Noah threw his head back and laughed, not caring one bit that I was bossing him around in front of his entire elite guard that had just returned from their mission.
"As the Queen commands! Co on, you mangy furballs, let’s see if the beer Oryn brewed is as strong as his stone-work."
"And Fenric," I added, looking at the Snow Tiger who was still watching Solin and Raiden with a look of pure bewildernt. "Make sure your sister feels at ho. Show her around, and tell her what she needs to know so she doesn’t get lost. Oh, and don’t you dare forget about Talia."
I honestly thought she would try to flirt with the other females, but then my eyes fell on her line of sight.
It was Solin.
Eh? Eh? Ehhhh?
Have those two finally decided to leave the rest of the innocent females and match up? I an, they do seem to look great together. You know, black and white make a great yin and yang mix, even if they are both yins.
Sigh, let’s just see how this goes.
At least now I won’t have them both on my neck.
"I’ve got them, Arinya," Fenric said, his voice low and steady. He nudged Solin, who was still holding Raiden as if he were a precious artifact. "Co, Solin. I’ll show you around."
As the crowd began to disperse, I led the rabbit tribe toward Oakhaven.
Damar glided beside , his gait silent and fluid.
Every few steps ahead, he’d glance down at Lyra, then at the massive fortification walls in progress, and then back at , as if he was trying to reconcile the mory of the place before he left and now.
"You built all of this," he murmured, his erald eyes sweeping over the foundations. "In two months?"
"I had a lot of pent-up anxiety, Damar," I joked, though my eyes stayed sharp on the horizon. But then I turned serious as I added. "And we had a visitor. A red-scaled female snake."Damar ca to a dead stop. His tail went rigid, the tip twitching with a violence that betrayed the storm of emotions brewing inside him. He didn’t look at the walls or the rabbits anymore; he just stared at , his erald eyes blown wide with a terror that I’d never seen directed at himself—only ever for .
"A red-scale?" he repeated, his voice a dangerous, vibrating hiss. "Here? In the sanctuary?"
I could almost hear his heart thundering in his chest, a rapid, panicked rhythm that made Lyra stir in her sleep.
"Did anyone get hurt? Did you chase her away? Ari, did you...?" His voice cracked, his scales rippling as he prepared to coil, as if the threat were still standing right behind us.
"She’s dead," I said simply, reaching out to squeeze his hand, trying to ground him. "I may not look it, but I’ve got quite the fight in ," I laughed, but he still didn’t seem to grasp the reality of what I was saying. "Don’t worry, Damar, I killed her."
"You?"
"Hey, I just said I have quite the fight in ," I nudged him with my elbow and pouted.
"Ari, you fought a red-scaled snake beastman?" He seed to be even more scared than he was in disbelief. "Why? What were the others doing? Where was Fenric?" His breath grew frantic, and his eyes searched , scanning my arms, my neck, my face, as if to spot any missing parts he had not noticed before. His hands—usually so steady—were trembling against Lyra’s back.
"Well," I darted my eyes away, feeling that familiar guilt for making them worry. "It’s because she snuck in and attacked the one place everyone was absent from. They were working on the Palace, and I was in the nursery with the pups and cubs."
Damar’s eyes dilated, and his slits grew darker, a deep, midnight green.
"The nursery? Did..." He looked down at his daughter, his grip tightening just a fraction as he realized she had been the target. Lyra was already snoozing softly, her tiny face pressed against the silver scales she’d only just t.
"Nothing happened to anyone. I reacted in ti. That’s why I said I have quite the fight in , because I wouldn’t let any cub or pup get eaten by the likes of her," I explained, trying to sound a bit more ’cool’ than I felt. "I killed her," I demonstrated with my fingers, making a snapping motion. "I ripped her head off, haha."
Now that it was just a mory of the past, it felt almost too good to be true. "And all I got out of that was just a few scratches."
Damar didn’t laugh. He didn’t even smile. He pressed his forehead on my shoulder.
"Ari,"
A low, pained sound escaped his throat—a sound of pure, raw relief mixed with the agony of knowing he hadn’t been there to be my shield.
"I should have been here," he choked out, his tail wrapping around my waist, pulling close until I was practically pinned to him with Lyra sandwiched between us. "Ari, those kinds... They are ruthless. They don’t just bite; they crush. If she had..."
"But she didn’t," I said, running my fingers through his ssy silver hair. "I’m the queen, rember? I have to protect my people."
Damar looked like he was going to complain and tell sothing along the lines of ’You need to protect yourself first before you protect others,’ but he swallowed the words.
I reached for his face and stroked it.
"Besides, I think the motherly instincts gave a bit of a power-up. I felt like the strongest in the world at that ti, Damar."
I looked up toward Oakhaven, where the sheep were already waiting, watching our procession arrive with wide, curious eyes.
They were looking forward to eting their neighbors.
Behind us, the rabbit tribe walked steadily. And I looked back to see Gram staring at , impressed, while Dani just seed glad he wasn’t the one I was ’ripping the head off.’
But the thought of a red-scaled beastman attempting to eat the children made them feel a little skeptical about their decision now.
Well, they were always wary of predators.
"Don’t worry, guys, with here and the wall in full construction, you’ll be saved," I said. "No one’s getting in and out without a proper check-up."
They seed a little bit relieved with my assurance, but to make sure they stayed assured, I would have to prove to them that they were not in harm’s way.
"Co on, big guy," I whispered, patting Damar’s shoulder and then stepping back. "The rabbits need to get to their new ho. You can’t be a puddle on the floor when we have a feast to attend."
Damar stood up, but he didn’t let go of my hand. He looked at with a look of absolute, profound worship.
"You really killed a red-scale," he muttered, still finding it hard to believe, and it made wonder just how dangerous they can be considered in comparison with Damar?
I an, when I fought her, she wasn’t all that, but still...
"Ari. You are... truly incredible." He said, looking into my eyes. "And terrifying,"
"Hey! I’ll take that as a complint," I grinned, leading the way once more.
As we finally reached the entrance to Oakhaven, I turned to Robin, who was waiting in front of the rest of the sheep.
"Robin, I’ve brought your new neighbors," I announced and stepped aside to let Gran step forward. "This is the part where you shake hands," I said, and they both looked at , puzzled.
Ah, that’s right. We need to establish that culture.
"Hey now," I stepped between them and held their right hands out and placed them together. "This is how you greet each other when you want to say welco, haven’t seen each other in a while, or you’re just being... polite," I smiled. "Now, say it’s nice to et you at this point."
They were new to this custom, but it seed fun, and they decided to do it.
They shook hands, quite awkwardly, and said,
"Nice to et you, I am Robin. Chief of the Sheep tribe."
"Nice to et you, I am Gram, chief of the Rabbit tribe."
The rest decided to follow suit in this pattern and shook each other.
I dropped my hands on my waist, my head held high as I felt proud.
"Now, Robin, lead the way. Show them the Rabbit Tribe their new settlent."
Robin bead, his fluffy ears twitching with excitent. He looked like a man who had just been given a very important secret mission.
"It would be an honor, Land-Mother! We’ve prepared the softest earth and reinforced the root systems just as you suggested."
He turned to Gram with a hospitable dip of his head.
"Co, Brother Gram. Our weavers have already prepared blankets for your young ones. We may not share the sa pelt, but we share the sa grass, yes?"
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