Poachers' bane

There came a loud crash, followed by a splash, shaking the very night around them. All the animals within the reserve were startled awake, looking frantically for a source to the noise. When no immediate source was discernible, one by one they went back to sleep. It was probably nothing.

Tiaret was the first of her pride to awake, letting out a quiet yawn before getting to her feet. The sun was peeing up over the horizon, colouring the sky with brilliant shades that she always enjoyed looking at.

She began making her way to the watering hole, eager to wet her tongue and rid herself of the dry, sandy feeling that coated her mouth. It was still early in the day, with few of the other animals at the reserve stirring. She rather preferred it that way, enjoying a moment of quiet before everyone else was up and about.

She crouched down, drinking from the water, quietly noting the strange metallic aftertaste that wasn’t normally there. Tiaret pulled away, smacking her lips as she pondered the origins of the taste.

“That’s odd.”

Tiaret froze, looking around to see where the sudden noise came from. But there was no one. Nothing, but the long grasses swaying in the breeze.

“Where did…”

Again, she paused, glancing down at her reflection in the water. Her mouth was moving as the sound happened, as if forming the words.

“Am I…” She whispered, staring as her lips moved with the sounds. “That was me?”

Tiaret sat on her haunches, her mind reeling. Her mama had always told her stories of animals blessed by the gods with the ability to speak the human tongue. She’d always regarded such stories as simply that. Stories. But perhaps there’d been some truth to them.

Which led her to wonder, why was she gifted the ability now? What was coming?

She rose from her seat, deciding to do a patrol of the reserve to try and see what might be amiss. Perhaps it was nothing, but mama’s stories always told about how the animals would use their gift to protect the other animals from greedy humans. She hoped it wouldn’t be the case.

She crouched down, hiding herself in the tall grasses, watching as three men piled out of a truck, armed with rifles and speaking quietly amongst themselves.

“This is risky, Ahmed,” One said, looking decidedly more nervous than the others. “What if one of the patrols are out?”

“They’re not,” Said another one, likely this Ahmed. “I’ve been watching them and I know their schedules. They’re not due for another couple of hours. We’ll have more than enough time to bag a couple of animals and take them away on the truck. Now stop worrying.”

Tiaret felt a sour taste in her mouth, narrowing her eyes at the group of men. This must be it. This is why the gods had blessed her with the ability to speak the human tongue.

Keeping low to the ground to keep out of sight, she spoke.

“Who’s there?”

The men jumped, whipping their heads around to try and see who it was that spoke.

“I thought you said they weren’t here yet!” Said the nervous looking man.

“They shouldn’t be!”

“You shouldn’t be here! Get out!” Tiaret called, a smile pulling on her lips as she watched their panic. Good. they should be afraid.

“We should go.”

“It’s probably just some other poachers who don’t want competition!”

Tiaret let out a low growl, silently inching forward, the grasses shifting ever so slightly as she passed.

The nervous looking man paled considerably.

“You don’t belong here.”

He began shaking his head, grabbing Ahmed’s arm and tugging.

“We’ll go, we’ll go!”

Ahmed went to protest before he too went pale, catching sight of Tiaret in the grasses, her eyes glinting in the early morning light.

Tiaret watched as they scrambled to get back in the truck, letting out a loud, deafening roar. The nervous man let out a shriek, falling flat on his bottom, a dark stain spreading on his trousers before his companions were able to pull him into the truck.

The truck started with a sputtering cough, and Tiaret pulled herself up from her crouch.

“Never come back here!” She called after them as they frantically began driving away.

She flashed a feral looking grin towards the retreating truck before turning around to return to her pride. It would be time to hunt soon.