I need to learn how to use my element better, this Spirit of the Tigress I possess. I can use it well enough to defend myself now, but I know there’s more to it. I need to be able to unlock my true powers, be able to use my power to its fullest.
I know how to use the Corridors of Darkness; that was one of the things that I know almost instinctively. I can command my chains to hunt, stalk, bind, and capture. I can change my form to a limited degree and fight pretty well in hand-to-hand combat. But I need to be able to access that ultimate attack, my Final form. So I’ve come to Deep Jungle in order to train with the tigers, leopards, and other wild animals.
I stalk through the brush and bamboo, searching for an animal, a tiger, to be precise. I had caught on to the scent of the cat a few hours ago, and am still trying to locate them. Suddenly, I hear a harsh growl, and a male tiger leaps gracefully from the tree branch above me. I move to the side just in time to avoid a vicious slash and retaliate quickly, sweeping my leg out to catch the tiger’s paws.
He manages to jump and avoid my attack, lunging at me again. We continue like this for a while, the growls and breaking branches the only sounds filling the air. Finally, he has me pinned to the ground, his teeth locked around my neck. I am tired, and badly hurt, but I refuse to close my eyes, instead choosing to stare my death defiantly in the face.
So this is how my brief nonexistence comes to an end, I think. The tiger glares at me, his grip on my throat tight enough to be nearly suffocating, but not enough to snap my spine. I wait for the final pressure to come, but it never does. Instead, he removes his teeth from my neck, his hot breath fanning over my face. He nudges my faces once, and then grabs onto my left ankle. As he begins dragging me away, I think, Guess I passed the test, before passing out into darkness.
When I wake up, I notice that all of my wounds have been dressed properly, and I am in some kind of tent. I sit up quickly, all of my senses on full alert, and the first thing I notice is the same tiger, laying by my feet. He looks at me with wide eyes, and I wish I could talk to him.
You can, I hear in my head. You possess the Spirit of the Tigress. You may communicate with your brethren as you wish.
Just then, a woman walks into the tent. “Oh, you’re awake! You must be hungry; here, have this,” she says to me, giving me some sort of meat and rice on a plate woven of branches.
I’m still in shock from having a tiger communicate with me telepathically, but I accept the food from the woman. Sniffing it cautiously, my gaze slips back and forth between the woman and the tiger.
Nasir, he says to me. My name is Nasir, and this is Jane. You can trust her. I look to the woman. “Jane,” I say carefully. “You did this?”
Jane nods. “Nasir brought you to Tarzan, and he brought you to me,” she says. “You were pretty hurt.”
I nod absently. “How long was I out?”
“Only overnight,” she answers. “You really should eat, and maybe get some more rest, and Tarzan should be back soon to help you get home. I don’t know who you got in a fight with, but it’s dangerous out here. You shouldn’t wander by yourself.”
I sit quietly. “I’m not going home,” I say. “I came here for a reason. I can’t leave yet.”
Jane looks at me curiously, but doesn’t say a word. Nasir shifts his position, rising to his feet beside me.
He pushes his cold, wet nose against the back of my hand, the one that is holding the food. Eat. You need your strength.
For what? I think back.
Your training, he says, watching me carefully.
I stare at him back, disbelieving. My training?
Nasir nudges my hand again. Eat, he repeats. I look to the food and start eating, realizing how hungry I am only after I start. I finish quickly, glancing around for something sweet, but Nasir speaks again.
Do not worry. Come with me now. You can have some fruit when we get back to my territory. He pads over to the flap of the tent, just beside where Jane is standing, and sits, waiting patiently. I stand up, and move to follow him, but Jane stops me.
“Where are you going? You really should rest,” she says worriedly. “I promise you, Tarzan will be back soon to—”
I open my mouth to try and explain that I’m not going home, not now, not for a while, when Nasir steps between us and growls lowly. He circles around me once, and then sits in front of me, glaring at Jane.
“I really should go now,” I say to her, stepping around her and exiting the tent. Nasir follows after me, nudges my hand, and says, Follow me. I do, and so begin my training in the spirit of the tiger.
