I should've been asleep.
That was the simple truth of it.
My body had already crossed that line hours ago-the point where exhaustion starts asking questions and just takes. Every muscle felt heavy, slow used.. at least what little remained. Even breathing felt like something I had to think about.
And yet.. I was wide awake.
Why?.. Well, because a tiger was sleeping next to me.
Not nearby, not somewhere in the dark where I could pretend I didn't know exactly where it was.
Next to me.
I turned my head just enough to see it again.
Still there.
Of course it was still there.
Its chest rose and fell in a slow, steady rhythm, like nothing in this forest could possibly bother it.. each breath sounded heavier in the silence than it should have. Too calm. Too certain.
Like I wasn't a threat.
Like I wasn't even worth thinking about.
"…seriously?" I whispered barely moving my lips.
Its ear flicked.
I froze.
Every part of me just stopped. Breathing slowed. Muscles locked.
A few seconds passed.
Nothing happened.
It didn't open its eyes. Didn't move again. Just kept breathing.
I exhaled slowly, carefully, like even the air might annoy it if I pushed too much at ones.
Right.
So this was fine.
Perfectly normal.
Almost getting killed by something, and then ending up as its.. what? Neighbor? Temporary furniture?
I shifted a little trying to ease the pressure in my shoulder.
The tail moved.
Just a lazy twitch against the ground.
I stopped existing again.
"… okay," I muttered again in my head this time. I was tired of being on edge around the tiger.. I made peace with death, getting killed in sleep was fine by me now, and tried closing my eyes.
My thoughts dulled. My body gave up arguing. Sleep came in fragments.
Something felt off.
That's what woke me.
Not a sound. Not exactly.
The absence of one.
My eyes opened slowly, not moving anything else at first. The forest was darker now-deeper into the night. The kind where shapes blurred and instincts mattered more than sight.
I listened, then I realized it.
The breathing was gone.
I turned my head. The tiger wasn't lying down anymore, it was already moving.
No hesitation, no stretch, no noise.
Just.. motion.
Like it had always been awake.
I pushed myself up, slower than I wanted to, my body protesting every bit of it. By the time I was fully sitting, it had already put distance between us, slipping through the trees, my eyes no longer able to track its movements.
I watched it go.
This was it.
The natural end.
It leaves, I stay. Morning comes. And whatever this strange.. pause between us was-ends.
That would be the smartest outcome.
I stood up anyways.
"…yeah," I muttered quietly, brushing dirt off my hand. "Of course I am.."
I didn't follow close.
I wasn't that stupid.
I kept a gap-enough that if it turned suddenly, I'd at least have a second to react. I stepped where the ground felt safe, avoided dry leaves, watched every placement of my feet. Still felt too loud.
It didn't slow down, didn't look back. But also didn't disappear. That was the part I couldn't ignore.
It could have vanished, easily. I'd seen how fast it could move when it wanted to.
But it didn't.
The forest at night felt different.
Sharper.
Every sound stood out more. Every shadow felt like it was watching something-or waiting for something. The air itself felt tighter, like everything was holding its breath.
Including me.
The tiger slowed.
Not visibly, at first. But something changed in the way it moved.
Lower.
Closer to the ground.
Each step more deliberate than before.
I stopped.
Instinct.
This wasn't wandering anymore.
This was something else.
Hunting.
I stayed back increasing the distance without thinking about it. This wasn't my place. If I got too close, if I..
No.
Just watch.
For once, just watch.
Time passed as the tiger made small calculated movements, closing further distance.
Then it stilled.
Completely.
Not relaxed. Not resting.
Coiled.
Every part of it focused on something ahead.
I followed its line of sight, squinting into the dark
Until-
There..
Movement.
Faint. Careless.
Something grazing, unaware.
My breathing slowed on its own.
Everything about the moment felt tight.. like it could snap at any second.
I didn't move.
Didn't even think about moving.
The tiger took one step.
Then another.
Each one placed so carefully I couldn't hear it, even though I was trying to.
No wasted motion.
No hesitation.
And then-
It was gone.
Not really.
But fast enough that my eyes couldn't keep up.
One moment it was there.
The next-it wasn't.
A blur of muscle cutting through the dark.
A sharp break in the silence.
A struggle that ended almost as soon as it began.
And then-stillness.
Again.
I stayed where I was.
Didn't rush forward.
Didn't interfere.
I just watched.
Because for the first time-
I wasn't the one being hunted.
And somewhere in that silence, watching something that should have terrified me… I understood the tiger, and myself a little more.
The forest had gone quiet again, like nothing had happened-like the burst of violence had just been.. absorbed.
The tiger stood over its kill, unmoving for a few seconds. Not tense, not alert.
Certain.
Like the outcome had never been in question.
I swallowed, realizing only then that my throat had gone dry.
It started feeding.
No hesitation. No ceremony.
Just instinct.
I watched longer than I meant to.
Long enough for the reality of it to settle in-not the kill itself, but what came after. The way it claimed it. The way everything else in the forest stayed away.
Including me.
I shifted my weight slightly.
Too loud.
It felt too loud, even though it wasn't.
The tiger didn't react.
Didn't look up. Didn't pause.
Still-
I stayed where I was.
This was fine.
Watching was fine.
There was no reason to move closer.
None at all.
…
My stomach tightened.
Right.
There it was.
Not fear this time.
Hunger.
Sharp enough to cut through everything else.
I exhaled slowly through my nose, eyes still fixed on the scene in front of me.
"This is a terrible idea," I whispered under my breath.
I stepped forward anyway.