It was a quiet afternoon inside the Blue Eye Café. Customers sat sparsely throughout the place, spread out between the booths and tables, eating their meals. The owner stood behind the counter, cleaning one of his mugs. The faint smell of steaks cooking filled the air.
There didn't seem to be as much chat going on tonight, and for that Tiga was glad. The black-haired, green-eyed girl had selected a booth facing the North-side window, watching the sun as it slowly began to fade over the horizon, decorating the once blue sky with a styling array of orange and gold.
Her appointment was late. An acquaintance of Tiga's had called in a favor and wanted her to meet someone at the Blue Eye Cafe.
"Whoever he is" thought Tiga “the guy sure isn't punctual!"
Suddenly, the doorway to the Blue Eye Cafe opened, allowing a brown haired, gold-eyed young man to step into the cafe. Tiga's green eyes immediately scrutinized the young man as he looked around the café, his gaze clearly searching for someone.
His amber orbs finally landing on Tiga, the young man steadily walked over towards her booth. As he sat down to join her, Tiga guessed that he was probably five years younger than she was, which put him at about fifteen years old.
"A teenager," thought Tiga in disgust. Why did her friend want her to meet up with him?
The young man displayed no emotion at seeing Tiga's dislike, which instantly lit up a warning signal in Tiga\'s mind. This young man had come from the Northern Clan! It was obvious by the way no emotion showed on his face, although there were obviously questions burning in his eyes.
"You are Tiga?" asked the young man, hoping to break the ice.
" I am" said Tiga " and you are?"
"Sai" said the young man. " Mericho said I could talk to you."
"Mericho" hmphed Tiga in her mind " The one who set up this little meet and greet. If she wasn't a friend, I'd teach her a thing or two."
"What do you want to know?" asked Tiga, finally speaking to Sai.
" I want to know my purpose" said Sai " back up North, my clan taught me to show no emotion towards people, or else they would prey upon my weaknesses. But even though I trained really hard, some people would still slap me, yell at me, or push me away."
"Feeling like a failure, I ran away from my clan. When I ran into Mericho she said that she knew a woman from the Southern Clan who had a similar experience. Perhaps you can tell me what I've done wrong."
"Nothing" said Tiga " you did nothing wrong."
"But I showed emotion" said Sai. " It goes against my clans code."
"And forming bonds goes against my clan's code," said Tiga.
Things were silent for a long while before Tiga began to speak up again.
"Tell me Sai" said Tiga. " What do you know about a lion and a tiger?"
" One of them has a mane?" said Sai.
Tiga shook her head.
"They are both cats?" Sai guessed again.
"No" said Tiga, shaking her head again. “They're both Kings."
"Kings?" asked Sai, confused.
"Yes" said Tiga, " though one of them is a false King."
"Explain," said Sai, waiting for the answer.
"Think of the lion" Tiga said " why is he called the King of the jungle?"
"Cause he is," said Sai.
"Then why doesn't he live in a jungle?" said Tiga. " How come the tiger does? Why isn't the tiger called King?"
Sai just sat silent, he had no idea what to say. Tiga was right, by all rights the tiger should be the real King of the jungle, but what made the lion so special to take away the name?
"Solitary" said Tiga "The tiger hunts alone. Seeking help from only themself and showing no emotion to any other animals they meet. Because of this they are seen as smart and deadly. No one dares cross a tiger's path."
"What about the lion?" asked Sai.
"Social" said Tiga " and rules over a small pride. Selfish, lazy, and proud. Forms no special bonds with people under his care but will always fight for the right to keep what's his. Together, these two cats are not unlike our own clans."
"What do you mean?" asked Sai.
"In the North you are trained to show no emotion" said Tiga. " In the South I was trained to form no bonds. The philosophy being that if we didn't have these things, we could live a strong life without any fear of heartbreak. Well, that's a dumb theory, isn’t it?"
"You can do all the training you want to, but in the end, you'll find out that it's impossible to erase your own feelings for others. I learned that the hard way when I met Mericho,"
"How did you meet Mericho?" asked Sai.
"Pretty much the same way you met me" said Tiga. " I had formed a close bond with one of the elders in the village, and when my teacher, who was very strict, found out, he had the Council exile me and push me out of my home."
“I ran and ended up in this town, crying my eyes out, because I had failed my training. Then Mericho came and took me under her wing, showing me compassion that I had never felt before. I had once again broken my clan's code and formed a bond with someone, but this time, I didn't regret it."
"To live without a bond means to go on without friendship or someone to love. To live without emotion means to go on without desires and be eternally alone."
Silence consumed the air for several seconds, before Sai decided to risk a question.
"Don't you ever wish you could go back to your clan?" asked Sai.
" Sometimes" said Tiga, honestly, " but then, I would be forced to be someone I don't really want to be. I miss my clan sure, but I wouldn't trade the experience I gained here for all the world."
Silence consumed the air for a few more seconds, as a smile crept its way onto Sai's face. Tiga's eyes widened in shock at the first display of emotion Sai had given her since they met.
"Thank you Tiga" said Sai " I have learned much from you. May I have the pleasure of escorting you home?"
"You may," said Tiga, standing up and taking Sai's hand as they walked out of the cafe.
The sun had already set, leaving behind a black cloth decorated with moon and stars. Smiles lit up on both of their faces as they strolled through the starlit night.
"Hey Tiga" said Sai, turning to his newfound friend. "If we are no longer tigers or lions, what are we?"
A howl rang out from the distance as Sai and Tiga walked on. At hearing the howl, Tiga grinned.
"We are wolves Sai" said Tiga, “a family."
The End