The Ugly Duckling Of The Tiger Tribe

Chapter 358: Making plans for the mini great wall

Noah turned around, rummaged through the pile of supplies near the tent’s entrance, and handed me a large, flat slab of slate and a sharpened piece of chalk-stone.

"Here," he said, his voice dropping the playful edge. He looked at me with a raw, protective intensity. "But if you start swaying or your eyes go glassy, I’m taking it away. King’s orders."

"Yeah, yeah. Put it on the tab, King," I muttered, already propping the slate against my knees.

The stinging in my arm was a dull throb that beat with the same rhythm as my heartbeat, but the mental image of that red-scale serpent hovering over the cribs was a much sharper pain.

That was dangerous. Too dangerous. What if I hadn’t noticed the change in the air and the smell on time?

The cries from that mother wouldn’t have been ones of appreciation but bitter sadness.

Never. I never want to see the tears of a mother crying over the death of her child.

I have to make this work.

I have to keep us safe.

I was the only one with a vivid image of what a protected space looks like. What safety entails, and what a brighter tomorrow looks like.

We may not be making washing machines, cars, or light bulbs... But we can definitely make our lives feel safer and more comfortable.

My hands were still a bit shaky, and my breath came out in unsteady hitches, but as soon as the chalk touched the slate, the innovative girl in me took the wheel, and I pushed everything else behind me.

"Okay, look," I said, pointing to a rough sketch of the valley’s perimeter.

I had gotten the opportunity to stand in the tallest tree to scope the area. It was large. Way too large. But I managed to get a mental image of it without having to create a map.

And that mental image stuck with me.

Fenric and Thalor crowded around, their shadows falling over the stone.

"The mountain range protects our back, and the river handles the West. But this slope? Where the nursery and the main huts are facing, it’s a literal welcome mat for anything with a tail and a grudge."

"We have guards," Fenric pointed out, his red eyes fixed on the sketch. "But she slipped through the high grass. These red-scales are cold-blooded; the boys on patrol can’t scent them until they’re already touching the walls."

"Exactly. So we don’t rely on scent. We rely on physics," I grunted, wincing as a sharp pain flared in my bruised belly when I leaned forward. "We’re building a fortification. A real one. I want a dry-stone wall, at least eight feet high, topped with inward-facing spikes. If they want in, they’re going to have to climb, and if they climb, they’re exposed to every spear in this camp."

Thalor traced a line near the riverbed with a finger. "And the water? If they can swim like Damar, a wall won’t stop them."

"That’s where you come in, Thalor. We need underwater barriers. Ironwood stakes driven into the mud—close enough together that a serpent can’t squeeze through without tearing its scales. And I want ’rattle-lines’—thorn vines tied to submerged bells or hollow bones. If something moves the water, we will hear it before we see it."

Thalor nodded slowly, his expression shifting from worry to deep, calculating respect.

"A land-reef. I understand."

If he gets help from his people, they can create the barrier, but... will they do it?

"Will your people agree to work for us?" I asked him. "I know the mer-folks are quite prideful."

"Yes, we are a species of prideful sea creature, but that is exactly why they will help."

I tilted my head, not getting the logic behind it, and he explained.

"They will complain, yes, but if I tell them that our capabilities are being tested, they will take up the challenge."

I smiled awkwardly.

That was a bit... Thalor was sharper in the head than I realized.

"Won’t that just make them feel on guard against us? You know, since we challenged them." I asked, but a smile danced on his lips, and he cheered.

"Who would feel on guard against the Land mother who saved us from the Bitter root?"

I scratched my chin, and dust from the chalk stone smeared over it.

He did have a point.

Since they were in the water, we’ve not exactly seen each other, the merfolk tribe, I mean. So, they haven’t exactly shown their gratitude, even if yes the West Way was responsible for their poisoning in the first place.

Well, this works out either way.

"Then, I’ll leave the underwater barrier to you, Thalor." He nodded, and I turned back to the slate. "Now, Noah, about this slope..."

I spent the next hour lost in the lines, drawing out guard towers and gatehouse mechanisms.

Noah stayed by my side the whole time, occasionally reaching out to steady the slate when my hand drifted. Fenric had moved to the other side of the tent to keep watch over the sleeping cubs, his large hand resting on Raiden’s back as if he were trying to make sure the boy never had to stir.

Eventually, the adrenaline finally faded. The chalk felt heavy. The lines on the slate started to blur into a gray haze.

"Arinya," Noah whispered, gently taking the chalk from my fingers. "That’s enough. The sun is completely down, and even the workers have stopped working and have lit the fires."

I didn’t protest this time. I let him take the slate and set it aside. My body felt so heavy, and the bruise on my stomach was pulsing with every breath.

"Did we... did we get the body burned?" I asked, my voice barely audible.

"It’s already in ashes," Fenric confirmed, coming over to sit at the edge of the furs. "The scent is gone, and the valley has gone silent."

I nodded. That’s good. Burning the body was the best choice.

Thalor helped me settle back into the furs, his touch cool and soothing against my feverish skin.

He tucked the blanket around me with a tenderness that made my chest ache. He was so sweet when he wasn’t jealous and hunting for ways to be included in the circle, haha.

"Sleep now, Arinya. The new walls will begin soon, but for now... let these walls protect you." He whispered and then planted a soft kiss on my forehead.

I closed my eyes, the image of Lyra, Phina, and Raiden safe in their dreams being the last thing I held onto.

I had killed a monster today. I had terrified my husbands. I had also accidentally started a fan club. And somehow, I’d designed a fortress while bleeding out of my arm.

Not bad for a roach, I thought with a final, sleepy smirk.

As I drifted off, I felt the familiar weight of my mates surrounding me—Noah’s arm across my waist, Fenric’s steady heat at my back, and Thalor’s hand, as always, anchored gently to my ankle. We were safe. For now.

But as I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep, I knew that the red-scale woman was just the beginning. The world had found out that there were a lot of ’prey’ in the West Way, and thus we weren’t just a construction site anymore—we were a target.

Good thing I was the best damn architect this world had ever seen.

Wait, no, that doesn’t sound right.

Can an art student be an architect?

I brushed my chin, thinking.

Well, I might as well be named one because I was building roads, houses, and a palace, and now I was going to build a mini great wall.

I had the help of Oryn and the other crafters, but still... they wouldn’t have gotten the layouts down without my help.

So, I will definitely give myself sufficient credit.

Call me Architect Arinya, huhu.

This new danger reminded me of one wish I had.

The thought of Damar out there in the wild, potentially crossing paths with more of those red-scaled nightmares while trying to keep the rabbits of the rabbit tribe safe, kept my mind spinning even as my eyelids turned to lead.

If that woman was just a scout, where was the rest of the brood? And did they know a silver serpent was traveling with a pack of defenseless rabbits?

Was that the trigger to all of this?

I had so many questions and wanted to get to the bottom of it.

But I’m not exactly an investigator, so I can’t say. And I would rather spend my time making more blueprints than playing detectives.

So for now...

​Please be safe, I whispered into the dark of my mind.

​The next morning, I unfortunately didn’t get to sleep in, but the sound of hushed, urgent whispering near the tent flap and the distinct smell of damp earth woke me up.

​I groaned, trying to sit up, but my stomach immediately reminded me of the ironwood sled and the snake’s tail jab incident.

"Ugh... it feels like a mammoth stepped on me?"

​"Close. But it was a red scale," Noah’s voice came from the foot of the furs.

He was already geared up, his leather chest piece buckled tight. He looked like he hadn’t slept a wink, his eyes scanning the perimeter even from inside the tent.

​Thalor was sitting by my side, pressing a cool, wet cloth to my forehead.

"The fever has broken, but the bruising is... significant. You should stay down, Arinya."

​"I’ll stay down when the limestone is ten feet high," I grunted, swatting his hand away gently so I could peer at the tent opening. "What’s the commotion? It’s too early for the stone-cutters to be this loud."