Water

Pausing at the water’s edge, the big cat panted, sides heaving as she took in the moist air, looking around, scanning the forest for signs she had been followed, even this deep into the jungle. She had been eluding capture, leading those who would cage her, enslave her to become an exhibit in their menagerie, another curiosity to be pointed at, stared at and marveled at. She was not a beast to be chained. She would not be taken. Caught by their snares, their nets, their traps, she would fight, snarling, claws flashing, teeth gnashing with her last, dying breath.