The Ugly Duckling Of The Tiger Tribe-Chapter 234: Oh, you clever little tiger

"Come on, babies. You can do it."

The cave was filled with the sounds of soft, determined grunts and the scratching of tiny claws against the stone.

I was on my knees, wearing my coat since it was a freaking negative degree outside and I had been out for a few seconds to catch some fresh air.

Walking in, I saw the cubs rolling over and trying to move.

I immediately got on my knees in front of them to cheer them on.

My eyes were wide, tracking every micro-movement.

Twelve days. It had only been twelve days, and yet these little ’zebras’ and ’patch-work’ wonders were already done with being stationary and planning to torment my life with their little paws. Ahem, you know what I mean.

They had tumbled over each other a few times before, stepping on each other’s faces and bodies... It was so chaotic that they always ended up in one tight bundled knot, exhausted and falling asleep right after their long ’chore’.

Seriously, they have no worries.

Today, they had overcome the roll and were planning to venture into moving, each staying a distance away as if they knew staying together would lead them nowhere.

They were quite smart for newborns. Ahem, I’d say they took that from me. And yes, I’m bragging.

"Come on, little one," I whispered, my voice thick with encouragement. "Just a little further."

The firstborn—my stripey, stubborn boy—had his hindquarters in the air, his tiny paws shaking like leaves in the wind.

He was trying to figure out the physics of his own weight, his ruby eyes fixed on me with a focus that was terrifyingly like Fenric’s that I got goosebumps.

Beside him, the ’prettiest girl’ ever was observing him with a calm mood, as if she were calculating the exact moment to strike out on her own. I knew I smelled arrogance.

Slowly, they shook, wobbled and shook again, their little legs barley able to lift their body... How could it when they drown themselves in so much milk every hour?

They had their big appetite to blame if they couldn’t move their bodies and ended up becoming chubby later. But I bet they’d still be extra cute even if they were chubby.

Then, with a sudden, jerky lurch, the boy managed a single, clumsy step forward. Then another. He looked like a drunken sailor on a stormy deck, but he was moving.

I let out a joyous, breathless laugh.

"You did it! Oh, you clever little tiger!"

As if spurred on by his success, the other two followed. It was a slow-motion stampede of fluff. The second girl, my ’cutest’ tiger-wolf daughter, didn’t just walk; she did a sort of hopping pounce that landed her directly on her brother’s head and they both tumbled on their backs.

Oops. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

You can imagine the second girl moving away to avoid getting caught up in the mess they had gotten themselves into. Wow, she doesn’t play.

I couldn’t help myself. I laughed and reached out to scoop all three of them into my arms, pulling their fuzzy, warm bodies against my neck.

I laughed into their fur, my heart swelling so large it felt like it would burst right out of my chest. This was it. This was the struggle, the winter, the fear—all of it worth it for this clumsy, fuzzy parade.

"Look at you all," I giggled, kissing the top of the boy’s striped head and that of the other two. "My little explorers."

Behind me, the atmosphere was... slightly less joyous.

"Arinya..." Noah’s voice came out in a strained, vibrating wheeze. "The floor... is getting... very cold."

I rolled my eyes to the side, pretending I didn’t hear.

"And the cubs... are walking..." Fenric added, his voice tight with the effort of holding his massive frame in a perfect plank. "Shouldn’t their... fathers... be allowed... to see?"

I didn’t even turn around. I just adjusted the babies in my lap, feeling a distinct lack of sympathy.

"The fathers are currently being disciplined for being ’Boob-Thieves’ for the second time this week," I said, my voice sweet but firm. "I told you, Noah. I told you, Fenric. The milk is for the cubs who are currently growing. If you wanted to see their first steps, you should have kept your noses out of their dinner."

It was just a few days ago that I punished them for being boob thieves and making such a ridiculous joke about my breasts belonging to them first.

And yet, here we are again.

I woke up to both of them arguing above me, and my bra top was down, exposing my leaking breasts. They each wanted to suck on my breast, but didn’t want the other to be on their faces, so they began to argue silently. But they weren’t silent enough and I woke up.

No matter how much they tried to deny it. The smell of breast milk coming from their breath was more than enough to convict them.

"Hah!" I sighed. They just never learn.

"It was... Out of greed!" Noah gasped, his arms beginning to tremble violently behind his back.

"Well, look where greed got you," I said. "But don’t worry, you won’t stay like that for much longer. Just...stay still," I sang out, letting the cubs crawl over my legs. "Hold that spot for a little longer and I’ll let it go."

They grunted but had no choice but to obey.

I looked over at Damar, feeling movement from his corner. But that was it. He just shifted and that was it. He didn’t wake up.

It was only about time. Maybe in a few days, the drowsiness that comes with the winter will subside and he can finally stay by my side.

Hopefully, he doesn’t act childishly like these two. I’d really appreciate it if at least one of them was mature enough to keep the others from acting out.

I have three kids... I can’t have three kids and be worried about an extra three that have so many muscles acting out, you know.

I sighed and looked at the cubs on my lap.

"See, kids?" I whispered to them as they nibbled on my fingers. "This is how we handle mammalian nonsense. We use our brains, and we make them do planks. Now, when you grow up, you’d better listen to your mummy, or you’ll do planks too, okay?"

My eyes were particularly fixed on the boy. My strong instincts were telling me that I’ll have a hard time with that one.

Better to toss him to his father when that time comes. I have no strength for headaches.