2028/Tiger on the Loose

Tiger on the Loose
Date of Scene:	18 August 2017
Location:	Woods outside Xavier Mansion
Synopsis:	Lexi tries to leave the mansion and head back into NYC; she is pounced by a tiger instead.
Cast of Characters:	Okhotnik, Tendril

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Okhotnik has posed:
Diya insisted on bringing Alexia back to the Mansion; she can be incredibly stubborn like that. After seeing the young woman safely inside, the homeless Russian vet stayed in the area, circling the property. The sensors have been tracking her for most of a day at this point. But now, with nightfall having come, the sensors have lost all sign of her. It seems incredibly unlikely that she would have just left with dark coming on, but the sensors cannot find any sign of the Russian woman out there in the woods.

Some of the animals inside the Mansion's property boundaries, however, have started spooking and acting out. Horses stomping their hooves against stall doors. Smaller animals bolting for cover, insisting on coming inside the Mansion rather than being outside. And the birds in the trees have gone silent.

Tendril has posed:
    While this is of some concern with those in the know about the security system, there are two problems. 1) Alexia is not in the know. 2) Alexia is a bit scared of large animals, being a city girl, so she doesn't really hang around the table to have seen this. And, 3) Alexia tends to run off herself into the woods, and, being a city girl, doesn't immediately twig to the missing animals as she starts swinging her way through the woods in her normal practice patterns, tendrils flicking out dexterously as she pulls herself from branch to branch. Worse, she's actually wearing earbuds.

    In short, Diya would probably smack her for her lack of situational awareness. Were she present!

Okhotnik has posed:
With earbuds in and music playing, yes, Diya would swat Lex several times. But as it is, the city girl won't notice anything at all out of the ordinary as she makes her way along, until suddenly she comes around one tree and goes for another, and a bitter, coppery metallic taste floods her mouth and a dark, heavy scent cloyingly fills her nostrils. There, at the base of the next tree, is a large pool of still-warm blood. And a trail going off a ways.

Tendril has posed:
    Lexi mostly notices as she nearly lands in it, pulling up short at the last moment as the scent registers with a little gasp as she lands in a crouch about ten feet back from it. She reaches up to tug out the ear buds, eyeing the blood, her nostrils flaring. Still...fresh? How fresh.

    She looks around a bit nervously now, looking for signs of what might have left all the blood...including up in the tree it's under.

Okhotnik has posed:
There's a trail of splatter, and signs of dragging. Less than twenty feet away, big glowing amber eyes peer out of the darkness around the bole of another tree. And there's a tearing, crunching sound. A really graphic, disgusting sort of tearing, crunching sound. The sort that base instincts label as 'oh crap'.

Tendril has posed:
    The mutant girl freezes, eyes widening as she hears the crunch...smells the faint scent of offal...and most important, sees eyes glowing a bit like her own do in darkness staring back at her from the shadows. She swallows, then very slowly begins backing away, not moving fast. NOt taking her eyes from those eyes. Which is really the wrong thing to do with a predator, but she's, again, a city girl. Her fear becomes part of her scent as she moves, however.

Okhotnik has posed:
A deep, rumbling growl builds from the darkness, around those lovely glowing amber eyes. The predator scents that fear, watches that slow backward movement, and eyes remain stapled firmly to the girl's form despite the darkness. There's another sickening crunch as bone gives way beneath the might of a very powerful jaw.

And another crunch.

And another.

A sense of pregnant expectation builds, stretched taut between predator and prey.

Tendril has posed:
    Lex is breathing out a little bit faster, her heart pounding. Her nostrils flare a bit, taking in the scents of the area...not that she recognizes whatever THAT is, even if it...seems...where has she smelled something like that? a portion of her mind asks.

    The rest of her continues the slow, careful retreat, as she starts to extend a tendril. If she can just get into the trees...maybe whatever it is can't follow her.

    A quick glance around, however shows none that are particularly tall. So. Distance. And if it comes at her...she runs like hell, she figures.

Okhotnik has posed:
There is a wuffling sound, a deep indrawn breath. The growl deepens and takes on an intent. More crunching, faster this time, active chewing. Then swallowing. Something slashes through the underbrush.

Thumpswish.

Swishtump.

Swishthump.

Something is moving behind those eyes, back and forth, almost like a slowly-set metronome. Back. And forth. Back. And forth.

And then, when Lex finally breaks eye contact to look around for her escape route, making up her mind to run, there is an explosion of motion.

It's coming!

Tendril has posed:
    Lexi lets out a cry she hears the crashing, and she just bolts in the direction she's facing, rather than looking for the best route. Her hands pump as the tendril on her left arm snaps out at the nearest good sized branch she can see, as she tries to yank herself forward into the air to get airborne towards it.

    She's well into the 'flee' part of fight or flee, more interested in putting distance between herself and wahtever it is! A bit panicked...the instinctual part of her certainly recognizes a predator, and while she's not exactly prey by instinct...she defintely is by temperment.

Okhotnik has posed:
Leaping, bounding, moving swift and sure like a giant furry arrow, the predator gives chase. Interestingly enough, the predator does not initially close with Lex, but instead keeps bracketing her, running her back towards the Mansion grounds and the fence line, almost literally herding her along.

Only as they finally draw close to the wall does the predator start gobbling up the space between them, closing in, warm breath brushing along an ankle or a wrist or the tip of a tendril, that panting growl sounding painfully closeby ...

Tendril has posed:
    As the beast closes, as she feels that breath against her skin, an sob of terror escapes the girl's lips. She's fast...but not this fast, and she's run out of trees as they both approach the wall. If she can just.... "Ohfuckohfuckohfuck.." she chants under panting breaths.

    And the girl can't help but think as she does: she's not going to make it.

Okhotnik has posed:
And truth is, Lex doesn't make it. She makes it very close, but again there is a sense as if the predator has specifically //given// her that lead, that chance. Right up to the last moment.

And then the predator pounces, leaping, a mass like an entire loaded truck slamming into Lex, carrying her to the ...

Warm. Soft. Furry body?

The predator actually intentionally twisted around so that Lex landed on her, rather than on the ground, pinned beneath her.

Then the massive tigress rolls them both, pinning Pex to the ground beneath her.

No claws. No teeth. Just huge, soft, furry form, pressure. And whiskers tickling face and neck.

And my God, that tail is huge!

Tendril has posed:
    She can't help it. Lex lets out a scream as she's knocked into, then woofs as she lands on the furry body, which breaks her fall perfectly. She's still almost flailing however, too panicked to really take in what just happened for a moment before she's suddenly pinned to the ground. Her gold eyes are wide as she looks up at the huge cat, her chest heaving a bit, as they fill with tears, spilling over down her cheeks.

    Even then, she bares her canines reflexively, instinctively letting out an almost cute growling hissing noise, before it gets sucked into another gulp of air as she trembles under the huge creature that has her captive.

    "P-please...please don't eat me...n-not now..." she says, her voice shaking.
    

Okhotnik has posed:
No biting. No chomping. No crushing, rending or tearing. No claws. No teeth. Just warm, furry weight. And burnished amber glowing eyes, peering down at the hissing, distressed girl.

And the gigantic cat leans down, pressing its wet nose to Lex's little nose. Big soft paws push down on tendrils trying to escape.

Pinned girl. But unharmed. Even with all the thrashing about and angry protesting.

Tendril has posed:
    The pinned girl breathes out in short little panting gasps, her chest still heaving from the run, freezing in place as the big cat lowers her head, then touches her nose. The caught tendrils squirm, her hair shivering constantly before the tendrils slooooowly retract back into her body, her gold eyes gazing up at the big cat's amber eyes.

    She's still scared. But...it's not attacking her. Even though it ran her down. Is it...full? Or...

    She wrinkles her nose as the cool wet presses against it, shivering a bit.

Okhotnik has posed:
The giant cat - nearly twelve feet long before adding head and tail - mostly engulfs Lex like a huge warm, fuzzy and furry blanket backed up by lead weights. Yet the cat seems to purposefully keep the bulk of its weight off of Lex, so as not to crush her. Just enough to keep the girl from squirming away.

The cat's huge fluffy padded paws start kneading at Alexia, as an earthquake-deep rumbling purr emanates from the cat and through Alexia into the ground, vibrating mightily. Then she starts nosing at Lex one bit at a time, exploring along her shoulders and arms, then down along her upper chest.

At this rate, she's likely to start lickgrooming the young woman any moment now ...

Tendril has posed:
    At first, Lexi starts to squirm, letting out a faint gasp as she feels those massive paws starting to knead, the claw tips poking into her slightly as they do. She can't really move her arms or shoulders, but why it's not crushing weight, it's certainly keeping her from moving.

    But as the kneading continues, she relaxes slightly, getting a look of faint confusion, the purr suggesting it's...happy? She squirms more as the nose starts to tickly against the top of her breasts on her neck, huffing as she bites down on helpless giggles. "H-hey, what...what are ya d-doing?" she starts to protest a bit.

    But...the full body purr IS very nice...calming, even, as she relaxes more, still nervous but no longer terrified.

Okhotnik has posed:
Of course, the giant tigress does not explain anything. But she does continue kneading at and massaging Lex, and evolves into actually lickgrooming the young woman, that huge, brad, flat, sandpaper tongue dragging here and there. Nothing harmful. Indeed, if Lex is capable of uncoiling and relaxing, she might realize the cat is grooming her as it might a kitten. The giant tail swishes this way and that, lazily, as the cat continues to groom Lex, purring powerfully. The cat even cleans up spots where it gets a bit of blood on Lex, from the deer it was apparently busily devouring when they encountered one another.

Tendril has posed:
    The trapped girl lets out a squeak at the first tongue licked, letting out little squeaks and giggles with each of the following licks. "H-hey! S-stop it!" she protests weakly, squirming and gasping as the rough tongue runs against her skin and hair. In fact, the grooming against her hair has the poor girl blushing deeply after a bit as she makes helpless little newling sounds, the curling silver strands shivering with each lick.

    While her shoulders are pinned, she tries to reach up with her hands, tenatively after a moment, to cup against the big cat's side, fingers curling against the fur as she shivers. "C-come on...." she whines a bit, tilting her head to the side as the licks run up her neck as she can't stop letting out those little chirps of sound, even as she lightly grips the four, wiggling at the ticklish sensations.

Okhotnik has posed:
Perhaps with time, training and effort, the woman who is also the tiger will find a way to actually keep her intelligence, her human memory, awake when she is in the tiger's shape. But as it is, the tiger runs largely on instinct. And those instincts identify Lex quite clearly as 'hers', to be cared for, protected, and kept safe. And so it is that the tigress is doing just that, following her instincts. Lex is 'tiny' by the standards of the tigress, and so those instincts have labelled the poor young woman as an errant cub in need of proper guidance, which includes proper grooming.

The cat does not seem to understand Lex's words, but her tone and scent are a clear roadmap. The feline notices distress of a new sort, and pulls back her head, regarding Lex carefully, nosing this way and that, trying to figure out what is happening, what is wrong with the kitten in her care.

Tendril has posed:
    Lexi pants a bit breathlessly, her chest rising and falling a bit faster as she now looks thoroughly mussed, her hair a bit tangled as it continues to shifts and curl slightly. "J-Jeez..." she says, licking her lips as she tries to get her breathing under control again, taking a deep breath, then letting it out. Her hands tenatively try to pet the huge beast's hands, rubbing them along her ribs gently. "Yer...a friendly tiger?" she asks, still talking even though she figures the tiger isn't going to answer her. It makes her feel better at least!

    She squirms, then very carefully leans up, then rubs her cheek against the tiger's neck and cheek carefully. "What are ya doin' out here? This isn't India or somethin'..." she murmurs, looking thoughful. She slides one hand up to scritch the tiger's other cheek, slitting her eyes. She inhales the cat's scent, taking it in, and some instinct causing her to rub her cheek more, mixing the scents.

Okhotnik has posed:
It would seem the tigress is very friendly, and she seems to respond quite happily to some returned affections, leaning her fuzzy cheek against the girl's when they press against one another. For a while, she pauses the insistent licking and grooming, and just snuggles with the smaller form, purring, vibrating, tail swishing contentedly.

Tendril has posed:
    Lexi awws, then, with a little more certainly, slides her arms around the big tiger's neck, snuggling into her gently. "Mmmmm..." And just like taht, she's no longer afraid, sighing out as she feels the purring against her, closing her eyes comfortably. "W-well, I guess the licking isn't so bad..." she murmurs, sighing a bit. "Just wasn't expecting it..."

    She rubs her cheek back against the big tiger, the scent glands in the tiger's cheeks marking her in a way she's aware of, her nostrils flaring slightly as she pulls in the scent again. It smells...familiar. She doesn't know where, but somehow...this feels...supremely comfortable. And...safe. She feels very safe now, in a complete reversal of her initial fear.

Okhotnik has posed:
The tigress stays where she is, purring up a storm, snuggling with Lex, only too happy to 'properly' mark the girl with her scent. That's as things should be, so far as the tigress is concerned. The licking and grooming doe snot, for now, resume. But some more pawing and kneading does happen, as it is largely the best the humungous cat can do to express her pleasure and reward the subject of that feeling. Eventually, she could be encouraged to roll to the side, so long as Lexi doesn't try to leave. But she hasn't done that just yet, since Lexi has relaxed and started to cuddle and enjoy their closeness.

Tendril has posed:
    Lexi is feeling...strange. Something in her, some deeper instinct, responding to the mothering in a way that makes her snuggle more into the big tiger, an almost answering little rumbling sound coming from her her throat as that side of her responds. She wiggles, caught under the big tiger's paw, but not seeming to as she curls up closer to her side, breathing in and out softly. She can't really do that easily...gravity is against her!

    So eventually she does a bit insistently give little pushes, until the tigress is willing to roll on her side. At which point she slides up under her paws, curling up against her. It feels...so nice. A quiet, happy little smile crosses the girl's lips. "I guess yer my tiger...an'...I guess...I'm yer kitten?" she murmurs softly.

    Something in her voice suggests she has no problem with this.

Okhotnik has posed:
With some insistent pushes, the tigress eventually relents and rolls to her side; it allows her to relax from holding up much of her weight so as not to 'crush' Lexi, so she really does not mind. And as long as Lexi does not leave, she has no reason to object to this. All is well. Of course, she is most definitely the 'big spoon' in this setup.

There's no sign of a collar on the tigress, not even the marks of one that might have been removed. But the tigress is very clean, despite the bloody evidence of the encounter with the deer. Indeed, she seems mildly damp in the underlayers of her fur, like she has recently bathed. And despite not speaking, or seeming to understand people words, she does seem quite bright.

Tendril has posed:
    Lexi doesn't seem to mind this at all, though she eventually rouses from her comfortable bliss to start noticing these things, her fingers brushing the tiger's neck, craning her neck to check she has no tags or something in an ear...she's seen those on nature documentaries! But no. No signs of anything that might suggest where the tiger is from.

    Her fingers idly start stroking through the fur she can reach, feeling the dampness. "Mmm...did ya swim here?" she murmurs softly. She tries to think where the nearest water source is out here in the woods...probably not the lake? But then, she might have gotten that far with no one seeing her, with classes not having started yet. It's still fairly deserted most times.

    "Well...mmm....what do we do with you..." she says, frowning a little. "I don't want someone ta find ya just wanderin' around, they might wanna stick you in a cage or somethin'. Her tone says there's not a chance in hell of her letting that happen, of course.

Okhotnik has posed:
The tigress seems to get curious about Lexi's curiosity, nosing at the hands as they explore around her neck, down along her ears and shoulders, and then explore the ruff of her fur. There are no tags, no signs of a collar once worn and now missing, no tag in her ear or elsewhere, or holes where one might have been. And there are no protrusions beneath the skin that would imply a tracker.

The tigress is far bigger than most Lexi will have seen in the zoos; she is a Siberian tigress, not a Sumatran, and almost twice the body size as a result, which also includes being four times the weight. She is also paler in shade, though that's not easy to tell in the darkness.

The cat's ears flick and swivel, narrowing in on Lexi as her words start to take on more purpose in her tone than merely question. Her big head turns, considering and regarding the young woman carefully.

Tendril has posed:
    Lexi considers. "Um...well." She huffs a bit. "....there's gotta be a cave 'round here or somethin'. I remember someone sayin' there were bears once, so..." She ponders. "Maybe I can help ya lair there? Or somethin'."

    She sighs, then slides her arms around the big tiger's neck, hugging her firmly as she rests her cheek against her fur. "I'm gonna keep ya safe..." she murmurs. Unknowningly promising a second time to protect her friend. Or maybe her tiger momma now. Either way, she curls up again against her, gently scritching the tiger along her jaw.

Okhotnik has posed:
Embraced and hugged, the tigress just snuggles against Lexi and settles quietly, still rumbling that massive purr so deep it is nearly subsonic. She nuzzles at the girl's ears and neck, then settles again. She has smelled ursine in the area, but nothing fresh, or too close. It is safe here, except for dangerous two-foots beyond the metal trees. But so long as they stay beyond the metal trees, they are no threat to her, or to the little one in her care.

Tendril has posed:
    The girl lightly pinned under a paw lets out a contented sigh as she snuggles into the big cat more, the rumble and soft fur feeling so nice to her, then wiggles around again so she's spooning back against that warm, rumbling heat, resting her cheek against the leg stretched out along the ground by the sprawled tigress. "I can find ya food or somethin'....dunno...there are deer....prob'bly enough ta eat..." she says, then lets out a little yawns, her gold eyes flickering a bit.

    "Mmmmmm....'s nice here." she murmurs a little sleepily now, the warmth and rumble and the adrenaline wearing off making her drowsy now. "Gotta call ya somethin'...I mean...not that you'll know what I'm callin' ya, I guess..." Another slow yawn.

Okhotnik has posed:
As her little one snuggles in close, the tigress wraps her big furry legs around Lexi and lets her muzzle's exhale whuffle at the silvery tendrils of the girl's 'hair', just right at the top lightly. Her tail wraps around the little one's midsection, and then she listens as the little one yawns, struggling against her body's insistence on sleep ... until the warmth and the soothing purr finally push her over the edge into dreamland.

Tendril has posed:
    The young girl yawns again, the warm breath against her neck and hair feeling...so good. She lets out a sleepy sigh, her eyes closing all the way as she snuggles into the fuzzy arm under her cheek, her breathing deepening. "...mmm....tigger..." she murmurs softly, before her breathing continues to deepen as she drops off to sleep, snuggled up against the huge and fierce predator, shifting to let the tail wind around her, her legs curling up a bit under her as she makes a last little 'mrrrl' sound, before she's asleep, breathing in and out slowly.

Okhotnik has posed:
When Lexi wakes, some time later, she will find herself nestled in a hollow at the tree line overlooking the rear lawns of the estate. Tree branches have been arranged around her, providing shelter and coverage, warmth. She even has a soft, mossy mound as a pillow for her head. And she is well inside the secured perimeter of the school grounds, with no sign of the tigress.

No sign, except for some rather big paw prints in the soft earth. Claw and teeth marks on the branches. And shed orange, black and white fur all along her clothing.

But other than that, no sign.

Tendril has posed:
    The girl opens her eyes, blinking, then sits up, rubbing her eyes. "...tigger?" she asks, looking around confusedly as she figures out where she is. After a moment, she reaches out to run her fingers against the four on her clothing, gathering up a good sized clump in her hand, before she wiggles her way out from under the branches.

    "Tigger?" she says, a bit more loudly, turning her attention to the paw prints, before she starts to follow them carefully, lifting her head as she takes a deep sniff of the fur clump, then starts sniffing the air. She's not the greatest tracker, of course...see: city girl. But she's better than most, and tries to follow the trail.

Okhotnik has posed:
The trail, such as she can find, leads young Lexi back to the fence line buried in the trees. Beyond that point, however, she just cannot find enough to lead her much further than ... the spot where they clearly snuggled at the start of that nap.

Which means the tigress actually carried Lex inside the fence line, then tucked her in, and left here there. Where the girl belonged.

And then left.

If she were less of a city girl, that might strike Lex is rather interesting behavior for a tigress.

And there's still the question: where the heck did a giant tigress come from around here?