Fitting In
You came to learn a lot over the next few days. This world has many other humanoid animal races, from other kinds of big cats to wolves, foxes, bears, otters, and many others. Not all species has the same culture or naming conventions, so you can often tell who was what species by name alone. Sporting competitions are common and constant, even between species, though every species has their specialty, that made beating them by another species a major event. Bears are famous for wrestling, for instance.
For cheetahs, there are the sprinting competitions. They are the primary method of demonstrating one’s ability among other cheetahs, but even more so, they prepare one for running as an occupation, which is the primary occupation among young cheetahs; the society you have somehow been thrust into has very little advanced machinery, including automobiles. Runners are used for delivering packages too small for a carriage, as well as messages. Challenges are constant, between personal challenges (and impromptu practice) among two competitors, to monthly town contests with various rewards, and then one contest between towns spring and autumn to celebrate the coming of new seasons. Prizes range from as little as bragging rights, to cash prizes along with trophies, as well as the fame that comes with success.
Elkbank has the Spring Race among the cheetahs. Fastbrook has the Autumn Race. The one event everyone strives for, however, is the Long Run. The Long Run is a biannual event much more a marathon than a sprinting competition, meaning that other hardier races like wolves have a much better chance at winning. So far there have been thirty Long Runs, making it a tradition going back 60 years. Cheetahs has won a third of the trophies, most of them towards the beginning of the Long Run; recently the wolves have started picking up trophies, however.
Fitting in is difficult for you, but you manage. Of course, you need a place to stay, and Far-Runner had some space, though he often asked probing questions that makes you uncomfortable and force you to come up with explanations; most of them you’ve manage to avoid by saying you don’t want to talk about it, that the memories weren’t pleasant. So far as they know, you’re a runaway trying to make a name for herself somewhere else, from a family that restricted you in some fashion. Fortunately the cheetahs seems accepting and inviting, and it isn’t long before you are challenged to races. They seem reluctant to call you “Sue”, as such a naming convention makes little sense to the cheetahs, so you say you want to earn a new name. When Far-Runner asks why you want to forsake your old name, you go silent, partly in thought, but they take the silence as your unwillingness to talk about why you left home, and the conversation is dropped.
Your new body is sleek and powerful, and you constantly feel the urge to run. Your endurance is incredible, and running brings a new high each time. Still, Swiftfoot lives up to his name. He is faster, stronger, and seems more driven to excel. It is obvious he was really in it to win. He and you grow closer as time pass, and his passion is infectious. You learn to push your new body even harder, to lengths you never even realized.
Food is primarily preserved or fresh meat, and drink primarily water. Sugar and spices aren’t an important part of the diet of the animal-people in general, though there are new spices with names you never heard before. In spite of this, the taste of meat and fat tastes better than before your transformation, and you feel no craving for soft drinks or junk food.
There is a form of currency, though even this was built around money. A sash around the torso carries lightweight coins and paper money, distributed around the body to allow for running speed. You are pushed to start earning money very early on, but work is easy; there are always deliveries to be made, especially for cheetahs. You still remember your first time, having to deliver a message to someone in a town called Meadow. As it is your first time, you are not expected to make it all the way to there yourself, but to drop the message off at a messenger station. Some cheetahs are known for making the whole trip themselves, but they are the hardcore runners like Swiftfoot. You weren’t considered quite a hardcore runner yourself, and your first run still took a lot of you; a full day’s run, and then most of the night back, taking some time for a quick nap -- something you are also pushed to do, to take little naps called “run naps”, snaps of sleep that last at most 2 hours. You are trained and drilled to make every bit of sleep count. You still are yet to see Meadow, nor many other towns for the time being.
The Spring Race are only a few weeks away. Training for it are not easy, and Swiftfoot has been pressing you to practice day and night. Running is the primary method of practice, but occasionally you are required to run while wearing ankle weights; which makes you feel all the more free when they are removed. He has made a point of seeing you nearly every other day for practice, which makes you feel glad as you increasingly became attracted to him. Still, his mind is always on the race and practice, and he doesn’t open up to you; you know hardly anything about him besides his passion and drive for racing, and you can’t help but hope there was a little more to him than that.
Written by Lone Wolf on 04 June 2015
