||The Legend of Taavi ||

|sabor|

The morning was bright. The dawning sunlight trickled through the rustling leaves like soft rain drops. The earth smelled sweet and damp, and felt soft under Taavi's feet. The wispy tree branches dipped and whistled against the elegant breeze, and cooled her glowing skin. Today was a good day.

It was early. Too early for the other apes to wake, but oh that's what she loved so much about it. Taavi always got up early in the spring, to watch the flowers bloom and to get first pick of breakfast. She knew that the aizens were finally blooming, according to the gorilla gossip.

As the troop of apes snoozed soundlessly, Taavi crept swiftly away for an early morning meal.

As she approached the aizen bush, which bloomed beautifully, glistening for the dew, she heard a crack. Now, Taavi knew that this was a vast jungle, filled to the brim with bustling wild life. But she also had keen hearing, and knew that the thickness of the snap was made by a creature that was large, and with only a crude arrowhead to protect herself, she quickly took refuge in a tree to scope out the threat.

A few moments passed. Taavi was breathing heavy, hearing only the leaves rustling and her blood pumping furiously in her ears. She grabbed a sturdy limb with one strong arm, and peered over the edge to see what was on the ground, letting her other hand dangle.

Then she saw it.

The new creature, crouched and alone, hunched over and making more markings in the same square object he held the day before. It was the medium sized creature, his mane tied up in a small cloth. But something surprised Taavi as she studied the being from above. His coat was...different. Surely he didn't shed or molt in the single day that separated their encounters.

Taavi trembled excitedly, knowing that she had to seize this perfect opportunity.

But something...something stopped her. Despite her desperate heart palpitations egging her on to jump down from her hiding spot, she realized she no longer wished to approach or agitate the animal, but to analyze it. Study its natural movements. It seemed so...peaceful, marking on its object. Any interruption would be an absolute sin, she decided.

So she watched. For an hour she studied the beast, finding enjoyment in every little detail. The blue in the eyes, the curve of the spine, the focus, the beauty. Taavi couldn't help but notice that the way the animal was hunched, was that of her own stance. How could that be? Taavi made up her mind that this being may be a subspecies of a primate, but perhaps more complex, smarter, and maybe even stronger.

Time passed, and even though she couldn't believe it, Taavi was getting weary of watching the creature copy flowers in his book. She lawled her head to the side, feeling the bones popping from being so incredibly still for so long. Her stomach growled from being vacant from food for so long, and she knew it was time to go.

But before she turned away to search of nourishment, some movement caught her eye. Spotted movement.

The undeniable feeling of dread crashed like a wave through Taavi, who gripped her arrowhead tighter. She had battled with this beast before, and she was more than willing to fight again.

Sabor, a carnivorous, cruel spotted leopardess circled the new creature, hidden and silent in the brush, only to be seen from above. The defenseless animal had no awareness of its presense, mistaking the rustling as simple gale.

Taavi knew Sabor was ready to pounce.

Suddenly, Sabor's paw landed on a thick fallen branch, which broke with a loud crack. The creature snapped its head up, slowly rising to its hind legs. Sabor emitted a low growl, rearing back, still concealed by the bushes, and leaped forward.