70 - The Cubs (3k words)

Mitchell's POVHalf a moon later...We were traveling through the desert when I spotted a familiar figure, "Isn't that Skaris?""What are you doing here?" Skaris stopped before Bart in his wolf form, "This is not a place for little ones.""Vick let us free," Bart stood in front of his cubs defensively, "If I left them in any of the villages, they would be taught how to act and what to think by the beastmen's rules, and I'm not having any of that again. Also, what is the chance of me seeing them again? Their home is by their father's side, and we will learn how to survive the harsh environment together."I couldn't help but agree with Bart. I would rather stay with a loving father than a mother, who wasn't actually my mother. It came to me as a surprise when Bart told me that she didn't give birth to them.She seemed to love them so much, yet the males left the cubs with Bart instead of taking the cubs with them? No matter how much I analyzed them and tried to figure them out, it was still hard to wrap my head around their actions."Well, I can't stand those places either," Skaris nodded, then said. "Follow me. Fast." He scooped the cubs onto his back.The cubs yipped and bounced happily, clutching onto the thick rope on Skaris's body with their jaws and claws as we sprinted behind him in our beast forms. I laughed. They looked so funny, their little round bodies jiggling from side to side.Skaris stopped when we reached a small oasis. A group of palm trees surrounded a lake, and a single mud hut stood next to it. The desert was hot, and the sun was scorching, but the wind here was cool and gentle."Were you living here this whole time?" I asked, curious about the hut's structure. It looked like a wet pile of sand with holes, similar to the one she and her cubs created on top of us when they played with the beach sand. Did he take inspiration from it?Skaris nodded and nudged the cubs off his back, "Stay close to Papa Bart. No running."The cubs whimpered but returned to Bart, who had just shifted into his human form. Skaris then jumped into the water and returned with two small golden bubbles containing a malnourished lion and a tiger cub.I looked around with a frown, searching for a sigh of mermen. Do not tell me those fish heads plan to take over the desert, too."Dear gave me some of Gold's substance that he produced for her," Skaris said, popping the bubbles with his nail and letting the little ones out, "You coat your fingers with it and blow a bubble then let the air enter it before closing it." He took a container from his shoulder bag and gave it to Bart, "I'm telling you this so you can hide your cubs during emergencies too. Gold's substance is strong enough to withhold the cubs' claws, but you should still educate them not to scratch at its surface.""What about me?" I asked, "I know how to swim. I can hide them too."They looked at me with a deadpan expression, as if the King of the Desert needed such a thing and couldn't just order the ferals and the rootless to bow down.· · ─────── · ⊱❈⊰· ─────── · ·Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the lion cub was born rootless and the tiger cub a normal beastman. Did someone kidnap a pregnant female?Finding beastmen cubs in the Flame City was rare. The cub's ribcages were showing, and their bodies were covered with bite marks, similar in size to their own. They clearly fought amongst some other cubs or small beasts, and whoever was the victor fed on the other one.The normal tiger cub tugged its tail between its legs and hid behind Skaris' legs, shaking and whimpering. It must have felt my predatory presence.Bart frowned at me before crouching down and reaching out his hand, "Don't worry. We won't hurt you."The lion cub hissed and clawed his arm.Bart's cubs growled back, not liking their Papa being attacked.Bart caressed their heads, calming them down, "It's alright, boys. No hurting."Skaris let the tiger and lion cubs sniff Bart's fingers, "This is Papa Bart, and those are your new brothers. Play nice. We will share our meat from now on. We are one pack. Understood?"The little ones whimpered, not liking the idea of sharing food.Bart took a small chunk of dried meat from his luggage and broke it into tiny pieces. He crouched and put the pieces on the ground. "Come here, and you'll get some food," he said.The normal one pounced first, grabbed the piece, and ran behind Skaris again, trying to feed himself.The rootless lion cub just stood there, staring at the pieces with a dumb look."Why did you take them in?" I asked. "You should have eaten them like other beastmen. They will only be a burden."Skaris shrugged nonchalantly.Bart was deep in thought as he sat in a cross-leg, "I didn't understand what Yaya meant at first, but I probably do now," he said, separating his cubs from attacking the other two, "The fate of all rootless depends on my success. I'm their only hope... their only future..."He continued, "How I raise my cubs and teach them will define how they will view the world when they grow up. If I let the roots of prejudice take root in them, they will become the same people I loathe and despise. On the other hand, if I show them that I, their rootless father, am not a monster, maybe, just maybe..."His gaze switched between me and Skaris. " They will be more tolerant and accepting toward others like me." Then, he switched his gaze to his cubs. "She didn't want me to control my rootless side so I could track down people like Carl only. She did it so the cubs could have a chance to have their father back. She did it all for the cubs' sake."I didn't say anything. What can you say to someone, who has decided to carry the burden of the world on his shoulders?I realized I had been turned into a fool the moment I woke up. That guy, Carl, just happened to be a rootless, whom she decided to use as a scapegoat to protect her males (since it was them who decided to gift me to her).There were two sides to the story, and I didn't know which one to believe. Maybe I should stop listening to what other people say and instead get my answers from my own observations?Bart broke down in tears, causing the cubs to lick his hands in worry, "I was ready to abandon my cubs for Rosa's sake, for someone, who...who..." he couldn't finish his words, "I didn't do it because I wanted to, but because I was taught that it was what I should be doing.""Why couldn't she just say straight away that it was for the cub's sake?" I wondered."It would only be another 'you do this, do that, and think about this and that' wouldn't it?" Skaris answered in Bart's stead, who was going through another meltdown, "It wouldn't be Bart's decision, but someone else's belief again. Would you rather have someone point out your faults, or have you find them yourself and work on them? Not because someone told you to, but because you actually want t─""Alright, I get it," I interrupted him, "You are trying to paint your DEAR in a good light. It still doesn't change the fact that she turned Bart into a rootless. I don't care for whose sake it was done, but he didn't deserve such a cruel punishment. If she is so great, she could have just changed Rosa to treat him and her cubs nicely, no?"Skaris shrugged and said, "My Dear would rather be called evil and get things done her way than be considered good and have to do things others believe are "right". If you have a problem with her methods, take it up with her as Vick does, and stop trying to pick a fight with me. I need to conserve my strength and energy for our survival."The rootless lion cub was done eating, so it returned to sniffing its surroundings. Its eyes landed on my tail, and its tiny paws moved in its direction.I moved my stinger away, "Don't even think about it. If you touch me, I will sting you," I warned it.The cub's eyes followed my movement. I moved my stinger again. This time, the cub moved its tail, imitating me.I moved my stinger.The cub moved his tail.I moved it again.So did the cub.Skaris's chuckle caught me by surprise, "Looks like someone likes you, papa Mitche.""That's not funny," I grumbled, "I hate the cub. Look, he's mocking me right now.""Then stop playing with him," Skaris shrugged.I didn't move, neither did the cub."Stop. I told you, I will sting you," I hissed at it, which made the cub jump and run back to Skaris.I snorted. See? I'm not a friend, cub.· · ─────── · ⊱❈⊰· ─────── · ·A few moments later.."Are you also her male in name only?" I asked Skaris, who tilted his head at me in confusion. "Bart here didn't want to say if you were mated to another female or not, but you are rootless, and I want to know if you were born one or not.""I don't consider myself her male in name only, and I wasn't always a rootless," Skaris replied slowly and patiently.I narrowed my eyes at him, 'How can he kiss that face?' I thought, but then realized he wore a blindfold and couldn't see her appearance, "How does it feel to kiss her? I want to know since I have never kissed a female before," I asked him.Bart coughed a couple of times while Skaris just smiled, "It depends on her mood and how hungry she is. Sometimes she's all teeth and pulling, and other times she's all soft lips and tongue," he said."Mine was just air and lips," said Bart, touching his lips with his fingers, then frowned as he looked down at his chest, which was slowly healing."What about mating?" I continued to ask, "Is she good?"Skaris shook his head, "That's a talk reserved only for the males, who are actually in her harem," he paused, then smiled, "You can try and ask Muir someday. His reactions will speak for themselves.""Oh, come on!" I threw my hands in the air, "That guy is the biggest mystery of the bunch! I don't even find it odd that she has ferals and rootless as mates, but how did such a 'respected' eagle with high standards, become part of a group of rejects?"They didn't answer me, and I was left standing there like a fool. I should return to the Flame City. It was a stupid idea to accompany these two and their cubs."Where are you going?" Skaris asked."Away," I answered, not turning around, "You'll be a hindrance, and I have no reason to protect you.""Protect us from who?" Skaris asked."The ferals, the rootless, the collossals, and any other beast that might decide to look for water and hunt you," I said."As long as you don't send the whole Flame City at us, we will be fine," Skaris said, ushering the cubs inside the hut for rest, "Could you please mark this territory as yours before leaving? That way, we'll have fewer predators."My mouth twitched, "Do you even know who you're talking to?"Skaris tilted his head, "My... friend... who... is... the... Flame's... City... King?"I huffed, amused, "Fine."He's lucky that I'm in a good mood. I always forget that they were four stripped beastmen, and they could probably deal with the rootless underground on their own.After marking the territory as mine, I changed into my beast form and dived into the sand, burrowing my way to the Flame City's stronghold above the ground. I should hurry back. Father is probably expecting me.· · ─────── · ❈ · ─────── · ·Later the same day...Father was not happy with the news of me leaving the desert and returning empty-handed. Yet, the moment I showed him the female soul stones, he stopped hitting me and threw a clear crystal at me with a broad smile.He asked me if I wanted to visit mother together with him, and I was tempted to refuse him. But in the end, I gave him a nod, agreeing to go with him. He ordered me to wear a soulstone so we could act like a big happy family around mother.The moment I returned to the throne room from the visit, I yanked the soul stone around my neck and threw it into the corner of the room. Father didn't like it when I acted emotionless, reminding him of my rootless birth. He would rather have me shudder in fear from the soulstone's effect and act like a fearful cub, who didn't dare disobey instead.I spat a mouthful of blue blood onto the ground and collapsed onto my throne, breathing hard. That soul stone was full of fear. The beastman inside was especially scared of father today. My eyes were red and puffy, my face was covered in tears, and my lips were swollen from how much I bit them.I threw the clear crystal into my mouth and calmed my nerves. My bruises healed, and my swollen eyes returned to normal.I heard a woman's cry getting closer, prompting me to lean back on the throne. I swapped my soul stone and closed my eyes with a smile. "Ah, the smell of a female's fear is always nice," I said, my eyes opening as the scorpion beastmen dragged her in."Please spare me!" The female cried and pleaded.The scorpion males bowed, "The females are getting harder and harder to capture these days," one of them said, "Is this one to your liking, Your Majesty?"I barely gave her a glance. She was a lioness with long, blond hair. Her clothes and body was dirty, her hair messy, and her lips trembling."No," I said, and the males' shoulders trembled in joy, "Keep her to yourself for now, away from the rootless...and try to be more gentle. We don't want her to become infertile from your rough treatment, do we?""Yes, Your Majesty," the males said in union, carrying the crying female out of the room, more gently this time. But no matter how gentle they try to be, the females were just too fragile.I closed my eyes and breathed out, "Wait."They paused, shuddering, afraid I changed my mind. They were born ferals, so their emotions and desires were all intact."Are there any cubs in the Flame City?" I asked."Uh, no... no, there aren't any that we are aware of, Your Majesty. Maybe a few scorpion cubs," one of the scorpion males answered."Search the whole city including the underworld. If you find any cubs, bring them to me," I ordered."Y-Yes, Your Majesty!"They left, and I was alone again. I can already imagine the chaos if I decided to free all the females and prohibit the scorpions from mating with them. It was our only way to reproduce and grow our numbers, but father also decided to share the females with the most accomplished rootless males. The ones who mined the most soul stones for him.If this continued, the tension between the scorpions and the rootless would increase because the rootless didn't have to share the females they caught themselves while the scorpions did (depending on my decision). I had to keep a tight hold on the rootless and make them believe they had the power while making the scorpions believe they were the rulers.But the cubs?Nobody cares about the cubs. Not even the fathers, who were so eager to have them with their female in the first place.Isn't reproducing and having offspring the main reason males want to mate with females and fight amongst themselves?So why do the cubs become the last things on their father's mind once they are born?I rubbed my tired eyes and leaned back onto my throne, "I need a scratch massage."My mind wandered to the four little ones and felt how their tiny claws scratched at my back and shoulders when the foul female ordered them to attack me. I refused to help build the tent, so she turned me into their hunting dummy. Their nails were sharp, but they couldn't hurt my exoskeleton, so I lay on my stomach and let them practice while picking a verbal fight with that foul female.Should I visit them? After I deal with all of the problems around here first, that is.Wait...I just ordered my people to bring me any cubs they find.What if they check the surface of the desert, too?Will they find them?I jumped off my throne and ran toward the exit.Well, it seems like I'm visiting them earlier than expected.╔═══ Author's note ═══╗Falling in love and getting obsessed with a female is the last thing Mitchell wants, and he will make sure it stays that way for a loooooong time.😀Now, he is even refusing to wear the soul stone for the sake of being true to himself. 😅You know, when there are two people, who don't want to fall in love but are constantly drawn together by whatever situation is going on around them, and they refuse to accept the truth, because that would mean the end of their views and everything they knew and believed?Yep, that's how Vick and Yaya fell in love with each other, and it seems like Mitchell is on the verge of following the same path.😀I love writing from Mitchell's viewpoint, so you can expect many chapters from him. ❤╚════════════════╝