Dania

"This is a strange creature indeed," Roth thought to himself. Never before in his 85 or so years had he come across anything like her. She was definitely feline. But she was also not feline. She was similar to his people, the Meh-teh, but she was much too small. Her fur was too soft and she had a tail. Yes, she was something new. But what?

Roth knew as soon as he'd seen her that first day that he would have to find out what she was. He could tell by the way she'd watched him from the trees that she was curious; and being curious she would probably try and figure him out as well. A plan began to form in his mind. He was fairly certain that she would follow. Watching her would tell him him only so much about her, but a visit to her home would reveal volumes. So he would lure her to him and if he was lucky he might be able to time it so that a few of his men could catch her away from her home and they could see how she lived. This would tell them if she were dangerous or not. As leader of the Meh-teh, it was his job to protect his people. He needed to know.

Ha! Keep them safe! That was funny. Nothing in the Forest was a danger to them. His people were a gentle people, but they were a strong people. When they time came, they could be a formidable adversary. But if this thing were dangerous, he would need to know nonetheless. He would find out.

Upon reaching the Meh-teh, Roth sent his two best trackers to find out where this she-creature was from and if she were dangerous or not. Roth would wait with some others in a clearing, hoping she would be curious enough to come looking for him. It didn't matter how long it took, he would wait. He was a patient Meh-teh.

A full night passed, and the next day was almost over when he finally saw her at the edge of the clearing. He couldn't help but smile to himself, he'd known she would come. And because she was here, she wasn't at her home; and if she weren't home, she couldn't stumble on his men.

Roth locked eyes with this creature and he could see that she was intelligent. He could also see that she didn't like him very much. This didn't bode well. An intelligent creature who didn't like you could mean lots of trouble. And what if she were not the only one? Several of these things would be bad news. Roth held her attention for as long as he could, smiling the entire time. He refused to let her know that she had gotten to him.

She broke the eye contact and scanned her surroundings. Damn, she was smart. When she returned her gaze, he could see the hatred in her eyes.

Roth finally stood and signaled to the Meh-teh that it was time to return to the Forest. Their mission was accomplished. Initially, they headed into the Forest to her left. He wanted to let her know that they were not a threat to her so he had them head directly away from her. As they headed back into the Forest, she darted back inside and was gone in a flash of grey fur. Roth knew that if his men weren't careful, that she would catch them. Who knew what would happen then?

Almost a day and a half later, as sunset was approaching, the two men Roth sent out came back, and they were carrying the creature. Nothing could have upset Roth more than this. He was furious! They were sent to spy on this thing's home; to learn about her, to determine if she were dangerous. They should not have brought her back. Were they able to determine if she was dangerous? And if she were dangerous, how much so? Roth suspected that she didn't like him very much already, and now she'd been taken against her will.

Anos and Gynon, who were the two that Roth sent to explore her home, explained that from what they'd seen before she arrived, that they didn't think she was dangerous. She had no weapons of any kind and the animals weren't afriad to go near her dwelling. They'd seen her come down from the trees to get a drink of water and when she screamed, they had panicked. Gynon threw a rather large stump he'd found and hit her in the head with it. She was out in an instant. They hadn't known what to do so they'd brought her back with them.

As angry as Roth was, he knew that they didn't comprehend the scope of what they'd done. This thing was an unknown. Without information about her, there was no way to make any kind of intelligent decision.

So for now, they would bind her hands and feet. That would have to do for now. On second thought, her tail would need to be bound as well. For all he knew, her tail was dangerous as well. Now all that remained was to wait for her to awaken.

The moon was halfway across the sky when she finally opened her eyes. Her eyes . . . . her eyes were filled with an intense fury which cooled down into a light curiosity. Shortly after dawn, Rogh had one of the women, Agna, prepare a meal of nuts and greens and take it to the creature. She proved to be ungrateful, drinking only the water, not touching any of the food. The she-creature did this for two more days.

It occurred to Roth that she may not eat as they do. Her canines were long and pointed. Was it possible that she ate meat? What a disgusting thing! There was no way on Earth that they would kill an animal for her to eat. None. But they couldn't let her die either. The only viable option would be to allow her into the brush and hope she could find some rodent or small animal. That would have to do. Anything more and they would risk her escape. He would give her some room to move, but she wasn't getting to the treeline.

Roth went to her late on the evening of the second day and asked her if she ate meat. But she didn't understand. For a brief instant he thought he saw sadness in her eyes, as if some new revelation had just occurred to her. But it was gone now and he wasn't entirely sure it had ever really been there.

The next morning Roth placed a collar and leash on her that he's spent part of the night making from vines and some barks of trees. Once it was on, he unbound her. No sooner than she was undone, she took off for the treeline. Roth had to pull her back, causing her to land on her back. It was important that she know how far she could and could not go. He didn't want her to get hurt. He fully realized that it would take time before she came to believe that. But she kept trying to get away. And as much as it pained him, Roth kept pulling her back, each time resulting in her feet coming out from under her and her landing on her back. Around mid-morning, she finally gave up and gave him a hateful glare. He knew that she could be a dangerous one.

Part of his reasoning for putting her on the leash was so that she could move around. The other part was so that she could catch something to eat if it came near her; she clearly was not going to eat their kind of food. She would have starved had Roth not moved her to the edge of the clearing where she could get behind a bush or two. It didn't take her long before she'd killed a rabbit. She had gotten it to come over, held it in her lap and petted it for a moment. And then, without warning, she sank her teeth into its neck and ripped it out.

She was a killer, no doubt about it now.

Roth had to know if she were dangerous to the Meh-teh or not. He implored her to talk to him...to tell him something. But he may as well have been talking to the trees. No, that's not true. He was sure that they trees could have communicated better with him than she was. The Meh-teh and the trees knew each other.

He waited until she'd finished eating before he even thought to approach her. If she couldn't understand him, then he would have to teach her. Pointing to himself, he said, "Roth." He then pointed to her and said nothing. He hoped that she would understand. Again and again, he would point to himself while saying his name, and then at her with what he hoped was a questioning look on his face. Eventually she said, "Dania."

So her name was Dania. It was not a name familiar to him, but he liked it nonetheless. Roth then spent some time teaching her the meaning of "yes" and "no." Roth was able to discern that she didn't eat fruits and greens as the Meh-teh did, she ate meat instead. It was a practice that he didn't particularly like, but he instructed Agna to not bring her food anymore. Dania would have to kill her own meat. Roth and the Meh-teh would not be a part of it.

What was he to do with this creature? He knew her name, but nothing else about her. Where she came from or who she was remained a mystery. He knew that she could be dangerous; but so could anyone when they were cornered. The question of how dangerous was yet another mystery that needed solving. Roth finally came to the determination that if he could teach her to speak, then it may be possible for them to come to some sort of understanding. She was certainly intelligent enough.

He would take things slowly and he would be smart about it. He would use the trees to his advantage. Dania loved the trees and would possibly be more willing to cooperate if she were allowed in them every now then. Anos was given instructions to bring the longest rope they had. He was going to let her into the trees.

Dania was looking much healthier the next time that Roth saw her. Meat really did do her well. Without wasting time, he taught her how to say the words "tree" and "climb." The Meh-teh did not climb trees and he must have looked rather stupid trying to mimic this action. He certainly felt that way. But Dania understood his meaning. He attached the longer leash to her collar and instructed her to climb into the trees.

Dania wasted no time and began to climb the nearest tree. And to Roth's surprise, she was careful not to go to the end of the leash. He understood that she knew what would happen if she were up in the air and came to the end of it. She would fall. But still, Dania spent the better half of the morning jumping from limb to limb, and sometimes from tree to tree. The Meh-teh were amazed at how she never seemed to get tangled. They had gathered around to watch and were sure that she would forget and, literally, be at the end of her rope. There were a few scares when she would be in mid-air and the leash would tighten. But she would twist and find another branch to land upon.

But it had to come to an end. If he were going to use the trees to coerce her into cooperating, then it had to be a privilege he could take away at any moment and it could not be one she enjoyed unless she were "good." He wanted to try something. If he were to snatch, he knew that she would come back. But would happen if there was just a gentle tug? He tried it. Dania looked back and, at first, did nothing. Roth tugged again and still got no response.

He tugged a third time, just a little harder, and she glared at him. Keeping the rope taut, he stared right back into her eyes. He was in charge here and she would have to learn this. She relented and allowed herself to have the shorter leash put back on her.

She never took her eyes off of his and the look of hatred never left her face. This look told Roth that if she ever escaped, it may not end well for him.

Roth couldn't explain why, but he felt the need to make peace with Dania. And when you thought about it, it made sense: She could be an ally and she had to know things that they did not. But how could he make this peace with her if they could not communicate? He would have to teach her, of course. And that's what he was doing now, but at what cost? Would she be willing to make peace after being held captive?

Over the next cycle of the Moon, Roth spent the mornings allowing dania up into the trees. Up there she was a thing of beauty. Up there she was in her element. She was the Alpha up there. But it always had to come to an end, and always she gave him that "I'm going to kill you" look. Afterwards, Roth would spend time teaching her how to speak. She was a quick and eager learner, absorbing most of what was presented to her. By the end of the Moon's cycle, Dania could understand most of what the Meh-teh were saying and could communicate a great deal of her needs and wants. When she made it to a point where she could converse with Roth, she did.

"Roth, why Dania here?"

He pondered the question for a moment and responded, "We thought you might be dangerous and we had to find out. We know you can be, but WILL you be is another matter."

"Dania want go home," Dania said. She thought to herself that she no longer wanted to kill Roth. Most of the time. Just when he made her come down from the trees.

"I can't let you do that."

"Dania no like." She took that back, she wanted him dead and she wanted him dead right now. Fury raged within her and she lunged forward at Roth. She felt the leash tighten but she did not stop. She pulled against it with all her might, determined to get at this beast who kept her locked up. A look of surprise swept across both of their faces as the leash snapped, releasing Dania to do her worst.

She was on top of Roth in half an instant, tackling him to the ground and clawing at his face and biting into his muscular shoulders. He let out a scream of pain as she sank her teeth in. Roth didn't know if it was instinct or something else, but he grabbed this tiny woman and flung her off of him. She landed on her feet, his blood still running from her mouth.

"Do. Not. Follow. Me," was all she said and then into the trees she went and was gone before any of the other Meh-teh could intervene.

Roth lay on the ground too shocked to move and strangely aroused at the same time. What was Dania?