Soulbound (TMNT '16) ❪✓❫

A Tiger's Jump

Later in the day, Leonardo had returned to the camp where Raphael practices his combination routines. He swung his fists, kicks his legs above his head before seeing his older brother.

"I believe Kri wants to see you next, Raph?" Leo questioned.

The red masked turtle nodded and relaxed his body in the spot he stood in. "Yeah. Speaking of Kri, where is she?"

"I'm right here." The bushes said. Of course it wasn't a plant talking, but the white tiger herself with a friendly pair of eyes gazing at Raphael.

"Hello, Kri." Leo bowed his head as a greeting. "You wished to see my brother?"

"Yes." She said exchanging her view from Leonardo to Raph. "I came to speak to you about a few things. We'll go somewhere else to talk." The tiger said, turning her body toward the brush and leaping through as Raph took in a breath a let it out. He followed the tiger into the woods.

****

At first, Raphael was nervous to even look at Kri. Not because she can talk, but she's a tiger! A big cat that has the amazing strength to kill. He had to remind his head that everything will be okay and go smoothly. His courage was lowering to the red zone as he slows his pace down behind Kri.

The tiger noticed. "Raph?" She said looking over her shoulder.

"Yeah?" He stops in his trail.

"Everything good? You seem nervous."

"No, I'm okay. It's just that... I'm-- with a tiger."

Kri sighed. "I know. I understand you're not sure if I'll attack you. I promise you I won't."

"I'm not scared of you attacking me, I uh--"

The tiger's emerald eyes catch Raph's eyes into a net. A net which had some sort of connection. All of a sudden he felt calmer and more comfortable about everything going on around him. "Never mind... I feel okay." He finally said.

Kri growls lightly and continued on her path to a destination that she admired the most out of the whole forest. This home of hers held a lot of secrets and treasures.

After twenty more minutes of walking, the tiger and the mutant turtle begin to hear the sounds of a rumbling in the distance. Kri's nostrils flared for inhaling the wild water's scent, Raphael caught on.

"Is that a waterfall I hear?"

"It certainly is." She said coming nearer to a spot of the location. Raph then realized he wasn't at the bottom of the fall, but the very top where an incredible drop waited for anyone to jump.

"Oh, boy..." Raph backed away.

Kri calmly said, "Don't worry." She looks over the roaring rapids and down to the bottom. The hisses of the violent currents become a very calm pool at the bottom and Kri wanted to take the best leap of her life. "It isn't dangerous. I've done this plenty of times."

"You've done this before?!" Raphael's eyes grew huge from Kri's true fact.

"Yes. And the only way to get to the bottom is jumping off the cliff and into the water."

"No. Sorry, I can't do that." He turns his head away from her and the falls.

"Raphael. You're a ninja, right?"

"Well, yeah."

"Fight the bad men?"

"Yeah...?"

"You have courage to defend your family and people where you live from the danger that lurks there. Do you have courage to jump off a waterfall and be safe?"

Raph's frown softened to a straight face and to the far drop below. He thought about what Kri said, and she did get Raph on that one. "So, jumping is the only way down to this place?"

"One leap, one swim."

He held his breath and let it out, Raph glances at Kri, so he knows she ready to jump as well. She bowed her head for a ready signal.

"Ready?" She asked. "One,"

Raphael trembled and pulled himself together, deep breaths, bravery, and firing up his courage.

"Two,"

This is it. Two steps backward to run off like he's gonna learn to fly.

"Three!"

Both the tiger and Raphael take a jump of glory, the wind in sure and bouncing off scaly skin. Slow motion, looking at the trees from different angles, the blue sky. Raph kept air inside his lungs to prepare his body for impact on the cold water's surface.

After three seconds of falling back to earth, Kri and Raph hit the water and feel the jagged rocks surround them. They kick their legs and fight for air, staring the sun on top of the water.

Two breaths steal back precious air, laughing and looking back at what they flew off of.

"Wow!" The first laugh came from Raph. "That was amazing!" He leaned back on the calmer area of water to smile at the sky. "It's like I was flying."

"Told you it'll be okay! Come on, we need to get the shore." Kri dog paddles to the shore where the water met forest line.

Kri's valuable white and black striped fur stuck to her body like sap, but a couple shakes will remove the extra water. She saw Raph still enjoying his time in the water, he did muster up the courage to accomplish a different task. Then after a second of watching him, in the range of Kri's eyesight, a woman stood behind a tree. She didn't look like a regular human, though. Kri feels the woman's presence is unwelcome because a negative energy flowed, darkness released.

She growls.

It's difficult to see her face due to her position being in a shaded spot, but she lost interest in Kri. The women turned her back on the tiger and ran into the dark part of the forest. That's when Raphael spoke to his tiger friend.

"Kri? You okay? Looks like you've seen a ghost."

"I'm okay. I just thought I saw something." Kri replied still glaring at the spot. "The sun will be setting soon. I'll get you where we need to be before it's dark. I got this weird feeling right now and I don't like it one bit." She said continuing her walk on the trail by some thorn bushes and leads Raphael like a guide through her home.