"Everything is going to change..." he whispered, "from today."
Silas released a deep sigh; his gaze drifted off towards Asra and Zerath, standing by his side, and the enormous, tiger-like beast snuggling like a cat with the little girl.
'... This shall be the foundation for a new world.' Silas smiled and stepped up, his eyes scanning all the people staring him down with faces filled with confusion, fear, and doubt, watching him in silence, some still gripping makeshift weapons, while others clutched their loved ones tightly.
"As you can see! Not all creatures that have evolved as a result of nature's unexpected happenings are vile and atrocious!" Silas announced
"Some of them are that hound of Mr. Smith, which can be harmful to you and your surroundings, but there are also some like this one, loyal to their partners and a blessing to your lives!"
Silas's words hung in the air like a spark in a room full of kindling. Some of the people's eyes softened, the suspicion in their gazes beginning to fade, but there were others who remained sceptical, their brows still furrowed in doubt as they watched Silas with a frown.
"You have two choices," Silas declared; his tone was cold. "Live in fear, hiding from every shadow, every roar in the night!"
Silas observed their shaking pupils and colour drained from their faces, "Or step forward! Learn! Adapt! Understand!" He took another step toward them, his eyes shining like a tsunami. "If we reject everything new that walks into our lives, then we won't survive the future changes brought by nature!"
He clenched his fist, and raising it, he shouted, "The nature isn't going to wait for us to adapt! We have to adapt to the nature, and we have to adapt fast! We can survive; we can thrive!!!"
With that he turned back towards the little girl, and bending down to the little girl's eye level, he questioned, "What's your name?"
"Zara..." she softly replied with a tiny smile as she saw Silas. Silas warmly nodded, "Then Zara, would you like to make a deal?"
"A deal?" the little girl innocently questioned, "What do you want, brother?"
"I don't want anything, haha," Silas chuckled. "I was asking if you want to form a deal with your big cat."
"With kitty?!" She questioned in surprise, and Silas nodded and explained, "The kitty will always be with you and protect you from bad dogs, but you need to feed her good food daily. Do you agree?"
"I do!" The girl immediately agreed without even a hint of hesitation. Silas chuckled and observed her palm was hurt a bit with a wood splinter stuck on her finger, leaking out some blood. "Then place your hands over her nose."
Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!
The little girl did as instructed; the beast immediately licked her hand, absorbing some drops of that little girl's blood. In an instant it was as if the world outside of the space between the little girl and that beast had just vanished.
The vision and senses felt like they had synchronised for a moment, strange threads binding the souls of the two together into one; on the outside, people all over the place could see mist-like purple energy coming out of the beast, which submerged with the silver aura surrounding the little girl.
"What is happening..."
"It's magical..."
"What's that strange thing..."
People were confused, and suddenly all aura coming out from the two just vanished, and they snapped out of their blank state.
"Kitty!!!" The girl exclaimed, feeling strange joy; she felt extremely energetic, her eyes and mind seemed to have just awakened with pupils shining in a silvery glow.
'Species - Phantomclaw Tiger
Grade - Yellow
Width: 2.5 meters
Length: 6 meters
State: Agitated
Tamer: Zara Sanders
Strength: Sonic Roar, Night Vision, Phantom Claw
Weakness: Noise Sensitivity
Speciality: A race known for strong territorial instinct, known for strong protective instincts towards their packs, and don't like to be isolated from their pack.'
"Success..." Silas smiled and once again turned towards the crowd of people and declared, "You all can also do the same; we change ourselves, we change the future!"
Silas observed all those surprised gazes and raised his fist; he announced, "We gain a future!!!"
The whole place was strangely silent; the faces of people seemed unreadable and chaotic. They were all dazed and silent, but the silence broke out.
"Oo… ooooaaaaaahhhhhh!!!" a man suddenly yelled out; his scream was like a spark igniting dry leaves.
"They can be tamed?!"
"What the hell?! If creatures like this will protect us instead of harming us, then that will be..."
"Amazing!"
"It's fantastical..."
People burst out in excitement, yelling out with bright grins; some were still suspicious, some shocked, and many incapable of accepting such sudden new information after living in peace for centuries.
'It's understandable that it will be difficult to make sudden changes in their lives, but mere difficulty is nothing in the face of death. I hope more people step up and learn to live in the new world than avoid it...' Silas's deep gaze observed them all, but being surrounded by answers to all mysteries, he was still unaware of the future that has yet to come.
*******
A few days have passed since Silas performed that miraculous act in front of all the people; he was surrounded and had to answer many questions, hide many answers, and avoid various statements.
But even as a few days have passed now, there haven't been many changes as Silas was expecting there to be, though people were impressed they were still cautious for their lives and their families.
Not everyone was a daredevil; most were accustomed to easy lives, afraid of change. Silas also didn't intervene; he just planted the seed in their mind and left it at that. The only thing different in their current daily lives is the addition of some new members in the house.
"Big brother! I brought you snacks!!!" Zara, the little girl, suddenly jumped over the roof of the house while riding her huge beast, 'The Kitty,' with some snack packets in her hands.
"Much grateful," Silas smiled as he accepted the snacks she brought; the tiger padded silently beside him, its tail swaying slowly. The wild rage that he encountered firsthand had faded from its eyes, replaced by calm vigilance.
"Guess you're not so bad after all," Silas muttered with a small grin. "Just a big, overprotective sister, huh?"
The tiger huffed, as if in agreement.
She didn't need chains or cages. Respect was the only leash she needed. It just silently took a seat over the corner of the roof. Silas and Zara also sat down while leaning on the warm fur of a huge tiger, staring at red skies over sunset along with Asra and Zerath.
The Zara and her family have moved into Silas's house after the previous house they were refuging in got destroyed.
Their own house was in shambles because when this huge tiger got into a rampage inside trying to free itself from the room it was locked inside. She accidentally destroyed the whole house, leaving it in no state to reside in.
So Silas's family took them in; coincidentally, Silas's mother and Zara's mother were friends because both fathers were in the same golf club, hence being old friends, and now Silas was guiding this little girl personally while awaiting the night.
Because the night was going to mark one of the greatest pillars of foundation for the new world
'Mass Awakening...'