Chapter 267: About Time
There was a brief silence between the two of them as they stared at each other. The eagle tribe leader smiled as he slowly sipped from the drink before him.
"It’s going well. As a matter of fact, we’re almost done with it. And soon, we should be able to begin preparing to head back there. Then our tribe will have somewhere to call our own."
The tiger slowly nodded as he said, "That’s good. What a pity—I can’t believe we’ll have to say goodbye soon." He shook his head as he said, "We’ve stayed here together for so long."
He sighed. "Almost like family now... I can’t believe we’ll say goodbye soon." He smiled. "But at least it’s worth it all."
The two nodded with a smile while staring at each other.
The tiger asked with a smile, "It’d be better than within this last period. We keep to our loyalty and pull no tricks... Don’t you think so too?" He asked with a smile.
The eagle nodded. "Most certainly. That’s the only way out."
The tiger smiled. He hesitated for a while before he casually said, "And about the foodstuff we gathered from them... I think we should also begin making preparations on how we’re going to share it."
He smiled. "That should make sense, right?"
The eagle nodded. "Yes. We should begin working towards that. But you should do what you do best. I trust your insight and all, and I believe you’ll do a good job sharing and all. So you should handle it and tell me the outcome."
They stared at each other while the tiger slowly smiled and said, "Is that so? Do you really think so? I should work on it?"
The eagle nodded. "Yes. I trust your insight that much."
The tiger smiled as he said, "Okay, then. I’ll make sure not to disappoint you at all." He assured with a smile as the two of them turned and stared in the direction of the beastmen practicing their fight.
And silence befell them once again while the tiger found himself thinking about what his guard had said. He casually stole a glimpse at the eagle while he questioned what tricks the eagle could be playing now.
Was he being genuine, or did he have some tricks he was pulling? He had to think and act fast before this eagle outsmarted him.
---
The tiger couldn’t stop thinking about it all through that day. Even at evening, he was alone in his lair, pacing around back and forth with the thought.
When he couldn’t seem to calm down the thoughts, he decided to meet the person who had said all these and get more information.
He called for the guard, who rushed into the room to meet him.
"And how may I help you, sir?" He inquired.
The tiger stared down at him as he said, "Go and summon that female—the jinxed rabbit. Go and bring her to me immediately," he insisted.
"Yes." He didn’t question any further. The guard instantly got up to his feet and set off to bring the female before him.
---
Sunnie and the rest were still in the prison soon, sitting there with a little campfire they had made right before them.
They kept themselves warm around the fire while staring right into it in silence.
"How long do you think it’s going to take?" Little Black asked with regards to when they would be summoned.
They stared at Sunnie, and she casually shrugged with a smile. "I don’t know... but let’s say it should be a day... or something."
Little Black bit his lower lip while he thought. "A day... then it should be... now? Since now makes it a day."
Sunnie shrugged as she said, "Yes... I suppose it should be anytime soon now."
And at that moment, they heard a knock on the prison gate. They all turned and stared at the guard standing by the gate with a cold and firm expression.
"And to what do we owe this grand visit?" Sunnie asked with a smile as she slowly got up to her feet, walking up to the gate. "What is it now?"
The guard stared down at her and said, "The tribe leader is looking for you. So come with me to meet him," he said with a firm expression.
Sunnie smiled as she turned and stared at Little Black and the rest, exchanging a short, sharp wink while she turned back to the guard. "Looking for me? For what? I thought he threw me in here so he wouldn’t see my face again after betraying me."
She sighed as she asked, folding her arms. "So why does he suddenly want to see me?"
The guard held his cold expression as he said, "No questions asked. Just do as you’re told and follow me," he said firmly.
Sunnie smiled as she said, "Okay, then. Lead the way. I’m curious to see what your tribe leader has to say this time around."
And with that, the guard opened the gate while she walked out. He closed the gate as Sunnie turned to the rest and flashed them a smile and a nod.
Then she turned and followed the guard, who led the way, leading her out of the prison and toward the tiger leader’s lair.
---
Sunnie soon arrived at the lair with the guard.
"She’s here," the guard said as he turned and stared at Sunnie, who was calmly standing there with both arms folded.
The tribe leader stared at them and then said, "Leave us alone for the meantime." He said to the guard, who simply agreed with a nod as he turned and walked off, leaving the two of them alone in the lair.
The tribe leader sat down on his majestic seat while he stared up at Sunnie with a serious expression.
"I believe you know why I called you here?" He stared at her.
But Sunnie smiled as she calmly said, "No. I don’t know why you called me here or what you want. So I believe you should elaborate more so I’d know what you want."
The tiger leader had a cold expression while staring at her. "What you said... what do you mean by what you said about the eagle tribe leader and the food?"
"What? I said something like that?" She raised an eyebrow, playing dumb and ignorant. "I don’t remember saying anything like that, though. What do you mean?"
At that moment, the tribe leader was getting pissed off as he glared down at her. He wasn’t having it as he said, "I’m being serious."
But she also smiled, folding her arms. "And I’m also serious. If you want to speak to me, you should also elaborate so I’d be able to understand better."
He had messed with her earlier, so this was her getting her payback at him by pissing him off. And she had succeeded.
He held a cold expression at her for a while before he calmed himself down. He was the one who needed the information, so he had to speak. "You said something about the eagle asking you about the amount of food or something... and also you said you know for sure that the eagle is plotting to take the food for himself."
He hesitated, staring at her. "What do you mean by that?"
Sunnie folded her arms with a smile as she said, "Oh... that? Well, that was just a casual statement of mine. I didn’t think anyone would take it that seriously. And I especially didn’t think that the guard would run along with it and report it to you."
But the tiger leader wasn’t satisfied at all. He still had his cold expression while glaring at Sunnie.
He said, "I’m not here for jokes or anything. I’m being serious, and I also expect you to be as well. So speak up and tell me about it." He insisted.
But Sunnie smiled as she stared at him. "Well, I didn’t think you’d need any information from a jinx like me. I mean, all I bring is bad luck and all... do you even want to hear what I have to say?"
He questioned, but the tiger leader insisted, "Speak up now! I want to hear everything you have to say. Tell me everything about what you know and what happened. Don’t leave any details behind at all. Speak up now," he insisted.
Sunnie smiled, slowly nodding as she said, "Oh... is that so? I guess you also want to hear the gist."
She nodded as she slowly turned around, both hands behind her while she casually paced around the place. The tribe leader sat there watching her move while waiting to listen to what she had to say.
And at that moment, Sunnie said, "I have nothing much to say. Just the fact that I’d like to warn you to watch your back." She said as she turned and stared at the tiger leader. "Because your close friend is about to stab you real hard."