(A/n: It's Back! I don't know how long tho.)
=—=—=—=(3rd POV)=—=—=—=
T'nor sat atop his throne.
He felt tired—but not physically. It was more like mental fatigue.
As the tribe leader, he had many obligations.
Too many, if you asked him.
Every time someone had a problem concerning the tribe, they came to him—and he had to solve it.
There was the ongoing war, the food shortage looming over the coming winter, and that kid who had recently "joined" the tribe.
It was his responsibility to resolve all of it.
Thankfully, he had passed the matter of the kid to the elders, saving himself from the extra workload.
He became chief because of his strength and might on the battlefield.
He was the strongest—is the strongest.
He carried that title, that responsibility, with pride.
His word was law.
But... he hadn't known it would be so boring.
He was a warrior at heart—one who thrived on the battlefield, not in a tent planning and scheming.
He wanted a fight, a battle—anything that would let him be physically involved in the war.
But no. As Chief, he rarely left the tribe. And if he did, he needed protection... even though he was the strongest.
He hated that.
*Sigh.*
'I should retire after the war,' he thought to himself, leaning back into his throne.
Just as he finally relaxed, the very work he'd desperately tried to avoid was thrown right back at him.
The flaps of the tent opened.
*Sigh!*
"Umbra requests an audience, Tribe-Chief," said one of his guards, kneeling. The man had a slightly chonky build and a gritty voice.
"Just send him in," T'nor waved the guard off, tired of the same formalities over and over again.
The guard quickly informed Umbra that he could now enter—and so he did.
Before Umbra could speak a single word, the Chief interrupted.
"What is i—" his voice cut off, instincts forged through years of combat and leadership suddenly flaring to life.
And all because of the very lad standing behind Umbra.
=—=—=—=(Nox POV)=—=—=—=
After Umbra gave me the few items he had of mine, I stowed them in my pockets, and he quickly told me to follow him.
I asked him quite a few questions on the way, but he left them all unanswered.
Mia just looked at me, confused, not letting go of my arm. Which I didn't mind at all—these fluffy mountains were just too soft to do anything about it.
We walked toward the big tent in the center of the settlement. In front of it, I noticed two people larger than the rest.
Now that I think about it… weren't the people here a bit too small? Most of the women were around 1.5 meters (4'11"), and the men just slightly taller. Mia and I kind of towered over them.
Only those with trained physiques seemed to be taller—up to about 2 meters (6'7"). That was the tallest one I'd seen so far.
Most of them also had tattoos. I wonder if that has anything to do with their height and build.
Wait—wouldn't that mean Mia has one too?
Just as I was about to ask, she instinctively turned to meet my gaze with a smile.
I pointed at my tattoo. "You got one too?"
Every time I spoke out loud, I felt a slight warmth and vibration in my arm and throat.
A strange feeling, if you ask me.
A quick "Yesh~" answered my question, along with a nod.
"Can I see it?" I was just too curious about the supernatural—or whatever you want to call it.
She seemed to hesitate at the question. I wasn't sure if she just didn't want to let go of me, or if there was another reason. But after thinking for a few seconds, she chose to answer:
"Sure."
She gave me her delicate hand—soft and smooth as ever—showing me the back of it.
At first, it just looked like a normal hand. Alright, normal might not be the right word—her skin was simply perfect. Where does she get the skincare products to get skin that good?
I know a handful of women who might kill to have skin that smooth.
Well, regardless, after a few seconds, the back of her hand began to glow with a faint white light.
And then, a tattoo appeared—of a small white fox. Honestly, it looked pretty cute. Not as detailed or grandiose as the dragon on my arm, but still a work of art, if I had to say.
I didn't even get a full second to look at it before she asked:
"Do you like it?"
What confused me was her voice—it was filled with distress. Even anxiety.
Not to mention the tense expression on her face.
She looked like someone waiting to get the results of their final exam.
I hated it. I wanted her to smile—not this.
Why was she so anxious about this?
So I did the one thing that always seemed to make her happy—I patted her head and eased her worries.
"Yes," I said. "Very much so."
For some reason, she was caught off guard by my answer—but the surprise quickly turned into a smile as she almost jumped on me out of joy.
"Hehehe~ he likes it."
I was glad she was happy again, but I couldn't help but wonder why she reacted like that.
Was asking about someone's tattoo some kind of cultural thing?
Maybe I was worrying too much about a girl I had only met a day ago, but...
*Ouch!*
I was pulled out of my thoughts when I felt a sharp pain on my face.
"Hey! Don't bite me."
"Hehe~" a small chuckle escaped her lips as she licked my blood off her own.
"But you're sooo~ tashty!"
Just as I was about to argue with her twisted logic, Umbra finished speaking with what I assumed were guards and turned to us.
"Nox, you come in with me. Mia, you stay outside." The way he said it—it sounded like a command.
It bugged me for some reason.
"WHAAT?!" Mia's voice came out almost like a jarring scream. Her displeasure was clear as day.
"Do you want to explain to the Chief why he should grant you entry?"
That sentence earned him a death glare, and the air instantly grew tense.
It was almost suffocating.
*Tsk!*
She turned her head away from him in annoyance.
But the air kept getting more and more suffocating.
"Mia," I called out.
Her ears perked up instantly at the sound of my voice, and she turned to face me.
The pressure in the air vanished, and all of us could finally breathe again.
"Yes~?" she answered sweetly, pairing it with an innocent smile.
"Wait here for me, would you?" I said it simply because I didn't want her to get into trouble.
Her gaze wandered down to the floor. "But—" she started to argue, but I silenced her with a hand on her head.
"I'm sure it won't take that long," I added.
That earned me a cute pout.
"Alright… Mhh," she mumbled, her voice barely above a whisper as she turned back around.
But she couldn't help sneaking a few glances at me to see how I'd react.
I chuckled, watching her act like that. It reminded me of someone.
"I'll give you a reward if you behave."
Her face lit up with joy, eyes sparkling with excitement.
It was honestly adorable, watching her try to guess what the reward might be.
In truth, I'd said it purely to see her reaction.
…Now I actually had to come up with something.
Well, that was a problem for future Nox.
Something I'm very good at.
Postponing things for the future.
I'd even call myself a master at it.
After that little incident—or whatever you want to call it—I followed Umbra into the tent, ignoring the surprised murmurs from the guards.
"You have to treat the Tribe-Chief with the utmost respect. One mistake, and it could cost you everything," he said as we walked.
I followed him inside… and suddenly, my heart rate spiked.
My breath followed shortly after. My whole body was flooded with a strange warmth—but it would be wrong to call it pleasant.
It was my muscles and nerves preparing for what was ahead. Bracing to face whatever was inside that tent.
Instincts I didn't even know I had screamed at me to run.
No—not to run. To curl up in a corner and play dead.
Anything else meant certain death.
Unfortunately for them, I ignored those instincts. In fact, the warnings had the opposite effect.
They made my blood boil with excitement.
With every step I took, the feeling worsened. My body started to resist my commands… but I pushed on, one step after another.
Why was I recklessly ignoring my body's warnings?
Simple—because it was fun.
I could feel it. Someone was challenging me.
And I fucking LOVE challenges.
My pride just wouldn't allow me to back down from whatever stood before me.
The creature I'd been so on guard against finally came into view.
The first thing I noticed were its yellow eyes—full of arrogance… or was it confidence?
No, I could see it clearly. Those were the eyes of a warrior.
How did I know that?
I don't know. I just did.
Then I noticed the rest of him. Definitely in his 60s, maybe older—but don't let that fool you.
His build wasn't just muscular. It was the body of a war god—strength paired with flexibility and unshakable toughness.
How did I know that?
Again… I just did.
His expression shifted into an exaggerated smile, matching mine. Both of us completely ignored Umbra, who was desperately trying to make sense of the situation.
I could feel it.
I wouldn't even last a second against him.
And yet, that only fueled my excitement.
Why?
Because it meant one thing—I could reach that level too.
And more importantly—I had a goal now.
I wanted to surpass the very being standing before my eyes.
We just stared at each other, smiling, for a few seconds before I broke the silence.
"You're strong...Old man."
To say Umbra was caught off guard would be an understatement.
(A/N: Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. The next one will come when I find the motivation to write it... Until then, fellow yandere enjoyers...)
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