The Ugly Duckling Of The Tiger Tribe-Chapter 213: Imagine what you’re holding is me

With all the preparations we made, there was no way we would suffer on the road. We were just short on grain, but everything else was in excess.

Damar had come through with the salt, though it wasn’t exactly what I was used to. He brought back these heavy, grayish stones from the mountain goats’ abode.

They looked like normal rocks, but their cores held the salt we needed. The real difficulty was in the extraction—lots of grinding and filtering were required.

As for the salty water he brought back, I boiled it, making sure the fire was steady until it evaporated, leaving a thin, white dust of fresh, hot salt at the bottom of the rock pot. It was like magic to them, watching the water vanish and leave behind their miracle salt.

We stayed in that spot without moving for another week since it wouldn’t be easy to move all our resources without a proper means of transportation.

If the snow was going to meet us anyway, it would be better to prepare thoroughly for it and not half-ass it.

While I worked on the fabrics—sewing the sable and mink pelts into warm clothes and stitching the thicker mountain goat hides for our new, reinforced tent... and pillow, huhu—Damar, Fenric, and Noah worked on the troller.

As I said before, I’m not a science student, so drawing blueprints isn’t my thing, but it’s a little different if I were to simply sketch out all the useful and needed parts.

I emphasized the size of the troller with my hands so they’d know what we were doing, and their eyes would light up in amazement, like I was performing a freaking magic show.

It felt like I was teaching kids, honestly, haha. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Arinya, the wood is splitting when I try to cut it," Fenric called out, looking frustrated as he held two massive cedar poles. He was strong enough to snap the wood like a twig, but he struggled with the delicate balance of tension.

"You’re using too much brute force, Fenric," I teased, not looking up from my bone needle.

Previously, I used rock needles, but Fenric found a way to make thinner needles because I always complained about how thick and heavy the stone needles were. It wasn’t that heavy, but the more I gripped it, the more my grip hurt.

And this was way more comfortable and faster too.

With him occasionally joining me in sewing, and the others learning how to as well, the load was reduced.

"You just have to be gentle with it, okay?"

He nodded but I felt I heard a little grumble underneath his breath.

"Ah, what about this?" I suggested. "If it’s too difficult then imagine what you’re holding is me. How gentle would you be if you didn’t want to accidentally hurt me?"

He thought of this, his eyes lighting up, and nodded frantically.

"I have an idea now." He turned to continue and I was glad I was off help.

Beside him, Noah was actually doing surprisingly well. He had a natural eye for the ’lay of the land’ even when it came to engineering.

He was the one who suggested adding a slight curve to the bottom of the troller poles so they would act more like runners on a sled, helping them glide over the mud—or the coming snow.

It was his first time but he was almost a natural.

"Is this better, Wife?" Noah asked, holding up a beautifully smoothed joint.

"Much better," I praised, giving him a small smile that made him preen like a cocky pup.

Creativity seemed to be his thing since he didn’t complain one bit and he was so focused he didn’t make teasing or snarky remarks.

Damar was quiet, no surprise there, focusing on the weight distribution. He wanted to make sure that when he or Fenric pulled it in their beast forms, the load wouldn’t tip on uneven mountain paths. I made sure to emphasize that when we made the troller with the rabbits. He must’ve been paying close attention, preparing for a future like this.

He’s always paying attention. One more thing I love about him.

He moved between the other two, correcting their angles with a silent, focused precision that usually earned him a growl from Fenric, but they were working well together. Truly working together. So instead of complaining that he was bossing them around, they took his words.

They weren’t confident in what they were doing anyway so why screw it up because of pride?

By the time the sun began to dip on our final day at the camp, the troller was finished. It was a masterpiece of the new and improved beast-world engineering—a massive, V-shaped frame that could hold all our smoked meat, the new hides, and our supplies.

I stood back, wiping a smudge of grease from my hands, and looked at my three husbands. They were covered in sawdust, sweat, and a few minor splinters, but they looked proud.

"Alright," I said, feeling the first truly cold bite of the wind against my cheeks. "The troller is ready, the clothes are finished, and winter is fast approaching."

It was no joke. I could literally see my breath so clearly that the thought of being outside with no warm clothes and no shelter during a snowstorm scared me.

But not anymore. We were fully ready to vacate this place and head for the cave on our route.

If we’re lucky, we can get there before the first snow falls and if we’re unlucky... Well, that’s what the fur coats, cotton mittens, and fur hood are for.

Fenric might be fine, since he’s a snow tiger, but I doubt he feels the cold, so I made a pair for him as well.

I’ve made almost everything I need to make with these hides and as for the rest...

"Ari," Damar called and I turned to him. "Your belly’s growing a lot." He said and I looked down at my belly.

The bump on my abdomen has increased once again, robbing me of my flat belly.

But it was okay... I touched my belly and gently stroked it... This only meant my babies were growing healthily.

Sometimes, I forget I’m pregnant, until I feel the bump. The cubs haven’t begun to move but sometimes, I can’t help but feel their little heartbeats. Three of them. There are three little heartbeats in my belly.

A warm smile spread on my lips just thinking about it.

I can’t wait to meet the owner of these cute little heartbeats.

"Alright, gang." I raised my head, ever ready and ever proud. "Tomorrow at dawn, we move out."