novelraw Chapter 145: The Agony of Being Nine and Fluffy
Chapter 145: The Agony of Being Nine and Fluffy
Ruì Xuě let out a long, heavy sigh that ruffled the surface of the river water.
He leaned forward, staring critically at his reflection. He tried to pull his fluffy white eyebrows down into a fierce, intimidating V-shape. He bared his small fangs. He attempted to mimic the exact, bone-chilling glare his father, Han Shān, used whenever the Fox Lord got too close to his mother.
Ruì Xuě let out a tiny, experimental growl. Grrr.
He did not look like a terrifying Snow Leopard Alpha in training. He looked like a very soft, very angry cotton ball.
"Are you practicing your brooding face?"
Ruì Xuě jumped, nearly tumbling headfirst into the river. He spun around, his thick white tail puffing up defensively.
Hanging upside down from the thick branch of a nearby willow tree was Yòu Lín.
The ten-year-old fox kit was grinning so widely his eyes were squeezed shut, his bushy orange tail swaying like a pendulum.
Before Ruì Xuě could formulate an indignant denial, two more shapes dropped from the canopy with synchronized, muffled thuds.
"He is definitely practicing his brooding face," A-Li announced, crossing his dark panther arms.
"It’s not working," Xiao Hei added helpfully, picking a stray leaf out of his hair. "You just look like you accidentally ate a sour-berry. Your nose is all scrunchy."
"I do not have a scrunchy nose!" Ruì Xuě hissed, his ears burning a bright, furious pink. "I am practicing my......my tactical intimidation! For hunting!"
"You are practicing for Miao Miao," Yòu Lín sang in a sing-song whisper, dropping lightly to the grass.
"I AM NOT!" Ruì Xuě shrieked, his voice cracking horribly.
"You totally are," A-Li snickered, bumping shoulders with his brother. "It’s okay, Snowball. We know you have a giant, massive, earth-shaking crush on our sister. The whole village knows. The trees know."
"Even our sister knows," Yòu Lín pointed out.
Ruì Xuě crossed his arms, looking away. His chest felt tight, a confusing mix of nine-year-old embarrassment and genuine frustration.
It wasn’t a secret that he adored Miao Miao.
She was the bravest, fastest, loudest cub in Thousand Fang. She wasn’t afraid of the elders, she wasn’t afraid of the river currents, and she always shared her best hunting sticks with him.
For years, they had been a team. Ruì Xuě was the cautious, strategic planner, and Miao Miao was the fearless vanguard.
But recently, everything had changed.
Specifically, the change had a name.
Tao Zi.
Ever since Mama had brought the silent, guarded jaguar cub back from the terrifying vulture nest, Miao Miao had made it her absolute, unwavering life’s mission to "fix" him.
Initially, Zhen was responsible for the lost Jaguar as their parents tried to find out where he came from. But at the moment, she was asleep, cuddled by the burning sky.
"She doesn’t even look at me anymore," Ruì Xuě mumbled, kicking a pebble into the water. "She just follows Tao Zi around all day. She brings him shiny rocks. She brought him a dead frog yesterday! She never brings me dead frogs."
"That’s because Tao Zi is a mystery," Yòu Lín explained sagely, tapping his chin. "Miao Miao loves mysteries. He doesn’t talk, he sits in the shadows, and he has that whole ’I bite dangerous birds and refuse to elaborate’ energy. It’s very edgy."
"I can be edgy!" Ruì Xuě protested.
"Ruì Xuě, you apologize to the grass when you step on it too hard," Xiao Hei pointed out gently.
"And your fur is sparkling white," A-Li added. "You are the least edgy creature in the forest. You are walking sunshine and fluff."
Ruì Xuě’s shoulders slumped. It was true. He hadn’t bitten a vulture. He was just a snow leopard cub who liked his family, loved his Mama’s spicy noodles, and wanted to hold Miao Miao’s hand without feeling like his heart was going to explode.
"Look," Yòu Lín whispered, pointing through the thick brush toward the shallower mud-banks downstream. "There they are."
The four boys crept quietly through the tall reeds, dropping onto their stomachs to spy on the mud-bank.
There, sitting perfectly still on a flat, sun-baked rock, was Tao Zi. The jaguar cub had his knees pulled to his chest, his dark eyes fixed intensely on the rushing water. He looked like a miniature statue of angst.
And directly beside him, practically vibrating with restless energy, was Miao Miao.
"Look at this one!" Miao Miao chirped, holding up a remarkably smooth, perfectly round river stone. She shoved it directly into Tao Zi’s line of sight. "It’s perfectly flat! Watch!"
She leaned back and whipped her arm forward. The stone skipped across the water, one, two, three, four, five times, before sinking with a satisfying ploop.
"Did you see that?!" Miao Miao grinned, her amber eyes shining. "I broke my record! You try!"
She shoved another stone into Tao Zi’s hand.
Tao Zi looked at the stone. He looked at the water. He let out a tiny, almost inaudible sigh, drew his arm back, and casually flicked his wrist.
The stone skipped twelve times, hit the opposite bank, and bounced into the ferns.
Tao Zi immediately pulled his knees back to his chest and resumed staring blankly at the river, completely unbothered by his own athletic perfection.
"WHOA!" Miao Miao gasped, her tail puffing up with sheer awe. "You are SO COOL!"
In the bushes, Ruì Xuě let out a pathetic, wounded whimper. He buried his face in the dirt.
"It’s over," Ruì Xuě muffled into the mud. "I have lost. I can’t skip a stone twelve times. I can only do three. I am officially useless."
"Don’t give up, Snowball!" Yòu Lín patted his back encouragingly. "You just need an opportunity! A chance to prove your worth! You need to do something heroic!"
"Like what?" Ruì Xuě muttered, lifting his head. "Find a thirteen-skip stone? Invent a new kind of mud?"
"No," A-Li whispered, his panther ears suddenly swiveling forward, locking onto a sound. "Like saving her from that."
Ruì Xuě’s head snapped up.