Fantasy Fiction; Alitah (a part lion, part cheetah I think) challenges the wind, proceeds to get chased by a tornado, and is rescued by a man who calls down the wind from between the stars...

[Ariel]

Unfortunately, I don't remember much about this book, and none of it's physical properties. (I almost definitely got it second hand/in bad shape; if I had a physical copy anyways lol.)

I can't remember if this is a book, short story, or what. It might even have been a collection focused around one general storyline or "universe". I was pretty young (12 or 13 maybe? Early 2000s), but I used to read above my age group, so I'm not sure about it's intended audience (although I doubt it'd be appropriate for anyone under YA).

I think it began by introducing us to a native tribe and follows one man in particular. Invaders/enemies of some kind attack, retreat or are killed, and the dead are treated with what the tribe considers deep respect (cannibalization).

The main character is asked by one of his dying enemies to go rescue someone, some maiden in distress probably.

I also recall the man traveling through a forest and thinking he is going in circles because a tree he scratched with a knife to mark his way keeps getting up and running to get ahead of him. I'm pretty sure they end up having a conversation about it lol.

At one point he jumps over a fallen log in that same magic forest and lands on a highway in the future...

They also come across a house in the forest (I think it was made out of, or covered in, vines) that is actually alive and tries to eat him and his companions (The lion-cheetah thing and a bird, I think).

It sounds nuts, but this damn story keeps popping up in my head every few years, so I hope someone recognizes it!

[Aerulan]

Carnivores of Light and Darkness by Alan Dean Foster. The scene with Alitah might be in the second or third book in the trilogy, but I'm pretty sure is in the first one. All three are great reads.

[Kris]

Aerulan's suggestion of Carnivores of Light and Darkness (book 1 of Journeys of the Catechist series by Alan Dean Foster sounds like your book.

Google Books preview:
https://books.google.com/books?id=6Yu...

Quote from the book:
- The storm did not stop - but it paused. Not intimidated, not daunted, but curious. Curious as to what a single diminutive human was doing placing itself directly in the storm's unstoppable path.
(...) "I do not know what sort of deviate contest you are engaged in with this poor animal." Ehomba gestured back at the great cat...
(...) "I was told of the creature's boasting," the tornado replied, "that it claimed it could run faster than the wind. So it was he who set the challenge, and not I."