I Become the Baby Tiger in a Beast Taming World

Chapter 122 - 118: New Day, New Dad

Days later, our babies have names now.

Leonie, the girl, clings to her mother Lightning, while Finn, the boy, curls into me.

I liked Leonie because it sounded feline. Finn sounded feline as well. For two tigers named after natural phenomena, we picked the most human-sounding names.

Lightning bathes Leonie, who trembles and quivers. Finn’s fur gleams from his own bath. He didn’t put up any kind of resistance either. But then, both of them are too young to give us much trouble. I wish I could see them grow, but then, that would require staying in this virtual land, and that’s not sustainable. Even if this feels like a family--a wacky extended one.

Pacing at the entrance to the den, Demos carries out his guard duties, spelling Lobo. Kasz also patrols, poking with his scimitar at every shadow. Even Dag loops in a lackadaisical way, and Gussie bird-dogs him. Those two. The comedy team I didn’t know I needed.

None of them get too close to Lightning’s alcove and the babies. If my mate’s mother bear instincts lessen, she could permit everyone to see the babies by tomorrow. They are all dying for a closer look. So far, they’ve had to be content with fleeting glimpses of cuteness.

[Leonie, stay still.] Lightning fusses over our little one. [You are wiggling around too much.]

I smile affectionately. [I wonder where she gets that from?]

[Hmph. You just take care of Finn.]

I lick my little boy. [No worries. He’s the easy one.]

[Oh? You say that now.] Lightning is all female solidarity. [Wait until his eyes are open and he’s stalking his first prey.]

[Ahhh, what every father dreams of. The day he can show his son how to pounce.]

No question, I’ve officially become my dad, albeit in feline form. This feels weird and strangely wholesome simultaneously.

Leonie and Finn still haven’t opened their eyes, and they won’t for several more days. By the time we depart for the Beast Taming Elimination Tournament, they will probably be awake. Given that their birth seems to have been accelerated, they may very well be up and around, full of beans, stalking prey.

But in the meantime, we will protect them and shield them from anything that could harm them. Sorry to wrap them up in cotton, but that’s what we’re doing. System might not be able to memory-hole them, but it probably has all kinds of nasty tricks up its sleeve. Well, not on our watch. Our guardians are out in force.

Dag squawks at Gussie. "They ever wake up?"

"Are you ever going to use your head for something besides growing feathers, Dag?"

He flaps around crazily. "Not nice."

"Idiot." But Gussie almost sounds affectionate.

She tolerates him, even pitying him. Privately, she’s told all of us that Dag is disadvantaged. Raised underground, no proper beast company until I graced the goblins’ former home. The goblins aren’t the best conversationalists--well, except for Kasz. Of course, Dag mostly hung around the late lamented Bykt, who was no Abraham Lincoln in terms of oratory. So, he dpicked up some rather unhealthy verbal habits, such as bad grammar.

Gussie continues. "And you should say, ’Will they ever wake up?’"

Dag flutters his wings. "What’s difference?"

Gussie clicks her beak. "THE. It’s ’What’s THE difference?’ One is correct. One sounds better."

Dag argues with her, and Gussie doesn’t back down. Although she sometimes humors him, long-suffering, because it’s too much trouble to argue every point with him, she mostly trades jabs with him. Their rabid bickering provides a comedic soundtrack to this cozy domestic moment.

Lightning pauses her ablutions with Leonie. [The pair of them. They almost sound like mates.]

[Bite your tongue. Gussie has too much taste for that.]

She snickers. [How well I know it. But I think that Dag has a little crush on her.]

[She’s out of his league.] I watch Lightning smooth Leonie’s fur. [I thought she liked that other bird, the one from the ball.]

[Yes, but she’s hardly had the chance to court or be courted by him.]

I’m not so sure that’s it. Gussie is hardly shy and retiring. Perhaps she relishes her freedom, or perhaps she is picky.

Demos whistles for me to approach, and I lope across the den to meet him. [What news?]

He flicks his cocoa-brown ears. [When do we get to see them?]

I can sympathize, but Lightning will have all of our heads unless I keep everyone away from the babies for now. [Asking every five minutes is not going to make it come any sooner.]

He offers an "uff" of distaste. [FINE.]

Everyone wants to see the babies. I can’t hold back the adoring crowd for much longer. Oh, I never realized that creating a nursery-like environment could bring so much pressure. It’s all Leonie’s and Finn’s fault for being so adorable.

I prowl in front of my little family, a golden barrier. Nobody is getting through me.

[This is NOT fair.] Demos sulks. [At least move so I can catch a glimpse of them across the grotto. Just who do you think is idiotic enough to try and steal your babies?]

[Don’t jinx it!]

He claws the rock floor with a loud SCRITCH. [Unbelievable. I liked you better before you had offspring. Now, you are a crazy cat.]

[Wait until you and Ursula have cubs.]

He offers another "uff." [It is not as easy as it was for the two of you.]

Why am I not surprised? System wanted Lightning to get pregnant as soon as possible so that I would be distracted, and it would have leverage.

Maartenwitz enters, setting down a bowl of crunchy exotic fruits for everyone. Beckoning me, he looks as if he’s about to burst from whatever he has to tell me.

I tear myself away from Lightning and the cubs, and pad across the floor to see Maartenwitz. Standing erect and tall, he looks down on me for several moments, and then squats down. "Blaze, the babies are beautiful."

Awww. He came here just to tell me that? I rub up against him. It’s how felines show affection.

Lowering his voice, Maartenwitz says, "I can’t confirm it, and I dare not alarm Master and Mistress with it, but Niall thinks that there is a curse brewing. A curse targeting the babies."

SYSTEM.

Of course. It just has to threaten the cubs. And because it can’t go after them directly, it’s choosing the curse route.

I growl softly, indicating that I understand, and also communicating my displeasure.

Maartenwitz keeps his voice low. "I suggest, for the time being, that you not share this with the Young Miss. You may tell your mate, but she should not tell the Young Master," meaning Hans. "Niall is not certain yet whether this curse exists, but he believes that forewarned is forearmed."

Of course I’m sharing the grim tidings with my mate, what does he take me for? She has to be protected. Our cubs are everything. Bumping Maartenwitz’s hand with my nose, I tiptoe back to Lightning and the cubs.

She lifts her head and blinks. [What did he want?]

[You cannot tell Hans.]

Her head jerks up, her ears wiggling. [Why?]

[Because Maartenwitz and Niall said so.]

Now she’s got her teeth into whatever news I am about to impart. [Then tell me before I claw you. I do not want to claw you in front of our cubs, even if their eyes are adorably closed.]

[Niall says that someone is directing a curse at us. Maybe even the same dark force that we encountered in the Mushroom Forest.]

My mate takes this news in stride. [I thought we had left it behind. How tiresome. But it is NOT going to touch my babies.]

Primal Beast, I love this fierce female.

I curl around our drowsy Leonie and Finn. The surface of the sun doesn’t seem as warm as these two. I could stay wrapped around them forever. [We won’t let anything lay a hand on them.]

A curse? System can’t get away with it. As soon as possible, I need to talk to Niall. WE need to talk to Niall. If anyone can uncover the truth about this curse, it’s Niall.

System will not curse them.

I wrap around them like a living furnace. Lightning curls around me as well. We are like living pillows providing comfort to our cubs. How is it that I can feel so warm and gooey inside while the threat of an infernal curse hangs over us? The warmth between us is perfect. Not too hot, and not too cold in this temperature-controlled cool cavern.

I can’t even think about the curse right now. It’s vital, it’s critical for our future that I know about this curse. But right now, nothing matters except our cubs and this. This embrace that communicates this simple message: You are safe. You are loved.

[You should sleep.] Lightning’s voice is exhausted, affectionate.

[I’ll try.] But I swear I will stay awake.