Chapter 188: Just Feeding.
Eris smiled as he teased, "You hear that, Luka? Don’t steal the little one’s big fish. Go find your own, because he isn’t sharing with Papa." Everyone laughed.
Ronan turned to his fish and continued pulling again.
"At least my little boy learned well enough from me," Luka smiled proudly. "Look, he can even catch big fishes like this—something I would do at his age. Truly admirable."
Sunnie smiled as she shook her head. "Yes, as well as eating half of the meal meant for everyone," she said as everyone burst into laughter.
"Come on, Ronan..." Sunnie tried to convince the little one to let go of the fish. "Papa will make a delicious meal for you with it, okay?"
But Ronan was persistent. Then Sunnie pouted and said, "You won’t give anything to Mama?"
Ronan paused and stared up at Sunnie’s sad face. He looked down at his big fish, then pulled Sunnie’s hand and said, "Mama, take. I give you. Big fish... take." He insisted with a smile.
Sunnie smiled as she spread out her arms for a hug. Ronan rushed into her arms, and Sunnie hugged him warmly. "That’s my boy. Now let Papa take it and make a meal for you."
But immediately, Ronan shook his head vigorously, refusing. "No. No give to Papa."
Sunnie laughed as she asked, "But why? Why won’t you let Papa take it and make a meal for you?"
Ronan was quiet for a while before he said, "Papa eat it."
Everyone burst into laughter.
Luka was speechless as he stared at the little one. "You little traitor. Don’t worry, Papa won’t share his meal with you anymore."
He said as everyone simply smiled over the wholesome scene before them.
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After another long day, Sunnie was exhausted. She wanted to catch some sleep, but Ronan was following her around to play.
Sunnie carried the little one to Luka. "Can you help me keep an eye on him for a while? I’d like to get some rest."
Luka immediately nodded without hesitation. "Sure! It’s a pleasure!" He smiled as he carried Ronan in his arms.
Sunnie went into the cave to get some rest—at least to sleep for a while.
While she left, Luka sat down with the cub. He placed the cub before him, sitting opposite Ronan and staring at him. "You should also get some afternoon sleep. Okay? It’s good for you."
But Ronan sat there staring at him without saying anything. Luka guessed he wouldn’t be sleeping.
Soon, Luka watched as Ronan started muttering some inaudible words while running his hands over his stomach. Ronan was staring around as if he was looking for something, and Luka could tell what was wrong: the little one was hungry again.
"You want food?" Luka asked as Ronan stared at him, nodding.
"But you ate a while ago..." Luka said as Ronan pouted, his face looking as though he was going to cry at any moment.
"No, no... don’t cry... at least not now..." He sighed as he looked around. He guessed he needed to get something for the little one to eat.
But he recalled Sunnie warning him about feeding the little one. She had told him not to randomly feed him at times and to inform her of any meal before feeding him.
But she was asleep now, and Luka didn’t know what else to do. He didn’t think waking her up to tell her about it was a good idea—she was exhausted and sleeping. So he had no choice but to find something for the little one to eat.
He went and got some food he had gathered for himself when he went out to the farm earlier that day. He presented it all before Ronan. He guessed the meal was for older people, but since Ronan was already eating everything, he figured this wouldn’t hurt.
"Here, have it," he said.
Ronan smiled as he happily began munching on the food before him. He didn’t even look up at his father as he ate and ate without end.
Luka sighed, staring at him. "I think you eat more than me at this point, and you’re just little..." He shook his head as he watched him eat. "I wonder how much you’re going to eat when you grow older..." He rubbed his hand against Ronan’s hair and ears. "Hurry up before your mama comes. Eat up so you can go to sleep, okay?"
Soon, Ronan finished eating. He immediately smiled as he stared up at his father. Luka smiled as he said, "Now get some rest, okay?"
He expected the little one to get some rest immediately after eating—wasn’t that what cubs did? But shortly after he was done eating, Ronan started crying.
"..."
Luka blinked, staring at him, shocked. "What’s happening...?"
Ronan started crying and continued without stopping. His voice kept getting louder and louder with time as he cried. He rarely cried, so Luka immediately panicked.
He moved closer to check what could be wrong. "Why? Why are you crying?" He patted him on the ears and furry hair. "Are you hungry? Do you want more food? I’ll get you more. Food, yes, food. Okay? Don’t cry." Luka panicked. He didn’t know what was wrong at all.
But Ronan didn’t stop. Instead, he continued crying louder and louder. This frightened Luka, who didn’t know what to do.
He looked around and then said, "Oh, this is bad... what do I do? Call Sunnie? No, she’s probably tired and sleeping... what do I do..." He quickly carried Ronan, who was still crying, and tried moving around a bit while consoling the little one.
But he didn’t stop crying at all. Ronan continued crying at the top of his voice, which made Luka panic even more. There was nothing he knew at the moment that could potentially console the kid. he had tried all he knew but he was still crying and he was just there, panicking. And just then, Sunnie arrived at the scene.