Page 7 of Tiger's Trek
“Iriko? Where is he?”
I’m not sure where I am. I’m still blind. But I know I’m in a tree. Look up, Stacia. Can you see me?
“It’s definitely him,” Stacia announced. “He said he’s in a tree. Do you see him?”
They began scanning the trees, but they couldn’t make out Iriko’s form—a task that should have been easy, Nik thought, considering the man was huge and nearly naked.
It’s odd trying to look for yourself through the eyes of another, Iriko mused as Nik and Stacia continued walking back and forth in the forest, searching for any sign of him. Then, finally, it was Iriko who said,Stop! There. The tall tree with the broken limb hanging from the top. Do you see me? I’m halfway up, near the trunk.
Iriko had suspected he was a tiger, based on the fact he had claws and pads where fingers should be, and when he ran his tongue in his mouth, he could feel the sharp points of fangs. But seeing his old enemy looking back at him through Stacia’s eyes and knowing that was him nearly made him sick.How had this happened?he wondered. Had he inadvertently given the tiger control? Would he be forever stuck in this form just as Veru and Stacia had been?
“Where?” Nik asked, shading his eyes.
“I see him,” Stacia said, then gasped, covering her mouth. “Incredible! Iriko,you’re... a tiger!”
And by your conversation with Nik, and the fact that I can see feet and hands when you look down, I’m assuming you’re human.
“Yes, I...” Stacia squeezed her arms, then touched her face. “Itappears that I am.”
Then I’m happy for you. Iriko was surprised to find he truly was happy for her. His mother had been right. The tigers were not something to be trifled with. A person should be prepared to take on the responsibility of such a weighty calling. Stacia and Veru had enough to worry about already. They didn’t need to bear the mantle of protector of his people too.
“Thank you, Iriko.”
You’re welcome.
Iriko thought he could hear the words she didn’t say. Words like, “I’m sorry aboutyou,” or “I wish I knew how to help,” and “I don’t like seeing others shouldering a burden while I am relieved of such.”
He understood. When he’d first met the tsarevnas, he’d felt an immediate kinship. Like him, they were stuck. They just wanted to be rid of the burden, of the responsibility. The others couldn’t possibly grasp what the three of them were going through.
If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, would you mind helping me find my way down?Iriko asked.
“Of course,” Stacia answered, with a quick nod of the head. Iriko wondered then how long the two of them had been staring silently at each other, lost in thought.
Well, he amended,I suppose the two of us were just staring at me. What an odd thing.
Iriko was surprised when instead of simply standing below the tree and looking up at him, Stacia actually placed her hands on the trunk and began to climb. Nik watched from below and shook his head, as if knowing he couldn’t have stopped her if he tried. There were a few times Iriko worried when she chose handholds that he wouldn’t have selected for himself, but then he guessed that her weight was much lighter than his own. She only slipped once, though, and soon she was by his side. That’s when he got a really good look at what he’d turned into.
Iriko’s tiger form was not nearly as frightening through Stacia’s eyes as it had been through his own, especially now, when it wasn’t attacking. Stacia reached out a hand as if to place it on his shoulder, then hesitated. “May I?” she asked politely.
If you like, Iriko answered.
“He’s a beauty,” she said as she patted his shoulder.
I suppose. The tiger didn’t look at all like the one possessed by his mother or sister. Apparently, the form changed with each owner. If he recalled, his sister’s tiger had been a sort of fawn color. Iriko’s tiger had a moon mist–silver coat overlaid with midnight-black stripes. It was a strange thing staring into his own glacier-blue eyes in a tiger’s face. Even when he shifted his head and closed his eyes, he could still see that Stacia was taking his measure. She studied him from the tops of his ears to his whiskers to his flicking tail.
When you’re finished...he stated sulkily.
“Sorry,” Stacia said. “I’ve just never seen one of us from a human’s perspective before. We’re quite deadly, you know.”
Iriko turned his head back. She was bracing herself by putting one arm on a branch on either side of his body, almost as if she were hugging him. Her face was very close to his.
We’re deadly when human as well. The tigers inside us lend us their power. There’s quite a lot we can do, even in human form. Maybe I can teach you.
“I’d like that,” she said.
Iriko couldn’t tell if she meant it or not. She sounded like she did. He cursed his blindness. It wasn’t the first time he had done so, but it was the first time in a long while he wanted to see the face of someone else.
“Now, what will be the best way for me to help you down?” she asked.
