Light and Dark

Chapter 1: Roars and Mews

A bird flew away out of surprise.

Roars were shaking the forest and every animal heard them. They were all coming from a thicket at the base of a gigantic kapok tree. Its roots were strong and wide but even the deafening roars were making the stump tremble. A curious fawn bounded up to the entrance of the den. It immediately scrambled away out of fright when the next roar sounded.

Inside the den, it was so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. The den had been dug into the stump of the kapok tree, and was like a little cave. This cave got little to no light. That was how Anaiyu wanted it.

The mother jaguar lay on a nest of leaves and ferns, all smashed flat from her weight. Her body convulsed and stretched to where she was gulping for breath. "I should've prayed to Terra for relief," she moaned. Another convulsion seized her body and Anaiyu let out a bellowing roar that sent birds outside hurrying into the sky.

Her birth was already hard, and it had only been 30 minutes. She had already given birth to 2 cubs, and she was not looking forward to another possible 30 minutes. Anaiyu's mother had schooled her on how to give birth and how long it would take. It was a lesson all females of her kind had to learn. One of the few good lessons she taught me, she thought with disgust. Her mother had abandoned Anaiyu at a year and a half old, 6 months before she was supposed to. Anaiyu had no litter mates, so she had had to learn all the crucial hunting and fighting techniques by herself. She secretly promised that her cubs would never have to go through that.

Finally, after another hour of labor, Anaiyu had become a new mother to four cubs. She had just given birth to her last cub when she turned to grab it. She turned to her flank and was shocked. A tiny white jaguar was squirming around, looking for warmth. Pity and maternal instinct kicked in and Anaiyu completely forgot her surprise and instantly pulled the cub into the curve of her belly with its litter mates.

Three males and a female. The oldest one already had shoulder muscles. She named him Jinkx.

The second oldest was a misty shade of black, and he was a little smaller than Jinkx. Anaiyu named him Shade.

The third oldest was very noisy. He was squirming all around and wouldn't sit still. She named him Ifrit.

The youngest, and the only female, was the albino. Anaiyu stared at her daughter in wonder. The cub was white as snow. She was squirmy, but strong. Anaiyu couldn't help but feel concerned for her only daughter. An albino never lasted long in the wild. They were easy to spot by predators, and were therefore the easiest to catch. But in jaguar culture, albinos were sacred and it was considered an honor to have been mated to one. At that, Anaiyu sighed with relief. Her daughter would be fine, but a jaguar wasn't a jaguar at all without a name.

The albino black jaguar was given the name Leru. Anaiyu laid her head down facing the entrance to the den. She wouldn't let anything touch or even come close to her cubs. She would not be as her mother.