V1: Wild Child

C1: Young Tigers

Deep in the darkness of the Eternal Night Forest, a deer with moon white fur and black crystal antlers is grazing on the grass in a grove of trees.

There is little light shining down through the trees, but its always impossible to tell whether its sunlight or moonlight. Due to how small they are, they dot the area above the ground like countless stars which follows along with the name of the forest. The majority of the light on the ground level comes from the bioluminescent mushrooms, moss, and flowers that grow along the ground.

In a brush hidden away from the glow of the forest plants, a pair of golden eyes peeks through looking at the deer. There is no noise. Not even a detectable breath. Pure silence, only disturbed by the gentle chewing of the deer, the periodic chirping of insects, or caws of birds.

The moment the deer brings its head down again to grab more grass to chew, a silent blur figure shoots out of the brush. The surroundings barely move, its as if they completely ignore the fact that the figure is even there. With a hand outstretched the shadow latches itself into the neck of the deer, and before it can even react to the pain another hand has already pierced behind its skull. It suddenly finds itself on its side laying on the ground already dead.

Above the deer the shadow figure once again allows light to touch its form. With red, black-striped hair going down below his neck, two tiger-like ears on his head twitch slightly, a similar tail dancing excitedly behind him, and… fur covering his hands slightly above his wrists, a small tuft in the middle of his chest, and his feet up to his ankles. His hands and feet have thin pads covering his palms and soles as well as short claws extending from his fingers and toes. At this moment the boy looks extremely… feral. Yes, he looks feral. This is his feral form.

Beastmen have what is known as their feral form, in which their beast blood empowers them, slightly changing how they look. For catpeople, they grow fur and gain claws on their hands and feet. The fur is not only fluffy, but it also serves as a small form of protection, the pads are also protective yet still extremely sensitive, and they also create very little noise when hitting something else. Their claws are dangerously sharp giving them natural weapons to attack with or allowing them to climb really well.

Most Beastmen can’t use their feral form until they’re around 10 years old, due to the strain it puts on the body. And even when they can use it they can only use it for short periods of time, otherwise they’ll suffer. But as the become accustomed to the strain, their body will adapt to it, and over time they’ll be able to use it for longer periods of time and more of their body will change as well as increasing the effects of the change. If a catperson were to become extremely skilled at their feral form, they could even shapeshift entirely into the form of the feline beast.

The figure, picks up the deer and carries it on his shoulders, then he dashes off into the dark forest once again.

….

When the child was first brought into the den by their mother, the other cub weren’t really sure how to treat him. But as the mother set him down and the laid down in front of him, he begun sucking on her breasts and feeding, just like they had when they were newborn kits.

This was when the brave cub, who first happened upon him, realized that this child was now part of their den, and was also younger than they were. So as he was adopted by the mother, he was also adopted by the cubs as their younger sibling.

There were 4 cubs originally. The oldest was named Raksha; the second oldest was Bahina; Raja was the third; and Suri was the fourth. And… as they had no way of knowing the name Arthur Pyralis, the mother named the child as Nova.

The first few months were entertaining, as the cubs and the child would play together, and even though he was more human than beast in race he still played alongside the other cubs. But even though he grew alongside them, the fact that they were different races was still too apparent.

Over the months, Nova realized he was different from the others, as they grew relatively fast compared to him. But he didn’t think anything of it, as he was able to keep playing with them as much as he wanted, however when he was almost six months old that changed.

At that time, Nova was only about a foot and three inches tall standing up, but the other cubs were about two feet and a half. Today was the day when the young cubs would be sent out into the forest and would have to begin learning to hunt from their mother, but when Nova tried to follow the cubs the mother pushed him back into the den.

“Not you, Nova. You’re still too young.”

Nova simply gazed at his mother with large round eyes trying to plead with his mother saying he didn’t understand.

“Nova. You know that you and your brother and sisters are different. They grow faster than you, and are stronger than you. Even when you play together they have to be more gentle and control themselves so they don’t hurt you. But please don’t worry Nova, there will come a day when you too can hunt.” The mother says she leaves the den to watch over her cubs hunt. “Just stay in the den until we return. I’ll know if you leave, so don’t even think about it, you understand?”

“....”

“Nova, do you understand?”

Nova nods and with a crestfallen expression and tearing eyes as he turns to go back inside the den.

“..*sigh*.. Don’t worry Nova, your day will come.” The mother disappears into the brush after her cubs.

….

When the cubs returned, only Raksha and Bahina returned with prey in their mouths. Raksha had caught a small, black snake while Bahina had caught a dark brown squirrel that had two tails. They were small prey, but for these young cubs they were currently their greatest trophies.

Nova saw them as they returned to the den with happy expressions except for Raja and Suri who seemed upset at their own shortcomings.

With her cubs gathered in the den the mother observed their expressions, “Raja, Suri, don’t let today’s hunt depress you. There are some days where even I don’t catch prey. Today Raksha and Bahina both had luck, not many catch prey on their first day either. But know this, even the weakest of beasts can become more powerful than any other as long as their will is strong and they work hard. That means you too Nova. You may be weak now, but if you work hard I’m sure you’ll become even more ferocious your brothers and sisters.”

Nova was stunned at her words, although he was still young and didn’t understand much, he knew that his siblings were much stronger than he is. How could he possibly ever catch up to them? But his mother wouldn’t lie to him… maybe he’s not working hard enough, he thought. Maybe he played too much, and didn’t think enough about what he needs to do to be strong like his brothers and sisters.

The other cubs looked at Nova and his worried expression, then saw him give a fierce, determined look. Bahina, who was the same brave cub who discovered him, put her paw on top of his head, “Haha, I won’t ever let Lil Nova surpass me. Don’t worry Nova, Big sis will protect you okay?”

Hearing this challenge, Nova felt he had to protect his pride so he moved out of Bahina’s paw and bit her arm. Although, not even 6 months old, he wasn’t strong enough to break through Bahina’s fur with his teeth. “Ahhh! When did Lil Nova get so ferocious!” The other cubs laughed at Bahina being attacked by Nova.

Bahina had a strong affection for Nova, like that of an older sister taking care of her younger brother. What Raksha had asked her why this was, she mumbled something about how couldn’t she want to protect such a cute little brother…

Since that day, Nova began to do his best at improving himself.

He mimicked what he saw his brother and sisters do when they hunt, and he learned the skills that their mother taught them alongside them.

Even when their mother taught them a special trait related to monsters with a high fire affinity called Soul-Fire, he didn’t give in. It only took his brothers and sisters two months to learn it, but for him it took a full year.

Even though he didn’t have the natural talent that his brother’s and sister’s did and couldn’t keep up with how fast they grew, he was still persistent in growing stronger. Even if it was only a little bit a day, he did his best to catch up to his siblings.

What Nova didn’t understand was that for such a young child he was already ridiculously strong. A complete monster really.

….

The cub’s mother is actually a very rare species of tiger within the monster races known as the Azure Tiger, and very little is known about them. With a moon-white color and pale blue stripes the fur of these Azure Tigers is considered an extremely valuable treasure. Not only do people consider it look good, their fur and hide are extremely tough making them to be fashionable choices in armor.

The Eternal Night Forest is not a known home to Azure Tigers, well, there isn’t a known home for them at all actually. However, they haven’t been seen in the Eternal Night Forest by those who have travelled through it.

The mother’s den is in an area of the forest where adventurers haven’t visited for a very long time, and because of the presence her power presses into the surrounding, very rarely would a monster step into the territory she claimed. Mostly due to the fact that monsters in this forest can’t even compare to her.

Due to these facts, there area she chose to raise her cubs is extremely safe, allowing them to grow and learn well.

When Nova was roughly a year and four months old, he and cubs were playing about in the forest. They often enjoyed exploring and wandering about the forest while harassing creatures as they went.

Currently Suri was teasing Nova about his clumsiness as he had tripped over a small root hiding the grass. Raksha, who was dutily observing the surroundings noticed something dash out of a bush nearby to move away from them. The creature he saw was not something he was familiar with..

“Suri! Leave Lil Nova alone! Have you forgotten about the time when slipped on a rock into the river-” During Bahina’s protest, Raksha cut in, “Something just ran off that way, I’m going to chase it!” And without even waiting, Raksha ran off doing exactly what he said he would do.

Raksha loves to hunt more than anything, so as long as there was something to chase, he would chase it.

“Ah, Raksha! Mom said not to split up!” Raja yells while chasing after Raksha, leaving Bahina, Suri, and Nova behind. “Ehh, well, wouldn’t want to be left out.” Suri too chases after them followed by Bahina and Nova.

When Suri, Bahina, and Nova catch up the appear in a small clearing where Raksha and Raja have surrounded a small white creature at the base of a tree. The creature is known as a Moon Rabbit is regarded as a difficult monster because of its incredible agility.

Arriving just now, the three of them get to witness Raksha pouncing at the rabbit, and the rabbit jumping up and landing on Raksha’s head, using it as a springboard to escape from them. The force of the jump slams Raksha’s head into the ground, forcing him to eat dirt. “*puh* ah! grossh!”

Raja chases after the rabbit which is now running towards the three at the edge of the clearing, Suri lunges straight in front of the rabbit expecting them to collide where she can sink her teeth into… but the rabbit suddenly leaps up causing Raja and Suri to smash into each others face causing them to go dizzy.

The rabbit stands to the side of Raja and Suri seeming to be laughing at the two young cubs who fell for its prank.

Seeing how his Raksha, Raja, and Suri all failed Nova suddenly has the desire to be the one to catch the rabbit so he can show off. Nova’s hands grow small amounts of fur covering up a bit of hands enough for him to grow short claws, and he runs after the rabbit.

The rabbit seeing Nova gets another idea, it runs to a nearby tree and using it’s legs jumps up on to one of the lower branches and taunts Nova. Nova… well, he’s still a child. He begins using his claws to climb up the tree after the rabbit when Bahina figures out what’s going on, “Ah! Lil Nova! Wait! Come back down!” But he ignores her plight as he reaches the branch, and steadies himself on the branch.

Although this is a low branch for the trees in the forest, its still a good 30 feet above the ground. The rabbit while just sitting there taunting Nova, allows him to draw closer, then just as he pounces at it, the rabbit drops down from the branch.

Seeing his prey suddenly disappear, looks down, and sees the great distance from the branch to the ground.. He instantly digs his claws into the branch as he looks down scared out of his mind.

At this point the rabbit is laughing while rolling on the ground, however it has yet to realize the true danger amongst the group of cubs. And it has already provoked this danger. Bahina is staring daggers at this laughing rabbit, “You dare play your stupid tricks on my Nova?!”

Bahina is suddenly standing above the rabbit with her claws rapidly heading for it’s body, but… the rabbit is still too much for these young cubs. He jumps out of the way, and lands a kick on Bahina’s side which launches her a few feet into the ground. Having enough of taunting these cubs, the rabbit flees quickly knowing the mother could be nearby.

Bahina had to spend the next two hours trying to get Nova unstuck from the tree and bringing him down...

….

When the cubs were two years old, their bodies had grown to be about five feet in height while standing on their four limbs. This was the time when a cub would have to complete a sort of rite of passage in which it would for the first time, hunt something larger than itself. Once the rite of passage was completed they would be considered a young tiger, and would be allowed to live by themselves within the forest. To do so, the cubs would have to head out of their mother’s territory to actually find a monster bigger than themselves to kill.

The first to succeed was Bahina, although she was reluctant to part from Nova, her mother ended up throwing her out of the den to get her to leave.

Next was Raksha, who was excited from discovering how many monsters there were to hunt, and left as soon as his mother let him.

Raja and Suri finished at the same time. They had a small sense of rivalry between them since they were born, when they ended up completing the rival at the same time both of them were in a sour mood.

Although they would living by themselves from now on, their mother did not allow them to leave the forest or wander too far. As they still needed to grow their own strength so they would be able to protect themselves from the dangers of the world.

In the end only Nova was left behind, once again.

His mother knew the fact that Nova needed more time to grow as he was catperson, so she knew the limits she should have when raising him, but this still caused him to feel like there was a barrier between him and his siblings because of this. A barrier that he was determined to bring down no matter what, and so he continued to push himself for another two years in the den while his mother watched over his growth.

….

Returning the present time; Nova returns to the den, carrying the large deer behind him, his face full of smiles and pride. He was no longer in his feral form, and he had the necklace that was left behind with him when his mother found him. His mother looked at him lovingly, and very proud. Although she was a tigress, and a monster species at that, she knew fully well how abnormal it was for Nova, a four year old humanoid, to be able to move like he did.

Nova had completely mastered everything his mother taught him, the only thing holding him back was the own limits his young body placed on him. She had made sure to wait until his body would be capable of actually carrying out the skills with enough strength and agility to use them in a hunt.

Seeing him now, full of pride in himself, completing his first hunt of a beast bigger than himself, and excited to finally be able to go live solo… She felt kind of reluctant to let him go. She didn’t know why, but she was really attached to Nova. She would never admit that he’s her favorite though. That would be unfair, right?

As he set the deer down in the den, he ran up and looked at his mother expectantly, waiting for her praise. His mother, not saying anything, began licking him head toe… she suddenly started cleaning him.

“Ahhh! Mom! I’m not even dirty!” Nova began resisting, struggling to get away. But his strength couldn’t really compare with his mom’s.

“Nonsense, you have blood all over you from your hunt. Stay still, Nova.”

“..uuu, Mom… why…”

“What do you mean, why? Because you’re my son, that’s why. Mother’s have to make sure their cubs stay clean.”

“I’m not a cub anymore! I finished my hunt! I should be a tiger like you now, right?!”

“Nnn… I don’t know…”

“Mom! You promised me!”

“Ahhh, fine. We’ll eat this deer you caught for dinner, then when we wake tomorrow you can set off..” Even though she gave, she didn’t stop cuddling with him and licking him.

Nova began being lulled to sleep by his mother until he finally fell asleep in her embrace. (Huhu.. Success. I’ll have to make the most of the time I have left with my Nova..)

….

The next day Nova and his mom were standing outside the entrance to the den, and they embraced each other before Nova finally set off to go find his place to live solo.

To live out in the wild, away from home! (To normal people he would already have been considered living in the wild…) To live like his brothers and sisters, he was getting closer and closer to them. Although he wouldn’t see them as much as before, they would always be brothers and sisters.

Dashing through the forest seemingly un-effected by the dark, he makes his way deeper into the forest.

As he makes his way, in the lower branches above him, two bright blue eyes are watching him go by. They watch him like the eyes of a predator excited to catch their prey, and the figure dashes along behind him. Completely undetectable, making use of the terrain to move as silently as possible. It stalks behind him...

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