//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: New Ties // Story: The Rainbow and The Tiger // by PantheraMan //------------------------------// While the moonlight covered the canopy, a troop of Gigantopithecus gathered leaves and placed them on the ground. A male stood on his knuckles and feet, watching the jungle for signs of danger. Baagh Raaja walked slowly, watching the male as he moved. He twitched an ear and moved on, giving the apes a wide berth. He walked slightly faster and sniffed the air and slunk  past a large rock. Suddenly he stopped. Up ahead, the sound of footsteps came closer to him. Baagh Raaja lowered himself to the ground and folded his ears. He crept toward the sound and found a small herd of water buffalo grazing in a clearing. Their horns were curved and as long as the elephant grasses behind them, their shoulders nearly reaching the top. The buffaloes stayed close to each other, but there was one that caught Baagh Raaja’s attention. A bull was grazing farther from the rest, but unlike them it’s ribs were showing. Baagh Raaja locked eyes on it.  Baagh Raaja crept towards the elephant grass.  “-Just a few more steps,” he thought  However, he froze when one of the bulls looked up. His target on the other hand, moved even farther from the herd. Right in Baagh Raaja’s direction. “- That’s right, come to me big guy.”  Baagh Raaja thought as he saw the buffalo move towards him. He crouched down even lower, steadied his haunches, and waited. The buffalo kept his head to the ground as he walked. Baagh Raaja was still as a log while he watched. The buffalo was now within striking range, but his head was pointing straight at Baagh Raaja. Baagh Raaja felt his heart beating faster as he waited for the buffalo to turn away. Finally, the buffalo turned to its side, and Baagh Raaja lunged from the forest edge and landed on the buffalo's back. The buffalo bucked while Baagh Raaga bit into the back of the neck with his paws placed on the jaw and shoulder. The buffalo turned to the other side, carrying him with it, despite this, Baagh Raaja held on and with his powerful forelimbs got the buffalo to the ground. Before he could get to the throat, Baagh Raaja felt something sharp stab his side and found himself falling on his back. One of the bulls had attacked him and before he could get back up, the bull rammed into him, sending him flying in the air and into  a tree trunk headfirst. Upon impact he fell back to the ground, eyes closed but still breathing, although slower than normal. The buffalo trotted back to his wounded herdmate and sniffed the wounds on the neck and shoulder while the rest of the herd trotted to them.   “Uuugghhh” Baagh Raaja moaned as he opened his eyes. As he lifted his head up, a rocky roof became visible over his head. Looking ahead, a glimmer of sunlight covered his face. Baagh Raaja kept turning his head. “-A cave?...The others must’ve dragged me he..wait, there wasn’t a cave where we were. At least, not one I was aware of anyway and...why does the cave floor feel soft?”  He looked down and underneath him lay the hide of a water buffalo. The skin on the face and tail were absent, and only the top half of the leg skin was present. Yet the fur was just soft enough for him to lay on. “-Okay...I’m only gonna guess Applejack skinned it, I mean, she’s the only one who could do that,”  he thought as he started to get up. As he rose though, a bit of pain burst from his shoulder. Looking at his side, he saw a wound covered by a green substance resembling slime, yet at the same time, the flesh around it looked as though it was growing. Baagh Raaja raised a brow at it.  A female voice came from the cave entrance. “Well look who’s awake.” Baagh Raaja turned his head and saw something that made his eyes widen and his jaw drop. Walking in the cave was a being as large as a lion, with the body of a cat with golden fur and rounded ears, but she had the head and long straight hair of a human girl. Her hair was white with golden stripes and her eyes were dark brown. In her mouth were pink flowers that she placed into a wooden bowl.  Baagh Raaja kept staring at her. “Wha….huh?? Okay this has to be a dream. There’s no way you could be real,” he said, stepping backwards. The catgirl walked up to him. “Well, you’re not dreaming, and in case you don’t believe me..” she said before she struck him across the face. Baagh Raaja shook it off and looked back at her. “This...isn’t a dream? You’re real??”  he asked with wide eyes. The catgirl nodded. “Yes, yes I am. One of our members found you in the jungle all knocked out,” she explained before looking at his wound Baagh Raaja frowned. “ Soooo...basically I got attacked by a buffalo and someone else was there...and they didn’t bother helping me!?” he hissed, folding his ears back. “As far as I know, they just found you unconscious,” the catgirl replied, looking into his eyes. Another female voice entered the cave. “I see he’s awake.” Baagh Raaja looked again to see a being just like the first one, only she was black, and her eyes were as yellow as the sun. She strutted  right up to Baagh Raaja. “Who are you?” she asked, looking as if she was looking deep into his soul.  “I am Baagh Raaja. And you?” he asked with a straightened-up pose. The black catgirl sat down. “I am Night Sky, leader of our clan and this is River Sand, our healer. What are you doing in our land?”  she asked with a raised brow. Baagh Raaja took yet another step back. “Long story, but to shorten it up, I’m on a quest for the Mookarina Stone with many others to stop a group of Danger Beasts from gaining its power,”  he answered.  Night Sky got back up. “How do we know you aren’t lying?” she asked with her pupils become narrow. Baagh Raaja stepped closer to her. “Because you’re probably gonna hear voices calling my name echo through the jungle,” he answered. “Well it's been hours and we haven’t heard anyone yelling, you’ll stay here until that happens,.” she replied, turning around to exit the cave. Baagh Raaja rushed up to her. “Says who?” he growled. Night Sky giggled. “Well aren’t you gullible?”  she said with a grin. Baagh Raaja frowned and sat down on his haunches and folded his ears. “Oh great!!” he moaned with a hint of sarcasm. River Sand walked up to him and placed herself between him and Night Sky and got eye contact with him. “You must stay here until your leg heals which will take a couple more hours,” she ordered, flicking her tail. Baagh Raaja raised a brow. “Hours? What do you mean hours? Bones take a lot longer to heal last time I checked,” he remarked. River Sand smiled. “With the stuff I make, injuries heal much faster,” she replied while walking back to the buffalo hide. Night Sky started to exit the cave. “I’ll send a patrol out to find your group.”  “Hey!” Baagh Raaja said, making Night Sky stop at the entrance and look back at him. “Thank you,” he said, bowing his head in respect. Night Sky nodded “It’s my pleasure,” she replied before exiting the cave. High up in the canopy, the langurs and Proboscus monkeys were eating leaves. On the nearby branches, a clouded leopard was stalking, slowly moving its paws and locked its eyes on a young langur. But before it could pounce, a cry echoed through the canopy. “Baagh Raaja!!” The sound of Rainbow Dash yelling caused the monkeys to flee. The clouded leopard snarled and leaped to another tree.  A flash of rainbow dashed through the jungle, making the rusa deer flee. Behind it were Talamba, Konda, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie sprinting, yet failing to catch up with Rainbow Dash. Talamba inhaled deeply. “This is awesome isn’t it? First we lose Rainbow Dash, and now we’ve gotta find Baagh Raaja. Now isn’t that dandy?” he asked, looking at the ground for any roots to avoid tripping over. Looking ahead, Rainbow Dash was nowhere in sight and they came to an abrupt stop. Pinkie Pie took deep breaths while Applejack leaned against a tree as the big cats panted.  “Guys! Over here!!”  Rainbow Dash yelled, Konda pricked his ears and ran off. Talamba trotted right behind him while the girls simply jogged along.  Looking ahead, Konda saw Rainbow Dash standing next on the edge of a clearing looking at a tree. The group stopped. Konda looked down and saw the grass was matted, as if something was laying there. Right next to the grass were buffalo tracks leading towards the tall grass up ahead. “Oof, looks like he got pummeled by a buffalo.” Talamba said. Rainbow Dash got in front of Konda on her knees and knuckles. Konda raised an eyebrow as Rainbow sniffed the ground and walked along as if she were following a trail. “What...is she doing?” he asked. Applejack rubbed her face with fingers. “Ah don’t know! She’s been acting weird like this nearly the whole time we’ve been out here!!” she replied with a hand on her hip. Rainbow Dashed rushed to Konda and pointed. “Two others dragged him off,” she said. Konda raised his brow even higher. “What do you mean by two others?”  he asked. “Just two others! Now come on!!” Rainbow Dashed sprinted off into the jungle, leaving the others in the dust. Once more, the others had to run after her as that was the only way they’d be able to catch up. Suddenly Rainbow Dash lookd to her sides, not seeing anyone next to her, raised a brow and stopped and looked back. She saw the others running after her and waited. When they caught up she blushed and giggled a little while Konda frowned at her. They walked for a small distance, but Talamba stopped. He twitched his ears and looked to his left. Konda and the girls looked at him. Konda sniffed the air and looked back at Talamba.  “I don’t smell anything,” he said before walking back ahead. Talamba kept staring into the jungle. Around him he only saw the dark green foliage and heard the songs of birds and the bellowing of gaurs. He looked ahead, seeing the others had walked ahead of him and he couldn’t see them. Suddenly he felt a large mass pounce on his side, sending him to the ground. Looking up he saw a female being with the body of a large cat, rounded ears, long straight orange hair, and the head of a human. Her fur was a light brown with two orange stripes on her back. Talamba raised an eyebrow and the catgirl pressed her paw on his neck. “Who are you!? And what are you doing on our territory!!?” she yelled.  Talamba shook his head. “Better question, what the heck are you!?” he asked. The catgirl narrowed her pupils and growled. Talamba closed his eyes, waiting for the killing blow. Nothing happened. He heard a flashing sound and a mass getting off of him and a yelp of pain. He opened his eyes to see the catgirl wasn’t on him, but he heard a struggle. Looking at where the sounds of struggle were coming from, he folded his ears, widened his eyes and his jaw dropped. Konda, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie had arrived at the scene. They stopped dead in their tracks and froze. Rainbow Dash was right on top of the catgirl with her jaws clamped on the back of her neck with one hand on her back and the other on her head. The catgirl tried to get back up but failed to do so as Rainbow Dash clamped down even harder. On the tips of Rainbow Dash’s fingers, there were what appeared to be claws and Pinkie Pie took a step back when she saw the catgirl’s neck bleeding. Applejack looked at Rainbow’s eyes and slowed her breathing, for her eyes were of a bright gold rather than the purple color. “Rainbow Dash....” Applejack whispered as she stepped back.  The catgirl growled “Get off me!!” and with all her strength managed to get up and slam Rainbow Dash against a tree, forcing her to let go.  Rainbow Dash got up on all fours and growled. The catgirl looked at her attacker as they circled each other, seeing her own blood on this human's teeth which looked more like fangs. The catgirl growled back and folded her ears against her head. With a sudden onrush, Rainbow Dash charged at her on all fours, and she was too quick for the catgirl to evade her and dug her teeth into her shoulder. The catgirl yelped and bit into Rainbow’s arm,  sinking her claws into her leg in return.  Rainbow Dash roared in pain, then the catgirl slammed Rainbow Dash to the ground and placed a paw on her head. She looked down on Rainbow Dash, baring her teeth and panting as her pupils narrowed and she growled and lowered her head to Rainbow’s. Rainbow Dash kicked her side, but no blood was drawn as her shoes covered any claws she may have had on her feet. The catgirl simply placed her hind paw on her leg and looked back into Rainbow’s eyes. Suddenly Konda rushed forward and put himself right in front of the catgirl.  “Wait!” he pleaded, making the catgirl look up at him.  “Can’t we just talk this out?” he asked. The catgirl growled. “No, not really. I always finish a fight!” she replied.  Konda unsheathed his claws before roars came out from the jungle. The catgirl perked her head up and looked behind her. Talamba and the girls turned around to see the rest of the group trotting to them with Partak and Sulu in the front with the rest behind them. Before she knew it, the catgirl was surrounded by tigers, smilodons, and lionesses growling and snarling at her, forcing her to stay put and lower herself to the ground. Konda stood over Rainbow Dash whose golden color started to disappear from her eyes and claws turn back into fingernails and fangs morph into human teeth. She shook her head and looked to see Konda standing over her and a female human-large cat hybrid submitting to the group.  “Thanks a bunch guys, she nearly killed me!” Talamba said, walking up to Partak. Partak turned his head to the lion. “We heard your roars from across the jungle and figured you were in trouble,” he replied while Sulu trotted past him and entered the ring the group had made and  walked up to the catgirl who lifted her head up and met his gaze. “Wildfire,” he said. The catgirl got back up. “Sulu?” she asked. Sulu sat down. “We’re simply looking for a friend,.” he responded. Wildfire sat down as well. “Are you talking about a tiger with a big scar on his face?” she asked. Talamba perked up. “Yep, that’s the one!” he said. Wildfire lowered her eyebrows and got back up. “You know you could’ve just said that so she didn’t attack me!” she yelled, pointing to Rainbow Dash whose lips were stained with blood.  Rainbow raised a brow. “What are you talking about?” she asked as she got out from under Konda. The group tilted their heads and stared at her. Wildfire just stood still, twitching her eyebrow and growling. “Are you serious!?? You literally have my blood on you!! Don’t believe me? Just look at your fingers.”  Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and lifted her hands up to her face. She raised her eyebrows and curved them more and her eyes widened. She froze, then looked at Wildfire and saw the wounds on her neck and shoulder and looked back down at her hands. They were covered in blood from her fingertips down to her palms.  “I...I did this?” she whispered.  “Yes.” Wildfire hissed. “You did this.”   Wildfire turned around and walked past Sulu and through the group and nearly entered the jungle. She turned around and looked at the group who were looking at her as if she were some sort of criminal. Wildfire tilted her head. “Follow” she said before walking into the forest.  Talamba was the first to follow her. “Well...that was much easier than last time.”  He smirked before walking through the foliage. The lionesses followed suit, then the tigers and the smilodons. Applejack and Pinkie Pie both looked at Rainbow Dash with their eyebrows raised and pulled together, concerned, before they walked quickly behind the others. Rainbow Dash kept looking at her hands before shaking her head and following the group.  As the group followed Wildfire, Rainbow Dash kept looking at her friends, at one point Applejack glanced at her, but quickie looked away and walked faster, getting right next to Partak. Pinkie would walk casually, but then go slightly faster for a short moment. Rainbow Dash was in the back, all by herself. A tigress and lioness looked back at her and stopped. Rainbow Dash caught up with them and they walked together. Looking ahead, the group saw more large cat-human beings. They looked at the cats with folded ears and some stepped back. Wildfire stopped, as walking towards her was a female with short, straight white hair.  Her fur was white as a cloud and her eyes were amber in color. But unlike the others, she was large, at least as large as Baagh Raaja himself.  She walked right in front of Wildfire. “Sister, who are these pests you’ve brought here?” she asked with venom in her voice. Konda growled. “Pest!? Who are you calling a pest!?” he yelled. “Yeah! How about you say that to my face you feline wannabe!!!” Talamba yelled while waving a paw in the air. The white catgirl looked at Talamba like he was her arch enemy. “Oooorrr I could kill you instead.  In fact, I’ve just now planned to celebrate your death.” She hissed Talamba chuckled. “Planned? You know it’s weird you planned something because it ain’t what your mother said about your conception!” he replied. The catgirl narrowed her pupils and unsheathed her claws, however Wildfire got between her and Talamba. “Sister. These are the friends of that scarred tiger we found last night,” she explained. “Then they should wait outside of our territory. They don’t belong here.” The catgirl growled. Wildfire stood up straight. “And last time I checked, you weren’t in charge and I’m second in command, so who are you to order me around!?” she asked. “Enough sisters!” An authorative female voice said from above. The group looked up and saw Night Sky walking down from a small cave. The rest of her kind stepped out of her way as if they were making a path for her. “I do apologize for my sister’s behavior. Amber Eye can be a bit protective of our land.,” she said.  Amber Eye growled. “Well excuse me if my overprotectiveness keeps intruders off our land! Speaking of which, why did you allow that tiger into our home?”  she asked, digging her claws into the ground. Night Sky didn’t flinch. “He couldn’t just be left in the forest, he needed help,” she reasoned. Applejack stood there with her arms crossed and a brow raised. “Oh great, sister drama. As if I didn’t have enough of that at home.” she thought before pulling her hat down. “Do we really need to listen to this?” Pinkie Pie thought with a frown on her face. “We shouldn’t waste our time helping creatures like him. He’s a competitor! A threat to our prey Night Sky!” Amber Eye yelled. Rainbow Dash came to the group and lifted her arm with her finger pointing up. “Actually...he grew up in the savanna so...he wasn’t always a competitor.” she said. Amber Eye gave Rainbow Dash a death glare. “You stay out of this human filth!!” she hissed. Rainbow’s eyes began to turn bright gold and her teeth started to turn back into canines. Sulu took notice and stepped in front of her. “Easy Rainbow,” he said.  “Amber Eye, that’s no way to talk to guests,” Night Sky said, stepping up to Amber Eye. Amber Eye stood taller. “Well since you’re so inviting to intruders, I challenge you for your position!” she proclaimed. “Are you serious!? Just for letting us come get our friend!!? That’s stupid!” Rainbow Dash yelled as the gold in her eyes expanded. Amber Eye glanced at Rainbow. “Then perhaps when I’m done with her, I’ll deal with you next.,” she remarked. “Try me missy!” Rainbow Dash screamed before trying to lunge at her, however Partak held her down with his paw. He looked at Amber Eye with his brows lowered. “This is very dishonorable, Amber Eye. You're much bigger than she is, you’d win easily!” he told her as she stared back at him. “Does it look like I care?” she hissed.  Night Sky lowered her head. “Sister, I will not fight. I know when I’m outmatched.”  Amber Eye grinned. “Good, then I-” She was cut off by Wildfire who got right next to Night Sky, unsheathing her claws. “I’ll fight with you, Night Sky!” she announced. Night Sky looked at her sister. “Don’t be a ridiculous sister, the rules say a fight must be one on one.” she said. Out of nowhere, a thundering roar echoed through the jungle, making the big cats and girls lift their heads up and the cat-human beings jump. They looked up, and outside of another cave stodd Baagh Raaja in his human form, but the upper part of his wildebeest skin clothing was absent, revealing four large scars across his chest. The blue aura surrounded his body and his tiger features came back. Once fully transformed he charged straight at Amber Eye and got right between her and Night Sky. “Then I’ll fight in her place!!” he proclaimed Amber Eye froze for a moment, and moved her eyes up and down. “Well, make your move.,” Baagh Raaja said, stepping towards her. “It’s...i-it’s...it’s...j--just...n-not the right time or p-place,” Amber Eye stuttered “What do you mean?” Baagh Raaja growled. “You literally were challenging your sister right here! Now fight me!!” He swiped at her with his claws unsheathed. Amber Eye stepped back and lowered herself, not taking her eyes off of her challenger. Baagh Raaja scowlled “So...that’s it huh? All talk but no fighting,” he said before turning back to his group. The gold in Rainbow’s eyes were disappearing. “Yeah!! Not so tough now are you!?” she said, pointing at Amber Eye. “Talk about all bark and no bite,” Applejack remarked Pinkie Pie bounced. “No kidding! She’s such a scaredy cat!” she said as Amber Eye walked away. Sulu walked up to Night Sky, making her take notice of him. “Night Sky”  “Sulu.” she responded, then smiled.“You may stay here if you like,” she said before walking off. Talamba walked up to Baagh Raaja. “You better watch out, Baagh Raaja, the girls are looking at you,.” he said. Baagh Raaja looked over and saw a small group of female cat-human beings looking at him and giggling, making Baagh Raaja blush. “Well...this sure ain’t somethin ya see every day,” Applejack said with her arm around Pinkie Pie but still trying to be a bit of a distance away from Rainbow Dash. Rainbow saw Applejack scoot away from her, and her smile disappeared and she wrapped her arms around her stomach “No AJ, it isn’t.” she thought, before looking at Baagh Raaja and then at the girls looking at him. “But why do I feel like I have to keep those girls away from Baagh Raaja?”