~Reita

"Hey Reita. Wanna meet up this evening?" my friend Miku asked cheerfully. I looked at her. "Today, I can't. I haven't eaten in weeks. I need to hunt, Miku." She stared at me and I could see a small flash of deep blue in the Husky's eyes. "Well, be careful out there. Have you heard about those bear sightings? You'll never know what you run into, Reita." "I guess you're right. Well, hopefully I'll catch something and not run into any bears. See ya tomorrow."

I sighed as I walked home, suddenly stopping. My senses were active, something was following me. I sniffed the air around me, listening closely. I smiled when I realised it was a sweet smelling female perfume that was giving me away who was following me. "Only a cat like you can follow me at such a pace that I can't hear you." I turned around, only to be tackled by a not too big yet heavy tiger. I smiled, it licked my cheek and I barked softly. The tiger crawled off of me, allowing me to sit up. "So, how long have you been following me, Ruki?" "About ten minutes." the tiger spoke. "I'm surprised that you're not captured and thrown into a circus yet, Ru." I said jokingly. Ruki laughed and said: "If they want me in a circus they'll have to catch me first." "Can I now see you without the whiskers and fur? It's getting annoying." Ruki's eyes changed into his natural brown, as well did his fur shrink back into his skin, leaving perfectly smooth skin behind. He smiled and I helped him up, taking his hand.

"Can I go hunting with you?" Ruki asked me. I shrugged. "Sure. Just don't get in the way, don't get behind and don't get killed." Ruki nodded cheerfully and followed me to the woods, hugging my arm. I held him close and kissed his cheek. "You know, Ruki. You're the only one who is allowed to hunt within my grounds." He giggled and blushed. "Let's go." I said as I slowly allowed my body to change, Ruki following my actions.

I sniffed around, listening closely. Ruki hid next to me, in the high grass. I looked at him, seeing him slowly sneaking up on a rabbit. I started chasing a deer, catching up with it and going in for the kill. However, my dinner was roughly interrupted by a loud roar behind me. I turned around, facing a bear. I growled and the bear roared, getting on its hind legs. I growled louder and the bear grabbed my killing. I charged, earning a rough bite into my back. I screamed when I felt the blood seeping down my sides. I looked at the bear, saw it raise its claw and began preparing for the attack, when I heard two animals growl and roar at each other. I opened my eyes and saw Ruki on top of the bear, biting it in both shoulders and the neck. The bear threw Ruki off, roared at the both of us and ran off. Ruki ran up to me, clear concern in his eyes. "Reita! Are you okay?! What did he do to you?!" I slowly tried to get up, only to fall back down. Ruki's tiger appearance disappeared and his soft hands pulled me up.

"That was some fight, huh?" A voice behind us asked. Ruki and I looked up, seeing an owl and a hawk sitting on a tree. Ruki frowned. "Since when do you guys hunt within Reita's territory? I thought you had your own grounds, Aoi." The hawk spread its wings and soon our friend Uruha was standing in front of us. "We help ourselves to the fruits of all of your grounds, Ruki. Even to yours. We came to see if the bear has invaded Reita's grounds too. Apparently it did, huh Reita?" I growled and Aoi jumped in. "Calm down, puppy. We didn't come to start fights. We came to warn Ruki, actually." Ruki looked at the owl. "Warn me?" "For the bear. He set his eyes on your territory. Since you have the most crowded areas, plus the waterfall and the river. Bears eat salmon, and you have the salmon run. He wants what you have, so if you don't want to lose it...prepare to protect your hunting grounds." Ruki nodded and helped me up. "Let's get Reita home first." Uruha said as he and Aoi carried me home.