Learning to Pounce

Chapter 3

     It was awkward.

Those wolves never attacked, and I swear I heard some whimpering.

Still, my mom and I stayed dead silent and still, waiting.

After what seemed like a few hours, I heard faint paws padding away into the dark forest.

"They're gone.. That was very weird.." I whispered to my mom. 

The sky was turning dark, but my panther vision helped me see our surroundings. I saw my mom give a faint nod of her head, but she stayed still. She probably scented another danger not very far away.

Then came the questions. Why did the wolves leave? Were they scared of something? Were they scared of us?

Then we heard a loud roar. It was very familiar.

Another werepanther? I thought.

As the loud cat-like roars continued, I also picked up some growling and barking. I then looked over at my mom, and her expression told me she heard it too.

The sounds were coming closer, so my mom flicked her tail and ran, beckoning me to follow.

For the next few minutes, all we did was run. Top panther speed. Which is 50 mph.

We dodged and leaped over tree stumps and rocks. I've never been long distance running as a panther before, so I loved it.

We stopped once we thought we were a few miles away. My mom seemed not happy, and I guessed that was because we were near a no-tail town.

Then I noticed something. I had dropped my clothes that were in my mouth while we were running. I facepalmed. If panthers can facepalm. It was more of a paw-palm.

My mom growled at me for being so stupid, which I kinda was. She then went behind a tree, shifted, then got dressed. Luckily for us, she had taken her wallet with her when we left the car.

"Stay here, Trevor." She growled at me, obviously upset.

I watch from behind a few trees as she went into a store.

While I am waiting, I got hungry. Which is natural for someone who hasn't eaten for almost a day.

I caught the faint whiff of deer. A young doe, I noticed.

Ignoring my mom's command, I set off into the moist forest behind me. 

Ears twitching, I followed the deer 's path with my nose. A few moments later, I saw it. The doe was limping with a leg that had a bite mark in it. 

Ew. It looked nasty, like the predator who bit it got jerked out of its grasp by the deer.

Getting into a crouching position, I stalked the doe. My partner paws didn't make a sound. The only sound I heard was the faint breeze moving my whiskers. 

Then, CRASH! 

The doe quickly bounces away, but that is the least of my concerns. 

I darted towards the crashing sound. It sounds like a car.

My nose peeks out from the tree lining. Smoke tells me there is a fire. 

I see two cars, both damaged. From behind one car, there sits a young girl. She is crouched over something or... someone. 

 "MOM!!?" I yell as I have over towards the two people. 

 The girl is crouched over my mom. She is on her side, breathing faintly. 

 "What happened!?" I whisper to the girl, holding back tears. 

 "Car accident... the car didn't see her until the last moment." The girl whispers back as we hear the sounds of police approaching. "I came to this lady right when I saw it happen.." 

 "Where were you when it happened?" I asked, barely able to choke out words. 

 " I..I was in the forest.. But enough about me. "

I placed my head on her chest, knowing that this was the end. I hugged her once, then dragged her body off into the forest. 

The girl, who looked about eleven, had a confused look on her face when I did this. But coming to realise my loss, and because it seemed she knew why I was doing this, she followed me.