Bad Blood

If You Bite a Leopard, It Will Bite Back.

I quickly scrambled up from the ground in a rush and ran. A possible wild animal was nearby and I needed to get away before it decided it was hungry.

In the dark, I stumbled through many bushes, twigs, and branches, and didn't stop until I had reached a clearing. My eyes landed on a small pond I haven't seen in ages.

A never ending streak of moonlight shined through the thick, tall trees onto the pond, making it look like it was glowing. It was the size of a small swimming pool and surrounding it were tall trees around its perimeter.

It used to be Caleb and I's.

It was our favorite place to go to when we both wanted to escape reality and be free, with no rules or restrictions, just the two of us together.

A trail of betraying tears escaped my eyes before I could stop them. I quickly wiped it away and leaned against one of the tall trees.

I stared into the darkness of the woods, still not feeling very safe from the near encounter with the wild animal.

Then my heart suddenly stopped beating and I momentarily forgot how to breathe, when I spotted two glowing yellow eyes near the trees on the other side of the pond.

The terrifying wolf jumped into the clearing and quickly made its way towards me, running around the lake. A loud growl escaped its throat. There was no doubt in my mind that my presence was not welcomed.

I screamed and hurriedly reached to climb the tree I was leaning on when I looked up.

A big black leopard glared at me through a pair of angry, stormy grey eyes that weirdly reminded me of Caleb's. Its low, threatening growl startled me and I slipped off the branch I was climbing on and fell onto the forest floor.

It's huge lean body leaped over me and lunged towards the black wolf who wanted to kill me. The two met airborne and harshly crashed down to the forest floor, going at each other's throats, their growls filling the quiet of the night. The leopard easily dominated the wolf and had it pinned within minutes. It placed its teeth at its throat, growling warningly at it before glancing back at me and reluctantly letting its defeated opponent stand up and quickly scurry away.

Then I thought of the most irrelevant question when I should have been thinking of how to reach safety.

What the hell is a leopard doing in Woodstock, Georgia?

I watched the black wolf's retreating back disappear into the woods and didn't realize I was holding my breath until all the air left my lungs in a rush. I looked back towards the leopard who saved me.

It was watching me carefully, analyzing me through smoky grey eyes. It crept towards me and although, I didn't feel like I was in any danger from it, I stayed still, because it was a predator and a wild animal.

As it made its way towards me, it's enchanting stormy eyes held me prisoner, making it so that I couldn't look away.

It stopped when it was an inch away, its tail dancing behind it. Although, It couldn't speak, I spoke to it anyway, thanking it for saving my life.

It replied with a small nod, seeming to understand, before looking me up and down, checking if I was alright.

"I'm okay, I just have a bit scratches on my legs, that's all," I assured it.

I'm a lunatic, talking to a leopard.

Its head nudged me to lay down and I immediately obeyed it, not wanting to anger it even though I was certain it wouldn't hurt me.

As I laid there anxiously, it's eyes seemed to sparkle with amusement at my nervousness.

I quirked an eyebrow.

"What?"

The leopard just continued to stare at me before shaking its head and sniffing my leg.

Whatever it smelled seemed to displease it. It looked at me, then down to my jeans, signaling for me to roll them up.

I rolled my jeans up and then laid back down. I knew I told it that I had a few cuts and bruises, but I may have understated my condition and its growl confirmed it.

I felt a wet tongue touch an open wound and I instinctively jumped, moving away.

It instantly growled and placed its large jaws over my leg, halting my movements, so I laid back down with a sigh.

It licked all my wounds clean and when it was finished, it crept over to me stopping just right above me.

Our eyes met and, again, I simply couldn't look away. They were so grey and hypnotizing and seemed to communicate everything it couldn't say with words.

It bent down and slowly slid its tongue down my neck.

I suddenly became stiff at the surprising gesture, but then flush of heat swept through my body and I squirmed under its moving hot tongue.

"Uh-h, what are you doing?" I stammered, pretty certain my face resembled a tomato.

It didn't answer; it just continued to trace its soft tongue around my sensitive skin.

It grazed its sharp teeth over my neck and I whimpered loudly, instantly wanting to jump off a cliff in embarrassment.

After a while, when it seemed satisfied with what it was doing, it gave me one last lick before getting off of me and laying down in the grass right beside me. While, I fought to get my breathing under control, it snuggled me against its body. Its tail curled around us and within a minute, I fell into a deep sleep, dreaming about growling leopards and a childhood friend with stormy grey eyes.