Chapter 2 - Spirit Animal
A short time passed until the next time Pocahontas saw her new friend, though to her it seemed long.
...
"Where is Pocahontas?" a youthful voice asked Chief Powhatan from behind him. He had been talking to some of his people but turned slowly in his cape to see the young newcomer standing there. "She's not in your log-house," the boy went on.
"She seldom is," the chief answered. "Rarely can she be found in the village at all on a day like this. The busy work of day to day does not settle well with someone of her age, after all. Perhaps other amusements can be found, if you know where to look," he finished with the ghost of a smile. Then he pointed to the woods. "She went that way. Maybe if you hurry you can catch up."
The red-haired boy nodded gratefully then ran off in that direction. Leaving the village grounds and weaving between scented pine trees with prickly green needles, he kept a watchful eye out for the girl. He heard a low mournful sound and stopped abruptly in his tracks when he saw what looked like a large-size housecat standing there staring at him. It was gold in color with black spots and stripes and tufts of hair around his face, with a short tail.
Pocahontas appeared from behind a tree and he was startled. "You've found him!" she said excitedly.
"I've never seen a cat that big before," Thomas said jokingly.
Pocahontas laughed. "He's a bobcat! They're not nearly so big as a puma."
"A puma?"
"A very big cat."
"Nothing scares me," he joked again.
"The bobcat could be your spirit animal," Pocahontas said to him. The bobcat stared up at him with wide green eyes. "After all, he found you out here and he's the first animal you've seen."
"And what about a puma? Or a wolf?" Thomas started to tease.
"You might see them out here," she said with a smile.
Thomas picked up a pinecone off the forest floor and carefully threw it off in one direction. "There! Catch, boy!" The bobcat bounded off in the direction of the pinecone, playfully pouncing on top of it and batting it with his large paws. "He's a good spirit animal," the boy said approvingly.
Pocahontas stared at the trick. While she was distracted, Thomas stepped up next to her and placed a hand on her arm. "Now that I've found you, do you think we should head back to the village?"
"Hm," the girl pretended to consider a moment, looking at the boy with hair red like the bark of the pine trees, before pulling away from his grasp and sprinting away. "Not yet!" she called back, laughing.
"Hey, wait for me!" the boy leaped and reached out after her but only felt long night-black hair slipping away from him. The girl screeched and continued running. He pursued her but they were at odd ends with each other, being equally matched in speed and agility. The bobcat chased after them as well. Thomas was about to catch the maiden but to his surprise Pocahontas put on an extra burst of speed and out-ran him. The bobcat passed him and ran after the girl. He panted for breath as he ran through the pine grove but for a moment had lost sight of her. Where did she go? Stealthily he rounded a sycamore tree with leaves the size of hands and saw brief glimpses of black hair on the other side of the tree. He rounded all the way around but saw no one. Thinking fast he switched direction and retraced his steps around the tree. The Indian maiden had circled the tree at the same time as him and was leaning her back against the trunk with her arms thrown out against it, long hair splayed out around her.
"I've caught you!" The girl heard the words as she felt strong, lean arms encircle her and she gave a giddy shriek. The boy held fast though, pressed up against her back, and Pocahontas collapsed laughing into his arms. The bobcat ran past, mouth open and pink tongue lolling.
Thomas was again so startled by the wild creature that he loosened his grip and the maiden slipped out of his grasp again. Long ends of her hair swept past his bare arms. She took off in a steady run back toward the village, the boy smirking and following after her, and the bobcat alongside him.