TWO WEEKS LATER

TUG.

My ears prick up as someone pulls them. I jolt out of a walking doze on a forested road. Puffs of dirt swirl around my paws. Soft and crumbly. This is what they call a shortcut, because the actual main road to the Beast Taming Elimination Tournament is a zoo that barely moves. At least, according to Lamant and Elandior. We opted to take the back roads. Smart. I walk in front of the carriages and the beast wagon and the supply wagons. Kaline, who tugged my ears to wake me up, rides on my back. It is a civilized caravan to the tournament.

We weren’t so orderly days ago when we left. The Riddlehoeven villa was pure chaos.

Carriages packed up. Servants sounding like a stampede while they run around closing up the house. Kaline and Vedette packed their new clothes. We did end up visiting that tailor that Gussie was so fixated on. Now, we all have new finery to wear. Nothing that would make us look ridiculous, naturally.

Maartenwitz was in full freak-out mode, though you’d never know it from his demeanor. He packed at least six tablets that are empty and several more that hold all the Riddlehoeven beast taming records, just in case someone calls upon his archive of knowledge.

Even now, he sits in the front carriage with Minette and Lamant and Elandior, probably regaling them with all the knowledge that they have forgotten regarding this noble house and its history. Naturally, he’ll probably gloss over Lothair Riddlehoeven, except as a cautionary note, and the theft of the Cobalt-Bellied Sheep as well.

"Blaze, are you awake?" Kaline leans into the wind, letting it play with her hair.

I can’t say I dislike the fingers of the breeze ruffling my fur, either. The day is pleasant, and I need the exercise. In another half-hour, we’re supposed to stop to rest for a bit, and I should make sure that Lightning and the cubs get out and partake of this refreshing breeze.

[I’m awake. How could I not be? We are finally on the way. We are on the path to victory.]

Kaline scratches my ears. [You’ve been sleepwalking for several turns now.]

[It’s a long road.]

[But so scenic! You are missing everything. Besides, it’s not as long as the clogged road to the tournament. Mother and Father hate the crowds.]

I sniff the air, trying to scent danger. If I recall correctly, taking off-path detours in the game world sometimes opens one up to risks such as monster attacks, bandits, and other surprises. Thankfully, my nose comes up empty. Just normal forest scents.

I continue along the road. [Do you think we can let Lightning and the cubs out soon?]

Gussie flaps ahead with Dag. Yes, even Dag gets to enjoy the journey. Kasz rides with the driver of the carriage as a lookout. [There is a beautiful clearing up ahead.]

Kaline gets off and runs to the carriage to ask everyone if we can stop early to let everyone out, especially Lightning and the cubs.

After a few moments, she runs back and climbs onto my back. "Mother and Father say yes. Honestly, I think that they are restless, too."

What a relief. I can’t wait to introduce the cubs to outdoors. Their eyes are newly open! Brand-new, looking out upon the world. They probably can’t see much at this stage, but I want to introduce them to the world. Because they are real to me, and to Lightning.

I might want to rejoin the human world and live as a human again and be with my parents and brother and fiancee, but these beautiful cubs matter. Precious beings. Irreplaceable.

With renewed vigor, Kaline and I cover the distance, eating up the undulating dirt track. The trees grab at us and poke, wanting to impede our progress, but Kaline seems impervious in her joy. For my part, I can’t wait to find the clearing ahead.

The smell of fresh water and the sound of a singing streamlet lure me on until we crest a small rise and emerge into a sun-dappled clearing bisected by a silvery streamlet. Sharp gnarled withered-leafed oak trees compete with young copper beech trees to shade the area. The wide dirt road winds through the glade, paralleling the streamlet and disappearing through a half-sunlit half-shaded opening into the trees on the opposite side. No rush to push on and see what is beyond that chiaroscuro opening.

Dismounting, Kaline stretches out on the soft grass while I curl up beside her. Shortly after, the creaking of carriage wheels announces everyone’s arrival. Dag and Gussie flit around the clearing, while Peridot zooms around, and Einswine patrols. No beast or monster is going to challenge a senior tamed boar. Lobo and Demos roam the clearing, while Lightning pushes Leonie and Finn into the sunlight.

How cute are our cubs? Their tawny tufts of fur puff out like haloes. And these two are too young to get into too much mischief.

[Name: [Leonie]

[Class: [Novice]

[Race: [Common Tiger]

[Level: 1/10 [XP 0/100 STATUS: Full

[HP: 6/6 [MP: 0/0 [Stamina 100/100

[Strength: 0

[Defense: 0

[Magic: 0

[Resistance: 0

[Speed: 0

[Charisma: 0

[Luck: 0

[Skills*: [Bite (Attack Skill] [Pounce (Attack Skill)] [Sprint (Skill)] [Camouflage (Skill]]

[Name: [Finn]

[Class: [Novice]

[Race: [Common Tiger]

[Level: 1/10 [XP 0/100 STATUS: Full

[HP: 6/6 [MP: 0/0 [Stamina 100/100

[Strength: 0

[Defense: 0

[Magic: 0

[Resistance: 0

[Speed: 0

[Charisma: 0

[Luck: 0

[Skills*: [Bite (Attack Skill] [Pounce (Attack Skill)] [Sprint (Skill)] [Camouflage (Skill]]

* Provisional. Newborn.

Oh. So System now registers them?

[They are awake. They are part of the game now.]

System is an unsightly weed in an idyllic setting. But I have to deal with the interloper.

[I suppose they are. Just remember, they are stronger than they appear, even as inoffensive infants. They come from Lightning and me.]

Lightning weighs in from her close position beside our cubs. [And WE are more powerful for having them.]

Human or tiger, I love this female. She always knows exactly what to say.

[We shall see.] System is supercilious. [More powerful or more vulnerable?]

Lightning snaps back. [They are not mutually exclusive.]

System has nothing to say to that. And it’s robbed us of too much peace in this sweet interlude.

Lamant, Minette, Hans, and Elandior refresh themselves with the sunlight and the stream. Kaline is content to relax.

Vedette plays with the cubs, stroking their fur and making little flower crowns for them. Niall points at her and smiles. "You know they aren’t aware of such adornments."

"And they don’t need them," Maartenwitz adds, sounding unconvincing. His lips quirk with a barely suppressed smile.

Dag and Gussie do a flower drop on the cubs, showering them with drifting petals. The cubs sneeze and gaze at the shower, confused, curious. Finn attempts to eat the petals, while Leonie blithely moves her head and tail. Then, both of them smell something.

Demos, Lobo, Lightning, and I smell it too. Game close by. Hopefully not a monster. No. It smells more like either a pig or a deer. Snorting, Einswine shakes his head. [Not a fellow pig. More like a deer, or an elk, or something similar. We could use some fresh food when we camp for the night. Master needs to let us hunt.]

I nudge Kaline. [Einswine thinks that there is a deer or an elk close by. He volunteers to hunt, and so do I.]

[Only if you take Einswine, Lobo, and Demos with you. Should Lightning go?]

Lightning yowls.

The cubs amble toward the forest in a ENE (east northeast) direction. Naturally, she stalks after them. I do, too, because the scent is coming from that direction, and this is their first hunt. Not one we planned, but they move fast for tiny cubs.

[Stop.] Lightning roars at them, restraining them with her paws. [You both need to--]

[Hungry.]

I melt, hearing the cubs’ voices for the first time. Their first word is, of course, "Hungry." Why not?

[You do not need to hunt, my darlings.] Lightning growls at them, and they halt, uncertain. [It is too dangerous for you.]

I appeal to Lobo and Demos. [She’s right, isn’t she? They just opened their eyes yesterday.]

Demos makes an "ufff" sound. [They should learn survival.]

[No, no, no. Too young.] Lobo growls. [Lightning will never allow it.]

I owe it to my mate to present a united front. [I will not allow it!]

Even if System has learned its lesson about cursing our cubs, the game offers opportunities for "accidents" designed to hurt them, and us, and bring us to heel. Naturally, I don’t trust my cubs’ lives to a random encounter.

Lightning shrieks. [They’re gone!]

In the blink of an eye, the cubs have darted into the forest, the leaves swaying and crunching.

My paws move faster than ever before. Super Jump is not out of the question. Kaline and Hans are right behind us, with Peridot and Niall in hot pursuit, and Gussie and Dag zipping ahead.

The hunt is on! Let’s retrieve those cubs!