Therian

Chapter 7

  After six months of playing time hero, I got dropped in the middle of nowhere in who knows what time. All I could tell about my predicament was that I was in some forest near the mountains and that after weeks of traveling, not once did I come across any people or even just signs of people.

  There were plenty of animals at least, so I didn't have to worry about starving out here. The climate also seemed rather temperate- at least for now. I didn't have a clue what it would be like when winter came. Unless this was the winter weather, and I was closer to the tropics than I thought.

  Sniffing at the ground, I was following the scent trail of my next meal. I'd been tracking the rabbit for the past half hour, and I was closing in on it. Peeking through the bushes, I spotted the rabbit nibbling on a dandelion.

  Crouching low, I looked around to make sure it was just the rabbit and I. The rabbit stopped as its ears raised, so I stayed absolutely still, keeping hidden in the bushes.

  When it finally dropped down to start eating again, I pounced. My hands closed around the rabbit, and an arrow stabbed into my arm. I reared back in pain with a roar, and the rabbit bolted now that it was free.

  Baring my teeth as blood dripped down my arm, my eyes drifted to the direction the arrow had come from. A human stood among the trees, frozen in shock and fear while holding a bow. My brain began to race on what I should do.

  This was the first human I'd come across since getting flung out here, but I was also in my beast form, and this human was terrified. There was no way I was getting information out of this woman.

  Lowly growling a warning, I turned tail and ran into the forest.

✧☾✧

  The crackling fire lit the opening of the cave as I sat beside it. Licking the wound on my arm, it was healing quickly now that the arrow was out. But now I had to figure out how this arrow possibly pierced my hide while bullets struggled to.

  Picking up the arrow, I wiped the blood off of the tip to get a better look at it.

  I was no geologist, so to me, it looked like a normal sharpened rock strapped to a wooden arrow. The rock was black and shiny, almost like my fur, and I wanted to test it out.

  Pressing the edge of the arrowhead to my palm, it cut through as blood welled from the wound. Licking the cut, I looked at the arrow.

  I hadn't heard of any rock able to do this to my species, so I must be far back in history in a time we were at risk from this material. The human had also been dressed in furs, but I wasn't sure if that was due to the era or the location of where we were.

  Jumping to my feet, my hackles raised from something being thrown into the cave. Listening and sniffing the air, I could hear a heartbeat from a human outside. I then looked down to see a rabbit.

  My brows furrowed in confusion- was this human trying to poison me....or actually feed me?

  Dropping low, I got closer to the rabbit and sniffed at it. It didn't smell off, but I was still cautious. Raising my head, I looked out into the forest.

  "I don't want your pity, human!" I called out. "But I accept this gift." Grabbing the rabbit by the ears, I carried it over to the fire to skin and cook it.

✧☾✧

  It wasn't long until the one rabbit became many with additions of baskets with fruits. Not only that, but the one human became two. I was grateful for the gifts, but I couldn't figure out why they were leaving them.