Though the night still lingered, the horizon had begun to shift—faint strands of light creeping over the edge of the world, slowly peeling the darkness away. Within the cave, Han moved cautiously, flashlight beam trembling as it cut through the damp, stone-walled corridor ahead. The deeper he ventured, the larger the tunnel seemed to grow. Shadows stretched tall across the slick rock, dancing with each hesitant step.
He hadn't meant to go this far in.
Originally, he'd just been trying to avoid the fist-sized mosquitoes that had suddenly swarmed him outside, thirsty for blood like tiny flying vampires. One had almost gotten under his shirt.
Gross.
His phone's flashlight lit the path decently enough—standard cave fare. Wet stone, the faint scent of mildew, and that never-ending drip... drip... drip of condensation falling from above. But the deeper he went, the more he noticed something unusual. Roots. Thick, twisting ones, burrowed into the rock and pulsing faintly with moisture.
"They must be from that giant tree," Han murmured, eyes trailing one root that ran along the ceiling like a skeletal vein.
Deeper still. The silence was broken only by the steady rhythm of dripping water… and then—
Hmmmm.
A soft, wavering hum echoed through the stone. Not quite a growl, not quite a purr. Almost like the mewl of a kitten.
Han froze. A knot tightened in his chest, and his breath caught.
"…Please tell me I didn't just walk into the panther's den."
The thought hit him hard. What if the monstrous panther had cubs? What if that whole chase through the jungle had been to protect them? What if the snake had only been a threat because it was heading toward this cave? Had that brutal fight been less about territory... and more about family?
Drip. Drip. Drip drip drip.
He stood there for a long moment, stuck in the space between fear and guilt. His mind stirred with old words—his grandfather's voice, as clear as if it were beside him:
"If you step into the darkness, do not let it consume you. Move through it. Find the light."
It was one of the many sayings his grandfather had shared—cryptic, dramatic, maybe meant to be motivational. At the time, Han had mostly rolled his eyes. But now?
He exhaled, then stepped forward.
The narrow passage gave way to a yawning cavern. It opened like a hidden lung, large enough to hold an apartment complex. Towering roots from the giant tree above twisted through the stone like anchors, holding the ceiling aloft. And there, near the center, nestled in the soft dirt, lay two forms.
One was unmistakably a cub—a small feline, no larger than a regular house cat. Black fur, twitching ears, a small tail curling at its side. Beside it, massive and still, was a larger panther—the same unnatural bulk as the one that had chased him. But this one… wasn't breathing.
Han stared, a pang of something hard to name twisting in his gut.
"…Was it your mate?" he whispered. "You fought so hard… to keep her fed, keep her strong enough to deliver… and now…"
His voice trailed off. He didn't finish the sentence. What was the point?
He sighed, then slowly descended the uneven slope into the cavern. The cub twitched at the sound of his steps, ears perking, body low and tense. Han raised his hands slightly, moving with caution.
"It's okay," he said gently, crouching a few feet away.
From his pocket, he pulled out a small tube of mushy kitten food—the kind you'd feed strays. He wasn't exactly carrying it out of kindness. No, he'd started bringing it because his crush liked feeding the street cats behind school, and in a desperate bid for her attention, he'd planned to do the same.
That "tomorrow" never came.
He peeled back the seal and placed it on the ground, nudging it toward the cub. The little panther sniffed, eyes darting between Han and the food, torn between instinct and hunger. After a few moments of hesitation, it padded forward, slowly at first—then greedily began licking the contents clean.
Its eyes lit up with joy.
Han allowed himself a breathless smile, tension melting from his shoulders as the cub finished eating and, shockingly, rubbed its tiny body against his leg.
"…You've gotta be kidding me," he muttered, watching as the little beast nuzzled him affectionately. "You do realize I don't have an infinite supply of that stuff, right?"
The panther cub didn't seem concerned.
With the sun finally rising, Han led his new, fuzzy companion back to the cave entrance—the one he'd claimed as his temporary home. The kitten padded close to his heel, tail flicking like it had already decided he was family.
Han paused at the entrance and looked ahead.
The forest floor was still dark, save for a single shaft of light that had reached deep through the cannapy enough to illuminate the bodies of the two fallen beasts. The snake, now stiff and pale. The panther, lifeless but no longer burdened, its cub was safe now .
A new morning had begun.
Han glanced down at the cub pressed against his shin.
"Guess you're stuck with me now, huh? Well how about Zhao as your name my noble kitty "
The little creature purred in reply.