Chapter 203: Comfort
Soon, Sunnie and her little tribe were the only ones left there. They stood staring into the empty space while reflecting on what had just happened.
At that moment, no one said anything. No other bothered speaking. There was absolute silence as they stood there staring into the distance where the other beastmen who had attacked had disappeared off to without a single trace.
Each of them had just had their scars opened again. They had all been triggered by the past, standing there in silence, staring into thin air with deep thoughts.
After a while, Sunnie turned with a smile as she stared at them, pretending as if nothing had happened. "That’s enough harvesting for today. Let’s gather all that we got and head back. Okay?"
They all slowly nodded and began moving again. They packed up their things and carried them back to the tribe as evening approached.
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Everything in the tribe went on as usual. They arrived home and stored what they had gotten from the farmland.
After they were done, Sunnie and the women prepared dinner for everyone. At the end of the day, they all sat down to eat.
They went about their business, but the atmosphere was calm and quiet. It was clear that something had happened, and no one spoke as freely as they usually did.
While they sat down for dinner, the chubby chipmunk turned and stared at the leader. "Why do I feel like the air is different after what happened earlier today?"
The leader scoffed. "Of course the air is different after what happened. It wasn’t something casual. So shut up and eat."
The chubby chipmunk rolled his eyes and continued eating.
After the little ones were done, the three of them retired to bed while the rest stayed out under the moonlight that night.
Sunnie stared at the women, who were sitting quietly in thought. She guessed she had to be the one to comfort them. She was seen as the leader, after all.
"Don’t worry, you’re safe now. They won’t ever come back to you anymore," Sunnie said while she smiled at them. "Okay?"
Elza and the other women stared at her, forcing smiles.
"Thanks a lot," one of the women said with a deep sigh. "We can’t thank you enough for taking us in and giving us this home. If it wasn’t for you, we honestly can’t say what would have happened to us by now."
Sunnie smiled as she shook her head. "Don’t mention it at all. You all deserve a home too. You deserve somewhere that appreciates you. You also deserve comfort and a family. So you can take this place as that. It’s all yours." She smiled warmly at them, giving them comfort.
The women felt emotional as Sunnie added, "Besides, it’s those jerky tribe people’s fault for not realizing how good you were. What a loss for them."
They smiled as they nodded. "Thanks a lot. We’re so grateful."
Sunnie nodded as she stared at Elza. "Don’t think too much about it at all. Just live on from today onward and make the best of it. Okay?"
Sunnie used the ray of sunlight in her to give the women warmth. She comforted them until they were all smiling.
When she had done that, she turned to see Azure and Luka, who were standing at a distance with Eris.
They were staring into the moonlight, observing it quietly. Sunnie hesitated with a smile before she excused herself from the women and made her way to meet them.
"Are we still sulking this late?" She asked with a broad smile as she came to stand with them, also staring up at the night sky. The moon was full and bright, its light illuminating the scenery in a pretty view.
"I’m not sulking," Luka said as they turned to stare at Sunnie.
"I’m not," Azure said, his eyes still fixed on the sky.
"Is that so?" Sunnie nodded with a smile. "Then that’s good. Instead of wasting our time on people who don’t matter, we should put it into something that matters and maybe work harder on the farm." She smiled.
Eris sighed. "Farm again? Can’t we take a break or something?"
"No. We can’t," Sunnie smiled.
Eris sighed. "I’m already tired and drained. I’ll take a break for myself."
"Then no food for you, I guess," she teased as Eris stared at her.
"You can’t do that." The two bickered back and forth, which made Luka and Azure smile.
Sunnie stared at their smiles as she said, "That’s better. That’s more like it. You should smile more. That way, you two look more handsome."
"I’m always smiling though. So it means I look good every day, right?" Luka smiled.
Eris rolled his eyes. "In your dreams."
Sunnie stared at Azure. "Don’t worry... it’s going to be fine. They can’t do anything to you at all. They can’t." Her tone was assuring as she stared at them with a deep smile.
Azure and Luka stared back at her with a smile. Then they slowly nodded, comforted by her words. "Thanks," Azure expressed.
"And what about you?" Eris asked. "How are you doing as well? What happened today shouldn’t be such a simple encounter for you, I mean..." He paused.
He didn’t wish to bring up what Sunnie had said back then—what she had said about her family killing off the people around her and framing her. They could tell that even if Sunnie had spoken so confidently back then, they could still feel the pain in her voice. The pain reflected on her face as she stared at them.
They could read it.
But Sunnie casually smiled it off as she said, "No. Don’t mention it at all. I’m fine... it wasn’t anything at all." She shrugged it off.
Luka stared at her. "Are you sure about that?"
Sunnie smiled with a nod as she stared at them. "Yes. I’m hundred percent sure. So don’t worry about me."