The Ugly Duckling Of The Tiger Tribe-Chapter 162: What do you guys feed the fowls with?

Dani silently walked out of his hiding place, his head bowed and his long ears drooping slightly. He really was doing a great job for a rabbit; he had managed to stay downwind and move with a lightness that would have been invisible to any other creature in this forest.

Unfortunately, he just happened to be tailing three highly sensitive predators who could hear a pin drop in a thunderstorm.

I don’t mean to brag but my hearing is so good I even doubt myself sometimes.

I let out a light, amused huff, looking at him as he stood there in the dappled afternoon light.

He looked so small against the backdrop of the massive trees. He began to nervously twiddle his thumbs, his nose twitching a mile a minute as he prepared his excuse.

"S-Savior... Lord Fenric... Lord Damar," he stammered, finally looking up with wide, shimmering eyes. "My father—the Chief, he... he realized that you shouldn’t have to hunt for your own breakfast after all you’ve done. He sent me to offer you the fowls—the ones meant for the sacrifice, the ones you have already tasted. They are fat and tender!"

He took a step forward, gaining a tiny bit of courage when he saw I wasn’t reaching for his ears.

"And," he added quickly, the words tumbling out of his mouth, "I thought... if you are going to stay, you should see the forest properly! Not just the blood and the Martens. I know the Hidden Falls and the Crystal Grotto. I can show you the places where the sun stays warm all day."

I looked at the two beside me. Fenric was grinning, clearly entertained by the kit’s pluck, and Damar had that calm, unreadable expression, though I could tell he was satisfied that the ’ugly monster’ talk had been replaced by this desperate hospitality.

"Hidden falls, huh?" I mused, looking back at Dani.

I knew exactly what Gram was doing—sending a child to keep the big scary tigers busy—but looking at Dani’s earnest, trembling face, I couldn’t find it in me to be annoyed.

I decided to use it to my advantage. The Hidden Falls and Crystal Grotto sounded interesting.

Now it really seemed like I had entered a fantasy world with all these foreign terms the rabbit tribe has been using up to now. Flat Rock, weeping willow veil, and the rest... And now I’m hearing Hidden Falls and Crystal Grotto.

It ignites the adventure spirit in me.

"Alright, Dani," I said, tilting my head. "Lead the way. Let’s see just how exciting these places are."

Dani’s ears shot up in a mix of terror and excitement.

"Yes! This way! Please, follow me!"

The forest felt alive. The branches danced in the breeze and the birds tweeted, flitting between the canopy. They made nests in pairs, laying eggs that I felt tempted to steal, but I let them be. I wasn’t ’that’ hungry, and besides, fowls were waiting for us. Compared to that, little bird eggs were like a drop of water on a lake.

Dani took us to where the fowl farm was. It was a secluded, fenced-off area in a clearing—the same place Damar had picked up two the night before, leaving the rest to sleep. I watched as the birds pecked at the ground, oblivious.

Knowing that the beastmen already knew how to keep livestock, even if it was for the sake of survival, made me glad. Other places should know about rearing livestock as well; it was much more reliable than hunting every single day.

"What do you guys feed the fowls with?" I asked, looking at how much fatter the rest were.

"We let them roam about," Dani said, though I noticed a hint of sadness in his voice. "And sometimes we feed them grain."

At the sound of ’grain,’ my ears pricked.

"Did you say grain?" My voice thundered in excitement and my eyes lit up. "Did you say you feed them grain?!"

Dani was confused, and a little frightened by my sudden outburst, but when he saw the excitement in my eyes was harmless, he let loose a breath and nodded. "Yes..."

"Does that mean you have grain farms?"

"No, no we don’t. But we have carrot farms, as well as lettuce and cabbage," he said.

Though I was slightly disappointed they didn’t grow the grains themselves, the thought of them having carrots, cabbage, and lettuce excited me even more. I already imagined they would eat vegetables like carrots, but I didn’t think they would have a whole variety. I was already salivating, thinking of the meal combinations I could make with these.

And grains... Grains meant rice. I wanted to eat rice so badly it ached.

"If you don’t grow grains, then how do you get them?"

"We trade," he said, and my interest spiked even higher. "We trade a few of our cabbages for grain. It’s just to feed the fowls, so we do not trade much."

Trading... how exciting! That meant there were established routes and other tribes nearby with different resources.

"Who do you trade with?" I asked, leaning in. "Is there a tribe around here that grows grains?"

Dani was a bit taken aback by my bombardment of questions and how intensely interested I seemed. His worry melted away as he looked at me, and instead of answering right away, he let out a small, genuine laugh.

I pouted, wondering why he was suddenly laughing at me.

"Ms. Arinya, Savior... you seem like a curious cat right now."

The words slipped out of his mouth before he even realized it. It was only when the silence followed that he flinched in horror, his ears snapping back against his head. His eyes went wide as he realized what he had just called a tiger a cat.

The audacity...

He began to tremble.

"I-I mean—!" he stammered, his face turning pale.

I could see the cold sweat rolling down his face as he imagined the worst that could happen after he uttered such absurdity.

Beside me, Fenric snorted, trying to suppress a laugh of his own, while Damar watched with an amused glint in his eyes.

I stayed silent for a moment, my pout deepening. A curious cat? Was I really being that obvious?

"A cat, huh?" I muttered, then I let out a sigh and rubbed the back of my neck. "Well, I guess I can’t argue with that." I swirled my hand in front of me. "Tigers are just big cats, after all."

Dani blinked, his terror subsiding as he realized I wasn’t going to sit on him.

"So," I prompted, "About the trade? Who has the grain?"