Chapter 262: Reunion
Zayn and Karl were tossed into the cave prison. And the first person they saw in there was Little Black.
They slowly turned to see Little Black sitting down at a corner, hugging his legs firmly like one who was being tortured.
"Little Black...?" Zayn called as soon as they got a closer look.
Immediately, Little Black looked up to meet his gaze. Shock was written all over his face as he blinked, surprised. "You... you two..."
Little Black immediately got up to his feet and rushed toward them. He didn’t even hesitate but crashed into Zayn’s legs, hugging him firmly.
"It’s you guys! It’s you!" Little Black immediately burst out into tears while hugging his legs firmly. "I didn’t know... I thought I wouldn’t see you guys again. I was scared that I wouldn’t see you again. I didn’t know what to do. I was so scared..." He cried.
Zayn simply stood there watching Little Black cling firmly onto his feet as he casually smiled, patting him on the ears. "Okay, okay... It’s fine now. We’re here, so it’s okay." He comforted him.
Little Black hugged him for longer as if he hadn’t seen them for years or something. Zayn was the one who gently pulled him off while he stared at him. "Don’t worry, we’re not running away or anything. Okay? We’re here." He said with a smile, pulling him back.
Little Black finally let go of his legs and stared up at them. "But..." He looked up at Karl as well. "What are you two doing in here in prison as well? I thought you’d be coming to get me out and all... why are you also in here?" He asked, confused and curious.
Karl and Zayn stared at each other and then stared down at him with a smile.
"Well, surprise then. We were also thrown in here," Karl announced.
"...." Little Black blinked, staring at the two of them without words.
"Oh," he finally said.
---
In the slightly dark cave room, the three of them sat down at a corner beside each other. They stared around at the messy cave room—one that hadn’t clearly been cleaned for a long time now.
The three discussed as Zayn explained the situation to Little Black.
"Oh... so that’s the case..." Little Black slowly nodded after he was done talking. He sighed as he said, "So that’s it."
Zayn nodded as he stared at him. "So how did you even end up here? How did they take you away?"
Little Black was quiet for a while. He sat there staring into the distance as he said, "I don’t even know. It happened so fast. One time I was strolling through the farm space, and another minute I was inside a sack."
"Oh..." Karl slowly nodded. "Have they done anything to you yet? Like torture you or...?"
Little Black shook his head. "Hopefully they haven’t. But I heard them talking about some food... so I think that’s why they kidnapped me. To get something from you all."
Zayn nodded. "That’s probably it."
"Don’t give anything to those jerks, though. They don’t deserve any of it. I’d rather stay in here forever than give them our hard work!" Little Black explained firmly as Karl smiled.
"Says the one who was crying from being held hostage for just a day," Karl teased.
Little Black pouted as he said, "No, I wasn’t..."
Karl shook his head as he said, "Don’t worry, they won’t get away with it. I’ll make sure of it." He said with a firm expression on his face.
Little Black stared at them for a while and then asked, "I also heard them speaking about you two..." He hesitated as he said, "I’m guessing that you two are from this tribe."
There was silence as Zayn smiled and then said with a nod, "Yeah, of course we are."
Little Black slowly nodded as he said, "It must have been terrible growing up here. I can already tell they’re horrible beastmen. So don’t feel bothered about it at all. They’re complete jerks. So it’s not your fault at all. They’re the jerks."
Little Black continued, "I mean, they can’t even feed me properly! And they’re all just rude and annoying." He was blabbing endlessly to make Zayn and Karl feel better by trashing their tribe that had abandoned them.
But Zayn and Karl stared at him with a smile. Zayn reached out his hand and messed his hair. "You don’t have to make us feel better. We don’t feel bad at all."
Karl nodded as he said, "It’s already been a long time. And I think we’ve already grown from it. It was terrible, but at the end of the day, it was still for the better."
Karl smiled as he added, "I mean, at the end of the day, growing up in the wild is better than staying in this tribe."
Zayn nodded with a smile. "Far better. So don’t worry, we don’t mind it at all."
Little Black stared at them for a while and then smiled. "That’s good, then. It’s good that you’ve gotten over these jerks. Not worth it at all." He said as they both smiled, shaking their heads.
Night befell them, and the three of them sat there and discussed. The tribe didn’t bring any meal for them, so Karl and Zayn had brought out the little food they had sneaked in as they all shared it.
The three of them had that for dinner before retiring for the night. Little Black was the first to sleep, sleeping peacefully on Zayn’s lap while Zayn and Karl stayed up for a while.
The two of them sat there, staring into the corner while reminiscing about their past, talking about their experiences in the tribe they were familiar with.
They had a lot to talk about before finally deciding to go to sleep. Hopefully, before the next day arrived, something better would happen for them.
---
The next day, the tribe people had gathered in immense shock.
The eagle and tiger beastmen all stood at different corners, staring at the person who had made their way into the tribe—someone whom they didn’t expect to see at all.
Some had quickly rushed off and called the tribe leaders. They informed them of the visitor they had. Before long, the tribe leaders had made their way out.
The eagle and tiger leaders walked through the crowd that had gathered before making their way to the front. As they came to the front, they were rather shocked to see the female standing before them.
Sunnie was standing alone before them, arms folded with a calm expression as she stared at them.
The tribe leaders hesitated, staring around and then staring at her.
"And who do we have here?" The tiger leader asked as he slowly approached her. "Isn’t this the popular jinxed female? I wonder why the jinxed rabbit is here all alone..." He stared at her.
Sunnie smiled as she said, "Weren’t you hoping to see me? Now I’m here, and you’re not so happy?"
The eagle leader approached as he calmly said, "The jinxed female has no place in our land. We possibly wouldn’t want to have our land cursed with your presence here." He said as the beastmen around nodded in agreement.
But Sunnie casually smiled. "Is that so? You don’t want any cursed beings around to bring curses, and yet you have my people hostage. The same cursed beings you abandoned. Make it make sense?" She was too calm.
There was silence as the leaders stared at each other and stared at her.
"And how do you know we have your people?" The tiger asked.
Sunnie smiled. "It’s obvious. Ask a smarter question."
"....."
The beastmen were speechless as the tribe leaders struggled to keep their calm. They couldn’t believe the female had just talked down to them just now.
The tiger scoffed. "You really do have a lot of nerves and a lot to say. Aren’t you scared of where you are? Because our tribe surely can handle some cursed rabbit for sure!"
But Sunnie smiled as she said, "Is that so? If that happens, then how are you possibly supposed to get your requested food? The same food that made this greedy and hungry tribe disrupt the peace of my tribe." She stared at the tribe leaders. "Or don’t you all want it anymore?"
Silence filled the atmosphere, followed by some murmuring from the people around.
The two tribe leaders stared at each other and then at Sunnie, surprised. "So you’re saying that you brought the stuff we asked you for?"
She smiled as she said, "Of course I did. If not, why then am I here? I don’t like trouble at all. I just need my peace in my exiled land. So just take what you asked for and hand over my people to me. I’ll appreciate that."
She said as the leaders stared at each other and then at her, suspicious. They certainly weren’t going to believe her that easily.