Chapter 111: Red Eyes
Tera had become, in the two weeks since the wolf cub’s arrival, something she never expected to be so soon. A mother of three.
It was skittish, and for some odd reason, had gravitated towards Tera from the first day and had not wanted anyone else to touch her.
All efforts to find out where the cub came from failed, and the clan had created all sorts of speculations, which were, of course, all ridiculous. Like one saying maybe a flood had washed her nearby when floods literally did not occur there.
And wouldn’t a cub have already drowned in said flood?
Tera had considered the possibility of another tribe in the area, and sure enough, the system confirmed that.
[This system has already assessed the available data]
[The cub shows signs of prolonged separation, malnutrition, and psychological trauma]
[Based on the cub’s size and development, she has been alone for at least one week]
Tera felt sad. The psychological trauma would have likely been due to a corrupted monster, which gave Tera another fear that the tribe might have been annihilated by a corrupted beast.
She had shared this, along with the possibility of another tribe nearby, with Xavi and a few of the others, but they were unsure. They had gone very far at times to hunt for meat and hadn’t encountered any tribe, much less territorial markings or beasts in the area.
Frustrated, Tera had to remind them of the fact that the tribe could be far beyond where they had been.
[It is possible a tribe is located well beyond this system’s scan range]
’Obviously.’
Tera looked down at the small, silent creature in her lap and felt a wave of protectiveness.
Maybe some members of the tribe would be searching for the cub already. Some tribes were aggressive about cubs disappearing due to the low population, so members from her tribe would definitely be searching for her.
’If someone comes for her, we’ll deal with it then.’
[Famous last words]
[(ᵕ—ᴗ—)]
’What?! That’s not what I mean!’
The sound of shrieking laughter pulled Tera’s attention toward the centre of the settlement.
Nadia and Althea were wobbling through the clearing on unsteady legs, their small arms outstretched for balance. Nadia’s brown bear ears bounced with each lurching step, and Althea’s pink panther ears were pinned back in concentration as she tried to keep up with her sister.
They were playing with three other cubs in some chaotic, ruleless game that seemed to involve running in circles and occasionally falling over.
"Mama! Mama, look!"
Nadia had stopped in the middle of the clearing to point at absolutely nothing with the intense pride of a child who believed she had discovered something monumental.
"That’s very nice, sweetheart!" Tera called back, having no idea what she was supposed to be looking at.
"Mama!" Althea echoed, not wanting to be left out. She pointed in a completely different direction.
"Very lovely, my darling!" Tera bounced her head in a nod while the other clan members nearby laughed.
Tera sighed and looked at the cubs.
It was hard to believe she had been in this world for over a year now. Thirteen months, give or take, since she had woken up in this body.
Lately the system had been giving her small tasks to carry out here and there. Tera had especially upgraded the shelters, replacing the fading silk leaves with a better-preserved version while also adding windows.
This made Tera a it wary that anytime now, the system would give her another major task, which would likely involve her moving to another place since her goal was advancing the whole world.
This detail had been bothering her for some time now. If she didn’t have any cubs, it would have been relatively easier. Her mates could move with her while she left this clan for another with the knowledge she had imparted on them, but carrying the cubs along when the world was still dangerous and healing was concerning.
Later that day, Tera went with some of the females to wash themselves at the lake, and the cub had hesitantly followed.
The wolf cub thankfully didn’t thrash around or kick up a fuss and the females spent some peaceful time at the lake before they started leaving in pairs.
One of them paused to ask if Tera was coming.
"I’ll stay a bit longer. I want to soak."
She was a bit tired of washing someone else and herself and just wanted to relax.
The lake settled into its usual stillness as the last of the females left. The wolf cub sat in the shallow water, playing with it while Tera sat down too and rested her head on a rock.
She was going to miss this place if she left. Especially a place with this much water.
’System. Scan for corrupted monsters.’
[Scanning...]
[No corrupted signatures detected within range]
[All clear!]
Tera exhaled. She had been doing this scan every single week at least since the attack. The system had stopped complaining, and the habit had become as automatic as breathing.
The wolf cub twitched in the water, her eyes snapping towards the treeline as she seemed alert all of a sudden.
Tera sat up at the cub’s reaction. She had never seen it react at all since they had found her.
She then felt uneasy when she noticed how alert the cub was, and she was about to have the system scan the area again when she saw two red eyes peeking from the bushes.
Tera froze.
’System! Something is here. Have you been sleeping?!’
[Oh!]
[Another beast]
[This system suggests Host remains in the water due to her shameful nudity]
[ಡ ͜ ʖ ಡ]
Tera looked at the system, dumbfounded.
’Is that all you have to say?!’
The sound of leaves rustling snapped Tera’s attention back to the bushed only to see the pair of eyes move higher as the beast crept out of the bushes and rose to its full height.
A red-black coat of hair covered the body of a large wolf, making it look less like a living creature and more like a shadow that had decided to take shape and hunt.
And those eyes, crimson and unblinking, had not looked away from her once.
The wolf cub started patting its tail in faint excitement while Tera stood in the water, naked, unarmed, and staring at the largest wolf she had ever seen.