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And now Beast was bound to Leo I chuffed with aed places

I turned and leaped into the li limb Leaped to top of brick fence and over, into dark I lifted snout into wind and s like snake It was too far to walk, but close to ride Beast needed truck heading to sunset I trotted along road, watching for truck, feeling neeight and power and ood

Trucks were few and I walked long before I saw/heard truck in distance, growling like Leo, eyes bright like twin stars, going toward river I ju Beast will have to land lightly, or newprey to its knees I crouched, and when truck was beneath I leaped forward, in direction of truck and landed lightly, scrabbling with paw and claws on truck top until balance was found Then I settled, snout to the air, s teeth to world Beast is big! Beware of Beast!

Truck stopped before reaching river, roaring heart gone silent I landed in shadows at tail of truck But truck had no tail Not even boar tail or bison tail No tail at all Truck had no blood and had bones of metal Was alive and not alive Still did not understand I wandered off into night, folloind that called to me of fish and water and river birds asleep on banks

World fell away before and below River with snaky name was down cliffs, farfarfar Much farther across river was land--city of Vidalia--and reens and silvers and grays; water was rich and powerful, rising withwater Scented water birds on air and alligator and fish and huas and oil and stinky breath of trucks and boats One long boat floated below, calling lonesoer ti humans on board as it floated by I snorted at remembered stink of putrid flesh

Openedin river air over roof of mouth with soft screee of sound Fleh Upstream, smelled human town of Natchez Below, smelled/saw/tasted water Had not rushed down cliff inBut did have trees and roots and places to land/leap

I spotted a liether beneath belly Leaped Extending front legs and front claws Landed and pushed again, ju to sain, hearing old root crack and break Body flying like bird, fastfastfast, don, hit log buried in up-and-downtail for balance Go-bag slid and bue of sand Hit and pushed, hit and pushed, down and down and side and side, bag and nugget bouncing Swiveled body, changed direction, landed, pushed Heard falling stones and , slower than Beast

I sla for life into mud and dirt Roots held and Beast stopped Fast Hit hard on chest and belly Chuffed with delight Water was close, whispering like lol of big-cat and varound

Vibrations, Jane thought atup frorinding on the earth, like a snake grinds on the ground to-- Hey Hoe get? No way You did not juood leap Ground is close

No! Ground is, like, thirty feet below us

Not far I leaped and bounded froht and mass Landed on mud at bottom Jane said words in ain Jane was frightened of short jump Jane was silly like kit I looked up cliff to sky, hidden by rising earth Jane went silent in shock, as if shot by ered after shift and trotted upstrea place of water birds, all silent, white feathers bright under pregnant ht birds in claws of each front paw Feathers flew into the dark Birds made no sound of fear or death, but all other birds screaht Both birds in claws died I ate, crunching bones and sing feathers and webbed feet and spitting out long bones and curved beak Egrets were h meat for new Beast shape and size Wanted deer Looked across snaky river to see deer on far side, safe from Beast Snorted Sneaky deer, to live on other side of river

I s I remembered this scent

Herbed wood se A tribal Indian scent

I sniffed into wind and trotted fro-place of birds In distance, I saw flickering light Fire I slowed and curved fro plants used in Jane-cere-pushing ht When fire was close, the I/we of Beast slowed, stopping beneath leaves of winter plant, hidden

Sitting across fire was tribal Indian wo nose and chin and golden skin Woman across fire had knobbed nose and chin and darker skin, likein sun

Old copper, Jane whispered to ht, Roserass, and marijuana Weird