AaN: Whoop! Aa chaapter aa daay! I aam coing to give this aa try but no gaaruntees (stupid homework...) Aany waay, we aare baack with Tigress! Pleaase R&R! No flaames! I'm still new aas of yesterdaay... I own only my chaaraas so pleaase don't complaain aabout not knowing them aand I know I put them under Greek aand Egyptiaan mythology but trust me I'm getting to thaat. Now, on to the story!
***The young woman takes a deep breath, as if preparing herself, and begins.***
You know how people say, that you should be grateful for what you have, that you should feel lucky to be where you are and have the things you have, because one day, it might disappear?
I have a problem with that statement. I loved my life. I loved my family. I was grateful for what I had. And then, Fate just had to be cruel to me. My life is miserable, because everything I loved was taken from me.
It all started when I was just a few months old. I was rolling around in the plains, my brother and sister patting me with carefully sheathed claws, while my father hunted.
I should've known something was wrong the minute he never returned. Instead, I remained naive. I rolled around, not a care in the world, until my brother lifted his nose to the air. He rumbled something to my sister, and she quickly pulled my into the little grassy area we hid in at night.
My big brother stood, tail swishing, growl deepening in his throat as he turned to face the strange human soldiers. They weren't like any other humans I had caught glimpses of when father took me to see them once.
Father had warned me of their danger. Of their longing for our soft, beautifully striped pelts. I had always been cautious. Now all I could do was watch from the safety of my sister's legs as my fierce brother faced down the intrudes of our territory.
My brother fought bravely, with more strength than I had ever seen, but the humans didn't want to fight fair. When I was that age, I had no name for the strange, shiny tubes and weird tiny arrows the used, but I now know them as Tranq guns and darts.
Jacob was down in seconds.
Somehow, they knew about Cressida and I. My sister wouldn't back down until she, too, had a dart in her back.
I didn't stand a chance.
I woke sometime later, in a cage, in a lab, Jacob and Cress fighting against their own on either side of me. My little tiger claws raked the cage door over and over, but they made no difference.
The scientists grabbed me first.
To my right, Jacob fought and roared with all his strength. On my right, Cressida was fiercely attacking her cage door, to no avail. My little tiger claws battered hopelessly as well. My siblings were quickly sedated.
By that point, a greedy looking male human in an all white lab coat had picked my up, wearing big heavy gloves to protect him against my feeble struggles.
As he carried me off, I heard a weak growl from my brother, as he watched with drowsy eyes as I was torn away from him.
It was the pain in his voice that made me attack with a renewed vigor. I mewled for Jacob as I bit and scratched. A different scientist got fed up and brought over a needle. My world spun again and I managed a deep scratch in the human's hand before I was out a second time..
When I woke, I found I was on my back, staring at the ceiling.
Everything felt weird though. My hind legs felt like they were in the wrong place, and so did my forelegs. My spine felt strange too.
Still, I took in my surroundings, noting that I was trapped in a big clear box. I was about to meow for Jacob, when some instinct made me look down.
I barely held back a scream. Yes, a scream. I knew I could talk-like in english- but the sound wouldn't come out of my mouth. I could do it, but it just wouldn't come.
I... was... a human! A cruel, filthy, polluting human! I wanted to roar for Jacob, but he wouldn't understand me.
I was about to try anyway when I heard a strange tapping noise. I only turned my head, for I was strapped down to see another human, but she was unlike any others I had ever seen.
She was young -about the age my new human body was- and had the strangest features. He hair was lime green and, despite her youth, she had tattoos of flowers, leaves, and vines going down her arms. Her eyes matched her hair, and she looked down at me with a mixture of sadness and empathy.
She mouthed, "It's ok." Somehow, I understood her language. I seemed to have plenty of other knowledge now, but I was completely focused on the strange girl.
"You are going to be ok." She mouthed, her smiling warm and trusting.
I wished I could believe her.
