Chapter 268: Intrigued
Silence lingered between the two as Sunnie smiled at the tribe leader, who was lost in thoughts.
She hesitated and then said in a low sigh, "Anyway... it’s all just speculations. I could be wrong, or I could be right." She shrugged. "You never know."
She spoke so casually, but the tiger couldn’t help but feel threatened by the statement. He was thinking about all she had said while pondering the possibility of it.
"Do you have any proof of what you’re saying?" He asked. "At least you should have something to back up your statement for making such claims."
Sunnie smiled as she casually said, "I told you I don’t have such. I’m already speaking based on presumptions and all... nothing much."
"What presumption?" He asked.
Sunnie folded her arms. "I believe the guard must have told you about it... so do I even need to elaborate on that?"
The tribe leader stared at him. He already knew what they were, but he wanted to see if he’d get more from this female—to know any specific details. But it seemed this female was tight-lipped and wasn’t going to speak anytime soon.
He slowly got up to his feet while he approached her. "It seems you’re not going to say anything... right?"
Sunnie stared at him. "What is there for me to say..." Before she could finish her sentence, the tiger grabbed her by the neck.
He held her firmly by the neck, gripping her while pressing in closer and deeper, watching her as she coughed.
"If you’re not going to say anything, then I might as well just choke you to death," he threatened.
But Sunnie had a calm expression. Instead of panicking, she casually smiled as she said, "I dare you to. You possibly can’t eliminate me now, because if you do... how then are you going to know about what the eagle is up to?"
She smiled, teasing his patience. The tiger leader couldn’t help but get pissed by how right and confident she was.
He held her firmly before he slowly let go of her. Sunnie staggered backward, coughing and clearing her throat as she said, "That’s more like it." She stared at him. "I see you really want to know."
He turned and went to take his seat again while staring at her. "Let’s not waste each other’s time. All you need to do is prove your claim."
"And what do I gain from proving it?" She inquired.
He hesitated, staring at her. And then he asked, "And what do you want?"
Sunnie smiled. "Easy. Feed my people in prison. At least give them something nourishing to have," she demanded.
The tiger tribe leader hesitated for a while before he said, "Okay. I’ll do that... but..." He hesitated. "First, prove your claim that the eagle tribe is after the food for themselves while aiming to betray us."
She smiled with a nod as she said, "Okay. Sure. That should be easy enough." She stared at him. "By tomorrow."
There was silence as he stared at her, curious to know what she was getting at.
Sunnie smiled as she continued, "Something fascinating will be happening tomorrow." She turned. "Because your guard didn’t really get the whole information."
He raised an eyebrow. "And what’s the whole information?"
She smiled. "He didn’t only ask me that question, but he also dropped me a message."
The tiger raised an eyebrow as he demanded, "And what message is that?"
She smiled as she explained, "By tomorrow, the eagle should pull some strings to secretly get me out of prison and meet him at his lair."
She added, "And then he’s probably going to discuss the details with me." Sunnie sighed. "I believe that’s enough information for you."
The tiger hesitated before he asked, "And how am I supposed to believe that?"
"You don’t necessarily need to believe it. You might as well observe it for yourself. And then you’ll have the right to choose if I’m just making things up or not."
There was silence as the tiger leader thought for a while. He took his time analyzing and studying her words with the realization that there was nothing to lose in doing so.
"Okay, then." He leaned back as he said, "Tomorrow, then, we’ll see what happens."
Sunnie smiled with a casual nod. "Sure... you’ll have to see for yourself. And don’t worry, I’ll certainly keep you up with updates. If you can keep to your word, I can assure you I’ll also keep to mine."
She smiled while staring at him. Sunnie was so calm and casual with her statement while the tiger wondered if it was worth trusting this female.
But he had no choice but to confirm the information at hand, at least if he wanted to avoid being tricked by the cunning eagle.
---
As soon as Sunnie returned to the prison where she was locked in with the others, they all turned their attention to her.
"What happened?" Little Black inquired.
"How did it go?" Karl asked.
Zayn had caught a glimpse of the mark around her neck as he leaned closer, running his hand through her neck. "What’s this... what did that bastard do to you?" He demanded, his eyes furious enough to kill.
Karl also noticed it as he asked, "Did he try hurting you?"
But Sunnie casually smiled, shaking it off as she said, "Don’t bother, it’s nothing much at all." She explained as she said, "He probably wouldn’t have been able to do anything even if it happened."
Little Black asked, "So how did it go?"
Sunnie smiled as she stared up at him, saying, "Don’t worry, it worked as planned."
They stared at each other and then stared at Sunnie. Sunnie sat down, letting out a deep breath as she explained, "Now for the next stage of action—getting the attention and suspicion of the eagle lord."
She stared into the distance as she added, "It should already be in action by now... and by tomorrow, the eagle should be working towards summoning me." She explained confidently.
And just as Sunnie predicted, earlier the next morning, someone had arrived at the prison when no guards were around.
The person who had arrived was from the eagle tribe—a lean-looking eagle beastman who had sneaked into the prison and slowly opened the gate.
He turned to Sunnie and the rest, who had just woken up after hearing the sound of someone opening the prison door.
The eagle beastman didn’t say much. He casually stared down at Sunnie as he said, "Come with me." And he said no more.
Sunnie already knew why he was here. So she didn’t bother asking many questions. She simply got up to her feet and followed him out.
"I’ll be back," she stared at the rest behind with a calm smile as she followed the eagle beastman out of the cave.
---
Late the previous night, while the eagle tribe leader was on a stroll alone, he had caught sight of something that fell from the tree.
He paused, staring down at the piece of wood that seemed like it held more to it. When he picked it up, he noticed that something was written on it—a message.
As he read through the message, his expression stiffened. He could comprehend the message in there, but he didn’t understand why it was here and who could have handed it to him.
The eagle hesitated, spread his wings as he looked around and flew through the trees. He spent his time looking for who could have been the person that handed him this message.
But after a long search, he didn’t see anyone at all. He didn’t even see any sign of anyone around. This had him wondering if someone had actually dropped this. It was as though it fell from the sky or something.
"That’s strange," he muttered as he stared at the message for a long while before taking it back to his lair.
The eagle tribe leader sat alone in his lair, going through the message endlessly and wondering who could have sent it and if what this person said was worth trusting.
The message was easy to understand. It was informing him that the tiger tribe leader was planning on betraying him by taking all the food for himself.
The eagle didn’t know what to make of it or whether to believe it. It had him thinking about the conversation he had with the tiger a while back and all the suspicious questions he was asking.
Now that he thought about it, it was actually seeming like it was something this cunning tiger could do. He was sure that the tiger could actually be up to something.
But could he actually be planning what this message had said? The eagle couldn’t be too sure.
As he turned the wood over, he saw a name. The message had directed him to meet someone who could be of help to him—someone who knew the real information.
And the name there was Sunnie.