A Darker Leopard

Chapter fourteen: A leopard in a lion's pride

There is someone licking my side. I attempt to move away, but a heavy paw is put on my back. I don't have the energy to squirm. My eyes flicker open and as my vision clears, I find myself face to face with a lioness. My heart stopped.

I try to back away, lions will try to kill any leopard they see.
"Don't move, it'll only hurt more." She said in a caring tone. "I can't resist helping cubs that are down on their luck." She licked me some more. I purred. I flinched as a small paw hit me on the back right next to a bullet wound. The lioness shoved her own cub away. "Now little cub, tell me what happened."

"Well..."
"Come on, you can trust me."
"Well my mother took my sister, my brother and myself hunting with her, but she got killed by the humans and then they sent their dogs after us..." the lioness listed intrigued. "Moons later, the same human kills my sister and so I kill him. Then I'm captured by the humans and put into the Leopard Games where I was forced to kill my brother. Then my only friend dies in the arena and I escape. After that, I get captured a second time, but I escape from that as well and I killed a handful of humans. If you hadn't already noticed, I have been shot a load of times. That's pretty much my life story." I'm sure I said all that way too fast. The lioness gawked in disbelief.
"So you're telling me that you survived the Leopard Games??" Then the realisation struck her as she figured out exactly who I am.
"Shadowclaw!" She squealed all hyper like I'm some celebrity. Then she shrugged and simply said; "To be absolutely honest, you're smaller than I expected." Oh, come on!

She left me with her cubs while she went to get food, these cubs were much younger than me yet we were the same size. I can tell that they're not old enough to meet the rest of their pride. They stare at me, almost mockingly at how small I am. I narrowed my eyes as a low warning growl erupts from my throught.

"So, have you killed anything yet?" I ask them, both trying to spark conversation and creep them out. They exchanged looks of incomprehension.
"Mumma won't take us hunting yet." One of the four say. Let's try something else.

"Do you know what the Leopard Games is?" They should.
"I heard that it's a bloody fight to the death!" Another exclaims.
"Oh, it is." I nod. "I was there." They grunt in disbelief and they laugh. "Are my scars not enough to prove it?" I sneer. They laugh some more, all but one. This one looks in awe at my many scars and ragged pelt.
"How did you escape? No cat ever escapes!" The cub gapes in wonder. One of the larger siblings smacks the cub on the back of the head.
"Don't be stupid, this little scrap would've died moons ago!"
"Human children are vulnerable to cuteness." I shrug. "I had to kill my own brother in that arena. I was trapped for moons!" Now I have some more attention.
"What was it like then?" Wow, they doubt my every word.
"Three fights a day, everyday. The cages we were kept in were small and smelled of damp. Most evenings a loop would be put around my neck and I'd be dragged into the arena. Winner stays on, and I obviously haven't ever lost." One of them laughs again.
"Only a cub like Shadowclaw can do that!" That's the final straw.

I launched myself at the ignorant cub and land just before the his face.
"Fight me." I growl.
"This should be easy, you're waaay too small!" My goodness, this cub does not understand me one bit!

He bats at my head, but the attack was expertly avoided. It doesn't even deserve to be called an attack! I hammer the cub's side with a single powerful blow that sends the him flying. The cub shakes the dust from his kit-soft pelt and leaps at me. While he was in mid-air, I jumped up and wrapped my claws around his neck making sure not to draw blood. We hit the ground with the opposing cub taking most of the impact. I whispered into his ear;

"I am Shadowclaw."