Feeling Feline (Journal)

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Cyrus remembered the first time he had shifted shape. He had been living in the jungle, protecting the creatures from hunters, surviving off of the slowest ones. Temutai had met the dawn and left him all alone. In grief and anger Cryus became a hermit. Living only on what the forest provided, making friends with the creatures within and vanquishing the enemies who dared trespass.

The snow leopards were a rare sight but made his heart sing at every meeting. He tried to follow them to their lairs but inevitably lost track of them. He was not a tracker by any means.

On the first aniversary of Temutai's death, Cyrus seriously contemplated joining him. He was stopped by the leopards. They followed him about until he realized they wanted him to follow them. They lept up into the trees and awaited him. The younger ones raced down the trees just as quickly in their impatience.

Watching them climb so effortlessly made him wish for such an idylic life. He used his grief as a reason and poured his heart into it. Slowly he began to shape shift, painfully. He could feel the ground beneith his hands or were they paws now. The wind blew gently against his skin but the feeling felt fluttery like soft hairs instead of smoothness.

Exhausted he used the last of his strength to raise his head and look at the leader of the leopards. He wanted so much to join them. To live freely with no grief or regrets.

They slowly dispersed back into the depths of the jungle, Cyrus too weak to follow them.

Over the next few years he learned to master the change until it became effortless. He spent over a year in leopard form. Living with the others. Climbing up trees, racing head first down them, leaping, jumping, clawing and dangling from branches. He was truly free in the jungle.

Once the hunters ceased to venture into his forest because of his caretaking of the animals, Cyrus knew it was time to leave. He rejoined the world outside, but returned frequently to live as a feline. Once he made enough money to last several lifetimes he returned and bought as much of the land as possible. Including the village where hunters still refused to poach the snow leopards.

He had a grand house built with extensive gardens open to the forest. Finally the cats were safe in his jungle property and his home made it possible for him to be free as well.