Light and Dark

Chapter 3: Legends

A flock of birds flew by overhead. They were heading somewhere far, far away. Sometimes Leru wished she could fly, but then she realized she was an albino. If anything, she was special enough.

It had been two days since Thorn had come and gone, and the cubs had been asking Anaiyu why she'd left. When she'd told them the reason, Jinkx, Shade, and Ifrit were all furious with Thorn for even asking for an arranged mating. Leru, however, was perplexed. Would Vine have wanted it...? To be mated to me? She thought.

"How dare she?!" Shade demanded.

"And to that snobby Vine, no less!" Jinkx muttered, snorting at the memory.

"If anyone wants Leru, they'll have to get through us!" Ifrit shouted, stamping his paw. "Yeah!" Shade and Jinkx agreed in unison.

"Alright alright alright. Calm down all of you," Anaiyu chuckled. She settled down in her nest and motioned for her cubs to come to her. They did as they were told, and they all snuggled into one another.

"Mom, tell us a story!" She heard Leru say. Her brothers agreed. Anaiyu sighed, knowing that if she didn't tell them a story, they'd keep bugging her into an early grave.

"Alright! I'll tell you about the Jaguar Gods and who we pray to in times of need," Anaiyu said. She cleared her throat and took a breath as her cubs shuffled to positions to where they could listen.

"Long ago, before this forest ever existed, there lived a solitary jaguar. She was a regular jaguar, not a black jaguar. Her name was Valasca. She played tricks on the Humans and caused all sorts of trouble. Finally they'd had enough, and they all threw ash on her until she was pitch black. She stayed that way, marked for her shame. Valasca wandered the earth, looking for solitude.

She stumbled upon a gigantic open and barren plain that was where the forest stands now. Valasca had taken a mate, but he had left her when she was marked. She took refuge on the plain, hiding from the rest of the world, ashamed.

She gave birth to 5 cubs. All of them albinos." Leru straightened when she heard this. Her brothers looked at her in awe.

"Three males: Ignis, the oldest, Ventus, the second oldest, and Umbra, the third oldest; two females: Aqua, the forth oldest, and Terra, the youngest. Their mother was furious having brought 5 albinos, or as she thought, abominations, into the world. She abandoned them."

Anaiyu shivered.

"What Valasca didn't know, was that her 5 cubs had been gifted the power of the five elements: fire, water, wind, earth, and shadow. All of the cubs learned how to use their powers.

Ignis was gifted the element of fire. He could summon flames and wildfires at his will. We pray to him when we're about to go to battle and we need courage and strength.

Ventus was gifted the element of wind. He was able to create whirlwinds, hurricanes, and tornadoes with a swing of his tail or paw, or with a blow of his breath. We pray to him when we're about to go out to hunt and we need swiftness.

Umbra was gifted the element of shadow. He was able to literally disappear into the shadows. He could create shadow images and ward off foes. We pray to him when we're in battle and we need cunning and smarts.

Aqua was gifted the element of water. She could bend rivers, oceans, ponds, and storms to her will, and create them. We pray to her when our cubs become independent and they flow into the forest by themselves.

Terra was gifted the element of earth. She was able to create earthquakes, tremors, and make things grow. We pray to her when we mate, so the seed can become unborn cubs, and when we give birth, so the cubs can bloom into the world.

They were all getting along fine. Until jealousy wormed its way into Umbra's heart. He was jealous of Ignis, and how Umbra's power played into his brother's. And so, Umbra challenged Ignis to a fight. Ignis and Umbra fought, and Umbra won. Ignis was laying on the ground, bleeding, while his younger brother laughed in his face. Umbra was about to strike the killing blow, when Ventus, Terra, and Aqua jumped into the fight. Ignis and his other siblings all used their powers to defeat Umbra. When the battle neared its end, Aqua and Ventus created a water tornado. Ignis blew a breath full of fire in Umbra's direction and backed him into the water tornado. Terra reared up and stomped down onto the ground and created a fissure. Aqua's and Ventus' tornado carried Umbra towards the fissure and then dropped him inside.

Umbra fell far into the earth, to its core. Before he could get out, Terra closed the fissure up.

They all looked around and saw what their epic battle has created. A forest was now where they stood. Aqua had created rivers running throughout the forest in her attempts to capture Umbra. Terra had grown trees and vines and bushes in her attempts to imprison Umbra. Ignis had created a volcano that he now controlled in his attempts to kill Umbra. Ventus had brought a whole new wind front that was humid and hot in his attempts to blow Umbra away. In their attempts of getting rid of their brother, the Elemental Cubs had created our forest in their wake.

Valasca moved back to the new forest, but stayed away from her cubs. She then had many more cubs and all of them had turned out to be black. That's how we were created.

The Elemental Cubs were revered by the black jaguar population and were treated like gods. That's how they became the Jaguar Gods. And since they were albinos, all albinos to this day have been honored."

"But mom! What about Umbra? What happened to him?" Shade asked sleepily.

"He created a kingdom for himself down at the earth's core," Anaiyu told him. "When they die, all evil Jaguars go to him. They are sentenced to serve him for all eternity as their king."

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Leru was up long after her brothers and mother went to sleep. She couldn't stop thinking. Her mind wandered everywhere. I will be honored? My entire life? She thought. Males would be all over her. She was starting to wonder whether her mother rejected Thorn's offer too quickly. Then she shook her head and scolded herself for ever thinking her mother had made the wrong decision. Her mother was only thinking of her freedom, and Leru was grateful that her mother cared about her wishes.

She fell asleep in about 5 minutes, falling into a dream where she could control earthquakes.