1.3

Inside the cave, the larger one roared with the intention of subduing the first opponent who would neither duck his head nor stop baring his teeth at him. A verbal warning that could prevent a direct confrontation.

"Know your place!!!" angrily growled the beast in his language.

The little feline opened his eyes as wide as he could. It looked as if it had taken root in the ground. She refused the thought a few times, but could no longer refuse to acknowledge who was in front of her. The water could camouflage the smell, but the vision did not lie to her. The tone and timbre of the invader's growl aroused a whole storm of feelings. Sensations as difficult to confuse as life itself. Surprise, happiness, nostalgia and disappointment ended up transformed into desolation. She realized that, even though she was in front of her own father, those grunts meant tragedy. They told her that she had lost the recognition of someone precious, as well as that she had lost the value of her existence as a daughter.

On the other hand, at the end of the cave, the little boy was drooling from such a deep state of concentration that he hadn't even breathed. With heartbeat dropping, the infant justified that grunt accompanied by silence and delay.

"If the guardian growled and still doesn't attack, maybe it's much weaker than us and is just threatening us?" the little one thought. "If I manage to demonstrate my willingness to fight through threats, then maybe I could intimidate and win the fight without having to kill him, yes!".

The infant, imitating his opponent, reciprocated the rabid roar and bared his teeth even more. From within the darkness a sharp impact intercepted him.

In response to this confrontation, the even more offended beast with one of its claws struck the boy who was imposing on it and then roared again proposing to stay on the ground.

The little feline ducked his head along with his ears, he recoiled his body with concern when he saw how his companion had been assaulted so violently. Immediately, his blood boiled inside his veins, his father abused and roared on the floor at the creature that had helped him so much so far. The one that had found him during the day and carried him on his head so that he could see in the distance. The same one that so far had always helped him in his tireless search. How could it not do so when witnessing such a moment? Of course, it wasn't necessary to go to the extreme of giving the attack signal either, but at least to verbally intervene.

"I ended up taking the first hit. I was wrong. excruciating pain! That's not weaker than me, it never was... It was my carelessness to think of the enemy's life and not wait for the signal. argg! This wouldn't have happened to my father, or my master, or any of those thinking of killing me. If only I hadn't been so focused on being good... I can still stand up... I'm not dead. Threats won't mean anything...", the little boy said to himself as he lay dying on the ground.

Within seconds, the infant was back on his feet and placed his spear in front, the beast once again raised his right claw and exposed the edge of the inside of the curvatures of his fingernails.

The five cruel executioners vowed to bestow death with the next blow. Already the infant's skin had been cut in five until even the bones of his arm and ribs were left, the flesh unprotected from fur and already battered, almost falling to pieces on the floor as blood splattered the walls. His father, or his friend. It was the choice for the little feline who tried to verbally intervene, but was ignored. She kept her head and body down in submission, but also realized it was the perfect position to jump. At the last second, she made the decision her heart was racing and emitting the characteristic "signal" sound as she charged as fiercely as she could.

The beast was unable to lower its right claw in the direction of the infant. In response to the attack of the small feline of its own kind, it was forced to change its movement and first get rid of the aggressor and then accomplish its goal. But in the chaotic environment the beast noticed his carelessness, even so, it was already too late to be able to do anything.

"The actions. Yes!!!" the infant said to himself when he heard the signal.

"To fight is to take life and death by the hand as you dance in a field full of possibilities. If you want to learn to dance within such a tempest, don't focus on the possibilities, focus on your body and don't be afraid to improvise."

Heroclades' words were remembered by the little boy, as his body responded to the rhythm of the sound of battle.

Thrusting his entire being forward, the rustic spear was thrust against the chest of the distracted beast. The point of the well-sharpened horn pierced the fur that in hardness was compared to steel. It pierced the flesh, hit the ribs and then, perhaps because of the inclination, slipped out and continued its way into the interior of the colossal body, reaching the heart.

Opening his mouth, the infantryman gulped in a mouthful of air to clench his teeth and keep pushing, even as the blood of his enemy tried to tear his grip on his weapon.

The desperate throbbing of an organ on the verge of shutting down spread through the place. Bang, bang... bump... The infant's bloodied hands, though they were holding the spear as tightly as he could to keep it from slipping, seemed to merge with the inside of the beast. The elongated trunk became a throbbing organ. If Rey could see at that moment, he was sure he would see the dying heart of his enemy in his hands. No matter how hard he squeezed his fingers, the unpleasant sensation would not go away. It stayed there. As if its only intention was to make him feel guilty.

"The strength in me is fading and the spear in your hands is responsible," the heartbeat said. Still, the little boy was already determined to give his life, instead, not to let go and keep pushing.

The pain in her chest was immense, but the frequency of the cry the little furry one emitted when she was slashed by his claws grew larger and more hurtful. Memories of the same cry of one of the hatchlings she had abandoned hurt her heart in a worse way than it could have, a spear thirty times larger and ignited into flames. The beast, less blinded by hunger and irritability, surrendered all its will to fight as it turned its face back to the little furry one suffering on the ground. She glanced, sniffed and then screamed at the top of her lungs, what could be described as a baby's cry.

For reasons beyond Rey's control, the huge invader roared with all the power of his rage, yet he did not let go of his weapon. He couldn't stop the puffs of air, he was losing his concentration and calm. He didn't count that it took so long to kill something alive.

"I want to go assist her. She is suffering," he said to himself in desperation, as he also heard the little girl suffering. The infant screamed and tried to keep pushing, even as it choked on the spurts of blood that shot from between the entrails of the huge carnivorous beast.

The furry little thing used the fine frequencies of her throat to communicate agony with every breath. When she closed her eyes, she could return to the past, that place where a comfortable den sheltered her. Where everything sparkled and she could see her mother, a father and siblings rejoicing with joy. They touched each other to feel affection, to build intimacy, to share smells in a game of happiness. But when she opened her eyelashes, she saw the opposite. In a not so ornate and cruel present, something caught her attention. Her father's sad face, the one he wore when there was nothing to eat and they had to spend the night on an empty stomach. He was crying too, and his crystallized eyes showed something she hadn't expected. That her dad would be disappointed in himself for having had to perform such a low act and at the same time happy to be able to find an end to his suffering.

Indeed, compassion took the place of necessity when the noble guardian of Paradise saw the situation he had brought about. Two offspring of different species badly wounded, almost on the verge of death. The animal felt useless, he had always seen himself as an incompetent and cowardly parent.

"It is not yet too late to do good... I hope you can forgive me and find honor in my sacrifice" he said.

With what little life he had left he decided to lie down in front of the entrance to his cave and stay awake until the last beat of his heart.

In the process, Rey sensed that his opponent had no intention of continuing to fight. He listened as the beast turned and brought his spear, which seemed to catch on the way with a rock and break into pieces.

It had all been very strange for Rey and although he still could not see, using his hands he searched the ground in the hope of finding something sharp that could help him defend himself.

The animal, with its gigantic body, without removing the spear from its chest, walked to the exit and, after lying down tired on the ground, covered the entrance so that no other invader would star in the slaughter that he was about to carry out. Watching the rain to wipe away his tears, he felt everything fall into darkness until after taking a last breath he felt no more.

"Will I have made the best decision?" the beast wondered uncertainly.

The little boy was still using his hands, like a blind man searching for his staff on the ground, for he was reluctant to believe in what he could not see. With his fingers bathed in the blood that still pulsed, Rey could not erase the unpleasant sensation conveyed by the beating of a heart in agony. Suddenly, the metallic smell of the red liquid became light and illuminated inside the darkness of the gloomy place.

Next to eyes that could see, a mechanism in the depths of the little one was triggered. In him was awakened the impulsive urge to take the opponent's blood to the sages. To taste the liquid, to swallow and consume it.

Rey had not felt such a thing in the past.