The Ugly Duckling Of The Tiger Tribe-Chapter 175: Predators must not eat this

The sun began its slow descent, painting the sky in pretty embers of burnt oranges. I stared at the sky for a while, mesmerized by the view and even more so when the clouds shaped around the setting sun.

I wish I had a camera.

That was the thought I had while staring at such beautiful scenery.

We found a clearing near a trickling stream—a perfect spot to spend the night.

"Stay here, Ari," Fenric said, his eyes scanning the thicket with a sharp, focused intensity. "We’ll be back before the stars are fully out."

"And we will bring the beast you asked for," Damar added, his voice like velvet over steel.

With that, they disappeared into the brush, definitely taking this as a competition of sorts.

I watched them go, wondering where they got the heart to leave me alone in the middle of nowhere with six rabbits. Then again, looking at the rabbits, they were the ones who should be worried. I was still a tiger, even if I was currently sitting on a log and rubbing my sore feet.

I just didn’t expect them to leave without a second thought. They usually never leave my side.

’Hm, did their competitive spirit increase along with their possessive spirit?’ I wondered but could only shake my head and sigh.

Well, it’s good, I guess. A little me time.

The silence of the forest settled in after a while. The rabbits moved quietly, as if worried that the sound of a single broken twig could get me baring my fangs at them.

They parked the troller and settled in a circle. Each one pulled out a large, crisp carrot or a bundle of lettuce. The sound of crunching filled the air, from their prominent front teeth.

They were organized, I noticed. They had a separate batch of smaller, slightly bruised vegetables for their own meals, keeping the pristine, ’A-grade’ vegetables tucked safely in the cart for trade.

I watched them for a while, thinking they definitely looked cute when I didn’t see them as a threat. Even if they were half beast right now, having features of both man and rabbit, they were still so petite and gullible to an extent.

Even Gram, the old chief, looked gullible to me.

I let out a slight chuckle.

One of the younger rabbits—a male with a patch of brown fur on his left ear—noticed me staring. He hesitated, his nose twitching frantically, before he slowly extended a large, vibrant green lettuce leaf toward me.

I looked at the leaf, then at him, surprised by the gesture.

"Um..." I trailed off, my mind blanking on whether I should take it or refuse.

His ears flattened slightly against his head.

"Oh... my bad. Predators must not eat this. I shouldn’t have..."

"No, it’s fine," I said quickly, reaching out to take it. The leaf was cool and crisp. "I was going to use it to make soup eventually."

"Soup?" He tilted his head, his confusion mirrored by the other five rabbits who had stopped chewing to watch us.

I shook my head with a small, weary smile.

"You wouldn’t understand. It’s a way of cooking it in water with other things."

"Ah." He didn’t look like he understood at all, but he seemed relieved I hadn’t bitten his hand off. "But why do you need to ’cook’ it? It’s already good this way."

Hm, by animal standards, yes, but human standards... Not so much.

I let out a silent smile, ending the conversation there before any more utterances.

I glanced at the rest of them. They were all secretly stealing glances at my face—my real face, they still seemed to be mesmerized by—and then looking away whenever I caught their eyes. The tension was still there, but it was thinner now, like a veil instead of a wall.

"What?" I asked, leaning back against a tree trunk. "Is there something you’re all curious about? You’ve been staring for a while now and I don’t think I can keep pretending not to notice."

The brown-patched rabbit looked at his companions, seeking courage, then turned back to me.

"I... My name is Robi," he introduced himself. "And I... I don’t mean to be disrespectful or anything but," he stuttered, feeling a little anxious for the words he was about to utter. "You just... You seem different, Ms. Arinya."

That’s obvious. Even I can feel I’m different.

"You don’t seem as fierce as you were before. Back in the village, you even bullied—I mean, disciplined..."

He cut himself off, his face turning a shade of pink that was visible even through his fur.

I let out a soft laugh, the sound echoing gently in the darkening woods.

"I know," I said, my voice dropping its hard edge. "I can be a little rough at times. I recently realized I have a short temper, and I don’t like playing games, especially when the odds are against me."

I looked at the lettuce leaf in my hand, thinking of how I loved the feeling of ripping the Martens to shreds and almost regretted not hitting that rabbit girl.

Then I looked back at them and offered a small, sincere smile—the kind that reached my eyes.

"I’m mostly like that when someone tries to take something that’s mine," I said quietly. "Or when someone I care about is in danger. To my enemies, I can be a nightmare. But to my friends... To the people I care about... I’m actually an angel, haha."

I tossed the lettuce leaf in my mouth and crunched on it. Hm, it wasn’t so bad.

"You’ve given me something nice," I said. "So, who about it? Do you want to be friends?"

The rabbits went still. To them, the idea of a predator calling them ’friends’ was probably a concept that defied the laws of nature. They could be servant and masters at best, but friends?

As the fire began to crackle—a small, controlled flame I had helped them start—the atmosphere shifted. They didn’t move their ’seats’ closer, but they stopped flinching whenever I moved my arms.

"I would like to be your friend, Ms Arinya," Robi said, and the others followed, gaining confidence they didn’t know they had.

It might be their mistake to trust a predator’s words, but for the first time, they wanted to believe.

And if it turned out they had been fooled later on, they would only have themselves to blame.

I smiled, loving the change in atmosphere. With this, we should have a smooth sailing trip.

"So," I said, trying to change the subject before it got too emotional. "Tell me more about this Mouseling Tribe."