Free Web NovelChapter 45: Chapter 44 - The Girl Raised by Cheetahs(Part 3)
Point-of-View: Aurora Pretorius
———————————————————————————
What...what is this? All of sudden, I...I feel completely different. There was an eerie calmness about me, and an instinctive clarity about what I needed to do. In a swift, fluid motion, I spun my spear across and flung it straight towards the bear like an arrow, piercing into its shoulder and eliciting a deafening roar of pain from it.
My fingernails then extended into claws, it felt strange and unfamiliar, but at the same time, it felt perfectly natural to me...it was hard to put into words, exactly. I then found myself racing towards the bear on all fours, who swung its arm at me with a pained snarl as I closed in.
But its movements looked so slow to me now, and I easily ducked underneath it, before spearing it through the neck with my claws, and then swiftly pulling my hand out and springing back, getting some distance.
Blood poured out of the bear’s pierced neck as it let out a strangled cry, blood foaming around its mouth. It stumbled back in agony, before falling to the ground with a loud crash, writhing around in agony and clutching at its neck, before its desperate cries slowly grew quieter and quieter until they faded, the bear’s body limply laying there as a puddle of blood formed by its throat.
I felt my body then calm down and relax, noticing that my hair had been standing up too, but was now back down. And as I finally calmed down, I came back to my senses, my body stiffening before starting to tremble as what I’d just done sunk in.
What...what was that? I stumbled back shakily as I stared at my hand, which was dripping with blood...I’ve seen a lot of dead animals in the last six years, but this is only the second one that I’ve killed after that tiger.
But there’s a big difference between that and this...the tiger was just a fluke, but this was different. I was fully conscious of and deliberate with my actions, even though it felt more like my body was moving on instinct, without me really thinking about it. What’s more, this time, I killed it with my bare hands...it felt like the blood on my hand was stuck there, it felt like it wouldn’t wash off...
I then collapsed to my knees as I walked over to Drag, tears running down my face as I got a look at him, his mouth open and coated with blood, with red splotches all over him, matting down his fur. My ears perked up as I heard Spot walking over, nudging me and letting out a chirp...and as she did, I...I understood what she was saying.
And I mean that literally...it was like I could hear what she meant in my head. Was it just my imag-...she then nudged me again, and once again, I could feel it...I knew exactly what she was saying. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
"How is this happening?" I muttered, as I stared at her curiously.
She then tilted her head and let out a slight meow...and as she did, I got the meaning in my head; ’how is what happening?’...she responded to my confusion with her own confusion as to why I’m confused.
Wait, does that mean...
"Spot, lick my hand," I remarked, as I held up my right hand...and immediately, she gave it a lick, my eyes widening in surprise as she did.
It’s not just that I can understand her...she can understand me too...whatever this is, I need to figure out exactly what I’m dealing with here. The way I moved, and this ability to understand and communicate...with these, I...I can protect them. I won’t let any more of them die...
...
... freёweɓnovel.com
Three weeks had passed since the bear attacked us, and I had spent that time trying to figure out whatever it was that had happened to me. It all started when I felt that surge...and I realized that it wasn’t the first time I felt that sensation. Back when I first encountered Spot and protected her from that bear, I felt it then too.
Which got me thinking, was it the same bear that showed up three weeks ago? And was it the reason why I’m now able to do things that I couldn’t do before? Or was it just a coincidence? Either way, it doesn’t seem like this is temporary or anything.
I could talk to all the cheetahs now, and I could understand them too...I’d tried talking to some other small animals like monkeys, squirrels and birds, but it didn’t work. I wonder if it’s just cheetahs I can talk to? Or maybe other cats too?
Anyway, I also found out that they did anything that I asked them to do, even if it’s something they’ve never done before. At first, I thought it was just because they trusted me, but I don’t think that’s all it is...I noticed that they’re treating me a bit differently now, like more respectful or something.
Before, some of them would sometimes ignore me when they’re feeling tired or lazy, but now, even if they’ve just woken up to something, they’ll do anything I ask. But I won’t take advantage of that...I consider them my family, so I’ll use all that I’ve gained to protect them.
Besides that ability, I could now physically do things that were impossible to me before. I could jump incredibly high, the first time I tested it out, I was completely caught off-guard by how I got, it had to easily be, like, ten times higher than I could jump before...I think.
Also, I could extend and retract my fingernails and toenails, all of my senses were definitely a lot sharper than they used to be, and I was insanely flexible. I could bend back and touch my heels now, and I was much faster on all fours than on just my legs.
Oh, and whenever I’m spooked or startled or feel like I’m in danger, all my senses seem to get even sharper, and I react to things really, really quickly. Though, that’s kind of annoying because the smallest things can sometimes spook me and I end up in that state for no reason.
There was something else too, but I don’t really understand it...shortly after I killed that bear, I noticed something strange, like a floaty pressure around me. I don’t know, it’s hard to explain, I half-thought that I was just imagining it...but it kept bothering me, so I tried to do something about it, and soon realized that I could manipulate it.
And after a couple of days of working on it, it stopped feeling all floaty, and felt more steady and stable...I still don’t understand what it is, but after I learnt how to properly manipulate and control it, the abilities I gained, like communication with the cheetahs, my increased agility and heightened senses, became a lot easier to use.
Specifically, regarding the communication, I can communicate with them without even having to talk out loud, I just have to intend to give them a message, and my thoughts reach them and they respond.
Though, whenever they ’speak’ to me, it’s always simple responses, even though they’re able to react to any complex responses from me. I tried to get them to call me Aurora, but they seemed confused...after all, from their perspective, they’re still just chirping and meowing, they’re not actually talking, that’s just me interpreting their intentions, the ’words’ that I hear in my head are probably created by whatever this ability is. After all, it’s not like the cheetahs understand the concept of human language.
In other words, while they can respond to physical commands without a problem, but I can’t change the way they ’speak’. Well, it’s fine, I’m just glad that I can now communicate with them better than I could before. I just wish I’d been able to talk to Drag like this too.
Now that I think about it, it’s almost like I’ve become a cat myself...my senses, the flexibility of my body, the fact that I can talk to and understand the cheetahs-...oh, I wonder if I can talk to other cat species besides cheetahs, after all?
No, that doesn’t matter, it’s too risky to test out...if I come across a lion or a tiger and it turns out that I can’t talk to them, they might attack me. Actually, even if I can talk to them, they still might attack. Yeah, not worth the risk.
Anyway, it was currently the middle of the day, and I was play-fighting with one the cheetahs, in order to get more used to my new reflexes and agility...and also because it was really fun. I kept my claws retracted in order to avoid injuring him, and the cheetah wasn’t serious either, he was basically just playing.
Just like how I get startled and my senses get heightened, I sometimes get this restless urge of aggression...this must be how cats feel when randomly start zooming around and stuff. Which means that I really have become like a cat, not just physically, but also mentally.
And I’m fine with that. More than fine with it, I’m grateful for it. I don’t know how or why this happened to me, but I’m glad I gained these abilities.
I then finished playing around with the cheetah and headed back into the cave. I spend most of my time with Spot, I feel most at ease when I’m with here. And cheetahs usually only live for about twelve years, so...so I want to spend as much time with her as possible while I can.
As I began to walk towards her, I suddenly froze as I felt a murderous gaze on me, quickly spinning around in alarm, my hair standing up as I entered a state of heightened alarm. Huh? What is that thing? It was standing a few meters outside the cave entrance, a strange looking creature.
It was about the size of a large dog, and kinda looked like one too...but it had no fur, and its skin looks like a lizard’s, so did its tail, and it had a row of narrow, sharp spikes down its spine and tail. It had red eyes and black fangs, glistening with drool.
Something’s wrong, the cheetahs aren’t reacting to it...it’s like they don’t even see it. And the creature was only staring at me, it wasn’t paying any attention to the cheetahs. My senses were sharpened, as I instinctively crouched down on all fours as I extended out my claws.
The creature began to take a step forward towards me, I immediately responded by zipping towards it at top speed, the cheetahs getting startled by my sudden movement. The creature swiped its claws at me with a snarl as I closed in on it, which I swiftly leapt over and slashed at its face, blinding its right eye with my claws as it sprang away to dodge my attack, eliciting a shriek of pain from it.
It’s fast...I twisted my body out of the way as it tried to bite me with a vicious growl, before using my momentum to swing my foot across and landing a rapid kick against its head, dazing it. As I landed, it stumbled back and shook its head, before letting out a shrill roar and running towards me, leaping at me with a snarl.
I kept low and sprang forward, slicing it’s stomach open with my claws as I shot past it from below, while it was still in the middle of its leap in mid-air. It let out a screech of pain, stumbling in agony before collapsing onto the ground as its insides spilled out.
And then, the air next to its corpse got distorted, and the body got sucked into it, as did its blood and entrails, before disappearing completely, the strange distortion fading.
Huh? Just what the heck was that? What just happened?
Some of the cheetahs were approaching me with looks of concern, Spot walking over and nudging my cheek as she let out a meow.
"Don’t worry, I’m fine," I assured them as I stroked Spot’s head gently, calming them down.
But I was still a bit shocked by what had just happened, I was having trouble believing it. I managed to take care of that without getting hurt, but...what in the world was that creature...?
_____________________________________________
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this Chapter! Don’t forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!
Also, check out my Instagram account @aimdaqs for posts relating to this book.
Join the Discord server, I plan to tease upcoming Chapters and future story arcs here, and you can also discuss or ask me any questions about the story and characters. Use the invite link to join:
https://discord.gg/sRbx9VbTVP
