Mud caked her toes and tall redwoods loomed over, almost as if guarding her as she walked. Higher up than them all was the moon.
The mother her people called it.
She weaved through the trees and felt the Thing's eyes on her. Watching her. She looked around but saw nothing. She never saw it. It came and went unpredictably but it watched her.
She came upon a dead tiger its body twisted against a redwood larger than she ever seen. Its blood ran in multiple streams from its open throat collecting into a pool around it. She felt sad. Flies swarmed the body already, looking down she saw the worms making their way over too. She crouched before the beast. Red blood covered her teak colored legs. She ran her hands across the ground bring the blood to her lips and smearing them against her pointed chin. She dipped them again and ran them over her exposed belly and through her long white hair.
She dipped her hand in the tiger's blood again and ran them over the beast's snout and said a prayer in her language. She blooded her hand and blooded its stomach and prayed again. The tiger's chest began to rise and fall. Slowly at first but more steadily each passing moment. The tiger's eyes focused on her. She giggled as the beast leapt up and pounced on her licking her face and nipping at her stomach.
She rode the next few leagues on its back, she was small enough that the tiger didn't even seem to notice she was there. It had a horrible scar on its neck but she almost had it erased when they came to the lake. It was small here but bled into the the larger river and together they went on forever.
Together they cleaned the blood of themselves, whatever she did the tiger copied her. She floated on her back so did it.
The moon was so pretty here. She watched it for a long time.
The tiger bumped into her legs and dived under the water and came up spouting water. She decided to name it River Monkey, she giggled. She wondered what they would think of him when she brought him home.
River Monkey got out of the water first. He shook off the water and patiently waited on its hind legs for her to be done. A bird landed on a nearby breach River Monkey looked longingly at it and then back at her. She laughed and shooed the big cat away. Instantly he ran after the bird. It flew from branch to branch deep into the forest River Monkey trailing close behind.
She held herself tight as the cold air washed over her, off to the right the bushes began rustled. At first she thought nothing of it until it rustled again. Out of the dark came two men. Both were dressed in long black robes. One was huge, with a square face and arms the size tree trucks. The other was long and slim and walked as gracefully as River Monkey.
She excitedly waved at them.
The long one said something to the other, then they both laughed and walked toward her. They looked as giant as the trees around her when they stopped before her. All three of them stood in silence. Suddenly the big one slapped her across the face as the slim brought his knee to her stomach and threw her on the floor.
They kicked her rapidly as she sat there crying, pleading for them to stop. Her world went dark as a foot smashed across her face.
One of men laughed.
The other screamed.
She opened her eyes just as River Monkey tore out the slim one's throat. Blood dipped from his jaws.
Slowly the beast walked toward the bigger man.
She watched as the big one pulled out a slim stick from his robes, a wand she knew.
She yelled for River Monkey to ran away but it was too late the green light him and he fell to the ground.
She let a loud scream.
He laughed like a madman and turned his attention back to her, he ran a short ways away from her when River Monkey came but he was slowly making his way back.
She raised her hand and he stopped, paralyzed. He was saying something but she didn't understand. Slowly her fingers clenched and he began to scream. She could feel him struggling against her but no matter how big he may be she we stronger.
She slowly rose to her feet, quickly she flung her arm to the left and the body followed. It crashed into a truck of a redwood. He struggled to get up but in vain, she put him under again.
The fear was in his eyes.
Now she towered over him.
He began pleading, stumbling over all his words. She bent down and brought their lips together. She kissed him hard then pulled back. He stared back at her wide eyes, clearly shocked.
"Please!" He was saying now, sweat was dripping down his face. "Have mercy!"
"No" She said in his own tongue. "Who send you?"
"Please!" The man begged but that wasn't what she wanted to hear. A long nasty slash made its way across his forehead. The man screamed. "Who send you?" she asked again.
His screams turned to laughter. "You'll never get me to talk, you bitch!" The man spat at her.
As it slowly slide down her face she closed her fist and the man's laughter turned back into screams. He screamed...until he didn't.
She flung the body into the lake where it hit the water with a splash and sank like a stone.
River Monkey's body laid at the mouth of the later. A lone tear ran down her face, he got hit with the green light there wasn't anything she could do for him.
She raised the body up and placed it in the water. It floated for a few moments then sank.