You see, mating with another species had been unthinkable for anyone at this point in history. Literally. The thought had never been entertained by modern man before our budding geneticist woke up this particular morning. On the subject of inter-species relations, theories had not been discussed and moral deliberations had not been held (not that morality was even a concept yet). No, there were more important things to focus on and figure out. Staying alive, for one. And not only was the capture, and subsequent seduction, of such a dangerous creature so outside the scope of basic survival, it was technologically very much out of reach.
Menfolk of the era had a hard enough time bringing down animals with the finite end-goal of killing the target. To ensnare something so evasive, so wild, and taking it alive was preposterous. The tools, tactics and temperament had not yet been invented. Not even considered. The mating? Well, that was somewhat more straightforward. Among humans, intercourse and reproduction was as commonplace within early settlements as eating, sleeping and defecating. No privacy. No shame. No taboos. There was safety in numbers after all, and a new baby meant a new person to one day defend and support the rest of the group. Buzi understood this was probably the same for all species.
Buzi also understood that his cross-breeding intentions would probably be lost on his intended. He couldn't be sure of the sophistication of a cheetah's mind, but it was safe to assume that she may not understand his advances. There had been seldom few interactions between man and beast in the short history of pre-history – with most fueled by fear and ending in violence. And in these exploratory attempts, no tangible communication had ever been established. Animals just couldn't comprehend humans and vice versa. It was early man's belief the development of tools, communities and rational thought set them apart from the beasts (again, not much has changed since). They were on a different track, perhaps even guided by the Gods themselves!
But if he were to truly succeed in his mating experiment, Buzi hoped the offspring would receive only some of his superior humanoid features. He wanted to pass down his intelligence and ability to communicate, but needed her physical supremacy and graceful build. He reveled in the potential:
Can you imagine such a creature? Surely the Gods would approve!
We're not so sure how they would feel about the alternative Punnett Square outcomes.
Buzi's recent realizations also had him questioning how different humans and animals truly were. If his cheetah bride was also composed of blood and vein and muscle and bone, who was to say what her level of cognizance was? What her carnal desires may be? What kind of grip the animal kingdom had on emotions?
Maybe she feels the same way...
Other human females sure did. On the cusp of manhood, Buzi was a fine specimen. He was among the strongest and fastest of the males his age, and would have no trouble pairing off with any number of available options within the tribe. Oftentimes he would catch a member of the opposite sex staring in his direction. He would oftentimes stare back. With very limited wardrobes, attraction was forthright. With short life spans, courtship was straight to the point. Flirtation, only on some levels, has since evolved.
But Buzi knew that coupling-up with a female inthe camp would result in the same run-of-the-mill human child. It would be tooeasy (human females were much slower) and nothing would change, nothing wouldadvance. Their son or daughter wouldbe just like everyone else's son or daughter. Just like him and her. Which hecouldn't accept; he wanted improvement.
