[ CHAPTER 5: THE HUMAN AND THE LEOPARD ]
"She... She will bring the fall of all beasts!"
As Abnaki stood there pointing his clawed finger at Bella, Gaharu let out a loud growl. Although Abnaki was intimidated by Gaharu's angry growl, he chose to voice out. After all, he was the High Priest, the beast with wisdom.
"I have seen the prophecy, my lord. A being from another world... a world entirely different from ours. She will cause chaos to all clans, tribes... to this world. Look, she bears the mark of destruction!"
"... What the fuck?"
Bella gasped when Abnaki's clawed finger pointed straight at her face,
"What mark of destruction...?"
She touched her face. Is there something on my face? Then she touched the mole on the left corner of her upper lip,
"Are you talking about this? This is a mole, you fucking moron!" She snarled angrily.
"Yes, small yet... that is, the mark of destruction."
Abnaki said again. All of them turned to Gaharu when he let out a burst of laughter.
"Abnaki, you know that I never believed in the prophecy. The ancient scrolls are telling absurdities." 
"But, my lord..."
"Bella is my female, and she will be your chieftess soon. I summoned you to ask you to prepare for the ceremony."
Abnaki, Sora, and Bella gasped,
"What...?!"
*****
The chief advisor for the Zov tribe, Jentayu, a hawk who had lost his wings, dashed into the Wolf Palace to deliver to the chief leader of the Zov tribe the news he had just received from the Ang tribe's messenger.
"My lord!"
The wolf clan leader, Borius, who was sitting on a stone throne, a beastman with a well-defined facial features and a cold expression lifted his face when Jentayu rushed into the grand assembly hall of the Wolf Palace. All the other soldiers that were standing in rows at both sides of the meeting hall bowed their heads as Jentayu strode his way in.
"What is it, Jentayu? Have you heard from Garuda?"
Borius's voice was calm and deep, yet in the calmness of his voice there was a slight hint of anxiety. 
Jentayu bowed his head briefly before raised his head back to gaze upon Borius.
"My lord, a messenger from the Ang tribe came to inform that general Garuda was found severely injured and currently receiving treatment from the Ang tribe. Furthermore, chief Raneki of the Ang has requested a peace meeting with us."
Borius's expression turned stern, he pursed his lips. Although he knew the Ang was not a threat to his tribe yet, but the future was not his to see. He was a cautious beastman, always suspicious of other beastmen's intentions, and he could be quite sceptical as well. Unless that bear can give him one very good reason for him to trust them. 
"My lord...?"
"Jentayu... What do you suggest we should do?"
Jentayu bowed his head again slightly when the question was directed to him.
"Lord Borius, I suggest we should go and visit the Ang. After all, the enemy's enemy... is a friend."
*****
Abnaki drew in a long, deep breath to calm himself down. No matter what he said, Gaharu just wouldn't listen. The tiger insisted on making the female next to him his female and chieftess.
"My Lord, I do not think..." Sora tried to voice his opinion out as well, but then decided not to continue when his eyes met with Gaharu's piercing glare.
"It has been decided. Just do as you are told."
Abnaki was left with no choice but to bow his head down, 
"Yes, Lord Gaharu."
*****
After the unpleasant dinner, Bella was escorted back to the room where she was brought to earlier today. Gaharu only told her to wait for him in the room while he attend a meeting with his subordinates, and ordered a few servants to escort her back to her room.
It wasn't really an unpleasant dinner, Bella thought, the food was alright, flavorless, yet still acceptable. The only unpleasantness was the small quarrel between the tiger and the panther regarding the issue of making her the chieftess, to which Bella herself didn't approve of.
But, whatever. She's going to leave this place anyway. Very soon, if possible.
"Do you need anything else, my lady?"
Bella turned when one of the servants spoke to her with a soft, womanly voice. She then realized that the servants were all females. Although they all have manly facial features, their body figures were smaller and thinner than male beastmen. Their voices were feminine too.
Still, they're all taller than me... 
Bella had to raise her face to gaze at the female servant who was talking to her. The servant had a faint smile on her antelope face. Or maybe not? But Bella smiled back anyway. The female servant and Sepatu looked almost alike, except she had very short horns. The servant handed her clothes to change into when Bella entered the room. They even offered to help her change. Bella refused and asked them to wait outside the room while she changed into a different gown, which was made of thin fabric, and softer too, compared to the one Gaharu had given her earlier.
"What's your name?" Bella asked the one who gave her the sleeping gown. 
"I am called Suria, my lady." The half-antelope, half human-like servant answered, bowing her head a little. 
"Suria... Um, is there a back door or something?"
"Back... door??"
Suria and the other female servants exchanged questioning gazes.
"Yes. Does this place have a back door?" Bella asked again.
"There is a passage that leads to the foot of the mountain... But one has to go through the underground dungeon and the torture chambers in order to get there." Suria spoke slowly, half whispering. 
Suria also explained to Bella that all prisoners that died in the dungeon or while being tortured, their carcasses were thrown out to the foot of the mountain from that exit door, so no one ever goes there except for the guards. The sight was said to be very unpleasant, not to mention the smell.
"That's creepy..." Bella bit her lips, mumbling to herself. 
"Why are you standing outside your chamber? I thought I told you to wait for me inside."
A guttural low growl broke the silence and all the female servants immediately lowered their heads. Bella turned to find Gaharu slowly walked over. Sora and two more leopard guards followed behind him. 
"Leave us." Gaharu ordered them and all the servants and guards lowered their heads once again before leaving the area.
Bella noticed Sora's emotionless gaze were on her briefly just before he too, left with his subordinates.
"Come," Gaharu took Bella by her hand and wanted to lead her back into the room but Bella immediately pulled her hand back. 
"Don't tell me we're going to sleep together tonight!" She glared fiercely at him. 
"Why not? You are my female."
"Gaharu, I already told you that during menstruation period, we humans cannot have a sexual intercourse, or else we'll die a gruesome death." Bella maintained a serious face while telling such bullshit, but she was laughing inside. 
"I did not say that I want to mate right away. But since you are already mine, it is common to sleep together. Besides, I would like to know more about this... different world of yours."
Bella shook her head slightly and rolled her eyes as she let out a groan. She had no other choice, so she had to put up with this tiger's nonsense for now.
"I'm tired. Let's talk another time."
But Gaharu sat next to her on the stone bed anyway.
"Move aside," Bella pushed him over but Gaharu was too big for her, he didn't even budge an inch.
Before she even know it, Gaharu leaned over and buried his face in the curve of her neck. Bella's hair stood on ends when she felt him brushing the tip of his nose against her skin while sniffing her scent. The gown she was wearing was made of thin fabric and quite big for her size, and so it exposed her bare shoulders. 
"What the fuck are you doing?!" She tried to push him but to no avail, he remained in his position. 
"Your unique scent... I like it very much."
Gaharu remained that way for quite a while, until Bella felt the weight on her shoulder was getting heavier, only then she realized that the tiger had fallen asleep. Bella quickly pushed him over and Gaharu's big masculine body landed on the stone bed, pulling Bella into his big arms as if she was his cuddling doll.
Bella grunted in annoyance when strands of Gaharu's wavy hair pestered her face. His body odor smelled like her mother's old cat that she hated so much. Even without his armor, his body felt solid, his chest muscles were perfectly toned and firm. Bella pulled back her hands that had accidentally touched his broad chest when he cuddled her.
"You're pretending to be asleep, aren't you? Fuckin' pervert!" She then pursed her lips when she raised her face to find his eyelids remained shut. The stone bed was very uncomfortable to sleep on, however, she started to get used to it. Staring at the tiger's sleeping face, he didn't look as fierce as he was during the day. He looked... tamed. 
Hmph. He even purrs like a cat when he sleeps. 
Listening to his soft and slow purring, somehow soothes her in a weird but good way. It was very different from listening to someone's snoring. Snoring sounds can be very annoying, however, Gaharu's purring sound was... Surprisingly adorable. 
Bella subconsciously dozed off in his arms, drowned in his warm cuddle and soothing purrs.
*****
"Why are you crying?"
The little girl looked up when she heard a gentle voice broke the silence around her.
"I'm not crying."
"Yes, you are."
She grunted, pouting her lips in anger. She had fallen from the slide and hurt her knee. Luckily, no one else was there to witness such embarrassing moment. The playground was quiet that evening, so she went to play by herself.
"Did you hurt yourself?" The boy asked again, crouching down to check on her.
"No. Mind your own business." She snarled at him. He was only a few years older but he acted like he was a lot older. It made her feel small. Very small.
"Let me see..."
"No! Go away." She was as stubborn as a bull. She didn't want anyone to see her like that. Only her mommy was allowed to see her weak side.
He shook his head slightly as he stared at her for a while. Her adorable face was flush red, her small round lips were pouting. Her angry and helpless look was somehow very cute.
"You are a funny one, you know that?"
"Get lost. I don't need anyone's help." She said again, turning her face away. 
The boy ignored her grunt, his hand reached into his pocket and took out a handkerchief. He wrapped it around her injured knee carefully.
"There, there... Don't cry," he said, patting her head gently, "you're a good girl."
She grunted in displeasure. But deep down, she was actually touched by his simple act of kindness. The boy bent down and lightly kissed her wrapped knee, and told her she would be fine.
"Hmph!" She grunted again. The boy flashed his friendly smile at her. Only then she noticed the color of his eyes.
They were silver.
"Are you blind?" She asked. Why were his eyes like that? His hair was silver white as well, just like the color of his eyes. His skin was snowy white and he was wearing all white.
What a strange looking boy! She thought.
"I'm not blind. I was born like this.
"Then, are you sick? You look very odd." She asked again.
He tilted his head and chuckled awkwardly while scratching his chin, 
"No, not either." 
She quietly hummed. She was only a little child, but she understood that if someone doesn't want to talk about something, she should not be asking anymore.
"Do you live around here?" She asked.
The boy shook his head slightly,
"I'm from another place, somewhere far and very different from here."
Her small jaw dropped open in shock. Could he be an angel? He does look like one. She thought to herself.
"Can you walk? Does it still hurt?" The boy offered his hand to her. She slowly reached out and took his hand.
His hand was warm. His smile was calming and friendly. They spent the rest of the evening playing at the playground, just the two of them. They waved each other goodbye after she realized the sun was setting.
"See you tomorrow."
"Sure. Let's meet here again tomorrow." She flashed him her most adorable smile, showing off the cute dimples on both her cheeks.
But the next day, and the day after, she waited and waited. But that boy never showed up again.
*****
Bella restrained herself from letting out a shriek. She woke up in the morning to find Gaharu's face buried in her breasts, with both his arms encircled around her tiny waist.
With all her might, Bella pulled Gaharu's hair to get his face off her chest.
"Get the fuck off me!!" She yelled as soon as she saw Gaharu had opened his eyes. His pupils constricted into two pointy lines when he felt the discomfort of having his hair pulled.
"Raawrrr...!!" Gaharu thunderly growl pierced her eardrums. He seemed to have lost his temper that he bounced off the stone bed and pinned Bella underneath him. The tip of his tiger tail was slightly tilted up and it was moving left and right aggressively. 
"Ugh..." Bella let out a soft groan when his sharp claws pierced into her delicate skin. His low nasty growl echoed in her ears.
"Do that again and you will surely lose a hand." He leaned down and snarled coldly in her ear.
Bella glared back at Gaharu with her eyes reddened in despise and anger. Her chest heaving and her fists clenched tightly.
As soon as Gaharu loosened his grasp on her, Bella immediately lifted a hand to strike a slap on his face but her hand was instantly caught by him before it could reach his face. She thought he would break her bone with that strong grip of his.
Gaharu forcefully pinned her hands above her head when she struggled to fight back. Even though she was no match for his beastly strength, she didn't give in to him. 
What a feisty female. Never before in his life have he met such a strongheaded female. Does she have no fear for him at all?
That face of hers... She may look like her, but Gaharu was sure this wasn't the one that he had been waiting for. The one that he knew was never this fierce and ill-mannered. Yet they have the same scent...  How can this be? 
Gaharu leaned down, he sniffed hard at the intoxicating scent that exuded from her skin.
"Funny that you think you can fight back." His deep guttural growl vibrated against her earlobe. 
After he finished saying that, Bella felt his steamy breath against her moist skin. Before she could react, Gaharu stuck out his tongue to lick her sweaty skin.
"Ah!"
"Stop moving." His coarse tongue brushed against her earlobe, making her shudder.
"What... What are you...?!" Bella's body twitched when she felt his coarse tongue again. This time, it showered from her shoulder to her inner arm. 
It felt almost painful and uncomfortable at first, yet somehow it began to feel nice, warm, and ticklish.
"Erm... Mmph..." Bella bit her lips when a weird moan almost escaped her mouth. She could feel the rush of blood on her burning cheeks, and she trembled each time his feline tongue brushed against her skin. 
"There."
Gaharu finally let go of her hands before he got off from her.
"The servants will bring clothes for you. Come down when you are ready." Gaharu's facial expression was austere, his voice was stern. He didn't even look at her face when he spoke. 
Gaharu gave a quick glance on the cuts on her shoulders and arms caused by his sharp claws earlier. Why is she so strongheaded and fierce? She could just be the obedient and quiet female like everyone else, he thought to himself. 
As he walked out of the room, Gaharu began questioning his own actions. He was indeed furious when he suddenly woke up feeling his hair being pulled, but it certainly didn't feel good to see her beautiful fair skin scarred by his claws. There was an inexplicable suffocation in his chest when it happened. Was it because this female look exactly like her, so he felt the uneasiness when he hurt her? 
What strange feeling is this? Hmm. 
*****
Bella wanted to smash things, or hurt someone so badly. She really hated how the tiger treated her as if she was his mindless toy. Although she can't blame him completely since he's not human... I mean, how can he possibly empathize with other beings or at least be a little gentleman? He's a fuckin' beast!
Bella must think of a way out of there fast. Whether or not she can go back to where she belongs, she'll worry about that later. What I need to do right now is to find a way out of this so-called Tiger Palace!
She hated it there. Bella hated cats all her life. She couldn't stand the smell of that cat-filled mountain cave! 
*****
"Oops! Sorry..."
Bella was wandering around the tiger palace, trying to find the way to the underground dungeon when she suddenly bumped into a tall figure. Her nose immediately caught the whiff of a big cat and she gazed up to find Sora, the leopard, gazing down at her. Several beastmen in armors stood behind him.
"My lady," he opened his mouth as he bowed his head slightly, "Are you lost?"
"Um... No? I was just taking a tour around the palace." Bella replied with a nervous smile.
I'll be damned... He's so gorgeous!
When they made eye contact, Bella couldn't help but swallow her saliva as she stared at Sora's well-defined facial features. His eyes were sharp and glowing gold, his eyelashes were long and curly, perfect nose bridge, and his thin lips were sexy and pinkish. He has a face that looks like it was carved out by an angel. His light blonde wavy hair was longer than Gaharu's, and today he had tied them up in a ponytail with a piece of thin cloth and there were two strands of his wavy locks hanging from his forehead down to his face, making him look more dashing and charismatic.
"Um... Sora, right? Just call me Bella. There's no need for the honorific, I'm just... Bella."
She reached out her hand to him, offering a handshake, but he then took her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers as his palm pressed against hers, gently squeezing her hand as he said,
"It is a pleasure, my lady."
Ohhh so I guess this is their way of handshaking?
This is adorable, Bella thought to herself as she squeezed back his hand.
"I can show you around if you like," Sora offered politely. His leopard tail was moving slowly in a wave motion behind him. Sora then gestured his subordinates to leave. 
Bella swallowed again when he smiled at her.
"Sure... I guess."
*****
His sharp golden orbs were raging in flames after he had heard the news. Gaharu slammed his fist on the stone table and immediately broke a piece of the cold hard stone.
"Ang and Zov?"
"Yes, my lord," Sepatu replied to Gaharu's question, "they are having a peace meeting at the Ang border, that is what I found out."
"Very well. Keep on observing and report to me if there is any suspicious movement."
"Yes, my lord."
Sepatu bowed before taking his leave from the barrack. Today was supposed to be another good day for Gaharu because the Ra had successfully conquered another village of beastmen. Female hostages will be used as servants while the young males will be trained as new army troops or be sent to labor.
But receiving news regarding the Zov and the Ang tribes had slightly ruined his mood.
After considering it for a while, Gaharu summoned his chariot. He should take a visit to Ra's recently conquered land.
"To fox mountain!"
*****
"So... Gaharu is away? For how long?" Bella asked when Sora told her that Gaharu had gone back to the barrack in the far west.
"Who knows? A moon, perhaps?" 
Bella tried hard not to grin when she heard that Gaharu was not going to come back for a while. Which means she has plenty of time to explore her way out of there.
"Worry not, my lady, I will be your personal guard from now on. Lord Gaharu left you in my care while he is away."
Bella let out a soft groan after hearing that.
The two talked as they walked, Sora explained to Bella about their world and the wars that had been going on for years now.
Clan wars was their way of living for decades. However, a few years ago, clans had merged to form tribes after some minor clans had been annihilated and leaders from stronger clans became the heads of tribes. As tribes grew, they needed more lands and supplies, and that was how the battle over territories began.
Ra tribe. The tiger, leopard, and panther united clans, ruled by Gaharu from the tiger clan. Antelope and ox villages were conquered by the Ra.
Moro tribe. The snake and lizard united clans, ruled by Tayen from the snake clan. Rhino villages conquered by the Moro.
Ang Tribe. Hare and sheep clans under the protection of Raneki from the bear clan. 
Zov tribe. Hawk and raven clans under the protection of Borius from the Wolf clan.
Tusk, mule, and eagle clans were completely destroyed and recently, the fox clan.
Somehow, according to Abnaki, the high priest of the Ra tribe, there was an ancient prophecy that foretells the fall of all beasts when a being from another world appears in the world of beastmen.
"Do you seriously believe that I am the one mentioned in that dumb prophecy?"
Sora raised an eyebrow when Bella directed the question at him. He gave a faint smile and lightly shook his head,
"The prophecy was written a long time ago by the panther clan's oldest necromancers, whether you believe it or not."
Bella's footsteps stopped. She realized that Sora had led her into a beautiful garden outside the cave. Her eyes wide in awe as she stared at the beautiful scenery of wild flowers and colorful plants.
"Where are we?" She asked.
"We are at the top of the tiger palace, my lady. This is where Lord Gaharu used to spend his time alone." 
Bella drew in a long deep breath. The air there was fresh and calming, it was filled with the faint fragrance exuded from the wild flowers mixed with the dewy smell of moist forest.
"Used to...?" She asked again.
"Lord Gaharu has been spending most of his time out there," Sora explained, "On the battle grounds and barracks."
As Sora was talking, Bella walked over to the huge flowers that looked like tulips. The plants were as tall as her, and the flower petals were bright cyan. Bella stretched out her hand to touch one of the flowers.
"My lady, be careful!"
Before Bella could react, the flowers moved, their petals bloomed open rapidly showing sharp teeth hidden inside the cyan petals.
"Ah!" Bella exclaimed in shock. But before the flowers could attack her, Sora had pulled her away from the dangerous plants.
"You need to be careful, Lady Bella. These are beast-eating plants." Sora's soft voice caused Bella's heart to pound fast. Not to mention he was holding her tightly in his arms, making her blush even more. She could smell his feline odor and felt the comfortable warmth of his masculine body.
When she gazed up, her gaze met with his. His pupils dilated as he felt a weird feeling he had never felt before. Something sparked in him the moment their eyes met in such a close distance that made his chest pound hard and his breathing stopped briefly.
"Apologies, my lady." Sora loosened his arms and Bella stepped away from him awkwardly.
"Well, we should head back down," Sora said again and gestured to Bella to walk before him.
Bella turned away and walked back down, followed by Sora. As he walked behind Bella, Sora had one hand over his chest that was still beating fast, as if trying to calm himself down.
What is this strange feelings...?
*****
Days went by but Bella felt like weeks. It felt like time passes very slowly although she couldn't actually tell the time as they have no clock in the beastmen world. They do have standard measurements of time, though, like day and night, months and years.
Every time Bella tried to sneak out, Sora would always show up next to her. It was like he was always close by and had never let her leave his sight.
"How big is this place actually?" Bella was thinking out loud but Sora thought the question was directed to him.
"Very. This is the tallest mountain in the land. Just years ago, the tiger clan conquered it and so here the Ra tribe was formed," Sora said, "the eagles used to live here."
"Eagles?"
Bella thought of the winged beastman who had saved her life the moment she first came to this strange world. She recalled Gaharu had mentioned that Garuda was the last of his clan.
"Yes, eagles. The whole clan was annihilated by Lord Gaharu. He then opposed a union with the leopard and panther clans and was then made the chief leader of Ra."
Bella thought long about everything that she had learned from Sora for the past few days. It felt like she was learning the history of early sapiens like the neanderthals and denisovans, or a weirder version of archaic humans. But what's strange is that they don't speak primitive language... Her head felt heavy with all that new information.
"Ugh... I think I need a nice shower." Bella mumbled to herself, shaking her head.
"Hm...?" Sora moved closer and lowered his head so he could hear her better. It seemed like she wasn't talking to him but to herself instead. Sora swallowed his saliva when his sensitive nose caught Bella's feminine scent when a soft breeze blew past her. He immediately straightened his back and turned his face to the side. His chest started to pound fast again and he felt warm with a slight tingle in his stomach.
"Darn..."
Bella had not heard the short cussing he made. She then continued her walk and Sora followed from behind. They paced into the lower part of the mountain and finally stopped when Bella noticed the warmth and the sound of running water from one cave room.
"What is this place?" She asked as she turned to Sora.
"This room is useless. It is filled with water and it is uncomfortably hot here."
As Sora explained, a wide grin appeared on Bella's face. She strode into the room.
"Just as expected, a natural hot spring!" She exclaimed happily when she found a large pool of water inside the cave room. Mineral water flows through the cave floor, forming a large pool and fog appears above the water.
Sora only observed as Bella went to the pool and carefully put a fingertip into the water. Realizing the water wasn't so hot, she then put her whole hand in it. The water temperature was probably about 37 to 38 degree Celsius, she thought to herself. Perfect! Bella grinned happily. Perhaps such temperatures can be uncomfortable for them cats, Bella thought again, but to her... 
"Sora, can I ask you a favor?"
"Anything, my lady."
"Find me as many aromatic flower petals as you can, and bring them all here. From now on, this is my own private bathroom."
*****
Bella was enjoying her bath time in the natural hot spring she had discovered with Sora eight days ago. She can now bathe everyday without having to walk all the way down from the mountain to the river. Sora would bring her flowers every day and then keep guard at the entrance of the hot spring cave as she bathed. After she was done with her bath, several female servants would come and hand her clothes over.
With all the free times she had during Gaharu's absence, Bella had made herself towels, bathrobes, and sleepwear, modifying the clothes given by the servants into clothes she could wear.