The years went by and I hadn't seen any humans. The river swept me too far from my mother's village to ever have any hope of finding it. Not that I even really wanted to. I'd made a new home of the jungle. I built a nest on the riverside like I'd seen the flying creatures do in trees. It wasn't nearly as intricately crafted though. It grew as I did. Collecting more an more shiny rocks I would find. It even had the pelt of a spotted monster I'd drowned. By far my most difficult kill. But afterwards, no predators in the area dared prey on me. Save for maybe the scaled monsters. But I rarely ever saw them near my nest.
The fish started to become less and less present in the area and I had to travel further down the river to hunt. I didn't understand where the fish had gone at the time, I now know it was the work of the human village that had set itself up in the nearby trees. However they more than made it up to me over the years.
I had come home from another unsuccessful hunt and curled up in the nest with my spotted fur. Leaves rustled. I quickly and quietly slipped into the water, hoping it was an animal coming for a drink. Two humans stepped up to the water. One a child, and the other I assumed was his mother. I could only float there in complete shock. Were they from mother's village? What if they found out the fall didn't kill me? Were they going to come after me? In my panic I didn't notice the toddler staring at me. He tugged his mothers arm and pointed laughing.
His mother had a rather different reaction upon seeing me. She gasped and pushed her son back slightly. It felt like hours we just stared into each others eyes, trying to figure out the other's intentions. She reached out a hand to me and made some strange noise I didn't understand. I cautiously waded forward ready to attack if needed. As I drew closer her expression softened into a warm smile. She had realized I was little more than a child. She cupped my cheek in her hand and continued with her strange noises. It'd been so long since I'd received genuine affection. I actually started crying when she stood up to go. But thankfully, that wasn't the last I'd see of her or her village.