plain and into the clearing. Che stood up immediately, his hackles rising halfway.
"Eat your fill, Lalo." Alba said, nudging him toward the food. The cub looked nervous at first, but ate ravenously once he tasted the meat.
"Okay, I thought pregnancy took around 2 months with you Lynxes, not three days!" Che said, sitting back down.
"He is not mine." Alba said, sitting down beside Lalo.
"Okay, but that doesn't explain--"
"Look," Alba interrupted him, staring him in the eyes, "Normally, if I'd found you on my land after I'd told you to leave, you'd be dead. Unfortunately, I need you. It is only with your help that I can ever hope to work up enough food to feed both me and him. So, as long as food is scarce, or until Lalo no longer needs me, you've got your truce, your team. Not a minute more. Understand?"
"Yes, ma'am." Che said, not wanting to anger her any farther. Anything that worked out this well form him, he was not about to mess up. For a while, they watched the cub eat in silence. "So, whose cub is he?"
"I don't know," Said Alba, ", but, I can't just leave him on his own."
The Fox nodded before turning away.
"Aren't you going to eat?" Alba asked, her eyes following him.
"There's not enough for me and the cub." Che said, padding away. "I'll find something else. See you tomorrow."
For a few while, Alba and Lalo lived in peace. The arrangement with the fox, Che, worked out better than Alba had hoped it would and, over time, she actually began to enjoy the fox's company. A couple of times a week, Elías and Ema would stop by for Ema's lessons. Lalo and Ema became fast friends. The days became weeks, and the weeks months, and the cub became a young Lynx, already able to hold his own in the hunt.
"Alba," Lalo said one day, "I never did thank you."
"For what?" Alba asked, looking up at him from he laid down position.
"For taking me in. It means a lot that you would sacrifice yourself like that." Lalo hesitated, then added, "And, I think it's safe to say that, now, you are my Mother."
Alba stood and padded her way to him, then licked him across the face.
"I feel the same way, little one."
The winter was setting on pretty heavily when it happened. Alba was hunting snow hares along the southern rim of her land when she heard a loud Bang! She knew that sound. She had heard it before. It was the poacher, back for more.
Like a shot, she took off, disturbing the branches of the bushes as she ran, and forcing the snow to the air behind her. There was another Bang! Alba took the direction and ran for it. When she dodged around the tree blocking her view, she saw a scene all too familiar. Hiding behind the bush was her son, Lalo. Hiding across the clearing was the poacher, the skinny end of his stick poking through the brush. She tried to think of what she could do, how she could get to the poacher without getting killed herself. Looking around at all the empty space, Alba realized the truth: there was no way. The poacher would see her coming. She would be an easy target. There was no way.
Choosing the most roundabout route, Alba loped as silently as she could, as close to the poacher as she could make it. When there was no more cover, she dashed out, running flat out, ears pressed back. She crouched low as she ran; she dug into the dirt for more power, more speed. A fierce snarl ripped through her jaws, and her teeth flashed. She was on the poacher in moments.
The man reacted at the last minute, moving his gun to fire at the attacking Lynx. Alba reached him first, her sharp claws cutting through his face effortlessly as she pounced. She bit into him, tearing at his chest and arms. The stick boomed, and a sharp, stinging pain shot through Alba's hind leg. Still, she grappled with the man, jerking her powerful head back and forth in fury.
The man began to hit Alba with the stick, again and again. There was another ripping growl, and the stick was wrenched out of the poacher's hand, the skinny end held firmly in the teeth of Lalo. The man looked horrified, blood dripping down his face in streams. Reaching behind him, the man brought out a small black stone. Lalo dropped the man's stick and pounced forward, only to meet the stone and be jolted backward. The man squeezed the stone against Alba's neck, and she felt as if she had been struck be lightning.
Alba leapt back involuntarily, and the man scrambled to his feet, running away through the brush. Lalo, recovering from the shock, stood and began to pursue him.
"No, Lalo," Alba said, standing slowly, "that's enough."
"He could come back."
"Yes, but with that stone, there's nothing we could do against him now."
Lalo nodded, and then turned back to his mother. "He hurt you." he said, nudging her hind leg gingerly.
"It will heal." Alba said with a sigh. "And, you are safe."
The poacher never returned to the valley, and Lalo grew up healthy and strong. Six short months after the incident, Lalo left to find his own space. The next spring, Alba left, too, journeying far outside of her territory to find a mate.
The End
*-Che is Spanish for "Hey!"