"Hi, birdie..."
I said in greeting to a purple bird flying past my head.
It only scurried away faster after hearing my growls.
Since I couldn't talk, maybe the bird thought I was going to eat it. (I didn't even want to eat it—too many feathers and too little meat.)
Even if I could talk, it's not like it would understand me anyway.
But what does it mean to talk again?
Ahh, it must be one of those things.
Some random words that suddenly appear in my mind out of nowhere, without me even knowing what they meant.
It feels like I've known them from somewhere, yet I don't have the brain capacity to remember everything.
But that couldn't be.
I've always been smarter than all my siblings.
My mother even said I was the smartest black panther she had ever seen in her entire life. (Well, she didn't exactly say it in words. She just made some growls, but I was somehow able to understand what she meant.)
Since I'm the smartest, it should be easy for me to remember everything, right?
Then the problem must be with those words. They should have explained their meanings properly before appearing in my head.
Now that I've found the culprit with my genius brain, it's time to focus on other things.
For example… my stomach that has been making these strange noises. I haven't had anything to eat in two days.
Since I'm such a genius, it's only natural I've never failed a hunt—not even once. That wasn't the reason for my hunger.
My mother has been sick for the past two days after being attacked by some hyenas that stole her prey.
Those thieving bitches.
Mother always said we would grow really strong if we ate a lot of meat.
So to help her become strong again, I gave her all the prey I managed to hunt without eating anything myself.
The result? I'm feeling really hungry now.
As I was thinking about finding better prey that could fill both our stomachs at once, I spotted a big moose walking unsteadily in the distance.
My mother had warned me about it before, saying that the moose and its mate lived nearby and that we should be careful not to provoke them.
But now it seemed injured.
It was mating season for the moose. Maybe it got into a fight it couldn't win and ended up losing its mate while suffering multiple injuries.
Normally, I would run the moment I saw one. They are highly territorial and can even kill an adult black panther when provoked. And I'm not even an adult yet.
Even though it was injured, it was almost impossible for me to hunt it with my small body. It would just kick me to death.
But my mind wasn't thinking clearly because of my hunger. I also didn't want to hunt a small creature that could only fill one stomach.
Of course, that would be my mother's.
I wouldn't dream of starving the one who brought me into this world and raised me.
With my mind clouded by hunger, I decided to hunt the damn moose.
***
The forest was filled with tall trees and plants that reached about half my height.
I crouched low among the foliage, slowly approaching my prey without making a sound.
I only had one chance. If I failed, I'd be dead meat.
After getting within ten meters from the moose, I accidentally stepped on a small twig with my front paw.
Shit...
(What does that mean? Why did I think of that word? Anyway...)
Raising my head, I saw the moose staring straight at me.
Seeing it this close, with its menacing antlers, it looked extremely dangerous.
"Maybe trying to hunt this monstrosity was a bad idea," I thought.
That thought didn't last long.
"ERRR… OOUGHHHH…..."
Letting out a guttural roar, the moose charged at me with vengeance.
It seemed like it was trying to vent all its anger from losing the fight for it's mate.
Seeing its ferocious expression, I was terrified and started running as fast as I could in the opposite direction.
I had never run so fast in my life. I didn't even know I was capable of such speed.
I leaped from tree to tree, changing directions constantly, even running through the territories of other dangerous predators.
But the moose stayed right behind me, crashing into trees without caring.
Hey, I wasn't the one who stole your mate… why are you so persistent?
Thinking that, I kept running without looking back.
If I had, I would have noticed the moose following me almost casually, as if it were enjoying my struggle.
My speed had already started to drop. I hadn't eaten in two days, after all. Even adrenaline could only push me so far.
But I kept running.
Even when my legs cramped in pain and my lungs burned with every breath.
Even when my paws bled and my body teetered on the brink of collapse.
I kept moving forward.
I didn't stop. I couldn't stop.
Because stopping meant death.
I didn't even know where I was anymore. The forest I recognized had long been left behind.
After jumping over some bushes, I suddenly found myself rolling down a slope, finally stopping in the middle of a road cutting through the forest.
I lay there, panting, without moving. My body was completely spent.
The moose slowly emerged from the forest, looking down at me from the top of the slope.
'I already tried my best. If you're going to kill me, just do it already.'
Thinking that, I closed my eyes and waited for death.
But even after a while, nothing happened.
I opened my eyes again and saw the moose looking off into the distance.
With great effort, I turned my head in the same direction and saw something approaching at an unbelievable speed.
Before I could even understand what it was, one of its legs (wheels) ran over me, crushing everything below my neck into a bloody pulp.
Just before I died, one thought surfaced in my mind.
'Truck-kun… is that you?'
Even though I had no idea what it meant.