Chapter 113: The Punch And The Realization!
After a calm ride back to the cave, Sorin carefully placed Neve down as his legs touched the ground.
The eagle beastman set him down gently, making sure he was stable before releasing him completely.
"Are you okay?" Sorin asked, his voice filled with concern for Neve’s wellbeing after the flight.
Neve nodded, smiling at him warmly.
"I’m fine. I’m perfectly fine," Neve said. "I’ll just go in and take some rest before..."
But Neve never got to finish his sentence.
A hand shot out from inside the cave entrance.
Instantly, powerfully, it connected with Sorin’s face. The punch was hard enough to send the eagle beastman flying backward. Sorin crashed into the snow with force, tumbling backward several feet before coming to a stop.
Neve yelped as his hand flew straight to his mouth in shock.
"Sorin!" Neve yelled his name, running forward to help him up.
But before he could reach the fallen eagle, the same hand that had punched Sorin grabbed Neve from behind. It was a strong grip. Possessive. Protective. It pulled Neve tighter against a familiar body.
Neve looked up and saw Cael.
His eyes widened in surprise and confusion.
Wasn’t Cael supposed to be out with the others? Wasn’t he supposed to be mapping out traps and security measures around the village? What was he doing here at the cave entrance?
"How dare you?" Cael barked at Sorin, his voice filled with fury. His chest was heaving with emotion. "How could you take him to fly with you when he’s pregnant?"
Oh.
So that was why he was so angry. Neve understood now.
Cael was worried about the pregnancy. He was worried about Neve and the cubs growing inside him. He was worried that something might have happened during the flight. That Neve might have fallen. That the cubs might have been hurt.
Neve looked away from Cael’s face and back at Sorin who was getting up from the snow.
The eagle beastman was brushing snow off his body. His face was already starting to bruise where Cael had hit him.
Sorin suddenly lowered his head, accepting the blame without argument.
Neve felt sad watching him. He felt guilty that he had said yes to Sorin’s offer to fly earlier.
He pressed his hand against Cael’s chest, trying to calm the leopard prince down.
"Don’t argue with Sorin now, Cael," Neve said gently. "If you want to blame anyone, blame me. I was the one who wanted to fly. I was the one who asked him to take me to the eagle tribe."
Cael tilted his head to face Neve, his expression stern and serious.
"You do realize you’re pregnant, right?" Cael asked, his voice carrying controlled anger. "What if something had happened to you? What if you had fallen? What if the cubs had been hurt? But you most importantly, Neve. You could have died."
Cael started scolding Neve, lecturing him about the dangers and the risks. But even as he scolded, he did not loosen his hand around Neve’s waist. His grip remained firm and protective.
Neve shut his eyes as he was scolded.
It made him remember his mother. His actual mother from his original world. The way she used to scold him whenever he did something bad or dangerous. The way her voice would carry concern mixed with anger. The way she would hold him close even while expressing her disapproval.
His lips curved into a small smile as the memory washed over him. A memory he had almost forgotten in the chaos of being transported to this new world.
"Neve, I’m serious!" Cael frowned, noticing the smile on Neve’s face.
But Neve’s hand reached up and rubbed Cael’s chest gently, trying to calm him down. His touch was soft and soothing.
"I’m sorry," Neve said sincerely. "I won’t do it again. I promise."
Cael sighed deeply, his anger starting to deflate slightly.
He turned back to face Sorin who he had punched. His expression was still stern but the immediate fury was fading.
Neve managed to free himself from Cael’s grip as the leopard prince walked toward Sorin.
Neve watched as Cael and Sorin stood facing each other for a tense moment.
Then, to Neve’s surprise, they started shaking hands. Their hands flew over each other’s shoulders in a gesture that was part apology and part understanding. It was the way beastmen settled disagreements sometimes. Not with more violence but with acknowledgment and respect.
’They are men, they would surely sort themselves out,’ Neve thought to himself.
But then another thought slammed into him.
They? Why did he say they instead of we? Why did it feel natural to refer to himself separately from them? To think of them as men and himself as something different?
The realization hit him like a physical blow.
He was finally accepting the fact. The fact that he was a female. Or at least, he was being perceived as female by this world. By this society. By everyone around him.
Of course, no male in this world had pale skin like his. No male had pink nipples. No male had a slender waist. All the males were muscular and huge and built like warriors. They were all broad and strong and masculine in ways that Neve simply was not.
In this world’s perception, Neve was female. And somewhere along the way, he had started accepting that. Started thinking of himself in those terms. Started understanding that this was his reality now.
Neve shook his head, trying not to think too deeply about it.
He watched as Cael and Sorin finished their handshake. They seemed to have worked things out already. Cael flashed Neve a glare. The glare was commanding. The glare was telling him to get inside immediately. The cold was too much for a pregnant person. The snow was not safe. He needed to be inside where it was warm.
Neve lifted his weak hands in surrender, acknowledging the command without argument.
He turned and entered the cave, leaving Cael and Sorin outside to finish their conversation.