High atop the forested slopes of a mountain called Talons Peak, amongst hardy Pine trees that grew on the barren side, a mountain goat grazed peacefully of what meagre greenery was available. Unaware to it, and making sure he was heading into the wind, a large predator was about to have his own meal on the hapless goat.

As the wind dropped, the goat suddenly froze and its ears swivelled at the sound of a slight rustling, enabling the goat to get a faint whiff of the predator. It was the scent of a cat, a large one!

The warning in its brain had come too late as an orange furred and black striped tiger sprang from his covering and chased the goat down the slope; normally the terrain of the goats but this was no normal tiger it was up against.

The chase pursued for a while with them skirting round trees and scrabbling for footing at every direction change when the tiger made a last defiant leap for the goat where the trees ended.

Bleating and scrabbling, the goat tried to escape the tiger’s weight and strength but in vain, the life was slowly choked from it as the tiger’s powerful teeth sunk in round its neck and claws gripped, leaving blood smeared marks.

As the goat finished twitching and the dust settled, anyone watching would notice something immediately wrong with the tiger. For one, his limbs and body was aligned all wrong. A bigger shock would be waiting for the viewer as the tiger finished panting and stood up on hind legs, designed to be comfortable on four or two legs! He was what could only be described as a 7ft tall weretiger.

Slinging the goat over a large shoulder with his furred chest heaving with the adrenalin, the tiger gave an appraising sweep of the area.
 As his breathing slowed to normal, the beast opened his mouth as though about to talk, he said in a growling voice “too close for my comfort” he growled lowly, preferring not to risk drawing attention and getting caught by a human. He wanted no trouble and just to be left alone now…ever since that day he was cursed. After all, he had not always being this beast but had once been human as the memories rose to the surface unbidden of his will.

**********

He had been leading a normal life as a human farmer in the sixteenth century, as a human he was nothing too special looking but handsome enough with a 6’3ft height and a fairly broad build. He had tanned skin which was testament to a life working outside in all weathers.
He had a wife who was pregnant with his first child and had just saved up enough for a second plot of land, albeit cheaply.  It meant double work for him but was worth it in order for a stable future for him and his future child.

“John, take a rest, you are going to make yourself ill working like that in the summer sun” his wife called to him as she picked up a rake, only for John to take his vest off and gently, but firmly take the rake from her grasp.

“Not on my watch you are not, I don’t want anything to happen to you or our child” he said with a strong arm round her shoulder. “Bring me a glass of water if you want to help Julie” he laughed as he went back at his work, his wife shaking her head but smiling as she went the short distance to a well and pumped water into a clean bucket.

As his wife left, he couldn’t help a smile, despite himself as his toned body gleamed with sweat in the sun whilst he worked the field. It filled him with such happiness that he should be blessed with such a wife to start his family with.
Suddenly though, he caught a gleam of something shining in the ground on one patch he was working. Fetching his pitchfork from nearby, he started digging around it until he could see something that almost made his pounding heart stop in excitement.
“It…can’t be?” John said in a breathless tone, staring at a gleam of gold under the soil.

Julie was walking up to him when she caught an odd expression in her husband’s face, seeing him staring at the ground.
“John, are you okay?” she asked in concern as she saw him staring hungrily at something in the ground.

“Julie…its gold, I’ve stumbled upon some gold just buried here!” he exclaimed excitedly as he began working at the soil at a frantic pace. His wife stared on in disbelief as more and more of the gold was revealed, dropping the cup of water she was holding out of shock.

When he was finished, he used his hands to unearth a large, golden cat statue with bit of effort due to the weight of the thing “it…must be worth a king’s ransom” Julie gasped as she also touched it, as if making sure it was real and not going to disappear.

“It, my love, is a boon onto our child and our future secured. We won’t ever have to work again with the money we will get from this” John said in a voice of barely contained happiness before his wife quickly reminded him that if anyone was to see it then they would want to steal it for themselves.
Quickly wrapping his vest round it as much as possible, he hefted the heavy, gold statue as quick as he could to their farmhouse, refusing any help form his wife, part out of concern for her safety but more out of something much darker that John felt brewing inside of him. He suddenly felt very possessive and protective of this statue.

As the day wound down, Julia noticed her husband’s behaviour taking a strange turn. Every time she would want to look at the statue or touch it, he would come up with an excuse not to and even took to getting aggressive with her, something Julie had never seen him do and it frightened her.

That night though saw things take a strange and bad turn when John a nightmare that night of been chased by a very large tiger with glowing red eyes, like red hot coal.
He was running through a forest that seemed unusually dead and quiet, his heart pounding in his ears and the tiger gaining all the while. With every step he took it felt as if something beneath the leaves was trying to grab at his ankles, like something was trying to halt him in his tracks.

Just then, an ancient stone wall seemed to rise from the ground as he stopped just short of it, turning around he saw the tiger slowly, but purposefully approach him.
The tiger’s eyes seemed to glow more fiercely as it approached him, teeth showing as its mouth parted and a tongue flicked over the fangs, as though anticipating what was to come.

John couldn’t move, he tried to, wanted to, but his legs were frozen solid and couldn’t even breathe as the tiger made to bite him.
Just before he sunk his teeth into him he said, in a loud growl that seemed to come from all sides of the dream forest “pay for your greed” and then it sunk its fangs into his neck.

**********

“NO” John roared as he pulled himself out of the past and back into the present, unable to bear the memory of what happened next.
Tearing at himself with his claws he made himself bleed as he gave a primal cry of despair, hating what he was and the constant reminder of what he had become that night. Inflicting pain on himself as though it would banish the pain in his heart.
He stood there a little while longer as he let the blood run into his fur, heaving as though he had been running all day, giving odd, growling sobs as his great yellow eyes ran like a stream down his muzzle.

Shaking his head as if trying to shake the memory out, he heaved and shook with the force of his emotions, his claws flexing as his paw like hands hung limp and open. After some more time had passed, he wiped at his eyes with a furred arm and took a shuddering breath before making his way to the mountain face.
Using his claws and three of his limbs to climb more efficiently with his other hand been used to stable the goat kill, he made his way up the mountain to a cave which he had managed to drive a bear out of. He had felt bad for it but it was only the strong survive out here, a harsh lesson he had to learn and also seemed to help temper his tiger side.

As he came to the top, he paused at the mouth of the cave to stretch and flex his limbs and tail, climbing like that always took more of a toll on him than on four limbs but couldn’t be helped.
Reaching the cave, John made his way to the back of it, where he had a stash of twigs and leaves to make a fire. He had tasted flesh raw, but would rather cook it and keep some of his humanity, though bestial on the outside.

Wincing just then as his cuts he had made on himself re-opened from his climb here, he first of all
needed to tend the open wounds.
Using some strips of old cloth from what had been part of his human clothes, he used them to bind some herbs he had learned grew in the mountain to help soothe and heal wounds. He could have used his tongue but this hurt less and proved to be more effective.

Having taken care of the most severe, he arranged some wood into a stable pile and produced some flint from nearby before striking them together to start the fire up; he then proceeded to use claws and fangs to tear apart the legs and head of the goat, leaving his fur more matted and gory. John always hated this part but had learned to just deal with it as best as he could, though he rather use proper tools. He wasn’t too bothered about the gore though as he could clean his fur and get water up at a running fresh water spring further up the mountain thanks to the steadily melting snow at the summit.

Hearing a growl at the entrance of his cave John growled “oh, it’s you again is it?” he said as a pretty, sandy coloured puma came slinking up to him, a hungry look its eyes.
“Alright girl, here” the weretiger growled as he threw her two bloody goat legs in which she tore eagerly at.
He had met the female puma shortly after clearing out the cave when she had scented his male smell, being on heat. John had to fight for all he was worth to stop his bestial form from making him mate with her, he was thankful it would be another few months until her next heat, in which he hoped he had more control over his state now. But after that, the puma seemed to take a shine to him, as though she felt she had to stay near, though she mostly showed up in time for feeding.

Holding a leg of goat over the fire, he let out a slight growling chuckle as she tried to approach his remaining kill, but shied away when she got near the fire and slunk on off to hunt for game not guarded by fire.

Having cleaned the goat legs of all meat, John made sure there was a sufficient flame going to ward other predators away from his kill. “May as well clean off” he growled to himself as he looked at the blood matted fur on his body.

Climbing further up the mountain, he could hear soft padding footfalls behind him, turning his head round he saw the female Puma there again, still following him. She had taken an unusual liking to him during the months he had been up here on the mountain and after a number of attempts, had given up eventually of ridding himself of her. “I thought you would rather hut game” John growled in amusement, with his ears subconsciously flickering in an amused fashion.
Shaking his head, he continued his climb up, being of a tiger’s strength and having their strong claws coupled with flexible hands, he was better than any mountain climber as he soon left the Puma behind. She could match him when she felt like it, but she was just content it seemed mostly to lazily tag along behind.

Reaching the top, he pulled himself up with ease and straightened, his stripy tail going taught as he did so before making his way to the fresh running stream. He had no need to strip off given he had a fine, thick covering of fur and his clothes had long since ripped and become tattered; Part due to his size and shape now and part due to the rough and wild living out here.

Gently stepping into the stream, he was saved from falling due to his feline sense of balance and pads that had developed on his feet, his claws flexing briefly as the cold water passed over the thin fur on his feet. It seemed only his feet and hands had not been altered too much, as they still maintained the function of that of a human but with claws, pads and a thin cover of fur, not as thick as everywhere else on him.

Beginning to scrub and tease at his blood matted fur, he watched with some satisfaction as the blood ran down the stream, turning the clear water pink for so long before the blood was washed away downstream.
Cocking a white spotted, round ear, John heard the tell-tale noises as the young Puma female made her way to the top eventually. These episodes never ceased to amaze him as she would stare at his soaked fur coat with a look that almost asked why he would do that.
“You going to join me?” he asked, giving her a splash in her direction, from which she neatly dodged it before giving him a soft growl at his attempt to wet her. Laughing lightly at this act, he went back to the business of cleaning himself off in the water, bending down to wet the rest of his fur.

A couple of minutes passed, with John using his pads and claws to give his fur a good wash before he was satisfied enough.
Stepping out of the stream, he shook himself, sending water droplets in every direction and his fur fluffing out slightly. Standing in the weak sun, he let that dry himself off before reluctantly using his rough tongue to finish off. Part of him always argued it was natural for a feline to do such a thing as he had seen their cat groom itself when he was a kid. On the other hand his human brain was always in objection to such an act.

“Rrowl” the Puma suddenly growled and looked down the mountain, her fur stood on end in an agitated fashion.

“What, what is it girl?” the weretiger, John said as he stopped in his grooming, his own fur rising a little as his enhanced scent caught a familiar scent, that of a human.
From what he could make of the human through his keen vision, it was a woman. She was of a lithe build and had dark brown hair, slightly tanned skin and a fur coat on which hinted at a hard, outside life.
“What would a human be doing up here?” he said in annoyance, his feline companion running off as she seemed to know what his kind “used to be at least” John amended in his head, was capable of.

The human had been too busy trying to climb up the mountain to notice anything odd up above as the human clung onto a rocky outcropping fearfully before reaching out with a shaky hand for another.
“I don’t have time for this” John thought as he turned to leave before he was spotted. He got so far down the other side of the mountain where he wouldn’t have being spotted when he heard a scream from the human, followed by a roar from the Puma as he climbed back up, ignoring his tiger side telling him to stay out of it.

Looking upon the scene, he saw the human blooded, a knife in her hand and a cut in a growling Puma, crouched and angered at the injury, though the human was worse off as she shook in fear.
“Alright girl back off now” he said to the Puma, before giving a roar to emphasise what he meant, making the Puma back down meekly, slinking off with a growl to tend to her wounds.

The human stared at him, this creature that couldn’t possibly exist that seemed out of myth or legend “st-Stay back you monster!” she said, swinging her knife at him and stepping back in retreat, a nice bleeding wound on her chest where the Puma’s claws had raked her.

“If I was you, shouldn’t you be looking more as to where you are going?” John growled as the human wore a startled look that he could talk, as he reached out a large hand to her.

“STAY BACK!” she yelled and swiped at his hand, making a shallow gash that made him wince and draw it back in pain. She stepped back in fright before realising her mistake and slipped off the edge with a scream.

“WATCH OUT!” he roared as he dashed to the edge and saw in relief that she was just dangling by her arm on an outcropping of rock that wasn’t stubbornly holding the knife, though her hands were nice and bloody from scraping as she fell.
Reaching a hand out, he grabbed her by the scruff of her vest and hauled her up, the human all the while screaming and kicking for him to let go. “Do you want to die, is that it?” he growled in irritation as she seemed to not hear and keep screaming before he had enough.
Retracting his claws fully, he smashed his fist into her head and knocked her out “you gave me very little choice really” he growled before loping back off to his cave with her flung like a sack of freshly dug potatoes.

An hour had gone by with John guarding the entrance of his cave; the presence of the female seemed to stir happy memories of when he was with Julie when the human herself began to stir.
With his acute sense of hearing, he heard her movements but pretended to otherwise as she silently approached him, with her knife drawn. Only when she was upon him did he speak “so who is the monster, the one who saved you, or the one about to kill her saviour?” he rumbled deeply, making her step back a pace or two.

“You are the monster foul beast!” she said with a tremor in her voice before charging at him with the knife to slash at him.
A look of horror spread on her features when he easily caught hold of her wrist and took the knife out of her gasp, as easily as though she was an infant or toddler.

 “LET GO, LET GO!” she cried out as she beat at his arm in a futile manner, terror written all over her and the terrified scent causing the animal in him to revel somewhat at his helpless prey.

“Why am I the monster? I could very easily kill you, yet I choose not to. Yet I save your life and what do repay me with? You try to kill…me” he finished in an angry voice before throwing her outside of his cave. “Now leave me be, before I forget I was once human” he growled as she scurried off in the direction off the cliff.

John turned his back to the human, convinced she was no longer a threat as the human examined her hand she had cut when she saved herself. She saw to her surprise that it was wrapped in some sort of herb that helped soothe and heal the cuts.
Realising there was only one other…thing that could have bind her wounds she knew that maybe she could use the creature to help her needs.

Lying down on his side, John heard something approaching. Thinking it was the Puma again, he turned over to see the human approaching him timidly, before she stopped when she realised she had being caught.
“Um, I…I” she seemed to fumble with her words before John lost his patience with her.

“Haven’t you had enough? Get OUT!” he said, backing that up with a roar which almost had the poor human messing herself, but she stood her ground.

“N-no, I won’t I…need help, please” she said in a quavering voice as she made to approach him, until the weretiger rounded on her.
He had to restrain himself with a good bit of will to stop from lashing out at her, partly out of anger and partly he just wanted the human gone as he felt his emotions starting to rise, thinking of the look of terror Julie had when she brandished a knife at him. He wanted the reminder of what had caused him such suffering gone from his sight.

“Oh, and I thought I was just a Monster, something that had no feelings?” he said to her as he walked up to the human, making her take a step back, weary of his large fangs and his claws.
“Like you would ever know the truth of what I once was” he said, stopping a few inches from her. He fixed her with a fierce gaze that had sorrow and hurt mixed in his wild yellow eyes.

“Please, I’m sorry I misjudged you, but I need herb called an eagle’s feather. It can only be found here on this mountain” she said with eyes wide in fright as if he would devour her there and then, she none the less continued.
“My brother is very ill a-and nothing else will work, it is said the eagles feather can cure almost any illness” she explained with her voice shaking, but remaining resolute.
The humans fear scent made the feline part of him want to torment her more and see her squirm, but he quickly squashed that feeling, disgusted with himself at such a thought.

John was about to take another step towards her but decided better not too, though her feminine scent mixed in with her fear was making it hard to think clearly. Instead, he just gave a low sigh “I have no concern for that, you may do as you will but just leave me be, understand?” he said as he made to turn around and head to the back of the cave again, when her voice called after him.

“I…I need you to help me…please. I’m not strong enough to scour the whole mountain for it and my injured hand will only make things worse. I’m begging of you, please” she cried as tears started forming at her eyes.

Sighing again as his human side was stirred by feelings of pity for her, he turned back round to face her “let’s get two things straight first of all. One, I am not a monster; I used to be a human and have a name; my name was John. And second…” he was interrupted by a short gasp from the human.

“You…are the John that disappeared from our village when that tiger beast attacked?” she gasped “that was you who killed Julie?” She took several steps back so she was out of his cave and looked ready for a speedy climb back down to tell the villagers.

“I wasn’t in control, IT WASN’T ME!” he roared at the pain her words inflicted on him before calming down, seeing her ready to bolt. “I’m sorry it’s just…I didn’t kill her, the beast side…the curse did” at this he twisted his furred head to one side, seemingly becoming chocked up with his sadness. After he had composed himself he continued, though his ears remained flat and tail swished in agitation “but it won’t happen again, I promise you! I have learnt how to control the feral side now, and I am your only chance at saving your brother” he growled as unwelcome feelings and memories were brought to the fore of his mind.

She seemed to consider what he had said, though her mind screamed to run away from the possibly dangerous beast, she hushed it in order to the logic. “You have a point, and if you do end up killing me, it would be no worse than watching my brother die slowly” she said in a flat resigned voice. “My name is Sheva, I hope I can trust you beas…John” she introduced herself, quickly halting from saying beast as John walked up to her and held out a big furred hand to her.

As Sheva took a further step back, John said in an amused voice “you can’t even trust me with a handshake? Despite my appearance has changed we are still kin of the same village, how can we even begin if you won’t even trust me?” he said with what passed for a smile on his muzzle at her, doing his best not to show teeth that might frighten her further.

Looking at him in a judging fashion, she slowly reached out her hand, her eyes going wide as hers was swallowed up by his massive paw like hand. For all the strength they held, they felt so gentle, as she felt the rough, soft pads and fur press around her hand.

It was John who released his grip on her hand as she pulled away almost reluctantly “we had better get started now, here” he said as he threw her some smelly, tatty clothing.

“I’ll pass thanks” she said as she quickly dropped the filthy garments onto the floor.

“Suit yourself, you can freeze to death then” he said as he made his way out of the cave and into the sunlight “it may be nice enough here, but further up it gets very cold. So you might want to reconsider” he said as she reluctantly put on the filthy clothes over her own, grumbling slightly which caused a twitch of a smile on John’s muzzle.

Stepping past her and out into the day, he growled “get on my back” when she gave him a questioning look, he said more forcibly “Get On!” as he gripped the rocks whilst she reluctantly did so.

She let out a soft gasp and before she could stop herself she uttered the words “so soft” as her hands wrapped round his furred neck and her hands sunk into his warm fur.

“Well, despite I look like a beast, I still like to keep clean” he rumbled in a laugh as she pretended not to hear him, blushing and thankful he couldn’t see her face.
“Now keep a tight hold on me, the eagles feather grows in cold climates so it will be near the top” he said as Sheva looked up the big mountain face with something akin to despair as he started his climb up. She gripped tightly around his shoulders and neck, feeling a slight flush in her face as she felt his powerful body and muscles though his thick striped fur ripple.
“Are you okay? He said as he noticed her scent start to take on a peculiar smell.

“Wha, uhh…yeah, just concentrate where you are going fur ball” Sheva said in an attempt to put him off track. “He is a beast not human, I just like muscular men is all, yeah” she told herself as they made their way to the slight level where the fresh spring ran and played across the rocks, where John pulled himself up at for a breather.

Slipping down, Sheva stretched and moaned as she worked the stiffness out of her joints, it had only taken him five minutes to climb what would have taken her twenty as she looked up. The summit was still a good bit away though and she was already feeling a little chill as she shivered in the mountain breeze.

“Feeling the cold a bit Sheva? I am sorry I have nothing other than my tatty old top to give you” John asked of her as he caught her shivering in the wind.

Sheva looked on in surprise once again, caught off guard at how human he seemed underneath his tiger appearance. “Uh…yeah, just a little chill is all. Come on we have to-Ah!” she cried out as the female Puma ran up to them both.

“STOP” he roared as the Puma pounced on top of Sheva, causing the human to cry out in fear. He flexed his claws; ready to tackle her if need be when he noticed something “stop struggling; she can smell me on you with those clothes. Keep still and you should be fine” John said with some amusement at the incredulous look she gave him at been calm when you had a fully grown Puma on top of you.

After so long, the Puma strode off and sat a distance from her, watching in the way a house cat might as Sheva got up shakily and dusted herself off. “Bloody beast” she said out loud, making John flatten his ears.

“More so than humans? We can be capable of acts far worse than any animal and are far more judgemental. Animals may be wild, but we can’t justify calling them beasts when we have a lot to answer for ourselves” he said as he approached the Puma and she briefly nuzzled his palm before turning round and prowled off.
“Had that being a human who pounced on you, do you think they would have stopped? Or been more likely inclined to rape or kill you and taken your purse?”

“Well I…that’s because…” she shut her mouth with a thoughtful expression on her face and a scowl as she couldn’t come up with a suitable answer that would prove him wrong, so resorted to fuming in silence.

“It’s hard isn’t it? When you have to face the truth of the true evil beneath all the self-righteousness and big talk of humans” he said as he sat next to her, wrapping his striped tail round her waist as she shivered again.

Staring at him, she couldn’t help thinking how cute and fluffy his face was now she was growing used to his unusual appearance, and there seemed to be something else that she just couldn’t put her finger on “you have been spending too much time in these savage parts” she muttered but made no move to get away from him.
Changing the topic rapidly, she asked him “how did you become like this? What happened down there” she said as she pointed to the village way, way below now with a hand that had become callused with her climb up from before.

His smile vanished in a second but thought she at least deserved to know the truth “well…when I was a human, me and my wife Julie, we were just normal farmers just working to get on by in life. All that changed when she was bearing my first cu, uh, child I mean.
I was able to buy a piece of land cheaply, not pausing to wonder as to the reason why as I began working and sowing it in preparation for next spring. Everything seemed great and then things seemed to get better when we dug up an exotic gold cat statue.

But that night I…I had a nightmare of been chased by a large, golden tiger though a forest, its eyes glowing like hot coals in a fire.
When it sunk its teeth into me I woke up and the statue was glowing next to me and was told to pay for my greed when I started to…well you know the rest probably” he broke off as he felt his eyes tear up. Despite he was part tiger; he still had working tear ducts as a tear trickled down into his furred face. “I remember-remember my wife brandishing a dagger at me which is when…when I…” John trailed off, unable to finish. He dug his claws into the soft pads in his hands, willing himself not to break down in front of Sheva, making the pads bleed before he unclenched his hand painfully.

“Oh John, I am so sorry. I never knew just how much…” she stopped as he gave her a quizzical look as she put her hand on his chest out of sympathy for his pain.
“Um, sorry” she said as she whipped her hand back as if his fur was made of fire.

“No need and thank you. It has been too long since I heard a kind word” he said with a gentle growl in her direction.
They locked eyes for a brief moment, John staring into her dark brown eyes and Sheva staring into his wild yellow eyes before he made a clearing in his voice to break the awkward moment “uh, let’s go anyway. I want to have this done with before dark” he said as he straightened and gripped onto a rocky crevice, waiting for her to grab onto him.
As they made their way up, the Puma watched them with interest as they made their way up the mountain face, towards the snow-capped peaks.

**********

Two hours’ worth of moderately fast climbing had seen them to the frosted slopes of the mountain; unfortunately their progress was becoming much slower as Sheva’s added weight started to take its toll on him, the increasing coldness starting to make even Johns lightly furred hands and feet stiff with cold.
To make matters worse, they had been climbing for the past hour without sign of a suitable place to stop for a break. Never having business in this part John didn’t know the place as well as he would have liked to.
“I…can’t hold on…much longer” Sheva groaned as her arms kept slipping as the muscles became cold and tired. The weretiger’s fur had helped so far, but now it was becoming too much for the human, even with the added clothes.

“Hold on just a little longer, we are almost there” John growled as he spied a ridge, squinting against the bright blue sky, his acute vision making the light stab at his eyes.
Upon reaching the top, he scrambled upon the ledge when the foothold he was on gave way, jolting him and causing Sheva to scream as she slipped off and grabbed hold of his leg.
“Sheva!!” he roared as she cried and lost her grip to tumble to her death.

Acting purely on reflex, he whipped his arm down and put as much of himself as he dared on the edge as he grabbed hold of her, his claws digging into her soft flesh as the tension got the better of him, bringing a scream of pain as blood ran down her arm.

He retracted them as best he could before he was able to pull her up and, grabbing her arm, wrapping his tail round it in a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding. “Sheva, are you alright? I’m sorry about hurting you, I just…” he cut himself off as he saw she had fallen unconscious with the cold and pain. “Crap” he exclaimed as he realised they would have no choice but to go down now, as she would die soon if they didn’t get her warmed up.

Just as he had given up all hope, he spied something on the ledge he was on, it was a leaf but in the shape of a big wing “an eagle feather!” he gasped as he grasped it as gently but as quickly as possible.
Cursing he had nowhere to stash it, he crumpled it in his hand as he gently slung Sheva over his shoulder and made the slow tortuous climb back down where they had come. Preying both her and what they had sought after would be alright by the end.

“Uuhhh” Sheva groaned as she came too, feeling like there was something akin to wet sandpaper rasping at her hand and could feel the warmth of a nearby fire on her skin.
When she managed to twist her head, she saw John lapping at her injured hand before she tried to weakly pull it away “what are you doing you beast?” she groaned before he looked up to her, a hurt expression in his yellow eyes.

“Well that’s gratitude for ya, I find this somehow helps to heal injuries as a matter of fact” the weretiger John growled, as he pulled away from her with a slight flattening of his ears. “Sorry we’re out of herbs right now” he said sarcastically.

“So all that wasn’t a delirious dream then?” Sheva mumbled as she tried to sit up, only for a wave of nausea to hit her and her hands shot to her head in a groan.

“Easy there, humans don’t come round that quick as I know” he said as he gave her some fresh water to drink back out of a rough wooden cup. “Easy, take it slowly otherwise you’ll choke again” he warned her as Sheva eagerly gulped down the fresh water.

Setting it down with a relieved expression as her stomach settled, if not her head much, she said “thank you…I owe you my life Beast” she said with a slight playful chuckle at calling him that.

He growled at first in offence until he realised that she was just joking “oh very funny” he said in a rumbling laugh, a noise that Sheva was starting to oddly appreciate now. “I am sorry as to your hand though” he said with an apologetic look at her scarred hand.

Sheva flexed it experimentally as if checking for anything broken “it has healed well in such a short amount of time though” she said, gracing him with a smile.

John’s smile faded at that “you…were out for a day and a half, it is dark now” he said as he curled his tail round himself.

“WHAT!? Damn you. Why didn’t you just drop me near the village so I could be found, they could have given the herb to my brother at least” Sheva said, quickly getting up.
A look of sudden panic spread over her face as she didn’t remember them getting the eagles feather “the herb, we didn’t get it and now my brother will…” Sheva said, in panic, eyes wide in alarm like a startled deer before John hushed her up.

“Calm down Sheva, I managed to get it just before I had to make a hasty retreat down the mountain” John said, revealing the herb, crumpled but intact still in his paw like hand.

A smile of joy broke replaced the look of panic on Sheva’s features that quickly turned to shock when she felt something poke her in the small of her back.
Giving a loud cry, she scrambled and bumped into John’s furry form before she turned round to see it was the Puma friend of his. “Relax, relax. I think she was just greeting you, you still smell of me and I think she was worried about you too” he said with a laugh at her expression.

The Puma just looked on at her with a look of curiosity as she fumed at the large cat “you could learn some manners, the both of you” she said, but had a light undertone beneath her scolding that made John laugh, an almost comical expression on the Puma’s face in puzzlement to what was going on.
Leaning into his white furred, muscular chest she mumbled something as she felt warm and safe around him.

“Hm, are you okay Sheva” John said in concern to the way she was acting and behaving, putting a hand to her head to check her temperature.

“Nothing, uhh, I need to get going. My brother can’t wait much longer so I have to move” she said seeming to come out of a daze and shaking her head.

Making her way to the entrance she was stopped when John laid his large, padded hand on her shoulder “I’ll help you, you aren’t fit to climb down still so get onto my back Sheva” he said with as much of a friendly smile as his felinoid face would allow him to.

Smiling as she did so, she let out a gentle sigh as she wrapped her arms round his big shoulders yet again. “Just one last time, before we part ways. I wish he was human still so that I could…but no. He would be married still then. I wish I was like him so I didn’t have to leave him” Sheva thought as they made their slow descent down the mountain.

“Are you sure you are okay Sheva?” he said as he paused, gripping onto the rocks with his claws as he turned his head to look at her.

She just pressed her body further into his striped pelt “yes, just a little cold is all” she said as the neared the ground.

“I…thought that I had killed…yet another innocent human when we were on the mountain Sheva, and I think that would have been too much guilt for me to live with. I am really happy to have met you, because I was able to do something good at last like this”.
Sheva just buried her head into him as tears rolled down silently for him.

There had been no time at all to say their good byes as a crowd of people could be seen approaching the mountains base.

John climbed faster the he ever had before, not wanting the villagers to get a good look at him, or if they did, just hoped they mistook his appearance for wearing an exotic fur coat.

Once out of sight, he looked on with a forlorn expression as he watched them from a distance that they wouldn’t be able to see him, but with his excellent feline sight, could see them.
His ear twitched when he heard the Puma clambering down as she sauntered by his side “well, looks like it is just me and you again huh girl?” he said with a surprising bit of affection from her, rubbing her face on his palm.

He unconsciously reached out his tail to wrap with hers, the Puma danced away from him with a slight hiss and clambered off. Being a creature of the wild and not in heat, she wasn’t up to been that friendly.
Looking at his orange and black striped fur on his arms, he longed to be human again, or tiger so he would be ignorant of these feelings of isolation and despair that seemed to now threaten to consume him once again.

**********

As dawn broke, John woke up shivering, despite his fur on his body. He wondered what had woken him when his ear flicked and then flattened to the sound of a mating call of a falcon. The sound was like a dagger in his heart as a tear beaded his eye for a brief second, he felt more a freak and alone then when he first was cursed with this tiger body. He hadn’t even bothered to set a fire going despite his experience of mountain weather told him it was going to be cold for the night. He just couldn’t be bothered if the parts that wasn’t as well covered froze off now as he sat with his heart as numb as his lightly furred hands and feet was.

“Just why does life taunt me so?” John thought as he felt sure death would be kinder then having to go through heartache twice. He was part animal but still had a humans mind, yet for that reason he would never be accepted and thus his curse.
Looking at his claws, he thought of how easily he could end his suffering and existence when a ruckus could be heard from further down the mountain.

Wondering if the human, Sheva had told them of his existence and wanted his blood now, he peered over the edge to find…”No, it couldn’t be?” he whispered to himself.
Spying something trying to make its way up the base of the mountain was a furry form, but it was too far away to tell for sure what it was.

John then saw a mob of villagers running to the mountains base with pitchforks, rakes, hammers or whatever they could have got their hands on really to use as a weapon.
Realising this would go bad either way, John gave a low growl of anger as he started to make his way down the mountain as fast as possible, unsure as to why he would be bothered other than something akin to that of a calling.
Chancing a glance down he saw the creature try to climb, but as soon as it had started, the creature was soon pulled back down by its tail as the mob arrived and lay into it with their weapons.

Taking a risk and trusting his feline body would be able to take it, he dropped the last 70ft to the ground, scattering the mob of villagers as he landed with a grunt on all fours.
Straightening, he said into the stunned silence “you make me sick, you call us monsters but look at what you cowardly lot are doing” John growled, making them take another step back as he turned to look at the creature they had been mobbing.

His face went from anger to outrage as he flattened his ears and roared, causing them to cower back in fear. Lying on the floor unconscious and bloody was a white furred variation of himself, though smaller and somehow familiar to him in its scent.
For the first time, he was glad he wasn’t human as to the state of the poor weretiger with its white fur stained with blood and bruised.
“BLOODY HUMANS” he roared loud in anger, making them cower as he hefted her as though she weighed nothing, knowing this new white weretiger to be female as his fine nose told him, up onto his shoulder and started to climb.

As John stared to climb back up, the mob of villagers rushed again to the mountain as they tried to pull him down by his striped tail, the same way they had with the female he was carrying. By now, more villagers had arrived and tiger strength and claws or no, he wouldn’t stand much chance if he was trying to defend another as well as himself.

At that moment though, he heard a high growl from above as his Puma companion scaled down the mountain side, leaping from one craggy outcropping to the other, landing on top of the current human who had hold of his tail and sinking her fangs into his throat.
A scream of agony tore away as his life was snuffed out, distracting the humans long enough for John to recover himself and climb out of reach as the Puma kept them back.
She received the odd blow but nothing serious as she hissed and growled at the weary villagers, keeping them in check through fear, the scent rising up with John having to fight against a rising bloodlust.

Once far enough up the mountain face, the Puma skipped on off and jumped faster up the cliff slopes, too fast for the villagers to get hold of her.

Reaching the ridge where his cave was, he panted from climbing so fast with the added weight of the weretigress on his shoulders. Gently placing her down, he peered over the edge at the crowd gathered at the base. “It’s no good, they know where we are now, and it is just a matter of time before they try to get rid of the threat of us” John growled as he hung his tail and slumped down onto the floor.

Reaching the top, the Puma approached the tigress and sniffed her, growling softly as she did so, curious about her scent he guessed.
“You almost seem to know her girl, now I think about it, she does smell familiar” John said as he leaned in for a sniff of her, before her eyes snapped open and lashed out with clawws in a snarl of fear.

Turning just in time to avoid losing an eye, he clamped down the urge to retaliate as his claws flexed “I just saved your life, you had better be more grateful then that” he said with a dangerous growl, followed by the Puma, weary now after the display of aggression.

The weretigress opened her mouth to speak but then closed it again, her tail tip seeming to quiver slightly before she opened her mouth again “John…did you rescue me again?” she said, her voice a little deeper and growling but there was no mistake who it was.

John stared with his square jaw hanging slack, looking positively comical “Sh-Sheva?” he gasped at her, unable to believe it was her.

“Yes…it is me” she said, withdrawing as he reached a hand out to her, as if afraid of him.

Looking a little hurt, he asked straight out “what happened to you and how is this possible Sheva…?” he stopped as he spied her hand where the white fur was thin. On her hand was three puncture shaped dots on her white fur, the exact same he had punctured when he grabbed her hand to save her from their climb up the mountain.
“Sheva…please don’t tell me…” he said past a lump in his throat that had formed as a wave of guilt and realisation dawned on John.

“Yes…it seems when you clawed me, your curse found its way into me too” she said in a flat voice with her white and black striped tail flicking in anger.

Hanging his head low, he said in a quiet growl “I am sorry Sheva, I really had no idea that…”

“Well its happened now, regardless if you intended it or not, it is all your fault and now thanks to you I can no longer go back to the village, or anywhere for that matter. And they will come up here soon to eradicate us” she snarled with a pounce on John, pinning him and bearing her claws at his neck.
When he didn’t struggle at all the feral anger left her, and she withdrew from him “why didn’t you struggle to get free?” Sheva said with a shamed twist of her head and her white and black fur on end.

“Maybe if I died, you could return to normal since I carry the original curse of the weretiger” he said with his throat still exposed to her, Johns yellow eyes shimmering with tears but his voice clear.

Staring at him, she approached him yet again and wrapped her mouth round his throat loosely, making the Puma who had remained nearby hiss at her in warning.
“Are you sure this is what you want?” she mumbled through the furred neck in her mouth.

“If it makes amends and cures you, then yes” he said as he closed his eyes and readied himself for death that was to come.

Sheva made her mind up, and closed her mouth.