Tiger Cubs and Training [training/solo]

Spoiler:

When Lexi approached the final crate, her heart caught in her throat. The tiger in the crate was still, not even glancing up as she moved forward. Lexi panicked, moving to unlock the cage hastily. The tiger barely managed a huff of discontent and its golden eyes cracked open only the smallest bit. It was quite obvious this tiger was not well. Its stomach looked oddly flattened, almost like it had been starved and she reconsidered her kindness to the thugs, wanting to go back and kill both of them for mistreating the animals. It was not until she heard a tiny, pitiful mew and saw the tiger turn its head wearily to nudge under its stomach that she realized what had happened.

The two thugs had taken a pregnant tiger and it had given birth, very recently if she had to guess. While she was frightened, she knew it was very important to get the tiger free from its cage and get it to some water and food. Moving very slowly, she moved her hand forward to the tiger, letting it smell her. The mother tiger gave her hand a halfhearted sniff, a deep growl playing in its throat as a warning but did not attempt to bite her. She cautiously crawled into the cage and cupped the tigers face, her own feline ears twitching forward in interest. She noted that the tiger was barely breathing and she whimpered softly.

The tiger gave one last defeated breath before her head fell to the bottom of the crate. Lexi cried as she tried to wake the tiger, finally setting her head against its chest. When she heard no beating through the immobile ribs, her body shook with tears. She forgot about the tiny tiger cub until she heard a loud mew of discontent and the bundle of white fur wiggled its way free of its deceased mother’s body. It sniffed at its mothers face, crying loudly to try and draw its mother’s attention. When that failed, the cub bit at its mother’s lip, still drawing no attention.

Still sobbing, Lexi carefully dragged the newborn cub to her chest and hefted it onto her lap. The cub cried loudly and tried to wiggle back to its mother, but Lexi held it securely and backed out of the cage. When she was able to climb free of the cage and wagon, she securely tucked the cub against her body and carried it to a stream, trying to dribble water into its mouth. She knew the cub really needed milk, but she did not have any with her. The cub’s eyes were not even open yet and she raced to think of what to do. She knew the scent of human would deter the other tigers and she could not just leave it to fend for itself. If it were older, she would feel more comfortable leaving it with a pile of scraps, but this cub could barely wiggle its way around, let alone hunt on its own.

Her mind made up, she fashioned a sling out of one of her skirts and strung the cub against her. When it settled against her chest and heard her heart beat, the cub instantly quieted it pitiful cries and fell promptly to sleep. She smiled down at the cub before climbing on her horse, vowing that she would ask at the conservationist group when she returned to see if they could find a home for the tiny cub or at least care for it until it was old enough to hunt on its own. She nudged the horse back to town, setting an easy pace to keep from waking the cub.

[616/2000]

When Lexi arrived back at the conservationist group, the tiger cub was awake and mewling in hunger. She purred deep in her throat to try and sooth the tiny tiger, easing from the back of the tiger to keep from jostling her precious cargo. When she approached the group of members, their attention was immediately snatched by the crying tiger.

“The… the men, they took her mother and she died and I do not know how to care for it. It is so tiny. How… Help me? Please?”

The members jumped into action, one carefully tugging the sling from her chest and setting the infant tiger on the ground, another hurrying to the small pen of goats in the back yard, another searching through the library for a book. The one examining the tiger inspected it intently, checking between its paws, smoothing a hand along its lily white, striped coat, gently moving each limb and the tail, checking for any damage. Finding that the cub seemed to be in good health, but hungry, the woman yelled at the man in the back to hurry up.

The man that had went into the back yard returned with a small pail, fumbling through the kitchen in search of something to use to feed the cub. Finally finding a thick leather bag, he cut a very small hole in one corner to give the cub something to suckle and filled it with fresh milk from a goat. He was about to try and feed the cub himself before seeing the worry on Lexi’s face and handing her the makeshift bottle. Grateful for something to do, she cuddled the cub to her chest and dribbled some of the milk against its lips before resting the small hole in its mewling mouth. At first the cub tried to reject the odd tasting milk, but soon its hunger got the better of it and it was soon suckling voraciously. Lexi smiled broadly once it had begun to drink, looking at the two members watching her, wanting confirmation that she was doing it right. They both nodded in approval as the last member approached with a book in hand.

“Ah, yes. Here we are. This book will prove very helpful for you, Miss Lexi. While the loss of the cub’s mother is regrettable, this book should provide any information you need for caring for it. Unfortunately, we know of no place we could keep it, hence the responsibility will fall to you, I am afraid.”

Lexi nodded in understand and looked down at the cub. While she did not approve of keeping pets, she could nurse this cub up and be a mother to it until it was time to release it.


[1070/2000]

Lexi had set up camp in a nearby oasis, wanting to keep the tiger in a natural setting. She nursed it until it was able to lap from a dish, the brilliant blue eyes finally opening after a few weeks. It soon learned stumbling steps and then more rambunctious movements, such as leaping and pouncing, wiggling its butt and chasing its tail in circles until it fell. At night, she would cuddle the cub against her and, without fail, she would always wake to it gnawing gently on her cat ears or playing with her twitching tail. She was glad that she at least had the feline features to make the cub feel more at home. When it got a little bit older and began eating meat, she would hunt down small prey for it. As the cub became more able, she would simply injure the prey for it, allowing the cub to deal the killing blow, easing it into how to hunt as best as she could.

The cub grew quickly, soon about half of her body size and hunting down its own small prey without assistance and several times she would wake up with the cub proudly standing over a small bird or mouse that it had set in front of her, like it was bringing her breakfast. As it grew, it continued to sleep next to her, seeming to find comfort in lying next to her, despite her attempts to make it a bed of its own. It would pout when she dragged it over to the nest of leaves and leather and only stay there for a moment before stalking over and flopping down next to her. She would chuckle and try again several times before giving up for the night and vowing to herself the next night she would be more stern and make it sleep alone.

It did not take too long to discover the tiger was a boy, the evidence to support that claim fairly obvious in a short period of time. She tried to keep her distance from it, emotionally, but she knew it was a failed attempt. She thought of the cub as her own and the cub viewed her as a mother. Soon the tiger was as long as she was and sleeping with it became a bit of a struggle, as he tended to kick in his sleep, waking her. The day the tiger managed to bring down a goat on its own, she made a vow to herself that she would release it to the wild. No creature should be kept as a pet and he deserved to be with others like him.

[1515/2000]

The first time she tried to release it, she could not seem to force him from her side. He was metaphorically attached to her hip and would never stray further than a few meters. The next time she tried, she threw a hunk of raw meat at a spot about ten meters away and when he pounced after it, she tried to hide, hoping he would simply forget to come looking for her once his treat was finished. Within minutes, her plan failed and he was knocking her over to nuzzle along her face. For her next attempt, she took him to the oasis she had originally found him at, hoping that the smell of other tigers would encourage him.

When they arrived, the oasis was silent, but as they sat next to the water, the boy occasionally jumping into the stream to catch a fish, she soon saw a lone tigress looming on a rock looking out at them. The boy soon caught scent of the other tiger and pounced over to her in an attempt to play. Unfortunately, the other tiger caught scent of the human odor the clung to him and ran away, in no mood to play with something that smelled of dangerous predator. Disappointed, the boy returned to her side and nuzzled her. With a frown, she realized the likeliness of him ever integrating with others like him was slim, he had simply been around her too long. She cursed herself for not attempting to separate him sooner but she could not stay angry at herself when the tiger nuzzled and cuddled against her.

She made one final attempt to encourage him to be with the other tigers, hoping that if she simply left him there, her scent would eventually fade from him and he would find the other tigers. Her heart broke as she rode away from the oasis one night while the tiger was asleep, tears streaming down her face as she found a place to camp several hundred meters from the oasis. She cried herself to sleep but knew she was doing what was best for him. But the next morning found him cuddled in his normal spot beside her. He had followed her scent in the night and was unwilling to abandon the only thing he knew of as a mother.

After he had awakened and found her gone, he had traced her scent worriedly, fear of danger to his mother making him chase down the scent of her and horse and soon found her asleep, her face streaked from crying and he had immediately cuddled against her, bringing comfort to them both. She conceded defeat when she woke up, giving up the idea of trying to release him back into the wild. While she would not force him to stay with her, she welcomed his company in her travels, giving her back a tiny sense of the family she had lost to slavers. If he chose to leave, she would be sad, but she would not stop him. Until then, she would make sure to try and teach him all she could about ways to defend himself.

[2042/2000]
[exit]