Chapter 58: Danger?
They had been walking for over an hour, and there still wasn’t any sign of arriving. Sunnie could already tell that they were getting tired, but strangely, she wasn’t.
She thought she’d be exhausted by now just like when they were going, but she was feeling more energized than ever. Sunnie couldn’t help but wonder why that was so.
"How long is this going to be?" Karl let out a sigh as he stared at Sunnie. "We’ve been walking for hours. I think I should just fly."
"I guess it’s a long way back," Eris explained. "We didn’t keep track of the distance before."
Karl sighed again. "So annoying."
"Well, I wasn’t the one who kidnapped you to start with," Sunnie said as she glared at him.
Sunnie stared at Little Black, who had insisted on carrying some portion of the gift, especially some fruits packed for them. "Are you sure you can carry that?"
"Don’t worry about me! I can handle it. I’m not weak," he insisted.
Zukka approached. "Let me help you with it. You’re so small, you will definitely hurt yourself."
"No!" Little Black insisted. "Leave me alone!" He hastened, walking faster.
Zukka followed behind him. "But I want to help." The two of them were soon in front, debating on whether he should help him or not. Little Black didn’t want any help.
Sunnie and Zuna smiled while watching them. "I guess Little Black will be stressed out from now henceforth. He has something that can’t let go of his tail."
Zuna smiled. "Brother seems to adore him. It’s rare for me to find something he genuinely adores. It’s good to see him that way."
The two of them smiled, watching the two bicker in front. Sunnie didn’t need to ask who was older amongst the twins; it was clearly Zuna.
---
Their journey was long, and by the time they got closer to their home, they were all tired. No one was talking; they were all panting while struggling to carry themselves. All except Sunnie.
Sunnie was perfectly okay, so much that she couldn’t help but wonder why. She was supposed to be the most exhausted here given that she wasn’t originally a beastman! But she was so strong that she was sure she could do some extra walking.
"Why don’t you look tired at all?" Little Black panted, staring at her. He was now pulling the pack of fruits he had, exhausted.
Sunnie shrugged. She couldn’t even tell why.
"Probably because she’s a goddess," Zuna smiled in admiration.
Zukka walked up to Little Black again. He didn’t even say anything but took the pack from him even though he himself was exhausted. "I’ll help you with that..."
"But I can do it," Little Black tried protesting.
"No you can’t. Let’s go," Zukka said as he led the way. Little Black pouted and followed behind without argument. He was truly tired.
---
It was evening. And as they pulled closer, they heard noises.
They heard whimpering sounds of mice and then a predating groan of another beast that sounded like a wolf.
They all stopped for a while, looking around and wondering if they were just hearing things. But since they all heard it, Sunnie knew it was real.
"What’s that?" Zuna asked as their guard, Atan, pulled out his sword, ready to strike.
They looked around for a while, and soon they could tell where it was coming from.
"Ahead..." Sunnie said. And so they all moved closer to take a look at what was happening. They were anxious, scared, and curious—especially Little Black, who subconsciously held onto Sunnie’s legs.
They soon saw it.
A group of people were on the floor, struggling to run away, but fear clearly wouldn’t let them with the beast standing before them and threatening to eat them up.
Sunnie didn’t recognize this group of people. She didn’t think she had seen them before. Beastmen who were mice. They had huge circular ears, whiskers, and long tails.
Sunnie didn’t register many details at the moment; she was busy recognizing the wolf who was threatening to eat them. It was a huge one. The same one that she had fed before.
"It’s the big bad wolf!" Little Black snapped.
They stared as Zayn and Karl immediately dropped what they were carrying. They were ready to attack the beast when Sunnie stopped them.
"What now? Are you waiting for it to attack us next before we do something?" Karl inquired.
Sunnie sighed as she said, "Let’s not get violent with it... We’ve already established a relationship, so let’s ride on that. If it doesn’t play along, then we can defend ourselves..."
Sunnie was staring at the scene as she spoke, thinking of how she’d step in.
"Are you sure about that...? The beast looks dangerous... it might hurt you..." Zuna worried as Zukka nodded.
Sunnie smiled as she shook her head. "Don’t worry, just watch."
They all stood there staring as Sunnie slowly approached the scene.
"Let me come along..." Azure didn’t ask; he went ahead, standing close to Sunnie as they moved.
Eris and Luka stared at each other, surprised at Azure’s action.
Sunnie and Azure approached the scene slowly until they were close enough for the wolf to hear.
Sunnie noticed the injury on the wolf’s foot. But she stared up as she said, "Hey... big boy..."
The wolf paused as he turned towards Sunnie with a loud groan, almost ferocious. It was as though he was ready to eat them.
But as he saw Sunnie, the wolf slowly calmed down.
Sunnie let out a soft smile as she said, "Gentle... gentle... let’s take it gently..." She said as she slowly approached the wolf, who stood there without moving.
"Don’t harm them... don’t eat them... I’ll find you something better to eat... okay." Sunnie made gestures of food, and she added, "I’ll prepare something nice for you... so let’s not eat them, okay...?"
The wolf still stood calm as Sunnie slowly approached, now standing directly before it. She smiled as she stretched out her hands.