PotA || Little Tiger

“I think you caught more fish than I did this time Sura.” Aladdin chuckled, looking back over his shoulder and pausing on the path to wait for the bear. It seemed she hadn’t been able to get the last of the fish scraps from her paws and was once again gnawing on something caught between her claws.

“Of course I did.” Suramya answered him after she was satisfied her paw was once again pristine. “You’re a good hunter my friend, but I’ve never seen someone as clumsy in the water as you.”

“Sure you have.” Aladdin laughed, although he did have a hard time thinking of anyone. It wasn’t his fault really; he loved the water, but it soaked into his mane and weighed him down considerably, making it much more difficult to move than usual.

“Alright, maybe Aerick, but that’s because he’s a princess.” Suramya chuckled to herself. She would never dare say it to the curly’s face, and respected the older male far more than she let on.

“Don’t let him...hear you...say that.” Aladdin said haltingly suddenly stopping and looking off the path into the trees with his ears perked up high. His eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed in confusion. “Do you hear that Sura?” He asked softly.

The bear blinked at him slowly before looking into the forest. Her nose was better than her ears, but she listened anyway, searching for any sound that seemed out of the ordinary enough to make her friend so concerned. At first there was nothing until quite surprisingly a loud mewling reached both of their ears.

“What in the name of Aippaq is that?” Suramya asked in utter confusion. She has never heard anything quite like it.

“I don’t know, but we’re going to find out.” Aladdin said with determination before stepping off of the path and into the trees.

“Aladdin! What if it’s a trap?” Suramya called after him before shaking her head and starting to lumber through the undergrowth behind the tokota. “It could be poachers trying to lure you in with weird noises.”

“I don’t think so.” Aladdin said quietly, but a hint of doubt crept into his voice. “It’s almost like a...mountain lion? But it’s different.”

“A mountain lion? Here?” Suramya scoffed at the idea, but had to admit he was right when another loud mew drew them closer.

The pair walked for half a minute more before Aladdin suddenly halted again, his fur bristling along his spine as he dropped his head. A chill crept up Suramya’s spine as she forced her way forward as well.

“Well. It’s not a mountain lion.” Aladdin said flatly, blinking slowly as he stared down at the little striped cat sitting on the grass in front of him. It was bigger than a full grown cat - perhaps the same size as Dash - but was quite clearly a cub; with too large paws, ears, and a stub like tail, it was adorable in a word. It had an orange coat like the brightest of tawny tokotas, struck through with thick black stripes.