The hunting competitions being only four days away, Eli and June spent every waking moment trying to turn her into a hunter, and that was no small feat. He had to teach her how to move in The Forest, which plants to avoid, which insects' stings could be fatal, how to set traps and avoid said traps, how to hold a bow, and how to build a bow. If he was going to list the things she needed to learn, he might not he might not have had time to teach them at all. The first day of their training ended at dusk, and June wasn't any better than when she had walked into The Forest; he was frustrated.
June observed as he built a fire. He looked different when he was in The Forest; more mature, in control, and capable, there was even a hint of danger in his eyes. As he skinned the rabbits he had caught, she could sense a determination on his side. Looking at him in the light of the flames, she wondered whether his desire to join the hunting competition might have had something to do with his parents. Fred had eaten up the story he had told about his parents getting lost in The Forest while he managed to find his way out, but they hadn't. "Eli, this feels like it is important to you. There is a chance that I might not be the hunter you need in the next three days; I think it would be best if you went alone; I'd find something else to do."
"Don't be absurd," Eli said, a little smile forming on his face, then continued skinning. June waited for him to say something else, but that was it. The following day they resumed their training.
Eve of the hunting competition found the two sitting at their usual spot, relaxed. That day they had concluded training early to regain some energy for the competition. After many rabbits of exercise, June could now skin a rabbit on her own. Eli felt proud seeing her pull the skin off.
"I'm a fast learner; stop thinking you are solely responsible," June said, seeing him grin as she roasted the rabbit.
“Even fast learners can’t be fast without good teachers.”
“Are you going to finally tell me why this is so important to you?” June asked as she turned the rabbit over.
“If we do this, we become legends. The people who saved the kingdom from village ravaging beasts. When we are done, all doors will be open to us, we will have the finest of everything.”
"Are you not at all curious about what became of your parents? I would be." Eli took a deep breath and then exhaled. "They are dead." He said, poking the fire. "I saw them die, but the circumstances would have been unbelievable back then."
"Are you saying we are hunting the possible murderer of your parents?"
“You can say I’m motivated.”
The King himself opened the hunting competition the following day. The candidates gathered at the edge of The Forest, and he gave a speech no one cared much for before announcing that the top five hunters or teams would be armed from The King’s armory to hunt the beast
Eli looked around. He was in a weird crowd. There were all sorts of people in there, most were armed, but some weren't. By looking around, he could point out with certainty a few people who would not make it to sunset. He felt somewhat confident, seeing had practically grown up in The Forest, and his father had taught him well.
When The King left, they entered The Forest, and as they went deeper, the crowds thinned, and eventually, they were about five of them going in the same direction. There was Eli and June and a group of three other hunters. Their leader, Evans, had an air of confidence about him; he even moved like an experienced hunter. Eli felt a little nervous. They moved silently for a while before branching out.
“Do you know where you are going?” June asked as they moved.
“The deeper we go, the more vicious the animals we’ll encounter.” Isaac was excited.
“Have you been this deep before?”
“I lived deeper than this, trust me.” The two walked for some time before Eli heard dry twigs crunch. Eli stopped, and June followed suit. He hooked an arrow and slowly looked around. He heard the crunching die away in the opposite direction and returned his arrow to the quiver.
“What was that?” June asked.
“Probably one of the other hunters.”
“How could you tell?”
“There were two feet and way more noise than any animal living this deep makes." Their movement slowed, and they became more alert as they moved in, it was getting quiet, and the tree canopy made it dusky. Eli stopped suddenly, and this time June could tell it was dire. She watched as goosebumps rose on his neck and his arm moved slowly to the machete strapped to his waist. She was about to ask what he saw when she heard soft growling above them. She looked up, and staring at them with its shiny eyes was the most giant leopard she had seen. A gasp escaped her mouth as she reached for her machete, unsure what she would do with it. She watched Eli's blood pump faster at his neck as he threw his machete at the leopard, hitting it in the head. The leopard growled as it pounced at him, throwing him a short distance away. Eli landed on all fours. The leopard was eyeing him fiercely. June was frozen; her first hunt wasn't going very well.
Eli growled at the leopard, his eyes open wide and wild. His machete lay about three meters away, and there was no way he would reach it before the leopard tore into him. He slowly felt the back of his belt for a dagger he carried, and there it was, like an oasis in a hot desert. He smiled and growled once more as the leopard posed to attack. Digging into the ground with his right foot for support, he waited for the leopard to make a move. The leopard bent down his chin, almost touching the ground, and then jumped. Within a fraction of a second, Eli leaped forward and upwards, turning in the air to land on the leopard's back, and the dagger was lodged in the flesh at the back of its head. The leopard, dead, lay on the ground as Eli stood up. He walked to June, and she was still trembling in shock. He sat her down and built a fire.
It was after he had caught a few rabbits, skinned them, and roasted them that June found her tongue. "We should be dead." She said, quivering.
“But we are not.”
“What you did is impossible. No one kills a leopard like that.”
“But I did.”
“Aren’t you worried there might be others?”
“This one wasn’t even supposed to be here, they are usually much deeper than this, we got lucky.”
“You got lucky. Why do you even need me here if you can kill a leopard with a knife that could just as easily be used for peeling potatoes?”
“Sometimes things don’t always go this smoothly, you never know when you might need a second pair of hands.”
They arrived at the edge of The Forest just as the sun set to meet groups of hunters bloody and exhausted. Eli was not surprised that only a fraction of the original group had made it out, some had quit, and others had perished. Each hunter had a story; some didn’t need words; their bodies told it all. The sight of Eli and June with a leopard on their shoulders quietened the whole crowd. Everyone was in awe.
“Hasn’t any of you seen a dead leopard before?” Eli asked as they set it down. The crowd continued conversing in lowered tones, but their eyes scarcely left the dead leopard and its slayers. Those whose egos let them went to Eli and June to hear how they had done it, and each left with disbelief. They got first place obviously, followed by who had captured a rather huge wolf. The rest had varying sizes of wild dogs and hyenas. The King bought the dead leopard and wolf to dry and pup up or display in the throne room. Everyone who had returned from The Forest with a kill, even those who did not make The King’s hunting team, were invited to The King’s house for a feast.
The King’s house was by far the largest Eli had been in. The compound was filled with hunters waiting to be fed. As always, The King made a speech and shared a haunting tale of his own. That day he told a story from when he was younger no one was eager to hear before asking the cooks to feed them. The men and women who had been in The Forest that day were esurient. Over the next several minutes, the most noise you could hear in that compound was bone-breaking, teeth tearing, bowls banging, and the occasional farting that would send everyone on their knees with laughter. Eli found it a disgusting habit, and for whichever reason people laughed, he could not fathom. It was after over half the food had been cleared off the tables that chatter began.
Eli and June weren’t acquainted with most of the other hunters; to be honest, he found most of them borderline repulsive. June usually told him he was oversensitive, but on this occasion, she could not wait to be rid of them. It was after the feast that The King was going to announce the reward for the team that caught the beast that caused him sleepless nights, so they couldn't leave just yet. The two found a spot in the compound a little further from the crowd and sat.
“Have you decided what you want to do after we collect the reward?” Eli asked while picking his teeth. He was leaning on a tree while June lay on her back, looking at the stars in the sky.
"What do you think stars are made of?" June dodged his question. In truth, she had no idea yet. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and she had to be comfortable doing whatever she chose to do for the rest of her life; that was a lot of pressure.
“Something very hot.” He knew she was dodging but was wise not to push.
“I would have guessed something shiny.”
"They produce their light."
“Says who?”
“That guy with the weird hat who buys a lot of parchment. He knows a lot.”
"I heard they call it a turban. Where do you think he learned these things?"
"The witches and wizards have this place where they teach you things, he paid a lot too. Knowledge is very expensive."
“I could do that.”
“They only take in small children.” Eli lay on his back beside June and looked up at the stars. He joined them with his mind into all sorts of shapes. At one point, he could swear he was seeing June's face outlined by the stars. It was as they marveled at the stars that one of The King’s servants came up to them with an invitation to The King’s throne room.
“What do you think he wants?” June asked as they walked closely behind the servant.
“What else? He wants to meet greatness in person." Eli said with a grin. June saw how his teeth, white as milk, they shone in the moonlight, his eyes too. He was a brawny, rugged kind of handsome she found herself rather attracted to.
"You are full of yourself today, aren't you?" June said with a smile. Eli looked at her, and the moonlight amplified her features. He watched her shiny lips move as if in slow motion to uncover her perfectly lined, even teeth. His eyes moved to hers, and he would have been lost in their beauty had he not looked away. June watched him blush, and she blushed too.
Eli and June entered The King’s throne room. At the throne sat The King with his two wives on either side and beside them two servants fanning them with barely any clothing on them apart from almost translucent cloth. At the table in front of The King was what remained of his dinner. He was not a decent eater. Sitting there with his stomach exposed and his oily hands on either of his wives, he bellowed a welcome. Eli could tell he was forcing his voice to deepen, but it wasn't his place to mention it.
“Eli and June, the leopard slayers! How are you enjoying the feast?”
“It is great, we all appreciate it," Eli said humbly.
"We thank you, your highness." June followed suit.
"I have heard a lot of stories about how you slew the leopard and I would like to say you are going to be a legend, I'm sure the songwriters are already composing. Why don't you indulge me for a minute and tell me how you did it, I'm sure my wives are dying to know, they haven't had the pleasure of hearing it yet and I would rather they heard it firsthand.”
“Of course.” Eli cleared the floor and started narrating. He had learned the art of narrating from his father and did not leave out any detail, exaggerating anything that could be exaggerated. He even put June in the narrative praising her for acting swiftly and throwing him her knife. By the time he was finished, The King’s wives were in awe. The King himself didn’t seem very pleased; he thanked them for their time and dismissed them.
“Do you think that was smart?” June asked as they walked the halls on their way out.
“What?” Eli could be a little clueless at times.
“Did you think The King would appreciate you enthralling his wives like that?”
“He wanted a story and I gave him one, what's wrong with that?"
"He is the King, that's what is wrong with him. If he asks you to tell a tale like yours, you are humble about it, you can even say you got lucky as long as he doesn't feel threatened. Powerful men can be paranoid sometimes, you have to reassure them you are not out for his crown or worse, his wives.”
"I don't think I'm getting what you are saying," Eli said, perplexed; then, all of a sudden, there were guards approaching from either side of the hallway closing in on them.
"Eli and June, you are under arrest for acts of treason which include the use of magic which is forbidden in this kingdom." One of the guards said to them as another cuffed them. Eli was still confused as they were dragged into the dungeons and locked up.
“Do you get it now?” June asked Eli angrily when they were alone. They had been confined in opposite cells. Eli shook his head, still disconcerted. "Did you use any magic while hunting today?" June asked, and he nodded. "If you did not use any magic, why do you think you are being accused of using magic."
“Because I’m too good?”
“I knew you would get it.” It was then that it dawned on him. June did not speak a word to him overnight.
The following day started early. All the hunters who were going to The Forest gathered at the edge of The Forest. The promise of as much gold as they could carry was good motivation. After another speech, The King blessed them. Someone asked about Eli and June, and The King did not hesitate to say they had been practicing witchcraft and would be hanged later in the week. They knew the beasts they were hunting were dangerous and strong, but it didn’t matter.
The King returned to his castle feeling like a king. He was smiling so widely it was unbecoming. When his top guard at the gate asked what all the happiness was about, he said it was the best day of his life; the beast that had the people of his kingdom trembling at night was finally within grasp. As soon as the beast was caught, he would be the greatest King to ever rule and would get a statue at the entrance of the kingdom. He then excused himself with the pretense of taking care of some important kingdom-related business. The guards pitied his wives. After working for The King for a while, they had come to learn that that was code for lovemaking, and he had a reputation for being an animal in bed.
The day at the castle passed just like many others before without much incident. Apart from the moaning and grunting of The King and his wives in his chambers, everything else was peaceful and quiet. The guards guarded their positions while others walked the grounds, the servants washed, cooked, and cleaned, and everything was serene. For a moment, the prisoners in the dungeons were forgotten.
The King was in his throne room having his dinner that evening, the smile still on his face, when he heard a commotion at the door. He paused amidst tearing meat off a bone and frowned. "What is it?" he growled. The door burst open, and he saw the guards try without much effort to restrain a man. In the dim light and his old eyes, he couldn't make out his features. "Bring him closer." The guards did. The closer he got, the harder it became to deny; that his son, Evans, was there. He had run away when he was young, turning out like his father, being his greatest fear after his father had sentenced some people to death for petty theft. Soon after he departed from the castle, The King announced his death and held a big funeral in his name. In his mind, he had died too.
Over the years, he hadn't heard much about him. Occasionally, he would send someone to check in on him, but eventually, they lost him. He chased everyone out and only spoke when they were alone. "Son?" He looked at him, and there was pride and sadness for him. He had grown into a fine man, had his height too. His hand had a gashing wound from a scratch, by the looks of which it came from an enormous animal. All of a sudden, he remembered him from the hunters sent to The Forest. He was the one who had killed a wolf. The smile on his face returned. “Tell me, did you kill the beast haunting the village?" Evans's face was tired and dreary. He walked past his father and sat on the throne. He gulped the beer in his chalice down and started on his meat. The King just watched.
“Where are Eli and June, father?" Evans spoke, and his voice echoed. He had his father's voice, too, just more robust and fiercer.
“They are in the dungeons. Practicing magic is treason in this kingdom, you know that.”
“What is it exactly that he did?”
“He killed a leopard with a knife, nobody does that.”
“I was in The Forest with him while you sat here eating and fucking. How would you know?" Evans stood up; the King's plate was clean. He walked up to him and stared into his eyes. Being an inch taller made him look superior. "You know what I think? I think you are just scared. Scared that a little boy did what you never could in all our hunting years, remember how proud you were when you killed that leopard cub? Do you still have it?" Evans looked around, and it was not in the throne room. "Ashamed of your little cub now?"
“You are overstepping now Evans, you have not been a Prince here since you walked out, and we buried you by the way. What makes you think you can talk to me like that?”
"You don't deserve to be King. Do you know that of all the people who left this morning to hunt for the beast giving you ‘sleepless nights’ I’m the only one alive?” The King gasped in terror. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Maybe if you had not been insecure about your crown and wives that Eli doesn't want, he is fifteen, by the way, perhaps they would all still be alive and the beast you wanted would be your door mat, but what do I know, I’m just a hunter.” Evans wiped his hands with the white table cloth and left The King trembling.
“Wait!” The King called Evans as he opened the door. He stopped and turned. “Are you saying that Eli could have killed this monster?” The King asked reluctantly.
“He killed a leopard, obviously we had better chances with him than without him.”
“What is this beast anyway, did you see it.”
“I got a glance of it as it tore through the other hunters like butter. It had teeth and claws like steel, moved like a leopard, and growled like a lion. It was a little over two meters long, slender, and a black coat although it could have had a pattern, we were deep in The Forest and it was dark.”
“So, it’s a black leopard?”
“Did you hear a word I just said?”
“I’m sure those witches have a hand in this.”
“Maybe they do, maybe they don’t, it is on our side of The Forest and we have to take care of it hopefully before it destroys us all.”
“What do you propose.”
"I thought I didn't have a say here anymore."
“Can you stop being dramatic for a minute here, there is a beast we have to kill? I'm asking this because you are the only one who has had an encounter with it and lived.”
“We could start by releasing Eli and June, currently there are only three hunters in this kingdom who have a chance.”
“Done. Can you do it tonight?”
“I’m good to go, the question is whether they are willing, I hope you fed them.”
“I’m the king, I’m I supposed to keep track of every prisoner?”
Eli and June had spent the whole day locked up. From the small openings at the top of their cells, they could tell it was getting dark. After giving him the cold shoulder overnight, June got bored of the silence and started talking to him after making it clear she hadn't forgiven him. They had spent the day reminiscing about the days when they were simple helpers, and the thought of them in The King’s dungeons would have been farfetched. Then towards the end of the day, they started brainstorming ways of dying from best to worst. When they couldn’t reach an agreement, they agreed to disagree between being shredded to bits by a leopard or being crushed. When darkness began its descent on the land, they stopped talking, leaving each other to their thoughts.
The two heard the lock turn on the door to the dungeons, and they stood up. They were sure their end had come.
"This is it," Eli said, looking at June. It was a little dark, but he could make out her figure.
"The end is here. Is there anything you would like to get off your chest?"
"I'm sorry I got you into this mess in the first place, and only because you like hearing it, you are beautiful." Even in the dark, he could tell she was smiling.
“You are not that bad yourself.”
“Are those goodbyes?” Evans asked when he was within earshot. Eli and June were surprised.
“You? Are you the executioner?” June asked.
“I might be. All the other hunters are dead, we are the only ones left. I managed to convince The King to let you hunt, the question is whether you still want to, it would be understandable if you didn’t want to risk your life for a coward.”
"I'm not in this for the King. June, this is your chance to run." Eli said. June was silent for a minute.
“And let you two become heroes without me? Not a chance." Evans unlocked their dungeons, and the next stop was The King’s armory. The moon was already in the sky.
The three roamed The Forest looking for traces of the animal without much luck. At night The Forest was pitch black, and not much hunting could be done, at least not by people; they decided to pause the hunt until the following morning. They moved closer to the edge of The Forest and started a fire. Eli volunteered to keep watch for the first two hours. June and Evans lay on the ground, trying to catch some sleep, but all they did was stare at the flames; sleep didn't come easy when one was expecting to be mauled at any time. Eli volunteered to tell a story, and at this time, they were open to anything. And so, he began the story of the Prince and Princess his father told him.
When he was done, he expected them to be asleep, but they were awake, waiting to comment. “Where did you hear that story?” Evans asked.
"My father told me," Eli said proudly.
“I have to give the man some credit for creativity but the facts are way off the mark.”
"Are you saying it's a true story?" Eli asked, intrigued.
“Yes. It is not a people’s favorite though.” June chipped in.
“What do you mean? I love that story.” Eli asked
"As Evans said, the facts are way out of whack in this one. people died in their name. being in the royal family guarantees you a following. In this instance, there were a lot of people who believed in them. The King was not a reasonable man so he ordered his army to bring his son back no matter the cost. His army slashed through the Prince and Princess’s supporters at their wedding like weeds in the field and brought him back to his father. He didn't stay. He found a way back to his girlfriend and this time he had the brains to ask the rest of his supporters to go back home, only that didn’t help them, The King declared them traitors and had them slaughtered. It was a dark time for the kingdom. There were rumors that the mothers who lost children that day all gathered together and sought remnants of witch families in the kingdom and paid them to curse the Prince and Princess. Some also say they cursed The King because he died soon afterward without an heir other than the son who had run away.” June finished and yawned. Sleep was finally close by.
“Wait a minute, the magic kingdom didn’t curse them?”
“They are peaches, never use magic for harm.” June started snoring softly.
“You are forgetting the most important detail; their names weren't Chris and Olive but Toby and Dawn also, it happened about forty years ago," Evans said as he followed June’s suit and drifted to sleep. Eli was left awake and puzzled. His father and mother were the Prince and Princess of his father's story, which he had altered to make it look like they were heroes, which they were not but instead were responsible for possibly the worst genocide the kingdom had experienced? All these questions plagued him. He stood up and started pacing, unsure of his next move. He felt like he was responsible for the genocide himself. He thought of running away and never returning, but that would be just like sentencing the kingdom to death in the hands of the animal that has been terrorizing them. He had to stay and at least make that right if it was the last thing he did. All he could do for now was wait till morning. Eli sat back down and started watching the sparks dance around the flames.
Eli felt something prick his leg. He moved aside, and he was pricked again, 'maybe I should go around the thorn bush,' he thought as he retraced his steps to go around. Then all of a sudden, he stopped, and his eyes opened. He looked around for Evans and June, but they were nowhere in sight. He had been sleepwalking. It was dawn, he looked around, and there was something familiar about his surroundings; he had been there before. He saw a clearing ahead and walked towards it. It was the house he grew up in. It was in better shape than he would have expected it to be.
He walked up to it and opened the door; it opened relatively smoothly for a door that should have been broken. He walked inside, and there were embers at the fireplace. He walked over to the fireplace and started poking at the embers in an attempt to start a fire that he had a low growl behind him, and he froze. There was heavy breathing, barely human, approaching him from behind. The feet touched the ground but almost inaudibly. The only creature he knew that could do that was a leopard, but last he checked, they did not live in houses.
Eli slid to the side, trying to make his way to the door, but he was barely two steps there when the door slowly closed. There were two of them! His heart was pounding hard and fast, and his armpits were getting soggy. He had so many questions about the behavior of his captors, but his priority was getting out of there in one piece. He had killed one leopard, but two was a whole different tale. The window was closed, but he couldn't tell whether or not it was latched shut. 'Maybe if I rammed into it hard enough, I could break it and land outside; hopefully, I won't be too broken to run,' he thought.
“It won’t work.” Eli heard the voice of his mother say clear as day. He rubbed his ears. 'maybe I'm still asleep.' He thought, and there was a flicker of hope on the horizon. Then he felt the coat rub up against his leg and his blood chilled. Just like that, the flicker was no more. "You are thinking about jumping out through the window, aren't you?" Eli got even more baffled. He could swear the voice was coming from the leopard at his feet; he was dumbfounded. The fireplace burst into flames, and light flooded the room. One leopard was at the fireplace and the other at his feet looking at him.
"That was for your benefit; we have night vision now." The leopard by the fire moved its mouth, but his father's voice came out.
“Mother? Father?” Eli thought he was losing his mind.
"We've been waiting for you; what on earth took you so long?" Toby, the leopard, asked.
"I killed a leopard yesterday." Eli blurted out. His father and mother burst into laughter which, for some reason, was louder than while they had been human.
"And you are worried he might be your brother?" Dawn asked, and they laughed even more.
Eli smiled. ‘These are my parents alright,’ he thought.
“You have a lot of explaining to do," Eli said as he pulled a chair. Dawn and Toby lay next to the fire. "But first, I'm starving. Who knew getting scared consumed that much energy, thanks to you, by the way, you could have just said you were here when I walked in, you know. Do you have anything cooked in here? Also, can you read my mind?”
"We are not animals, of course…" dawn started but realized the irony of what she was saying, and they burst into laughter again. "What I'm saying is that we may be animals now, but we still try to be civilized. Also, I can't read your mind. I can still read your face, though.”
“If we are going to come clean, I guess we should start from the beginning. Remember that story you loved so much?” Toby asked.
“It’s riddled with lies? Yeah, I know, it’s probably the reason I sleepwalked here.”
“You didn’t come here willingly? Now I’m feeling sad.” Dawn looked away.
“You were still a child when I invented that story, I needed for it to have a better ending than the original. Also, I couldn’t let you grow up thinking your parents were monsters so I altered some details including the names. We were still very young and stupid back then, no older than you are right now.” Toby started explaining.
“I’m fifteen years old father.”
“Okay, so we were a little older, god has it been only five years? It seems longer.”
"Maybe it's because we are… you know… leopards," Dawn said as she pushed a pot with meat towards Eli.
"Yeah, that might be it. Look, Eli, we feel guilty about what happened every single passing day and if we could take it all back we would.” Eli wasn't familiar with leopards, but he could sense the sincerity.
“So, this is what the curse did?” Eli asked.
"No. this is our doing, more or less," Dawn said.
“I paid some witches and we tried to undo the original curse but it was too strong to be undone so we did the next closest thing – countermeasures. We just didn’t know we would become leopards.”
“Are you saying that that black leopard running around is also your fault?”
"Technically, the people who created it are to blame but yes, it is hunting us," Toby said.
“Wait a minute, are you saying it is now leaving The Forest?" Dawn asked, concerned.
"Isn't it supposed to?" Eli asked.
“No. the witches restricted it and us to The Forest, which could only mean one thing," Dawn said, looking at Toby with eyes full of hope.
“The curse is wearing off and we too can leave The Forest," Toby said.
“Wait a minute, you couldn’t leave The Forest?" Eli asked. Confusion was becoming his default look.
“Oh yeah, when the witches cursed us they restricted us to The Forest. Keep up." Dawn said excitedly. The prospects of leaving The Forest excited them.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Eli asked, and the two just stared at him, utterly unaware of what he was hinting at. "You are big with a fur coat with dots in it and you walk on all fours, I’m I ringing any bells here?”
"Oh, no need to worry about that. We are leopards because we need to protect ourselves from the black leopard so as soon as it is dead, we revert to our human forms." Dawn could not sit in one spot from the excitement.
“I’m guessing there is a reason you haven’t killed the black leopard?” Eli asked.
"Yeah, the magic sustaining it is stronger so it was harder to kill but now it should be a little vulnerable so it shouldn't be that hard."
“I hate to disappoint but it tore through about ten hunters like butter just yesterday so it is pretty strong.” Eli pointed out.
"But we are leopards and we were built to protect ourselves from it at full strength, that strength goes down even a little and our odds grow," Toby said.
"Also, we are people and we have brains," Dawn said.
“Brains for the black leopard isn’t that farfetched.” Eli pointed out.
“Are you for us or against us?” Dawn asked.
“I have one last question though, the night I left, what was all that about?” Eli asked.
"Yeah, that was the day your mother turned. After turning, the animal instincts are very high and all you want to do was eat. When I found her clothes and there was blood in them I thought she was dead. Then a leopard attacks me and I think I'm done for too. I fought but there wasn't much you can do so your mother destroyed me. The first chance I got, I ran like hell to get you out of the house. I found her not very far from the house so I knew she would get to the house and it would be better if you weren't in it. She beat me into a coma by the way but when I woke up I was a leopard too."
“We should probably get your energy high before we go hunting," Eli said to them.
"You are not coming." Toby stepped forward, trying to bar the door.
"Did I tell you I killed a leopard two days ago with my bare hands?" Eli asked his father. "I am the best hunter in the kingdom and I am going to be there with a few friends of mine so we can collect the bounty. You can do all the killing for all I care; I just need to have a believable tale about how I killed the black leopard for the songwriters to include in their songs." Dawn and Toby looked at each other for a short second, and he was allowed to tag along.
“I thought you killed a leopard yesterday?” Dawn asked on their way out.
"Let's not get caught up in semantics," Eli said.
"Then a leopard becomes a cat and a lion a dog, won't they?" Toby asked teasingly. Eli did not feel like responding. “I can’t wait to be rid of this form, do we stink?” he asked.
“Terribly.” Eli covered his nose.
"We can't smell it," Dawn said
“Simple tasks were nightmarish; do you know how long it took me to fix that door? Two weeks, two weeks if you can believe it.” Toby had always been one for complaining whenever he found a pair of idle ears.
“The hunting was fun.” Dawn chipped in.
Hunting had gotten more straightforward since they had turned into leopards; not having to cook before they ate was also a welcome bonus. Within thirty minutes of leaving the house, they had had their breakfast and were ready to hunt, but first, they had to find Evans and June. Using his scent, they retraced Eli's footsteps. His mother pointed out more than a few times how desperately he needed a shower and that being locked up was no excuse.
They were in the middle of The Forest when they stopped. Eli listened, and from a distance, he could hear Evans and June complaining. Toby poised to pounce, and Eli rebuked him.
“Hey guys, you looking for me?” Eli asked, jumping from the bushes. Evans and June were startled.
“Where have you been? We left you in charge of our bodies and you walk off on us, we could have been eaten or something.” Evans was mad.
“Yeah, sorry about that, but I’m pretty sure it was almost dawn when I left, also now that I think of it I might have fallen asleep right after you guys, sorry.”
“Where were you off to in the middle of the night?” June wasn’t pleased with him either.
"I sleepwalked to where I grew up and bumped into something. Our chances of succeeding on the hunt went up. Can I count on you guys to remain calm?" Eli asked sincerely. Evans and June nodded; they weren't sure if he was serious or not. "I need you guys to keep your cool. Can you do that?" they nodded again, but Eli wasn't reassured. He took their weapons. "Mother, father, you can come out now," Eli called, and two leopards slowly stepped forward from a bush they were sitting behind. Evans and June panicked, and before they knew it, they were climbing the closest tree.
"There are leopards behind you Eli," June shouted as she struggled with a tree trunk.
"Guys, this is why I was asking you not to panic; these are my parents. Mother, father, say hello to Evans and June." Eli said, introducing them.
“They can’t hear us.” Dawn pointed out.
“What do you mean they can’t hear you? I can hear you just fine.” Eli was getting frustrated.
"You can hear us because you have magic; we thought you knew this," Toby said. He was now sitting, looking up at Evans and June like they might make his next meal.
“Father, stop looking at them like that, you are making them more nervous. Back up a minute here, you are telling me I have magic and my thing is talking to animals?”
“No. you can do more than that, what have you been doing all these years if you don’t know what you can do?” Dawn asked.
“Is he talking to the leopards?” Evans asked June who was one branch below him.
"I think so," June answered in disbelief.
"I'm sorry, guys," Eli turned to Evans and June. "I thought you could hear them talk, seemingly, I'm the only one. Anyway, Evans and June, meet Toby and Dawn. Yes, they are from the story and I really don't want to go into details right now but currently, our interests are aligned, killing the black leopard transforms them back into people and allows them to leave The Forest. Let's go kill a black leopard; you all can catch up later." Eli was a little on edge, nothing like his parents to remind him he had a short temper. "Also, I just got informed I have magic." Eli walked to his weapons and picked them up. Evans and June descended from the tree and moved backward, their eyes on the leopards at all times. They picked up their weapons too and went to Eli's side.
"I have so many questions right now," Evans said, his eyes on the leopards.
“Me too.” June was almost behind Eli.
"Don't we all," Eli said, staring daggers at his parents.
“First things first, what is the plan here?” Evans was whispering.
"Yeah," June added almost inaudibly.
“We are not doing anything. These two are going to kill it for us then we are going to chop it up with our blades and claim the bounty, I would say they owe us that much.” Eli said.
"I'm behind that plan." June chipped in.
"Brilliant plan if you ask me," Evans said.
"Lead the way," Evans said to his parents. "I'm guessing you know where we can find the black leopard?" Toby and Dawn started, and Eli followed closely. June and Evans hung back a little.
Eli and his team had been walking for the better part of the morning. They could tell the sun was up, but they were so deep in The Forest that the rays could not penetrate. This was deeper than he had been before. At some point, he had gotten bored and hung back with June and Evans, letting his parents take the lead. They were walking silently when he heard a growl not associated with leopards. They stopped to listen. Evans confirmed it was the roar of the black leopard. His parents were ahead, circling something which was not visible from where they were. Eli started to advance, but June and Evans were hesitating. He couldn't blame them; possibly the most dangerous animal was just ahead of them. If he knew what was good for himself, he would sit still and let his parents deal with it. But that was not who he was. He was the guy who would walk into a fire, knowing it would burn.
"Give me your blade," Eli said to Evans, and he did not hesitate. “June, this might be the time I use that extra pair of hands. I need you to keep an arrow trained at the black leopard's heart, ready to shoot at all times. Don't miss, I believe in you." June nodded and hooked an arrow on her bow as Eli advanced and hid in a bush closest to his parents. Toby and Dawn had the black leopard at the center and were circling it viciously. The black leopard stood on the spot, and only its eyes moved. Under different circumstances, Eli could say that it was the most beautiful animal he had seen. Standing at the center, waiting for either of his parents to make a move, he could tell the animal was tired, but that did not, however, make it any less dangerous. Toby and Dawn made as if to attack a few times, but the black leopard did not move a muscle. It just eyed them with its cold eyes.
After about a minute of standing like that, Toby made a move and pounced for the black leopard’s neck. The black leopard saw him jump, caught him midair, and flung him to a tree trunk. Toby got back up a little unsteady, and Dawn attacked next. She sunk her teeth in the black leopard's hind leg, but it did not flinch. It turned lightning-fast and sank its claws into Dawn's back. Dawn screamed and let go of its leg. It flung her to another tree. Toby and Dawn continued attacking, and the black leopard did not spare them. Five minutes in, Toby and Dawn's coats were riddled with claw marks, blood, and dirt, yet the black leopard only had a few scratches. While Toby and Dawn seemed to falter at their steps, the black leopard seemed to still be in full strength.
Eli looked at Evans and June, and there was worry written all over their faces; his parents were losing. Eli gestured for June to move. He waited for a moment when the black leopard's back was on him and lunged blades first. He was about land a fatal blow when the leopard turned and punched him in the chest, sending him sprawling on the ground, out of breath. Toby and Dawn took the chance to attack the hind legs together, weakening it. Eli saw a one-in-a-million chance to attack, he looked around, and his blades were nowhere in sight. He leaped and landed on the leopard's back. Swiftly he grabbed its neck in a choke. "June, aim for the heart!" Eli shouted, lifting the fore legs in the air.
June's arms were trembling from the adrenaline in her veins. This was her chance; she had to do it right. She held the bow in her hand, and it would not still. The black leopard growled and scratched Eli's arms viciously. The claws bit into his flesh and ripped it, but his grip remained firm. If she did not do this, he was going to let go, and that would be the end of them. She forced herself to take deep breaths, and slowly her hands stilled. Aiming for the leopard's heart, she pulled and let go, closing her eyes as soon as the arrow was free.
She waited for a moment, and there was nothing but silence. She opened her eyes slowly, and she could not believe her eyes; she had hit the bullseye of all bullseyes. The black leopard lay on the ground unmoving, with Eli standing over it, blood dripping from the gashing claw marks on his arms. Something weird was happening with Eli’s parents; it looked as if they were having seizures while standing. Toby, or was it Dawn, June couldn’t tell, ran into The Forest, and the other followed. A moment later, she heard voices coming from that direction. Eli looked and immediately looked away, repulsed. "Somebody get them something to cover themselves, please." He shouted. They had returned to their human form.