The Reason I Couldn't Sleep Tonight

The mist covered the ground in the pre-dawn light, swirling around Calleigh's legs as she made her way through the trees to the clearing. The jacger had been spotted in Wayside stealing cattle - too close to town to leave the beast be. Calleigh slowed her pace as she neared the clearing, padding silently to the edge of the wood. The sight of the jacger caused her to pause - the beast was magnificent and it saddened her to have to destroy it.


Doglike with tiger stripes and paws and roughly the size of a Clydesdale, Jacgers were normally solitary creatures, seeking out a companion only to mate. Litters were small, ranging from one to three pups and young jacgers were abandoned by their mothers approximately a month after they were born. They usually shunned the villages, choosing to hunt deep in the forest and avoiding people. This one had either lost its way and found itself too far from its hunting grounds - or was older and had been forced from its hunting grounds by a younger jacger.


As if sensing her presence, the beast raised its massive head from its kill and looked in her direction. It was then Calleigh saw why the jacger had hunted so close to town - there was a long, fresh gash across its face, slicing through one eye. Cattle were easy prey. The beast growled, baring fangs still dripping with the gore of its kill.


Calleigh took a deep breath and centered herself as she drew her sword, Qitax. A majick blade, forged in a time long forgotten and named in a forgotten language, Qitax shimmered with an ethereal purple glow. The sword had chosen her when she was still a child, calling to her as she walked past the rack where it had stood for centuries, apparently waiting for its new master - or mistress in this case. Calleigh had sworn to her grandfather, when he caught her wielding Qitax, that the sword had called her name as she passed by. When he questioned her about why she named it Qitax, she had calmly explained that she hadn't named it. She couldn't express how she knew its name, just that when she picked the sword up, she knew it. He had nodded sagely and had gotten a master swordsman to train her in the use of the sword. Now, Qitax was as much a part of her as the arm that wielded it.


She stepped into the clearing, the blade shimmering and glinting as the first rays of the sun hit it. She waited, watching the jacger's good eye and preparing for the charge she knew would come. The jacger paced for a moment before springing forward, bloodied claws bared as it charged Calleigh. She waited until it was almost upon her before spinning and brought Qitax to bear. The blade sang as it cut the air, cleaving through skin, sinew and bone, severing the beast's claw from its body. Calleigh cursed herself as the beast roared in pain and anger. Her timing was off, she had meant to kill the beast outright, not maim it. She wheeled just in time to see the animal bearing down on her but wasn't quite quick enough as the beast's good paw slashed her shoulder, flaying the skin open. She growled in pain and rolled on her good shoulder, coming up with Qitax at the ready. The beast lunged and Calleigh swung her blade again, this time striking true to the beast's chest and slicing cleanly down its body as it sailed over her, dead before it hit the ground.


Calleigh sank to her knees, breathing hard and wincing as the slashes in her shoulder bled freely, the skin opening with each deep breath. A sound made her turn to look at the beast and she was horrified to see a pup struggling to free itself from the wound Calleigh's blade had opened in the beast's womb. It had been a pregnant female - what on earth had attacked her? With no time to think, Calleigh quickly moved to the beast's side and opened the womb wider, thankful to see it was just the one pup. The surprise didn't end there - the pup was female...and purple. Jacs were brown or beige, sometimes black and rarely red but a purple jac? She'd never heard of one, much less seen one. Purple...her signature color...this couldn't be coincidence. Sheathing Qitax, she picked up the pup and cradled it, smiling softly as it nestled into her. The mother had been close to birthing, this was a full term pup and had been ready to be born. She would need to be fed soon and often. Calleigh stood up and, wincing as her shirt pulled at the drying blood of her shoulder, headed for home. Apparently, her familiar had found her in much the same manner as her sword had.