Fire, Snow, and Strange Trust

The roar outside echoed off the ice.

"Krai! Get out here!"

She turned toward the entrance of the cave, where a towering male and female white bear beast person stood. Both were heavily muscled. The female glared.

"That snake cub of yours injured my child! Hand over your vicious cub now!"

Though Krai was annoyed by her tone, she kept her voice calm.

"I've already looked into it. It's true that my Chao Lie was in the wrong, and it's also my negligence as a mother. I apologize."

The white bear couple froze.

This hadn't happened before.

Every time there was conflict, the original owner would throw her cubs out and let them take the beating. The bear family had expected the same.

Back in the cave, Chao Lie listened to her words as he finished the last bite of his fish. He stood abruptly.

Chow Chow's big round eyes blinked.

"Third Brother, sneak away! That stupid female will definitely hand you over!"

Chaoang nodded.

"Last time, your snake tail almost broke from the beating. If I hadn't found you, you would've frozen to death."

Chao Lie started creeping toward the exit. But as soon as he slipped out, Krai caught him in her arms.

He stiffened.

"Stupid female! Let go of me!"

She gently patted his back.

"Don't run. Listen to me. I promise—they won't hurt you."

He didn't believe her. Not for a second. But he couldn't break free.

Krai held him firmly.

"Just trust your mother this once. Tomorrow, I'll catch more fish for you."

Chao Lie stopped struggling, calculating when he could escape again.

Krai turned back to the white bear family.

"How about this? Chao Lie apologizes, and we give you a fish as compensation."

They hesitated. Something about her tone had changed. But food was valuable. Eventually, they nodded.

"Fine."

Krai patted Chao Lie's shoulder.

"Apologize."

Chao Lie's face twisted.

"He stole my food too and never apologized."

The bear cub scowled.

"You stole mine first!"

Krai looked at the little white bear's clenched fists.

"Is that true? Did you ever steal my cub's food before?"

The cub pouted.

"He stole mine first too!"

She looked to the bear parents.

"You heard that. Your cub stole from mine too. We're willing to apologize—but your child should too."

The male white bear beastman scowled.

"He nearly choked our cub to death, and you want us to apologize? Dream on!"

He reached forward, his massive palm grabbing toward Chao Lie.

Krai stepped back with Chao Lie still in her arms.

"You're an adult male, bullying a female and a cub. Aren't you afraid of punishment from the Beast God?"

Even rogue beasts had cultural lines that shouldn't be crossed. Females were precious, and cubs even more so.

The bear man hesitated.

"We're willing to apologize," Krai continued. "But your cub needs to apologize too."

The female bear looked at her own cub, calculating. Food mattered more than pride.

"Fine," she said, grabbing her son. "Apologize to that snake cub."

The bear cub reluctantly muttered,

"I'm sorry."

Krai turned to Chao Lie.

"He realized his mistake. Now it's your turn."

Chao Lie scowled. But finally, in a low voice, he said,

"I'm sorry."

> "Congratulations, host, for completing the task of having cub Lie apologize. The system will reward the host with a fire starter. Please claim it."

A small metal lighter appeared in her system space.

Useless now, maybe. But not for long.

She mentally stored it away.

After handing over a fish to the bear family, they left.

Chaoang immediately glared at her.

"Stupid female! You actually gave away our food? Don't you know how hard it is to find any?"

Chow Chow's two white ears twitched. Her fake smile mirrored her brother's frustration.

"Mom will find more tomorrow," Krai said simply.

Chao Lie didn't say anything. But instead of walking away, he laid down next to his siblings.

The three cubs huddled together, full from the meal, pretending to ignore her.

Krai sat back and stared at the last remaining fish. She sliced off a palm-sized piece and forced herself to eat it raw.

She hated it.

But there was no firewood.

The next morning, a violent shaking jolted her awake. The ground trembled. The ice under their cave was cracking—separating from the mountain.

If they didn't leave now, they'd drift away into the unknown on a slab of floating ice.

"Wake up!" she shouted. "The ice is breaking—we need to go!"

The cubs transformed into beast form. Chao Lie into a crimson snake. Chaoang and Chow Chow into white snow foxes. Krai herself shifted into an ice-white wolf.

She sprinted toward the mountain—but the gap was already too wide.

One by one, the cubs attempted to leap, but it was hopeless. They were too young. Chow Chow huddled in fear, her little body trembling.

Krai hesitated—then leapt across alone.

The cubs stared, stunned.

They had been abandoned.

But in the next moment, she retreated, ran full speed—and jumped back onto the floating ice.

They were speechless.

"Chao Lie!" she shouted. "Come to Mother! I'll take you across!"

He was frozen in place, unsure he heard her right.

Krai picked him up and jumped across. Then she returned for the other two.

When they were finally safe on solid land, Krai collapsed into the snow, panting.

Chow Chow stared at her fallen form, confused and quiet. For the first time, she didn't look like an enemy.

"Where are we going?" she whispered.

Krai frowned.

They were rogue beasts. The tribes wouldn't take them. But they couldn't survive on the ice field anymore.

"We head south. If we find a tribe, we'll try to settle before the cold season comes."

Chaoang squinted.

"Are you really… taking us with you?"

Krai flicked his forehead.

"What stupid female? I'm your mother. Of course I'm taking you."

> "Ding-dong. System task: Have all three cubs call you 'Mother.' Completion will earn rewards. Task difficulty: three stars."

Krai looked around. None of them had said it directly yet.

She put on a wounded expression.

"Come on. Call me Mother."

Chow Chow blinked and gave a fake smile.

"M-Mother."

Krai gently stroked her ear.

"Good girl."

Chaoang snorted.

"Traitor."

Chao Lie said nothing, though his red eyes lingered on her longer than usual.

Krai sighed.

Okay, she thought. This might take some time.

They walked until dawn, making their way around the massive ice mountain. Eventually, they reached a snow forest.

She saw blood in the snow and realized the golden tiger beast was still nearby. They had to be careful.

But food was scarce. She stumbled across the dead deer left by the tiger beast and, risking everything, cut off one leg and left a scrap of animal hide as payment.

It wasn't long before the tiger beast returned, noticed the missing leg—and the hide. He kept it.

The scent, he thought, would help him find whoever dared steal his prey.