The Ugly Duckling Of The Tiger Tribe-Chapter 147: Can you go hunt for something?

We kept walking, searching for a suitable place to set camp until the trees opened up, revealing a small, lush pasture tucked between a cluster of ancient, thick-trunked oaks.

The grass here was deep and soft, with a scent of clover. It looked like the kind of place that had never known a footprint.

And then, there were fireflies, making the place seem a little more enchanted.

"Wow, this is perfect," I said, clasping my hands together as a wave of exhaustion finally hit me. "Let’s stay here for the night."

But when I turned, I found both of them staring at the fireflies that were flying around them in awe. They even tried to eat it, curious what it tasted like.

"What are you doing?" I asked and they both turned to me, their movements rigid. "Don’t tell me you haven’t seen fireflies before."

But neither said a thing and turned their head.

That’s odd.

There are forests everywhere so how come they’ve never seen fireflies? I wondered, but then I realized that all this time, I had never even seen a firefly.

Be it in the forest, or in the tribe, there was never a sign of fireflies.

So for these two, this was new.

’Its hard to believe that the long stretch of trees and bushes had no fireflies. Why? Did the fireflies run away from that side over to this side?’

I kept thinking about it but soon discarded those thoughts.

Why there were no fireflies there, I don’t know, but I might be able to point out the reason as we journey on.

"It’s okay to be oblivious when you see something for the first time but..." My eyes rolled from one to the other. "How is it that the first thing you try to do when you come about a new existence is to eat it?"

An irk formed on my forehead.

"I get that you’re beasts, but not everything needs to involve your mouth," I said and both spat out the few fireflies that had gathered in their mouths, their eyes darting to the side each.

"It didn’t taste good anyway," Fenric said.

"Bugs. They’re bugs." Damar added.

Neither wanted to own up to their ignorance because their pride was sitting right on top of their shoulders.

Seriously. What a pair of kids.

"Yeah, they’re bugs. So don’t try eating them and instead, appreciate the beauty they create, okay?" I asked and they both nodded. "Now, let’s start setting up a place to sleep. Fenric, let down the stuff."

Fenric didn’t argue. He let out a long, relieved breath and heaved the heavy pack off his shoulders, setting it down with a solid thud.

He stretched his arms over his head, his muscles popping, with my eyes fixed on those thick and firm lines.

He noticed me watching and smirked.

"Ahem," I turned around and began to scout for a spot to settle with my eyes.

Everywhere looked nice but the spot next to the trees was especially nice.

"Damar," Fenric said, glancing toward the darker line of the woods. "Can you go hunt for something? I’d go but you’re faster and can avoid detection."

He was finally admitting to Damar being faster than him.

"That’s a good idea," I said as I turned to Damar. "You’ve been here before, right? So you might know the land better than us, and how to avoid being detected."

Damar gave a short, silent nod and vanished into the shadows with the grace of a ghost.

While he was gone, Fenric and I gathered enough fallen branches to get a small, flickering fire going. By the time the flames were steady, Damar had returned with a brace of forest fowl.

He didn’t tell me but he had to go further away, to the place where he knew the fowls roamed and nested at night.

He felt it would be faster and he could avoid detection. I thought he just found one around the area and did not worry much.

And thanks to that, I didn’t know Damar had led a trail right back to us.

We ate comfortably, the juice of the roasted chicken making me realize just how much energy the crossing had taken out of me. As I chewed, I looked out into the deepening gloom of the unknown territory.

If we get ambushed now, can we defend ourselves?

I wondered.

But I shouldn’t worry much. Unless they have a beast warrior in their midst, I doubt they can take on Damar and Fenric.

But who in their right mind would try to attack a beast warrior and a snake beastman?

"Say, do you think we’ll run into a tribe tomorrow?" I asked quietly. "We have to be on another tribe’s land."

"Probably," Fenric grunted, wiping his mouth. "But we’ll deal with that when the sun is up. For now, let’s just enjoy the meat and sleep."

I nodded, thinking that was the only thing we could do at the moment.

Just after eating, I put out the fire by scattering it about. Thanks for the damp grass, we were able to put it out completely.

And then it was time to sleep.

I spread the blanket, the one we had used to wrap the stuff on the jige, on the ground.

It was quite wide and could fit all three of us, though it wouldn’t fit all of Damar cause his tail was too long.

We curled up together and I was sandwiched between them, the steady heat of their bodies acting like a living fortress.

"Are you comfortable?" Fenric asked, his hand taking a lock of my hair and sniffing it.

"Yes, thank you."

"Ari," Damar called, "Your scent," he mentioned and I stiffened a bit, anticipating what he was going to say.

I’m sure Taruna said after the off scent comes the scent that just pulls them in. Is it already in that phase?

No, I’m sure if it’s in that phase already, they would become handsy and try to put a baby in me, thinking I was ripe for breeding.

"It’s no longer smelling off." He said.

"Then, what does it smell like now?"

"It’s... Sweet." He said and then licked my nose. "Just like you."

"Oh-ho, look at you flirting," I said and chuckled. "Well, it’s fine."

It doesn’t seem like I smell like I’m in heat yet. That’s good.

We’re still fresh in this territory, so let’s not get all handsy and smexy yet.

"Whew, I’m exhausted," I said and buried my head in Damar’s chest, hugging him while Fenric stared at me from behind.

He raised his gaze and saw Damar looking at me warmly.

He didn’t say anything, but he knew if his eyes met with Damar’s, he would flaunt how superior he felt.

So instead of that, he buried his head in my neck and wrapped his arms around my waist.