Chapter 108: The Truth And The Plan!
Neve could have sworn that his heart almost jumped out of his chest when he heard those screams from the main cave.
He looked out toward the dark main cave area where he had forgotten that people were sitting and eavesdropping. He placed a hand on his chest, trying to calm his racing heartbeat.
’Seems like they have to find their own caves or rooms. What the heck? Why are they all still awake and listening to private conversations?’
Neve almost cursed them out loud but he forced himself to stay calm. There was no point getting angry now. What was done was done. They had heard everything.
Suddenly, the bedroom was flooded with people.
Ryker stepped in first, his expression sharp and concerned.
"What do you mean you’re going to die?" Ryker asked, his voice carrying alarm.
Neve glanced secretly at the system that had popped up in front of him.
{Host is a liar!}
The system was calling him out on his lie. It was broadcasting to the universe that Neve had just told an untruth. But he was glad that they couldn’t see the system.
’Shut up,’ Neve thought back at the system, internally arguing with it. ’If I don’t say this, Cael won’t listen to me. He won’t become chief. He’ll keep blaming himself and protecting Soren. I need him to understand that this is necessary.’
He looked back at the others and at Cael. He lowered his head, forcing fake tears to threaten spilling from his eyes. The performance had to be perfect.
"I don’t want to die," he said, staring at his palm like it held the answer to everything. "So you should help me, Cael. You should become chief so you can protect me and our cubs."
Cael stood up from where he had been kneeling in front of Neve.
He raised his fist and smashed it to his chest in a gesture of absolute commitment.
"I’ll do everything to help you so you won’t die, Neve," Cael said, his voice filled with determination and fierce protectiveness. "I swear it. I’ll become chief if that’s what it takes to keep you safe."
Kelly stepped forward, slipping his fingers into Neve’s hair affectionately.
"We’ll help you too," Kelly said. "All of us. Together."
Aldric stepped forward shyly, his large frame filling the bedroom doorway.
"M...me too," Aldric said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper but carrying sincerity.
Neve looked at him and almost wished to ask him why he was still here. Shouldn’t he be with his sister? But he didn’t ask. He just looked at Cael who now had the support of everyone around him. Not just the support of the people in this cave, but he was sure there would be a lot of people wanting Cael to be their chief once word spread about it.
Sorin stepped forward, tilting his head thoughtfully.
"So, how do we do this?" Sorin asked, his sharp eagle mind already working through the problem. "We can’t just burst into Soren’s cave and tell him to hand over his position. He’s the chief and he has authority."
Ryker crossed his arms, thinking about the systems used in his own tribe.
"In my tribe, we use election to pick the next chief," Ryker said. "If we wish to do something like this, we just have to call for another re-election. Everyone votes. The person with the most votes becomes chief."
Kelly laughed and shrugged.
"Wow, tiger tribe has it easy," Kelly said. "In the wolf tribe, it’s basically, fighting till you get the throne. Whoever is strongest wins. I’m not interested in the throne so I don’t want to be involved in any bloody fights with my one hundred and thirty siblings."
Neve’s jaw dropped.
"Wait what?" Neve asked, his eyes going wide. "One hundred and thirty siblings? That’s insane."
Aldric stepped forward nervously, clearly uncomfortable with the attention but wanting to contribute.
"In my tribe, we just fight till someone gives up," Aldric said, looking away shyly. "Survival of the fittest. Y...yes."
Everyone turned to look at Neve like they were expecting him to share information about how the red panda tribe selected their leaders.
But Neve did not have a tribe. He did not have a system that he knew of. He just had his original world knowledge.
"Uh... In my original world, everyone votes for the right person and they rule for four years till the next one is picked," Neve said. "Then there’s another election and someone new can be chosen or the same person can be re-elected."
They all nodded, somehow agreeing that this sounded like a reasonable system.
"Does the leopard tribe have council members?" Sorin asked, trying to figure out who would have the power to call for an election or a leadership change.
Cael rolled his eyes and sighed.
"Yes, they used to have," Cael said, his voice carrying frustration. "But most of them were loyal to the former chief, Bella’s father. They left after his death. My father then refused to replace them and that’s how we have no present members at the council now."
Ryker shook his head in disbelief.
"No wonder Soren was accepted so quickly by everyone," Ryker said. "Without a council to question his authority or provide checks and balances, he has total power. I don’t know how we’re going to fix this. But we have to think of something. We have to come up with some kind of idea."
The room fell silent as everyone thought about their options.
They had a problem. A big problem. Soren had absolute power because there was no council to challenge him. There was no system in place to remove him or even question his authority.
Making Cael chief would not be simple. It would not be easy.
Popi, who had been silent the entire time, suddenly spoke up.
Her voice was quiet but it carried weight.
"Can’t we just kill him?" she asked casually, her white tail wagging slowly behind her.
Everyone turned to her at once, their expressions a mixture of confused and surprised.
They all stared at her like she had just suggested the most obvious solution to a problem that they had all been overthinking.