Khumta: Prince of Paradise

Chapter Two

Sleep came easily to the four tired tigers.

Khumta always liked when his cubs fell asleep easily. He loved seeing them awake, of course, but not when he needed to rest. The more energy he had for his next hunt, the better.

The huge old cat curled up to sleep, his cubs snuggled next to him. Abhay slept like a rock, as usual. Humans or leopards might as well have avoided him because he looked like he was dead. Isha had rolled over onto her back and started twitching in her sleep. Jayanta growled somewhat at a phantasm in his dreams, then buried his head in his father’s fur.

Khumta sniffed the air around the secluded grove. His cubs had recognized this place when he brought them to it, leading him to believe that their mother had given birth and started raising them there. He kept bringing them up in that area to keep them comfortable.

Several deep breaths confirmed that the only creatures in the area were creatures which belonged there. Comforted by the thought, Khumta lowered his head onto his paws and closed his eyes. He welcomed sleep with sheathed claws and a closed mouth…

The daylight streamed jubilantly through the jungle.

Khumta, younger, his muzzle scars recently healed, prowled through the undergrowth. He wouldn’t hunt until later. For now, he had to actually find something, like a herd of deer, maybe even a boar. Nrrjhakh, he might even catch a rhino.

As he contemplated the possibilities, the wind shifted, and a welcome scent breezed past his nostrils. A herd of gaur, giant bull-like animals which didn’t wander into his territory often. He knew that they would definitely bring in enough food for at least a full night cycle.

Hunting time had come early.

Khumta was upwind of the gaur. They couldn’t smell him. Crouching in the brush, he locked eyes on one of the gaur, a foolish youngster, and waited for it to wander closer.

A long time passed, and the gaur still didn’t notice him. Khumta decided that it was time to make his move. Slowly, very slowly, the tiger crept forward, making sure that he made not a single sound. He watched with anticipation boiling in his veins as the young gaur ambled further from the herd. Khumta had to make this quick. Gaur often retaliated whenever they knew they were being hunted. If he didn’t kill this one fast, he’d have to abandon the hunt and search for something different.

The juvenile gaur lowered its head and grazed, unaware of the impending predator.

Then, the tiger struck. He sprinted out of the leaves and pounced on the gaur from behind. The gaur snorted and let out an ear piercing whistle. Khumta growled angrily, knowing that this would call all of the attention to him. He sank his claws into his prey and clamped his jaws down around the calf’s throat.

The herd quickly turned towards Khumta. The calf, knowing the tiger was distracted, wildly shook the big cat off of his back. As the herd collectively snorted and tossed their horns, Khumta knew that this hunt was all for naught. He snapped his teeth at them and ran back into the forest.

Hungry and frustrated, Khumta wandered towards the edge of his territory to mark his boundaries again. But while he walked, he heard something he never thought he’d hear; the cries of tiger cubs.

Was his mate nearby? It was possible. Sometimes, tigresses had territories within male tigers’ territories, mainly to make sure that other males couldn’t mate with them. Khumta didn’t want to anger her too much; tigresses defended their cubs relentlessly.

Khumta’s lips curled away from his teeth, and he opened his mouth wide. He very clearly detected his cubs, but the scent of his mate was unusually stale. He guessed that maybe she had gone to hunt the gaur he had tried to kill earlier.