The White Tiger
582 Words
Schwarz makes his way through the forest easily, not even bothering to use the map from this distance. After all, the White Tiger would surely move.
He knew the pine trees told of where he was, and that was all that mattered.
Stepping over another small hill, a cave dwelling enters his vision. It was the third he'd come across, but it was worthwhile to check them all.
Every single thing you can learn might help you track your target.
He steps into the black, relying on his sense of smell to direct him towards anything of interest while throwing small pebbles to avoid the walls.
Of course, the lack of light prevented him from dodging the jagged stones littering the otherwise soft floor, but his well-callused feet remained in tact as he trudged onward.
After what felt like an eternity- though it was only actually a minute or so- of blackness and the smell of damp stone, the smell of dandruff invades his sinuses.
It was unpleasant, that was certain, but it might also be from the White Tiger...
So, he follows the scent, still careful to avoid slamming into anything particularly dangerous.
His nose leads him only slightly further into the cave, directly to the source, but it was covered...
Strange, he thought. Animals don't normally cover fur...
He reaches for it, finding a coarse cloth.
It was a blanket, much like the one he had atop his bed even now.
It was human.
Run, he mentally ordered himself while standing up.
Schwarz wasn't nearly fast enough.
"What are you doing here?" a voice asks from a place much closer to the entrance than Schwarz was.
Sheepishly, Schwarz steps forward, only to realize that whoever it was clearly couldn't seem him anyway.
"I was searching this cave for an animal," he yells back, purposefully leaving out the kind.
"Ah, yes... The White Tiger, I presume," the voice says, somehow generating a smug appearance with nothing but his tone.
How would he-.
"How would I know, you're probably wondering," he states, his form coming alight with a white glow. "I'm the only animal here."
There, standing less than twenty feet from Schwarz, was a White Tiger pan. His smirking mouth showed off brilliant white fangs, fur ran all the way from his back to his tail- though it avoided his face and chest- and his eyes were an unnatural shade of yellow only befitting a holy creature.
And yet he was a pan, and, if you ignored the white glow- something that was probably just magic- he wasn't particularly odd either.
True, being a White Tiger pan was unbelievably rare, but...
Well, it's still my assignment to protect him... he acknowledges with a frown.
"My village tasked me with protecting the 'White Tiger', and they never assigned an ending, so... Am I supposed to just live with you?"
"Welcome to Nacah's domain, Barat," he says, giving a sweeping gesture to the cave around him.
"Barat?" Schwarz asks in obvious bewilderment.
'Nacah' slumps slightly, looking at him in slight annoyance. "It translates to West, referencing where it appears you came from," he says with a touch of annoyance in his tone.
Schwarz steps forward, offering a bow to Nacah. "Call me Schwarz."
"Alright, Schwarz," Nacah says, placing a hand atop his guests head. "Since you're here, I have some things to show you."
A white light spreads from his palm, reaching across Schwarz's body in a somewhat dimmer glow.
"Let's get started."
- Writer
