Tale of Panthera Regina (Remake)

Bonus Chapter #3: Arrangement

POV: Kit

This takes place two years prior to the story (20,020)

A brown Fisher was running in the fresh spring grass. He couldn't wait any longer to see his best friend. The air was still cold, but the snow had all melted away.

Kit stopped suddenly and chattered his teeth. *He would be hungry from waking up from hibernation.* Kit thought of an idea.

The Fisher is a type of weasel, meaning it was a great hunter. They were also the largest marten, reaching sizes of 19-30 inches. Kit used his keen eyesight, smell, and hearing to find his prey.

Kit found a small hole and smiled. Suddenly, he dove into the hole, and when he came out again. He had a hazel dormouse in his jaws. Feeling proud, the fisher started in the direction where his friend had been asleep for three months.

Kit had just passed an old tree that was struck by lightning a few years back. He stopped and sniffed the air. There was an awful odor. However, being a fisher himself. Kit was used to strong odors. Well, not this creature that was hiding.

"Ah, my friend, Kit. How are you doing?" The striped skunk hissed in an annoying voice. Sometimes Kit wished Raider was a porcupine. So he could get rid of him. "I see you are always ready to greet your reptile friend."

Raider used reptile as if it was an evil word. The striped skunk was also a member of the weasel family, but Kit would be happy if someone said that Fishers weren't from the same family.

"Ah, Raider. I see you are still waking up alone after the cold months." Kit shot back and trotted off.

Raider followed him. "I understand why you would hang out with a snake during Lessons, but that's been what, eight years ago?" He said, trying to get Kit to stop.

Kit and Raider went to the same lessons together, but we're two years apart. Kit is 28, while Raider is 30. But no matter what the skunk says, it couldn't change his mind.

They got to the Rocky formation that Zonata, a Mountain Kingsnake, had made his home for the winter. There were other snakes there, but they were used to Kit and promised not to hurt him.

Kit places the dormouse on the ground and places his paw on it to prevent anyone from stealing it. Raider had stolen it once, and then the following year was another snake.

"Zonata!!!!" Kit called with a grin.

Suddenly, a red and black, and white stripe snake appeared. Kit's mother's mantra echoes in his mind. *Red touching black is a friend to jack. Red touching yellow, kills a fellow.*

*Note: This is a true saying which describes if the snake is venomous. Coral snakes and Milksnake are very similar, but only one is venomous.*

The Kingsnake came out with a smile. "Kit." Zonata cried with joy as he slithers closer to Kit and Raider.

"I got you breakfast." Kit spoke and those the dormouse to him. Zonata grinned, then open his mouth, and ate it in one bite.

The two have been doing this for 15 years. Snakes leave their mothers after two years and are on their own. Mammals often found this odd because reptiles don't use the 20-year-old care. So, Zonata, at age two years of age, was attending Lessons while learning to survive on his own. That is when they met and started becoming friends.

At first, Kit wasn't sure, but Zonata had saved his life. A grumpy black bear named Ursus. Kit ran into her one day, and if he hadn't been there to scare her off. Then Kit would have died. It pays that Ursus couldn't tell the difference between coral and Milksnakes. After that, Kit repaid his debt by giving Zonata his first meal of spring.

It wasn't a one-sided deal. During the spring, summer, and fall, Zonata would sleep with Kit. They protected and guarded one another.

"Oh, great," Zonata said after noticing Raider. "The skunk is here. Once again, to try to claim that we shouldn't be friends and blah and blah blah blah...." He said in an amusing tone that made you laugh.

"WHAT!??!! I don't understand why you two don't realize how wrong this is!!" Raider hissed, and his tail was raised in a threatening way.

The forest became quiet as every animal runoff, not wanting to get sprayed. However, the other snakes remained in the rocks even if skunks normally don't eat snakes. They didn't want to tempt fate and become unlucky.

"Hey! Can you just stop it?" Zonata hissed as Kit bared his teeth.

"Look. All I am saying is, when are you guys finally going to choose a female? What is stopping Zonata from killing your kits?" Raider said to Kit in a stern voice. "If you ever had any." He mumbled under his breath. The thought never occurred to the Fisher and looked at Zonata.

"And Zonata, what if Kit gets you to know hungry for a snake. He might not eat you, but you will stay with your female for at least a year. He can eat your eggs just as easy." Raider explained.

Kit suddenly heard a laughed and saw it was Zonata. "Look here. Buddy, if kit wanted to eat me or my eggs. He would have done so already." This was true, and Raider must not have known it as his jaw hung open.

"And my wife and I been together for five years now. None of our pups ever went missing whenever Zonata or his mate babysits." Kit clarified.

"WHAT??!!!!" Raider said.

"Yeah, you didn't know that we have lives and you don't?" Zonata said in a witty tone.

Suddenly, an light brown Fisher came from the bushes with three kits behind her. It was Kit's newest litter. They had seven kits so far, ranging from five to one year old. These three were born in mid-winter.

"Oh my gosh. Three more fluffies?" Zonata said with a hissed as he slithers past Raider and circled River, Kit's wife, and their kits. "Oh, River, there lovely as ever."

"How? Why?" The striped skunk was still not getting it.

Kit trotted over to Raider. The fisher leaned over and whispered in his ear. "Because I have control of my hunting mode, and you don't." Kit lift his tail high in the air, then made his way to his best friend and his wife.

They have been doing this for five years. River and Kit would do what they can to help Zonata and his mate for the year. While Zonata would help protect the kits by being close to the den. They would hunt together and share meals, help raise the babies, and trust each other.

It also didn't hurt that Zonata never mated with a female that didn't agree with the arrangement. That only happen a few times as many of the females agreed to the arrangement. Kit believed it was because his family was starting to be called the snake protectors, despite being a weasel themselves.

Authors note:

All snakes on the island will have their ceremony day at age 20. However, only lived with their parents for two years after hatching. The fathers will remain with their mates for a year and then leave. This is not an actual behavior fact but something fun for the lore. Mode is referring to hunting behavior, in other words, his instincts.