Should Have Let Me Die

Chapter 182: I Swear It's Me!

Tigger and I started our way into the jungle deeper talking about different human things to help him get used to using the words. He understood some of the words and picked things up remarkably fast. I wondered if this one was similar to Greshaha, maybe he was another random rotating monster or something like that, but I had tried to ask him about it, but he had no idea what I was talking about so I dropped it.

"So these back paws are feet? Makes sense, they have different functions than the hands, unlike paws that all function in the same respects. What about my single tail? Is that still a tail, since you do not have one?"

"Yup, most of the other stuff is the same, but when we get around other humans you will have to learn to eat cooked food. There are more things but they will come with time and experience."

"That shouldn't be too hard, I don't really find raw meat that appetizing, and chasing down an animal and ripping its throat out just doesn't have the same exploration that it gave me before."

"Ya, that is the human in you and a bit of my own will that transfers over I think. There is no handbook to magic, so most of what I say is just what I have learned and the rest of us all guess."

"That sounds like how I live life. I was never taught to protect my family or to hunt, hunters took my mother. My father is not someone that will have anything to do with any of his spawn, but he is the Tiger God, Tarkir."

"Woah look at you go, big man! No wonder you were so damn big! You're a demigod! I have a pair of my own demigod children!"

"Have you been trying to kill them since birth?"

Both of us stopped in the middle of the jungle, and I turned to stare at Tigger with indignation.

"Are you crazy? I love my children more than anything else in the world! If anyone EVER tried to hurt them..." I let my words trail off as I closed the two Gates that had cracked open in my outrage.

"Wow, that is some scary feeling you give off, almost hard to breathe when im not in the heat of battle! Even in my pride, I can recognize your power!"

"Sorry, I get worked up about family and people talking about hurting them, but I guess you were talking about your own experience."

"Yes, Tarkir has made a sport out of hunting his children. He only let the strongest of us live, and he let us know that our lives were only by his grace."

Hmmm, I wasn't one to interfere in the natural order of things, but I did need to go meet my wives at some point. My anger was done, but there was some serious talking that would be done by me and a group of women that we're going to do some listening to. I would have to bring Tigger with me for now, but I would be coming back; Gods were not of the natural order, and now that I knew what was going on, I could hardly let it slide by me.

"Okay, so I need to go talk to my wives, but I don't want to leave you she and the cub all alone. Let's go take a trip to your cave and get them and then we will head to the port. Does that work for you? After hearing about how Tarkir has been running the place, it makes me think I need to go have a little talk with him."

"Well, if you don't like what he is doing then you will have to go higher up the food chain of gods on this island."

"What? How many gods are crammed on this rock?"

"Five major ones and my father are probably one of the best out of the five. The others are cruel even by the standards of one that rips people's throats out for a sport."

"Oh! This is sounding more and more like it could be really fun! Ha! I will do some vacationing and God ass-kicking! Well, maybe these two weeks wouldn't be too bad. What do you say? Wanna help me clean up the forest?"

I got a big toothy grin in response, and that was good enough for me. I told him to take the lead and I would follow. I was surprised at how little wildlife there was and that they were all of the normal sizes, except for a massive slug we saw along the way. Tigger had no name for it and the only descriptive words for it other than it not tasting good, but I guess you didn't know unless you tried.

Thankfully we were heading in the general direction of where the port was. I could still see the water as I followed along behind Tigger, and soon we reached a rock outcropping facing the sea. Both of us stopped and looked at each other, and then it hit me.

Tigger wasn't a three-meter tall white tiger.

"Hey, Tigger, umm, how do you want to play this?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're not a tiger anymore! Well, not a Giant one with paws and such. I think"

*ROAAAR!*

"Oh, look It's my she! Isn't she a looker!" Tigger said with a dreamy voice, but I had to shove Tigger out of the way, with two Gates snapping open.

I bent back at a wicked angle and closed a Gate as I slapped up into the tigress's stomach as she sailed over me. The strike from my right hand knocked all the wind off of her sails, pushing her up as she flashed. She had come out of the cave and charged us, but Tigger had a pup so this was normal.

The light faded, and I caught the small Tiger-Kin woman on my way back up from my incline, but something had caught my eye, shit. There was always one more thing to go wrong. I tossed Tigger his woman and started to run after the cub.

If they could catch up, great, if they couldn't It wouldn't matter, it would be dangerous for the parent to try to restrain him, and could harm the kid. Plus, this was one hundred percent my fault, so I need to get the kid. The problem here was that the little white cub had run into the jungle, not down the coast. 

A minor problem, but I had no idea what was in here, so I snapped all three gates open. That would keep the small predators still with fear as I passed, and others would think twice before attacking. Still, this was a Giant jungle of God and Demigod beasts, there had to be stronger things than me, but I welcomed the challenge.

I ran and jumped, but I was unfamiliar with terrain so it was slow going, even with the Gates wide open. It was impossible to run more than five meters without having to jump up and over things, and the ground was wet and it was getting worse, but that made the tracks easier to follow. Then I started to feel something watching me, not as strong, but I could feel the violence coming from the aura.

I redoubled my efforts, but the ground was getting worse and even the trees were damp, making it impossible to use them, plus I would destroy them. I made sure not to run through or break anything, I was just here to rescue the kid. No point in making a mess and pissing off the locals.

Then I saw the cub ahead, stuck in some mud, so ran for him, just needing to touch him, but I was slammed into and taken off my feet. Hot pain burned in my arm and side, that fucking hurt! A black panther of the normal size hand just tried to kill me, but it was so far from normal, the bloodthirst was almost palpable in the air. 

'Nina! Can I get some help?'

No answer. That's right, fuck. This wasn't good, my right arm was bleeding and so was my side. I had lost my focus for a second, and almost paid for it with my life and I still might. I had eyes on the panther, but it was slowly creeping towards me, getting reading to pounce.

My right arm was useless, and the gouge in my side was pretty deep, but I got ready, trying to shift to a dragon, but I couple focus on it or something. It wasn't working so I had to rely on my fists, but I was down to one and things were getting hard to see. The panther must have sensed my weakness, and picked up its pace, but then the sound of Tigger and his tigresses calls scared him off.

"Over here!" I called out as loud as I could, and then looked down at my arm. 

Woah! That almost made me sick to see the real mess my right arm was, but the hand was still there. Plus there was more blood in me than in the group, and there was one thing I had to do before I passed out. I walked over to the cub and waded into the mud, touching him with my right and using my left to move it. 

That was the last thing I remembered because the flash blinded me and I passed out from the pain.