[Golden Lion 86]

The forest was quiet today. There were no Human visitors, no Elves to be seen. Only peace and quiet. A herd of oxen grazed in a clearing, near a pool of clear, fresh water. The herd numbered 30 or so members, about 10 of whom were bulls, 10 were cows, and 10 were calves. The calves were still small and unattractive. The cows were bigger, much bigger, but still not as appealing as the bulls. They were large, covered with hundreds of pounds of meat. They would feed the invisible predator for a week, perhaps more! The cat sat in the bushes, no more than 50 feet from the herd. He was a giant cat, a Liger. A product of a chance encounter between a Lion and a Tigress, the Liger was the best of both worlds. He was 15 feet long, and weighed 2000 lbs, about as big as the bulls. He had two advantages over them, however: as a cat, each pound of muscle provided far more strength than the bull had, so that he could lift one with ease, were he capable of standing. The second, and most important advantage, was that as a meat-eater and predator, he was much cleverer than the bull. He sat there for ten minutes, watching them, calculating his every move. Across the lake, he sensed another presence, a Bear. Though not as delicious as bulls, bears made for good meals regardless. The Bear watched him stalk his prey. A poor predator, the Bear ate berries and grasses. He ate meat only when he was fortunate to catch any. The Liger, on the other hand, was a master predator. Every hunt he went on yielded a tasty kill, and he would not fail this time.

Suddenly, before the Liger could act, a Crocodile emerged from the water, snapping at one of the bulls, and dragging him under. The time to strike was now, while the herd had not yet dispersed. The Liger leapt 20 feet forward and landed a few feet from a large bull. The bull took notice and began to run, but before he could get very far, the liger leapt again, sinking his claws into the beast's rump. The Bull moaned, but the sound was choked out when the Liger took one final bound, landed to the right of the bull, fell over and with a spring, sank his mighty jaw into the prey's throat. The bull struggled for a minute, but then fell. The Liger relaxed for a while, and sat, with the prey in his mouth, making sure the life was drained from it. He observed the Crocodile's struggle with the Bull, and saw that the bull managed to escape. The crocodile was hungry, but it needn't look far for a fresh kill. As was the custom of lesser predators, he made an attampt to steal the Liger's Kill - a fatal mistake. As the crocodilke snapped at the fallen bull, the Liger leapt into the air, and landed beside the Crocodile. The reptilian roared, but with a swipe of his paw, the great cat closed the Crocodile's mouth and sank his claws into his head. The crocodile tried to struggle, but before it could break free, the Liger sank his giant fangs into his aggressor's neck, severing his spinal cord. The crocodile's armored skin proved to be no defense against tha cat's 10-inch fangs. Now, the Liger had two kills, but the Crocodile was not his intended prey, so he left him to the vultures. He proceeded to skin the bull, when he recalled that he had a second adversary to contend with: the Bear. A fellow mammal, the bear was also a clever beast, though nowhere near the Liger in strength or speed. The coast seemed clear, but only for a moment.

The bear ran out of the bushes, charging the Liger. With a lightning fast swipe, the Liger slashed the Bear across the face, breaking his momentum and sending him to the Ground. The wound had fractured the Bear's skull, but he would not give up. He got up again and began to posture. Had he known the Liger's secret source of intelligence, he would have known that intimidation would not work. While the bear stood up, roaring with all his might, the Liger stood up on his hind legs, towering 6 feet over the bear, and jumped at him. He landed with a crash, sending his claws into the Bear's shoulders, while remaining in a standing position. The cat's giant head snapped at the Bear's face a few times, until it caught his muzzle in an iron grip. It was a common practice among cats to suffocate their prey by clamping down on their muzzle, but this was different. The Liger's Tiger heritage led him to see bears as thieves of the Tiger's kills, as they often were, and as a mortal enemy. The rage that powered the cat's jaws suddenly increased tenfold, and the bear's skull cracked under the pressure. The bear fell to the grass, unconscious, but alive. He rolled on the ground a few minutes, when the Liger took pity on the broken animal. The bear was doomed, but the Liger would give him an easy way out. Just as he had done with the Crocodile, the Liger flipped the bear over with his mighty paws and bit his neck, severing his spinal cord - an efficient, and merciful death. The area was finally clear, and the young lady who observed from a tree was no threat to the Liger. She clenched her hands in anger when she saw the bear fall, and prepared to charge the Liger, against her better judgment. Scimitar in hand, she tensed her muscles and prepared to jump when the Liger took notice. He looked at her with Human eyes, though gold-colored they were, and looked down upon the bear. He understood how she felt, and after a moment of staring at her, he picked up the bear by his neck-skin and dragged him over to the tree where the lady was, allowing her to perform funeral rites. The lady looked at the Liger, but her expression changed to anger again and she grabbed a spear leaning on a thick branch next to her, and threw it at the cat. The spear hit the cat in the shouder, and sank in, creating a deep wound. The Liger angered and stood up in his hind legs, slamming the tree with his claws, shattering the bark into a hundred splinters. His act of rage brought one of the splinters into his eye, and knocked the lady off the tree. She fell to a lower branch, landing on her feet, but it snapped after a few seconds, and she landed on her back.

Grabbing at her aching spine, the lady tried to get up, but flinched as her vertebrae bent into a position of discomfort. She fell back and lay there for a moment, breathing heavily. The Liger, in the meantine, came near the lady, blinking spasmatically with his left eye, and with a spear sticking out of his muscled shoulder. He sniffed the lady, and stepped back. After a few moments of growling, he turned into a humanoid, almost 9 feet in height. He was covered in fur, and sported a thick black mane. His hands ended in claws, and his teeth were sharp. He had a tail, just like a Liger, but his expression, now, was one of pity. The lady looke at him once more and turned herself over. She got up on her knees and tried to make it to the nearest tree, but she stopped and convulsed again, jerking her arm and putting it on her back. She knelt there for a while, when the man-beast came up to her. He reached for his girdle and pulled out a potion. He handed it to th lady, and she accepted, though she still clutched at her back. She opened the potion and drank it. Relief surged through her bones, and she could stand up again. She looked at the man-beast, and saw that he was pulling the spear from his shoulder. He pulled it loose and threw it aside. He then proceeded to try to get the splinter out of his eye, but in his hybrid form, he had claws on his hands - claws he could not sheath. So he cut his eye, and a mixture of blood and tears rolled down his cheek as he tried again and again to pull the splinter loose.
"Curse this form!" He finally spoke. "Curse the wizard and curse my blood!"
The lady walked up to him with caution. He was large and enraged, and though he proved that his intentions were not hostile, he could still inadvertently hurt her. After a few moments, she mustered up some courage and yelled:
"Stop!"
The man-neast looked-up at her, stopping his foolish attempts to pull the splinter out.
"Let me do it." the lady said. "My hands are smaller, and do not end with claws."
He bent over, so that she could reach his face, and in an instant, she pulled the splinter out.
"There." she said. "You needn't lose your cool. You could have blinded yourself!"
The man-beast looked at her again, nodding in understanding. In an instant, he noticed a look of curiosity on her face - a look that he misinterpreted as disgust, as he had so many others. Before she could pose all the questions she had for him, he ran off into the depths of the forests. An echo ensued, carrying the words "Thank you!"