The Ugly Duckling Of The Tiger Tribe-Chapter 70: But... what are my husbands for?

Was it a good idea to give Harok one of the scales? Well, I don’t see how I’m losing out.

It’s not like he can run away with the scale.

But can I trust that he will return it once he’s done?

What if he suddenly says that to stay quiet about my matter, he’ll keep it as a bribe?

I should trust him, but what do I tell Damar if he notices one of the scales is missing? What if he gets upset?

I’ll just have to coax him while explaining. He likes kissing so I can use that.

He must be enjoying a nice bath in the lake right now.

I looked up at the hot sun falling sharply on my skin.

Ah, I envy him.

I got to Taruna’s hut and as soon as I called out, a cub rushed out and pounced on me.

"Whoa!"

I quickly grabbed it so it wouldn’t fall.

The chubby furry little cub snuggled on me and even grabbed my bra top.

This... This naughty little thing.

"Ah, Arinya," Taruna walked out as she had been chasing after the cub. "You’re here."

"Yeah and..." I showed her the cub. "Look what I found."

She laughed softly and took back her cub, but it didn’t want to let go, crying as it hung on to my bra top with its claw.

"Hey, what’s the matter?" I asked it.

"He doesn’t want to take a nap," Taruna answered. "He’s being quite rebellious these days."

"Ah, you must have it tough," I said, and finally got its claws off me.

It whimpered but snuggled in its mother’s embrace as she crawled it softly to put it to sleep.

"Yes, but it’s not something I can’t handle." Taruna smiled and I smiled back.

It must be a lot of work, even if she doesn’t admit it.

But I guess all mothers have to go through the same thing. I, too, will have to experience it one day.

Thinking about it, my face went blank and I quietly clasped my hands together, praying to the beast gods.

"Do not give me rebellious children. Amen." I mumbled and Taruna laughed.

"That’s how I was in the past as well," she said, walking deeper into the hut, and I followed.

"Really?"

"Yes. But here I am." She said, and I lowered my gaze to thefloor. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

I guess I’ll be getting rebellious cubs without a doubt.

But... What are my husbands for?

I’ll just toss them towards their dads. I can’t be the one taking all the brunt alone, hehehe.

"You seem to be in a good mood today," Taruna said as she placed down the cub that had finally fallen asleep in his basket.

"Well..."

"Does it have something to do with that mark on your chest?" She asked and I flinched.

When did she...?

I looked down and noticed the cub had helped to expose Fenric’s mark.

"Ah," I quickly covered up, blushing.

Taruna laughed.

"I was sure there was nothing there yesterday but it’s there now. It’s such good news, right?" She asked, having that little gossipy expression. "You must like your spouse a lot for you to let him mark you closest to your heart."

"Closest to my heart?" I asked and she nodded.

"Yes. There’s this popular belief that the more you like your spouse, the closer to your heart you would place their mark, hoping that you keep liking them for long." She said and I blushed even harder.

What’s that? It sounds so romantic.

Ah, if Fenric is closest to my heart then Damar... He’s currently on my neck, which is basically a very dangerous part of my body since if anything happens to my neck, I’m as good as dead.

Both marks are in important parts and while I did not put any meaning into it when they were marking me, it still ended up becoming important.

"Ah, but that necklace..." She said and I snapped, grabbing the scales.

Did she also notice?

"It’s so pretty. Your spouse must’ve gotten it for you." She said, giggling excitedly, and I inwardly sighed in relief.

She didn’t notice.

I wish to boldly walk around with this necklace around my neck, a symbol of Damar’s affection. That’s the reason why I keep it on despite the risk of being recognized.

"Yes, yes he did," I said, smiling warmly.

Taruna watched me for a bit and then decided it was time to start the lesson.

"Alright, let’s start," I said but at the same time, my stomach grumbled.

Dammit, why now?

This is so embarrassing.

"It seems you’ve not had anything to eat yet. Do you want meat?" She asked but I shook my head.

"Thank you for the offer." It’s probably going to be raw meat again. "I’ll have some fruits, if you don’t mind."

"Oh, we have a lot of that. Hold on." She said, getting up and going towards the other side of her hut where their food was stored.

She came back with the round fruit that tasted like a pomegranate.

"Thank you."

After eating the fruits, we got to work.

She taught me a lot more than she did the first day and soon, I was able to make the skirt of the bra top I made the other day.

It was quite tedious but I made it work somehow.

I’ll ask Fenric later if he has a needle that’s cleaner than this. The cleaner the tool’s surface, the easier it is to use.

I won’t struggle so much when making clothes with the squirrel pelts since the pelts are softer too.

I looked at my hand that had a few calluses in different corners.

Arinya’s hands were originally rough with all the hard work she used to do, and even now, they’re getting rougher because I still handle things like this.

’Why am I even bothering about this? I’m basically a wild animal so who cares if my hands are rough?’

But it’ll probably sting once the callouses I just got burst.

I’ll have to let them dry before peeling them off.

"Arinya, are you there?" I suddenly heard Fenric’s voice, which made me jolt in shock.

What... What was he doing here?

No, how was he even here?

Did he really follow my scent? I knew it was possible but for him to come to the exact place I was... My face heated up. It’s like he has a tracker on my body.

"Oh my, it seems someone is looking for you," Taruna said. "I’ll let him in."