Tyrant was sound asleep. He had placed the duty of guarding the camp on Night, while he caught some sleep. In the land of dreams, a forest began to materialize around Tyrant. He immediately knew it was no ordinary forest. This forest was extremely dark and sinister. The shadows seemed to scurry underfoot, as if they had a life of their own. As Tyrant looked up, he could see a jet black sky that hung over the ominous treetops. One thing stood out to Tyrant the most. The sky had no stars.
Wandering among the trees, Tyrant felt small and insecure. The branches seemed to reach for him, creaking and groaning eerily. Tyrant felt his nerve leaving him. He was about to bolt away when he walked into a clearing. A cat sat there. Not a big cat, small even. He was black, with a white sock on his front paw. Around his neck was a collar. Tyrant sneered. A kittypet. But the collar had teeth studding it. Dog's teeth. This was no kittypet.
It clicked in Tyrant's head. "Scourge?"
The cat opened his eyes. They were piercing pale blue, but not as pale as Tyrant's.
"Yes, my little Tyrant. I am Scourge, your great grandsire."
Tyrant ran over to him on his over-sized kitten feet and rubbed against him, purring loudly as the scents of kinship engulfed him.
Tyrant purred and sat down. "Let me have a look at you."
Tyrant sat down, squirming as he tried to contain his excitement.
Scourge purred humorously as he looked him up and down. "You're just like I was at your age."
"Really?" Tyrant squeaked; then checked himself and made his voice cool and gruff. "I mean, is that so?"
Scourge let out a 'mrow' of laughter. "Oh yes, quite so, little one."
Tyrant leaped to his feet, dropping into a hunter's crouch. "Let's have a tussle, Scourge! Come on, I can take ya!"
Scourge shook his head sadly. "Sorry, Tyrant. You best be waking up."
"Why?" Tyrant asked his favorite question.
Scourge began backing off into the shadows. "We don't won't to miss your first opportunity to be like me, do we?"
Then a deafening roar filled Tyrant's ears and the world around him became upside-down.
"Tyrant!" It was Night. His voice sounded far off.
Tyrant suddenly became aware of a fiery pain in his sides. The stench of fox was all around him. No wonder the world was upside-down! Tyrant was caught in the jaws of a fox.
The fox shook Tyrant violently. Tyrant screeched with the pain. Then he remembered Scourge. Be like Scourge, he told himself.
Lashing out with his tiny, needle-sharp claws--that Tyrant almost never had sheathed-- he gave the fox four deep gouges in its nose. Howling in pain, the fox dropped Tyrant from its jaws. Tyrant felt agony rocket through him as he hit the ground. Momentarily stunned, he lay there, groaning.
"Tyrant, look out!"
Coming back to full alertness, Tyrant could see the fox running towards him. Ignoring the blood that trickled into his black fur, Tyrant took a battle stance. The fox was going to pay. An icy cold hate swept over Tyrant. The fox WOULD pay!
Jumping up, Tyrant gave a fearsomeness roar as he dug his claws into the fox's head. Clinging on, Tyrant began to tear apart the foxes head, raking out fur and flesh alike with his blood-stained claws. The fox cried out, trying to unsaddle its torcheror. But Tyrant did not relent. Not until the fox had fallen, dead.
"Help me with this." Tyrant growled to the shocked Night as he tried to pry loose the foxes teeth. With Night's help, Tyrant soon had eight good sharp teeth to stud his claws with. Doing so, Tyrant felt the icy hate melt away. It was over. He had won. He had been like Scourge.
