Baby System: My Mates Can Read my Mind?

Two babies are sleeping in a soft pile of warm white towels.

Theron had his tiny thumb firmly glued to his mouth. The little snow leopard was curled up right against his side, purring like a tiny, furry engine. The afternoon sun cast a warm golden glow across the giant woven bed.

Rue stood by the mattress for a very long time. She just watched their little chests rise and fall. She really wanted to keep the cub. She already claimed the little girl in her heart. She was a mother now, and her heart apparently had enough room for two.

But right now, she was exhausted.

Her back ached from carrying Theron across the freezing Northern courtyard. Her legs felt heavy. The long carriage ride with Axel drained her social battery. She needed to just exist without anyone looking at her or asking her to solve a Beastworld problem.

She tapped the empty air with her finger.

The blue screen immediately popped up.

"I’m going outside," Rue whispered so she wouldn’t wake the kids. "You’re on baby duty."

The system paused. The blue text flickered slightly.

[I am an advanced multidimensional interface. I’m not a baby monitor.]

Rue crossed her arms. "You brought me here. You watch them. If anyone wakes up or cries, you flash a big red light right in front of my face."

[Host, this is a highly degrading use of my processing power.]

"Deal with it," Rue said flatly.

She swiped her hand and minimised the screen. She didn’t care about the system’s digital feelings. She was on vacation, and she was going to enjoy it.

Rue turned away from the bed and opened the system shop menu again. She didn’t want to wear her heavy Beastworld tunics into the water. She definitely didn’t want to wear animal skins.

It had been so long since she actually enjoyed a real summer. She spent years stuck inside a cold hospital room in New York before she died. She never got to go to the beach. She never got to just lie in the sun.

She was going to do this the Earth way.

She scrolled past the other important stuff and found a section for basic clothing and bought a simple black two-piece bikini. It cost ten points.

The swimsuit appeared folded neatly on a wooden chair. Rue quickly stripped off her heavy Northern travel clothes. She pulled the black bikini on. The fabric felt strange against her skin. It felt smooth and stretchy. It felt exactly like home.

She walked over to the tall bronze mirror resting against the stone wall.

Rue stared at her reflection. It was ridiculous. She had long silver-white hair falling down her back. She had bright pink eyes. Two long white rabbit ears stood up on top of her head, and a tiny fluffy tail rested right above the bikini bottoms. She was a magical prey animal standing in a tropical resort wearing a New York swimsuit.

She laughed out loud. It was a soft, genuine sound.

She grabbed a large white towel and opened the heavy glass doors.

The heat out on the balcony was absolutely incredible. The damp, sweet air hit her bare skin. She walked down a short flight of smooth stone steps that led directly from her private balcony into the steaming water below.

The Sunken Springs were quiet. pools of turquoise water stepped down the hillside, surrounded by giant green palm trees and bright pink flowers. Nobody else was around. She had this entire section to herself.

Rue dropped her towel on a dry rock. She dipped her toes into the water.

It was perfect. It wasn’t just warm. It was hot, like an outdoor bathtub.

She slowly waded down the stone steps until the water reached her shoulders. The heat soaked straight into her tired muscles. All the heavy, freezing tension from the North instantly melted away. She closed her eyes and let out a long, happy sigh.

Her rabbit body surrendered to the safety of the environment. Her long ears flopped lazily down the sides of her head. Her nose stopped twitching. She didn’t smell any predators. She didn’t smell any snow. She just smelled blooming flowers and warm water.

She floated gently toward the edge of the pool. She rested her arms on the smooth stone border and looked out over the tropical valley.

Bright blue birds chirped loudly in the palm trees. The sky was perfectly clear.

"Open shop," Rue said lazily.

The screen hovered above the water. She bought a small bowl of fresh, bright red strawberries. The bowl dropped safely onto the stone ledge right next to her head.

She picked up a strawberry and took a bite. It was sweet and juicy.

This was pure bliss. She didn’t think about the dangerous Convergence market. She didn’t think about Axel freezing in the dark pine forest. She definitely didn’t think about Caius or Knox. Her terrifying mates were thousands of miles away in the deep swamps and the high mountains. They were busy ruling their territories. They couldn’t bother her here.

She was just a normal girl eating fruit in a hot spring.

For two solid hours, Rue did absolutely nothing. She ate strawberries. She floated on her back. She watched the clouds slowly drift across the bright blue sky. She felt her skin getting soft and warm. Her heart rate was steady. She felt human again. She felt fragile, but in a very good, peaceful way. She didn’t have to be brave right now.

The sun slowly started to dip lower behind the tall trees. The air turned a beautiful shade of golden orange.

Rue let her eyes drift shut. She rested her chin on her folded arms at the edge of the pool. She was half asleep, lulled by the soft bubbling sounds of the hot water.

Then, her peaceful world was shattered.

A loud, sharp chiming noise echoed right in her ears.

Rue gasped and jerked awake. Her eyes snapped open. Her rabbit ears shot straight up on top of her head, rigid with sudden fear. Her heart slammed painfully against her ribs.

She expected to see a monster standing by the pool.

Instead, she saw the system.

The blue screen didn’t just pop up politely. It materialised violently right in front of her face, hovering just an inch above the water. It was flashing a bright, highly alarming red colour.

Rue’s nose twitched frantically. The sudden noise triggered her biological prey response. Her feet kicked under the water, trying to find the stone steps so she could run.

She grabbed the ledge and pulled herself up, her chest heaving.

"What is wrong?" Rue demanded. She looked up at the balcony, terrified that the babies were in danger. "Did they wake up? Are they hurt?"

[Your Mates are tearing down the whole beastworld looking for you, including Axel]