Terrail Easley

The Fountain of The Land 

On an unsurprisingly hot winter's day in the middle of January, the sun beat down on the savannah flatlands below. A region that stretches vastly across the horizon to no foreseeable end. To its inhabitants, it is the only place on Earth that they know of. Whatever happens here is all that matters. Simply known as The Land. The golden grass symbolizes its preciousness, yet still begs the clouds above for at least one merciful drop of rain. While waiting on that twinkle of relief, The Land spans another day. 

Near Noble Park, a vulture is perched on top of a decaying carcass. It lifts and stretches her head up high in a moment of gratitude. The circle of life has once again provided her with another meal. Off in the distance, a faint gonging sound could be heard. 

It came from The Tiger Dojo, signaling the end of another long and grueling day for the local tiger cubs. The vulture's keen eyes scan the horizon, catching a glimpse of them emerging from the Dojo. With a sense of admiration and respect, she spreads her wings and takes flight, a silent witness to the strength and discipline of these future warriors. 

The Dojo is the school for young tigers. It's where they train and learn the martial arts necessary to save and protect lives from any and all imminent danger. They also learn the important philosophies involved, all with the strict purpose to one day become leaders of their own families. Until then, the restless students burst through the doors like an assembly line of eager little fire ants. Some can't wait to go straight home. Some go off to extracurricular activities. 

For Rufus, his best friend Jasu, and a few others, Kita and Leo, they all go to Noble Park. It's close and safe enough for them to walk. 

Near the park is an enigmatic and ageless body of water called Fountain Lake. Throughout the droughts, it miraculously never evaporated towards the heavens. Somehow doing the opposite, it replenishes itself. Its essence is a profound mystery. 

Most importantly, it is known as a historic danger to the tiger community. 

Old stories passed down from generation to generation warned of the lake's treacherous undertow and unforgiving depths. This rendered tigers defenseless to its nature. Parents from every village in The Land exclaimed for cubs to stay away.

"The Fountain is never too full and could always use a foolish tiger!"

It was their way of scaring away any urges. To bathe or refill their water supply, tigers went to Siah River, which winded endlessly across the Earth. This river was a gift from the gods. 

Although forbidden by the tiger community, Fountain Lake was a very beautiful, peaceful and inviting place. It was unlike any other place in The Land. It provides for the various birds, wildebeest, zebra, fish, vegetation, etc. that live in and around this sanctified ecosystem. It radiates during the day and shimmers like a waving sheet of amethyst in the night.

Tigers were considered apex warriors and respected the good and evil spirit of things. And as stealthy survivors, were taught to always be safe than sorry.

The Youthful Nature of Tigerdom

Rufus and his friends were always up for a good time at Noble Park. The endless plains allowed for sufficient safekeeping. They could be vigilant for any formulating weather changes, and could see any incoming herds miles and miles away. It was here where their wild imaginations roamed free. They would transform into fierce hunters, stalking their imaginative prey with expert precision. 

Rufus, the leader of the pack, would always come up with the most challenging scenarios, keeping everyone sharp. During the clamor and laughter, it was a good time for the neighboring meerkats to close their ears and dig deeper underground tunnels, or upgrade their burrows. Or perhaps hunt and store their non-imaginative scorpion, lizard or small mammal prey.

"Hey, Rufus, can you do this?!"

Rufus rolls his eyes knowing exactly what was about to happen. 

Leo has an odd habit of competing with him. Friends since childhood, there was always a thing. And even the smallest thing became a thing.  

For no reason at all, Leo suddenly darts off at full speed down the grassy field. His feet barely touches the ground. With a  10 foot leap onto and up an acacia tree, he propelled himself into a backwards flip. He lands aground looking very perfectly pleased with himself.

"What was that for?" Rufus askes, slightly annoyed.

Leo shrugged. "Just felt like it. Whatdoyagot?" 

Rufus knew Leo was probably secretly practicing this move waiting for the perfect time to one-up him. Today was the "big day" apparently. Rufus admired the drive and determination from his good friend. Never taking anything too personally. He embraced it.

Rufus responds.“I dunno. You might've finally got me. Might need some time to figure it out.”

Leo pumps his fist in exclamation. "Yes!"

Rufus suddenly vanishes, racing down the grassy field and proceeds to duplicate the same exact sequence. 

However, instead of ending after one backwards flip, he runs back up the acacia tree 3 times to complete 3 more flips in a row before settling aground.

Kita laughs hysterically. 

Jasu slaps his own face with his own paw in lighthearted embarrassment for Leo.

“I don’t know why you even try, Leo.”

“Whatever! You can’t do any better!”

Leo had a good point though. Jasu was probably the most uncoordinated tiger cub at The Dojo. It never made sense to any of the others as to why. Both of his parents were exceptional athletes. Trying to execute even the most basic moves, he'd stumble and fumble. 

He, like everyone else, has their own personal journey of discovery. Most of his fellow students understood that, but it didn't stop them from teasing him anyway. 

One day out of frustration Jasu forced himself to visit Fountain Lake alone. As he approached the water, he saw his reflection in it for the first time. Looking closer, he noticed an odd pattern in his tiger stripes. A tiger's stripes tell very significant passages in the Tiger kingdom. The birthmark was underneath his chin, which is why he never noticed it until then. He sighed deeply and walked away. This was yet another thing that made him feel lesser than the others.

"I bet he can’t do that into the Fountain!”, Leo asserts.

"Of course, he can!", Jasu campaigns. 

"And he would have already if it weren't for those stupid age old stories our parents keep telling us about. Can’t you Rufus?!

Before Rufus could fix his lips to defend his ego, a beam of light descends coming to his moral rescue. They all stare off into a trance of sorts. The sun is starting to go down to share the wealth of the sky with the moon. There are always "dinner bells" like these to alert them when it is time to go home.

Kita is the first to break the abrupt silence. With her strong and confident voice, she redirected the group. 

"Hey, guys, this is something we should talk about, but we need to talk about it another time." 

Everyone's body language concurs. 

Kita gives them each a hug as they disperse, "...See you guys bright and early tomorrow at training!”

Jasu lives across the courtyard from Rufus, so they usually walk home together. Leo and Kita head in the opposite direction.

While they pass the time chasing the fireflies whimsically dancing throughout it, Jasu asks, “Leo is always being Leo, right? You could dive into the Fountain, right Rufus?”

With a sly hint in his eye, Rufus exhaled and gave him a mute look, almost to say: "why would you even ask such a question?"

“Haha, I know, I know you can. I don't even know why I asked...Remember when you caught that baby vulture when it fell from the nest? That was so cool! It literally hatched in your hands?! Rufus the midwife tiger! Hahaha!” 

Such events made it hard for Rufus to be a disappointment to his friends, especially Jasu, who looked up to and relied on him the most. The thought of him conquering the Fountain also made him feel strong like his father, a hero he truly never got to meet. Left only with fascinating stories. Similar to the ones told about the Fountain itself.

"Yes, I remember, thanks, Jasu. Haha"...We just can't tell our parents anything about this Fountain Lake business, okay? They'd freak the heck out, and our Noble Park days would be over."

"Of course not! Why would I do something like that?!"

After reaching the corner that separates the village quarters, Rufus and Jasu part ways.

"Alright, good night, Jasu!" See you in the courtyard in the morning, right?"

"Nope, I have early basic reinforcement training to work on my leaping form and cover distance."

"Oh okay...good luck. Keep working at it. It's not as hard as it seems. And I'm always here to help."

"Thanks, Rufus, but I don't need your help. If I'm going to be anything, I gotta figure things out on my own."

Rufus smirks, "Well, okay then, bossman tiger of The Land!" 

They erupt in laughter, then proceed home. 

Within the short distance from where he stood to his front door, Rufus' hunger suddenly kicks in. He bursts through the front door of his den like a feral tiger with no home training.

"Hi, Mom! What’s for dinner?!"

“Hey, hey, wipe off your paws, please, Rufus! ...And we are having antelope stew and zebra strips!"

Rufus’ mother, Ida, is a well-known tigress in the community. She grew up a seamstress and linguist in the southern region of The Land. Under human enslavement, like circuses and carnivals, she gained knowledge of the human tongue from years of eavesdropping. Through intense studying, comprehension became her most potent weapon. She taught the arriving tigers who were snatched from their homeland, like she was, the nuances to assimilation and safety. 

Eventually she was able to escape to the northern part of The Land with Rufus’ father. They gave birth to Rufus 13 years ago. Rufus was only 2 when his father passed. He's still unsure about what happened exactly.

After dinner Rufus is, as usual, not at all ready to go to bed. Laying in the middle of the floor, he tosses his gazelle hoof in the air about a hundred times, somehow without getting bored. Toss and catch, toss and catch...switch hands, toss and catch. He'd do this over and over again practicing his focus abilities. Never taking his eye off the hoof.

Ida is in the middle of weaving together a tapestry, sitting next to him.

"97...98...99...Hey, mom, what does "repetition" mean? I heard Sensei Tai say that word today."

"Well, it's exactly what you're doing right now, son." She couldn't help but chuckle at the question.

"Repetition is when you do something over and over again, and philosophically said to be "The Father of Learning"...speaking of which, you always talk about how strong you want to be, like your father. That doesn't happen without getting proper rest, ya know?"

"Okay...I guess you're right..."

"Okay, you guess?...Yes, of course, I'm right. Now goodnight, son."

Ida gives him a hug and a kiss on the top of his head. With little resistance, he finds his way to bed. Before long, he'd find his way into a deep sleep. And somewhere between getting much needed sleep and having to wake up in the morning, he'd find his way into the vividest of dreams…