FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

_The day was calm in the rainforest. Rain slowly began to downpour, creating a thin layer of fog along the shadowy floor. Tiny frogs perched themselves along the moss of a large tree root. Howling monkeys could be heard in the distance, sending low calls between the trees. All fell silent at the sound of a twig snapping.

Beneath the canopy of a young Strangler Fig sat a female Fox. She was digging, searching for something she buried there a few days prior. Her snout bathed in the dirt, sniffing and twitching with each scent she picked up. Clawing quickly, she reached her snout inside the shallow hole grasping hold of a dead rat. The young vixen carried her meal over to a puddle of water pooling off the leaves above. She lowered her head dipping the prey into the water, giving it a firm shake to rid it of excess dirt.

Laying the rat down, she gnawed at it to loosen the meat. There is a rule in the rainforest all animals must remember, and follow closely. Never, ever, let your guard down.

She stood leaving the rat's remains behind, as she turned around her eyes locked dead-on with a large male Bengal Tiger. The icy stare was enough to send any animal running in fear. The vixen was frozen unable to move, and thus a battle of wits began to form. The tiger took a step forward, emitting a low growl in his throat. She responded in kind; a step back, and a low hiss. A few more minutes passed with no signs of movement, until the tiger had enough of their little game.

He lunged at the vixen, nearly catching her in the hind legs as she jumped high. Using his back as ground she ran over him, leaping off with a mighty push before bolting into the underbrush. The tiger roared in frustration at just being out-smarted by a small fox. His body whipped around at lightning speed, charging in after her with muscles stronger than steel. Eyes locked at every twitch and turn the vixen made, the tiger gained on her with every bound. Being big has advantages, but being small often has even more of them. The fox scurried under a log darting inside an old fox den she left behind. Her claws scooped aside as much dirt as she could manage, digging her way out a few feet away from where the tiger would be.

The tiger stopped dead in his tracks, whipping his head around frantically trying to find the vixen. He swiped a paw against the soft Earth beneath creating a large gash in the soil at his frustration. After a moment he fell silent, squatting low against the ground to conceal himself from the fox. He kept his ears perked up for the slightest noise. The vixen's paws broke through the surface as she crawled out and began running. She didn't notice how fast she was going or how much noise was made, she just wanted to escape the tiger's deadly grasp. Naturally, his ears caught her charging through pools of water from the rain. He broke into a full charge in her direction, gaining ground faster than she could further the gap. Her options were running thin, just as she was letting herself give in to the chase she stumbled out into a colossal opening in the forest.

She shook her head in disbelief, before her in the very center stood an ancient tree. The bark was pale grey and brown, twisting in ribbon-like swirls all along the tree's length. The branches were twisted this way and that, no two looking nearly close to each other. The most stunning feature about the tree was the abundance of leaves all over each branch. Moss grew along every visible root, as well as drooping vines off the branches. Some of which were over one hundred feet long. The fox knew she had to move or she'd be dead for certain. She sprinted towards the tree, keeping her eyes and ears focused on the outskirts for any signs of movement. The tiger's growl could be heard echoing off every tree in the area. The vixen leapt over one of the tree's roots to hide behind it and was instantly slammed to the ground. Several roots broke free of the soft soil and began wrapping themselves around her hind legs. She cried in great fear for she thought this was how she was going to die. The roots slithered around her body, covering her hips and stomach, slowly moving towards her head. Her claws dug into the ground as hard as she could, trying to free herself from the tree's trap.

The tiger burst out of the clearing a moment later, charging straight for the crippled vixen. In the heat of the moment she stopped squirming and began whimpering to the tiger. She was trying to warn him about the tree's roots. He faltered in his run for a second hearing her cries, considering turning back. His falter caused him to catch one of the roots head-on in his front legs and chest knocking the wind out of him. The tiger fell forward over the root, nearly smashing his face into another one. The tree was quick to act, wrapping several large roots around his legs and hips pinning him to the floor. His teeth sunk deep into one of the closest roots causing it to bleed out a sour water-sap-like substance in his mouth. The tiger released his hold just as the root snapped, whipping him across the neck with a violent crack.

The vixen looked on in awe. She couldn't fight back in her condition, and she was even more surprised the tiger could. As the tree's roots started wrapping around their necks, they all went still. Both animals didn't know what to do, or what was going to happen. The roots began to pulse and glow a bright red color, quickly fading to blue as it trickled along the wood. The glow escaped into the ground, and from it grew a berry-like sack made from the tree's own flesh. It had the same glow as the roots moments before, pulsing and growing larger every second. The animals watched in horror as a large crack split down the middle of the sack, releasing a thick green sap slowly oozing around the roots. As it opened, the sack lowered to the ground, forcing the crack to enlarge and release a tiny animal to the soil.

It wriggled and stirred trying to lift itself up. The roots then released the tiger and the fox, both their attention trained on the mysterious figure born from the tree. The vixen stood up and walked over to it, sniffing the ground all around while keeping a cautious eye on the tiger. As she stared at the new creature fighting to stand, it fell back and looked at her. Two bright, wide beautiful eyes gazed back for the first time. Eyelids barely open enough to see who was there, the creature stood up on all fours and took a wobbly step towards her. The vixen looked over the animal, it seemed to have tiger-like features, but was small with pointed ears and thin limbs similar to a fox. Then it hit her, she whipped her head back at the tiger who was now only feet away gazing back at the newborn. The fox cried out in shock. She realized then what the tree had accomplished and why it caught them in a hold. The tree was magical, boasting the powers to hybridize animals at will. She looked at the tiger who seemed equally confused and lowered her head.

"This young one is our offspring..." Her voice shook.

The tiger hissed in disbelief. He was moments away from catching the fox as his prey, then by a bit of magic from a rare ancient tree, they were now the parents of this tiger-fox newborn. He could only observe the cub, not moving a muscle or making much of a sound. The vixen started to back away, turning her head to look the tiger straight in the face.

"She's your responsibility now." She hung on the last word as she turned quickly before taking off into the brush.

The tiger felt a pain in his chest, he couldn't possibly raise a cub on his own. As he looked upon the cub, she was watching helplessly where her mother had disappeared. Tears swelled in her eyes as the vixen abandoned her without a second look. He felt a tear drip to the ground as he walked over to the little cub, using one of his massive paws to cup around and pull the cub closer to him.

"I'll never let anything hurt you, my little Lyaga." It was then he discovered the cub was indeed female. He named her after his great grand-mother who was a Tiger-Lion hybrid created by the same ancient tree generations ago.

Lyaga stretched, slowly climbing into his arms keeping herself propped against his chest. She yawned and closed her eyes, dreaming of the day she'd see her mother again. As she slipped into a slumber, he kept watch over her throughout the night.

"I promise my Lyaga, I will raise you to be strong and fearless against the rainforest. You will have me looking out for you as long as I am breathing."_

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_ End of Prologue. _