The Ugly Duckling Of The Tiger Tribe-Chapter 218: Someone in the cave

Before long, the biting wind and heavy whooshing sounds ceased as Damar came to a stop and I finally raised my head.

We were at the entrance of the cave.

Finally.

"Are you okay?" Damar asked with concern in his tone and I nodded.

"Yeah, yeah I’m fine."

The ones who we should be worrying about are those two... I looked ahead at Fenric and Noah, who had taken charge of the troller’s safety.

They worked hard.

"You can place me down now," I said but his grip hardened a bit before he let me down, as if reluctant to part with my warmth.

The ground here wasn’t covered with much snow, and towards the entrance, too. Luckily, it wasn’t slippery either.

"Good work, everyone," I said, walking towards them and, instead of waiting for them to transform back, I subconsciously buried my face in Fenric’s soft and warm fur.

It was so warm that I wished I could stay like that for a moment longer but I had to compose myself.

"Ahem," I cleared my throat, reluctantly pulling back from him. "Here... Here’s your clothes."

But Fenric did not transform back. Instead, he used his tail to push me into himself and the warmth swallowed me again.

Why must he tempt me so much?

My eyes went hazy with the heat I loved so much, but then I heard a growl in my ear. It was Noah.

He nudged my face and then bit the back of my collar, pulling me away from Fenric who immediately bared his fangs.

"Hey, what are you doing? Put me down." I ordered but he didn’t listen.

I could feel Noah grinning smugly even in his wolf form as he stole me from Fenric.

But that smugness didn’t last as Damar swiftly smacked him on the back of his head and stood where I would fall. Thus, I fell right into his arms and he glared at both of them. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"Don’t play with Ari’s safety," he said and turned. "This is why I can’t stop calling you a pup and a cub."

Hm, he had a point. They were being immature, but it’s not like Damar doesn’t have one of those immature episodes.

It’s even scarier for him because he’s always so serious and mature.

"Alright, I’m fine," I said. "Don’t scold them too much."

Still, he hissed, sliding out his tongue to taste the air, and then something caught his attention.

"Ari," he called, his voice low in a whisper and my ear twitched as well, catching a faint sound from inside the cave.

"I think I know," I whispered back.

The other two caught on and immediately got in front to protect us—well, me—from the unknown danger lurking in the cave.

"Who’s there?" I called out loud enough for whoever was hiding to show themselves.

But silence followed my words.

"Ari, should I go in and...?" I shook my head.

"No," I answered and looked at the company I was with. For us, it’s normal, but for a stranger, having a snake, a wolf, and a snow tiger in one place was a type of danger they believe would cost their lives.

It was already dangerous with just Fenric and Damar but now there was Noah.

It would be even more frightening to a small animal.

"They must be on alert," I said to Damar.

Damar’s emerald eyes slitted, his body tensing as he focused on the heat radiating from the darkness inside, while Fenric and Noah stood like a wall of fur and muscle in front of me, their ears pinned back as they sniffed the stagnant air of the cavern.

"It doesn’t seem to be a large one." Damar suddenly said. "Instead, it smells like... Food." His eyes slitted even more and I turned to look at the cave.

Why does that sound like both good and bad news?

"How can you tell, though?"

"I smell fear," Damar added, his tongue flicking out again. "High-pitched, rapid heartbeats. There are many of them too."

Then, as I focused on what was inside, using my night vision to see in the dark, I saw several pairs of tiny, glowing eyes reflecting the dim light from the entrance. They were huddled together in a crevice high up on the cave wall. Trembling.

Ah, I had a feeling it didn’t sound like a good thing even if Damar mentioned food.

I looked at Noah and Fenric who wanted to go in and fish out the ’food’ occupying the cave.

"Wait," I whispered. "Let’s talk it out first."

Slowly, a small, trembling figure stepped forward into a sliver of light.

It was a Red Squirrel beastman.

He looked tiny compared to my size, but bigger than the Mouselings—barely the size of the rabbits but yeah, about that size—with a large, bushy tail wrapped around himself like a shield and tufted ears that were flattened against his head in sheer terror.

Behind him, I could see two even smaller figures—likely his mates or younger siblings—clutching onto each other, their eyes filled with the same terror.

I can already imagine how they felt once they noticed us at the entrance with no prior warning.

In this world, squirrels were already considered food. They were the normal hunting game, so I can only assume how the squirrel beastmen, who were incredibly industrious but low on the food chain, lived.

Probably only in the midst of their fellow herbivores.

They must have claimed this cave as their winter storehouse since the cold is far too harsh for them to stay in trees.

I looked at the squirrel again and twisted my lips... It was cute.

Now, I may hate rodents, but I can’t help but fawn over ten cute ones. The stone martens were far from cute and the mice were just out right disgusting but these squirrels... They had a certain cuteness with their small, rounded face, button nose, and that thick tail growing from their behind.

To think I hunted this thing for breakfast.

"P-please," the squirrel man stammered, his voice thin and cracking. "We... we have no meat. We only have acorns and dried berries. We are not worth the hunt, Great Ones."

He looked at Fenric’s massive white paws, Damar’s intimidating silver scales, and Noah’s bared fangs, and his knees literally knocked together as he knelt and bowed his head to the floor.

To him, we didn’t look like a family seeking shelter; we looked like a nightmare coalition of the forest’s deadliest killers.

Literally.

I felt a pang of guilt. Here we were, looking like a conquering army, scaring these poor things out of their home.

"We aren’t here to hunt you," I said, my voice as soft and motherly as I could make it. I tapped Damar’s chest and he let me down.

I stepped towards him, and he flinched, his body trembling like I was about to pass a harsh judgment on his life.

"Don’t be scared, we just need shelter from the storm. We have our own food."