It was daybreak and Ming Tao had not had an ounce of sleep since then. He could not stop thinking about Mira and her scent. The luscious scent that captivated him and almost made him drop his guard around her and it was maddening. That witch did sothing to him and he knew it. It must have been in her touch yesterday. When she kissed his cheek.
What even was that? Ming Tao pulled a hand to his face and wiped his cheek ferociously like he was trying to rid his skin of the imprint of her kiss disease. Who on earth kissed a man she just yelled at?
Who on earth even hits the mighty leader of a clan with ease and gets away with it? An insane one, that’s who. And Mira was already established to be insane. She must have a death wish, that was for sure. Ming Tao groaned in frustration.
WHY. WAS. SHE. ALL. HE. COULD. THINK. ABOUT???
Why was his mind all over her and the things she did? Mira was strange. Really strange. She was like a whole different person and it did not make any sense.
Well, she did almost bring a pest situation to the pride land. That would have caused a lot of damage so maybe she was not that different, Ming Tao reminded himself.
She did that because of Hye Yang. As much as he hated to admit it, Hye Yang deserved that treatnt after what she tried to do. Ming Tao sighed. He trusted Hye Yang. He even told her about Mira’s sche with the cubs in their quarters yet she pulled an unbelievable stunt. A reckless one that made him question his own ability to trust people. Ming Tao ran a hand down his face as he tried to breathe. He should have a bath. That would clear his mind off everything that had unfolded these past few days.
Ming Tao stood up the stacked up fur on the bed and walked forward. He grabbed onto a fur coat hanging against the wall opposite him then traced his free hand not holding the coat through the wall till it rested on a carved stone shelf that bore so flower fragrances. These were a gift from Hye Yang. He gritted his teeth. He should throw them away but they scented good and he loved them. Grudgingly, he took so and made his way to a river.
This river was one of the sub divisions of the main river stream connecting the five clans. It was refreshed and self cleansing constantly, making it eligible to drink and bathe it. The eagle and snake clan took care of the water supply always so other animals could freely use it whenever they needed. By this ti of the day, the pride animals would have had their baths aning he would have so alone ti.
He needed that alone ti to gather his thoughts.
Once Ming Tao got to the river, he squatted and dipped a finger in. The river water was chilly but not too cold. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the fresh air the trees provided then he exhaled slowly.
This was good. His head was away from that demon for a change.
Oh shit. It still was centred around her. Ming Tao clenched his jaw and took off his clothes, dropping them by the riverbank. He walked back in his naked form and when he was a good distance from the river, ward his body up for a sprint. He wanted to dive into the river and make a very loud and ssy splash.
Ming Tao charged forward and sorsaulted in the air before straightening his hands above his head and closing his fingers to form a spear to make a perfect dive.
Splash!
Loud and ssy, just as he wanted. He chuckled, swimming in a circle. The prickly feeling the water had on his skin was nice. He enjoyed basking in his naked skin. Ming Tao dug his entire body into the river and swam. Now he pulled his head out for so air before diving back in. The other cheetahs were weird, Ming Tao thought. They did not like to swim like he did, they only did it when it was necessary.
Ming Tao kept swim racing himself, going back and forth in a line. This helped him relax. Now it was ti to bathe. He swam back to the riverbank where he kept his clothes and dug his head out of the water, a wide smile on his face.
His smile slowly faded to confusion at the sight of what laid before him. Two lion cubs were with his clothes. And actually betting on it. Geez, can’t a cheetah have so alone ti without running into people?
Ming Tao raised his upper body up shore, resting his elbow on the riverbank. He watched the lion cubs waiting for one of them to notice him.
One of them put his coat on and raced around. His coat nearly downed the cub and draped all over the soil. That stung. That coat was made with expertise artisanry by one of the best skin makers in his tribe and a cub was staining it on soil ground. The other lion cub was throwing rocks at a tree.
"Haha, the coat is mine." The one wearing his coat put both hands up his face, stuck a finger in both ears and waved his other fingers with his tongue out and blew a raspberry at the other lion cub.
"No it’s not. I will catch more fruit than you!" The other cub said.
So these two babies bet on his expensive fur coat over fruit. FRUIT. His day could not get any shittier. Ming Tao silently watched them play. This was better than getting lost in his thoughts anyway. With Hye Yang gone and after Mira’s little trick last night, he was not interested in following Mira around. Not when he also witnessed she and Jia Hao be intimate.
A thud brought Ming Tao out of his head. The stone the lion cub threw hit a branch and four apple berries fell down. The cub’s face lit up. "I caught more! Ha! That fur is mine!" The cub ran to his friend and dragged Ming Tao’s coat from him. The other one held it back, not letting go and they scuffled for it. These cubs were funny. So they saw a coat just lying around on the ground by a river and because no one was in sight assud it had no owner. Could he bla them? Children generally were stupid.
Ming Tao cleared his throat, cocked his head to the side and grinned. "Sorry to interrupt whatever this is, but that is mine." He said.
The cubs stopped moving and turned to face him, his coat trapped in their hands from the tug war.
"No!" One of them said. "Finders keepers." He added.
Ming Tao could not believe what he just heard. He did not want to get out of the water and show them his nakedness nor did he want to have his clothes back with force.
"That rule does not apply when it already belongs to sobody." Ming Tao said, his smile widening. He stretched his hand forward and gestured them to co forward. "Give it back, little ones."
The cubs exchanged glances with each other and both had a firm look. Their cheeks puffed and it looked like they had co to a similar conclusion. The cubs made their way to him, his coat nicely tugged between their hands.
Ming Tao winked. "Good cubs." He said.
"Quick! Grab his fur pants too. Leave nothing there!" One snapped.
This made Ming Tao panic. The cubs took his clothes and scurried away. What the heck? So in his attempt to clear his head, he t a fate where he got his property stolen by children. Ming Tao sighed, dipping himself into the water.
This was all Mira’s fault!
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