Harem King's Collection: Turning Beastkins Into Desperate Wives!-Chapter 71: The Candori Prophecy

Oust made his way directly to the riverbank after leaving behind the human and the simple canine. The tiger stripped his dusty clothes and stepped into the cooling stream, sipping at the water to help relieve his headache and dehydration.

The feline gently bathed himself in the refreshing water, stripping the stale stench of alcohol from his fur. After he had finished, Oust rinsed and wrung out his clothes and put them back on to cover as much of the orange tinted fur on his back as he could with the sleeveless tunic.

The tiger began making his way further up the stream, where the bear was waiting for him.

Sir Corper had long since finished with his meditation by that time in the late morning, but he had witnessed the confrontation between the tiger and the human earlier on his way to go hunt for some odd job.

The bear himself had nearly stepped in to discipline the foolish tiger once more but was beaten to the task when the human, of all people, threw up that shield.

Sir Corper had watched Aster actually manage to break through the tiger’s anger and force him to see the folly of his actions... An act that reminded him of something his own human wife had once done for him...

It seemed Oust actually had learned something in their lesson after all, so the veteran knew the young one would be back for more debate soon. Sir Corper had returned to his place by the river to wait for the tiger in his usual meditation. He did not wait very long.

As the bear swayed and spun in his flowing routine, the big cat simply took to a sitting position a few yards away.

Oust had both knees tucked beneath himself, and both palms rested on those knees, observing the bear closely. The tiger made not a sound as the bear went through his graceful steps. When Sir Corper did reach a stopping point, he finally acknowledged the tiger cub.

"Have you come for another fool’s lesson, young one? Or have you come to have a conversation?"

Oust closed his eyes and tightened his grip on his knees. The large tiger bowed his head forward, showing the veteran the respect he should have the night before.

The tiger spoke with his soft tone, the same one he had used with Milky. Oust was finally tired of hearing the spite his usual, snarling voice carried.

"I... I am sorry for my disrespect. I see it is I that knows nothing... I have fought and trained relentlessly for strength my entire life, only to fall short at every trial... Always to be bested. I have done everything I could to make myself a better warrior... To be strong enough to survive... It is not enough, but I do not know how to be anything else.

"I don’t know how to stop being so angry at such an unfair world, and that has forged me into a different kind of monster altogether... Not one, unlike my sister or father are, but still not as strong... I don’t know what to do with myself anymore... It seems so pointless...

"I have reached my limits, I’ve reached my peak, and I am still so very weak. I am still not enough to ever be anything more than an angry, foolish spoiled pelt, hoping his father would look at him... I am still less of a warrior than even that human runt is..." freёwebnoѵel.com

Sir Corper listened silently, gauging exactly how aware of his own personal faults the tiger was. The big cat was simply stuck, not immoveable, and a strong enough current in flowing water could move anything, even such great weight off the shoulders of one so young...

There was a lot of rage and hurt that weighed the tiger down, and that also weighed his movements down, but there was awareness, too. There was empathy for those harmed by his actions and remorse for the wrong way he had been merely surviving instead of living.

There was something truly good within the tiger, a goodness that had been crushed by years of layered abuse, but one that had not yet been completely torn out of him.

The bear was certain this cub’s father was even less pleased about that, as survival of the most ruthless was the Candori way... Many of the Candori cubs never even made it to adulthood. Officially, their deaths would be announced as ’Training accidents.’

It was a marvel that Oust had even survived this far.

Sir Corper finally answered the bowing tiger in his usual flat tone, stepping into the edge of the water as he did.

"The current is quite soothing on troubled paws. Come join me, young one. Let the water wash away that rage. Let it lick and cleanse your wounds. Let us have a conversation on strength."

Oust joined the bear in the river, Pausing one final time before taking the first step towards becoming the type of warrior Alora needed him to be.

The same warrior that the tiger’s own father had always feared he would become.

The beast the Candori line’s prophecy had foretold: The spoiled pelt that would rise to bring the family to its knees. A beast that would rise far beyond what his abusers ever could.

___

After his reunion with Stahl and his haircut, Aster had a bit more time to kill before the meeting with the prince and the orc chief, so the pair decided they would pay the forge another visit to see how Rust was faring in his apprenticeship to the orc Tan.

Aster was surprised to see how much the pair had already accomplished, as a barrel full of restored and sharpened tools was already finished.

The older orc grunted in his usual greeting, finalizing a new cleaver’s edge for the butcher with the grazing of a whetstone.

"Afternoon."

Rust broke his own intense concentration at the comment and turned around to see his auntie and uncle. He admiringly made note of Aster’s new appearance.

Rust was sweating profusely, with heavy soot marks covering his face and arms where the damp fur clung to him and poked out every which way, but he was still smiling all the while. The meek little fox cub was really stepping his dedication up.

He yipped out his own greeting,

"Afternoon, guys! Can I help you with anything?"

Stahl smiled at the professionalism. It was odd to see coming from Rust of all people. She answered in a joking manner.

"Just browsing! Heard this place had some good wares."

Stahl was caught off guard when Aster actually did walk up and set something covered in dust on the counter.

The human stepped off a ways and grabbed one other item before returning to the counter. The fox and she-wolf were still looking at his first choice strangely, neither certain how to feel about it.

"I’d like to purchase these, if you would."

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