Tawnee
The life of a puma is lonely. My childhood was certainly happy, playing with siblings, sleeping nestled warmly my her mother's fur... until I was told it was time to go. I asked my mother why, and all she gave me was the sacred story.
In the first days, the creator made the plants but soon they were growing too thick, choking one another out. So the creator made animals that could eat the plants, hold them at bay. Soon they had eaten too many, for they were stupid, bred quickly, and had no thought for balance. The creator sought to solve this with other animals - ones with sharp teeth and claws. Some were clever, able to survive and thrive alone. The wolves, though... They were not fit to survive. Before they died out, the last group came together... They found that they could survive only if they gave up their freedom and joined a group, a pack.
The stupid, but powerful group soon dominated the world. Then the greatest hunters, the cats, held a council. The lions decided to come together. The rest of the cats - tigers, Jaguars, cheetahs... And my kind... We joined them. We cut down most of the wolves, the food animals, the plants. The world was a waste land - it could not support such a powerful force. That's where the word cat-astrophe was first used, by the way.
That's a joke. Anyway...
So the cats, being wise and wanting to restore peace before the creator sent something to cut us down, held another council. The lions were proud and refused to disband... That's why they call themselves a pride - but the rest of us vowed to never come together like that again, for the good of the whole creation. And that promise has been passed from mother to cubs for... Well, forever.
And that's the story. I sobbed the first time I heard it. It meant a lifetime alone. It meant long, cold nights. It meant my only company was to be the food I ate... It changes you. I guess you could say I'm bitter. Especially when it comes to wolves. But I have carved out an impressive territory... at almost six feet tall, I can overpower almost every other predator in the forest...
Now I'm just finding myself hungry for a real challenge.