The tigress slipped silently through the dense foliage, licking her lips in anticipation. Ahead, a moonbeam fell upon a baby elephant, as a spotlight would a ballet dancer. She crept close enough that one leap would send her upon its back. Then she roared, sending it crashing through the jungle.
"Very funny, Moonlight. Go find another innocent creature to torment, why don't you? Or better yet, use some of that skill to catch a fresh meal for once." rumbled a disgruntled voice, in the nearby brush.
"But Chadra... Then I would be depriving you, my oldest and dearest friend, and your little son there, the joy of sharing my company." Moonlight purred, an amused smile playing upon her lips, exposing her impressive canines.
"I think we could survive a few moon cycles without an overgrown cat waking us up!" exclaimed Chadra.
"Perhaps... But it wouldn't be nearly as much fun. Anyways, now that I have stopped to say hello, I'll be on my way." Moonlight said, still purring.
She padded away, leaving the elephant family to their night. "Chadra was right, I am hungry." she thought to herself.
As a tiger, she knew that she should hunt for her own food. But as an adopted daughter of Barena, matriarch of the elephants, she couldn't bring herself to deliver the killing blow.
After living poorly on milk for almost two years, she finally discovered that she could easily intimidate other creatures into leaving their kills. It was a good compromise, which allowed her to enjoy her natural diet.
"Well, what do we have here?" she whispered. The alert feline stopped, and listened. She heard a distinct crunching and ripping in the distance.
As she approached, the sounds became louder. "Why hello, would you mind if I join you for dinner?" She asked the leopard.
He stared at her, and bared his teeth angrily. Placing both front paws on the doe, he snarled. "Go find your own food. This is mine."
"I'm so glad you don't mind." Moonlight replied happily. Then she roared and charged. The huge male leopard was dwarfed by the young tigress, and disappeared within seconds.
Soon Moonlight was digging in, relishing every bite of the tender meat. Just as she finished, she heard rustling in the bushes. Assuming it was the leopard, she called out. "I'm full, you are welcome to the rest."
"Why thank you. But I prefer to catch my own meal." said the deep voice in the brush.
She gasped, as a massive male tiger stepped into the clearing. He was by far the largest predator Moonlight had ever seen.
"Why are you so surprised?" he asked, yellow eyes shining.
"Oh... Because some scavenger came around earlier, wanting scraps." she covered. Suddenly Moonlight did not want the handsome stranger to know about her odd habit.
"Well... You left plenty, perhaps they will be back. Would you like to accompany me on my hunt?" he asked.
"Perhaps another time, I am full. I want a nap." she said, stretching and yawning.
"Very well, we will do it another time." he replied, then was gone.
Moonlight sighed as she padded away. "Maybe Chadra is right. Even Mother, who taught me to be kind and merciful, said that I must hunt. She said that my kind can't survive on what she eats, and this is true." the tigress thought, suddenly interested in the idea of joining the handsome stranger on an adventure.
"And why shouldn't I get to know him? Except for my mom and brother, this is the only one of my kind I've ever seen. As far as I know, we may be the last two." she thought.
Having lost her family at only three weeks old, she barely remembered them. Becoming excited, the now energized cat loped easily to the river, deciding that a drink was preferable to a nap.
Two days later:
"I had best get something to eat now, if I want to play with my friends after dark." Moonlight thought sleepily, the hot sun beating down upon her gleaming hide.
She chose a popular game trail, and made her way through the jungle. Soon, her senses became razor sharp.
"Oh, my! I thought he had left the area." she thought, heart beating like a drum. Making his way down the game trail, in her direction, was the male tiger!
"Why hello again! Please allow me to introduce myself properly this time. My name is Stripes, and I come from the Old Forest." he said, as a greeting.
"I'm Moonlight, welcome to my home." she said, in a polite rumble.
"A pleasure. I see you are up and about. Shall we have that hunt?" he asked.
"Why yes." replied the tigress, with a toothy grin. "I'll just let him catch his meal, then go on and find my own. At least we will have some time to get to know each other." she thought to herself.
The two predators stalked along the game trail, in companionable silence. Moonlight would have welcomed a chance to chat, but simply being in the presence of the other tiger made her adrenaline flow.
A warning trumpet pierced the quiet hum of the jungle. An elephant was obviously in distress!
"Let's go!" exclaimed Moonlight, who took off like a lightning bolt. When she arrived, her worst fears were confirmed. Chadra was trumpeting like mad. Three large crocodiles snapped at the mother elephant each time she was up to her chest in the water, forcing her to retreat.
In the middle of the river, Chadra's son squealed in terror. A fourth croc, the largest of all, had grabbed him. It was attempting to spin - called a death roll, it would have set the baby off balance, allowing the reptile to drown him.
Moonlight took the situation in with a single glance, and launched herself into the water. After a short, fierce battle, she emerged from the river, dragging the massive beast partway onto the shore.
The other crocodiles sank down like submerged logs, and disappeared. Chadra charged into the water, and gently guided the little elephant to the far shore. There, she gave a trumpet of salute before escorting her little one away from the two tigers.
"Help me get this up where it's drier, and we can share." Suggested the tigress.
Stripes simply stood there, stunned. He hadn't moved since he had caught up. She had just jumped in the water as he arrived, and he stood, fascinated, as he witnessed one of his kind hunting a crocodile in the water, for the very first time.
"Well? Are you hungry?" she tried again.
"Ah... Yes, let's eat." he replied, going over to help move the animal.
Cover image made in Canva, using their gallery